media log

Brandon Sanderson likes to open a lot of narrative threads, but he doesn't resolve them. They split, they merge, they get forgotten, they get revived, they get bigger, they do a beautiful ballet dance and they resolve at just the right moment. He doesn't advance the plot, he makes a symphony with a plot orchestra. Of course, every player in the orchestra (every character in the book) is, at worst, very compelling and, at best, Vin.

Every proposition is interesting, most of them are surprising and yet none of them feel out of place. In the end, not only the small clues make sense, but, thematically, it's clear that it could not have been any other way.

Yet, I do have to say that the characterization, the awe and, in general, the magic of the first book can't be topped.

The best thing I've seen in years. Impecabble.

Eaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasy 5 stars even though it's incomplete yet. If they fuck up Beyond the Spider-Verse I'm going to blow all of us up.

It's excellent.

Vin might be one of my favorite protagonists in any story ever, but the characterization is excellent all around and the plot is always very enticing.

Fun!

Edit (2026-01-17): This book is just Mistborn but worse. I rated it a 3.5, I'm now giving it a 3.

Amazing characterization.

...but I have to say the second half is weaker.

It's soooooooooooooooooooooo good. Classic Wes. I loved the snow with the music that I think was in Dorian. Just keeps twisting and turning and takes an interesting concepts and keeps it fresh.

Delightful book. I love that it explains the fundamental underlying principles of quantum mechanics instead of showcasing whacky QM results.

In general, I've found that physics books are either pretty superficial or mega expensive uni text books. This one nails the sweet spot of having depth and not holding your hand while being approachable (you do need some firm high-school level math, even perhaps a bit beyond).

Can't wait to read Vol 1, 3 and 4!

This book is a fun read, honestly, but it just seems... amateurish? It also seems almost dishonest at times. When it makes me feel something I feel like I'm the one doing the heavy lifting, and while that may be on purpose, it definitely doesn't seem intentional here.

Again, it was engaging and went quick as a book! It's not that bad, I just feel it pretends it's deeper than what it is.

Woman this is good.

Feels weird to rate a textbook in terms of other books, but I'm giving it 5 stars because I don't see how this could be considerably better.

Maybe I'm biased because I ended up really liking the topic of statistical physics in general, but I feel that this textbook really contributed to that. Everything is explained well and rigorously, it clearly states when/what assumptions are made, but still does back of the envelope calculations (e.g., finding an almost-formula for something using dimensional analysis) in a way that really resonates to how I would think about it. Some other textbooks are more like reference catalogs, but this one is clearly aimed at helping you learn and understand the topic.

A few other things I appreciate in the book are the quick calculations and gut-checks done throughout the book (e.g., exercise 1.10: estimate the number of air molecules in an average-sized room), and the fact that Schroeder speaks in first person, in a way that feels very personal.

I think this is a good read for science-inclined people, even if you don't do physics, especially because it's something that is not commonly talked about in internet science education the way quantum and relativity is (which I now feel is a crime lol). Having done chemistry in high-school, I felt that this book helped me to "open my eyes", which I think is best characterized by the fact that I now know what temperature actually is.

Pages ~10-70 are kind of repetitive and boring, but the start and mostly the end are actually quite quite nice

This is such a good song. It starts of as a nice if not generic and boring ballad, but the second chorus is already kind of interesting with the contrast and a very nicely done high point. However, it just keeps getting better. You go to the bridge directly from the chorus and it does a number of turns that are just right. It's not something magical harmonically, but it just is so well produced. Everything is exactly where it needs to be, the intensity just keeps building and building. There's almost three times where it seems that there is a modulation (or tonization) to the "relative minor", but of course that should only happen once! It honestly reminds me of the invisible "half-modulations" of Jacob where you don't know when it happened. Of course this is not nearly as complex but it still a damn nice effect. The technical justification isn't the point, the point is that it just an amazing example of an artist knowing exactly where and how to put every element in a song.

The best math book by far, and my personal favourite book of all time.

Read it.