#bookstodon #MarchMysteryMadness #FridayReads #AgathaChristie #OrientExpress

The first 2026 #BBB (#Books, #Beers and #Burgers) in #Lamego, better late than never, and once again we were only able to take pictures of it after no clues regarding beers or burgers were left on the scene (and rumors of tart, coffee and port remain unconfirmed).

#MarchMysteryMadness

A França quer proibir o acesso de menores às redes sociais.

https://pt.euronews.com/next/2026/01/26/franca-pode-proibir-menores-de-15-anos-de-aceder-as-redes-sociais-nos-proximos-meses

Mas não é só proibir, é validar a idade. De todos, claro, para saber quem pode entrar e quem fica à porta.

Validar como? É com a nova validação da Europa? Não, é pior:

deverá seguir um procedimento semelhante ao dos sites pornográficos, que, por uma lei de 2024, têm de verificar que os utilizadores têm mais de 18 anos. Os sites pornográficos usam sobretudo dois métodos de verificação de idade em França: o primeiro pede aos utilizadores que enviem uma foto do cartão de identidade nacional juntamente com uma selfie para confirmar a identidade; o segundo recorre a inteligência artificial (IA) para estimar a idade com base numa selfie enviada.

É isso mesmo, atirem para o lixo todos os guias e formações sobre protecção de dados, todos os alertas e recomendações sobre fraudes online e roubo de identidade: os Franceses vão todos ter de dar os seus dados biométricos a entidades privadas para provar que são adultos e poderem ir às redes sociais...

E não pensem que isto vai só afectar TikToks e Facebooks: ao dizerem que o projecto

prevê exceções para enciclopédias como a Wikipedia e outros “diretórios educativos”

estão a dizer que "outros directórios" como wikis, fóruns e outros serviços cabem na definição deles de "redes sociais"

Uma pessoa nem pode sair de casa, que vem logo com mais livros...

#SuperMario #Zelda #bookstodon

• Neal Stephenson's "Polostan" is the last of these books, and the book worth mentioning but not necessarily a recommendation. If you know me well enough, you know that I think Neal Stephenson is the best writer of all times (prove me wrong). And I'm sorry to say, this - while a five stars book - is not Stephenson at its best: in fact, it was his first book ever where at a certain point I felt the book wasn't probably edited (probably rushed in). This is the first of a series, and it almost feels like just the first part of what should be the first book, it is almost as if he rushed publishing it to appease the editorial gods or something. Now, don't take this criticism as a sign that Polostan isn't a book worth reading, not at all. But if you didn't read all the rest he wrote, do that first, and give Polostan some time... because I'm sure it will best read if you have its sequel ready to be picked up once you finish this one.

(end of 🧵)

• @kirschner@mastodon.social 's "Ada & Zangemann: A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream" was a wonderful surprise -- I knew I'd like this book since I've heard he had written it, but I'll admit I only actually read it once I had the actual physical book in my hands... and ended up being surprised by it a couple of times, the book has plenty more depth than I assumed! Sure, it is what I thought it would be, "a book for children about free software", but it is so much more than that...

• @o_sarilho@mastodon.art is a webcomic - and fortunately it is also collected in physical format. There are versions in Portuguese and English, but this is a SciFi comic book from a Portuguese author, and that alone would get my attention... the fact that part of the action happens on the region where I actually live just made it even more interesting! So, well, I knew I would need to read it, and I bought the books, but only in 2025 did I actually started reading it... and, well - all I can say is that I glad I have the rest of the series so far, so I can catch up!

5 star reads of 2025 worth mentioning

#bookstodon 🧵

Someone has asked recently on a toot for others to share their 'list of 2025 books'. Instead of pointing out to the list of what I've read, I'll instead mention a few '5 star' books I've read in 2025 that I think is worth pointing out towards.

By no particular order (well, the order in the photo, really...)

• AJ Pearce's "Yours Cheerfully" and "Mrs Porter Calling", books 2 and 3 of The Emmy Lake Chronicles. I'd already read the first book in the series and considered it a five stars read, and I plan to eventually read the fourth and last book in the series - the paperback edition is out next August. This isn't a deep or profound book series - and doesn't need to be in order to be a good one. It's a series depicting the life of a young woman in war-time London. Each of these books made me cry and made me laugh, and I have found some comfort reading them in a time where, in many aspects, it feels like we're living in a pre-war era...

Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Franz Kafka...

Public Domain Day 2026 in Literature:

(download in epub here, and) Read 20 of the "best books" entering the public domain in 2026!

#FridayReads #bookstodon

#NealStephenson's #Polostan