Reading history

The audiobook Die Mitternachtsbibliothek (german) by Matt Haig is an entertaining and somewhat philosophical book. Nora Seed doesn't want to live anymore. At the end of her life she wakes up in a library containing an infinite number of books about her. Each book contains a different life of Nora in which she has made different decisions. Nora visits some of the lives of her other selves. She realises that she is important to other people and her life is quite good and that she has many reasons to go on living. The story is great and can be highly recommended. Available at Amazon.

The book Die Nullform (Buch 4): RealRPG-Serie (german) by Dem Mikhailov is the fourth book of the series. Elb and his party continue their mission. They climb into the higher areas of Drainagetown and learn more about the spiders. As the group follows an expedition of a spider group that never returned, they learn about the origin of the Memback pills, which give flashbacks to a previous life. And they visit the land of the Devas and take a new member with their group. The book is quite entertaining. Available at Amazon.

The book Die tausend Erden by Stephen Baxter is a science fiction story. In the year 2145 John Hacknett takes his spaceship Perseus to the Andromeda galaxy. As he travels at the speed of light, he also travels through time due to the time dilation effect. When he returns to Earth, 5 million years have passed. Equipped with better technology, Hacknett embarks on further expeditions. Mela lives in the year 30 until the end of the world. In the end, Hacknett and Mela cross paths. The story was quite original and I enjoyed reading the book. Available at Amazon.

The book Die Kunst des Krieges (german) by Peter Cawdron is a science fiction story about mankind's first contact with aliens. It's a stand-alone book in the Erstkontakt series. Out of the blue China seems to be attacking the US. But their tactics are surprisingly poor. Commander Lisa Chao of the US Navy manages to find out what is going on. Earth is facing an enemy hiding on the dark side of the moon. China's General Mao Huang uses Sunzi's ancient rules of tactical warfare. I really liked the story. Available at Amazon.

The book Die Apotheke (german) by Peter Cawdron is a science fiction story about mankind's first contact with aliens. It's a stand-alone book in the Erstkontakt series. Anthony and blind Lucy live in London in the Middle Ages. It's a harsh time, ruled by the Queen and the Church. When they are almost burned at the stake, they are rescued by aliens. They travel through space at the speed of light. 500 years later, when Anthony returns to Earth, everything has changed. The story was quite good. Available at Amazon.

The book Die Delphi Kolonie: Delphi in Space 8 (german) by Bob Blanton and Abyline I. Dahlson is the eighth book in a science fiction series. Catie is being trained at the military academy. Two planets are being colonised. One by humans and the other by the Paraxeans. The development of the story remains interesting, which is why I enjoyed reading the book. Available at Amazon.

The book Das Auge (Konvergenzkrieg 3) (german) by M.R. Forbes is the third book in a science fiction series. Captain Soren Strickland and his spaceship the Wraith travel to a third universe. They learn that the Soren and Alex of this universe are quite ruthless. Jane Strickland fights against them. They also understand what is the reason for the eye. Alex and his teammates are captured by the enemy. Once again the series is quite interesting to read. Available at Amazon.

The book Ins Ungewisse (Konvergenzkrieg 2) (german) by M.R. Forbes is the second book in a science fiction series. Captain Soren Strickland and Alex continue their searching for Dana. When they find her, they learn that they must travel to the eye of the anomaly to find out how to stabilise the two universes. I really liked the book. Available at Amazon.

The book Wraith (Konvergenzkrieg 1) (german) by M.R. Forbes is the first book in a science fiction series. When the spaceship Galileo disappears with Captain Diana Strickland aboard, her father gathers a crew to search for her. Using his military contacts, he manages to get hold of a new experimental spaceship. As they begin their search, the space station is attacked and destroyed. Captain Soren Strickland and his crew learn that other locations are also being attacked. The planet where his son Alex Strickland and his Scorpion team are stationed is also taken. They have to fight against an unknown enemy. I really liked the book. Available at Amazon.

The book Delphi in Deep Space: Delphi in Space 7 (german) by Bob Blanton and Abyline I. Dahlson is the seventh book in a science fiction series. The invention of wormhole travel allowed the Delphi nation to find two habitable planets. They help the Paraxeans to colonize one of the planets. An unknown space ship also claims the resources of the new system. The story remains quite interesting and was good to read. Available at Amazon.

The book Die Delphi Föderation: Delphi in Space 6 (german) by Bob Blanton and Abyline I. Dahlson is the sixth book in a science fiction series. Earth's nations want to have their share of the alien technology. The Delphi state has to be careful not to be overtaken. Catie McCormack is the genius who helps to progress the Delphi nation. The book was good to read. Available at Amazon.

The book Die Delphi Allianz: Delphi in Space 5 (german) by Bob Blanton and Abyline I. Dahlson is the fifth book in a science fiction series. The Delphi nation is making great progress in building their space station. They are also building space carriers for an imminent attack by a renegade faction of Paraxeans. Earth's nations must stand together with the Delphi nation to face the enemy. I liked the book. Available at Amazon.

The book Der Staat Delphi: Delphi in Space 4 (german) by Bob Blanton and Abyline I. Dahlson is the fourth book in a science fiction series. The McCormacks lead their team of scientists to develop new technology. Delphi is trying to establish itself as a new state. They bring new inventions on the market, but eventually have to reveal that they have access to alien technology. The nations of the world are eager to profit. I liked the book. Available at Amazon.

The book Raumstation Delphi: Delphi in Space 3 (german) by Bob Blanton and Abyline I. Dahlson is the third book in a science fiction series. Catie, the clever daughter of Mark McCormack, helps her father and uncle to build new aeroplanes and a space station. Spies try to steal their secrets and they have a tough opponent in the President of the United States. I liked the third book. Available at Amazon.

The book Delphi City: Delphi in Space 2 (german) by Bob Blanton and Abyline I. Dahlson is the second book in a science fiction series. The McCormacks are building a city and secretly support researchers to invent new devices. With the help of the alien Dr. Metra and the ship's AI ADI, they make millions and use their wealth to push mankind further. The second book was again well written and I enjoyed reading it. Available at Amazon.

The book Raumschiff Sakira: Delphi in Space 1 (german) by Bob Blanton and Abyline I. Dahlson is a science fiction series in which the McCormacks find an alien Paraxean spaceship. Marc McCormack is tested by the ship's AI and promoted to captain of the ship. The alien crew is in stasis. Marc now has access to advanced technology and he and his friends must use it to raise humanity's technological status to be able to defend against future threads. The story is quite interesting and I enjoyed reading it. Available at Amazon.

The book Ihr wollt es dunkler (german) by Stephen King is a collection of twelve short horror stories. The first story is about two talented men. After a strange encounter they become famous. Another story is about a boy who has been kidnapped and after his escape he is not sure if it was real. The last story is about a man who had three strange encounters with the Answer Man who could answer his questions correctly, but granted only a few minutes for asking. The stories were really good and I enjoyed reading them. Available at Amazon.

The book Was macht KI mit unserer Sprache? (german) by Christoph Drösser discusses the impact of artificial intelligence on humans. Chat GPT and co. will influence our society. The bots are trained on human texts. The original texts are diminishing. For the further development of the large language models they will also comsune a lot of output from other bots, mostly without knowing it. The output of the bots will therefore become less human. We should read and write a lot and not let the bots do all the work. The short book has some interesting ideas and is a good starting point to the theme. Available at Amazon.

The book Loop (german) by Dominik A. Meier is a sci-fi story. With the technology of the Loop it is possible to travel through the Muliverse. The science behind the device isn't fully understood. Soon everything goes wrong. After an accident, Dr. Ryan Heller and his team try to rescue another team. They find coordinates of an unknown place and travel there. It was an interesting story. Available at Amazon.

The book Die Fremdem: Erstkontakt (german) by Peter Cawdron is a science fiction story about mankind's first contact with aliens. It's a stand-alone book in the Erstkontakt series. Elizabeth Bower ist a medic working in an African war zone. One day she and her team have to flee the war when a warlord an his group approach their base. She is able to escape with the help of UN soldieres. On the run, they hear of an alien visit to Earth. But soon they are attacked by rebels an captured. She and a soldier are thrown into a room with a captured alien. The story was quite interesting and I really enjoyed reading it. Available at Amazon.

The book Die Geschichte von Zeb (german) by Margaret Atwood is a science fiction thriller. It is the last book in a trilogy. Toby and Zeb's relationship is revealed as Toby tells Zeb's story to the new people. We learn about the childhood of Zeb and his brother Adam and how they grew up and became the men they are. The story was good and humorous. I enjoyed reading the book. Available at Amazon.

The book Das lange Morgen (german) by Leigh Brackett is a science fiction story. The original version was published in the year 1955. People live in small villages and are very religious. Len Colter's grandmother tells him stories from the past, when people lived in big cities. When one day Esau, the cousin of Len Colter, steals a forbidden book and a strange device, they want to know more and go on a journey to find Bartorstown a mystical place. I liked the story. Available at Amazon.

The book Das Jahr der Flut (german) by Margaret Atwood is a science fiction thriller. It is the second book of a trilogy. Big companies shape people's lives. Cosmetics and medicine and everything in between. The community of the Gardeners tries to live with nature instead of controlling it. One day, however, a deadly pandemic spreads and humanity is almost wiped out. I enjoyed reading the book and am looking forward to the next book in the trilogy. Available at Amazon.

The book Portale (german) by Douglas E. Richards is a science fiction thriller. The agents Noah Harris and Ashley Flynn fight against a clever criminal who kidnaps scientists. Noah discovers a portal to other worlds. Soon he and Ashley have to save Earth from an invasion. The story was interesting and entertaining. Available at Amazon.

The book Willkommen auf Gerry (german) by Erik Harlandt is a science fiction thriller. An alien space station has been discovered. The big companies start their race to the object to claim it for themselves. Troops are sent into the object to discover its secrets. The story has some good ideas and I liked it. Available at Amazon.

The book The Mind: Die Menschheit am Abgrund (german) by Tom Philipps is a science fiction story about the birth of a super-intelligence called PHIL. Rex Branton, the creator of PHIL, wants the young TV journalist Sam Gordon to make favorable reports about him. Sam and biology student Camila Rodriguez discover some frightening things. I enjoyed reading the book. Available at Amazon.

The book ONLINE (german) by Erik Harlandt is a science fiction thriller. At the end of the 21st century, Milo's big dream is to be able to buy an expensive tank in which he can live a fullfiled virtual life. On day he is offered a task to convince the AI of a spaceship with colonists to continue its mission to colonise a distant planet. The story was quite interesting and I liked it very much. Available at Amazon.

The book Geisterschiff: Erstkontakt (german) by Peter Cawdron is a science fiction story about mankind's first contact with aliens. An extraterrestrial spaceship travels through the solar system and stops at the Lagrange point. An international and a russion ship are sent to rendezvous with the ship. The book was quite good and I really enjoyed reading it. Available at Amazon.

The book Quantensprung (german) by Douglas E. Richards is a science fiction thriller. Technological genius Oliver Scott helps mankind with great inventions. He is said to maintain the largest brainpool of the world's best researchers. Liam Dunne's ex-wife is one of them. One day Liam receives a coded message from his ex-wife and suddenly he and his friends are being hunted. They must find out what the message says and what Oliver Scott is up to. I really enjoyed reading the book. Available at Amazon.

The audiobook Die Scherben der Erde (Die Scherben der Erde-Reihe 1) (german) by Adrian Tschaikovsky is the first book in the series. In a distant future, Manking has narrowly survived an attack by the Architects. They turn whole planets, like Earth, into something resembling art. Idris used his mental abilities to help fight them, and the Architects disappeared. But eighty years later they reappear and begin to destroy worlds and billions of lives. I enjoyed this sci-fi thriller. Available at Amazon.

The book Eisiger HImmel (german) by Jeff Carlson is a science fiction book. On an expedition to Jupiter's moon Europa, astronaut Alexis Vonderach narrowly escapes being attacked by an alien species. However, she is thinking about how to make a peaceful second contact. Some of her team mates are more interested in making a profit for the medical and pharmaceutical industries, and less interested in explaining the aliens as scientific beings. The beginning was a bit of a drag, but the middle and end were good. Available at Amazon.

The book Oryx und Crake (german) by Margaret Atwood is a science fiction thriller. It's the first book in a trilogy. Snowman, aka Jimmy, lives in a devastated world, seemingly the only human alive. He cares for a small group of genetically altered humans who behave like naive creatures. Snowman remembers the time he had with his best friend Crake, who is responsible for the disaster. I enjoyed reading the book and am looking forward to the next book in the trilogy. Available at Amazon.

The book Unbekant (german) by Douglas E. Richards is a science fiction thriller. Author Jason Ramsey is convinced that extraterrestrial UFOs exist. To reveal the truth, he mentions in a podcast that he has proof of everything and he will show it to the world in a few weeks. His plan succeeds better than he fought and he will soon find out what he is looking for. The book was very interesting and I really enjoyed reading it. Available at Amazon.

The book Superintelligenz (german) by Douglas E. Richards is a science fiction thriller. America's largest AI program has been destroyed. Agent Cameron Carr is assigned to find out who is behind the sabotage. The story was great and I highly recommend the book. Available at Amazon.

The book Tambora (german) by Cliff Allister and Christian Montillon is a science fiction story. In the year 1813, a spaceship carrying a small group of aliens lands near a volcano in Indonesia. Because they can change their appearance, they live unknown among humans. A poor boy discovers their secret and befriends them. The aliens are fugitives and are being sought because they have their righteous king among them. The story was quite good and I enjoyed reading the book. Available at Amazon.

The book Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson is a cyberpunk story. Hiro Protagonist lives in a world where states are dominated by large organisations. Hero is a hacker and works for a pizza delivery service. He uncovers a conspiracy to misuse an old religious Babilonian artefact. The story is interesting and I liked it. Available at Amazon.

The book Die Entdeckung (german) by Joshua Tree is a science fiction thriller. When a strange, possibly alien, signal is detected on the moon, America and China compete in a space mission to be the first nation to land on the moon and investigate the source of the signals. I enjoyed reading the book. Available at Amazon.

The book Doppelwelt (german) by Dominik A. Meier is a fictional story about the Tchernobyl accident in the year 1987. Anastasija lives in the Zone, the radioactive area around the reactor. One day strange things happen and she and a friend are teleported to a parallel world. There exist three worlds and Anastasija is the one to save them. The story was good. Available at Amazon.

The book Blutige Nachrichten (german) by Stephen King is a collection of four short novels: Mr. Harrigangs Telefon, Chucks Leben, Blutige Nachrichten and Ratte. The stories were quite entertaining and I liked them a lot. Available at Amazon.

The book Freiheitsgeld by Andreas Eschbach is set in a not too distant future. Robots do all the work for people, everyone gets a basic income without work. The policeman Ahmad Müller has to investigate the murder of a high-ranking politician and a reporter. The story is really good and I liked it. Available at Amazon.

The book The Get Things Done Book: 41 Tools to Start, Stick With and Finish Things by Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler is a book full of tips and how to decide which tasks and goals are important and how to successfully complete them. The book is not too long, less than a hundred pages, and gives good advice. I liked it. Available at Amazon.

The book Gedankenkrieg: High Tech Thriller (Nick Hall 3) (german) by Douglas E. Richards is the third book in the Nick Hall series. The mindreadinh formula is stolen. Two new mind readers appear. Once again the story is really good and I enjoyed reading it. Available at Amazon.

The book The Arc (The Loop 3) (german) by Ben Oliver is the third book of the science fiction trilogy. Luca is trapped in the Arc. There are only a few days left and the AI Happy has reached its goal and recreated the healing technology. Luka and his friends have to fight the ultimate battle in the outside world and in Happy's mind. I liked the book and enjoyed reading it. Available at Amazon.

The book °C – Celsius (german) by Marc Elsberg is a thriller about the manipulation of the earth's climate. When large black drones appear, the Chinese government explains that they are actively influencing the climate. But there are other players who want to change the climate in their favour. It's a great book and very interesting. Available at Amazon.

The book NSA - Nationales Sicherheits-Amt by Andreas Eschbach is brilliant. What would happen if, in an alternate timelime, Hitler had access to advanced computers and the Internet? Coding is done by women. Helene is a young programmer who starts working for the NSA. She is quite ingenious at programming and delivers new tools for better surveillance of the population. Although she is against the cruel regime, her work helps to win the war. The book is fascinating and I liked it a lot. Great! Available at Amazon.

The book Download by Jona Sheffield is a science fiction book. Dr. Josie Parman is researching how to digitise a human brain. She wants to help her sick sister, who can't move after an accident some years ago. A wealthy businessman offers her the chance to work for him and combine their efforts. I liked the book. Available at Amazon.

The book Professor Everywhere by Nicholas Binge is a science fiction mystery novel. It is about the young student Chloe Chan. She gets a job as an assistant to the enigmatic professor Crannus. She soon learns that he is able to visit other worlds. She believes in his good intentions, but has to learn that the government is not convinced of the professor's benevolence. I liked the book and found it fascinating to read. Available at Amazon.

The book Alles ist schwer, bevor es leicht ist - Wie lernen gelingt (german) by Caroline von St. Ange gives lots of tips on how to motivate children to learn.

Pupils should develop a growth mindset. If they fail in an exam, they should know, that they can improve. They can succeed if they learn with the right support. Ability and intelligence can be developed and changed. You should never study with a video or television playing next to you. It's too distracting. Before a child learns, it should be asked whether it has drunk and eaten. Breaks are important. The task can be broken down into small steps. Older children learn for a maximum of one hour without interruption. A break must be taken afterwards. Exercise and fresh air are good during the break. Strengthen the child's strengths. If the child is good at a subject, then this subject should be practised even more. This boosts self-confidence and helps to compensate for poor grades in other subjects. Reading is important. It can also be comics.

The book also makes comments on how schools should be.

School grades are unfair. Grades of different students are not comparable. Good grades make you arrogant. Poor grades are demotivating. Children don't want grades. Children only learn for grades, not for themselves. Notes are mere snapshots.

It was a very interesting book. I highly recommend the book. Available at Amazon.