17. Star Wars: Legacy of Vader: The Reign of Kylo Ren Vol. 1

I loved getting to return to the gap between TLJ and TRoS. The comic does a good job of tying ST-era Kylo in with Vader’s PT arc.

My review at the time speaks for itself.

Ooh I will, thank you!

I just left a review on Storygraph based on my skeets

Thank you for writing it!

It was also interesting getting an overview of how the EU shifted the post-war Empire away from being a Nazi analog to being a post-Soviet one (which I think is behind the dissonance I always felt with the “good Imperial” trope embodied by Baron Fel and Pellaeon.)

One especially interesting part for me was the analysis of the evolution of how the dark side was depicted alongside the war on terror (as INTENT became the cornerstone) only to be eventually reversed through the Darth Caedus arc (as all his “good” intentions still lead him to evil.”)

16. The History and Politics of Star Wars by @chriskempshall.bsky.social

What a read! As someone who read books from the EU and the expanded Disney canon, it was REALLY cool to get an analysis of Star Wars that takes it ALL into account rather than solely the films.

HIGHLY recommend for SW fans

15. Enshittifiction by Cory Doctorow

An easy to read summary about the decay of the Internet, its causes, and possible solutions (which are basically to revive unions [including for tech workers] and get laws passed saying execs CANT enshittify their companies or services.)

One thing that kept striking me as I read is how cleanly Kornbluh’s criticism of immediacy media maps onto AI slop.

Its only purpose is to circulate and engulf us in intentionless, individualized content that reproduces the extant.

14. Immediately, or, The Style of Too-Late Capitalism by Anna Kornbluh

I found myself disagreeing with the book’s core argument multiple times, but nonetheless really enjoyed reading it and thinking about said argument.

Kathleen Turner was an INCREDIBLE guest. Both eps tonight were great

It’s such a bummer when events based on celebrating human artistry and craft use AI art