u/umataro

I've been reading scifi/fantasy for almost 40 years. Lately, I've been rereading some of my early favourites. The experience is almost invariably disappointing. This made me doubt my recommendations to people over the years. Is this feeling common? Should I even bother rereading stuff or just keep the fond (partial) memories of the first reading? How do other people handle rereading?

(To be more specific, I reread The Helmsman by Bill Baldwin, Heechee books by Frederik Pohl and even The Forever War by Haldeman seemed emptier, thinner and ending less heart catching.) I am now afraid to reread Scalzi's Old man's war books and Card's Ender series. I love them too much to risk spoiling the memory.

I love the colour combinations you people have been able to come up with and would like to have a go myself but very often the finished moonswitch looks like a tiny baby dial imprisoned in a giant case. I'm not a fan of this "dial surrounded by a moat" design. Who makes the smallest, tightest case that fits the innards of a dhgate moonswatch?

I often buy small electronic items/components. When they arrive faulty and I ask for a refund, the same thing always happens. They tell me to send it back (which invariably costs more than the item) and they give a deadline for the receipt of the faulty item that is totally undoable with normal postal service (I'd have to send it by expensive courier). With price increases over the last year, I no longer see the point of ordering from that scummy place. End of rant, thank you for attending my Ted talk.

I found myself disgusted by it. A sexually frustrated cellar dweller's fantasy. I felt like the author had never talked to an actual woman in his life. But that wasn't even the biggest letdown. He failed to develop the scifi part of the story. He rushed through every world building opportunity, every chance to develop any suspense or mystery. I chucked the book in the bin afterwards.

People who didn't like this one (for the same or similar reasons), did you find something from this author that was a polar opposite in quality?

My doctor said to lose at least 10 cm around my waist. I don't know how to prepare tasty diet meals, so I simply stopped eating after lunch every day (and only drink water/tea). This cut off 1/3 of my calories. 6 weeks later and I'm now 8kg down with 9cm gone from my waist. The question is what now? I don't want to regain the weight, nor keep losing until I'm a skeleton. How do other people do it? Do you increase lunch portions? I already feel full enough at lunch. Reintroducing dinners is not something I want to do and I don't start feeling hungry before 18:00.