Nina celebrates a milestone birthday, so Engineer Mike offers up Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Will she read it, or will she take offense?
Digressions: Cyberpunk 20-something, the ridiculously named Rhode Island, the Biblical origins of Nina and Engineer Mike, the impending world tour, Crash and other less impressive works, a mini rant on Heinlein, the cult of the Raelians, self-insert characters, and old handheld technology in SF novels.
Engineer Mike is reading: “Apostles of Mercy” by Lindsay Ellis https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195790939-apostles-of-mercy
Nina is reading: “Justin Timberlake once admitted to getting ‘completely plastered,’ doing his fair share of drugs when there are ‘no cameras around’” https://pagesix.com/2024/06/18/entertainment/justin-timberlake-once-admitted-to-getting-completely-plastered-doing-his-fair-share-of-drugs/
And…the Raeliens Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%ABlism