I had to learn Linux CLI tools, Vim and Perl at my very first job. Have a soft spot for Perl, despite not using it much these days other than occasional one-liners (mainly for advanced regex features).
Thanks a lot for the kind words! Means a lot to me :)
I'm a bit active on book-related forums. I post reviews of books I've read, give book recommendations, etc. In this case, the author contacted me based on my reviews.
Like alpha, beta, gamma readers. Used by authors to get feedback at various stages of their book before it is published. Alpha stage is very rough, like first draft. Not sure where the line lies between beta and gamma stage, but they are close to finished works - only typos and minor changes would be made based on reader feedback.
For indie authors, beta readers often help to get a few reviews out close to book publication.
I'm doing a beta-read. Well written, great ideas, etc. Unfortunately, the book is turning out to be much darker than I'm comfortable with. I'll probably try to get to the halfway point before deciding to give up.
Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor is a fun and easy read
Stormlight Archives can be daunting to those not familiar with Sanderson's works, especially since the books are long (1000+ pages) and the first book is setting up a long 10-book series (plus other stuff from a wider universe).
If you'd like something smaller and standalone to try first, check out "Emperor's Soul" (novella) or Warbreaker (novel).
+1 for Murderbot!
True, perhaps a case of doing too much of anything over a long period ;)
As per the manual, "Mappings are set up to work like most click-and-type editors" - which is best suited with GUI Vim.
While Vim doesn't make sense to use without the modes, there are plugins like https://github.com/tombh/novim-mode!