Fall, Neal Stephenson

Fall; or, A Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson is a sequel to Reamde.

Started:  7/29/2019
Completed: 9/18/2019
Recommendation: Mild Recommendation
Recommended By:  Nobody

Review:

Clearly Neal Stephenson is spending a lot of time thinking about uploading brains to a virtual environment.  I'm not really thrilled about the creation of the garden from nothingness, but OK, I guess it is important to grab onto something.

The thought of the United States swiftly riding off the rails makes some sense given the current trend.  I guess I am tainted by having recently read "The Handmaid's Tale" and am a little spun out on the religious dystopia.  The thought of all society just going away and living in the cloud seems highly unlikely.

This is a very long book about the recreation of society.  Of course, I love Neal Stephenson, so I listened to the whole thing.  If this is your first Stephenson distopian novel, pick another.  If you liked the last one, then you will probably like this one and it is shorter than whatever you read before.

Adams vs. Jefferson

Adams vs. Jefferson:  The tumultuous election of 1800 by John Ferling fits neatly into my interest in both Adams and Jefferson.  I picked this book up on a mark down table at a brick and mortar book store many years ago and it has languished on my shelves as I have slowly read the books there.  Recently, I have had eye problems and learned about the audio books available from the library.  I was thrilled to see this one and picked it up quickly.

Started: 9/13/2019 (Friday the 13th)

Completed: 9/16/2019

Recommendation: Recommended

Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

bloviate -- talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way

calumny -- the making of false and defamatory statements about someone in order to damage their reputation; slander

Review:

This book brings to life the background and actions of the election of 1800.  I was aware that the election was decided in the House of Representatives, that Jefferson was the victor, and that Burr felt he had a good chance of winning.  The book sort of glosses over the previous election in which Adams beat Jefferson without going to the House of Representatives.  It seems like the author really likes Jefferson, sees his presidency as the revolution Jefferson claimed it to be, and felt that Burr was a warped personality.

What interested me most was the deadlock in the House.  I was unaware of this and equally unaware of the likelihood that Jefferson had made a deal (which he denied) to break it.  I also had no idea how central to the election South Carolina was and equally so Delaware in the House.  Thus, the almost week long effort to elect a president seems to have come to an end through a deal with Delaware and that was brought to the House largely through the electoral votes of South Carolina (although it seems that the electoral votes of New York might have been equally telling, though less unknown).  It was also fascinating to learn that every elector cast two votes for president (with at least one coming from a different state)--this was resolved by the 14th(?) amendment to the constitution which changed it to one vote making a tie far less likely.

A good book and a decent read.

Incognito, David Eagleman

Incognito:  The secret lives of the brain by David Eagleman is a book written about the brain for the lay reader by a neuroscientist.

Started:  9/9/2019

Completed: 9/13/2019

Recommendation: Recommended

Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

This book is pretty darn good and introduces a slew of questions.  Near the end, however, the author looks at judicial proceedings and concludes that a sentencing process which looks at the likelihood of recidivism is the best way to move forward.  The author suggests that the prison sentence should be based on the risk of future criminal activity.  While this may have a lot of meaning from neuropsychology, it is pretty scary to have prison sentences not based on the action that occurred, but based on the risk of that person committing future crimes.  This is a pretty bad thing for the judiciary.  Your genetics determine your sentence.  Or your brain tumor.  Or your exposure to some kind of virus that changes the expression of your genetics.  Or, chillingly, your poverty.

The other side, equally chilling, is that criminal behavior is subject to medical treatment.  Certainly, to an extent, this is true.  One wonders, however, how it is possible to treat an individual based on a sociological statistical analysis.  The implications are pretty scary.  Would criminals be allowed to reproduce and pass on their dangerous genetics (the author frequently notes that the single highest genetic prediction of criminal activity is to have a "Y" chromosome--be male)?  We have seen this attempt at "forward thinking" (considering a current action in terms of likely future outcomes) with sterilization in the 1920s...

The conclusion of the book kind of throws shade at the judicial section.  The author argues that simply looking at the structures of the brain (at whatever level of detail) is probably insufficient to understanding how the brain works.  If that approach is accurate, then the judicial component of the book is woefully misguided.  It is almost as though two different people wrote the book (or there was a lack of "full thinking" in applying the conclusion to the arguments made previously).  Of course, the author would be comfortable with the concept that one actual brain could posit multiple different overlapping and conflicting opinions--what he refers to as a "team of rivals"--as he argues that this is how the brain operates (many different approaches to the same problem rattle around in the brain until a single approach wins).  The downside, however, to his demonstrating one of his basic concepts is that the intent of the book is to elucidate how an understanding of the brain is important, not demonstrate how a brain might appear if the "controls" were peeled back and the seething maelstrom of potential actions were exposed. 

Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik is not a clear a sequel to Uprooted, but may occur in a similar world.

Started: 9/6/2019

Completed: 9/9/2019

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

A wonderful novel that takes a side-ways look at the traditional Rumpelstiltskin.  As usual, stepping into a Novik world is a treat and the characters are rich.  The story line is compelling and this story is told from many different perspectives which enriches the story telling.

The Air We Breathe, Andrea Barrett

The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett is a book that came recommended, but I simply cannot remember who/what made the recommendation.

Started: 9/2/2019

Completed: 9/6/2019

Recommendation: Mild Recommendation

Recomended By: Nobody

Review:

In many ways this reminds me of books from the turn of the century (Anthony Trollope comes to mind).  The nature of entertainment and the richness of formal human interaction.  It seems like a Victorian ideal.  In a consumptive ward.

The book, however, does not resolve the way that a turn of the century novel did and many things are left unanswered as the book closes.  In this case, it is not a problem that things are not tied up.  The book did not have a mounting sense of an impending big end, it seemed like a character study from the start.  The characters do evolve and, in some ways, seems almost like a modern romantic comedy (or, looking the other way, Shakespearean comedy) with the misunderstood feelings that swoop across the novel.  The book also seems to have a societal understanding as the characters are largely reduced to their own society due to illness (vaguely reminiscent of the United States before the first World War and its isolationist policies) and the small society turns on itself in much the same way as the nation did upon entering the war.

This book also quietly examines the love-hate relationship that Americans have with scientists, doctors, and nurses.

I enjoyed this little book while I read it, but I do not expect it to make a lasting impression on me.

Born on a Blue Day, Daniel Tammet

Born on a Blue Day:  Inside the extraordinary mind of an autistic savant by Daniel Tammet

Started:  9/1/2019

Completed: 9/2/2019

Recommendation: Recommended

Recommended By: Nikolay

Review:

This was an eye-opening book.  It is interesting to hear from an autistic person directly and not through the medium of someone interpreting what happens in their life.  The savant part was impressive, but the synesthesia and the way it was experienced directly was truly interesting.  This reminded me of Temple Grandin's description of how she came to understand what the animals were feeling at a slaughter house.  Well worth the time to read through this little book.

Throne of Jade, Naomi Novik

Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik is a sequel to His Majesty's Dragon which I enjoyed very much.

Started: 8/26/2019

Completed: 9/1/2019

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

The austerity of English nobles in the 1800s is less on evidence in this book, but the concept of the dragon as part of everyday life in Chinese nobility is addressed.  The book is far less about aerial battles and more about machinations with the Chinese court which is equally enjoyable.  The plots and sub-plots are well executed and the clear move of adding another dragon to the British ranks from China is well established.  Also, the idea of dragons hoarding their wealth is now explained and a mechanism for it in a society which is starkly different from Tolkien established.  The major characters are enriched and a small portion of minor characters meet their ends leaving many ways for the author to go in the next book.  I particularly enjoyed the concept of dragons getting involved in poetry.