Kindle me this:

Sensawonda

Revisado: 09-23-16

Although I started reading SF as a very young child, I have little recollection of "Fred", so I am glad to have this exposure to his legacy. Many thoughtfully written stories, and insights into the writing & publishing biz.
Some of the stories made me recall ideas, and thus encourage finishing some stories of my own.

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An amazing first novel

Revisado: 12-01-15

If you could sum up Shantaram in three words, what would they be?

humanity in anutshell

What other book might you compare Shantaram to and why?

None come to mind. Michener wrote long novels too (so in a way did Tolkien).What is so unusual about this book is that it combines experience in life with effort in articulation and heartfelt philosphizing in a way that should never work, but does very well anyway.

Which character – as performed by Humphrey Bower – was your favorite?

It would have to be the main character, as it is his story and all the other characters are seen through him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not possible, unless maybe you are a Kerouac of readers.

Any additional comments?

This story contains so much and has so many threads it is impossible to imagine how anyone can distill it into a 2 or 3 hour movie. It should be a mini-series instead, maybe 10 or 12 one hour episodes.
The author is both honest about himself and forgiving of himself and others as he describes a long journey that takes the borders off of morality and love, and reinvents them in the context of crime, poverty, war, compassion, and charity.This is all mixed with a form of self-expression that includes such a penchant for unusual vocabulary that one sometimes wonders if the author sat up late nights with a Thesaurus to find just the right shade of meaning and word rhythm. Yet this somehow works, even though the words come from an escaped heroin addict and robber.
The descriptions of violence, suffering, torture and loss of love are mixed with the continual rediscovery of the powerful role of love in his life, and willingness to change and be transformed under all kinds of circumstances.
It should come across as moralistic and sophomoric, but the author pulls it off and maintains interest throughout. There are few exceptions of over-description and telling-not-showing. However, the overall result is that this guy must have worked his butt off for a long, long time to produce a 900 page first novel, much less that works this well.

Congratulations, Gregory - I would like to meet you some day!

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An almanac of possible futures of humanity and AI

Revisado: 10-10-15

What did you like best about Superintelligence? What did you like least?

What I liked about it is that some of the scenarios are stimulating to the imagination of one who may like to plot out scenarios of futures of Earth (or the Universe) that involve AI, as in writing AI science fiction. These scenarios may be useful as well to some working on developing AI (I don't know, because I am not).

Is humanity's ultimate purpose on Earth to evolve (and become more conscious); and could it be that the only way to do so it to manufacture it's successor?
Or is it humanity's distinct advantage that there is more to us than consciousness? Perhaps the footprint of the subconscious plays much more of a role in determining or daily actions than the conscious mind, and comprises much more of human intelligence than we can ever be aware of?
If so, how does one create an artificial subconscious? Or how would that self-evolve?

However, after a while, it got to be like listening to a vast shopping list of possible AI futures, so each lost it's distinction among the rest, like watching guard-rail posts and mile-markers go by while riding a bus on a long highway.
There was so much information which seemed speculative (x could happen if y, z, a, and b conditions occur), that it was far too much to absorb in an audio book.
At times I wondered if the goal of the book was to demonstrate what it might be like to actually become an AI or Superintelligence.

The parts about humanity developing local, controllable AIs to ward off the possibility that that an uncontrollable "singleton" AI might self-create were interesting. Likewise, one cannot help but speculate over the role of a modern AI that acts like an ancient Greek Oracle...or a "Mirror, mirror, on the wall"...

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

It was very distinctly articulated.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

It was very distinctly articulated.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

This is not a novel, and I feel sure it will never become a movie. Some of the ideas in it could give rise to a novel or a movie. For this the author deserves much applause.

Any additional comments?

Does the author plan an additional work which is less comprehensive, and focuses on just a few ideas or scenarios?

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I'm conscious because I'm typing this sentence!

Revisado: 09-30-15

Great job ! Thanks for having the courage and concentration to write this book. I will listen to it again.

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King still has his magic

Revisado: 06-18-14

What did you love best about Doctor Sleep?

The characterizations.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Abra- tremendous complexity to her abilities

What about Will Patton’s performance did you like?

Great range of voices and emotional expression

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes

Any additional comments?

This was a rollicking good sequel to "The Shining".
I enjoyed the story (although I am not a horror fan). It kept my attention throughout. King is very creative with his ideas and very detailed in their development.

What I didn't like:
- too much use of causing harm to children as a currency to generate excitement
- the plot developed over a very long period of years - not a fault in itself; it just didn't seem to forward the action to stretch it out over such a long period
- Even as the intricate and well-turned strategy to go up against the massively powerful baddies took form, I couldn't help wondering "why not just stay out of their way for a few days and let them all expire from (won't spoil the surprise).
Of course, the way it happened was much more suspenseful

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Great explanation of math evo based on geometry

Revisado: 05-30-14

Would you consider the audio edition of Euclid's Window to be better than the print version?

Haven't read the print version.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Euclid's Window?

Seeing Einstein's vision of curved space and non-Euclidean geometry based on the evolution of math from the triangle.

Which character – as performed by Robert Blumenfeld – was your favorite?

not applicable

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

Some great background and stories about how math developed from the Geometry of the Ancient Greeks, through non-Euclidean Geometry of Gauss, Riemann, etc., which set the stage for the math of Relativity and Quantum theories. Fascinating listen on audiobook. Not many charts or graphs, so you wouldn't miss much by listening in the car.
And you can download the pdf of accompanying illustrations anyway.

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"Corrie" was the best storrie

Revisado: 05-30-14

Any additional comments?

Many of the stories had little plot, but instead pivoted on a small realization.
I liked "Corrie" much better than the rest of the story because it had plot, excellent characterization, and a pivotal realization.
However, there was something more - effective use of the Unreliable Narrator (she adopts Howard's POV early on to give the reader information stated as fact, then later adopts Corrie's POV to state contradictory information as fact) to suggest a resolution that was never actually stated.
***(SPOILER ALERT)***

Many reviewers conclude (as Corrie apparently did) that Howard had been pocketing the blackmail money that supposedly was going to Sadie.
Let's assume that Sadie received that money and donated it to the church to pay for the new steeple, which Howard was then paid to design and build.
Remember how the parishioners all thought that Sadie was "a rare person", and they all knew who Corrie was, even though she didn't know them?

The deeper irony is that the new steeple was directly counter to the philosophy and wishes of Corrie's now-deceased father, who had hired the architect in the beginning of the story, which was how Howard the architect and Corrie met.
Remember how Corrie's father despised modern church buildings, and hired Howard to build a traditional one?
So, ultimately, the father's money paid for a steeple he would have despised.

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Fantastic!

Revisado: 05-30-14

Any additional comments?

Borges is a master of paradox and magical mysteries. He expresses ideas that are way ahead of his time.
Occasionally he waxes a bit pedantic, but it doesn't interfere with the genius of his work overall.

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Still Works

Revisado: 05-30-14

Any additional comments?

Some think it is fashionable to say that inner dialog is undesirable in fiction.

Mitty still brings the inner life to life.

If you don't know what that means, it's the voice in your head saying
"What does that mean?"

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cum se-quitor cum sa-wbones (title required)

Revisado: 05-30-14

Any additional comments?

This book contained some high-level ideas, but never drilled down into what was involved in starting and running a business and making it profitable. Mostly it was war stories about Harvard Business School grads in their ventures to hit their numbers, make millions, and feel fulfilled for creating hundreds of jobs. Sometimes those jobs lasted, and paid well; sometimes they did not and made unreasonable demands on the people that worked them.Looking at it one way, Harvard Business School exists to train talented people to go out into the world and make it a better place by creating employment and technological improvements. Looking at it another way, HBS is a cross-section of people who become multimillionaires by working their asses off night and day, making tons of mistakes, burning through capital like paper in a blast furnace, and doing whatever they have to do to make their number!At times, the book seemed like one long advertisement for Harvard Business School.One of the best parts was the interview with the Entrepreneurs themselves at the end. They became more human at that point - not just two-dimensional hoop-jumpers.I found this book useful because it helped show me how to instill motivation in characters when writing a novel. Which is a form of entrepreneurship in itself.
This is the only reason I am not returning it to Audible for an exchange.

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