John McChesney-Young finished reading Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
They say there is no water in the City of Lies. They say there are …
Grim and violent and intense but satisfying novela, with a bit of a folk tale vibe.
Reviews and Comments
Theology, fantasy and science fiction, science, history, classics, general bibliophile
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John McChesney-Young finished reading Violent Take It by Force by Matthew D. Taylor
Fascinating account of the Independent Charismatic movement in Christianity and its significance for modern American politics.
John McChesney-Young finished reading Bletchley Riddle by Steve Sheinkin
Fun, fast-paced, engaging spy and cryptography history story.
John McChesney-Young finished reading Night of the Living Queers by Alex Brown
Honestly surprised at the consistently high quality of these stories! Be aware that "Nine Stops" includes animal abuse, so consider skipping it; another has a CW which I skipped as a result.
John McChesney-Young finished reading AI Snake Oil by Arvind Narayanan
From two of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in AI, what you need to know …
Fascinating non-technical study of AI, concentrating on three types: predictive, generative, and content moderation, going into details on current strengths (if any: predictive is very bad at it) and future prospects for them; there's also a section on Artificial General Intelligence. My only two criticisms are that although it addresses exploitation of workers in the Third World for the process of adding training materials, I think it underplays current inequalities caused by AI; and it does not mention at all the excessive use of water and power for the data centers AI uses. To be fair, the book may have been completed before the drastic resource needs were known, but it's unfortunate that the matter is absent, although perhaps a revised paperback version might include it. An errata note: figure 1.2 (p.29) lacks am application referred to on p.33, and the identification key to the images in figure 5.1 are …
Fascinating non-technical study of AI, concentrating on three types: predictive, generative, and content moderation, going into details on current strengths (if any: predictive is very bad at it) and future prospects for them; there's also a section on Artificial General Intelligence. My only two criticisms are that although it addresses exploitation of workers in the Third World for the process of adding training materials, I think it underplays current inequalities caused by AI; and it does not mention at all the excessive use of water and power for the data centers AI uses. To be fair, the book may have been completed before the drastic resource needs were known, but it's unfortunate that the matter is absent, although perhaps a revised paperback version might include it. An errata note: figure 1.2 (p.29) lacks am application referred to on p.33, and the identification key to the images in figure 5.1 are shuffled.
John McChesney-Young finished reading Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose
A must-read for Maid completists who've read the first two books but I'm not sure if recommend it on its own merits. Sweet and romantic, though, if you don't mind a conclusion obvious from close to the beginning.
John McChesney-Young finished reading Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke
Very short but lovely Christmas story set in the alternate universe of Jonathan Strange about a saint of sorts, perhaps a yurodivy, with beautiful illustrations and a long afterward about the origin of the work. The covers of the book are gorgeous, too.
John McChesney-Young rated The Maid: 3 stars
The Maid by Nita Prose
I am your maid. I know about your secrets. Your dirty laundry. But what do you know about me?
Molly …
John McChesney-Young finished reading The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older (Mossa and Pleiti, #2)
Investigator Mossa and Scholar Pleiti reunite to solve a brand-new mystery in the follow-up to …
Fun sequel! I look forward to future volumes in the series.
John McChesney-Young finished reading We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
Good, but a little too much like his first series while not being as enjoyable. The formula is getting threadbare at this point and it felt like he took his earlier scheme and plugged in new characters.
John McChesney-Young finished reading The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older (Mossa and Pleiti, #1)
The Mimicking of Known Successes presents a cozy Holmesian murder mystery and sapphic romance, set …
Fun sweet lesbian romance space mystery!
John McChesney-Young finished reading Book and Dagger by Elyse Graham
Extremely readable account of the important role played by humanities scholars in World War II.
John McChesney-Young finished reading Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
I read this aloud to my wife and we both enjoyed it, although it wasn't a "grab everyone I see and press it on them" book for me.
John McChesney-Young rated Island of Whispers: 5 stars
John McChesney-Young finished reading Island of Whispers by Emily Gravett
Amazing, gorgeous book with a story that reminded me of Jane Yolen's fables in The Hundredth Dove.