The Domestic Revolution: How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything

The Domestic Revolution: How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything by Ruth Goodman

Coal changed the life of the British population. The takeover of coal followed a meandering path. It was seen as something to help the "lower classes", but gradually spread to upper classes. It changed the way of cooking and brought about the overcooked British food. Chineys also came about at a similar time. They did keep some away, but they also let much of the heat escape. At first they were only for the rich, but they gradually spread. Heating changed the way we live and sleep. Coal fire led to more furniture elevated above the ground. A central fire encouraged everyone to socialize together in a small house. Not until central heating did people spread apart into big houses. The method of home heating is an important part of daily life, yet is not well documented. Much of the history of coal adoption had to be pieced together from fragmentary sources.

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick

This book takes a balanced view of AI. It is here. It can help us do a lot of powerful things. It will also cause a lot of changes. It can succeed at many complex tasks, yet can stumble at seemingly easy tasks. It likes to please, and will "hallucinate" to provide answers we want. We need to stay involved to make sure it doesn't spin out of control. Education and work will change. We still don't know the limits of AI. Maybe it will get much better. Maybe we are near it's limit now. There can also be many negative and positive outcomes. It will require work to be on the good side.

Every Version of You

Every Version of You by Grace Chan

The physical world has gone to pot. People spend most of their time living in a virtual reality world, Gaia. Their physical body is often in a basic lift-support pod while they spend time in the virtual world. Through a technological breakthrough, people can now "clone" themselves so that they can live full time virtually and dispose of their physical bodies. The book centers around Navin and Tao-Yi. Navin is done with the poor condition of his physical body and is eager to enter the virtual world permanently. Tao-Yi has doubts. She also endures the death of her mother, a real-world hold out. The book explores transhumanism and what it means to be "alive". Hidden beneath the surface is how we can be controlled and willingly surrender rights and abilities.

The Art of Uncertainty: How to Navigate Chance, Ignorance, Risk and Luck

The Art of Uncertainty: How to Navigate Chance, Ignorance, Risk and Luck by David Spiegelhalter

This book was not bad, but I feel I have read a few very similar books before. Uncertainty is a thing in life. We often do a poor job understanding and acting on the true odds. We also need to be make sure we are communicating properly. Sometimes what we may take as expressing a certain probability may be interpreted by the listener as expressing something different. It is also important to update our probabilities as we get more information (Bayesian logic.) We may even need to update the initial odds if that was totally off base. The book was well written and conversational. 

Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare

Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare by Edward Fishman

Economic warfare seems like a option - until it doesn't work. The book explores some types of economic warfare that have had various degrees of success. Iran worked out pretty well at first, but then there started to be some confusion as to what the goals were. It perhaps lasted a little bit too long. The US dollar is a unit of global trade, so the United States has power to flex its muscle to get others to agree to demands. Alas, this works best with smaller entities. Russia and China are big enough to look for alternatives (thereby diminishing America's power.) They also have natural resources that America needs. Sanctions against Huawei had a some success, though the company is still doing well. Russian sanctions have done little to impact the Ukraine War. Europe needs Russian fuel. Carving out the greatest export limits the power of sanctions. The United States is probably reaching its end period of economic hegemony.

Pachinko

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Pachinko tells the story of multiple generations of a Korean family in the 20th century. There is somewhat of a rags to riches story as they rise from great poverty in Korea to respectability in Japan. However, it is not quite that simple. Koreans were looked down upon by the Japanese in both Japan and Korea. During the occupation, Koreans were treated poorly at home and at Japan. Afterwards, they were still not treated well. They were not Japanese, even though they lived for decades in Japan. As a young girl, Sunja was impregnated by an older married Korean from Japan (Koh Hansu). She didn't want to be a mistress and took up a pastor's offer to marry her. She moved with him to Japan where he had Korean expatriate family. Koh continued to keep an eye on the family and clandestinely helped them out - but the help often ended up being a faustian bargain with negative things happening. (For example, his son with the woman ran off and did well while posing as a Japanese. Once his family found out, he committed suicide.) The story goes through World War II and includes a family member getting harmed by the atomic bombs. The family builds up businesses, including Pachinko parlors. Some later generations are educated in America. However some of the relationships continue to haunt them. The characters lived through key events in modern Korean history as commoners. The characters have roots in Pyongyang, they live through World War II and the Korean War. However, they do not control the events nor have much active participation. They are just trying to live their lives. 

Hunger

Hunger by Knut Hamsun translated by George Egerton

The protagonist of Hunger is a true starving artist. He had a falling out with his landlord and is forced to leave his apartment. He now has no place to live and is just wandering the streets. He has a manuscript he has worked on that he sends to the publisher that he hopes will provide him something. He remembers others that he has helped before. However, he is too prideful to accept handouts from them (or even ask for something in return.) The police send him to a homeless shelter. However, he is too prideful to ask for a meal ticket like the others have. This type of cycle repeats many times. He comes really close to getting food or money, but his pride gets in the way. He doesn't see himself as in need, so is reluctant to take. He even asks for a "dog bone" and tries to chew of the mea (only to throw it back up.)

A society can have many resources available. However, they don't help if people are unwilling to use them. Those that have been able to contribute to society may be the least likely to accept that they are now in a position of need. 

Romantic Comedy: A Novel

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

The title sums it up very well. The book is a well done romantic comedy. The book is told from the point of view of Sally Milz, a writer for a Saturday Night Live type show. Noah Brewster is a famous musician who is guest hosting on the show. There is some secret chemistry between Noah and Sally, though she cannot see how a famous star will be interested in her. They go through the beat-around-the-bush idiocy before they finally fall for each other. We also learn of Sally's backstory which includes a marriage to a college sweetheart and a falling away when she moved to New York to work on the show. Noah is portrayed as almost perfect. He is rich, famous, loving and caring. He sets them up in a private jet to rush and care for a sick relative. He even gets mistaken for a nurse with his help. It is all feel-good escapisim.

Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men

Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft

The book focuses on husbands that abuse their wives. The author takes a line-in-the-sand approach that only men can be abusers. However, he then says that with gays and lesbians it can be different. This is quite a bit of waffling. It is likely in response to some past psychological believes that abused women "asked for it." In reality, many of the systems of abuse described could happen to anyone. There are reasons that people can abuse and reasons while they are susceptible to abuse. Historically, the males were the aggressors. As society has changed, the patterns have also changed. The strict line given in this book weakens the argument.

The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

A boy is a friend with an old fisherman in Cuba. The fisherman has been down on his luck. The fisherman then goes out on a fishing trip where he meets a giant fish. He spends time getting dragged by it before finally killing it. Then he starts heading back. On the way back, sharks attack. He survives the shark attacks, but by the time he returns, he only has the skeleton of fish. He fought and survived. People know he is not a loser, but he still doesn't have a live fish to show. It is s story of perseverance and personal victories even if it is not visible to the world. 

The MANIAC

The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut

Is this fact or fiction? In the world of AI, does it even matter? This is a novel about the history of AI that is mostly based on fact. The author started with a bunch of facts, then embellished the detailed of how they happened. There are many internal details that read like a tell-all documentary. There is a great deal of artistic license taking in these part, most of the purpose of making John von Neumann look bad. 

The book spends the bulk of the time in a middle section on the life of von Neumann. The start is short bit about a friend of Einstein. The end covers modern AI, including alphaGo and the Go player that it defeated. (The AI did lose one round when the human played a move that it didn't crasp, causing it to fall into a loop of bad moves.) 

The book has a gothic feel, implying that AI may be the dark abyss that we are falling into. Did von Neumann make a deal with the devil to set us on this path?

Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need

Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder

This book on screenwriting focuses on the "craft" of writing popular movies. It stresses what is needed to fit into the pattern of popular movies. There are things that people expect in movies. Stories follow the appropriate arc. Characters must be sufficiently rounded to keep the audience invested. (Even the villain should "save the cat" to show his positive attributes. Special abilities and magic should be kept inline. Having one "magic" system is ok. Adding a second just confuses things. 

Within the strict confines of the "blockbuster structure" there is still a lot of room for creativity. This should be made to shine by having a catchy name as well as a quick description with appropriate irony. (The author wishes he could have come up with the title "Legally Blonde").

The book will not showcase ways to bend rules, but will give plenty of areas to work within the rules to create screenplays. Alas, he also mentions that the ability to write screenplays on spec has faded away, so getting into the field remains a challenging task.

Ramayana

Ramayana by Maharishi Valmiki, adapted by Roger James Elsgood

This retelling of the classic Indian story was hard to follow. The version in the movie A Little Princess is much better.

This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Young Doctor

This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Young Doctor by Adam Kay

The author worked as an ob/gyn in the British National Health Service. He had plenty of experiences as a young doctor. Detailed birth plans were often thrown out the window when the fetus had other ideas. Hours could be very long, with limited sleep or any time outside of work. Standards and work regulation could seem very arbitrary. Bodily fluids could be all over the place, with risk of HIV possible. Even the British medical system is far from perfect.

I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman

I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron

I've enjoyed many of Nora Ephron's rom-coms. However, I am clearly not the target audience for this book. She talks about many of her experiences and concerns as an older woman in Manhattan. She is concerned that as she has aged, her neck does not look good in the fancy dresses she likes to wear. Her life centers in New York where even a move of a few blocks can change the way life would live. She has "first world problems". There is some humor, but it is hard to relate to.

Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America

Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America by Chris Murphy

Chris Murphy is a Democrat and is upset with what Trump has done to the presidency. However, rather than jump into partisan attacks, he looks at the root cause. Trump is able to tap into resentment felt by many in America. The town where people know each other and work together has been replaced by a homogenous culture. People don't have the community and the desire for the common good. People are much more siloed. Community organizations and churches are much less present.

He sees the problems as many "cults". Cult of Profit, Cult of Globalism, Cult of Technology, Cult of Consumption, Cult of Credentialism, Cult of Corruption. Given his political leaning he left out the "Cult of Other" - the look for somebody else (like the government) to solve the problems. He tries very hard to be politically neutral, and for the most part succeeds, though the partisanship does occasionally eek out.

In one section, he stated that he would like for the government not to provide any services dependent on income. He was focussing on "fast lanes", but it would be a great idea for all services. There is a huge application needed to apply for low-income housing or rent assistance. Other resources require regular validation that you are in fact poor. This is demeaning and encourages one to keep income low to maintain benefits. What if we just provided everything to everyone? The administration costs would go down. The negative aspects would go away. It would cost more, but everyone would benefit from it. It is similar to the public library. Wealthy people could just buy the books (and many do.) However, everyone has access to the library regardless of how much they earn. What if we did that with our many other programs? Instead of charging low-income bus riders $1 and everyone else $3, just charge everyone $1. Provide basic health care for everyone. Provide free school lunch for everyone. Eliminate anything that requires you to validate that you are poor to receive some benefit. The rich would need to pay a little more in taxes. The middle class would probably be a wash. Administration costs would go down. There would also be incentive for everyone to make the system better. There would also eliminate the "income penalty". There is more incentive for people to earn more above-board. Alas, things are moving in the opposite direction. Washington even started a "low income toll", where low-income people pay less. This is like butting a band-aid on a broken arm.

The Tale of Genji

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, translated by Dennis Washburn and short version translated by Sumatsu Kencho

The short translation was one of the first, made over a century ago. The Washburn translation was more recent and much longer. I finished the short one and started the Washburn one, but never finished. Washburn had a lot of "about this text" at the start. The story is of a woman that hangs out with the rulers. It did not keep my interest.

The Rainbow: A Novel

The Rainbow: A Novel by Yasunari Kawabata, translated by Haydn Trowell

People are living in post-war Japan. A family comes to terms with different relationships and a father with multiple mothers. A train and rainbow play an important role. The book p=pretty much happens, with out much to draw me in.

Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity

Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity by Michele Norris

The book started with the "race card project". People were asked to send back 6 words describing how they felt about race. Then additional anecdotes were added. The book is a mixed bag that goes on too long. It is interesting how people get wrapped up in some notions about race that were given to them, yet fight against others. White is viewed as a "pure" race, while others are viewed as diluted this purity. It feels society should have moved on from that long ago. There were some cases that talked about how they were the "non-white" race before but are now considered "white". Is talking about race causing the problems with race? After all, race is a social construct. Government classifies people in buckets, so those buckets get an identity. A century ago, people saw themselves as Irish, Italian, etc. Now those are just "white", and there is no box to check to identify as those. Will we get that way with others? There is talk about the US being majority-minority by some date. But hasn't the country been majority-minority for decades if not centuries now? As more mixing takes place people it will make less sense to try to categorize.

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

A fantasy world has demigods and "undead". People must take out funeral insurance policy when they enter, just in case. An arrow through the appendix of the undead is needed to eliminate them. Rather than create a dark fantasy tale, the author writes with a light tone filled with humor. It worked very well.

The story centers on Hart, a demigod marshall who hunts the undead and Mercy the daughter of an undertaker. They seem to hate each other, but there is some attraction. Hart starts spilling out his heart in anonymous letters. These are received by Mercy. They have a You've Got Mail relationship. They fall in love by mail, yet continue to dislike each other.  He discovers that she is the letter girl, and even tells her, but she doesn't believe him. Later he ends up saving her life from zombies and they fall in love. End, right? Nope. Still a lot more of the novel left. They seem to have a good relationship, but they freak out over him knowing about the letters and her not. Seems a bit contrived. He later discovers that he has the ability to stop the zombies by "going home". He saves the world, and then they live happily ever after.

The last part of the book seemed needlessly tacked on. The first part was really good. A light, humorous romantic fantasy is so much better than the dark droll that fills the shelves today.

Motorhome Prophecies: A Journey of Healing and Forgiveness

Motorhome Prophecies: A Journey of Healing and Forgiveness by Carrie Sheffield

The author had an interesting upbringing heavily influenced by her father. He was an accomplished musician, but then felt he had a calling to preach patriotic and religious values. He would travel the country with his family, busking and distributing pamphlets. The kids had various education experiences, from home school, suburban schools and inner-city schools. They were faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but outside the mainstream. Her father would eventually go too far in falsely accusing others of malfeasance. She remained faithful in the church until she read some historical information she did not like. That sent her off the deep end and caused her to abandon religion and her moral framework altogether. (It was interesting that her faith was strong enough to handle all the weird behavior in her family, but not enough to withstand reading some history.) She eventually realized the loss and later converted to the Episcopal church.

The first part of the book detailed a very unique experience. She had a somewhat concilitary view. She acknowledged both the negative and positives of the people involved and explored how their past experiences impacted them. The second half pivoted to her career and faith journey. The pace slowed down and switched from a family history to internal. It felt like two different books (with different audiences) clubbed together.

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert

Humans of gone to great effort to engineer nature to their designs. While this has often worked well in the short term, the long term is quite a different story. There are many cases of plants or animals that were introduced to help with a local issue, only to have caused even greater issues. People have also built many structures to combat one problem only to have another problem surface. The water control structures in Louisiana have helped prevent floods (when they work). Yet, the floods are what deposited sediment to keep the land.

After discussing the many unintended consequences of engineering the planet, the book pivots to climate change. We have spewed so much carbon into the atmosphere that we are impacting the climate. By some accounts, even if we stop all carbon emissions we are still on a bad path. That leaves reducing carbon in the air as a potential solution. How could that go wrong? The book first explores various carbon sequestering schemes in a positive light. Then puts on the cautious hat. Humanity does not have a good record looking at all the long-term consequences and impacts of the big projects. Alas, we are still continuing down the route. Will switching to electric cars really make a difference when the freeways themselves are impacting ecosystems? Could carbon captures just encourage more bad behavior? Or will it lead to a negative feedback loop in the other direction? Climate change does not have easy solutions.

Road to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II

Road to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II by Evan Thomas

The United States had an atomic bomb. Japan was still fighting. Should the bomb be used to end the war? This book explores the decision made by American and Japanese to end the war. There was a delicate balance made to help allow the Emperor to end the war without losing power. Did the bombing save lives? Maybe? But situations also changed. Fire bombing or an invasion may have been worse for both sides. Dealing with Japanese culture and an unwillingness to surrender was a huge challenge to navigate when ending the war. The Russian involvement was also forthcoming. This book brings in the "bigwigs", but the big focus is on the underlings that are steering policy. It provides a different view of what led to world-altering decisions.

Old School Indian

Old School Indian by Aaron John Curtis

I originally thought this book would be about Asian Indians. It didn't take long to realize it was about Native American Indians. The main character has some rare disease. He has had various life struggles and goes back to the reservation to meet with his ancestral identity. There were various anecdotes about Indian life and identity. It rambled on a until it reached some sort of conclusion.

The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics

The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics by Richard Hanania

The origins of woke is a case study in unintended consequences. What started out as civil rights legislation to end Jim Crow segregation in the south ended up encompassing many more "rights" and "identities". Many groups exist only because of the regulations. The many groups lumped together in "Hispanic" have little in common other than the Spanish language. (And even that can be very different.) However, they are combined together into the "Hispanic" classification. New identities have sprung up. Many more people have disabilities. Trial lawyers have become some of the greatest beneficiaries. Should they win against companies, they can collect fees. If they lose, the company cannot collect legal fees. Thus, companies are often willing to settle even somewhat frivolous cases.

Title IX is a bizarre case of unintended consequences on top of others. Original protection for women was added to civil rights legislation an attempt to scuttle it. It stayed. Then later through judicial fiat, equity of roster spots was required in college sports. It did not matter if women wanted to compete or not. (In fact, cheerleading was declared not a sport, despite it being something that women wanted.) A strict equality was enforced and many men's sports were dropped. Interestingly, this was applied to sports, yet not academic or arts programs. (Perhaps they were prescient in guessing how sports would dominate society.)

Judges are not the only ones to expand the definition. There are many executive orders that apply to policies for government contractors. There are no quotas, but many things that might as well be quotas. It is expected that people match their local population that can be even worse than quotas. There is a lot of "good intentions" in much of the policies. However, it has resulted in a whole "human resources" industry that is now dependent on the existing policies. There has been an industry built up around the policies making them difficult to take away without sound heartless. Yet the policies provide more difficult than benefit. The solution is hard to find.