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Leila

Leila’s Bookshelves

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Leila is Currently Reading

Leila is currently reading

The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)

by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Aug 08, 2015 06:01PM

Leila is currently reading

Semmant

by Vadim Babenko (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Leila said: " I was immensely fortunate in winning this new sci-fi novel in a Goodreads give-away. Not so lucky: the postman marked it for return to sender. Because I live near the end of a hard-to-find cul-de-sac [whoa! a festival of hypens!], our substitute post I was immensely fortunate in winning this new sci-fi novel in a Goodreads give-away. Not so lucky: the postman marked it for return to sender. Because I live near the end of a hard-to-find cul-de-sac [whoa! a festival of hypens!], our substitute postal people work assiduously to keep me on my toes. This year, I have learned to order well before, or well after, the holidays. But it took me ONLY six weeks to clean up the mess and get a replacement for the printer that a well-known delivery company gave to my one-street-over neighbors. I do hope they are enjoying the first one.

Vadim Babenko kindly e-mailed me and sent the book again after verifying my address. I'm in the middle of it now--blame the holidays for the slow pace--and I'll have much more to say about it after I've finished it. For now, the story is well-written, as well as very well translated. That is a must, of course, for works originally presented in another language, but we are all aware that some translations are better than others. I am conflicted about the protagonist-narrator. It appears that that is the author's intention. This adds an element of suspense to the reading that I wasn't expecting.

If you are a dedicated techie or someone fascinated by artificial intelligence, you should run out and buy this book immediately. While I have not reached the end--the point at which judgments are appropriate and even desired--the book has already raised legions of questions for me: how does the creation of artificial intelligence in a mobile and independent being compare to Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' concept? Is madness sometimes merely the verdict of a society of more 'normal' individuals--and is genius, perhaps, somehow allied with madness? Do we owe our creations (robot or child) a sound moral code in which to swim bouyantly for a lifetime? If not, what DO we owe those we mentor? And are sentient beings created with so-called artificial intelligence to be treated as servants and possessions of those who created them, or set free to pursue the fulfillment of their potential?

It may be a fussy and old-fashioned habit to have and to honor a moral code. Yet most of us do, on both counts. I find that very good fiction always involves me on a moral as well as sympathetic level. With these questions and concerns in mind, I am eager to finish the novel. Will keep you posted. ...more "

Jan 25, 2014 01:42PM · see review

Leila is currently reading

Tinkers

by Paul Harding

bookshelves: currently-reading, deferred

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Sep 10, 2013 04:57PM

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Leila’s Quotes

“Writers fish for the right words like fishermen fish for, um, whatever those aquatic creatures with fins and gills are called.  ”
― Jarod Kintz, This is the best book I've ever written, and it still sucks

819 likes

“If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?”
― Mary Astell

tags: disrespect, equality, feminism, free, freedom, inequality, men, opression, slaves, women

226 likes

“If a black cat crosses your path, it signifies that the animal is going somewhere.”
― Groucho marx

1025 likes

“I've found that the way a person feels about cats-and the way they feel about him or her in return-is usually an excellent gauge by which to measure a person's character”
― P.C. Cast, Marked

tags: cats

258 likes