JDK1962 > Recent Status Updates

I'm approaching the end, but have gotten bogged down in the criticism section. I think what I'm realizing is that I don't, as a rule, like "criticism" very much, because it assumes that the author's opinion is informed and somehow better about content whose purpose is to forge emotional (personal) connection. So they can (dis)like, but that will never dictate how YOU connect to something.

Note that this is a re-read, as my book at bedtime. I think I first read this around 1975. :)

I came for the film info. I don't particularly want the background on the book, which is (IMHO) a piece of pulp crap: The Godfather is one of the few examples of a film being far, far, far better than its source material. Don't much care about Evans, either. So far--heading into Chapter 4--this is a slog.

This book is really well written, but emotionally hard to read. Since 2015, when TFG forced himself onto the national scene, to the present day, opening the paper has always been an exercise in "what moronic thing did that asshole decide to do now?" This book compresses the 2017-2021 reality-show presidency down into a tightly-compacted parade of stupidity, venality, mendacity, and ego that's hard to stomach.

I hate to admit I'm even reading yet another book about the imbecilic fuckwit and his shambolic administration, thus violating my own personal moratorium on political books that I know will make me want to vomit. But it's on my Kindle, and if I don't read it, it'll just sit there, like a splinter in my brain.

Started reading this on Juneteenth, as my tip of the hat.

Slightly delayed because I acquired volumes 4-5 of the Murderbot Diaries, and couldn't wait.

Note that this will be on my "Currently Reading" list all year: it's a workbook designed to be done one chapter a week throughout the year.

Her discussion of artificial intelligence/ALife, especially on mind vs body, is annoying. No wonder Breazeal becomes impatient with her. Yes, AI researchers ignore the body: it's uninteresting and (so far) uninvolved when considering sentience. Rather than saying "well, because of X, you need to pay attention to the body as well," she seems to say "they ignore the body, even though I can't say why they shouldn't."

The fact that there's a cooking tip that refers to an egg "yoke" tells you something about either this book or its editor.

New Year's Resolution: read one work-related book per month. This is January's book.

Reading turned to skimming. Don DeLillo's "fax" seemed a tad pretentious (oh, I don't use email, I only use FAX...U.S. Mail? Oh no, *I* only use Pony Express. Grow the f--k up already), and after a few pages of the MIA profile, that got thrown in the metaphorical trash. Hit rate on this pieces is maybe 10-20%.

I'm a quarter of the way through this, and so far, it's been a sales pitch for the book. It talks about how important sleep is, and the effects of sleep deprivation. I BOUGHT THE F--KING BOOK! I DON'T NEED THE FIRST QUARTER TO BE A FREAKING SALES PITCH ON WHY I SHOULD READ THE BOOK!

End of Chapter 6. Best. Chapter. Ending. Ever. This is *really* a fun book, especially for middle aged science nerds who may have inadvertently been exposed to Three's Company.

"Financial institutions are obligated to put client interests above their own." This is the definition of fiduciary duty from page 369, and it strikes me as such complete and utter horse$hit. Not that I don't believe the definition, but if I'm expected to believe that financial institutions in the run-up to the 2008 crisis were even paying lip service to that one...sorry, no sale.

I'm on p. 129 and am currently of the opinion that the editor has minimal taste in picking well-written, unique mysteries. "A Mystery of the Sand-Hills" was a poor Sherlock Holmes rip-off (why not just include a second Doyle mystery?). "Murder Makes it Worse" was complete shite. They are arranged chronologically, so I'm hoping they might get better as they get more modern, but I'm not holding out a lot of hope.

I find myself very disappointed in Chapter 6 (the chapter on faith). He seemed to be on the verge of something i.e., it makes no difference if god exists, but if you believe god exists, THAT makes a difference. To me, this raises the fascinating question of why, and he touches VERY briefly on that, but then talks about how he now prays more, etc. That's like ending a mystery with "the butler did it!"...a cop out.

Of D.H. Lawrence's writing on Italy: "I forgivr him now and then, when he totally disappears from the text and just writes what he sees." Wow, couldn't have said it better myself...about Frances Mayes. As an oenophobe, I'm finding myself increasingly annoyed with her apparent wine obsession.

p. 7: "We don't know why light has such a luminous quality." I'm sorry...are you f---ing kidding me? "Hello, I are a professional writer. I are writing good!" I don't even know if I can continue after that howler.