Review: The Coming of the Terror in the French Revolution

The Coming of the Terror in the French Revolution by Timothy Tackett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A very interesting approach to a very interesting time in history. This is one of those periods in history that we all learn about, but seems a bit of a mystery due to the seeming mass hysteria of wanton killing and prosecution.

Unfortunately, and I know I'm probably projecting, but now I feel like this is the direction the US is heading in. It's not nearly as bad (yet), but we'll see.


Anyway, extremely interesting and highly recommended.





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Review: The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III

The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III by Andrew Roberts
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

There were plenty of interesting points, such as how taxes had very little to do with the revolution, and much of the unrest was to benefit the American bootleggers who wished to retain control.

Also the fact that "Freedom" and "Liberty" were the cries of the revolution, while the United States then ended up keeping the slave trade for another century, while King George had abolished it.

Still, when the author sings the King's praises merely because he complimented George Washington, it starts being a bit much.

I understand King George is basically only known for having lost the United States and for being the "Mad King", and in fact in the US he is known for being an evil tyrant. So this biography added more nuance and background to this man.

However, the entire point of this book seems to counter every single criticism laid out against King George. So much so that it reads like a hagiography. I don't think the author found one fault with the king.

I recognize that when you spend this time researching a person you find reasons behind all of their actions, but that is why a discerning eye is needed, which I don't think this author had.

The book starts and ends with a discussion on the musical Hamilton and its portrayal of King George. One gets the impression that the author decided to write this book merely as a rebuttal.



2.5 stars






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Review: Florescence—THE TAIPEI CHINESE PEN: A Quarterly Journal of Contemporary Chinese Literature from Taiwan, No.208 Spring 2024

Florescence—THE TAIPEI CHINESE PEN: A Quarterly Journal of Contemporary Chinese Literature from Taiwan, No.208 Spring 2024 by Various
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some short stories mostly concentrating on AI. As you might imagine, they are basically dystopian, although one states in the afterword: "The foundation of this story and the information it contains about the use and misuse of generative AI in inspirational education were all provided by ChatGPT", which is interesting.

The AI Chronicles, by Ping Lu (translated by Sterling Swallow): This was probably my favorite. A man creates the "ideal" robot with artificial intelligence, and since the robot can teach itself, it becomes smarter, realizes it doesn't need the man, and yet starts to create its own "ideal" being...

Boundless Reading Headset, by Shiu Wen Wei (translated by Vadim Rubin). This was the one that used ChatGPT. I enjoyed it. It shows the struggle of textbooks in a world trying to use AI.

From Contactless Intimacy, by Hsin-Hui Lin (translated by Darryl Sterk): This reminded me of living in the Matrix, except the Matrix world they created is a lot nicer and peaceful.

Essay: How to take care of your Vagina, by Yen na (translated by Min-chia Wu). I'm not sure I got this one.


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Review: Grotesque

Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As other reviewers have said, this wasn't as good as Out, but it was still odd, disturbing and interesting. As a reader you feel it is messing with you, but you still want to continue reading.




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Review: Braised Pork

Braised Pork by An Yu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was similar to Ghost music in that I'm not really sure I got it. I think this magical surrealism just doesn't really click for me. Regardless, I enjoyed this one slightly more than Ghost music, although I didn't like the ending. I felt like the author just didn't know how to end it really.

I even tried reading other reviews, to see what I was missing about the world of water or the fish-man, or why Jia Jia's mom acted the way she did, but even the reviews raving about it don't seem to understand. Maybe it isn't symbolism at all. I don't know...

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Review: London

London by Edward Rutherfurd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The style of this book reminded me of "Il prete rosso", although I have to admit I enjoyed it more then, since it only covered 500 or so years so the families and generations were more intertwined (also it took place in a much smaller valley).

After a while this book seemed more like a collection of short stories. Each story takes place in London at a different point in time, involving people of the same family(ies), from the Ancient Roman times to the 20th century. This is a lot of ground to cover, and at many points I found myself not caring about the stories and just wanting to hear more about the time and age.

In fact, if this had been a real series, with a different book of this size for each time period, I think it would have been more interesting, since it could delve deeper into each era.


Regardless, I definitely enjoyed it. 3.5 stars.



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Review: Valley of Genius: The Uncensored History of Silicon Valley, As Told by the Hackers, Founders, and Freaks Who Made It Boom

Valley of Genius: The Uncensored History of Silicon Valley, As Told by the Hackers, Founders, and Freaks Who Made It Boom by Adam Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An excellent history of Silicon Valley, from its origins to the passing of Steve Jobs. 

I confess the format really turned me off at the beginning, and I was about to leave it unfinished. Especially with the audio version, this takes some getting used to. But after a while it sort of grows on you. 

Always interesting to hear about General Magic. I remember seeing a documentary on it which was fascinating. 

Also fascinating to read about The Well (The whole earth ‘lectronic link) as the first online community/social media. This group of misfits and hackers still decided real ID had to be used to sign up for The Well because “you have to own your words”. Seems like a gap in the market these days tbh. 

The predictions at the end of the book were a bit telling, however. When they talk about the Valley extending and making one big city past Berkely, it sounds a tad naive, having seen the cities empty out during Covid, and a race by many people to move to more isolated areas. 

Also the prediction of self-driving cars basically becoming RVs and making houses obsolete seems very US-centric. I like the idea of making houses obsolete, but I think the idea would be that with a phone+laptop you don't really need a car or anything else. I guess. 

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Review: Spring Snow

Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A tragic love story, but also a book that spends a lot of time discussing royalty spending a lot of time engaging in activities and conversations we'd consider quite frivolous these days. To me it seemed a blend of the Tale of Genji and Downton Abbey, although I may just be showing my ignorance.

Still, I don't think I will be reading the rest of the tetralogy anytime soon.



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Review: Where the Wild Ladies Are

Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A book of short stories inspired by Japanese folk tales, but that also tie into themselves and relate to each other tangentially. These were fun, all dealing with ghosts and (often) with relationships. At the end there is a brief explanation as to how each story relates to a famous folk tale, although I realize that, not knowing these stories ahead of time, much of the significance was probably over my head.

Still, they were fun to read.


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