Review: L'intelligenza artificiale per il futuro dell'Italia: Competenze, casi d'uso e valore nell'Europa che innova

L'intelligenza artificiale per il futuro dell'Italia: Competenze, casi d'uso e valore nell'Europa che innova by Giuseppe Di Franco
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Part of me wishes there were sources for all the data in this book, since I found myself wondering where many of the numbers came from. As far as I can tell, they all check out, but still.

This book is sort of a catch-all about technology and its potential in Italy in the near future. Obviously AI seems to permeate every crack and crevice, if not in fact then in terms of possibilities.

Of course, detailing all the possibilities without once mentioning how to mitigate the issues that we are seeing every day (Hallucinations, toxicity, IP issues, confidentiality, Agents going rogue, etc. etc.) seems a bit naive.

It is interesting to read about the possibilities, as well as what is being worked on. Also, despite coming out this year, it feels a bit out of date at points (it mentions Leonardo, but I thought there were better computers out now in Italy).

Anyway, I’m still waiting for a more practical, actionable book about AI possibilities in Italy. I guess we’ll see…


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Review: Danubio

Danubio by Claudio Magris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'll admit I didn't read this in one go, but I came back to it from time to time, which I found the most pleasurable way to go about it. It was like stepping back on this meandering journey that follows the Danube but also meanders through history and literature.

Well, ideally I could read this while actually traveling to the places he mentions as well, so I can see and witness them first-hand, but I don't anticipate that happening anytime soon.

Still, the erudition was, at times, a bit much for me, and there seemed to be a huge concentration on World War II (although they were good, and I also enjoyed the parts about Sissi).

All in all it's a great read, but also an endeavor. And maybe that's the point.




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Review: Troppi assassini per una cena

Troppi assassini per una cena by Giulia Gambazzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ok, I always have the issue, with murder mysteries, of keeping the characters straight. I was proud of myself for keeping them straight in this novel (and the author did a good job of portraying them), but then the murder mystery "personas" started taking over, and criss-crossing back and forth, and it became way too much. I bookmarked the page with each person's character, but it was still a lot. I'm guessing that was part of the point.

Otherwise it was good, with twists and turns I didn't really expect, although some of them seemed a bit stretched (and we still use "cenci" here in Tuscany!)

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Review: Viaggio in Italia

Viaggio in Italia by Gianrico Carofiglio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a fun, light read. A trip around the main cities of Italy, this reads more like personal observations and thoughts from each city rather than an in-depth study, but it is also an excellent overview of these cities at a glance.

I am a fan of Carofiglio's detective novels, and it turns out I'm a fan of his other work as well.




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Review: Competere o sparire: Per un nuovo paesaggio europeo

Competere o sparire: Per un nuovo paesaggio europeo by Mario Draghi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Whatever you think of him politically, there’s no denying that Mario Draghi is an extremely accomplished economist. This book is a wake-up call to Europe. With the US turning inward, and China continuing to control its companies and output, and Russia posing a threat to the East, the EU has to unite if it wants to grow rather than stagnate. In fact, he basically argues it could become a beacon of stability in the world, but only if it makes changes.

Some interesting points:

Almost 30 percent of “unicorns” in Europe have transferred abroad after getting funding.

Internal market barriers in the EU are equal to a tariff of around 45% in the manufacturing sector and a tariff of 110% in the service sector.
Internal market barriers in the EU are equal to a tariff of around 64% for machinery and 95% for metals.


GDPR regulations have increased the cost of data for European companies by 20 percent.
GDPR has mainly penalized Small technology companies, decreasing profits by around 12%, reducing VC investment by around 1/4.


In 2023 EU countries spent almost 190 million Euros in state aid, which is 5 times more than was geared toward IPCEI (important projects of common european interest).

EU countries spend around the same as the US, in terms of percentage of GDP, on R&D, but only 10 of this is on a European level.



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Review: Praivat investighescion: Quando el gialo sa de spritz

Praivat investighescion: Quando el gialo sa de spritz by Sabrina Gregori


I might revisit this, but for now reading a book entirely in dialetto Triestino is a bit too much effort.

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Review: Aunty Lee's Delights

Aunty Lee's Delights by Ovidia Yu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In many ways this is a cute murder mystery, complete with an Auntie Lee is is very nosy and meddlesome and it also always cooking and talking about food.

But in other ways it was just too simplistic and stereotypical, and the plot seemed like a stretch just slapped together at the end.

I'd give it three stories, since it is fun to read, but I can't really recommend it.




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Review: Infanzia a Castel San Barnaba

Infanzia a Castel San Barnaba by Giuseppe Baroni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was very interested in this book, because I'm pretty sure the house he discusses in this book is the same one my mother lived in in Scarperia.

But I can't figure out the time frame. The author never mentions the precise years in which he lived there, but they seem to be exactly when my mother lived there, which was the 1950s, only leaving after the earthquake in 1960. He mentions life there prior to the earthquake, but it must have been after the 1940s.

Regardless, this book goes into A LOT of detail, even for someone interested in life in the exact house my mother lived in with her family. As in, there are 10 pages dedicated just to the sparrows (followed by several pages about the mice). So, fair warning. But still a very interesting glimpse into this small Mugello town during (some time) in the 20th century.




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Review: Il Triangolo Estivo

Il Triangolo Estivo by Piero Severi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun book. I was in Bologna and wanted a book by a local author, which is always a gamble.

This was interesting, not predictable, and kept me interested throughout.

A couple of things though:
Maybe I watch too many police TV shows or something, and I'm not all that familiar with Italian law, but I was surprised the author would have the police chief interrogate two people in the same room at the same time. We all know they need to be separated!

Plus the journalist tampering with evidence, removing evidence and constantly interfering with the investigation should totally have been arrested for obstruction or something, if not being an accessory after the fact.


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Review: Venice: A New History

Venice: A New History by Thomas F. Madden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was excellent preparation for our upcoming trip to Venice. I had gone a couple times on school trips and with friends, but never really knew much about Venice per se.

Some takeaways:

Venice was never Roman. Attila sacked Aquilea, and the residents fled to various islands in the marshes, creating Venice. So from its inception is always looked more toward Byzantium than Rome, and rarely had anything to do with the mainland.

The lack of land meant no feudal lords and therefore more meritocratic and more business-like. 

So basically merchants were doing business all over the Byzantine Empire (think Marco Polo, who traveled even farther East). 

This was true until the Renaissance, when it basically embraced art (Titian, Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, etc)

And then other stuff. The Venetian republic lasted until Napoleon. 

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Review: The Lake

The Lake by Yasunari Kawabata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow. Is it just my impression or is this very different from every other Kawabata book?

The story is about a stalker, who can't help himself in stalking. His life is pretty much ruined, but it doesn't seem to bother him, seeing as how he is obsessed finding a woman and following her, waiting in ditches and wasting all this time and spending money in order to do so.

I can't tell if the stalking stemmed from an event (no spoilers!) having to do with a prostitute, but regardless, this was different from what I expected.

By all means read this, just know that it is not your typical Yasunari Kawabata novel.




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Review: Axolotl

Axolotl by Julio Cortázar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such an interesting example of a story that seemed and felt real and straightforward until, without realizing it, it wasn't anymore. A fun, short story. I look forward to reading more by him.



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