Wrapping Up 2020

This year was tough all over.  In addition to the world-wide pandemic disaster and the US election disaster, your humble correspondent faced treatment for deadly illness.  (Ironically, I probably would have been homebound much of the year even without the pandemic.)

Nevertheless, the blog persists!  Without interruption!  The blog has surpassed 2500 days in a row of daily posts.

This year saw over 34K hits*, which is more than 90 hits per day on average. This is up 6K (>22%) from 2019.

Once again, much of this traffic has been a “long tail”, a hit here and there on old posts.  With about 3000 posts from almost 7 years, these dribs and drabs add up.

From the stats I have, the traffic has been extremely bursty.  Throughout the year, I see a week or 10 days with 50 hits per day, then 4 or 5 days with 250 or more hits, then another period of less traffic.   (The standard deviation was over 97, with a mean of 94) This happened again and again, with no clear pattern or known underlying driver.

Combined with the long tail already mentioned, it’s difficult to draw conclusions.

(*I should note that I am only using the default stats provided by wordpress.  I do not have enough information to know exactly how they are collected, or what possible sources of error or omission exist.)

Round Up

For convenience, here are some year end summaries.

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Great Names For Bands

As always, I’ve noted some “great names for a band”.  Dave Barry pioneered this joke for many years in his columns.  My variation is mainly taken from or nearly quoted from actual, real, “I am not making this up” scientific and technical articles.

Here are this year’s bands:

Rocks from Ryugu
Rocks from Ryugu with Bennu Dust
Wing Models of Yi
The Great American Biotic Interchange
Venus Feelers
Skid n’ Bump – All-mechanical, Mostly Passive
Clockwork Cucaracha
Scotch Yoke Clinometer
Double Octopus
Compound Obstacles
The South Pole Wall  (also ia great name for a cocktail)
Solar Canals of Gujarat
Bottlebrush block copolymer photonic crystals
Antarctic Frogs
First Fossil Frog
Eocene High Latitude
Gondwanan Cosmopolitinism
Tape-spool boom extraction system
Flux Lobe Elongation
Magnetic Pole Acceleration
Towards Siberia
Possible common capture events
Radially Symmetric Fertile Parts
Pendicle Bending
Wing Heart
Scent Pads
Failed Squid Meal
Prey Seizure

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Books Reviewed

As always, I wrote short reviews of books I read this year, usually appearing every Sunday.  Over the whole year, I reviewed 55 fiction and 24 non-fiction books.

Glancing at the list, I would especially recommend:

Fiction:

The City We Became  by N. K. Jemisin
October Man by Ben Aaronovitch (And other stories by Aaaronovitch)

Non-Fiction:

Trekonomics (2016) by Manu Saadka
Braiding Sweetgrass (2013) by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Here are the links for all the reviews.

Books Reviewed in the 4^th Quarter

Fiction

Dead Lies Dreaming by Charles Stross
Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow
Missionaries by Phil Klay
A Visit From The Goon Squad (2010) by Jennifer Egan
Cuyahoga by Pete Beatty
Quillifer the Knight by Walter Jon Williams
October Man by Ben Aaronovitch
A Wild Winter Swan by Gregory Maguire
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Non-Fiction

Billion Dollar Loser by Reeves Wiedeman
Braiding Sweetgrass (2013) by Robin Wall Kimmerer
A World Beneath The Sands by Toby Wilkinson
The Price of Peace by Zachary D. Carter
Time of The Magicians by Wolfram Eilenberger
Wagnerism by Alex Ross

Reviews From Q3

Fiction

Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen
Point B by Drew Magary
Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford
Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan
Love and Theft by Stan Parish
False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
Moon Over Soho (2011) by Ben Aaronovitch
Midnight Riot (2011) by Ben Aaronovitch
Whispers Underground (2012) by Ben Aaronovitch
Broken Homes (2013) by Ben Aaronovitch
Foxglove Summer (2014) by Ben Aaronovitch
Lies Sleeping (2018) by Ben Aaronovitch
The Hanging Tree (2015) by Ben Aaronovitch
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green
Life for Sale (1967) by Yukio Mishima
A Star Is Bored by Byron Lane

Non Fiction

14 Miles  by DW Gibson
Dark Towers by David Enrich
Trekonomics by Manu Saadka
1177 B. C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline
Empires of the Sky by Alexander Rose

Reviews From Q2

Fiction

88 Names  by Matt Ruff
Providence  by Max Barry
Shakespeare for Squirrels  by Christopher Moore
All Adults Here  by Emma Straub
Afterlife  by Julia Alvarez
Wake, Siren  by Nina MacLaughlin
How Much of These Hills is Gold  by C Pam Zhang
The Automatic Detective  by A. Lee Martinez
Tyll  by Daniel Kahlmann
The City We Became  by N. K. Jemisin
Little Fires Everywhere  by Celeste Ng
Arabella of Mars (2016) by David D. Levine
Arabella and the Battle of Venus (2017) by David D. Levine
Arabella the Traitor of Mars (2018) by David D. Levine
The Orphan’s Tales, Vol 1.: In the Night Garden (2006) by Catherynne M. Valente
The Orphan’s Tales: Vol 2.: In the Cities of Coin and Spice (2007) by Catherynne M. Valente

 Non Fiction

Istanbul  by Bettany Hughes
Tacky’s Revolt  by Vincent Brown
The Library Book  by Susan Orlean
The Lives of Bees  by Thomas D. Seeley
Unworthy Republic  by Claudio Saunt
How to Hide an Empire  by Daniel Immerwahr

 Reviews From Q1

Fiction

Shadow Captain by Alastair Reynolds
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Trace Elements by Donna Leon
Processed Cheese by Stephen Wright
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
Highfire by Eoin Colfer
The Feral Detective by Jonathan Letham
Hi Five by Joe Ide
Agency by William Gibson
Zed by Joanna Kavenna
Naked Came The Florida Man by Tim Dorsey
A Small Town by Thomas Perry
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

Non Fiction

The Shadow of Vesuvius by Daisy Dunn
Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
Imagined Life by James Trefil and Michael Summers
Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener
The Great Pretender by Susannah Cahalan
Island People (2016) by Joshua Jelly-Schapiro
The Accursed Tower by Roger Crowley

Blog Round up Q320

During the third quarter blogging continued daily even while off line events pressed.  I was not sure I would be able to continue, so this is an important personal milestone.

As usual, there were notes about dinosaurs and cryptocurrency and solar power.

There is a steady stream of important research on the Cryosphere, AKA, “the ice is melting”.  Frankly, it’s getting pretty repetitive:  the ice is melting everywhere.

There has also been a lot of interesting research on what I call “the social psychology of robots”.  As robots enter into more intimate and complicated interactions with people, they push the philosophical boundaries of robots and humans.  Just how “human” is a humanoid robot?   And how do humans think about and treat human-link machines?

Furthermore, almost every classic social psychological experiment can and maybe should be repeated with humanoid robots in the mix.  This is now a minor industry.

Band Names

As always, I collected ideas for band names, straight from real articles.

Venus Feelers
Skid n’ Bump – All-mechanical, Mostly Passive
Clockwork Cucaracha
Scotch Yoke Clinometer
Double Octopus
Compound Obstacles
The South Pole Wall  (also ia great name for a cocktail)
Solar Canals of Gujarat

Books Reviewed

As always, weekly book reviews.  This quarter I reviewed 18 fiction and  5 non fiction works.

Fiction

Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen
Point B by Drew Magary
Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford
Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan
Love and Theft by Stan Parish
False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
Moon Over Soho (2011) by Ben Aaronovitch
Midnight Riot (2011) by Ben Aaronovitch
Whispers Underground (2012) by Ben Aaronovitch
Broken Homes (2013) by Ben Aaronovitch
Foxglove Summer (2014) by Ben Aaronovitch
Lies Sleeping (2018) by Ben Aaronovitch
The Hanging Tree (2015) by Ben Aaronovitch
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green
Life for Sale (1967) by Yukio Mishima
A Star Is Bored by Byron Lane

Non Fiction

14 Miles  by DW Gibson
Dark Towers by David Enrich
Trekonomics by Manu Saadka
1177 B. C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline
Empires of the Sky by Alexander Rose

 

Book Review: “Sex and Vanity” by Kevin Kwan

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

I enjoyed Kwan’s earlier ‘rich people’s problems’ books (this, this), though I haven’t see the movie (and am not tempted to do so).   had expectations of what the new story would be about, and I was not disappointed.

Now, I’m not really that interested in the lives of the extremely wealthy.  And I really, really, really don’t care about the luxury good industry.  So I not only don’t identify with these people, I generally don’t even understand a lot of the stuff Kwan drools over.

And stuff is certainly a big part of the story.  Designer clothes, absurdly excessive houses, and exclusive schools—I’ve never heard of most of this stuff, and don’t really want to.

Kwan, of course, is certainly into this stuff, and has developed his trademarked style around lovingly depicting people who are obsessed with being rich.  This time, the protagonists are New Yorkers, although the main group of them have Chinese ancestry.

Sex and Vanity opens at an over-the-top wedding on the Isle of Capri, home of decadent Roman Emperors and artists for centuries.  That sets the pace.  Other settings include upscale NY locations, resorts, and an insanely excessive street performance.

Worse, these scenes are populated by people who take this stuff seriously, measure each other by their toys, and feel entitled to it all.  This isn’t the 1%, this is the 0.1%.  They can afford to do anything they want, and expect the rest of us to serve them swiftly and silently.  Their idea of “work” is spending money, generally a lot of money.  All the while, complaining about how the peasants aren’t doing it right.

This all would be intolerable to read, were it not for Kwan’s nuanced storytelling.

First of all, while he clearly loves all this glitz, he doesn’t seem to feel entitled, and he seems to measure his own worth by what he knows, not what he owns.

But most important, he gives us a handful of characters who are decent people, especially the protagonist, Lucie Churchill.

Young Lucie is part of a wealthy family, and has everything going for her.  But she actually cares about family and love, just like anyone.  And she is just as messed up about family and love as anyone.

We have to cringe as Lucie careens from one dubious decision to another.  I’m not giving the story away to say that the reader knows very well what Lucie really wants hundreds of pages before Lucie herself seems to admit it.

Lucie also learns to appreciate some of her family and friends, who are sane and true.  She also has to learn to stop caring what other, less sane and true, family and “friends” say and think.

Watching Lucie be treated as basically a mannequin for her fiancee’s social media feeds is excruciating.  (And the fact that he seemed to like dressing her in his mother’s style is absolutely creepy.)

Along the way, Kwan puts the needle in about the racism of the 1%, as well as the general “let them eat cake” attitude.  It’s hard to like a lot of these people.

Is this a romance or social commentary?  A slice of life or satire?  There certainly aren’t any prescriptions for—or even condemnations of—massive inequality here.

But there certainly is a call for true love, respect, and honesty.  In the end, we know that Lucie will be happy even if she didn’t have millions of dollars, because the money isn’t what makes her happy.

PS.  I had some fun speculating on which character(s) represent the author’s wish-fullfilment version of himself. Clearly, George is the top pick: impossibly handsome, good at everything, and lucky in love.  But brother Freddie comes up fast at the end, when he runs off to the impossibly romantic desert project.  And, for that matter, Lucie is good looking, smart, artistic, and good=hearted—and a New York girl to the core.  So there are a lot of “ideal Kevins” to choose from in this story!   : -)

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1. Kevin Kwan, Sex and Vanity, New York, Doubleday, 2020.

 

Sunday Book Reviews

2017 Roundup and list of Books Reviewed

This year I continued daily posts, which I have done for just under four years now.  Overall, traffic to the blog was up about 18% over 2016.

As always, the coverage is mainly review and commentary on topics of interest to me, including “the new way of work”, robots, dinosaurs, cryptocurrency/blockchain, quantum cryptography, internet of too Many things, computer software in general, and so on.

This year I continued weekly posts noting and commenting on books I have read.  Most of the books were recently published, with a few older ones.   (Listed below.)

Throughout the year, I offered a number of “great names for a band”, in tribute to Dave Barry who pioneered the genre.  Most of these are “sciency”, inspired by technical articles I read and commented on.

Countershading
Banded tail
Dinosaur bandit mask
Paleocoloration
Beryllium hydride
Biomimetic Robotic Zebrafish
Chicxulub    [Note:  pronounced ( /ˈtʃiːkʃʊluːb/; Mayan: [tʃʼikʃuluɓ])]
The Chicxulub Event
We Are Children of Chicxulub
Thanks to Chicxulub
Brought to You By Chicxulub
Service Office Industry
Comfortable edgy fit outs
As Greenland Darkens
Recent Mass Loss
Larsen C
My Raptor Posse
A Rip of Raptors
Personal Raptor
The Robot Raptor Revue
Final Five Orbits
Kuiper Belt & Braces
A Belt of Kuiper
The Grand Finale Toolkit
Fog World Congress
Penguin Guano
Adelie Census
Fog Orchestra
Shape Changing Fog Screen
The Fog and the Eye
First Ringplane Crossing
Grand Finale Dive #2
The Grand Finale Toolkit
Last View of Earth
Final – and Fateful – Titan Flyby
Robots On Europa
Gay Robots on Europa

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Books Reviewed in 2017

Overall I posted 79 book reviews, 58 fiction and 21 non-fiction.

In fiction, these include old favorites (Donna Leon, Charles Stross, Thomas Perry, Tim Dorsey, Ian McDonald, Gregory Maguire, Tom Holt).

Some new favorites include Richard Kadrey,  Viet Thanh Nguyen, Emma Straub.

I really liked Robin Sloan’s Sourdough, and Touch by Courtney Maum, but my best reads for the year have to be

Joe Ide,  IQ and Righteious.  <<links>> Righteous by Joe Ide

In non-fiction, I liked Weird Dinosaurs by John Pickrell and Eugenia Chengs Beyond Infinity.  How America Lost Its Secrets by Edward Jay Epstein is both good and important.

<<links>>

But at the top, I’d probably pick

The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness by Paula Poundstone

List of Books Reviewed

Q4

Fiction

First Person Singularities by Robert Silverberg
The Adventurist by J. Bradford Hipps
Artemis by Andy Weir
Hiddensee by Gregory Maguire
Willful Behavior by Donna Leon
A Selfie As Big As The Ritz by Lara Williams
Righteous by Joe Ide
Shylock is My Name by Howard Jacobson
The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson
Border Child by Michel Stone
Dunbar by Edward St. Aubyn
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
The Muse by Jessie Burton
Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Non-fiction

Napoleon in Egypt by Paul Strathern
After Piketty edited by Heather Boushey, J. Bradford DeLong, and Marshall Steinbaum

Books Reviewed In Q3 2017

Fiction

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
The Answers by Catherine Lacey
Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki
The Management Style of Supreme Beings by Tom Holt
The Delirium Brief by Charles Stross
Shiver Hitch by Linda Greenlaw
Dichronauts by Greg Egan
Killing is My Business by Adam Christopher
The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess
Standard Hollywood Depravity by Adam Christopher
Seven Wonders by Adam Christopher
Will Save Galaxy For Food by Yahtzee Croshaw
Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore
Arlington Park by Rachael Cusk
Transition by Rachael Cusk
Death at La Fenece by Donna Leon
A Sea of Troubles by Donna Leon

Non Fiction

Giant of the Senate by Al Franken
Weird Dinosaurs by John Pickrell
Made With Creative Commons by Paul Stacey and Sarah Hinchli Pearson
How Not To Be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg
Beyond Infinity by Eugenia Cheng

Books Reviewed Second Quarter

Fiction

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier
The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente
Touch by Courtney Maum
Mother Land by Paul Theroux
Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
Startup by Doree Shafrir
Off Rock by Kieran Shea
The Wrong Dead Guy by Richard Kadrey
Earthly Remains by Donna Leon
The Underwriting by Michelle Miller
Luna: Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald
Huck Out West by Robert Coover

Non-Fiction

Half-Earth by Edward O. Wilson
The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams
Solve For Happy by Mo Gawdat
The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness by Paula Poundstone
Lenin on the Train by Catherine Merridale
The Spider Network by David Enright
Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare by Giles Milton

Books Reviewed Q1 2017

Fiction

Revenger by Alistair Reynolds
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Girls by Emma Cline
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
The People’s Police by Norman Spinrad
IQ by Joe Ide
Clownfish Blues by Tim Dorsey
The Vacationers by Emma Straub
Empire Games by Charles Stross
The Cold Eye by Laura Anne Gilman
Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
The Golden Gate by Robert Buettner
The Old Man by Thomas Perry
Last Year by Robert Charles Wilson

Non Fiction

The Caliphate by Hugh Kennedy
The New Better Off or Reinventing the American Dream by Courtney E. Martin
How America Lost Its Secrets by Edward Jay Epstein
Valley of the Gods by Alexandra Wolfe
Wonderland by Steven Johnson
Measure for Measure by Thomas Levenson

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That’s all for 2017!  Happy New Year!

 

Roundup: Books Reviewed In Q3 2017

This quarter saw a few interesting ideas about coworking, ever weirder computer security threats, and the rapid approach of Quantum Computing and Quantum Cryptography.

Dinosaurs and birds remain interesting.

There was a never ending drum of dubious Blockchain technology, dubious Internet of Things technology.

And, as usual regular book reviews.

Fiction

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
The Answers by Catherine Lacey
Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki
The Management Style of Supreme Beings by Tom Holt
The Delirium Brief by Charles Stross
Shiver Hitch by Linda Greenlaw
Dichronauts by Greg Egan
Killing is My Business by Adam Christopher
The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess
Standard Hollywood Depravity by Adam Christopher
Seven Wonders by Adam Christopher
Will Save Galaxy For Food by Yahtzee Croshaw
Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore
Arlington Park by Rachael Cusk
Transition by Rachael Cusk
Death at La Fenece by Donna Leon
A Sea of Troubles by Donna Leon

Non Fiction

Giant of the Senate by Al Franken
Weird Dinosaurs by John Pickrell
Made With Creative Commons by Paul Stacey and Sarah Hinchli Pearson
How Not To Be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg
Beyond Infinity by Eugenia Cheng

Finally, I suggests a bunch of “great names for a band”.

“Service Office Industry”
“Comfortable edgy fit outs”
“As Greenland Darkens”
“Recent Mass Loss”
“Larsen C”
“My Raptor Posse”
“A Rip of Raptors“
“Personal Raptor”
“The Robot Raptor Revue“
“Final Five Orbits”
“Kuiper Belt & Braces”
“A Belt of Kuiper ”
“The Grand Finale Toolkit”
“Fog World Congress”

Book Review: “Rich People Problems” by Kevin Kwan

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan

Singaporean ex-pat Kwan continues his tale of the globe hopping ultra-rich of Singapore, following the events in China Rich Girlfriend.

I’m not a great fan of soap operas or fashion porn, but I can’t resist his Singapore-Hong Kong-Shanghai setting, and the loving portrayal of Singapore and its foods.

This story recounts the turmoil around the last days of the great mother of the clan, which brings the whole family together—with predictable conflict. It’s great fun to read as conspiracies and even fists fly around the will and who will get the grand old house and all the Stuff.

As always, Kwan drools (indeed, slobbers) over the luxury goods and extravagant life styles of these insanely wealthy people. (They are, as his earlier title says, not just rich, they are China Rich.) But that’s all part of the fun, even though I have not the remotest clue about (nor interest in) all this stuff.

He also drools over Singaporean foods from his youth, and recalls the fast disappearing good old days of this thriving and crowded island.

I’m sure this book isn’t that different from many other fantasies about the ultra rich. It’s basically “Dallas” set in Singapore (not that these snobby folks would have anything to do with those upstart Ewings!) But, like any romantic fantasy, its fun to read about this ‘foreign’ place and time.

It’s just junk food, bu I like these books. So sue me.

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1. Kevin Kwan, Rich People Problems, New York, Doubleday, 2017.

 

Sunday Book Reviews

2016 Roundup and Books Reviewed in 2016

In 2016, this blog passed the milestone of posting at least once per day for1,000 days in a row! January 5 will mark three years of daily posts to this blog.

My blog may not be great, but it is consistent!  Or at least persistent.

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Regular readers know that this blog is somewhat random, touching on any topic I find interesting enough or have something to say about. But some topics were visited more than once.

This year saw many posts on coworking and similar “co” movements (cohousing, platform cooperatives, the future of work, the sharing economy, etc.)

These posts give you a preview of a new book that is in preparation, titled, “What is coworking?” It should be available in early 2017. I.e, Real Soon Now.

I posted nearly weekly about cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and the communities that have risen around these technologies.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has so many perspectives, it is hard ot keep track, but some of the topics overlap with coworking, the sharing economy, and similar “bottom up” movements.

Reflecting earlier research, I have also posted frequently about HCI, particularly wearables, and haptics. I know quite a bit about these topics, though the most important thing is that no one really knows how to use them well.

I posted nearly weekly about robots and bio-inspired design. Robots are really cool, though in this area I am just an enthusiast, not an expert.

Other general science-y topics have included dinosaurs (naturally) and animal intelligence. I have also posted frequently about space exploration and remote sensing of the environment especially observing the retreat of the ice.

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I should note that I had been posting comments on items picked up from Wired magazine on line. In fact, I was reading Wired so regularly, I was just about to subscribe. But then they decided to close off access to me unless I accept their advertising or pay $1 per article. I might have subscribed to this deal, were it not for the fact that even the “ad free” option still wanted to aggressively track me. So I stopped reading Wired.

You know what? I never even noticed it was gone.

I think you miscalculated, Wired

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On a less contentious topic. Following Sensei Dave Barry, I suggested a number of names for rock bands based on current topics and reading.

I suggested some band names with cryptcurrency themed names, including “Fintech”, and “Hard Fork” (not to be mistaken for “Haardvark”, which I have actually heard of.)

Other nerdy names might be “Feather Evolution” or the Saturn themed “First Ring Grazing Plunge”

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Books Reviewed

As always, I posted short book reviews every week. In case it isn’t clear, these are all books I read this year.

In total, I wrote about 100 books (a happy milestone, purely by luck). The majority of the books are relatively recent, and, with only a few exceptions are recommended.

But if I had to pick a few “best” books, I would say:

Best Fiction: Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley

 An eagerly awaited sequel to the The Rook (2012), this is easily one of the most enjoyable and imaginative fantasies of the year.

Best Non-fiction: The Euro by Joseph Stiglitz

A timely and riveting explanation of what went wrong in the Eurozone, and what might be done to salvage the situation. Considering the subject matter, I was expecting difficult and obtuse reading. Instead, I found it clear and easy to understand, if hard to swallow.

Walking the Walk:  How to Make Money (and a whole lot more) by Sharing by Claire Marshall

In a totally category, “walking the walk”, there are quite a few  important books about how to live right, but  the 2016 nod must got to Sensei Claire Marshall.  Actually living for a month in “the sharing economy”, and now teaching that “we are happiest when we share”.

Other notable reads

I read new  books by old favorites by A. Lee Martinez, Charles Stross, Carl HIasson, Connie Willis, and others.

I started reading Donna Leon, and wrote about a few of her books (there are many more great novels on the back list to be read).

I found some great new favorites, including Guy Adams.

In non-fiction, there have been several great books about animal intelligence, by Jennifer Ackerman and Frans De Waal. Many new articles and books about dinosaurs are coming out.

In addition to Stiglitz, Robert J. Gordon’s book on economics was good.

At a more personal note, there were a number of ebooks about “the new way of work”, by people who are  definitely walking the walk, including Angel Kwiatkowski and Beth Buczynski, Sebastian Olma, and Anastasia Cole Plankias.

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For reference here is a list of the books reviewed in the fourth quarter:

Fiction

1636: The Chronicles of Dr. Gribbleflottz by Kerryn Offord and Rick Boatright
A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor
Crosstalk by Connie Willis
Curioddity by Paul Jenkins
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
For a Few Souls More by Guy Adams
Hag-seed by Margaret Atwood
Pirate Utopia by Bruce Sterling
Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman
Swing Time by Zadie Smith
The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride
The Terranauts by T. Coraghessan Boyle

Nonfiction

Best State Ever by Dave Barry
Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy
The Euro by Joseph Stiglitz

And here is a consolidated list from Q1, Q2, Q3:

Fiction

2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino
A Question of Belief by Donna Leon
A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor
At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
Beastly Things by Donna Leon
By Its Cover by Donna Leon
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
Coconut Cowboy by Tim Dorsey
Empire State by Adam Christopher
Falling In Love by Donna Leon
Inside a Silver Box by Walter Mosley
Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
Made To Kill by Adam Christopher
Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen
Monstrous Little Voices edited by David Thomas Moore
Once A Crooked Man by David McCallum
Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen
Rewired edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel
Robot Uprisings ed. by Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams
Save Room For Pie by Roy Blount, Jr.
Slade House by David Mitchell
Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley
Still Life With Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
The Assistants by Camille Perri
The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black
The Clown Service by Guy Adams
The Decent Proposal by Kemper Donovan
The Everything Box by Richard Kadrey
The Golden Egg by Donna Leon
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
The Invoice by Jonas Karlsson
The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez
The Lost Time Accidents by John Wray
The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination edited by John Joseph Adams
The Nightmare Stacks by Charles Stross
The Hike by Drew Magary
The Rain Soaked Bride by Guy Adams
The Regional Office is Under Attack by Manuel Gonzales
The Underground Railroad by Colin Whitehead
The Waters of Eternal Youth by Donna Leon
Vinegar Girl by Anny Tyler

Non fiction

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans De Waal
Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez
Coworking: Building Community as a Space Catalyst by Angel Kwiatkowski and Beth Buczynski
Coworking: How freelancers escape the coffee shop office and tales of community from independents around the world by Angel Kwiatkowski and Beth Buczynski
Digital Nomads: How to Live, Work and Play Around the World by Esther Jacobs and André Gussekloo
Dude, Where’s My Drone: The future of work and what you can do to prepare for it by Liquid Talent
Hedy’s Folly by Richard Rhodes
How to Make Money (and a whole lot more) by Sharing by Claire Marshall
Inventology by Pagan Kennedy
Labor of Love by Moira Weigel
Magic and Loss by Virginia Heffernan
Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle
Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery and Billion-Dollar Deals by John LeFevre
The Farm on The Roof by Anastasia Cole Plankias
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
The Global Code by Clotaire Rapaille
The Invention of Nature: Alexander Humbolt’s New World by Andrea Wulf
The Rise and Fall of American Growth by Robert J. Gordon
The Serendipity Machine: A Disruptive Business Model for Society 3.0 by Sebastian Olma
The Tyrannosaur Chronicles  by David Hone
Tribe by Sebastian Junger

 

2016 Wrapup

 

Housekeeping: Books Reviewed Third Quarter 2016

In the past quarter,in addition to daily posts, comments on articles and products, I posted brief book reviews for 21 books and ebooks in the third quarter.

Here is a list, in no particular order.

Fiction

A Question of Belief by Donna Leon
A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor
At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
Beastly Things by Donna Leon
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen
Robot Uprisings ed. by Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams
The Assistants by Camille Perri
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Invoice by Jonas Karlsson
The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez
The Nightmare Stacks by Charles Stross
The Hike by Drew Magary
The Underground Railroad by Colin Whitehead
Vinegar Girl by Anny Tyler

Nonfiction

Magic and Loss by Virginia Heffernan
Tribe by Sebastian Junger
The Tyrannosaur Chronicles  by David Hone
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans De Waal

 

Book Review: “China Rich Girlfriend” by Kevin Kwan

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

Singapore born New York designer Kevin Kwan’s second novel is set in the insanely glitzy world of the really, really rich; not just billionaire rich, but China rich. Kwan gives us a view of the eccentric and down right crazy behavior of people who bebop in their private 747s around the world, collect houses and cars, and strip a Paris boutique of “everything on that wall except these three.”

These gazillionaires can have everything they want, but what they care about mostly is family, relations with other elite families, and finding love. The novel recounts several intertwined plots as several extended and entangled families in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai maneuver for prestige, legacy, and to spoil and protect their children.

Kwan gives us slices of this life, with a rather sympathetic view of these excesses and antics of this crowd. These people are spoiled, these people are obnoxious, these people are selfish. But we see them as people whose weaknesses have been disastrously indulged by absurd wealth and privilege. They are people, and they love their (impossibly spoiled) children, are anxious and neurotic about what people think about them.

The plot makes little sense outside this world. By ordinary standards, many of these people are pathological if not criminal. Furthermore, they are surrounded by a cloud of servants, cronies, and enablers, without whom they would be helpless. Kwan portrays their life with a bit of humor and empathy, but does not whitewash the cruelty, waste, and unhappiness.

Kwan is a designer, and this book is an excuse for him to go nuts describing luxurious outfits, architecture, dining, and all the other things he might do if he could. I haven’t a clue myself , but I’m betting these are accurate descriptions of couture, high end hotels, and fine Chinese food. You may want to read the book just for his refined drooling over these wonders.

For anyone who hadn’t realized that Shanghai is now the center of world commerce and style, this book will open your eyes. And this book sketches the outlines of the global Chinese culture, in its self-referential complexity. Old families in Singapore, Hong Kong versus “mainland”, rural China versus the big cities, ABC (American Born Chinese) and other overseas communities. The social landscape is unfamiliar to me, and I’m sure to most non-Chinese, which makes the story all the more intriguing and entertaining.

These are not my peeps, but its fun to read about them, and Kwan writes well enough to make me care about them. (I still don’t care about the fancy stuff, but I’m just a peasant, aren’t I?)

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1. Kevin Kwan, China Rich Girlfriend, New York, Anchor Books, 2015.

 

Sunday Book Reviews