pickI absolutely loved this short story, and will definitely be reading more of Mr Towles' oeuvre! I listened to it on audiobook and it's read by David Harbour (the sheriff in Stranger Things), who really is a very fine voice actor - the inflection and tone really bring the dialogue (especially) alive beautifully. I may even just hunt down books that he reads just to listen to him! As for the book itself: near future sci fi - I'll leave it at that! :)
pickA fantastic book. Full of subtle insight, engaging personal anecdote, as well as providing a clear overview of the general philosophical landscape over the last few centuries. The most fascinating thing is the connection O'Gieblyn makes between transhumanism/Silicon Valley enthusiasm for AI, and medieval theological attitudes to God. Full review: https://philosophy.garethsouthwell.com/book-reviews/god-human-animal-machine-by-...
New novella out - Mr Wolf. Another Merrywhile book, a sort of standalone followup to MUNKi, which I'm calling a “near future sci fi whodunnit“ - because, well, that's what it is!
Check it out here: https://fiction.garethsouthwell.com/books/mr-wolf/
Image: Aibo the robot dog! (from Meghan O'Gieblyn's “God, Human, Animal, Machine“)
Listening to this as an audiobook. It's fantastic - she really is a wonderfully astute and subtle writer. And she seems to be following much the same train of thought as I've had regarding “transhumanism“. Her grasp of science and philosophy is particularly impressive.
Quite enjoying this. It's been on my kindle for a while, and finally took the plunge.
A quick self promo (thank you for your indulgence). For those interested, the ebook of my near future sci fi novel MUNKi is currently 0.99 (dollars and pounds).
UK: http://tinyurl.com/munkigb
US: http://tinyurl.com/munkius
#sale #ebooks #scifi #robots
Thank you! :)
If you're on Goodreads, I'm always looking to connect with fellow book lovers - this is my profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/701854.Gareth_Southwell
#goodreads #goodreadsshelves #goodreads2022
New cover for my ebook short story “Content Provider“. Do people like it better?
Full blurb here, if interested: https://fiction.garethsouthwell.com/books/content-provider/
pickMost of the characters are in some way connected to the music industry, but the real theme is time: “Time is a goon“, a heavy-booted thug who's happy to leave the fragile hopes and dreams of youth bleeding in the gutter of middle-aged regret. Each chapter takes a different viewpoint and we get multiple perspectives on the same characters at different times, often in an innovative way. One chapter is a Powerpoint! Sad, funny, clever, interesting.
pickA vampire whodunnit, essentially, taking place in a monstrously sized castle at a sort of undead AGM. Shepard manages to blend a dreamlike surrealism with psychological realism and a mystery-driven plot, all delivered in his wonderfully evocative prose style. There is lots of meditation on the vampire condition, metaphysical speculation and other intellectually meaty things, permeated with disturbing vampiric eroticism, violence and horror.
so-soShepard is incredible. He has a wonderful gift for evocative language and a deft feel for characterisation and setting - his travels in South America and Asia furnish the stories with intriguingly rich and believable backdrops. However, the collection is a mixed bag. Some are great - the title story, Shades, A Wooden Tiger, Nomans Land - others fall flat, and a few are bizarre, distasteful or (The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter) just tedious.
pickFor those still trying to understand the crazy world of high finance, Michael Lewis is still the best guide. Not an easy read (synthetic collateralised debt obligations, anyone?), but what carries it is Lewis's cast of eccentric characters who saw the 2008 crash coming, and it's these lively pen portraits that are as intriguing as the crash itself. TL;DR: you think there's someone at the wheel? There's not - or they're drunk.
pickCan books morally corrupt? Claire Harman traces the scandal surrounding William Harrison Ainsworth's “Jack Sheppard“, a Dick Turpin like story that may have inspired one of the most gruesome and shocking murders of Victorian times. Harman writes beautifully, detailing the background to the crime, the victim and perpetrator, as well as the public debate that surrounded the book, which drew in the likes of Dickens and Thackeray. A fascinating read.
As I am retiring the old cover of my sci-fi novel MUNKi, I thought it might be nice to offer a giveaway of the three remaining paperbacks I have in stock. Each will come with a little doodle (example pictured), and will be signed and dedicated to the winners. To enter the draw, just sign up to my newsletter, and respond to the welcome email, letting me know you want to enter the draw.
Sign up here: https://fiction.garethsouthwell.com/the-writing/
pickA great book on a fascinating topic. Raphael writes brilliantly, and there are many lovely turns of phrase and witty one liners. He is a little verbose at times, and it can interrupt the flow a little while you look up some Latin or French, or some passing cultural or historical reference, but it's all worth it. As for Byron himself, this is definitely a warts and all biography, but he is no less fascinating and enigmatic a character for that.
After she finishes this, she'll be moving on to some Dogstoevsky.
Sorry.
Excuse self-promo:
For a short time, my novella Content Provider is available free. A darkly funny take on future technological trends that people are calling a “darkly funny take on future technological trends“ (I guess those “people“ must be me)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Content-Provider-Near-Future-Philosophical-Merrywhile-e... or
https://www.amazon.com/Content-Provider-Near-Future-Philosophical-Merrywhile-ebo...
“The corollary is that a book is not finished until it is read. The writing is not complete until what is said has passed from the physical volume which gives it sensory reality into another mind where it kindles thoughts and impressions: a whole understanding of what it means to be, ignited on foreign soil in an act that is either erotic or imperialistic, but in either case miraculous. We become one another.”
Thanks for the tag, @eeclayton!
1. Probably The Dark Heart of Italy by Tobias Jones.
2. Shamefully, I haven't finished a book at all yet this year.
3. Tagged, and just finishing biography of Byron, by Frederic Raphael, as well as listening to Murder by the Book, by Claire Harman (all of which are great).
1. Yes! (Sorry, old logician's joke.) I would go forward to the future, where they have a machine that lets you see what it was like in Elizabethan England! Is that cheating?
2. Peripheral by William Gibson has sort of time travel - you'll have to read it. Very clever, and a return to form for Gibson. Soon to be a TV series, which I'm looking forward to.
#Two4Tuesday (Hmm, it's now Wednesday, so quite fitting...)
@TheSpineView
The boy is playing the snake game. It‘s pretty basic, really – left, right, up, down; eat the food; avoid the walls; and your own tail. There are other variations – ones with two snakes, ones with mazes, or where things chase you or bounce around – but for some weird reason he prefers the simplest one. It starts off easy, but it gets harder.
[second illustration for the illustrated edition of MUNKi - only another 12 to go... :)]
Hmm. It seems that it's slightly slipped my mind that I've promised to review this for Big Al's Books & Pals. I shall remedy immediately.
This looks rather intriguing. Have my finger hovering over the buy button on Audible. Should I?
Ok, we are underway...
Enjoying it so far. Wordy, weird and philosophical - might just be my kind of book!
Byron's house in Venice sounds like a hoot.
By the way, Claire is the mother of his illegitimate child, Allegra.
Campo de‘ Fiori is relatively quiet, the clear, crisp mid-January morning keeping away all but a few out-of-season tourists strolling idly among the handful of market stalls, mixing with locals on their morning shop. And even so, this is never a particularly busy place; not a rival to many of Rome‘s more striking piazze, to Trevi Fountain or the Spanish Steps.
[Art from illustrated edition of novel, which is still in development...]
Anyone have any suggestions? It's been stuck at 72% for almost a day.
#litsywelcomewagon #litsyhelp
Debating whether to start this - have read mixed reviews. It's completely my area of interest, but worried it's a bit rambling and overly complex. And there's only room for one Gravity's Rainbow in my life! Love the cover.
Mad, bad and dangerous to know indeed. Very enjoyable biography so far - two thirds of the way through. Witty, well researched and a very acute psychological study. Bit verbose at times. But look at that illustration! Superb cover.
This is the original cover to the novel, before I changed it.
Read the sample of this on Kindle, and am a bit undecided whether or not to continue. Very nicely written, but somehow it's not really grabbing me. Anyone have any views on it? Should I persevere?
I am completely new to Litsy, so please feel free to advise/correct/chastise/forgive as you see fit!
This is the cover of my near future sci-fi novel MUNKi. I've just redesigned all my covers (I'm also an illustrator/designer). Will post others shortly.
#sciencefiction #scifi #robots #artificialintelligence #AI #virtualreality
