The Melancholy of Mechagirl | 
pickMy luck with short story (and a teeny bit of poetry) collections written by ONE author continues, I found a lot to enjoy here. I wasn't sure what the ratio would be, but I'd say two thirds fantasy, one-third sci fi. I think in future I'd be happy to investigate any sci fi or sci fi/fantasy mixes by this author under a certain length. 1/?
The idea of the Turing test, in its search for humanity, being as much a test of the humans fostering a machine intelligence as it is of the developing machine.
Surprised how it hit me.
The best case scenario of true AI is one which results from humans never forgetting their humanity in the effort to infuse intelligence into a machine, which gives the machine the best chance to reflect the best of us. 🥹
A perspective I hadn't considered on the Turing test.
Probably should have considering how similar it is to rebuttals about the narrow form testing has often taken in gauging the intelligence of living beings other than humans in animal welfare discussions.
In that sense, humans are as likely to be 'programmed' into certain responses as machine intelligence might be.
Social conditioning is some deeply embedded code!
Evocative, lush, and uncomfortable.
An accomplished description!
Today's 'scratched my brain just right' sentence.
pickFinished just in time—this has to go back to the library today!
This is a lovely volume of stories and poems connected in some way to Japan. Catherynne M. Valente is one of my favorite authors, so I already knew I would love this. I was pleased to see the novella Silently and Very Fast reprinted here and I enjoyed it a lot. I also particularly enjoyed the ghost story “Ghosts of Gunkanjima” and the dystopian “Fade to White.”
#WeeklyForecast
I want to finish The Melancholy of Mechagirl—I‘d better, since it‘s due back to the library on Saturday and I‘m out of renewals!
I will start HPSS for #PotterADay.
I want to read at least two more stories in Happily Ever After, which I have been reading for a year and a half. And I will likely read a few more chapters of Dawn Treader, my book for relaxing before bed.
I want to join in on #BookReport. Do I understand correctly that on Saturdays, we post what we‘ve read that week, and on Sundays, we post a prediction for the coming week? And @Cinfhen runs the show?
This week I finished Ninth House, read a few chapters of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and just started The Melancholy of Mechagirl.
Next up! Sadly, I have too many books coming due to the library to start #newyearwhodis right away, but I love Cat Valente so I‘m really looking forward to this.
pickSo instead of studying for tomorrows Japanese Exam like I am supposed to do I am finishing this up. It‘s a whimsical read, very japanese, surreal, poetic and weird in the best kind of way. For me it doesn‘t even feel like a short story collection; more like random snippets out if thoughts, ideas, modernized fairytales and lives. I really enjoyed the format, as well as the poems. At times it was a bit too technical for my taste so 4/5🌟
I‘ve decided that tonight I deserve a break from everything University or Work related!
I‘ve started this whimsical book last weekend and I‘m loving it! (Probably because it is very much Japan related)
I don't think I've ever waited this long for an Amazon Order to arrive... I've ordered this more than a month ago I guess, but it is finally here😊 and I am very excited about reading it! It sounds as if it combines lots of things I enjoy, science fiction, fantasy, short stories and it is about Japan💚 I've also so far loved Valente's books 😊
pickOne of the most bizarre and yet delightful collection of stories I've ever read. Not for the faint of heart, but worth it if you choose to read them.
Stumbled upon these books last month. Had no intent of buying that time because I just made a purchase the week before. My bookish muse thought otherwise, though.
'The Melancholy of Mechagirl' is a collection of short stories & poems with Japanese themes, and I have a thing for such kind of stuff. A woman who dreams of machines? Check. A paper lantern that falls in love? Check. This will be another metaphysical read for me.
#TBR #Bookbento
I can definitely see trying out other works from this author but I reserve the right to be picky about it.
Introduction and afterword are helpful in understanding the context of this work, I recommend reading both.
⚠️ Miscarriage 9mo