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The Melancholy of Mechagirl
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
15 posts | 9 read | 18 to read
A woman who dreams of machines. A paper lantern that falls in love. The most compelling video game youve never played and that nobody can ever play twice. This collection of Catherynne M. Valentes stories and poems with Japanese themes includes the lauded novella Silently and Very Fast, the award-nominated Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time, and Ghosts of Gunkanjimawhich originally appeared in a book smaller than your palm, published in a limited edition of twenty-four. Also included are two new stories: the semiautobiographical, metafictional, and utterly magical Ink, Water, Milk and the cinematic, demon-haunted Story No. 6. -- VIZ Media
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review
Robotswithpersonality
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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Pickpick

My 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/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? I would hesitate to pick up anything purely fantasy for the same reason I would hesitate to pick up a full length novel...Valente can get very into the surreal and prioritizing unique word choice paragraphs over plot. You can get a real sense of the vibes and be bowled over by a description you've never encountered before, but you can also feel pretty lost, landing in a cul de sac of occurences without a point. 6mo
Robotswithpersonality 3/? Some stories are more straightforward than others. The collection ends in a novella and for the first half I was riveted (after I figured out what was going on) as it discussed the relationship between burgeoning AI and the humanity around it and all the possible outcomes and how communication was fostered, and then it seemed to get bogged down trying for a ' reveal'. 6mo
Robotswithpersonality 4/4 I should also mention a sprinkling of heavy subject matter and a liberal amount of dark/sad tones.
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
6mo
10 likes3 comments
quote
Robotswithpersonality
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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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. 🥹

6 likes1 stack add
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Robotswithpersonality
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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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.

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Robotswithpersonality
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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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!

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Robotswithpersonality
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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Evocative, lush, and uncomfortable.
An accomplished description!

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Robotswithpersonality
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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Today's 'scratched my brain just right' sentence.

6 likes1 stack add
review
Clare-Dragonfly
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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Pickpick

Finished 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.”

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blurb
Clare-Dragonfly
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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#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.

Clare-Dragonfly Addendum: I reviewed all my library books and how many times they are able to be renewed and determined that Queen of Nothing is highest priority, so it will be up next! 5y
Linsy Great lineup! That fairy tales collection looks tempting 5y
Clare-Dragonfly @Linsy Unfortunately I‘m not liking it that much, which is why it‘s taking so long to read it! I‘ve bailed on quite a few of the stories. 😕 5y
Linsy @Clare-Dragonfly That‘s too bad. I‘m impressed you‘re sticking with it! (edited) 5y
35 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
Clare-Dragonfly
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente

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.

Sace Yup! It's really fun and it's really helped me to set realistic reading goals for myself. 5y
Cinfhen Ha!! It‘s a fun way to share our reading progress with other Littens and interact a bit too with others😁thanks for sharing your weekly highlights! 5y
Clare-Dragonfly @Sace That‘s what I‘m hoping! @Cinfhen Thank you! 😄 5y
22 likes3 comments
blurb
Clare-Dragonfly
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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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.

23 likes2 stack adds
review
ju.ca.no
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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Pickpick

So 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🌟

Kalalalatja This count as studying in my book 😉 good luck on your exam! 7y
ju.ca.no @Kalalalatja there are lots of japanese names afterall 😅 thank you😘 7y
52 likes2 comments
blurb
ju.ca.no
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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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)

Kalalalatja Great decision! I have wanted to read this for so long 👏👏 7y
ju.ca.no @Kalalalatja reading always is the best choice😊 I can highly recommend it, it is whimsical, beautifully written and weird in the best possible way! And very much Japan related as Valente spent several years there growing up in an US Navy Family - which I didn‘t know before! But it explains why she captured the japanese spirit I know from other books so well 😊 (edited) 7y
readinginthedark Ooh, this looks so good! 7y
57 likes4 stack adds3 comments
blurb
ju.ca.no
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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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 😊

Jabberwocky Oh my god this looks amazing! 7y
37 likes3 stack adds1 comment
review
YarnspinnerBookling47
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
Pickpick

One 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.

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Eanne
The Melancholy of Mechagirl | Catherynne M. Valente
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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

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