JLMason
Ottawa Public Library
JLMason's Completed Shelf
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Entangled LifeEntangled Life, eBookHow Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
by Sheldrake, MerlineBook - 2020eBook, 2020
JLMason's rating:
Added Mar 27, 2024
Do You Remember Being Born?Do You Remember Being Born?, eBook
by Michaels, SeaneBook - 2023eBook, 2023
JLMason's rating:
Added Mar 18, 2024
Comment:
If you like words, wielding words, and wordplay, then this short novel about a renowned poet who is contracted by a tech giant to collaborate with a poetry-trained AI will appeal. The prose is quirky, unexpected, and delightful. The author highlights passages and poetry that were actually contributed by two language model AIs. But this isn't a gimmick. The book explores the nature of human creativity and poet Marian's late-in-life realization of what she's lost due to self-imposed isolation in service to her craft.
Marian said, "The point of poems is to explain what it's like to be alive."
"That's the point of life," said Morel. "Not poems."If you like words, wielding words, and wordplay, then this short novel about a renowned poet who is contracted by a tech giant to collaborate with a poetry-trained AI will appeal. The prose is quirky, unexpected, and delightful. The author…
JLMason's rating:
Added Mar 14, 2024
Comment:
I was expecting an airport paperback thriller about a rogue AI, but boy was I wrong. Journalist, travel writer, and software engineer Evans combines ideas from computing, the occult, and beyond to craft an unpredictable and intricately plotted story. Just when you think it's settling down into a stable trajectory, a fantastical new element is introduced and you vector off in a different direction. Somehow it all hangs together.I was expecting an airport paperback thriller about a rogue AI, but boy was I wrong. Journalist, travel writer, and software engineer Evans combines ideas from computing, the occult, and beyond to craft an unpredictable and intricately plotted…
The Story of EarthThe Story of Earth, BookThe First 4.5 Billion Years, From Stardust to Living Planet
by Hazen, Robert M.Book - 2012Book, 2012
JLMason's rating:
Added Mar 13, 2024
Comment:
The Story of Earth is a companion to The Great Course "The Origin and Evolution of Earth: From the Big Bang to the Future of Human Existence." Sadly the OPL does not have a copy of this excellent, 48 lecture course, but you can read Hazen's fascinating 4.5 billion year journey through our planet's formation in his book. Highlights: mineral evolution and how it's tied to the formation of life and vice versa; how scientists have pieced together a narrative for Earth's first 2 billion years; competing theories; comparisons to other planets in our solar system and how Earth is special; how long it took for complex life to form and how it has been nearly wiped out on multiple occasions. This is a 5-star book except for its lack of illustrations. Textual descriptions of moving continents just aren't adequate. Having a knowledge of high school chemistry would improve understanding of some concepts, but any reader with an interest in science can enjoy this book.The Story of Earth is a companion to The Great Course "The Origin and Evolution of Earth: From the Big Bang to the Future of Human Existence." Sadly the OPL does not have a copy of this excellent, 48 lecture course, but you can read Hazen's…
JLMason's rating:
Added Mar 01, 2024
Comment:
This farcical romp through the desert gently pokes fun at alien abductions and other UFO conspiracy theories. Openly drawing on SciFi and western movies for plot elements, the book is very dialogue heavy and features an ensemble of character stereotypes to help generate hilarity and witty repartée. It reads like a screenplay and would work better as a limited TV series. It's cute, it's funny, and it will make you smile.This farcical romp through the desert gently pokes fun at alien abductions and other UFO conspiracy theories. Openly drawing on SciFi and western movies for plot elements, the book is very dialogue heavy and features an ensemble of character…
The Seven Moons of Maali AlmeidaThe Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, eBookA Novel
by Karunatilaka, ShehaneBook - 2023eBook, 2023
JLMason's rating:
Added Feb 28, 2024
Comment:
Seven Moons is a surreal satire, but no less horrifying for being mordantly funny about the atrocities of the Sri Lankan civil war. It obliquely chronicles the barbarism as seen through the lens of a photojournalist, whose cynical ghost tells the madcap story, past and present, in second person. Some of the meaning of the book was lost on me as it requires an intimate knowledge of the many factions in the war, including the UN and Western governments, and how they all interacted to perpetuate the horror. It also draws heavily on Sri Lankan spiritual beliefs about demons and the afterlife. War is hell. This book is an inventive way to tell that story and to learn about a conflict that few of us in the West know much about.Seven Moons is a surreal satire, but no less horrifying for being mordantly funny about the atrocities of the Sri Lankan civil war. It obliquely chronicles the barbarism as seen through the lens of a photojournalist, whose cynical ghost tells the…
A History of Canada in Ten MapsA History of Canada in Ten Maps, BookEpic Stories of Charting A Mysterious Land
by Shoalts, AdamBook - 2017Book, 2017
JLMason's rating:
Added Feb 19, 2024
Comment:
This is a history-lite tale of Canada's early centuries of European exploration from the Vikings to Franklin that focuses mainly on the exploits of the individuals who made key maps that defined what became Canada. The early chapters of the book, especially those about the Vikings, Champlain, Mackenzie, and others less well-known, are particularly interesting for how these adventurers navigated through unknown wilderness, measuring latitude and longitude using the sun and Jupiter's moons. The most successful survived incredibly harsh conditions by working with and having respect for the First Nations peoples, who themselves became explorers outside their own territories.This is a history-lite tale of Canada's early centuries of European exploration from the Vikings to Franklin that focuses mainly on the exploits of the individuals who made key maps that defined what became Canada. The early chapters of the book,…
Past LivesPast Lives, DVDNos Vies Passées
DVD - 2023DVD, 2023
JLMason's rating:
Added Feb 18, 2024
Comment:
An introspective movie that avoids clichés and tropes about choices made and not made in one's life. It will lead to self-reflection.
Innovation in Real PlacesInnovation in Real Places, BookStrategies for Prosperity in An Unforgiving World
by Breznitz, DanBook - 2021Book, 2021
Added Feb 10, 2024
Comment:
Based on his global research, economist and professor Breznitz rejects economic policy shibboleths about how to foster innovation in favor of solutions that focus on agents of innovation: companies and individuals. He identifies four types of innovation, only one of which includes "high tech". As a professor at U of T's Monk School of Business, Breznitz is well-placed to declare Canada's poor performance as an innovation paradox. "Canada easily wins the wooden-spoon award for the worst innovation policy among all developed economies." The book includes examples from around the world, describes how VC-funded innovation usually results in a loss of local jobs, and shows how three domains needed to support innovation - IP laws, finance, and data - are dysfunctional. It concludes with prescriptions for how to create an environment that encourages innovation.Based on his global research, economist and professor Breznitz rejects economic policy shibboleths about how to foster innovation in favor of solutions that focus on agents of innovation: companies and individuals. He identifies four types of…
JLMason's rating:
Added Feb 05, 2024
Comment:
The droll humour and idiosyncratic characters are still there, but melancholy overshadows the usual light-hearted sparkle of the Thursday Murder Club's members. Osman writes perceptively and sensitively about dementia from the perspectives of the person affected and those who care about him. And a heartbreaking revelation from the past may lead, perhaps. to hope for happiness in the next the book.The droll humour and idiosyncratic characters are still there, but melancholy overshadows the usual light-hearted sparkle of the Thursday Murder Club's members. Osman writes perceptively and sensitively about dementia from the perspectives of the…
JLMason's rating:
Added Feb 01, 2024
Comment:
Trashy, voyeuristic tale about wealth, privilege, and beautiful people or an evocative story about the hedonism, culture, and mood that permeated LA and Hollywood in the 1970s? Both!
Polite SocietyPolite Society, DVDLa Bonne Société
DVD - 2023DVD, 2023
JLMason's rating:
Added Jan 28, 2024
Comment:
Campy, ridiculous, and a lot of fun, Polite Society is also a hard-hitting satire about the old-country expectations of immigrant parents for their children. A movie by a woman that will appeal to women.
Mission: Impossible--Dead ReckoningMission: Impossible--Dead Reckoning, DVDPart One = Mission: Impossible--Bilan Mortel. Première Partie
DVD - 2023DVD, 2023
JLMason's rating:
Added Jan 27, 2024
JLMason's rating:
Added Jan 27, 2024
Comment:
Set in Harlem about 10 years after Harlem Shuffle, Crook Manifesto captures the zeitgeist of the 1970s and the decay of New York City. Trying to get tickets to The Jackson 5 for his daughter, business man and small time fence Ray Carney sparks a series of events that smoulder through all three parts of the book until the inevitable conflagration. Whitehead's observant prose is distinct, forceful, inventive, darkly funny, and a pleasure to savor. In which decade will Ray emerge in the next book?Set in Harlem about 10 years after Harlem Shuffle, Crook Manifesto captures the zeitgeist of the 1970s and the decay of New York City. Trying to get tickets to The Jackson 5 for his daughter, business man and small time fence Ray Carney sparks a…
Number Go upNumber Go up, BookInside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall
by Faux, ZekeBook - 2023Book, 2023
JLMason's rating:
Added Jan 24, 2024
Comment:
Number Go Up, which covers a broad spectrum of crypto currencies and their infrastructure, is a worthy complement to Michael Lewis' Going Infinite, which focuses on Sam Bankman-Fried and his FTX exchange. Financial journalist Faux travels the world with a cynical eye, seeking to expose the Ponzi schemes, con men, flamboyant crypto bros, and criminal activity that comprise the crypto phenomenon. He mostly finds what he's looking for in an entertaining and darkly humorous exposé of how human beings fool themselves and others into thinking that there is a free lunch.Number Go Up, which covers a broad spectrum of crypto currencies and their infrastructure, is a worthy complement to Michael Lewis' Going Infinite, which focuses on Sam Bankman-Fried and his FTX exchange. Financial journalist Faux travels the world…
JLMason's rating:
Added Jan 14, 2024
Comment:
An old-fashioned murder mystery (published in 1973) with a locked room murder and an eccentric, Poirot-like private detective set in 1947 Japan. The characters and their behaviour are caricatures (but hey, so were Agatha Christie's!), but the plot is intricate and the culture in a post-war setting is interesting.An old-fashioned murder mystery (published in 1973) with a locked room murder and an eccentric, Poirot-like private detective set in 1947 Japan. The characters and their behaviour are caricatures (but hey, so were Agatha Christie's!), but the plot…
Moonage DaydreamMoonage Daydream, DVD
DVD - 2022DVD, 2022
JLMason's rating:
Added Jan 13, 2024
Comment:
Moonage Daydream is not a biographical documentary. It is a montage of music, performances, images, videos, and Bowie's own words that portrays all the cosmic, other-worldly facets of his artistry as a musician, painter, actor, and writer. The first 20 minutes are chaotic and unfocused, but the lens gradually resolves into a multi-dimensional Cubist portrait of Bowie the artist. This is inspired filmmaking worthy of its subject.Moonage Daydream is not a biographical documentary. It is a montage of music, performances, images, videos, and Bowie's own words that portrays all the cosmic, other-worldly facets of his artistry as a musician, painter, actor, and writer. The…
Going InfiniteGoing Infinite, eBookThe Rise and Fall of A New Tycoon
by Lewis, MichaeleBook - 2023eBook, 2023
JLMason's rating:
Added Jan 08, 2024
Comment:
Lewis takes a complex topic - crypto and crypto exchanges - and renders it mostly understandable in this short biography of the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). I think Lewis gets a bad rap for being an SBF apologist. He's just presenting the facts as he saw them and lets the reader draw their own conclusions. Certainly our society bears some scrutiny: it deified, enabled, and abetted SBF.
What Lewis presents probably offers the best explanation for what happened. Lewis has written more engrossing books than this one, but the tale of how SBF was allowed to control so much money without regulatory oversight is a cautionary one for anyone looking at offshore investing. It also provides a glimpse of the parasites that feed off exchange trading and bankruptcies.
If you prefer to get an overview of the book in podcast form, listen to the one hour long Freakanomics interview with Michael Lewis (no 568). https://freakonomics.com/series/freakonomics-radio/ . Two intelligent people discuss who SBF was and what happened at FTX.Lewis takes a complex topic - crypto and crypto exchanges - and renders it mostly understandable in this short biography of the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). I think Lewis gets a bad rap for being an SBF apologist. He's just presenting…
The Once and Future Great Lakes CountryThe Once and Future Great Lakes Country, BookAn Ecological History
by Riley, J. L.Book - 2013Book, 2013
JLMason's rating:
Added Jan 07, 2024
Comment:
This book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the ecological history of southern and eastern Ontario, particularly below the Canadian Shield. The first one hundred pages provide a good historic summary, from first European contact to exploration; then large scale settlement and clearing of the land for crops and introduced farm animals; and finally urbanization. The second part describes the native animals, plants, and landscape as they were and what happened to them. The final section looks to conservation efforts to improve ecological function and biodiversity in service to our own and nature's benefit. There is no going back, but we can make an investment in renewal.
The book contains many first hand quotes from explorers, settlers, surveyors, tourists, and naturalists to support the information presented. Of particular interest is the extent of Iroquoian agriculture and land management across the Ontario and Quebec lowlands when Europeans arrived in the 1500s. Native populations were decimated by disease and war, and the open fields and savannahs that they had previously maintained by controlled burning were left to rewild for 200 years. It is this closed, densely treed landscape that greeted settlers in the early 1800s.This book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the ecological history of southern and eastern Ontario, particularly below the Canadian Shield. The first one hundred pages provide a good historic summary, from first European contact to…
JLMason's rating:
Added Dec 31, 2023
Comment:
Having read a number of Japanese detective novels (at least those by authors good enough to be translated into English), I have found that they like to experiment with unusual plot structures. Under the Midnight Sun starts as a mundane police procedural about the unsolved murder of a pawnshop owner. It then becomes something completely different. Over two decades we follow the lives of characters related to the victim and a picture slowly emerges of who might be responsible. There is evil, but what is the motive? The book is well-plotted and the characters well-drawn, but it goes on for over 500 pages and then it just ends, quite abruptly, with an indelible image. The story's backdrop offers an interesting view of Japanese society from the 1970s through 1990s in its portrayal of women, the company man, sex, social hierarchy, the class system, and the rise of personal computers and video games.Having read a number of Japanese detective novels (at least those by authors good enough to be translated into English), I have found that they like to experiment with unusual plot structures. Under the Midnight Sun starts as a mundane police…
JLMason's rating:
Added Dec 25, 2023
Comment:
(A top fiction book of 2023: The Economist and Washington Post.) North Woods uses multiple voices over centuries - prose, poems, songs, illustrations, the supernatural - to document the arc of humanity at a site in the woods of western Massachusetts, from colonial settlement through a paradise squandered to death and rebirth. The thread of the natural world twines through all the stories. Actions in the past affect the present. The biologist's tale near the end particularly resonates as she laments the loss of trees to introduced pests and diseases and then experiences the wonder of old growth forests in all their abundance of bird song and life. Lyrically written and laced with humour, North Woods lives up to the hype.(A top fiction book of 2023: The Economist and Washington Post.) North Woods uses multiple voices over centuries - prose, poems, songs, illustrations, the supernatural - to document the arc of humanity at a site in the woods of western…
JLMason's rating:
Added Dec 18, 2023
Comment:
I'm a big fan of the Murderbot series. It explores what makes humans human through Murderbot's own evolution and his discomfort with most human behaviour. With all the hype about AI this year, I read this latest novella with a different lens. It portrays AI - the ship ART, Murderbot, planet administration systems - as intelligent partners in service to humans, relieving them from routine tasks, augmenting their capabilities, and keeping them safe. This is great and bring it on, I say. It would be like having a team of assistants. On the other hand, the humans are totally dependent on these systems in their pangalactic adventures. The relationship is somewhat symbiotic; as per their programming the AI systems derive purpose from serving (and some sort of pleasure by watching human entertainment media!) However, ART and Murderbot have developed real sentience and have the ability to alter their code. Their interests align with their humans', so far!I'm a big fan of the Murderbot series. It explores what makes humans human through Murderbot's own evolution and his discomfort with most human behaviour. With all the hype about AI this year, I read this latest novella with a different lens. It…
We Are the ARKWe Are the ARK, BookReturning Our Gardens to Their True Nature With Acts of Restorative Kindness
by Reynolds, MaryBook - 2022Book, 2022
JLMason's rating:
Added Dec 15, 2023
Comment:
I prefer Tallamy's book Nature's Best Hope to this one. However, I understand that how the same information is presented in this book will have a broader appeal. The author also provides more prescriptive methods for rewilding gardens. The same principles and approaches for rewilding apply to Canada even though the book is written for Ireland.I prefer Tallamy's book Nature's Best Hope to this one. However, I understand that how the same information is presented in this book will have a broader appeal. The author also provides more prescriptive methods for rewilding gardens. The same…
JLMason's rating:
Added Dec 14, 2023
Comment:
Simple prose. Simple plot. Simple characters. It reminded me of a formula TV show. Quickly consumed, soon forgotten.
JLMason's rating:
Added Dec 11, 2023
Comment:
Isaacson is an excellent biographer. Using two years of extensive access to Musk, his family, colleagues, and friends he has captured the essence of the man and rendered understandable both Musk's incredible achievements and his erratic and toxic behaviour.Isaacson is an excellent biographer. Using two years of extensive access to Musk, his family, colleagues, and friends he has captured the essence of the man and rendered understandable both Musk's incredible achievements and his erratic and toxic…
Comment: