Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Ok, smarties, there are so many ways to go with this one! Intelligence as in cognitive abilities, as in artificial intelligence, as in espionage...just to name a few!

A few lists to get you started but I'm sure you'll spy out some more:

Intelligence https://www.goodreads.com/genres/inte...
Artificial Intelligence https://www.goodreads.com/genres/arti...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Brain https://www.goodreads.com/genres/brain
Espionage https://www.goodreads.com/genres/espi...

ATY Listopia https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

What book did you read and what's the connection to intelligence?

I plan to read Do You Remember Being Born? by Sean Michaels. It also works for the senior citizen prompt.

I'm planning to read The Elegance of the Hedgehog, in which two people downplay their intelligence, and If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity, though Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence also looks interesting.

I plan to read Planta Sapiens: The New Science of Plant Intelligence for this, though I have half a dozen other books on my physical shelves that would fit it, too. Great prompt, by the way!

I’m planning to do an historical fiction novel with a female spy. I have own more than a few of them so I just have to pick one. I might get distracted by a sci-fi book with AI, though, since it’s one of my favorite subgenres.

I'm thinking of Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith or a Murderbot book by Martha Wells.

I have to go for Murderbot with this one. I'll read Network Effect.

This is my favorite prompt for 2024 (or one of them). Artificial intelligence is my priority, but I like all the categories, so I’m shooting for 5 or 6 books.

Espionage- a ✅Kate Quinn novel or a nonfiction book about female spies.

Animal intelligence - I really liked The Soul of an Octopus, Remarkably Bright Creatures, and I like the other suggestions on animal intelligence from Leah and Pam.

Artificial intelligence
My favorite AI fiction books so far were
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers.
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
All Systems Red - murderbot series
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) - bobiverse series

🔹I’m looking for new AI books and authors.

For nonfiction, I’m wide open, and considering these
The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut
✅You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: How Artificial Intelligence Works and Why It's Making the World a Weirder Place
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Joined-Up Thinking: The Science of Collective Intelligence and its Power to Change Our Lives
A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence
Architects of Intelligence: The truth about AI from the people building it
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
Thinking, Fast and Slow
The Brain's Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity
Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control

I found a collection of six AI short stories on Kindle -Unlimited, called The Far Reaches. Has anyone else read any of these? It has stories by John Scalzi, Rebecca Roanhorse (an indigenous author) and others.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/3730...

Dixie wrote: "I plan to read Planta Sapiens: The New Science of Plant Intelligence for this, though I have half a dozen other books on my physical shelves that would fit it, too. Great prompt, by..."

I'm reading that for 'a science book'

NancyJ wrote: "I found a collection of six AI short stories on Kindle -Unlimited, called The Far Reaches. Has anyone else read any of these? It has stories by John Scalzi, Rebecca Roanhorse (an indigenous author)..."

I've not read this particular one but these collections of shorts by sci-fi writers are one of the few good things Amazon does! I plan to read some of these once I'm done with challenges for this year (nearly there). I don't have KU but they let you read them for free with Prime too.

NancyJ wrote: "This is my favorite prompt for 2024 (or one of them). Artificial intelligence is my priority, but I like all the categories, so I’m shooting for 5 or 6 books.

Espionage- a Kate Quinn novel or a n..."

You have a lot of great books on your lists! My nephew sent me You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: How Artificial Intelligence Works and Why It's Making the World a Weirder Place and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Some of my choices:


AI:
Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein

The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma by Mustafa Suleyman

Nature's Intelligence:
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong

Brilliant Minds in Discussion:
The Rigor of Angels: Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the Ultimate Nature of Reality by William Egginton

Neurodivergence (specifically Synesthesia):
A Mango-Shaped Space Wendy Mass

Wow! So many choices!

I was not sure what I would do with this prompt as I do not generally enjoy spy stories. However, I did find three that intrigue me...and, yes, one is a spy story.

Code Name Hélène
This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Just going from the physical books I have, these were what I came up with for my possibles:

- Knowledge
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

- Espionage
Transcription by Kate Atkinson

- Learning
The Illness Lesson by Clare Beams
School's Out by Christophe Dufossé

I'm planning to read Remarkably Bright Creatures for this prompt. I've heard that it is about a sentient octopus but that is all I know about it. I don't know what to expect. Has anyone read this book that would recommend it?

Hayley wrote: "I'm planning to read Remarkably Bright Creatures for this prompt. I've heard that it is about a sentient octopus but that is all I know about it. I don't know what to expect. Has an..."

It didn't work for me, I"m sorry to say. The octopus was a minor character and otherwise I felt the story was predictable and the characters uninteresting. Obviously lots of people felt differently about it though! Personally I wouldn't list it as a book about intelligence - if interested in the sentience of sea creatures I would go for something like The Soul of an Octopus.But again - that's just me. :)

Hayley wrote: "I'm planning to read Remarkably Bright Creatures for this prompt. I've heard that it is about a sentient octopus but that is all I know about it. I don't know what to expect. Has an..."

My bookclub loved Remarkably Bright Creatures, and I think it works fine for this prompt. But I think The Soul of an Octopus works even better. I agree with Dixie that it’s more clearly about the intelligence of octopuses.

I read Soul first, and it helped me to know for sure what parts of Remarkable Bright Creatures were realistic vs fantasy. Most of my bookclub read both books that month, which was a very fun pairing. I loved them both.

Hayley wrote: "I'm planning to read Remarkably Bright Creatures for this prompt. I've heard that it is about a sentient octopus but that is all I know about it. I don't know what to expect. Has an..."

I agree with Dixie. Although the story was okay, I was disappointed. Although I loved him, I expected that the octopus was going to be a main character, and there was very little about him. and/or intelligence.

For AI science fiction, a friend at work recommended the Bobiverse series.
We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
For We Are Many

Judy wrote: "For AI science fiction, a friend at work recommended the Bobiverse series.
We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
For We Are Many"

I read We Are Legion (We Are Bob) for a scifi challenge and enjoyed it so much that I immediately bought the box set of the series. It definitely fits this prompt, and of course the "read a science or scifi book" prompt - and the author is Canadian, so there's that one, too.

@Judy- I read the first one a long time ago and I liked it. FYI Audible has them all on sale right now. Book 2 is only $2.43 and I’m guessing book 1 is very cheap too.

@Dixie - good to know, if you add the series prompt, that’s 4 prompts for the series!

NancyJ wrote: "@Judy- I read the first one a long time ago and I liked it. FYI Audible has them all on sale right now. Book 2 is only $2.43 and I’m guessing book 1 is very cheap too.

@Dixie - good to know, if y..."

Prompt stacking! Hooray!

For this prompt, I read:
The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict - 4* - My Review

I am reading Thinking Fast and Slow

For this prompt I read .

I read The Revolution of the Moon, based on a true story of Dona Eleanora de Moura, who was Viceroy of Sicily for one month in 1677.

I read If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity and The Elegance of the Hedgehog.
The former suggests that our intelligence, in particular our form of consciousness can be as much a curse as a blessing. We can create and appreciate art but we also produce genocide and climate change. Animals get by without causing havoc (or creating art). It's a lively, fun book to read with some interesting ideas.
Elegance is set in an upper-class Paris apartment, and features a concierge who feels bound to hide her literary and philosophical leanings from the tenants (whom she despises as snobs, while being one herself) and a precocious 12 year old living in the same building and contemplating suicide and arson. I almost gave up on this after the first few chapters, but the girl improved. The concierge had her moments, but unfortunately the author (a philosophy teacher) used her to spew large chunks of undigested philosophy. The book switches towards the end to become a kind of romantic makeover. I assumed some was meant to be tongue in cheek but it was hard to tell. It was the sort of book I didn't much like but was surprisingly glad I read...
And the two books did sometimes link up.

I read:
Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict

BIO: Title contains an "intelligent" word (Genius)
REJECT: A book related to an invention or a discovery

Finished: 03/02/2024
Rating: 4 stars

I struggled with this prompt, Remarkably Bright Creatures being my initial choice. However, changed my mind and am reading The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams

As detailed in the plot summary below, Peggy is an intelligent person, who is being held back by social conditions in early 20th century Britain.

'In 1914, when the war draws the young men of Britain away to fight, it is the women who must keep the nation running. Two of those women are Peggy and Maude, twin sisters who work in the bindery at Oxford University Press in Jericho. Peggy is intelligent, ambitious and dreams of studying at Oxford University, but for most of her life she has been told her job is to bind the books, not read them.'

I read Infinity Gate. There is an AI element to the story but thought there would be more of it. I think it ended where I expected this one to be start. I still enjoyed it and think it worked for this prompt.

For this prompt I read All Systems Red by Martha Wells. It was my first book by her, and I really enjoyed it. I want to read more of her work.

The book I chose for this prompt

sweet and short review: 2.0
This book was informational. I enjoyed the knowledge that was given.

I read Neuromancer by William Gibson for this prompt (Read 20th March; 3*)

Emotional intelligence Dear Black Girl: Letters From Your Sisters on Stepping Into Your Power by Tamara Winfrey Harris

I've just finished Transcription which is about people involved with 'intelligence ' agencies during WW2 and the aftermath.
I have read a couple of Kate Atkinson books before from her Jackson Brodie series. I love her writing but I find it quite hard to get hold of her stand alone books from my library, so I grabbed this one when I saw it and hoped it fit somwhere.

I read Lady Tan’s Circle of Women. 5 stars

Coded messages and espionage during the Civil War ...


✔ - 26Feb24
A Hope Divided – Alyssa Cole – 3***
Book number two in the Loyal League series of Civil-War-era romances. Healer and free woman Marlie Lynch meets Union soldier and prisoner-of-war Ewan McCall when she goes to tend to the men at the nearby prison. Before long they are fleeing together from the Home Guard. It’s a pretty typical romance.
LINK to my full review

Tracy wrote: "Some of my choices:


AI:
Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein

The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma"

I ended up not reading any of the choices I set out with (although I'll probably read them all eventually). I ended up reading All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells. I considered this to be involving Artificial Intelligence.

I think I chose this because I had mentioned it to a friend in discussion, not really as a recommendation (since I hadn't read it yet). She read it, and enjoyed it, even though she doesn't generally read Sci-Fi, or even much fiction. I figured I should read it since she read it because of me.

I had a mixed reaction. The writing was good, I loved the character development, but the whole thing felt like World Building that was getting you ready for the next in the series. I suppose I would have been happier had it NOT been a novella, but instead if the author (or publisher) had joined books #1 and 2 into a full novel (and I suppose books #3 and 4 into a second). Not having read #2 yet I don't know if this would work or not.

I read Murder Never Knocks by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins. My first book in this genre, and I loved it.

I read Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist this is a really easy series to listen to on audio it has humour and intelligence

I read Spy Hook by Len Deighton
As the title says it is the world of of undercover spies

Dixie wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "This is my favorite prompt for 2024 (or one of them). Artificial intelligence is my priority, but I like all the categories, so I’m shooting for 5 or 6 books.

Espionage- a Kate Qui..."

Thanks for the recommendation Dixie. I read You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: How Artificial Intelligence Works and Why It's Making the World a Weirder Place. The examples bring the whole concept down to earth, and easier to understand, plus many of them are funny.

I still want to read Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence, to learn a little more about animal intelligence.

For the third interpretation (espionage) I read The Huntress, and will probably use it for a different prompt.
I also read The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax, A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax

I read Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes

I read The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton for this.

It definitely fits the prompt well, but I wish it had been more focused on the titular character and his struggles with the post-surgical complications.

I read Jacob Two-Two's First Spy Case a fun kids' book involving spying

I read i$UBSCRIBE by P.B. Flower. It's a great, thought-provoking book about Artificial Intelligence, while at the same time revealing a lot about us humans and the ideas and beliefs we ascribe and associate ourselves with. I highly recommend it.

For my second round, I read A Mind to Murder by P.D. James. The word "mind" relates to intelligence, plus the detective, Adam Dalgliesh, uses his intelligence to solve the case.

I’m reading In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir as it discusses military intelligence and the CIA

The book Annie Bot by Sierra Greer was my choice for this prompt and I must say, I'm still chewing on it hours after turning the last page.

I wasn't sure whether I should give it 5 stars for the ugly, unbearable main character, Doug, or 1 star because I consistently had to walk away to find something to lift my spirits. My solution was to stay in the middle: 3 stars

My review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...