Reviews and Comments

This is the first volume of the Penn Cage set. You can already see the different themes that you find in Iles's contemporary Southern gothic + thriller (the least interesting part of these books, to me, so far). Off to the next one.

This was my first book form this author. I only heard about him because he recently died. It was so good that I'm going back to all his previous work. It's contemporary Southern gothic, and quite a page turner.

There is no foolproof way to prevent cheating or the use of LLMs, but there are ways to try to limit their use. Luckily for us, they happen to also be good pedagogy. Some of this stuff is not new. But the book provides a new review of all the way we can try to counter cheating without turning into cops. I don't agree with everything but it's worth reading.

It's another murder mystery with layers upon layers, which I like. But this time, the setting is Dicker's Switzerland, and himself as a character. As always, a very engaging page-turner.

If you like birds, this book will delight you. This lady has decades of experience rehabilitating and releasing birds. One day, someone brings her a baby blue jay. The book combines personal narrative, scientific info about jays, and is just a delightful read. She's a bit into some woo woo stuff but it's minimal in the book. If you need a nice summer read, that's the book to pick.

This is the 3rd novel in the Marcus Goldman trilogy. It's as well written and intriguing as the previous two. There is an English translation.

In this second entry in the trilogy, we get more into the childhood and family of Marcus Goldman (whom we met in the Harry Quebert affair). As with the first novel, there are layers upon layers of complexities. It's gripping.

This very much reminded me of The Nix (which I really liked too). It's way more than just "murder in a small town". So many layers, twists, and turns, I could not put it down.

A great graphic novel using a fictional conversation between Frederick Douglass and Ida B. Wells on how the convict lease system long preceded the 13th Amendment, especially in Kentucky. The illustration is brilliant as well. Not five stars because of some anachronisms in language but I'm guessing the targeted audience is Gen Z.

But the thing is, I don't like children so, not for me.

Murder mystery in Renaissance Florence + epistolary novel mixing European politics and artistic rivalry. There's an English translation: www.amazon.com/Perspective-s-Novel-Laurent-Binet-ebook/dp/B0D2BFLGJ3

A nice and approachable introduction to AI in general, and LLMs in particular, as hype, with lots of examples, and a very detailed chapter on what to do (as opposed to just griping about it).

GW Pabst, the great German director, fled the Nazis for Hollywood. And then, he went back. He never explained. This novel is a fictional rendition of what happened. And it's brilliantly done.

That's the French expression that comes to mind. The chronology is a bit confusing, but the story of Vasarely and his succession is insane.

MRK needs a good editor. Not every hesitation or uncertainty requires a character to bite, chew, gnaw on that lip or cheek or some other part of their mouth. The story is a bit weaker than the other entries in this series because there isn't any tension. It's still a nice easy read.