What are you reading? March 31 2018

Here's what I am reading.  Feel free to comment with what you are reading.

• Started this week
• Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong. The protagonist is a former police officer who became a hitman. Now she is hunting a serial killer. Fun stuff. I am on p. 121.
• In progress this week
• Expert Hand Evaluation by August Boehm. On evaluating your hand at bridge. I am on p. 85.
• The Mathematical Theory of Bridge by Emile Borel and Cheron Andre. Probability and bridge. Lots of math. I am on page 94.
• The Reader over your Shoulder by Robert Graves. How to write well. I am on page 89.
• The House of Government by Yuri Slezkine . The Russian Revolution, but also all sorts of other things (like a comparison of Marx and Jesus).  I am on p. 180.
• Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker. Why the Enlightenment is still important, why life is still good.  I am on p. 55.
• Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and eco-speculation  by Daniel Jose Older.  Solarpunk is a new and optimistic sub-genre of science fiction.  I am on p. 9
• A New History of Western Philosophy by Anthony Kenny. This is a very good history of the subject, well written and clear.  Kenny follows an unusual strategy in that he takes two approaches: He first covers each era in a more-or-less chronological order, then he looks at the big topics of that era in a systematic way.  I am on p. 461, slogging through the scholastics.
• Scrivener for Dummies. I am on p. 149.  Scrivener is a tool for writers. 
• The Drawing of Trump and its Postponement by Fred L. Karpin.  I am on p. 43. A classic on the play of the hand in bridge. 
• Finished this week

• Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon. 3rd in the Vatta's war series. My review.

Book review: Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon

Engaging the Enemy (link to purchase) is the third volume in the Vatta's war series. The first two were Trading in Danger and  Marque and Reprisal  (links go to my reviews).

Ky Vatta continues to be utterly amazing while irritating all sorts of people. In this one, she gets into fights with bureaucrats and with her family.  Also, many Vatta family secrets are revealed and the start of a force to fight pirates is recounted.  All this is good fun and Moon writes well and keeps the pages turning. 

There's some interesting cultural differences across planets, including one where sexism has not died out and much depends on "honor", defined in ways that most 21st century Americans would find a bit odd.

What are you reading? March 24, 2018

Here's what I am reading.  Feel free to comment with what you are reading.

• Started this week
• Expert Hand Evaluation by August Boehm. On evaluating your hand at bridge.
• The Mathematical Theory of Bridge by Emile Borel and Cheron Andre. Probability and bridge. Lots of math. I am on p.age 69.
• The Reader over your Shoulder by Robert Graves. How to write well. I am on page 33.
• Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon. 3rd in the Vatta's War series. I am 30% in.
• In progress this week
• The House of Government by Yuri Slezkine . The Russian Revolution, but also all sorts of other things (like a comparison of Marx and Jesus).  I am on p. 141.
• Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker. Why the Enlightenment is still important, why life is still good.  I am on p. 53.
• Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and eco-speculation  by Daniel Jose Older.  Solarpunk is a new and optimistic sub-genre of science fiction.  I am on p. 9
• A New History of Western Philosophy by Anthony Kenny. This is a very good history of the subject, well written and clear.  Kenny follows an unusual strategy in that he takes two approaches: He first covers each era in a more-or-less chronological order, then he looks at the big topics of that era in a systematic way.  I am on p. 459, slogging through the scholastics.
• Scrivener for Dummies. I am on p. 149.  Scrivener is a tool for writers. 
• The Drawing of Trump and its Postponement by Fred L. Karpin.  I am on p. 43. A classic on the play of the hand in bridge. 
• Finished this week

• Marque and Reprisal   by Elizabeth Moon. Second in the Vatta's War series. My review.

Book review: Marque and Reprisal by Elizabeth Moon

Book: Marque and Reprisal
Author: Elizabeth Moon
Year published: 2005


Review: This is the second book in the Vatta's War series (the first is Trading in Danger (link goes to my review). At the start of Marques and Reprisal most of Ky Vatta's family has been killed. Most of their fleet is destroyed. It seems most of the universe is out to get her and them.  That might stop an ordinary human, but it isn't going to stop Ky Vatta!  Or it might make an ordinary person consider another line of work.  Not Ky Vatta!

She sets out to rebuild Vatta and punish her enemies.  She'll use whatever it takes (including her own body as a weapon).

This is all kind of silly, but it's a very good silly.  Moon is a very good writer and this book is a lot of fun and has lots of action. Moon manages to make all sorts of new technology seem believable in battle (that's not easy) and keeps the pages turning.

What are you reading? March 17, 2018

Here's what I am reading.  Feel free to comment with what you are reading.

• Started this week
• Marque and Reprisal   by Elizabeth Moon. Second in the Vatta's War series. I am halfway through.
• In progress this week
• The House of Government by Yuri Slezkine . The Russian Revolution and subsequent history through a single building.  I am on p. 77
• Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker. Why the Enlightenment is still important, why life is still good.  I am on p. 40.
• Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and eco-speculation  by Daniel Jose Older.  Solarpunk is a new and optimistic sub-genre of science fiction.  I am on p. 9
• A New History of Western Philosophy by Anthony Kenny. This is a very good history of the subject, well written and clear.  Kenny follows an unusual strategy in that he takes two approaches: He first covers each era in a more-or-less chronological order, then he looks at the big topics of that era in a systematic way.  I am on p. 439, slogging through the scholastics.
• Scrivener for Dummies. I am on p. 149.  Scrivener is a tool for writers. 
• The Drawing of Trump and its Postponement by Fred L. Karpin.  I am on p. 39. A classic on the play of the hand in bridge. 
• Finished this week

• Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon, science fiction and the start of the Vatta series.  My review

Great quotations: Pitt on freedom and necessity

The quotation: 

Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants and the creed of slaves.

Who said it: William Pitt the younger
Where and when it was said: Speech in the House of Commons (18 November, 1783)

Why it's a great quote: First, it expresses a truth. Second, it uses language precisely. In particular "plea", "argument" and "creed" are exactly correct in their place and would be less correct in other places. Their placement also implies that tyrants don't necessarily believe the statement but are just using it.

About the author: Pitt (1759 - 1806) was the youngest prime minister in the history of  Britain (he became PM for the first time in 1783).

 

Book review: Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon

Book: Trading in Danger
Author: Elizabeth Moon
Year published: 2004

Review: Good, fun military/adventure SF.  Kylara Vatta is the daughter of the chief financial officer of a large corporation. She's just been dismissed from the military academy and is assigned to pilot an old spaceship to the scrapyard on a distant planet.  But things don't go as planned and lots of adventure ensues, which I won't spoil for you.

This is old-fashioned stuff, but it's good old-fashioned stuff. It's well-written and the plot keeps the pages turning. I stayed up late to finish. But, unlike the author's Speed of Dark, this book has nothing really profound in it that I could see. That's OK, and this sort of book is fine with me, it's just a little unexpected since I just finished Speed of Dark a few days ago.

I'll be reading the rest of the Vatta's War series, of which Trading in Danger is the first.

Book review: Dodger by Terry Pratchett

Book: Dodger
Author: Terry Pratchett
Year published: 2012

Dodger is quite a departure from Pratchett's beloved Discworld series, but it is a very good book.

The title derives from the Artful Dodger of Dickens' Oliver Twis. This Dodger does share some characteristics of that one: Both live in London in early Victorian times. Both live with elderly Jews. Both are somewhat shady characters not averse to a little petty theivery, yet with a good heart underneath it all. But there are many differences as well:

• The person this Dodger lives with is a watchmaker and does not run a criminal operation; in fact, he disapproves of Dodger's thievery.
• In this book, Dodger and Solomon (not Fagin) live alone
• In this book, Dodger's main source of income is not picking pockets but "toshing" - that is, digging through London's sewers looking for coins or other items of value.
• In this book, Dodger rescues not Oliver Twist, but a beautiful young woman who is being beaten.
• In this book, Charles Dickens is a character, not the author

At the start of Dodger, our hero sees a woman being beaten. He jumps into the fray, chases off the bullis, and thinks that is the end of it. But it isn't. Because this young woman is very special indeed. Thus, the adventure begins. The tale is fast-moving and well-plotted; anyone who has read books by Terry Pratchett will know that the man is a great storyteller. Along the way, there are major appearances by Charles Dickens (as a young author and journalist, not yet famous); Henry Mayhew (who chronicled the life of London's poor) and Robert Peel (founder of the "peelers" - a new London police force). There is also a brief appearance by Queen Victoria (she is amused).

About the author:  Terry Pratchett was most famous as the author of the Discworld series. His books have sold tens of millions of copies and been translated into many languages. He lived in London.

What are you reading? March 10, 2018

Here's what I am reading.  Feel free to comment with what you are reading.

• Started this week
•  Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon, science fiction and the start of the Vatta series.  I am on p. 66.
• The House of Government by Yuri Slezkine . The Russian Revolution and subsequent history through a single building.  I am on p. xviii.
  
• In progress this week
• Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker. Why the Enlightenment is still important, why life is still good.  I am on p. 33.
• Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and eco-speculation  by Daniel Jose Older.  Solarpunk is a new and optimistic sub-genre of science fiction.  I am on p. 9
• A New History of Western Philosophy by Anthony Kenny. This is a very good history of the subject, well written and clear.  Kenny follows an unusual strategy in that he takes two approaches: He first covers each era in a more-or-less chronological order, then he looks at the big topics of that era in a systematic way.  I am on p. 420, slogging through the scholastics.
• Scrivener for Dummies. I am on p. 118.  Scrivener is a tool for writers. 
• The Drawing of Trump and its Postponement by Fred L. Karpin.  I am on p. 25. A classic on the play of the hand in bridge. 
• Finished this week

• Nothing this week

Great quotations: Galileo on God and intelligence

The quote: 

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them.

Who said it: Galileo Galilei (b. 1564, d. 1642)

Where he said it: Letter to the grand duchess Christina (1615)

Why it's a great quote: It's an argument for science from a believer. Some people think that you can't be a believer and be a scientist (there are both theists and atheists who think this).  They are wrong and there are many scientists who are theists - indeed, there are scientists of every religion. Galileo's quote shows one aspect of why you can be both: God (if such exists) endowed us (if a deity does such things) with reason.  Surely, we should use that reason or why do we have it? 

Great quotations: Terry Pratchett on the need for fantasy

This one is rather long for a quote, but it's so outstanding that I am including it.

It is a dialogue between DEATH (who is personified in Discworld and speaks in ALL CAPS and Susan, who is his granddaughter (DEATH adopted a child).

The Quote:

“All right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need... fantasies to make life bearable."

REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.

"Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—"

YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.

"So we can believe the big ones?"

YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.

"They're not the same at all!"

YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.

"Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point—"

MY POINT EXACTLY.” 

Who said it: Terry Pratchett in Hogfather

 

Interesting words: Akrasia

Word: Akrasia
Prounciation: Uh, craze, eee, uh   OR uh, crez, ee, uh
Definition: Akrasia is the state of mind in which you act against your own better judgement because of "weakness of will".
Etymology: From Greek  a- (without) and kratos (power)
Frequency: About 1 in 12,000,000 words.
Why use it:  First, it's a word for an entire state of mind - one that lots of us have felt; it's the "I couldn't help myself" feeling.  But you can say "I was akrastic".  Sounds so much better.  Second, it's useful in philosophy because it raises interesting questions about deliberation and choice and free will and so on.

Interesting words: Weal

Word: weal
Pronunciation: rhymes with heal
Origin:  Per the Online Etymology Dictionary, weal comes from old English wela which meant wealth and earlier from old Germanic welon. 

Meaning: According to Merriam Webster weal is a noun meaning:

a sound, healthy, or prosperous state

Why use it? What else means this? A nice, simple, short word that captures a slightly complex concept

Frequency:  Per Google ngram viewer, about 1 in every 2.8 million words.

What are you reading? March 3rd, 2018

• Started this week
• Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker. Why the Enlightenment is still important, why life is still good.  I am on p. 11
• Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and eco-speculation  by Daniel Jose Older.  Solarpunk is a new and optimistic sub-genre of science fiction.  I am on p. 9
• Six Months, Three Days, Five Others by Charlie Jane Anders. I am on p. 13
• In progress this week
• A New History of Western Philosophy by Anthony Kenny. This is a very good history of the subject, well written and clear.  Kenny follows an unusual strategy in that he takes two approaches: He first covers each era in a more-or-less chronological order, then he looks at the big topics of that era in a systematic way.  I am on p. 399, slogging through the scholastics.
• Scrivener for Dummies. I am on p. 103.  Scrivener is a tool for writers. 
• The Consistency of Arithmetic and Other Essays by Storrs McCall. Essays on various philosophical topics. I am on p. 57.
• The Drawing of Trump and its Postponement by Fred L. Karpin.  I am on p. 21. A classic on the play of the hand in bridge. 
• Finished this week
• Double Negative by David Carkeet. A comic mystery set in a linguistics facility. My review.
• The Speed of Dark  by Elizabeth Moon.  Science fiction about an autistic man. My review.

Book review: The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

The Speed of Dark is a science fiction novel first published in 2002.  It is astonishingly good. The main reason it is so good is the voice of the protagonist. 

In the novel, therapies for autism that treat it in early childhood have been found. However, the protagonist, Tom, is too old for them.  He is definitely autistic and he also has a great many abilities. In particular, he has an extreme ability to see patterns. This serves him well in his job (which is never specified too exactly, but involves some sort of high level pattern matching) and in his hobby of fencing, where he picks up on the patterns of his opponents.

Tom lives an ordinary life in extraordinary ways. He has a job, he has attractions to a woman and worries if she reciprocates, he has a hobby, he has friends - some of them autistic and some not. At his job, he has a sympathetic boss but that boss's boss is very unsympathetic boss.

Moon, who has an autistic son, manages to show all this through Tom's eyes while using that to make us see Tom very vividly.  She also puts in some plot twists which I will not detail in order to avoid spoiling the novel for you.

Interesting words: Contumely

Word: Contumely
Pronunciation:  Rhymes with Don whom see

Origin:  Per the Online Etymology Dictionary, contumely comes from Latin contumelia "an insult" via old French contumelie.
Meaning: According to Merriam-Webster, contumely is a noun meaning:

harsh language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt; also : an instance of such language or treatment

Why use it?  First, although it's a very rare word, it's relatively well-known from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act III, scene 1:

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,

Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,

which is part of perhaps the most famous passage in all of Shakespeare - the "to be or not to be" soliloquy.

Second, it's more precise than "insult" or "scorn".  It refers to a particular type of foul treatment.


Frequency: About 1 in every 15,200,000 words