The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco is an interesting historical murder novel set in medieval Italy.
The Name of the Rose
The Martian Chronicles
It’s fun to read a sci-fi book referencing was-future dates that are now in the past. Ray Bradbury’s book “The Martian Chronicles” was written at the start of the atomic age in 1951 at the height of the Hollywood Blacklist era and Cold War paranoia.
Slow Horses
Mick Herron’s book Slow Horses was recommended to me by a work colleague who’s read the entire series. I also understand from him that there is an Apple TV adaptation of it with Gary Oldman. I enjoyed it – it’s the first espionage thriller I’ve read in recent years other than John Le Carré.
The Matter of Everything
Physicist Suzie Sheehy’s book looks at the history of physics from the perspective of the physicists responsible for the design and construction of some of mankind’s most important experiments.
Bing Image Creator
I’ve been experimenting with Bing Image Creator as a tool to create a site logo and icon. Image Creator is underpinned by the DALL-E 3 engine. Link here: Image Creator from Microsoft Bing. For this site, I used the following prompt:
In the style of a 1930’s travel poster, create an image with an airliner flying, a spaceship landing, and a galaxy in widescreen landscape format
I got reasonable suggested images in the style I asked for:
A challenge I had was that Bing Image Creator wouldn’t take account of the request to generate an image in any size other than square 1024 x 1024 px. This may be a limitation of the specific implementation hosted for Bing.
I chose this image as the logo – I like the style:
Doom – The Politics of Catastrophe
As I complete reading this book from Niall Ferguson, the topic of the Pandemic is front of mind as I’ve just been to my local pharmacy to get my latest Covid vaccine booster. This followed on from an SMS message from the HSE (our national health service in Ireland). I’m conscious how fortunate I am (and all of us) to be able to receive this inoculation and enable us to continue to live normal lives. I commented to the pharmacist that we shouldn’t take the vaccine for granted. We both agreed that while the pandemic (looking back from our autumn 2023 perspective) now seems like a dream, society shouldn’t forget the lessons learned nor the heavy price paid by those most vulnerable.
The Hammer of God
Haven’t read Arthur C. Clarke in years. This short book “The Hammer of God” from 1993 reads well. Must re-read Rendezvous with Rama. Read in September 2023.
The Radetsky March
The Radetsky March was very atmospheric and probably had the most vivid description of alcohol and gambling addiction I’ve read. Joseph Roth describes the stagnant and failing Austro-Hungarian empire vividly through deep characters. A great novel. Read in June 2023.
Leviathan Wakes
After reading Leviathan Wakes, I can see that “The Expanse” TV series is so well cast. The book really is like a blockbuster movie. Great holiday reading from James S.A. Corey. Read in June 2023.
The Arabian Nights
Finally finished The Arabian Nights after many years of intermittent reading. Evident from the footnotes that Burton loved the Middle East and its culture and language. This version from 1884 is of its time – but still amazing. Read in June 2023.