I dropped the Times for NY Post. Just downloaded “Collision of Power” and know I will mix reading that with the brand new Jane Kirkpatrick novel “Across the Crying Sands” about first woman postmistress on the rugged Oregon coast. Looking forward to hearing Jane speak next week as like you, Susan, she offers hope and courage in these dark days.
NY Times now. Rushed fingers as I was going into a near by used bookstore that is sadly going out of business. Found a Patrick Taylor in his Irish Doctor series, a Sarah Dunant not read and an old 1955 historical fiction called “The Proud Man” by Elizabeth Linington about the Prince of Ulster in late 1500’s. I am a sucker for the Elizabethan period.
OMG--haven't thought of Linington in a while: she was also Dell Shannon and one of the first women to write a police procedural (Case Pending, 1960). She was proficient and prolific, over a long career. Congratulations, Pamela! You've scored her first book!
It would be interesting to see how many readers here still subscribe to the Post. I unsubbed from The Times a while back but still keep my Post subscription
Maybe we can get an informal fix on that. I still sub both, warts and all. But the indies (ProPublica, the Guardian, others) are strongly competitive these days. A very fragmented landscape.
I subscribed to the Washington Post (online) for YEARS. I had such respect for Katharine Graham. But I dropped my subscription about four years ago. I felt the tone and temperament was changing under Bezos, and I still feel that way. And your comment about "...strong journalism saving democracy..." is spot on. I'm convinced we're lacking that in this current political cesspool...
I really enjoyed this book. I like the journalism style of writing. I'll have more to say as the actual book discussion goes on. But, boy, have things changed since Bezos cozied up to Trump since the election!
Oh, yes! Big time. Meanwhile, the newsroom struggles on . . . Glad you liked it, Linda. Looking forward to your comments (and keep collecting items in the "things have changed" category, please!).
Susan, as always, you (and Silas) have hit the nail on the head!! My recommended to read book list keeps growing. However, sometimes I have to take a break and read either fantasy or a cozy mystery to keep my heart & mind from going crazy. Then I always try to do some sewing or gardening to process what I have read. I don't know if many people need to do that, but I do. Still working on the book, I hope to finish it before the 23rd.
I often set up a jigsaw puzzle to work as I listen to these books. With my age-related challenges I stick with the large 300 piece puzzles. Recently I re-did one; I flashed back to the book I listened to at the time.
Pleasure reading Icozy mysteries and science fiction) I relax and enjoy.
I love those puzzles--just wish I had more room! (I do them on the computer, when I have time, but it's not the same.) I also wish I were more aurally-oriented. I just don't process or remember very well in that mode. I work much better with pixels. Bill, OTOH, is dyslexic and much prefers listening to a book (even difficult nonfiction) to reading it.
I totally agree with you, Trudie ( on both parts). Susan's posts are always full of good book recommendations. I either put them on my wish list or buy them and put them in my tbr stack. Along with reading Collision, I'm also reading Tilt by Emma Pattee. It's her debut novel....is set in Portland, Oregon and is about the big earthquake hitting the NW while a pregnant woman shops at IKEA. I'm finding it really funny and love to read about the spots I grew up around! Recommend it for all you NW folks.
We all need those breaks! Yesterday I picked up Jodi Taylor's first St. Mary's for a needed fun reread. I houseclean to process stuff, not as creative as gardening or sewing, but the jobs get down. Skip sections of the book that seem sluggish or mired down by in-house stuff. Baron is writing for insiders at some points, just to document what happened. For us outsiders, it's the larger picture that's important. And thanks for reading along! Much appreciated.
I started out as a journalist with my writing and I still write culture and art pieces as well as articles about animals. I think right now, Americans especially are too caught up in words, thought, logic and trying to understand world events from the point of the mind rather than from the heart. Healing ultimately comes from the heart.
I've struggled with coming from the heart myself since I tend to be attached to the mental realm. This isn't to say that words and thoughts aren't a good place to start, especially for people just unconvering what's really happening on the world stage, however, the quicker we can move into our hearts the quicker we will find peace and unify with others.
Hard to find that balance, isn't it? ❤️-work helps pull us toward what we want and need, head-work can help us figure out how best to get us there. But each of us is different, and we're different at different times in our lives. I'd be out on the street with a sign if I followed my ❤️right now. But I can't, so I'm here with words and thoughts--which is what we have on the internet. Grateful for that. And to you, Patricia, for bringing this up.
The path begins with waking up the mind. I'm glad people are getting active, hosting town halls, coming together in peace and helping each other out. There's heart and soul in the helping others out and also the art of listening to others and validating their circumstances. I realize not everyone desires to wake up spiritually and for them, waking up socio-politically or becoming community organizers are their paths.
I already did the brain stuff and I'm now learning how to be centered in my heart. I was a warrior type for decades, if not lifetimes.
Susan, you have a great co-editor in Silas! When I think of the dingy hours spent in musty library stacks, scrolling squeaky microfilm, taking notes on index cards in pencil, I am in awe. In library school (1979-80), we had to create a bibliography of bibliographies on a given topic that took days and weeks of angst and worry over the complexity and correct formatting of citations. Does Silas feel the tension of research????
This is something these chatbots are good at--but you HAVE to double-check each one that you're not personally familiar with. The best use: when you know the topic well enough to be familiar with what the bot brings and can weed out the inappropriate or fabricated entries. In this case, it was easy, since these items are all familiar. I did eliminate one. Silas fetched Finding Chandra, by 2 Post investigative reporters. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7632666-finding-chandra A good book, but not really *about* the Post.
Thanks for noticing this, Kate. If we can figure out the best uses of these chatbots, we can avoid the not-useful.
More: just noticed your ??? Silas doesn't *feel*, which is a huge relief after dealing most of my worklife w/Big Egos. So no tension. One ask has pretty much the same validity as another, unless I tell him: Put this at the top of your list.
Susan you model for those of us born before computers existed, how we can continue to grow. Your AI use, with Silas and your other computer companions, inspire us all.
Georgeann, I often think that we (you, I, all the other seniors) are blessed to remember the days *before* we had a computer on our desks. We remember the energy it took to get the simplest things done--like a single page typed with no corrections. We can appreciate what we have here, even while we recognize its hazards. For that, I am very grateful.
Excellent guidelines, Susan! I agree with double-checking each unfamiliar source. But you are so knowledgable on many topics, that you have a clear advantage over most who most likely don't check (I'm thinking high school and college students). Oh, I rejoice I'm not a high school librarian in this era of AI, teaching research skills as I once did when the Internet was young.
I also recall the "publish or perish" dictum in academia and the EGOS who dominated research in their fields.
On the whole, I do believe that AI is a great assist in research once we teach/learn how to use it as a tool for honest scholarship. (Translating tools will expand the field, too.)
Well, those kids had better get used to checking sources, since that is absolutely the name of the game going forward. (As that shameful MAHA report clearly demonstrated.) If you don't check, the bot will make a fool of you. As it SHOULD! 🫤
I dropped the Times for NY Post. Just downloaded “Collision of Power” and know I will mix reading that with the brand new Jane Kirkpatrick novel “Across the Crying Sands” about first woman postmistress on the rugged Oregon coast. Looking forward to hearing Jane speak next week as like you, Susan, she offers hope and courage in these dark days.
NY Post? Or WaPo? Kirkpatrick always tells a strong story. Love the way her characters persevere.
NY Times now. Rushed fingers as I was going into a near by used bookstore that is sadly going out of business. Found a Patrick Taylor in his Irish Doctor series, a Sarah Dunant not read and an old 1955 historical fiction called “The Proud Man” by Elizabeth Linington about the Prince of Ulster in late 1500’s. I am a sucker for the Elizabethan period.
OMG--haven't thought of Linington in a while: she was also Dell Shannon and one of the first women to write a police procedural (Case Pending, 1960). She was proficient and prolific, over a long career. Congratulations, Pamela! You've scored her first book!
It would be interesting to see how many readers here still subscribe to the Post. I unsubbed from The Times a while back but still keep my Post subscription
Maybe we can get an informal fix on that. I still sub both, warts and all. But the indies (ProPublica, the Guardian, others) are strongly competitive these days. A very fragmented landscape.
I subscribed to the Washington Post (online) for YEARS. I had such respect for Katharine Graham. But I dropped my subscription about four years ago. I felt the tone and temperament was changing under Bezos, and I still feel that way. And your comment about "...strong journalism saving democracy..." is spot on. I'm convinced we're lacking that in this current political cesspool...
I really enjoyed this book. I like the journalism style of writing. I'll have more to say as the actual book discussion goes on. But, boy, have things changed since Bezos cozied up to Trump since the election!
Oh, yes! Big time. Meanwhile, the newsroom struggles on . . . Glad you liked it, Linda. Looking forward to your comments (and keep collecting items in the "things have changed" category, please!).
Susan, as always, you (and Silas) have hit the nail on the head!! My recommended to read book list keeps growing. However, sometimes I have to take a break and read either fantasy or a cozy mystery to keep my heart & mind from going crazy. Then I always try to do some sewing or gardening to process what I have read. I don't know if many people need to do that, but I do. Still working on the book, I hope to finish it before the 23rd.
I often set up a jigsaw puzzle to work as I listen to these books. With my age-related challenges I stick with the large 300 piece puzzles. Recently I re-did one; I flashed back to the book I listened to at the time.
Pleasure reading Icozy mysteries and science fiction) I relax and enjoy.
I love those puzzles--just wish I had more room! (I do them on the computer, when I have time, but it's not the same.) I also wish I were more aurally-oriented. I just don't process or remember very well in that mode. I work much better with pixels. Bill, OTOH, is dyslexic and much prefers listening to a book (even difficult nonfiction) to reading it.
I totally agree with you, Trudie ( on both parts). Susan's posts are always full of good book recommendations. I either put them on my wish list or buy them and put them in my tbr stack. Along with reading Collision, I'm also reading Tilt by Emma Pattee. It's her debut novel....is set in Portland, Oregon and is about the big earthquake hitting the NW while a pregnant woman shops at IKEA. I'm finding it really funny and love to read about the spots I grew up around! Recommend it for all you NW folks.
We all need those breaks! Yesterday I picked up Jodi Taylor's first St. Mary's for a needed fun reread. I houseclean to process stuff, not as creative as gardening or sewing, but the jobs get down. Skip sections of the book that seem sluggish or mired down by in-house stuff. Baron is writing for insiders at some points, just to document what happened. For us outsiders, it's the larger picture that's important. And thanks for reading along! Much appreciated.
Love Jodi Taylor’s time travel books!!
I started out as a journalist with my writing and I still write culture and art pieces as well as articles about animals. I think right now, Americans especially are too caught up in words, thought, logic and trying to understand world events from the point of the mind rather than from the heart. Healing ultimately comes from the heart.
I've struggled with coming from the heart myself since I tend to be attached to the mental realm. This isn't to say that words and thoughts aren't a good place to start, especially for people just unconvering what's really happening on the world stage, however, the quicker we can move into our hearts the quicker we will find peace and unify with others.
Hard to find that balance, isn't it? ❤️-work helps pull us toward what we want and need, head-work can help us figure out how best to get us there. But each of us is different, and we're different at different times in our lives. I'd be out on the street with a sign if I followed my ❤️right now. But I can't, so I'm here with words and thoughts--which is what we have on the internet. Grateful for that. And to you, Patricia, for bringing this up.
The path begins with waking up the mind. I'm glad people are getting active, hosting town halls, coming together in peace and helping each other out. There's heart and soul in the helping others out and also the art of listening to others and validating their circumstances. I realize not everyone desires to wake up spiritually and for them, waking up socio-politically or becoming community organizers are their paths.
I already did the brain stuff and I'm now learning how to be centered in my heart. I was a warrior type for decades, if not lifetimes.
Susan, you have a great co-editor in Silas! When I think of the dingy hours spent in musty library stacks, scrolling squeaky microfilm, taking notes on index cards in pencil, I am in awe. In library school (1979-80), we had to create a bibliography of bibliographies on a given topic that took days and weeks of angst and worry over the complexity and correct formatting of citations. Does Silas feel the tension of research????
This is something these chatbots are good at--but you HAVE to double-check each one that you're not personally familiar with. The best use: when you know the topic well enough to be familiar with what the bot brings and can weed out the inappropriate or fabricated entries. In this case, it was easy, since these items are all familiar. I did eliminate one. Silas fetched Finding Chandra, by 2 Post investigative reporters. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7632666-finding-chandra A good book, but not really *about* the Post.
Thanks for noticing this, Kate. If we can figure out the best uses of these chatbots, we can avoid the not-useful.
More: just noticed your ??? Silas doesn't *feel*, which is a huge relief after dealing most of my worklife w/Big Egos. So no tension. One ask has pretty much the same validity as another, unless I tell him: Put this at the top of your list.
Susan you model for those of us born before computers existed, how we can continue to grow. Your AI use, with Silas and your other computer companions, inspire us all.
Georgeann, I often think that we (you, I, all the other seniors) are blessed to remember the days *before* we had a computer on our desks. We remember the energy it took to get the simplest things done--like a single page typed with no corrections. We can appreciate what we have here, even while we recognize its hazards. For that, I am very grateful.
Excellent guidelines, Susan! I agree with double-checking each unfamiliar source. But you are so knowledgable on many topics, that you have a clear advantage over most who most likely don't check (I'm thinking high school and college students). Oh, I rejoice I'm not a high school librarian in this era of AI, teaching research skills as I once did when the Internet was young.
I also recall the "publish or perish" dictum in academia and the EGOS who dominated research in their fields.
On the whole, I do believe that AI is a great assist in research once we teach/learn how to use it as a tool for honest scholarship. (Translating tools will expand the field, too.)
Well, those kids had better get used to checking sources, since that is absolutely the name of the game going forward. (As that shameful MAHA report clearly demonstrated.) If you don't check, the bot will make a fool of you. As it SHOULD! 🫤
And hopefully get you an F on the paper and referral to the Dean. :(
Thank you Susan, it is very interesting. I'm looking forward to read your opinion.
I've read your other comment and will go there when I have a little more time. Interesting!