Weapons of Math Destruction

One of the most stunning books I read in a college political science class was Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics by Michael Wheeler. Published in 1976--forty years ago!!!--it is about the manipulation of public opinion in America. It was scary stuff then and now, it feels eerily prescient.
The end-of-the-year "Best Books" lists are starting to come out and one that I'm seeing a lot is Cathy O'Neil's Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatans Democracy.

Here's the sales pitch:

A former Wall Street quant sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life — and threaten to rip apart our social fabric

We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives—where we go to school, whether we get a car loan, how much we pay for health insurance—are being made not by humans, but by mathematical models. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness: Everyone is judged according to the same rules, and bias is eliminated.

Become a patron of the arts!

If you're a reader of fantasy and science fiction, then you know the work of Katharine Kerr. (Daggerspell was my gateway book, and I've been reading her fantastical stories set in the fictional realm of Deverry ever since.) If you're a fan of hers you may know that she and her family have been emotionally and financially devastated by her husband's early-onset Alzheimer's.

She's now reaching out to fans via Patreon, offering free fiction and other goodies in return for patronage. (Levels begin as low as $3 a month and come on...you spend more than that on a latte per day.)

Here's her Patreon page. Here's a link to her website. Here's a link to her Zazzle shop where you can pick up all kinds of swag marked with the Silver Dagger logo designed by Kerr's husband, Howard. Thanks to Patreon you don't have to be a Borgia or a Medici to be a patron to a creator. And who better than someone who's been entertaining you since 1993?

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The results of this year's election--now one month old--pulled the scab off the still-festering wound of race relations in America. Read this book for a perspective. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Between the World and Me:

It is written as a letter to the author's teenaged son about the feelings, symbolism, and realities associated with being black in the United States. Coates recapitulates the American history and explains to his son the "racist violence that has been woven into American culture." Coates draws from an abridged, autobiographical account of his youth in Baltimore, detailing the ways in which institutions like the school, the police, and even "the streets" discipline, endanger, and threaten to disembody black men and women. The work takes inspiration from James Baldwin's 1963 The Fire Next Time. Unlike Baldwin, Coates sees white supremacy as an indestructible force, one that black Americans will never evade or erase, but will always struggle against.

Joe Kenda Mug

I don't need any more mugs.
No one I know needs any more mugs. Between the one you got free when you opened an account at that new bank and the one you got from a coworker on your last birthday, and the cute one you bought online one night when you were cruising Etsy instead of sleeping--you're covered on the mug situation. And yet...this one calls me. Probably because I can hear Joe Kenda's voice in my head when I look at the words. And possibly because I know a couple of people who have crazy boyfriends--not in the homicidal kind of cray-cray way, but guys whose eccentricities make them less than endearing. (Note:  Crazy does not equal sexy. Just sayin'.)
If you have a Homicide Hunter fan on your Christmas list and they somehow don't have enough mugs in their kitchen, consider this one.

Heartblaze 3 Vampire Eternal by Shay Roberts ... a review

Heartblaze 3: Vampire Eternal by Shay Roberts

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This paranormal thriller/romance series continues to impress with the author's deft intertwining of history and fantasy. With every book, his paranormal universe has expanded, and this--the final book in "Emma's Saga"--goes out with a bang. Great female characters are a bonus too--powerful women rule every corner of the Heartblaze paranormal universe, and if that was the ONLY thing Roberts did right, it would be worth reading the books just for that reason. But the author is a story teller with a capital S, and the elements of the plot--some of them seeded as early as the first book--mesh like jeweled clockwork. Every word has a purpose, every page has a surprise, every chapter moves the story forward. This series has been a pure pleasure to read, and it's good to know there will be other books coming set in this world.



View all my reviews

Throne of the Crescent Moon ... a gorgeous fantasy book

I get so tired of fantasy books that cover the same old/same old ground. Yes, I read the Celtic tales as a kid and Norse mythology as well. But where are the fantasies set in Asia? In Africa? In Latin America? In the Middle East?
Throne of the Crescent Moon has just popped up on my radar and it's fantastic. And clearly, I'm late to the party because when it was published, nearly five years ago, it was a finalist for practically ever fantasy award out there and won the Locus Award for "best first novel." Writer Saladin Ahmed (born and raised in Michigan) also writes short stories and non-fiction. This is book one in a series. I can't wait for the next chapter!

Just read the book's description. You'll be salivating too.

A finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Crawford, Gemmell, and British Fantasy Awards, and the winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel, Throne of the Crescent Moon is a fantasy adventure with all the magic of The Arabian Nights.

New from Poisoned Pen Press...just in time for Christmas!

Poisoned Pen Press  has got your Christmas covered. No matter what flavor of the mystery genre you prefer, they have what you want. (What you crave!) Check out their books and authors here.  I know A Decline in Prophets is on my wish list!

The second novel in the award-winning Rowland Sinclair series from Sulari Gentill. “I thoroughly enjoyed the glamour of the ocean voyage, the warmth and wit among the friends, and yet all the time, simmering beneath the surface, was the real and savage violence, waiting to erupt. The 1930s are a marvelous period. We know what lies ahead! This is beautifully drawn, with all its fragile hope and looming tragedy. I am delighted this is a series. I want them all.” — Anne Perry, New York Times best-selling author

This Shop Has the Ugly Christmas Sweaters of Your Dreams!

Etsy Alert. Sweater Zoo out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has more than 100 great sweaters, including many designs that will make your holidays cozy and bright. Prices on Sweater Zoo's wares are mostly in the $20-$30 range, and there are sweater vests priced at $18. Order now to get your ugly Christmas sweaters early!

France. Mystery. Two of my favorite things in one book!

I heard about this book on the amazing French Word-a-Day site.

From the Amazon page:
ll that Professor Claire Somerset expects when she arrives in Provence during the summer of 1978 is a restful visit with friends as she finishes sabbatical research on Surrealist poets involved in WWII resistance. Instead, the attraction between her and vineyard owner Maurice Laurent sets off a series of events that turn her life upside down. Claire is given an anonymous journal that describes a family whose members played different roles during the Occupation: pacifist, collaborator, member of the Resistance, prisoner of war, Nazi officer's lover....and murderer of a fellow family member. The codes and initials used in the journal match the Laurent family. Did the Laurents know of their quiet, simple cousin's part in the Resistance? Did the murderer ever confess what happened? How many more secrets is Maurice's family hiding? Fictional characters and their activities revolve among real people and events leading up to the liberation of Southern France. Each is influenced by writers who kept the idea of liberty alive under the threat of capture, torture and death--such as Albert Camus, Samuel Beckett, André Malraux, Louis Aragon and René Char, the Surrealist poet who organized parachute drops around Mont Ventoux. The importance of the wine industry--war or no war--is woven throughout as the Laurents' disguised cellar hides both refugees and barrels of their best vintages.

If you're intrigued, order the book here.https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1517688167/mdj-20

the Ice Child--another for the TBR pile

This Nordic Noir, part of a series by Swedish crime writer Camilla Lackberg, comes highly recommended to me. It drew my attention in part because of the eerie parallels between its plot and the increasingly odd abduction tale of sherri Papini. (And if you're fascinated by true crime, the chilling details of the "Emerald Triangle" and the many people who have gone missing there will fascinate you.) I can't wait to dive into The Ice Child.

That's also a stunning cover, isn't it? Great use of black and white with a slash of blood red.

An ad that will change your perspective

If it's one thing I've learned, it's that nobody is going to change their minds about something until something changes the way they look at things. This is an ad that could very well do that. In a clever way, it forces a change in perspective. and after you see it, I don't think you'll be able to look at the issue of gun violence the same way. Check out the story behind the video here.

Free Fantasy and Science Fiction (and horror) Book Promotion

Once again, multi-genre best-selling author Patty Jansen has put together a freebie promotion, and this one is a doozy. Some of the goodies you can snag include Kate Danley's beautiful Queen Mab, and Chosen, the first of USA Today best-selling author Christine Pope's Djinn Wars series. My retelling of Beauty and the Beast (The Summer Garden) is also on offer, so I'm in great company. Click here to go to the promo and choose your favorite reading platform.