I try to look into any book that friends mention favorably. Sometimes, I have read it but sometimes I look at it again and maybe read it again. If I read what a friend is reading or has recently read, I may get in tune with some of their mood or thinking. I can't remember any books I have read because a friend mentioned them but I am pretty sure I have.
My friend who got me into making and teaching the course Futures read the other day's blog and recommended "Therapy" by David Lodge. The blog post was about the GPTChat bot and the earlier pioneer "Rogerian therapist" bot named Eliza. I have a hold on "Therapy" at the local library. That book involves a computer program that is a clever advanced bot that gives personal advice, a robotic Ann Landers.
I am learning about holds. Just because the website says there are no holds on a book does not mean I can walk in and get the book. I haven't checked with a real librarian but I think zero holds only means that no new checkouts will be performed ahead of me.
When I read aloud to Lynn, we often agree to drop a book after a while. We do not feel more virtuous by reading to the end of a book. If we are bored or fed up with a book, we stop reading and listening. My interest and enthusiasm is usually stronger for non-fiction. Non-fiction covers the world and all subjects, not just who-done-it or will-they-or-won't-they.
Both of our book groups alternate between fiction and non-fiction, by the month. I would probably not have even heard of The Bell in the Lake by Miles Mytting but for reading Lynn's books to her. I enjoyed the scenes, the scenery and the lives of the characters. Another friend mentioned Ed Yong's "An Immense World" at lunch and that reminded me I had been telling myself to look into the book about the range of animal perception abilities and his mention did the trick.
