It’s the stage of the academic year where everyone, including me, is feeling pretty burned out. So there is a bit more escapist fiction than usual here. First the work-related reading.
We Are Not Machines – Sarah O’Connor. I wrote about this at more length, excellent reflections on how AI might change the world of work
The Thinking Machine – Stephen Witt. This was the FT Business Book of the Year. It’s a terrific read, a bio of Jensen Huang and Nvidia both. The ending is spectacular. Highly recommended
Trade World – Ed Conway. I read a proof copy. You are all in for a treat when it’s published.
The Political Economy of Artificial Intelligence – eds Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb and Catherine Tucker. This is a collection of papers from a 2024 NBER conference on AI and although they are quite interesting on the whole – covering for example subjects like defence and political preferences – they feel dated already.
And the non-work books:
Taiwan Travelogue, Yang Shuang-Zi. Winner of the International Booker Prize. I loved, loved, loved this book.
There’s No Turning Back – Alba De Cespedes. This was my Daunts subscription book this month, set in a girls’ college in Rome in the 1930s. Daring for the time, I would guess, and still shedding light on the trade-offs young women have to confront in life.
The Moro Affair – Leonardo Sciasia. An investigation of why the investigation into the kidnapping failed, and discussion of the convoluted Italian politics of those dark days. Not sure why I picked this up except that period in the 70s is generally interesting and odd.
She Walks At Night– Seishi Yokomizo. A newly translated Japanese crime classic.
The Burning Grounds – Abir Mukherjee. The latest in the excellent crime series set in Calcutta as the British Empire limps towards its end.
There are Places in the World Where Rules are Less Important Than Kindness – Carlo Rovelli. A collection of essays by the always-eloquent and thought-provoking physicist. Most of them are not about physics at all. The book made me fantasise about the day job leaving me with enough energy to pen elegant essays about philosophy or Dante.