Thinking Outside the Perceptual Box: Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg’s Robot, by Rachel Cordasco

Book Reviews Photo by Aideal Hwa / Unsplash If reading Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg’s Robot (Penguin Classics, 2021), translated by Tomasz Mirkowicz, makes you think about Stanislaw Lem’s work, you’re not alone. Indeed, both Robot and Lem’s His Master’s Voice (published in Polish just a few years apart) take up the fascinating but insoluble problem of whether or not we’re alone in the universe. One might even call Robot surrealist science fiction and liken it to Kafka’s work, or even Lem’s Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, since the main character spends most of his time wandering around the halls of an underground shelter, unsure of his own identity and his place in the community that has formed following an apocalyptic event on the surface. His identity confusion derives from his “birth” on an assembly line under a kind of bell jar. Given instructions by a mysterious Mechanism to study the people living in the shelter, the protagonist proceeds as if he is a living machine given a modicum of free will (as explained by the Mechanism). Much of the novel focuses on the protagonist figuring out why those around him are living underground and why many of them believe that he is a physicist named Poreyra. Encountering strange “statues” that weigh several tons in one of the shelter’s rooms, he eventually moves through a mirror there into a replica of the stricken city, where time moves at a fraction of the speed experienced in the shelter.... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2021-11-10 20:14:00 UTC ]
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Read the American short stories George Saunders thinks will stand the test of time.

There’s so much contemporary fiction released every day, it’s hard to keep track—and it’s hard to know which works will still be remembered in a year and which will slip into obscurity. Luckily, we have George Saunders to guide us. In an interview with Los Angeles Review of Books, Saunders was... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-05 16:37:34 UTC ]
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Mystery Boxes and Budding Loves: New Science Fiction and Fantasy

“The Absolute Book,” by Elizabeth Knox, takes on a number of genres, while “Winter’s Orbit,” by Everina Maxwell, stays true to one. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-01-29 10:00:04 UTC ]
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Hachette launches Feminist Book Box subscriptions service

Hachette UK is launching the Feminist Book Box, a subscription service intended to highlight the best in feminist writing and storytelling across its 10 divisions, including Hodder & Stoughton, Little, Brown and Orion.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-28 01:29:39 UTC ]
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The information warriors fighting 'robot zombie army' of coronavirus sceptics

The Anti-Virus website takes on figures like Toby Young and Allison Pearson - and its creators think it has them on the runCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSometimes, Stuart Ritchie feels like he’s being pursued by an army of smiley faces. The lecturer at the Institute... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-01-25 07:00:08 UTC ]
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Angry Robot picks up Pratt's Kickstarter novella collection

Angry Robot has acquired its first novella collection from Hugo Award-winning American author Tim Pratt after seeing the author's Kickstarter campaign for the project.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-05 22:12:51 UTC ]
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I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom, Read by the Author

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Actress and comedian Rachel Bloom narrates her own memoir, I Want to Be Where the Normal... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-29 09:46:38 UTC ]
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PW Notable: Adam Lerner

Adam Lerner has been leading Minneapolis-based Lerner Publishing Group for roughly 20 years, and this year the independent children’s press’s reach has extended far beyond the traditional community of young readers, the book trade, and the school and library market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Six book subscription boxes that solve the problem of what to read next

Book subscriptions from indies around the country are ideal for gifting — to yourself or someone else. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-07 13:00:00 UTC ]
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I didn’t think I understood modern poetry. The less I tried to get it, the more I came to love it.

My introduction to contemporary poets was a trial by fire. Here’s what I learned along the way. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-04 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Rachel Piercey & Freya Hartas | 'We wanted the seasons to be accurately represented'

Poetry and woodland creatures, along with a dose of nostalgia and a nod to Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge books, all feature in the big search-and-find spring release from the new independent publisher Magic Cat, which brought together poet Rachel Piercey (above right) and illustrator Freya Hartas... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-03 15:11:53 UTC ]
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What does Obama really think about Biden? His memoir doesn’t say.

The former president offers familiar praise without delving deeper into their relationship. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-18 13:00:00 UTC ]
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What do President Barack Obama and Rachel Bloom have in common?

We’ve got a star-studded stack of new books today, folks! To name a few: President Barack Obama’s memoir, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend creator and star Rachel Bloom’s musings, Julia Child’s culinary wisdom, and Steve Martin’s cartoon pigeons (???). You can get them all at your local bookstore today! *... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-17 15:30:14 UTC ]
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If you’re thinking of a drastic lifestyle change, ‘Off Grid Life’ will feed your fantasy (or kill it)

Foster Huntington’s follow-up to “Van Life” is a both a celebration and a cautionary tale. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-10-30 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Rachel Cusk’s Outline trilogy is getting the perfect audiobook narrator.

Yes, it’s Kristin Scott Thomas, our most recent Mrs. Danvers and our forever Fiona. Can’t you just imagine her as the narrator of Cusk’s cool-toned autofictions? The best part is, she got the gig because she’s a fan. “Faber heard that I was a Rachel Cusk fan so I was thrilled when they asked me... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-29 15:18:37 UTC ]
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Rollout of Boxed Out Campaign Questioned at GLIBA Meeting

Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association members raised concerns during its annual membership meeting about the strategy behind the rollout to the ABA's Boxed Out marketing campaign. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Matthew McConaughey is all right, all right, all right — and thinks you will be too

McConaughey’s memoir “Greenlights” is full of can-do thoughts about this thing he calls “livin.” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-10-20 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Totnes Bookshop closes in box office development plan

Totnes Bookshop in south Devon is being closed in its current form by the trust that owns its lease and will reopen as a box office for local events. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-19 11:36:36 UTC ]
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Amazon donates $100,000 for diversity and robotics programming at UMd.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is again putting more money toward computer science education in the region, this time with a $100,000 donation to the University of Maryland's engineering school for diversity initiatives and robotics programming. Specifically, Amazon Lab126, the... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-10-14 11:53:45 UTC ]
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Amazon donates $100,000 for diversity and robotics programming at UMd.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is again putting more money toward computer science education in Greater Washington, this time with a $100,000 donation to the University of Maryland's engineering school for diversity initiatives and robotics programming. Specifically, Amazon Lab126, the... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-10-13 15:47:55 UTC ]
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16 Brilliant Bi and Lesbian Literary Fiction Novels to Keep You Thinking

Bi and lesbian books from the last two decades for fans of literary fiction, from haunting collections to atmospheric historical fiction like Miss Timmins’ School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-10-02 10:38:36 UTC ]
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