#bruce holsinger

[cattyfantastic]

Stayed up past my bedtime to finish this last night. Tightly plotted and full of surprises.

A thoughtful and provocative exploration of AI, morality and the consequences of ceding responsibility to algorithms.

If you’re someone, like me, who is conflicted about machine learning, especially when it comes to large language models, then definitely worth a read.

[katefishernyc]

I read 35+ books in 2020, not including the ones I partially read and reread with students (honorable mentions: Song of Solomon, Kindred, One Hundred Years of Solitude, and There There), but could sadly fit only six on this page. Here were some of my favorites, and there were many more.

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

In better holiday news, some new additions to my bookshelf! (Fifth and sixth from the top were from family; the rest, I bought myself with some of the money I got.)

[kindledspiritsbooks]

My Month in Books: January 2020

From new memoirs to old classics, from the Tudors to Isis: This was my January in books.

January Highlight

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

In the Dream House is an experimental and wildly creative memoir that recounts Machado’s experience of an abusive same-sex relationship. Frustrated by the absence of any story like hers from the literary canon, Machado has sought to insert herself into the archive by telling each chapter of her story through the lens of a different genre, ranging from stoner comedy to erotica to choose your own adventure. It pushes the boundaries of what I thought a memoir could be and was utterly gripping from start to finish.

[lioninsunheart]

“The heart's regulation of the pulse fashions the body into a musical microcosm keeping time with the rhythms of the universe...”

~Bruce W. Holsinger, Music, Body, and Desire in Medieval Culture: Hildegard of Bingen to Chaucer, 2001

Photos by Kate Scott Studio -’Dolce vita and Detail’

[freckles-and-books]

The dusky warmth of fading daylight, a gently-purring reading companion, and a book full of medieval intrigue. If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.

[freckles-and-books]

I got my time machine and guide ready, plus some tea for the trip.

[freckles-and-books]

Alright @rhetoricandlogic asked me for my thoughts on A Burnable Book, so here I go.

So I originally picked this book up as an ARC years ago, but when I tried to read it, it really bugged me that I knew nothing of the time period. It’s set in 1385, during the reign of Richard II. The peasants revolt is still fresh in London’s memory, and the relationship between John of Gaunt and Robert de Vere, King Richard’s favorite, is uneasy to say the least. Now having no idea who those people were or what the revolt was, I put the book down until a later date. You probably don’t actually need to have a detailed knowledge of any of these things because the book gives you enough information, but I’m kinda weird. 

About a month ago, while reading The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer, I realized that I actually knew a fair amount about medieval England and should finally read this book. So I picked up a real copy and started cracking. 

I was still googling people a lot when I first started the book to refresh my memory on their real history. I think this is because I was trying to figure out what was going to happen and if real events were going to come into play. It was largely unnecessary though. The main character is John Gower, a real person and poet who was friends with Geoffrey  Chaucer, who also shows up as a character, but the other POV characters we get, Millicent and Eleanor/Edgar, and the story is Holsinger’s own creation.

I think the strongest part of this novel is the atmosphere. Holsinger is a medieval scholar, and I think it’s clear how much he loves and knows about the time period. His London is incredibly detailed, and you really get a sense of the day-to-day goings on of the city. I also love that he not only focused a lot of the story on mauds (prostitutes), but that he treated them sympathetically without flinching from the reality of their lives. I also love that he included a character that is non-binary. 

I did like the story as well. While the book’s multiple POVs give the reader more information than the main character, the book does still keep you guessing about what’s really happening and what is going to happen. 

Overall, the book didn’t blow me away, but I did enjoy it. While I liked the characters, I didn’t fall in love with them or anything. I do think it’s a really solid medieval historical fiction, and I would recommend it to people who like the time period. I will definitely be getting the sequel.

Has anybody else read this? Questions? Opinions?