Wondering if a particular book is available in your country? The following spoiler contains a list of bookstores outside the United States you can search. If you don't see a bookstore on this list for your country, find one that is, send me the link via PM, and I'll add it to the list.
* Zen by Jerome Bixby [crich70]
Amazon US /
Kobo
** Manna: Two Visions of Humanity's Future by Marshall Brain [WillAdams, Dazrin]
Amazon US /
Marshall Brain
* Tomorrow is Waiting by Holli Mintzer [Dazrin]
Strange Horizons
Spoiler:
Blurb from
The Verge (as well as a couple more AI themed stories):
Jim Henson's Muppets have been an integral part of pop culture since 1955, when they first debuted on television, making appearances in everything from the Emmy Awards to Late Night. The Muppets, as lifelike as they seem on screen, are puppets — given voice and motion by human puppeteers.
But, what if they weren't?
Holli Mintzer's Tomorrow is Waiting is a taut, hopeful exploration of what it means to be alive. It begins with a programmer named Anjali who is tasked with creating an A.I. for her finals. She decides to model her project on Kermit the Frog, concluding the abundance of available footage would make her labor a breeze. From there, events take a turn for the unusual. Anjali's Kermit acquires a body courtesy of Anjali's friend Brian, and then a sense of genial autonomy that both bewilders and enchants his creator. When Anjali claims to be tone-deaf, he warmly replies:
Quote:
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"Aw, I wouldn't say tone-deaf, Anji," Kermit said. "I've heard you humming along a few times. Tone-confused, maybe, but I bet with a little practice you could get better."
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Though Mintzer doesn't waste words on long descriptions, the story is nonetheless festooned with charm and a surprising amount of heart. Its greatest triumph, perhaps, is that it is a refreshingly uplifting read about artificial intelligence, a rarity in this time of dystopian universes and post-apocalyptic mayhem.
* Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam [ccowie]
No links provided.
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:
Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures welcomes readers into a world where the most mundane events can quickly become life or death. By following four young medical students and physicians – Ming, Fitz, Sri and Chen – this debut collection from 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Vincent Lam is a riveting, eye-opening account of what it means to be a doctor. Deftly navigating his way through 12 interwoven short stories, the author explores the characters’ relationships with each other, their patients, and their careers. Lam draws on his own experience as an emergency room physician and shares an insider’s perspective on the fears, frustrations, and responsibilities linked with one of society’s most highly regarded occupations.
“I wanted to write about the way in which a person changes as they become a physician — how their world view shifts, and how they become a slightly different version of themselves in the process of becoming a doctor,” Lam explains. “I wanted to write about the reality that doing good and trying to help others is not simple. It is ethically complicated and sometimes involves a reality that can only be expressed by telling a story.”
In the book’s first story, “How to Get into Medical School, Part 1,” students Ming and Fitz wrestle with their opposing personalities and study techniques, while coming to terms with a growing emotional connection that elicits disapproval from Ming’s traditional Chinese-Canadian parents. Lam’s exceptional talent for describing scenarios with great precision is showcased in “Take All of Murphy,” when Ming, Chen, and Sri find themselves at a moral crossroads while dissecting a cadaver. Throughout the book, readers are treated to the physicians’ internal thoughts and the mental drama involved with treating patients, including Fitz’s struggle with self-doubt in “Code Clock” and Chen’s boredom and exhaustion in “Before Light.”
From delivering babies to evacuating patients and dealing with deadly viruses, the four primary characters in Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures are made thoroughly human by Lam’s insightful detail, realistic dialogue, and expert storytelling. The medical world is naturally filled with drama, but it’s the author’s ability to give equal weight to the smaller moments that really brings this book to life.
*** Mistletoe in Manhattan: A Christmas Story by Talli Roland [WT Sharpe, Dazrin, GA Russell]
Amazon Ca /
Amazon UK /
Amazon US
*** The Altar of the Dead by Henry James [WT Sharpe, sun surfer, bfisher]
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub (Complete Works) |
Kindle /
LibriVox (Audiobook) /
Project Gutenberg (Various Formats)
* Side Jobs by Jim Butcher [JSWolf]
No links provided.
*** The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde [WT Sharpe, sun surfer, bfisher]
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub (Complete Works) /
LibriVox (Audiobook) /
Project Gutenberg (Various Formats)
*** The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens [GA Russell, bfisher, issybird]
Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub |
Kindle
* This is not Your City by Caitlin Horrocks [HomeInMyShoes]
Goodreads
* Mayfly by Heather Lindsley [fantasyfan]
Strange Horizons