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Which Book Are You Reading thread

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Just ordered this from Amazon.

Anyone read it?
 
I've read heaps of crime genre and historical fiction books recently, but I'm currently reading a different genre - history/non-fiction.

TASMANIA'S CONVICTS - HOW FELONS BUILT A FREE SOCIETY : ALISON ALEXANDER

I know AA the author. Probably the 8th or 9th author I know. This book is interesting!

Tasmania's population is circa 500 000 plus. In the early days of settlement, in the early 19th Century, 75% of the Tassie population were convicts. Of that current 500 000 plus, 75% still originate from that convict stock!

What AA advances is that the felons guilty of the most serious crimes didn't arrive in Van Dieman's Land, because they were usually executed in England. She posits that of those transported, they were usually guilty of misdemeanours.

I'm in the 25% of the Tassie population whose parents emigrated to Tas. In my case, from England before I was a teenager. My better half, like most, has originated from that convict stock. There is a manifest shame from many Tasmanians about their convict heritage.

AA has chapters on different subjects - Birth Of A Convict Colony, Convicts After Sentence, The Convict Stigma, etc. In each chapter she uses heaps of anecdotes from specific convicts about their sentences, how they adapted to life in VDL, social norms in VDL, etc. I'm finding them fascinating! One crime that earned transportation and was surprisingly common, was bestiality!

Another surprising phenomenon is that life for the average convict who worked for free settlers, usually farmers, was better than labourers in England, and, soldiers in the British Army, according to AA. Convicts in Tas had far better diet and had access to better medical care.

With the abundance of Cape Barren Geese, emu, kangaroo, wallaby, possum, etc, hunting was far better than in Europe. There was longer life expectancy for Tassie convicts than for most labourers living in England, Scotland and Ireland - the main sources of convicts. Tasmanian convicts ate far more calories in a given week than English soldiers or labourers.

Moreover, compared to mainland Aus, Tasmania had fresh water in abundance. The convicts also spent a lot of time outside, so many had a healthy lifestyle.

Haven't finished Tas's Convicts yet, but it is the most interesting book I've read for a while - with its aspects of convict life that are true.
 
Another feature of the historical book I am currently reading, Tasmania’s Convicts, written by an eminent historian, unlike the crime, thriller or historical fiction genres, there is no urgency to finish the book.

It is easy to have a break from and revisit the text. One doesn’t feel compelled to race to the conclusion of the book. Each few pages are inherently interesting. One gains considerable new insights and knowledge in short periods of time. It is a nice change!
 
Decentric said:
I've read heaps of crime genre and historical fiction books recently, but I'm currently reading a different genre - history/non-fiction.

TASMANIA'S CONVICTS - HOW FELONS BUILT A FREE SOCIETY : ALISON ALEXANDER

I know AA the author. Probably the 8th or 9th author I know. This book is interesting!

Tasmania's population is circa 500 000 plus. In the early days of settlement, in the early 19th Century, 75% of the Tassie population were convicts. Of that current 500 000 plus, 75% still originate from that convict stock!

What AA advances is that the felons guilty of the most serious crimes didn't arrive in Van Dieman's Land, because they were usually executed in England. She posits that of those transported, they were usually guilty of misdemeanours.

I'm in the 25% of the Tassie population whose parents emigrated to Tas. In my case, from England before I was a teenager. My better half, like most, has originated from that convict stock. There is a manifest shame from many Tasmanians about their convict heritage.

AA has chapters on different subjects - Birth Of A Convict Colony, Convicts After Sentence, The Convict Stigma, etc. In each chapter she uses heaps of anecdotes from specific convicts about their sentences, how they adapted to life in VDL, social norms in VDL, etc. I'm finding them fascinating! One crime that earned transportation and was surprisingly common, was bestiality!

Another surprising phenomenon is that life for the average convict who worked for free settlers, usually farmers, was better than labourers in England, and, soldiers in the British Army, according to AA. Convicts in Tas had far better diet and had access to better medical care.

With the abundance of Cape Barren Geese, emu, kangaroo, wallaby, possum, etc, hunting was far better than in Europe. There was longer life expectancy for Tassie convicts than for most labourers living in England, Scotland and Ireland - the main sources of convicts. Tasmanian convicts ate far more calories in a given week than English soldiers or labourers.

Moreover, compared to mainland Aus, Tasmania had fresh water in abundance. The convicts also spent a lot of time outside, so many had a healthy lifestyle.

Haven't finished Tas's Convicts yet, but it is the most interesting book I've read for a while - with its aspects of convict life that are true.
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If anyone hasn't actually gone to Tassie and had a tour or two of the old convict sites it is worth considering. Port Arthur and Macquarie Harbour particularly - and the engineering aspect of Macquarie Harbour and the rock groins for flow control is a fascinating bonus.

I read For the Term of his Natural Life after going to Tassie and it adds something special when you have seen places.

It is the same watching Escape to the Country and any other show from the UK or even Paris and Rome (having been there relatively recently) that you see places you have now been to and the thrill it adds.

Used to be the question of read a Book or watch a Movie first - now I have to consider reading/watching first before I go to a place so I don't miss looking at the cliffs of Broadchurch or the little streets of Doc Martin town when I happen by.
 
RIMB said:
If anyone hasn't actually gone to Tassie and had a tour or two of the old convict sites it is worth considering. Port Arthur and Macquarie Harbour particularly - and the engineering aspect of Macquarie Harbour and the rock groins for flow control is a fascinating bonus.

I read For the Term of his Natural Life after going to Tassie and it adds something special when you have seen places.

It is the same watching Escape to the Country and any other show from the UK or even Paris and Rome (having been there relatively recently) that you see places you have now been to and the thrill it adds.

Used to be the question of read a Book or watch a Movie first - now I have to consider reading/watching first before I go to a place so I don't miss looking at the cliffs of Broadchurch or the little streets of Doc Martin town when I happen by.
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We’ve watched some of those shows too - enticing us to visit those places.

It is also nice reading books, even fiction, set in countries one has visited.
 
Decentric said:
We’ve watched some of those shows too - enticing us to visit those places.

It is also nice reading books, even fiction, set in countries one has visited.
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Especially fiction - I still remember the thrill of reading Lord of the Rings when Frodo went to the Rye fish and chip shop :D
 
There was a feature article in this weeks New Yorker Magazine titled 'The End of the Essay' - The impact of AI on student writing....

It was as you'd expect about how software like ChatGPT and other generative AI tools basically changing academic writing to the point where it might be affecting the development of a student's creative process...

So that’s all quite interesting in itself but I like reading books and it got me wondering if the creative process of the literary world be impacted in a similar fashion?

I know that art always evolves to meet new demands but writing and storytelling in the literary sense is the purist form of human expressiveness, intelligence and feeling.....

How would someone like our Mr Cleansheets on G & G feel about spending huge amounts of his personal time on planning, preparing and writing a novel or assignment of non fiction when a AI machine tool could knock one out in a few hours?

I think that the the speed at which AI could create artistic and literary works to compete with human-authored works poses a significant threat to both the economic and cultural value of the latter...

Mr C?

Your thoughts??
 
Interesting (and very depressing) question.

There is a massive debate in authors' circles with most being dead against the use of AI in writing for numerous reasons - not least the theft of copyright upon which AI depends. I'm also dead against it for personal reasons because I enjoy the writing process. What is the point of putting my name on something I didn't do?

At this point, AI manuscripts (so I'm told) are pretty terrible but you can bet they'll improve until they are indistinguishable from the work of the more formulaic airport style writers and those books tend to sell the best.

As less publishing slots are found for real writers there will be less and less incentive to write, so fewer and fewer people will have a crack and ultimately, human literature will die. Reading also will die because there'll be nothing truly worth reading.

So please keep the flickering candle alight by reading a lot and encouraging others to. Buy books for presents.

Especially mine.
 
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