The book choice for the 1997 Campus Honors Program Convocation at the University of Illinois. A very interesting read about cognition and artificial intelligence. By the time I was done, my book was littered with post-its marking phrases and passages that struck a chord.

Mailing order: (red = currently has book, blue = read and passed on)
lightwavz (Michigan)
arugh48187 (Minnesota)
Lorelei03 (New York)
AuntK (California)
veritas9 (Australia)
Kernow8 (UK)
Axelp (Netherlands)
back to me in California

Just received in today's mail! I'm halfway through "The Da Vinci Code" and it just has me itching for more brain-food! This one is next up! Thanks, illinicheme! I'll journal when I am finished reading...

OK, time to fess up... I liked parts of this book and I hated parts of this book. Therefore, I don't think I can fairly rate it. As much as I was interested in Lentz and his crazy, seemingly unattainable project, I felt really bogged down by the thinly fictionalized Richard Powers and his pseudo-secretive initials (he and C. lived in B.). In hindsight, I think that this initial premise just annoyed me... the author pretending to write about the author pretending to write about the author. I was skipping more and more of his personal sections and trying to concentrate only on the project until finally I couldn't take it anymore. Though I feel as if I have failed to gain the insight this book deserved to tell me, I found bits of gleaming writing and unbeatable phrasing in its chapters... ones that screamed "copy me out and remember me!!" I have another Powers in my TBR Monster ("Plowing the Dark") and I am hoping that it will grab me and not disappoint. I am sorry that it took me this long to give up on this one... I'm sending it on to arugh48187 right away! Thanks for including me, illinicheme, curmudgeon that I was on this one!

Received this in the mail today. I have a few bookrings in front of it, but will read it as soon as possible.

I must say that I did not enjoy this book very much. For some reason I got distracted by the abbreviations of names and it really made me not care a fig about the personal history bit in this book. I did like the storyline about the AI and looked forward to those bits most. I think I will pass on any other books written by dear Richard.

Sorry for keeping this one so long. Between Christmas cookies and holiday cards, my reading time has been whittled away to almost nothing. I read some of this while standing in the bloody line at the post office. You would think at the busiest time of the year they would have more staff available, but nooooo. I have the address of the next person in line and will be braving the post office again on Monday. Thanks for sharing this book, illinicheme.

Released on Monday, December 22, 2003 at Post Office at 153rd and Garrett in Apple Valley, Minnesota Controlled Releases.

Mailed off to the next person on the list.

rcvd in the mail today and can't wait to read!

Released on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 at US Mail in US mail, New Jersey USA.

Sent via postal mail to AuntK - Enjoy!

I'm about 60 pages into this... sorry it's taken me so long, but now that I'm on the job, should take me long to get it finished. I'm enjoying the ai stuff, but also the personal insights about being an English professor and poet. :::grin::: I especially liked how his father sent him a copy of Robert Service when he died.... a final finger to his chosen field after giving up physics.