Recent reads

1. James D. Miller, Singularity Rising. This book covers many of the standard arguments and beliefs, without spending much time trying to justify them. As such, I didn't learn much new from it, and someone who is new to the field might have trouble taking it seriously. At times, the book feels very disorganized. I found the chapter on intelligence and economics to be the most interesting.
2. William Bronk, Selected Poems. Intellectual yet sensuous, abstract but warm, universal though personal. I love this kind of poetry. By now I'm certain that there must be several minor American poets out there I would absolutely adore.
3. Daniel Dennett, Intutition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking. Dennett is almost always fun to read, and this book is no exception. However, the book recycles quite a lot of old material, and I consequently skimmed or skipped many parts. His style of writing is often very engaging, but sometimes makes him come across as arrogant, which can be distracting. All in all, this book is probably better suited for someone less familiar with the topics discussed than I am.
4. Roberto Bolaño, Monsieur Pain. The Savage Detectives and 2666 are both among the finest novels I've read in recent years, and I've enjoyed many of his shorter novels as well. This one didn't catch on to me in the same way, though it does occasionally manage to convey Bolaño's distinctive eeriness.
5. Julia Annas, Intelligent Virtue. This is, I suppose, a good introduction to virtue ethics, an approach I don't know all that much about. However, I found the book a bit repetitive, and also felt that it didn't spend enough time addressing certain objections.