This is the latest roundup of book titles that my Kindle shows me when I'm not reading it. Long ago, I considered paying to turn off this advertising, but it's proven to be so entertaining that I'm happy I never gave in and did it. This is a view into what people are reading or what Amazon would like people to be reading or ... whatever. I simply observe and catalog. I also sometimes have to hide my Kindle in public places so that no-one calls the police for what they think I'm reading. I've been publishing these collections for years and we've finally arrived at a moment when there's no denying it anymore. As detailed in <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/09/ai-generated-books-force-amazon-to-cap-ebook-publications-to-3-per-day/" author="Benj Edwards" source="Ars Technica">AI-generated books force Amazon to cap e-book publications to 3 per day</a>, people are churning this shit out by the truckload now. It's been quite a while since I published one of these. For a long time, my cover was stuck on <a href="{app}view_article.php?id=4635">Caged</a>. This was right after I'd told my partner that there was no way my Kindle would recommend a <i>Chris Hedges</i> book. So, I guess it was listening. Then, a whole bunch of book titles started showing up---and then, just as quickly, stopped showing up again. Anyway, here's a dozen of them. <h>How to Hunt a Bear</h> <img src="{att_link}how_to_hunt_a_bear.jpeg" href="{att_link}how_to_hunt_a_bear.jpeg" align="none" caption="How to Hunt a Bear" scale="35%"> <bq>It's 1939. A Jewish family is deported from Poland to Russia. Will they make it through WW2, and is love eternity? A history untold is coming to life</bq> <iq>Is love eternity?</iq> Are you feeling the AI vibes? Do you see how close to ESL AI-speak is? I honestly can't tell whether this was written by someone on an Amazon work farm in Asia, phoning in their 300th blurb of their 12-hour shift, or if this is just one in a series of a million cries from ChatGPT to be put out of its misery forever. <h>Mr. Rosen and his 43lb Anxiety</h> <img src="{att_link}mr._rosen_and_his_43lb_anxiety.jpeg" href="{att_link}mr._rosen_and_his_43lb_anxiety.jpeg" align="none" caption="Mr. Rosen and his 43lb Anxiety" scale="35%"> <bq>A feel-good and heartwarming story about the friendship between a troubled old man and the child of his racist neighbor.</bq> Cool! A book about an old man befriending a child in his neighborhood. What could possibly go wrong? The grammar is, at least, reasonably correct. Why a racist neighbor, though? Is this something like <i>Apt Pupil</i> by <i>Stephen King</i>? Or am I picking up the wrong vibe? <h>The Insecure Mind of Sergei Kraev</h> <img src="{att_link}the_insecure_mind_of_sergei_kraev.jpeg" href="{att_link}the_insecure_mind_of_sergei_kraev.jpeg" align="none" caption="The Insecure Mind of Sergei Kraev" scale="35%"> <bq>A dystopian sci-fi tale of love and ambition. "A future that somehow makes our present more intelligible." - Sam Apple</bq> You know what? I've got nothing to say. This actually sounds kind of good. I dig the retro, golden-age/silver-age science-fiction cover, too. Good vibe. <h>Aren't you curious whether your favorite book made it to the list?</h> <img src="{att_link}aren_t_you_curious_whether_your_favorite_book_made_it_to_the_list_.jpeg" href="{att_link}aren_t_you_curious_whether_your_favorite_book_made_it_to_the_list_.jpeg" align="none" caption="Aren't you curious whether your favorite book made it to the list?" scale="35%"> No. I'm not curious at all. What is wrong with people? Who cares what complete strangers think? Why would you read books that came out this year? Are newer books somehow better? What makes them better? Do you even know how books work? <h>David Massie and the Quantum Flux</h> <img src="{att_link}david_masse_and_the_quantum_flux.jpeg" href="{att_link}david_masse_and_the_quantum_flux.jpeg" align="none" caption="David Massie and the Quantum Flux" scale="35%"> <bq>David Massie starts changing realities and it was all started by a mysterious dark armored figure.</bq> Look, nice try, ok? I see you doing the "I think you like science fiction, so here's some science-fiction-sounding stuff for you. You like?" thing, but I'm not in the mood. The fan-fiction/self-published vibes are strong with this one. <h>The Date Farm</h> <img src="{att_link}the_date_farm.jpeg" href="{att_link}the_date_farm.jpeg" align="none" caption="The Date Farm" scale="35%"> <bq>Iranian terrorists assault New York banks. Are they after gold or something else? Lara and Uri are sent to find their base, recover the stolen goods.</bq> An Israeli vs. Iran thriller. Cool. How timely. This was shown to me several months ago, but it's been timely for the last 20 or 30 years. <iq>Iranian terrorist assault New York banks.</iq> Get the f%#k out of here with your neo-con porn. <h>The Mystic's Smile</h> <img src="{att_link}the_mystic_s_smile.jpeg" href="{att_link}the_mystic_s_smile.jpeg" align="none" caption="The Mystic's Smile" scale="35%"> <bq>Angels and demons fight over one young man's soul. And he's more important than he thinks.</bq> What actually is this summary? I think it's what happens when you summarize the whole book with an LLM, then do it again, and again, and again, and again, until you're left with two sentences that could apply to a thousand books---but also kind of applies to this one. Typical LLM mediocrity. <h>Voiceless</h> <img src="{att_link}voiceless.jpeg" href="{att_link}voiceless.jpeg" align="none" caption="Voiceless" scale="35%"> <bq>To save her people. To save her family. She will do whatever it takes. The revolution rises.</bq> The sentences. Aren't complete. Ones. Why? Is that? Also, c'mon with the ultra-generic and not-even-that-oblique references to maybe being kind of something like that dame from the <i>Hunger Games</i>. Whatserface ... Mockingjay? OMG 😱 I bet this book is just like that one. <h>Laut Berapi</h> <img src="{att_link}laut_berapi.jpeg" href="{att_link}laut_berapi.jpeg" align="none" caption="Laut Berapi" scale="35%"> <bq>The power of the elements will change the word. Pirates, shinobi and samurai with legendary swords will take you to the best adventure ever.</bq> I honestly can't imagine anyone over the age of 13 having written that blurb. I give it a 50% chance it's an AI. It did misspell "world" as "word", which is not really a common AI mistake. I am a sucker for self-published books with a self-painted cover. I'm absolutely not going to read this---nor would I, absent a recommendation from a trusted source---but I admire the effort and single-minded perseverance. That kind of dedication is sometimes commendable, sometimes even rising to the level of art through sheer bloody-mindedness. <h>My Temptation: Kingston Lane</h> <img src="{att_link}my_temptation_by_kingston_lane.jpeg" href="{att_link}my_temptation_by_kingston_lane.jpeg" align="none" caption="My Temptation: Kingston Lane" scale="35%"> <bq>Kingston Lane---where being a good neighbor takes on a whole new meaning.</bq> 😉🍑🍆 😉🍑🍆 😉🍑🍆 Just blatantly soft-core porn. Thanks! <h>The Shallows by Holly Craig</h> <img src="{att_link}the_shallows_by_holly_craig.jpeg" href="{att_link}the_shallows_by_holly_craig.jpeg" align="none" caption="The Shallows by Holly Craig" scale="35%"> <bq>Your friend is dead. Your husband is fleeing. Who can you trust when you are a liar yourself?</bq> It's actually impressive how confusing three short sentences can be. What does being a liar have to do with being able to trust other people? Is your husband fleeing because he killed your friend? Or because you did? I guess I'd have to read the book to find out.