For Your Entertainment

By Margaret Green, Library Committee Cochair, originally published in the November 2023 issue of the 1666 Coffman Newsletter

Each fall the Library Committee writes thirty-five or so summaries for the September Book Fest handout—books we plan to buy and books we would like to buy if budget allows. I’ve been wanting to play around with one of the new Artificial Intelligence (AI) products, so thought my five summaries would be a good chance to try one out. Two of the below summaries were written by Bard, Google’s AI product. Can you guess which two?

​My prompt to Bard was: Write a thirty-five-word Ariel 12-point font promotional paragraph for (book title and book author).

These are my five summaries. Which two were written by Bard?

​Accidental Czar: The Life and Lies of Vladimir Putin, by Andrew S. Weiss and Brian “Box” Brown. A fascinating graphic novel biography chronicling Putin’s rise from a mid-level KGB

officer to the autocratic strongman of Russia. Shatters the myth of Putin as a cunning political mastermind and exposes the man behind the facade.

Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, by Peter Attia. This operating manual for longevity draws on the latest science for innovative nutritional interventions and tools to optimize exercise and sleep, as well as emotional and mental health. Reviews say this stands a notch above other books of this type.

Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, by Maggie Haberman. A riveting account of the rise and fall of Donald Trump, the most consequential con artist in American history. Haberman's reporting is meticulous and her insights are incisive, making this book essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how Trump fooled so many people for so long.

Vagina Obscura, by Rachel E. Gross. Mythbusting voyage into the female body, with unparalleled access to labs and the latest research. Gross clears away the linguistic and scientific shroud from one of the least investigated and most misunderstood structures in the human body.

The Nature Fix, by Florence Williams. A fascinating exploration of the science behind our connection to nature. Learn how spending time in nature can improve your health, creativity, and happiness. Williams takes the reader through the natural world, from the forests of Japan to the beaches of California. 

(For the answers, see page 25 of the November newsletter.)