Annie is the perfect companion. She cooks, she cleans, she never leaves the apartment and she is always ready for physical intimacy. However, she is not human, she is a bot and Doug is not just her partner but her owner and master. Over time as the plot develops Annie’s thoughts become more complex and she develops strong feelings that closely match those of humans, like anger and anxiety.
As I read this intriguing book, I had great empathy for Annie and hoped that she would eventually reach a state of safety and contentment. It’s a timely book as AI and concerns about it have recently come to the fore in public discussions.
"Provocative...a Frankenstein for the digital age...a rich text about power, autonomy, and what happens when our creations outgrow us." — Esquire
"Unexpected and subtle...delicious and thought-provoking." — New Scientist
For fans of Never Let Me Go and My Dark Vanessa, a powerful, provocative novel about the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, exploring questions of intimacy, power, autonomy, and control.
Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the pert outfits he orders for…
I came across this book by accident when I was researching the life of an amateur astronomer called George Denton Hirst and heard that his family, mainly his parents, are mentioned in this book.
Finding this book was an unexpected pleasure. Rachel Henning was an Englishwoman who first sailed to Australia in 1854 at the age of 28 to join her brother, who had arrived a year earlier. After a short return trip home, she settled in Australia permanently. In her letters to her sister back in England, she not only describes society life in Sydney, the main city, but mainly the difficult existence on her brother's various sheep stations. Rachel writes well and reading her fascinating depictions of the people and happenings around her, reminded me of reading a Jane Austen novel.
Light pollution, like other types of pollution is a serious problem. It not only blots out the stars but it disturbs people’s sleep with serious health consequences. As I have been involved with groups trying to educate people about light pollution and how to combat it for many years, I was pleased to come across this most readable book about the subject.
In this very personal book the author tells her own experiences with darkness and the lack of it, as well as the latest scientific evidence about the problem and how it can be reduced and controlled even in cities. She does not shirk from discussing safety concerns in the dark, especially for women, but she relates how she has overcome her fears.
'Rarely is a non-fiction book about science this engaging' - Forbes
Why darkness is so important - to plants, to animals, and to ourselves - and why we must protect it all costs.
Darkness is the first thing we know in our human existence. Safe and warm inside the bubble of the womb, we are comfortable in that embracing dark. But as soon as we are bought into the light, we learn to fear the dark. Why?
This book is a celebration of all things that go bump in the night and…
This essential guide to the night sky in the Southern Hemisphere in 2025 is specially written for people without prior knowledge of astronomy and those living in cities. It is highly suitable for children.
Despite the brightening of the night sky by light pollution, there is plenty to see from cities. In 2025, events include total and partial eclipses of the Moon, close approaches of bright planets to each other and favourable opportunities to see meteor showers.
Newly designed clear star maps show where to look in the night sky. There are descriptions of events in the sky each month, updated information on the planets, a feature on First Nations astronomy, large colour photographs of the night sky, and much else.
