Category: Books

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Frankenstein and Retelling Old Tales

I just finished Frankenstein, which I last read during my British Literature class in high school. It reminded me of the phenomenon of Disney retelling an old story with key details removed and altered to make it kid-friendly,1This most recently came up when running trivia for some friends a couple months ago, when I learned the original written version of Pinocchio ends with the puppet being hanged on a tree. though in Frankenstein this happens in reverse.

Every representation of the monster2Indeed, we all know Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, and he creates an unnamed monster. in popular media that I’m aware of is a green, slow-moving, large man, often with bolts in his neck. In reality, the book shows a monster who learns much about the world by observing a small family in a cottage, eventually becoming literate and quite eloquent. He also possesses superhuman speed, strength, and stamina while requiring only a limited vegetarian diet. It’s a fascinating tale that explores the concept of sin, revenge, and responsibility; most of that is lost in the classic “monster movie”.

I fondly recall the surprise I had at this in high school, and rediscovered a similar enthusiasm reading it a decade later. I wholly recommend Frankenstein to anyone who is willing to wade through flowery British prose from the 1800s.

  • 1
    This most recently came up when running trivia for some friends a couple months ago, when I learned the original written version of Pinocchio ends with the puppet being hanged on a tree.
  • 2
    Indeed, we all know Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, and he creates an unnamed monster.
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2023 Reading List

I had a strong year of reading in 2023. I blew past my annual goal of 24 books in September and kept on going. I always had my Kobo by my bed to read at night, while making sure I found time and space on the weekends. Erin also read voraciously this year; being synchronized in that effort was helpful. My highlight was binging The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey. It’s amazing.

This year I decided to put together charts for the genres I read and the number of books I completed each month, in addition to the full table of completed titles. Let’s dive in.

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Exploring Effective Altruism

I recently came across William MacAskill and his books Doing Good Better and What We Owe the Future.1I actually came across Future first and had it on my reading list, then came across Doing once I was ready for a new book. The former details a template for a model of approaching the world called effective altruism, while the other looks at an adjacent set of ideas called longtermism. While I’m still working through the second book, I’ve become quite interested in the concepts laid out in each and thought it was worth sharing.

In short, the idea behind effective altruism is that if we want to do good things for the world in which we live, it’s best if we focus our efforts on making the largest possible impact. MacAskill argues that this requires a tough look at the relative improvement one can make in the lives of others. Five dollars has a much higher impact on a farmer in rural Africa than it does on people poorly off in the United States.

From this basic tenet, MacAskill addresses just about every question and caveat that popped into my head2 Some highlights include determining whether it’s best to spend your career earning as much money as possible so you can give away as much as possible, or finding a career that is directly impactful on society. while reading Doing Good Better. It’s a difficult idea to take to its final conclusion, yet the depth of thought that goes into the provided framework is clear and insightful. There are value judgements galore, and socioeconomic estimates that, to a certain extent, you simply must accept if you’re going to get anywhere. But they are all explained, and the focus on transparency and a scientific approach to altruism was extremely innovative and inspiring.

I don’t think it’s necessary to commit to the book. Just check out https://www.effectivealtruism.org to get the basics; if it appeals to you there might still not be a need for the book. But I do recommending taking a few minutes to read through what they present and let the ideas simmer. There’s something refreshing about this practical approach to making the world a better place.

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    I actually came across Future first and had it on my reading list, then came across Doing once I was ready for a new book.
  • 2
    Some highlights include determining whether it’s best to spend your career earning as much money as possible so you can give away as much as possible, or finding a career that is directly impactful on society.
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Anthologies

I’ve been reading How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu. Unlike other apocalyptic fiction I’ve consumed over the years, this is written as an anthology of short stories giving snippets of life over the course of time without any stated connection between the characters beyond their shared experience of something rather awful going on. I’m always drawn to anthologies, whether they’re a book or TV show, because I get a wealth of “experience” in the world.

Part of my draw to them may be a simple change of pace: I like to toss in some non-fiction books among the majority fiction that I read, and filling in the gaps of powerful narrative stories with these world-building styles give me a fresh perspective on how to construct and present information in an interesting way. Even then, I’ve always admired short stories. I’ve seen comments by some writers who don’t appreciate the power of a concise story, and the care that goes into crafting them. They’re delicate and sharp, and a book made entirely of them to tell a broader story is a fascinating concept.

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2022 Reading List

As I’ve stated in the past, my annual goal is to read 24 books each year. While that’s a slippery goal as not all books are made the same — it’s certainly true that I’m hesitant to take on large books because of this goal — it still keeps me reading, and that’s the intention behind it.

This year, I also tracked what genre I’d consider each book to be in, and what medium (digital or physical) I used to read the book. I don’t really use audiobooks, so those aren’t a consideration. Note that genres are not exclusive; sometimes I would assign multiple genres to the same book if it felt right.

In all, I read 25 books by 15 different authors. Among those, 4 were physical books, while all the others I read digitally. My most popular genres were:

  • Science Fiction (8 books)
  • Fantasy (7 books)
  • Literary Fiction (6 books)

And finally, the list itself!

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Peanut Butter Jelly Time

I finished Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut last week. It can be modestly described as post-apocalyptic. In a scene set in a run-down Manhattan, there’s mention of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I was curious when this modern staple became exactly that.

I left it at a quick dive into the Wikipedia article, and figured it would be good to report here. It seems the first reasonable description of something adjacent to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich comes from a 1901 issue of the Boston Cooking School Magazine. Twenty years later, when sliced bread came out and peanut butter became more of an economical staple, it became something kids could make themselves. By the second World War, both peanut butter and jelly have been on US military ration lists.

This was fascinating. It’s not as recent as I would have guessed.