You can read last week’s post to get a feel for what this very short series is about. Broadly speaking, in my quest to read more modern literature, I’m finding myself grappling with modern issues in a way that is rather different than when I’m having broad conversations with others, or reading news stories. Books are affecting to me, and always have been. I’m typically more emotionally moved by a book that just about any other stimulus. So, I take the stories they tell seriously and look for what the author wants to say with it.
Continue reading “Diving into Discomfort – Part 2”Diving into Discomfort – Part 1
As I mentioned last week, I’m trying to make a concerted effort to read modern fiction books. What tends to come along with this are modern takes on old issues in society, and modern takes on modern problems. This is perhaps the strongest argument for reading difficult modern literature: it makes us confront issues in a new way, and become warier of issues facing our current society.
Continue reading “Diving into Discomfort – Part 1”Reading Modern Literature
Over the years, I’ve read very little modern fiction. I went through some of the main young-adult fiction of my generation (Harry Potter, Eragon and the likes) but have rarely read any modern literature published this century. There are a few exceptions, such as the work of Neal Stephenson. Yet throughout school, most books we read were much older. This caused me to become more interested in older literature, and believe that the ability to read it was some sign of maturity.
There are many reasons for this. One is that in the limited time we have available to us, we want to maximize our experiences. Taking a chance on a newer book that is unproven, without any immediate obvious cultural impact, can be a tough sell. It is easier than ever to find old books, to determine what you’ll enjoy, and be told that certain classics have had a profound effect on the world. Within that context, why wouldn’t you focus on older, profound literature as opposed to anything written by a modern author?
But I’ve realized that there’s always new literature coming out, and much of it speaks to the current state of our world. Other bits are just informative and interesting. So, I’ve been trying to make a more conscious effort in my various reading binges to find newer books. The first of these (among the conscious effort) is a National Book Award runner up in 2018, The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. Next week I plan to write a much more in-depth review of the book and its impact on me. Suffice it to say that it’s an engaging book that took me a bit out of my comfort zone, and it affected me deeply.
This helped confirm my decision to read more modern literature. That doesn’t mean I’ll stick to these highly-recommended books. In the past I’ve had luck doing a random sort in my library book reader app, and taking out the first thing that seems interesting. I hope to maintain some sort of cycle, reading an older book, then a newer book that seems promising, then a random newer book. This will keeps things interesting and give me a wide range of books to read, which helps improve the flow of ideas I consider.
Sniped by Math History
As with most nerds, I have a predisposition to being nerd sniped. Sometimes it’s a puzzle, but more often it’s simply an idea or the opportunity for a new project. After a conversation with a few coworkers, I’ve latched onto the idea of developing a summer course focused on the history of mathematics.
Continue reading “Sniped by Math History”I Promise I Like It
For the last two months I’ve been reading Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I’ve legitimately enjoyed the book whenever I’ve sat down to read it, but there is something about it that doesn’t quite grab my attention. I’ve struggled to sit down for very long stretches and just finish it out, and I can’t put my finger on why.
Continue reading “I Promise I Like It”Some Recent Reading
Last year, I finally began compiling a list of books I have read over the years. While I am sure it is incomplete; the approximate dates I’ve given are inaccurate as I go further back; I have not included many of the young adult (or younger) books I read; and I didn’t individually list books that are in a series, it has still been informative for me to have this list and remember how much I’ve liked getting through a book over the years.
Around this past Thanksgiving, I started on a reading rampage like I haven’t seen in myself for years. I finished three books throughout the month of December, and have finished two thus far in January. I should easily have a third finished before February rolls around.
Continue reading “Some Recent Reading”Sit Down and Read
College was a reading blight for me. I had other things to do, classes pulling my attention, and a pretty damaged ability to focus due to the introduction of a smartphone in my life. I was on-and-off reading books for fun, and felt pretty bad for accumulating books that I just was not getting to.
When I was an intern the past summer, I was hoping to change that. Yet I only made it through one book. Now that I’m in my real adult life, and settled in a bit, I’ve finally boarded the reading train yet again, and it is fantastic. It kicked off with reading Neuromancer by William Gibson over the course of a couple weeks. It was touch-and-go for a while there, but I made it through and very much enjoyed it. The past few fiction books I’ve read were sci-fi or technology thrillers of some variety. But I wanted to get back to where I was in high school and early college: able and willing to read just about any book I came across, even if it wasn’t very good. So, I recalled a recommendation an acquaintance gave to me, Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel. It is classified as a science fiction novel, but really is just a post-apocalyptic novel taking place in modern day, after a particularly deadly strand of swine flu wiped out most of the world. I read the book in only two days.
Inspired by this quick finish, I went to the website whatShouldIReadNext.com and selected the first book I could find which was available as an eBook from the local library. It was The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler. This was further afield than most books I read, following a librarian whose sister, mother, and other females going back have all worked in various circuses, and all die via suicidal drowning. It’s unclear how much fantasy magic or legitimate “curses” are involved, but it was a surprisingly engaging read. I finished that in two days as well.
The book I am currently on — which has taken me longer mainly due to the holidays — is Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd. I started this book completely on accident: I thought I was getting a different book from the library, and just started. Luckily, it’s actually quite engaging. It takes place in WWI-era Europe, and may simply be a “follow this person’s life” book. Either way, I’m enjoying it.
It’s felt great to finally just sit down and read for long stretches of time. I’ve avoided some of the other tempting media (podcasts mostly), allowing my attention span to rebuild; this also puts me in a quiet mental space, giving my brain time to process and enjoy the ride a bit more.
While I am not as disconnected as CGP Grey is, and I still go on reddit and participate on the internet, it’s been nice to have these quiet moments with a book. It reminds me of when I had far fewer responsibilities, less to worry about, and I believe that’s been healthy for me. I suggest finding a way to be quiet, to be comfortable being alone without being lonely. It’s a good thing to be able to do.
Book Review: “Tribe” by Sebastian Junger
In preparation for an upcoming (not soon) episode of Operation: Have a Conversation, I read the book Tribe by Sebastian Junger. Its description tends to focus on how it explores the way American soldiers who come back from war have trouble integrating themselves back into modern society, as being in the military provides a significant unifying bond that is not felt in today’s Western culture.
While I’m not sure what exactly we’ll get into when recording our episode about this book, I’d like to give a couple of thoughts that have lingered with me since I finished reading it earlier today.
First, this book is important. I think it would be good for everyone to read. It frames much of how we look at modern society very differently than I had ever perceived. It discusses how panic attacks and depression are evolutionary traits, and how society has developed in such a way to make these afflictions more prevalent. It thoroughly discusses our misunderstanding and mistreatment of PTSD, particularly among those who participated in violent conflicts.
This book can be very challenging in certain ways. It opens one’s eyes to a certain hypocrisy with which we live our lives, and also points out reasons to be somewhat afraid for the future of America. It gives some specific ideas about where we tend to fail as a culture and society, and gives some implications for how we can all work toward getting better.
It is hard for me to do this book any sort of justice. My thoughts are still unformed and not particularly cohesive. But after reading it, I’m very excited to discuss it with Mikhail and Jack, and hope you’ll take a chance to read it as well.
The book is less than 100 pages, and the audiobook (if that’s your style) is only around 3 hours. Yet there is a lot that happens. I highly recommend it.