Reading Round-Up
The first book is actually one from the shelves of unread books we bookworms like to collect and ignore, preferring to buy or borrow new books to read. So that's exciting. How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy was a Christmas present, so I've felt even guiltier than usual about ignoring it for so long.
How the World Thinks offers a whirlwind tour of the philosophies of the world, their origin and their relevance to twenty-first century life. Through his own travel, reading, and interviews with thinkers from around the globe, Baggini not only explains lesser-studied (in the West) systems of thought, but also makes the case for comparative philosophy. By gaining greater knowledge of how others think, we take the first step to a greater understanding of ourselves.
This is a very well-written book. Baggini writes with concision and clarity, and his focus on 'how the world thinks' means that we are not simply faced with a deluge of information. Each chapter concentrates on a different concept (such as logic or liberation), and how that concept is thought about in different parts of the world. This format makes it easy to see the relevance of what we're reading. To give some specific examples, I particularly enjoyed Baggini's discussions of progression and Islam, belonging in Britain, and the either/or mindset in Western philosophy and democracy. I have struggled with philosophy in the past, largely because I found it pointless, and thus uninteresting. This book has encouraged me to give philosophy another go. I might even start with Baggini's 'further reading' list.
My local library is still not open for browsing, and the 'click and collect' option is difficult to use for a number of reasons, so I returned to their collection of ebooks, and was thrilled to find that Frankissstein: A Love Story was available.
In Brexit Britain, a young transgender doctor called Ry is falling in love – against their better judgement – with Victor Stein, a celebrated professor leading the public debate around AI. Meanwhile, Ron Lord, just divorced and living with Mum again, is set to make his fortune launching a new generation of sex dolls for lonely men everywhere. Across the Atlantic, in Phoenix, Arizona, a cryonics facility houses dozens of bodies of men and women who are medically and legally dead … but waiting to return to life. But the scene is set in 1816, when nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley writes a story about creating a non-biological life-form.
I really like the different places Winterson takes the idea of Frankenstein: the hybridity of transgender identity, the man vs machine debate of artificial intelligence, the interplay of creator and created we see in the fact that Frankenstein so often gets mistaken for the name of the creature, not to mention numerous musings on the soul, eternal life, and the place of woman. Yet, ironically, I don't think these parts ever quite come together to form a coherent whole. That doesn't have to be an criticism, of course. I liked the way quotations, different storylines, and speech and narration flowed into one another. But, as another review brilliantly puts it, here the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. My only real criticism is that there were a few moments where it seemed Winterson felt it necessary to provide some background information. These moments really pulled me out of the story.
If you enjoyed this one, I'd think you'd also enjoy Murmur; the story of Mary Shelley coming up with the idea for Frankenstein reminded me of the Doctor Who episode The Haunting of Villa Diodati (12.8); and if you're looking for more stories about transgender experiences, I'd recommend Everything Under and A Fantastic Woman (2017).
The third, and final, book is also courtesy of the library's collection of ebooks: Meddling Kids.
In 1977 the Blyton Summer Detective Club unmasked the elusive Sleepy Lake monster - another low-life fortune hunter who would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids. By 1990 the former detectives are haunted by strange, half-remembered events that cannot be explained by a guy in a mask. Andy, the once-intrepid tomboy now wanted in two states, wants answers. To find them she will need Kerri, the former kid genius now drinking her ghosts away in New York with Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the club. They will also have to get Nate, the horror nerd currently residing in an asylum. Luckily Nate has not lost contact with Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star who was once their leader … which is remarkable, considering Peter has been dead for years.
I absolutely adore the premise for this one, and am pleased to report that the book lived up to it (unfortunately not always the case). The characters don't map exactly onto each other (and there are also echoes of the Famous Five), but, in many ways, this is the story of what happened when the Scooby Doo gang grew up. It's a nostalgic adventure set in the real world. Cantero also has a really unusual writing style, perhaps best described as metafictional, which I loved. If you're looking to read something different, I'd recommend giving this one a go. It's one hell of a ride.
Also, if you enjoyed Meddling Kids, I think you'd also like The Last Days of Jack Sparks.
How the World Thinks offers a whirlwind tour of the philosophies of the world, their origin and their relevance to twenty-first century life. Through his own travel, reading, and interviews with thinkers from around the globe, Baggini not only explains lesser-studied (in the West) systems of thought, but also makes the case for comparative philosophy. By gaining greater knowledge of how others think, we take the first step to a greater understanding of ourselves.
This is a very well-written book. Baggini writes with concision and clarity, and his focus on 'how the world thinks' means that we are not simply faced with a deluge of information. Each chapter concentrates on a different concept (such as logic or liberation), and how that concept is thought about in different parts of the world. This format makes it easy to see the relevance of what we're reading. To give some specific examples, I particularly enjoyed Baggini's discussions of progression and Islam, belonging in Britain, and the either/or mindset in Western philosophy and democracy. I have struggled with philosophy in the past, largely because I found it pointless, and thus uninteresting. This book has encouraged me to give philosophy another go. I might even start with Baggini's 'further reading' list.
My local library is still not open for browsing, and the 'click and collect' option is difficult to use for a number of reasons, so I returned to their collection of ebooks, and was thrilled to find that Frankissstein: A Love Story was available.
In Brexit Britain, a young transgender doctor called Ry is falling in love – against their better judgement – with Victor Stein, a celebrated professor leading the public debate around AI. Meanwhile, Ron Lord, just divorced and living with Mum again, is set to make his fortune launching a new generation of sex dolls for lonely men everywhere. Across the Atlantic, in Phoenix, Arizona, a cryonics facility houses dozens of bodies of men and women who are medically and legally dead … but waiting to return to life. But the scene is set in 1816, when nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley writes a story about creating a non-biological life-form.
I really like the different places Winterson takes the idea of Frankenstein: the hybridity of transgender identity, the man vs machine debate of artificial intelligence, the interplay of creator and created we see in the fact that Frankenstein so often gets mistaken for the name of the creature, not to mention numerous musings on the soul, eternal life, and the place of woman. Yet, ironically, I don't think these parts ever quite come together to form a coherent whole. That doesn't have to be an criticism, of course. I liked the way quotations, different storylines, and speech and narration flowed into one another. But, as another review brilliantly puts it, here the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. My only real criticism is that there were a few moments where it seemed Winterson felt it necessary to provide some background information. These moments really pulled me out of the story.
If you enjoyed this one, I'd think you'd also enjoy Murmur; the story of Mary Shelley coming up with the idea for Frankenstein reminded me of the Doctor Who episode The Haunting of Villa Diodati (12.8); and if you're looking for more stories about transgender experiences, I'd recommend Everything Under and A Fantastic Woman (2017).
The third, and final, book is also courtesy of the library's collection of ebooks: Meddling Kids.
In 1977 the Blyton Summer Detective Club unmasked the elusive Sleepy Lake monster - another low-life fortune hunter who would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids. By 1990 the former detectives are haunted by strange, half-remembered events that cannot be explained by a guy in a mask. Andy, the once-intrepid tomboy now wanted in two states, wants answers. To find them she will need Kerri, the former kid genius now drinking her ghosts away in New York with Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the club. They will also have to get Nate, the horror nerd currently residing in an asylum. Luckily Nate has not lost contact with Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star who was once their leader … which is remarkable, considering Peter has been dead for years.
I absolutely adore the premise for this one, and am pleased to report that the book lived up to it (unfortunately not always the case). The characters don't map exactly onto each other (and there are also echoes of the Famous Five), but, in many ways, this is the story of what happened when the Scooby Doo gang grew up. It's a nostalgic adventure set in the real world. Cantero also has a really unusual writing style, perhaps best described as metafictional, which I loved. If you're looking to read something different, I'd recommend giving this one a go. It's one hell of a ride.
Also, if you enjoyed Meddling Kids, I think you'd also like The Last Days of Jack Sparks.
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