Notes
First two books completed of the year. First book started. Both completions are good, but then I don't finish books I'm not impressed with. There are two many things worth reading to waste time on things that I'm not convinced are.
Completed
After reading the first of the stories in When We Cease to Understand the World, I was a bit confused. I was pretty sure I had read that this was a book of ficitional stories about scientists, but that first story read like straight non-fiction and there was nothing in it that disagreed with or strained what knowledge I had.
When I finally got to the end materials, acknowledgements and a biographical section, things became clearer. I do, by the way, strongly encourage all readers to read the end materials. The acknowledgements of many writers are entertaining and endearing at least as much as the works themselves. Authors, as a group, appear to be genuinely appreciative people, and capable of putting that appreciation into writing. "The quantity of fiction grows throughout the book; whereas 'Prussian Blue' contains only one fictional paragraph, I have taken greater liberties in subsequent texts..." Indeed, the stories do get more expansive as the book progresses culminating in the title story, next to the last. The longest, most involved of the collection.
The one remaining story after that is more of a coda to the whole book. The shortest short, it reads as almost pure allegory. If any one knows enough about the lifecycle of lemon trees, please let me know if the information about them is true or not. I haven't been able to find information about it on the internet, and I wouldn't believe anything ChatGPT told me if I could ask it.
Longitude is a bit of a strange beast. I'm not sure how exactly I found my way there, but it was probably looking for more like Lindsey Fitzharris's The Butchering Art, which was, on the face of it, a similar exploration into the life of a figure of importance in the science/tech realm, who could perhaps be more widely known.
It is not exactly a science book, but neither is it a biography. I did not end up with much of a sense of what who John Harrison was. Sure, it covers the outline of his life, and some informative details, but doesn't dive into the character. But it is still not a science or technology book. While there are mentions of technological innovations, use if bimetal to correct of temperature changes, different sorts of escapements, the remontoire, which regulates of the tension from a spring as it winds down, there is no discussion of how these features work, just why they are needed and that they were important.
This is a book about the politics of the science world in the 18th century. The political world intrudes into the scientific in that the English Parliament creates an award for solving the longitude problem. But even moreso it looks at the scientific establishment, with it's societies and interrelations, with it's prejudices and self-interests. It looks at how a self-taught clockmaker, scientifically untrained and unestablished, produces the best solution to the posed problem, ultimately receives the money promised by the award, though not actually the award itself (the political world again intervened to make that happen).
Personally, I would have liked more of what I was expecting, either the technlogical details of the innovations or the insight into Harrison's character or ideally, both. Still, this was a very enjoyable, informative read about a topic which, to be honest, is just as important as what I was expecting.
Continuing Reading
Ghandi is looking like a pretty long read, or maybe a slow read. Ghandi is just heading off to South Africa, having been mostly a failure at the lawyering which he travelled to England to study (and that because it was easier than getting the approriate degree in India). Ghandi was such an influential character, that I will keep reading to understand how he sees himself becoming Mahatma Ghandi, whose principles of non-violence have had such influence. Of that title, "Mahatma," he writes early on "Often the title has deeply pained me, and there is not a moment I can recall when it may be said to have tickled me." While that reticence suggests some discomfort with being seen as saintly, the story shows that saintliness. From the earliest age, his description of himself is of a deeply spiritual person. Not perfect, but the faults that concern him are those of honesty and faith. Failure to be true to his vegetarianism. Failure to be honest with his parents. His success (or not) in business or school are not important, only things that concern his soul.
Of course, this is not pretence. His life, his influence, are fully an outcome of this devotion to truth and to the soul.
Books Started
The Relentless Moon is the third book of the Lady Astronaut series which begins with a meteor strike in 1952 that obliterates the east coast of the US and starts the Earth toward a climate disaster. This kick starts the space effort, now vital for the survival of humanity. At this point, the Earth is heating up, Elma York, hero of the first novel, is on the way to Mars, and many on Earth are becoming restless and resistant to all the resources being spent on the space effort and not improving life on Earth. As always in the series, full of exploration of the gender dynamics of the mid-twentieth century, and racial dynamics as well. Elma's colleague, Nicole Wargin, takes the spotlight here as the Earth Firsters threaten the space effort with sabotage and terrorism.
In conclusion
I usually try to keep my current reading balanced between heavier and lighter reading. The books finished where not as heavy as Ghandi, but not exactly light reading either. The balance now is a bit more in keeping with my habits.