Brief Thoughts

Just a quick reflection on the books I read in 2024 to crystallize my thoughts on them. In no particular order:

Storm of Steel - Ernst Jünger

This a vivid memoir by a German World War I soldier. It focuses on life in combat without any discussion of politics and motivation. I found it interesting just in that the world of death and destruction that Jünger paints is so alien. There is comraderie and even gentlemanly exchanges between the German and French, but mostly there is brutality. Paranoia of covert enemies, fear of being the unlucky victim of a mortar shell, and loss of your closest friends consume the soldiers. All of these feelings must constantly be overcome with bouts of bravery to run toward certain danger.

Interesting Jünger joined the fighting very young, recording his experience throughout. Shortly after the war finished he published his memoir. However he revised it multiple times (and supposedly made some substantial improvements to the writing).

While reading this book I watched All Quiet on the Western Front which is a harrowing depiction of how war turns a young man's life into the ancillary of the military. Sucked in by the fervor of fighting, boys excitedly join the military. Really they are just the next body to give shape to a jacket that will later be recycled to another recruit.

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

I enjoyed Meditations. It was not necessarily exciting to read, but I definitely walked away with a few good nuggets. It gave a calm to some of the anxieties that had crept into my life.

My most compelling takeaways are:

• Processes of nature are not to be feared and should be appreciated.
• We only have the present. It is the only thing you can actually lose.
• The mind can be a place to retreat to.
• There is an urgency to life.
• We must always strive to improve ourselves. The way we think about the world and ourselves is up to us.
• Internal gratification is more important than praise, luxuries, or status. Do what is good and right.

Buddha of Suburbia - Hanif Kureishi

I didn't enjoy this book as much, but I thought the bohemian community that Karim is a part of was interesting. I find the choice to live outside the norm and wholly realize your individuality inspiring. I didn't care much for the characters or plot.

1984 - George Orwell

I quite enjoyed 1984. My biggest takeaway was the importance of language. As language is constrained and controlled so too are the citizens. Also Winston's cherished coral paperweight made me appreciate the freedoms we have today.

The notion that we don't know to what degree the government is surveiling us feels particularly relevant. Today, there are spaces we can be certain are confidential. To live under control and surveillance is a fate to avoid at all costs. I wonder to what degree surveillance tools should even be built if their misuse can be so evil.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig

Man. I was so excited by this book and ultimately let down. What an epic title?

The start isn't bad and has a great line "The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain or in the petals of a flower". I also like the notion of self-efficacy that things should be learned and worked on yourself. Don't delegate that to someone of dubious skill.

The character of Phaedrus is meant to be a symbolic figure for the narrator's previous self as a teacher. Phaedrus had an unorthodox and supposedly wildly profound philosophy on what Quality is. But really what I found disappointing is that the protagonist is meant to be roughly autobiographical. The description of the protagonist's brilliance and world-shattering insights really just come across as the author stroking his own ego. Meanwhile, in no small way, he is constantly looking down on his son, always describing him as whiny.

A Little Devil in America - Hanif Abdurraqib

It amazes me how Abdurraquib's writing is so effortlessly poetic. I really liked his analysis of historic events and persons. The dance marathon one sticks out. He so precisely captures how we save our selves from the loneliness of being human. It makes me feel proud to share that loneliness—that needing things is okay. Really one of my favorite writers.

Code - Charles Petzold

Code gives a great history of how computers came to be and how the essentials of information theory and circuitry are used to make them possible. I enjoyed learning about the key figures in the computer revolution and the basic science of why computers work. So much of what we take for granted in the tech world today was invented by some clever computer scientist in the 60's. ASCII comes to mind. Also, computer technology seems to have been largely American-centric.