Kneading the Brain

Based on a Twitter recommendation by Shawn Elliott, I picked up Brain Christian's "The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What it Means to Be Alive." And so far, it has managed to poke and prod my thinking self into actual thought. And though the writing is "light" and fairly easily digested, I'm finding that some pages I'll get to the bottom of then re-read the section because my brain is churning on a particular concept that's explained on the page or a concept that's put forward that makes me look away from the book and consider what I've just read. It's a departure from my usual reason for having to re-read something: I zoned out.

I've started to think about who I actually am, my perception of the world around me, and some of the rote pitfalls I continue to be faced with.

And more than that, I'm finding that because I'm thinking more about what I'm reading, I'm retaining far more of the information presented in the book and some of the concepts are really sticking with me, like the concept of creativity and the idea of creating a tool then coming up with a use for it.

I'm about halfway through the book so far and I can easily see myself flipping to page one soon after reaching the last page. It's that interesting. Or maybe that's just my perception because I haven't read much in the way of non-fiction for a number of years.

Quick Book Review: "Spanish Fly"

Ferguson explains the origin of the
cover photo in the "Afterward."

"Spanish Fly" by Will Ferguson could be read as somewhat of a prequel to Ferguson's first novel, "Happiness." There's not much of a crossover apart from Jack McGreary and the mention of the De Valu family (which is a reference to the protagonist of Ferguson's first novel). "Spanish Fly" was a bit of a disappointment from that perspective, and Ferguson has this knack for making most of his characters "sound" very similar. I've read a lot of his non-fiction writing, and a lot of the dialogue and banter in "Spanish Fly" often has the same kind of cadence to it even thought the characters themselves are quite a bit different than he's written before.

The actual story isn't riveting but more interesting. It's a character study more than anything, but there's also a history component when it comes to the cons and the ramp-up to World War II happening in the background. But it sure as hell isn't funny, which might have been the point. There are a few moments of amusement but for a lot of the book it's deadpan serious. At first I thought maybe Ferguson was trying to work a "dark humour" angle but I abandoned thinking about that a few chapters in. With the dust jacket harping on the fact Ferguson has won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour a number of times, I was expecting a little more in the way of actual humour.

Maybe I've pigeonholed Ferguson in the "funny" camp and any attempt at escape -- at trying something outside that particular camp -- results in a a volley of cannon fire in the back. Without the expectation of humour my opinion of "Spanish Fly" might have been different because the story of cons and double-cons and conning the cons in 1930's America is actually good.