Interesting Things You Should Know About in Jan. 2022
Hello everyone! Hope you had a wonderful January 2022. I’m going to be trying something new here. I apologize for how scuffed it’s going to be but I did promise I will be doing something new. What I will be doing is a newsletter-esque collection of interesting things that I’ve done that you should know and check out. It’s something I want to experiment with. I won’t make it too long and it’s going to be a curated list of interesting things you should know about, just like I said last year. Without further ado, here is the list.
Books I have read: I have continued my reading habits into the new year and I thought it is worth sharing what I’ve read. Here is what I’ve read:
AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War by Tom McNichol: I listened to this through Audible during my road trip to Universal Studios Hollywood. It’s a fascinating history book on the history of electricity and a portrait of the life of Thomas Alva Edison and how he was born into a world without electricity and how his inventions changed the world to the point where by the time he died, the world couldn’t live without electricity. If you want to take a look into the past, present and (possible) future of electricity, this is a book worth looking into.
Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee: It’s the last book of the Green Bone Saga and it was quite the journey from beginning to end. The setting is heavily inspired by gangsters and Tai Chi and it all revolves around the resource of Jade and how it can shape societies, individuals, the environment and other domains of this well-told fantasy world. By the end, it was an incredibly bittersweet experience when I had to say goodbye to the characters. If you enjoyed Shang-Chi, you will absolutely enjoy the Green Bone Saga, starting with Jade City. It’s a different kind of fantasy experience.
The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes by Jackson Crawford: I first listened to this through Audible and I was so impressed by the narration I decided to buy a physical copy of this as well as its follow-up The Saga of the Volsungs, which I am currently reading through. It’s a high-quality translation of ancient Norse stories following the Norse gods such as Thor, Odin, Loki, Sif, Freya, and many others from the Norse pantheon. I have always been passionate about mythology ever since I was a tween and reading the book while listening to the Audible narration by the author Jackson Crawford himself helps bring these ancient tales to life. The narration and translation of the old Norse language make it both easy-to-understand and incredibly rewarding to read. Jackson Crawford also has a Youtube channel where he teaches an entire course’s worth of knowledge on Norse mythology, language, sagas, and culture at zero cost. Check it out if that interests you.
Podcast I have been watching/listening to: I have been watching the Diary of a CEO podcast, where British businessman, entrepreneur, and TV personality Steven Bartlett interviews different guests on their backgrounds, experiences, and learnings. I enjoy the way Bartlett gets insights into the different guests, how they became successful in their fields, the failures that led to their eventual successes and who they are as people. The most recent one where Bartlett interviews the founder of the Calm app co-founder Michael Acton-Smith is a fantastic one and makes for a great jumping-on point.
App I’ve been using: I’ve been enjoying the Optimize app by Brian Johnson. Brian Johnson is the modern-day equivalent of a monk. He has read hundreds of the best books on self-development, peak performance, ancient philosophy and so much more and he has summarized them into what he calls PhilosophersNotes and they are some of the best distillations of wisdom I’ve read. If you want to spend 3-5 minutes a day improving yourself and reading the best bits of wisdom out there, Optimize is completely free. No ads. No paywall. No subscription. No hassle. Give it a try!
What I’ve been listening to: I’ve recently started a vinyl record collection. I wanted to give this hobby a try for a few reasons. One reason is ownership. When you listen to music on a streaming service, you don’t really “own” the music. Streaming music (or any other piece of media such as books or movies) feels more like your renting it. You’re enjoying it now but there’s no guarantee that music will be there forever. I feel like collecting can give you a tangible, physical way of listening to music. Another reason is sound quality. I’ve done a test on listening to music in different ways such as through laptop speakers, radio, and other ways of listening, and I enjoy the sound quality of vinyl the most. I’ve grown to enjoy the scratching of the record and listening to older records give it a vintage quality.
I have been using my record player and collecting vinyl for over a month and I am enjoying the hobby. I want to continue investing my time and money into this hobby and I do have plans on upgrading my set-up at some point. For now, here are the first 10 records I have collected.
And finally, I have a quote I want to finish this blog on. It comes from The Poetic Edda, one of the books I’ve finished. More specifically, it comes from Havamal (literally “Words of the One-Eyed” or “Words of the High One,” referencing Odin), the text that basically serves as the Norse equivalent of the Book of Proverbs. There are a lot of great, timeless quotes based off of timeless wisdom. Here is one I want to share:
“It’s a long and crooked
walk to a bad friend,
even if he lives nearby.
But it’s an easy road
to a good friend,
no matter how long the journey.”
That is all for this blog post. Feel free to share this blog post and give me a follow. See ya next time!