News2Novel - Andrew Tate, Greta Thunberg and Lex Fridman #13
3 novel suggestions based on influencer news
Hello! This is the 13th issue of News2Novel - the newsletter that suggests novels to read based on weekly news.
A couple of recent incidents set fire to the collective imagination: one involved a podcaster’s reading list and the other brought two opposite characters together in a war of words.
Now I don’t feel that gossipy news should be over-indulged as it saps energy and often brings the worst out of people. At the same time, it’s important to acknowledge what’s happening in digital culture and respond with empathy.
So that’s my attempt today: to use influencer headlines as a springboard for discovering meaningful novels.
Godspeed.
#AndrewTate ➡️ Neuromancer
Andrew Tate, the former professional kickboxer and controversial internet celebrity, has been dominating social media - despite being banned from most platforms
He was recently arrested on suspicion of rape and human trafficking; one of the Tate brothers have apparently since ended up in hospital
The Matrix is a film that Andrew constantly quotes, portraying himself as Morpheus, the character who devoted his life to freeing all those stuck inside the system
Produced by the Wachowski sisters, the movie was greatly influenced by William Gibson’s 1984 genre-transforming novel, Neuromancer
The story follows Case, a former hacker, who is recruited by a mysterious employer to pull off a major hack; he is aided by a powerful AI named Molly
They are tasked with infiltrating the AI that controls the Matrix, a corporate-controlled VR system… And they succeed, but at what cost?
#GretaThunberg ➡️ A Children’s Bible
At age 15 years, Greta Thunberg protested outside the Swedish parliament, calling for stronger action on climate change
Since then, she has become the world’s most renowned environmental activist
Recently, she set the internet alight after responding to a hostile tweet from Andrew Tate:
Greta has been constantly exasperated by the attitude of older generations towards climate challenge; a theme explored in A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet
The book is about a group of children who are left unattended by their hedonistic parents at a vacation home
A severe storm approaches and the children become increasingly aware of the adults’ incompetence, privileges and overall abdication of responsibility when it comes to the environment
#LexFridman ➡️ Fahrenheit 451
Lex Fridman, the podcaster and AI researcher, published his reading list for 2023:
A number of people mocked him for including “basic” and popular books in the list
Nassim Nicholas Taleb tweeted a particularly scathing thread:
This feels a good time to consciously zoom out of the spat; appreciate that reading is a personal journey and celebrate the uplifting power of literature… Cue Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The novel follows a fireman named Montag, who lives in a society where books are banned and owning them is a crime punishable by death
Montag’s job is to burn books but, after reading one, he dreams of a world where words and knowledge are set free…
Before you go…
Here are some final morsels and thoughts:
3 literature-themed tweets I loved:
The number of indie bookshops in the UK and Ireland reached a 10-year high in 2022
Check out last week’s News2Novel about biodiversity, urban planning and nutritional psychiatry
Have a beautiful week filled with fiction and possibilities! ✨
Dhru