This post is really well-timed for me. I've been trying really hard to up my reading numbers to what I remember them being 5 or 10 years ago. As a part of that

This post is really well-timed for me. I've been trying really hard to up my reading numbers to what I remember them being 5 or 10 years ago. As a part of that, I've been trying to keep an even spread of fiction and non-fiction. The other day I decided I should also revisit books I remember loving as a kid that I haven't read in decades. Specifically, The Count of Monte Cristo and Mysterious Island. I started the latter the other day. One of the things that strikes me again and again while I read this book is how much it embodies great improvisation; the characters are all "yes men" in the best possible sense of the phrase. When one character encounters a problem or has an idea, the rest are quick to say "yes, and!" to go on to cooperate to find a solution. This is especially amazing considering that the book is set at the tail end of the Civil War. I can't imagine a book like this being written today. The characters are so humanist in believing that they and each other can accomplish anything they set out to do; they cooperate without struggle; there are no hidden pasts or ulterior motives threatening them. It's really quite refreshing and invigorating. I wish I could read aspirational(?) fiction like this all the time and feel like my mood would be much better for it.