Frankenstein
My plan to catch up with the classics continues with Frankenstein , a classic horror story that's considered by many to be the first science fiction novel (and it was written by Mary Shelley when she was 19 years old!) I struggled with the language, as I often do with books this old. But it was short enough that it didn't take me too long to read. And it helped that I'm familiar enough with the story to follow along with the basic beats of the plot. That said, this book was nothing like what I expected. It's framed as a series of letters an arctic explorer is sending to his sister, when he discovers a half-dead Frankenstein who is pursuing his creation across the ice. At one point we dig deeper into the creature's story, outlining his first two years of life. And in the midst of that we learn the story of the DeLacey's, the family from which the creature learns about humanity. I love when stories push in like this, and it was a pleasant surprise t...