Five Bullets 11.21.25: Small Books & Real Music
What's capturing our attention: Armed Service Edition books, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Solving the Algorithm Problem, and more.
Good Morning Friends -
Happy Friday! Here’s what’s capturing my attention this week:
During World War II the American Council on Books in Wartime printed millions of Armed Services Edition books small enough to fit into a soldier’s pocket. Books like The Great Gatsby experienced a renaissance in part due to the thousands of ASE copies distributed. Field Notes just released an ASE-style version of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. (Hammett’s The Big Sleep was an ASE title).
Speaking of small books, I read Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This 1886 horror novel is a frightening account of a man who essentially splits himself in two, questioning the nature of humanity’s duality. Set in the dark, foggy and crime-ridden streets of Victorian England, it’s the perfect short horror book to read while sipping your beverage of choice next to a fire, like several of the novella’s characters.
“Make art not content!” Patreon mastermind Jack Conte wants to create a better algorithm. It makes sense that the person who might be able to solve this issue is a musician. (I got seriously amped when Conte began playing his futuristic instrument-contraption).
While another AI musician was making waves this week, I revisited an essay I wrote on The Velvet Sundown, now confirmed AI. It’s more important than ever to support real musicians! Some music I’m listening to: Lettuce’s cover of Rising To The Top; Nate Wood simultaneously playing drums, bass and keys; and Nate Smith featuring Michael League and Lionel Loueke!
If you’re looking for a movie to watch after Thanksgiving dinner next week, John Huston’s 1956 adaptation of Moby-Dick is free on Youtube. The film stars Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab, Richard Baseheart as Ishmael, and features a cameo by Orson Welles.
What are you reading, watching and listening to this week? Email me by hitting reply or leave a comment below.
Thanks for reading Circles In Space. Subscribe to get a free zine and Five Bullets in your inbox every Friday.
See you next week!
Keith.