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post #61 of 93
5/14/08 at 6:10pm
I second reading WE before you read 1984 now that you have the choice.

Not to say 1984 is not a wonderful book but had i known of "WE"s existence before i got 1984 in my hands i'd have read WE before.
I think for those 4 classic dystopies it is a good idea to read them in their chronological order! At least i would enjoy them more that way..


Quote:
My fault; that was a sloppy reference. I meant Tolkien's four part Lord of the Rings series, which actually begins with The Hobbit.
Haha ok
That didn't came to my mind, i dont think i could compare both -Tolkien definetely has a completely different style though.
I feel Asimov is much simpler/clearer but reaches the same depth/complexity with his descriptions. Somehow like analogue and digital (i never thought about this comparison it came to me just now.. of course very oversimplified..) ?


I can now also recommend Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon(1937).
I mentioned it earlier, but i realised i had not read it and i'm now all over it.
The style it's written in might not be to everyones taste but i suggest you have a look at the first page(s) and you'll see for yourself.
I dont want to tell more..
Oh apparently Borges liked it a lot :P

I got some of Borges Poems in spanish as my first encounter by the way

Looking forward to your reactions and impressions !
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post #62 of 93
5/14/08 at 8:22pm
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Robert Heinlein. Check out Have Space Suit--Will Travel and Glory Road.
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post #63 of 93
5/14/08 at 8:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by utilisateur View Post
I second reading WE before you read 1984 now that you have the choice.

Not to say 1984 is not a wonderful book but had i known of "WE"s existence before i got 1984 in my hands i'd have read WE before.
I think for those 4 classic dystopies it is a good idea to read them in their chronological order! At least i would enjoy them more that way..
Ok I just looked up WE at Wiki, I'll see if I can read that.

What other 2 dystopia books are you talking about?
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post #64 of 93
5/14/08 at 9:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by blessingx View Post
Wow, what a great list. Thanks for the link! I've read about 60-70 percent of the listed titles. I was particularly jazzed to see several titles by Steinbeck. The effete literary establishment treats him like some sort of quaint joke, which is something I've never understood. I think he is one of the very greatest American writers.

I would recommend East of Eden enthusiastically. It has the sweep and majesty of an epic film, and it sets a great family saga in the context of an American era when anything seemed possible.

The Pearl is also terrific, but there are others I would recommend first. In particular, The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday, and Tortilla Flat. Tortilla Flat is a great place to start. It's a quick read, and it shows Steinbeck hitting his stride early in his career.
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post #65 of 93
5/14/08 at 11:10pm
The list was already posted....nevermind.

Thanks digg.com.

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post #66 of 93
5/14/08 at 11:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sisenor View Post
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Robert Heinlein. Check out Have Space Suit--Will Travel and Glory Road.

In high school, a bunch of my friends and I passed around a copy of Stranger in a Strange Land and it blew our little minds. We walked around saying things like "I grok your idea, but I disagree." No wonder none of us could get a date.

Seriously, I re-read Stranger years later, and it held up remarkably well. Very much a product of the times in which it was written, but still ambitious and thought provoking decades later.


After Stranger, I read The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, which I also enjoyed. But it seemed much more like conventional SF to me. It didn't address the kind of universal mysteries of life and death that Stranger deals with.
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post #67 of 93
5/14/08 at 11:49pm
I just finished reading Stranger in a Strange Land (unabridged version) a few months ago. It was.. different. Very different from anything I've ever read. Some parts are confusing, and seem more like rants (the unabridged version, at least), but it was a good book and I enjoyed it.

Feed by M. T. Anderson is also supposed to be a good book. I've been meaning to read it for a while, but haven't gotten around to it yet :/
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post #68 of 93
5/15/08 at 12:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BetaLyr View Post
I just finished reading Stranger in a Strange Land (unabridged version) a few months ago. It was.. different. Very different from anything I've ever read.
That's very close to the reaction that I had when I read it. I should probably re-read it now, as an adult (well, at least chronologically). I'm guessing I would see things in it that I missed as a teenager.

Quote:
Some parts are confusing, and seem more like rants (the unabridged version, at least), but it was a good book and I enjoyed it.
I've read that Heinlein was a right wing ideologue, and that a lot of the stranger stuff in his writing is related to his political/social beliefs. Apparantly, toward the end of his life, he started to drift away from reality and became increasingly extreme -- elaborate bomb shelter in the back yard and etc. In my experience, very few great writers have been what we call "normal."
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post #69 of 93
5/15/08 at 2:18am
Malazan Book of The Fallen series.
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post #70 of 93
5/15/08 at 3:03am
No other Canticle for Leibowitz fans? It really is my favourite book. A great classic of science fiction.
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post #71 of 93
5/15/08 at 4:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrBenway View Post
I've read that Heinlein was a right wing ideologue, and that a lot of the stranger stuff in his writing is related to his political/social beliefs. Apparantly, toward the end of his life, he started to drift away from reality and became increasingly extreme -- elaborate bomb shelter in the back yard and etc. In my experience, very few great writers have been what we call "normal."
Right-wing? Uh, more like libertarian.
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post #72 of 93
5/15/08 at 5:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sisenor View Post
Right-wing? Uh, more like libertarian.
You could say that, but in my opinion, libertarians tend to have much more in common with convervatives than with progressives, despite being clearly distinct from either.
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post #73 of 93
5/15/08 at 5:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrBenway View Post
You could say that, but in my opinion, libertarians tend to have much more in common with convervatives than with progressives, despite being clearly distinct from either.
Depends if their focus is economic or civil, really:

World's Smallest Political Quiz
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post #74 of 93
5/15/08 at 6:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Solan View Post
Depends if their focus is economic or civil, really:

World's Smallest Political Quiz



Your PERSONAL issues Score is 60%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 40%.

Not at all sure what the percentage breakdown means, but I must confess, I can't argue with the graphic. I would call myself a centrist with progressive leanings.

The quiz is interesting, particularly because it provided what I consider an accurate characterization of my socio-political leanings by asking just a few targeted questions. Pretty cool.

What do my results tell you about the way I described Heinlein...?
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post #75 of 93
5/15/08 at 7:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrBenway View Post
What do my results tell you about the way I described Heinlein...?
Probably that the economic axis is more important to your evaluation of left/right than is the social axis.
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