rich_jacko (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rich_jacko) wrote2013-04-25 06:52 pm
rich_jacko) wrote2013-04-25 06:52 pm
Book meme
As discussed in the Blake last Friday:
List five books you have read which you think everyone should read. Your choices could be for any reason. They don't have to be your favourites. Maybe they really made you think, maybe they made you feel, or maybe they were just a cracking fun read.
Here's five I've picked out from my collection:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon) - I used to have to describe Aspergers/autism by referring to Rain Man and then point out all the Hollywoodisms. Then Curious Incident came along. A brilliant and insightful view into how some people see the world, a lesson in just how confusing other people can be when seen by an outsider, a tale of triumph over adversity, and with a murder mystery thrown in to boot. Read it and have a five red car day.
The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger) - A wonderful and poignant love story, beautifully told. The time travel element, as the two central characters live their lives out of order, both together and yet apart, makes it original and unique (at least until Doctor Who nicked the idea and didn't do it nearly so well). If this doesn't make you cry, I don't know what will. As a review on the back cover says, this is "an elegy to love and loss".
Nineteen Eighty-Four (Geroge Orwell) - A dystopian view of just how badly wrong society can go when politics and spin get out of control and people stop thinking for themselves. Probably the scariest and most important satire ever written, although Orwell's Animal Farm should really be on this list as well.
Tales From The Perilous Realm (J.R.R. Tolkien) - I'm including this one because it's an overlooked gem. A collection of Tolkien's short stories and poems, this has more imagination, fantasy escapism, wit, warmth and humanity than all his more famous Middle Earth writings put together.
The War In The Air (H.G. Wells) - Wells is the father of science fiction and it's hard to pick just one of his stories. I've gone for this one as it's a near perfect blend of rollicking adventure, steampunk future imagining, and serious political philosophy. It's fun, but ultimately sobering. Its central idea was so disturbingly prophetic that when it was reprinted in 1941, Wells prefaced it with the words, "I told you so, you damned fools."
What are your five? What other books should I definitely read?
List five books you have read which you think everyone should read. Your choices could be for any reason. They don't have to be your favourites. Maybe they really made you think, maybe they made you feel, or maybe they were just a cracking fun read.
Here's five I've picked out from my collection:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon) - I used to have to describe Aspergers/autism by referring to Rain Man and then point out all the Hollywoodisms. Then Curious Incident came along. A brilliant and insightful view into how some people see the world, a lesson in just how confusing other people can be when seen by an outsider, a tale of triumph over adversity, and with a murder mystery thrown in to boot. Read it and have a five red car day.
The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger) - A wonderful and poignant love story, beautifully told. The time travel element, as the two central characters live their lives out of order, both together and yet apart, makes it original and unique (at least until Doctor Who nicked the idea and didn't do it nearly so well). If this doesn't make you cry, I don't know what will. As a review on the back cover says, this is "an elegy to love and loss".
Nineteen Eighty-Four (Geroge Orwell) - A dystopian view of just how badly wrong society can go when politics and spin get out of control and people stop thinking for themselves. Probably the scariest and most important satire ever written, although Orwell's Animal Farm should really be on this list as well.
Tales From The Perilous Realm (J.R.R. Tolkien) - I'm including this one because it's an overlooked gem. A collection of Tolkien's short stories and poems, this has more imagination, fantasy escapism, wit, warmth and humanity than all his more famous Middle Earth writings put together.
The War In The Air (H.G. Wells) - Wells is the father of science fiction and it's hard to pick just one of his stories. I've gone for this one as it's a near perfect blend of rollicking adventure, steampunk future imagining, and serious political philosophy. It's fun, but ultimately sobering. Its central idea was so disturbingly prophetic that when it was reprinted in 1941, Wells prefaced it with the words, "I told you so, you damned fools."
What are your five? What other books should I definitely read?
no subject
The world of 1984 is openly a dystopia, where everything is strictly controlled and regulated, and there doesn't seem to be any concern of the happiness of individuals.
The Brave New World appears to be a utopia, with an emphasis on pleasure and happiness. Of course, this is only true at a certain level and there is a great deal of societal control involved.
The two societies are outwardly very different, but actually have a lot in common. They use different approaches to the same end, of achieving control of the people and regulating their lives.
They are a fascinating pair of books to compare.
no subject
no subject
I generally can't stand Tolkien due to the excruciating verbosity and dullness uses to smother the interesting story buried deep within LotR, but a collection of shorts would probably require him to get to the point a lot better. So I might give that a try.
And I've not read nearly enough H. G. Wells (although I think that Verne might dispute his paternal claim to s.f.) so having a particular recommendation is likely to spur me into actually reading it.
no subject
The First Men in the Moon and Men Like Gods are also both very good, as is the short story The Star. Avoid The Shape of Things to Come, as it's dull. But I've really enjoyed nearly all the Wells stories I've read. I get on really well with his writing style and I love the way his mind worked (although, like a lot of authors, a lot of his stories do feel very similar after a while).