Hello everyone!
Today is book day! Yay! Truly one of the only things I've always loved and always will.
So... My favorite books are huge classics, so I think that you must have already read them; if you haven't... they are worth a look, definitely.
Brave new world, by Huxley, Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury) and Orwell's 1984 (aka Big Brother is watching you ^^) are really difficult to read, because you just want to scream in horror and close the book, and you are grateful, page by page, not to be in such a civilization. The hardest part though is seeing how the world you are in could so easily turn into one of those universe. And it is a terrifying experience, but definitely worth your time; it will probably make you think (even) more.
For those of you who do not like Sci Fi a lot, or who do not have a lot of time, ... I would recommend short stories:
-Asimov's wrote about robots, (and if I'm not putting any title, it is because I don't think the same anthologies were published in French and English, but if you go to any good library, you will find some) (if you have any choice, I would recommend those featuring Dr. Susan Calvin) (I, robot; Robot dreams...).
-Bradbury's Martian Chronicles are a marvel, a jewel... Poetry and humor, I just loved them (but I'm a huge Bradbury fan).
-Lafferty, maybe not so known, is just totally insane, and I love what he writes. It is quite... weird, but Does anyone else has something further to add ? is great, funny... (You will probably hate him or love him). And anything else I could add would spoil it, so... try to read some, and tell me what you think (short stories, will only take a couple of minutes to read anyway, so if you do not like, you won't have lost a lot of time).
For those who, on the opposite, have a lot of time on their hands, try Orson Scott Card's works. Ender's game is amazing, the psychology of the students and "teachers" in that universe is truly fascinating, and it is one of the rare adult books where kids won't feature as stupid/immature. (And if you like it, you have 5 other books coming, either featuring Ender or one of his companions, you'll see). It can be quite violent some times though, and harsh.
If you're more a fantasy person, you can try Alvin's Chronicles (I loved the first book, the next ones not so much).
(OH MY! I was doing some research for the English names of the books in that article and I just found out that he had published a sequel to the Shadows stories (part of the Ender cycle) and I am just soooooooo excited!!!!! I'll have to wait till this summer to read it though. Sad, sad, sad, sad. Well, back to the point.)
There is an anthology I would have loved to tell you about, but it only exists in French, apparently, so it would be useless for a lot of you; I'm going to stop here.
Well... Have a nice day, tell me if you know/liked/loved/hated these books, and don't forget to be awesome and read a lot!
As a non-sci fi fan, I'll definitely look into reading some of the books you've mentioned!
ReplyDeleteI just recently read Fahrenheit 451 and I enjoyed it immensely. It certainly was shudder-inducing how possible a reality it was !
Would you marry me?... Oh! I remember! you only accept proposals right after the first week of meeting somebody... jajaja
ReplyDeleteNow talking seriously, The dystopian trinity is amazing. 1984 is probably my favourite among them. I remember feeling really perturbed while reading Brave New World, especially when it explains that the process in which each caste's fetuses are produced.
I love Asimov, particularly the Foundation Saga and The God Themselves. I didn't read a lot of Bradbury, just the classic Fahrenheit, Martian Chronicles and The Ilustrated Man.. I like them but I still need to read a few more of his works. And I sincerely don't know who Lafferty is... but I google him and I'm certainly going to check it.
I don't know if read something by Philip K. Dick, I was suprised that you didn't mentioned him, He's my favourite. If you want terryfing societies read The Man in the High Castle, an alternative world in which the Nazi won the WWII and USA was divided between the Japanese Empire and the Third Reich. But if you really want to go deep in into the dark side of the author, read A Scanner Darkly, that novel make you feel a great mix of sensation (in a really unpleasant way)coming from a brilliant author who had a serious amphetamine addiction. It's quite uncomfortable and amazing at the same time, It's really hard to explain. And also, Everyone should read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? because it's simply amazing.
It's interesting that Huxley, Bradbury and Orwell are still staples on reading lists for highschool students today (at least in Germany they are). I can't wait to teach those novels. They make cour toes curl, not in a good way.
ReplyDeleteI could never get into Asimov's writing. It was just too "technical" for me. However, I tremendously enjoyed Phillip K. Dick's short storys.
Have you ever read Arthur C.Clarke? He wrote some of the most amazing, thought-provoking and varied short stories, which are convenietly compiled into a nice anthology.
SO MUCH YES TO ALL OF THESE.
ReplyDeleteMy Kindle broke the other day so I went into the Uni library, and grabbed the Foundation series. I'll be honest, I haven't really got that into them after the first one, but the first one is truly incredible.
Absolutely everyone should read Ender's Game. And, to round it out into a nice dystopia quintet, A Clockwork Orange is pretty interesting if you can get past the weird-ass writing style.
And why come no Ringworld love? It's the epitome of 'hard' SF and very very veeeerrry 70s in terms of gratuitous sex, but it's an excellent story nonetheless.
I apparently have a lot to catch on, a lot of new book's ideas, which is wonderful! (I'll read them all this summer, if I'm lucky enough to succeed in my exams.)
ReplyDeleteSo, Philip K Dick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Ringworld? (I may have read some of those works and not remembered the name, though, I'll tell you if it's the case and it occurs to me while reading).
I just realized that I totally forgot to mention Pratchett! (More fantasy than SF for most works, but amazing still, and totally crazy some times.) I should write a post about fantasy some day too.
Thank you a lot for all your answers, btw!