just my 50pworth, but Brave New World/1984 isn't actually a particularly illuminating comparison - you basically go "yeah, different" and then stop.
Jayne is a girl's name.
River ,'Trash'
The Buffista Book Club: the Harry Potter iteration
This thread is a focused discussion group. Please see the first post below for the current topic and upcoming book discussions. While natter will inevitably happen, we encourage you to treat this like a virtual book club and try to keep your posts in that spirit.
By consensus, this thread is reopened specifically to discuss Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It will be closed again once that discussion has run its course.
***SPOILER ALERT***
Jim - Jul 15, 2004 3:02:45 am PDT #201 of 3301
Ficht nicht mit Der Raketemensch!
Polter-Cow - Jul 15, 2004 3:16:43 am PDT #202 of 3301
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
just my 50pworth, but Brave New World/1984 isn't actually a particularly illuminating comparison - you basically go "yeah, different" and then stop.
I did my senior thesis in high school on the two of them, so I beg to differ. They're an obvious pairing, in any case, as you almost never mention one without mentioning the other in the same breath.
Jim - Jul 15, 2004 3:22:54 am PDT #203 of 3301
Ficht nicht mit Der Raketemensch!
I did my senior thesis in high school on the two of them, so I beg to differ.
By an odd co-incidence, so did I, along with Neuromancer. They're lazily lumped together in that they're both mid-20th century dystopias, but that's it. They come from utterly different places, use utterly different techniques and are satirising completely different things. Aside from the fact of being dystopian, what's the commonality?
Jim - Jul 15, 2004 3:25:00 am PDT #204 of 3301
Ficht nicht mit Der Raketemensch!
That wasn't meant to sound grumpy, BTW.
Polter-Cow - Jul 15, 2004 3:28:46 am PDT #205 of 3301
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
Aside from the fact of being dystopian, what's the commonality?
My paper focused on the dehumanization that occurs in dystopian societies, and how each book used various aspects of the culture (sex, politics, language, etc.) to achieve this.
Jim - Jul 15, 2004 3:33:49 am PDT #206 of 3301
Ficht nicht mit Der Raketemensch!
I'd argue (I didn't at the time, but would now) that BNW isn't a dystopia at all - it's an utopia. It's just that we recoil from utopia.
Lilty Cash - Jul 15, 2004 3:46:25 am PDT #207 of 3301
"You see? THAT's what they want. Love, and a bit with a dog."
While I certainly like the idea of starting with a classic, I'm iffy on making the first three months such. Maybe we'd be best to mix things up for a few months, classic to contemporary to non-fiction to something else new- just to keep everybody in? I like the diversity of this list, and I think showcasing that in our first few months could keep everyone happy.
Two cents inserted.
Fred Pete - Jul 15, 2004 3:56:34 am PDT #208 of 3301
Ann, that's a ferret.
Maybe we'd be best to mix things up for a few months, classic to contemporary to non-fiction to something else new- just to keep everybody in?
Seconded. It's best that the Book Club have an "any book can be chosen" feel. Especially since this is the result of people feeling that their books/styles were being slighted.
Topic!Cindy - Jul 15, 2004 4:00:48 am PDT #209 of 3301
What is even happening?
I'd argue (I didn't at the time, but would now) that BNW isn't a dystopia at all - it's an utopia. It's just that we recoil from utopia.
Dictionary.com disagrees with you. Explicitly.
dys·to·pi·a ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ds-tp-) n.
An imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror.
A work describing such a place or state: “dystopias such as Brave New World” (Times Literary Supplement).
eta...
Maybe we'd be best to mix things up for a few months, classic to contemporary to non-fiction to something else new- just to keep everybody in?
Seconded. It's best that the Book Club have an "any book can be chosen" feel. Especially since this is the result of people feeling that their books/styles were being slighted.
I'm putting my two cents with Lilty and Fred, for a total of six cents so far. We all want to be challenged and engaged, but if the club is accesible, the more likely it is to fly.
I'd like to see us give Wolfram, Heather, and brenda (because her post inspired Heather's idea, which inspired Wolfram's proposal) the choice for the first three months, and then go on Nova's suggestion to randomly select (out of a hat is fine) the selector. If we want, we can insist the selector work from the list.
I hope we pick our first book soon though, whatever it is and however we do it, because I'm going to be gone in a few days, and probably for at least a week, maybe more. I'd like to be able to get the book while on vacation.
-t - Jul 15, 2004 4:11:17 am PDT #210 of 3301
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
I'd like to see us give Wolfram, Heather, and brenda (because her post inspired Heather's idea, which inspired Wolfram's proposal) the choice for the first three months, and then go on Nova's suggestion to randomly select (out of a hat is fine) the selector. If we want, we can insist the selector work from the list.
I like this. whatever we decide to do later, I would just as soon Wolfram picks the first book (today or tomorrow, maybe) and Heather picks the next one soonish, and we decide how to do the picking after that once we've got something to read.
Oooh, shiny thread title.