Reading 1001 discussion

5 stars

have never been a fan of Science Fiction. The few books I have read from this genre were forced upon me by teachers and professors -- and I detested most of them. But I have made it a personal goal to read more Classics this year and so I have joined several challenges. This book was chosen as part of one of those challenges. And, wow, what a revelation. This book is chilling, shocking, frightening... This book is phenomenal. And, I am so glad that I listened to Simon Prebble read it because there is no way my mental voice could have done it justice. The narration was so filled with nuance and emotion. It was flat when it should be -- building the scary factor.

3/5 stars

I read this book as a buddy read with my son. I managed to finish the book, my son did not, he gave up after the first section. I last read this book in high school in 1984. I don't remember much about the book but “Big brother is watching you” was memorable. I enjoyed the first part of the book the best learning all about the rules of Oceania. The relationship with Julia was interesting to read about but I could do without the reading of the manual, too dry. The last section of the book was probably the meat of the story with all the morals to go with it. I think this book is still relevant today. With our current Twitter in Chief we have Newspeak, doublethink and two minutes hate. Can't say I enjoyed reading this book but I do think it is still relevant.

“To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not live alone – to a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone:From the age of uniformity, from the age of solitude, from the age of Big Brother, from the age of doublethink- greetings!"

“You don't grasp the beauty of the destruction of words. Do you know that newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year?”

Kelly wrote: "5 stars

have never been a fan of Science Fiction. The few books I have read from this genre were forced upon me by teachers and professors -- and I detested most of them. But I have made it a per..."

Maybe if I had listened to it instead I would have enjoyed it more.

Reason read: It was time for a reread, shared read with granddaughter.
Dystopian novel, by George Orwell, published 1949 and is a story of totalitarian and suppression. It is a political and dystopian book. This book has had lasting influence and even though written many years ago during the cold war still has relevance today; controlling speech and expression has become common practice, and surveillance through monitoring us by cell phone/internet use.

You are the dead.

The world in Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the most hideous ever created. Born out of the author's disillusionment and horror with the political movements of the twentieth century, he created a society where the party is all that matters, language is being altered so that thinking against the party cannot happen because there is no longer the vocabulary for it, children are brought up to spy on their parents and nobody trusts anyone and where the past is being erased and altered so that the characters are not even sure what year it is.

Part one of this book is fantastic. I thought the book dragged in the middle. And the ending is one of the most disturbing things I have ever read. You are the dead. And reading the end, you kind of feel the characters are.

4 stars.