Showing off?

[pigwotflies]

Hello LJ. I haven't actually ever posted on my LJ, but I think that should change. Not sure whether I'll start cross-posting from my blogger blog, or do something different here, but I _shall_ post here. I think.

So, to start things off gently, here's a book-meme as done by atreic and woodpijn

Comments

To comment on a few of the ones you missed

[andrewducker]

I loved Life of Pi. Well worth reading.

To Kill A Mockingbird is genuinely fantastic.

Oh, and I agree with Rob when it comes to Brave New World :->

Re: To comment on a few of the ones you missed

[ex_robhu]

heh - I can see why it's a dystopia, but also why it's not :)

Re: To comment on a few of the ones you missed

[andrewducker]

Absolutely. It makes the vast majority of its citizens exceedingly happy. But it runs counter to how many of us would consider a good society should be run.

Re: To comment on a few of the ones you missed

[ex_robhu]

A vast majority are happy (but not all) and that comes at the expense of having to alter the citizens to make them happy. One way of looking at it would be that it's a utopia in the sense that we'd have a utopia now if we lobotomised everyone.

[mair_aw]

hello welcome to LJ!

[ex_robhu]

I didn't say just boring. It made me actually feel ill it was so dull.

[woodpijn]

Why are one's teenage years the most likely time to read dystopias?

I think one's teenage years are the most likely time to read anything. Certainly in my case. I had so much more time then. I think if I plotted when I read all the books I've read on this list - and perhaps also all the books I've rwead ever - there'd be a big peak in my teenage years.

[atreic]

Yes, I think it's partly the having more time. I think it's probably also not having settled in the rut of what you read as well (I know now that I read fantesy, sci-fi, kids books and Jilly Cooper, whereas when I was younger I read a lot more widely, mostly because I hadn't discovered lots of the above!). Also, at least for me as a teenager, I was much more aware of 'wanting to look clever / wanting to improve myself' and so more likely to read Famous books. And of course I hadn't read them before!

[pigwotflies]

That's true. I had a phase in my teenage years of writing down all the books I read. I read 80-100 per year. I've never topped that, even in my MA year and I suspect I never will.