Brave New World | 
pickAfter hearing countless references in the media and lectures on top of constant recommendations from my mum (sincerest apologies… I should‘ve gotten around to it sooner…) I finally read Brave New World!! Enjoyed it much more than I expected and kept me so hooked the entire time I was reading (a rare feat with how awful my attention span has become). Hopefully the first of a better reading year than the last :)
pickOverall, I liked this book. There were a lot of pieces that really made me think. The satire of it all would‘ve been a lot more enjoyable if the current world hadn‘t become so similar to what Huxley was warning against. By the end I felt sad and drained because the consumerism we have today is in many ways so much worse than what he could have imagined 100 years ago. Something to keep in mind if you‘re considering reading it—it can be a downer.
“‘Did you eat something that didn‘t agree with you?‘ asked Bernard.
The Savage nodded. ‘I ate civilization.‘
‘What?‘
‘It poisoned me; I was defiled. And then,‘ he added, in a lower tone, ‘I ate my own wickedness.‘”
so-soBernard and Lenina travel to a savage reservation to just have a vacation. While they are there they see a very strange ceremony of snakes and people, after seeing this Lenina is not very interested in staying anymore but as they are traveling they find a woman and her son named Linda and John bringing them back to their city everyone is shocked they are not so savage, and now Bernard once a man looked down on because of his height is now popular.
“‘But God doesn‘t change.‘
‘Men do, though.‘
‘What difference does that make?‘
‘All the difference in the world‘”
pickFantastic classic- not sure if I could teach this one- the complexity out shines 1984, though it is a shorter book. Also incredible, like 1984, is how relevant it still is to our world today (though there are some references that are racially dated… of course here they play into the narrative). I ask myself, are these great Sci-Fi works presages of what is to come, or do they impact society so that we grow into their models of worlds?
“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn‘t nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.”
so-soIn the book Brave New World it is a third person limited futuristic look on how the world could be. In this book there are groups of people named Delta, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon, and Alpha they are grown without parents and in bottles. These groups are made to dislike each other only wear certain clothes and do specific tasks. But there is a few people like Bernard Marx that wants to change this along with Lenina Crowne. If you like maze runner
pickWhat immediately struck me about Brave New World was the lack of a dedicated protagonist. What struck me by the end is Huxley‘s lack of support for either side of his argument; he wants to present both sides with sincerity (at least how he saw them) and I applaud him for that.
Reading the book is certainly an experience. I wish Huxley had gone bigger, more epic, but then again I don‘t; it‘s just sparse enough to get you to fill in the gaps.
“That is the secret of happiness and virtue—liking what you‘ve got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their unescapable social destiny.”
pickThis was a good adaptation of a great book. Fantastic artwork, clean lines and distinguishable characterisations. Still a depressing look at a future we're partly living in.
There's much debate about whether Huxley's vision was more prophetic than Orwell's, and while I think they both hit accurate predictions, the past week in Britain has felt more Orwellian.
Today, I was advised to leave work earlier than usual as the health centre I was ⬇️
so-soI‘m not gonna lie I was lost throughout a bit of the book. I ended up having to reread a solid hour and a half and then I figured out what was going on. I did really enjoy it but I liked other dystopian a lot more. It was also on my book poster so another one scratched ✔️
bailedThis has been on my radar for quite a while and I‘ve seen lots of glowing reviews. I‘ve been cautious about reading it because I didn‘t think I would like it. I finally decided to try it after seeing positive comments about it on X. I was wisely advised that I wouldn‘t know if I liked it, until I gave it a try. I gave it a fair shot by listening to 1 hour and 20 minutes before I pulled the plug. 😏
Full review at https://abookandadog.com
bailedI had to bail on this one. I think I‘ll have to read the physical book. It‘s easier to follow along with classics when they‘re physical books. Until then..
“Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls.”
pickSet in a dystopian world where humans are farmed in a futuristic lab, genetically modified and organized by intelligence to fit a particular social structure. The idea of family is long forgotten and practiced only by a few barbarian savages. It was entertaining and posed a provoking dilemma; freedom or happiness? You cannot have both.
pickMe pareció hermoso un hermoso futuro “utópico” si así se le puede llamar. Me resulta increíble lo preciso que es este autor al narrar una “realidad” que parece que podría estar presente en un futuro nuestro.
En resumen, el libro me pareció muy triste y desgarrador. Muy poético.
Producción en masa, falsa felicidad, arte y belleza se unen en este hermoso libro. Muy recomendable de 13 o 14 años para arriba.
pickBrave New World is a creative novel. It‘s not my favorite dystopian story but it does leave the reader questioning the purpose to life.
I'd want Mrs Jackson to find Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World". As a Year 9 13-14 year old, she set me to read this off-syllabus book, and it felt like the first time any adult was genuinely interested in the kind of books I was reading, and what I might like to read. It's not that I needed encouragement to read, but the feeling of validation was important for me. Thanks, Mrs Jackson ???
@ozma.of.oz #SundayFunday
pickI would argue Brave New World is a better classic dystopian novel than 1984. Ever relevant, just creepy enough while maintaining itself in the realm of realism. A really excellent read, especially considering I don‘t even really like Sci-Fi or dystopia as a rule.
I went on a little book buying spree over the weekend to prepare for #camplitsy and catch up on some other 2022 reading goals. I guess I broke my book buying ban, but it was for a good cause. 😂😂
pickReread this one. I first read it in high school. My son is now reading all the classic sci-fi books, so I am going through them again with him. I forgot how screwed up this book was! 😂. Still great reading. Next I am rereading 1984!
pickOne thing I dig about this book, that I didn‘t expect, is the writing style, which is heavily poetic, with constant shifts in POV, and the way it makes prodigal use of section breaks, feels very modern. While I do prefer “1984” to this, this is filled with interesting ideas, and an interesting plot too, and characters who, somehow, considering the circumstances, have a huge amount of humanity. Fascinating novel.
Success went fizzily to Bernard‘s head, and in the process completely reconciled him (as any good intoxicant should do) to a world which, up till then, he had found very unsatisfactory. In so far as it recognized him as important, the order of things was good.
pickFinally read this after it being on my TBR list for years! Amazing to think it was written so long ago. 4/5 stars.
Very interesting article: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/science-fiction-s-curious-ability-to-predict...
#BookCoverChallenge
Day 93.
Here I will note 365 books (or as many as I will have before I get tired) that have shaped my taste in literature. No explanations, no reviews. Just the cover of the book.
I do not challenge anyone. You are all welcome to take part.
“… He defined philosophy as the finding of bad reason for what one believes by instinct—as if one believed ANYTHING by instinct! One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them! . . . People believe in god because they‘ve been conditioned to believe in god.”
What a book. This one will stick with me for a while.
Note
Not exactly my first choice for a hike on the A.T. but my partner just finished it, and I‘m embarrassed I‘ve never read it. This one has a preface by Margaret Atwood!
pickIf I were hatched as an epsilon would I be content with my lot in life?
pickWelp. That was depressing. Having read both 1984 and Brave New World over a weekend, I think I need a break from sad dystopian fiction for at least a few days.
pickI read the tagged about 15 years ago and I still feel it‘s impact. #curiouscovers June 3rd: Black and White
🎧 next up 🎧
Read at the beginning of 2020. This is one of the more fictional books I've read, but oddly enough can be related to our present reality all too much.
I‘m living in such a surreal world so why not read this book now too?
so-soOkay, so this one is hiiiighly rated on Goodreads and with my network of book lovers, but I have to admit it felt sort of meh to me. I know Huxley was kind of the first, but it felt like I‘ve read this story before. It‘s a fascinating concept, but I didn‘t find myself getting really excited to read this. So I‘m only giving it a so-so.
This is my best interpretation of an “environmental theme”
Thanks for the tag @EadieB
1. My actual name is Ann Marie. My family has called me Annie since birth, but it‘s mixed at work,etc. I think it incorporates part of my mom‘s sister‘s name and my paternal grandmother in different ways. I‘ve never felt it fit me 🤷🏼♀️
2. Grateful to get to spend quality time with my family face to face this weekend 🥰
