Brave New World - Finished!

What an amazing book! I absolutely loved it!

Vocabulary:
Sepulchral: this word wasn't in the dictionary so I think that maybe Huxley made this word up.
Magnanimity: generosity

My favorite passage of the book is this:
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations 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."
For some reason this passage really moved me.

I am on board with John Savage in terms of how struggle, misery, and strife shape a person's life. Its a little scary to think about how the world today seems to be on the path towards being more like the 'civilized world'. These days, many unpleasantness can be avoided quite easily. The requirement for people these days to struggle is fading away. We can hire people to do our housework, start our cars from inside the house so that its warm when we get in, take a pill to get all our vitamins, drink a fancy cocktail to forget about our stresses. So much pain and stress can be surpassed just by using modern day technology. It seems like Huxley's book was a warning to society to stay authentic, to feel every emotion, a warning that society obvious has not headed to.

I think that the lesson in this book was to appreciate the fact that we can make our own choices. Not all of them will be brilliant decisions but they are what makes us human. Life is meant to be lived and although it may seem tempting to live without all things unpleasant, it would be a false life.

Brave New World - Half way through!

I still a little unsure about this book, Sci-Fi has never been my thing. But it is definitely interesting and new to me.

Vocabulary:

Pneumatic -

1. Of or relating to air or other gases.

2. Of or relating to pneumatics.

Galvantic: Of or relating to direct-current electricity, especially when produced chemically.

I laughed when Bernard was pondering the "black two-in-one" on his neighbours face, meaning a uni-brow. I thought that it was such a funny name for a uni-brow and that Bernard was so put off by it.

I wish I knew if the Malpais Huxley is talking about is Malpais, Costa Rica. It would be cool because thats where I'm planning my 2011 vacation.

Back to reading!

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Since Dracula was such a long book I chose the shortest of the three books I have at home, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. This will be the first Science Fiction book that I've ever read so I'm quite on the fence. It has never been a genre that I have been drawn to but I'm hoping this book will surprise me. Especially since there seems to be many Sci-Fis on the list. Here is the summary:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a classic science fiction work that continues to be a significant warning to our society today. Tony Britton, the reader, does an excellent job of portraying clinical detachment as the true nature of the human incubators is revealed. The tone lightens during the vacation to the wilderness and the contrast is even more striking. Each character is given a separate personality by Britton's voices. As the story moves from clinical detachment to the human interest of Bernard, the nonconformist, and John, the "Savage," listeners are drawn more deeply into the plot. Finally, the reasoned tones of the Controller explain away all of John's arguments against the civilization, leading to John's death as he cannot reconcile his beliefs to theirs.



Here we go!