Feb 21
If you’ve watched Office Space, or The Office for that matter, and read 1984, then you’ll hopefully follow this post.
This passage from Snow Crash is what happens if Big Brother invaded Initech. What we have here is a memo that the federal government sent to its employees–one of whom is the mother of a main character (Y.T.). I know it’s long, but stick with it.
Today’s post is kind of like my 20 Questions series, but with more of a specific focus.
If you could ask a famous author one question, what would you ask him or her? It’s that simple.
To get things rolling, I’ll start with questions I would ask to 10 famous authors (either dead or alive):
Mental Floss—a stellar website if you’ve never been, by the way—recently listed what some famous classic novels were almost called.
I found the list fascinating—it’s a literary “what might have been,” and it makes me wonder how the fate of these books might have changed if the original title had stuck.
Some examples:
Mar 1
What will the world look like in 40 years?
Difficult question, yes? No one really can answer with certainty. And, if we try to answer, more than likely we’re going to come up with some goofy, off-base version of the future that, in 40 years, will be over the top and lame. Kind of like The Jetsons or those rides at Epcot.
Feb 28
What George Orwell lacked in his sense of facial hair fashion (see photo), he more than made up for in his writing ability.
I suspect that many of you, since you are reading a blog about books, are avid readers.
Many avid readers, I would propose, have at least a passing interest in writing–most of you have blogs, I’ve noticed.
Back in 1984, Apple (Macintosh) released their first computer with a classic and critically acclaimed commercial, featured during the Super Bowl, that borrowed heavily from George Orwell’s 1984. IBM was portrayed as “Big Brother” and Apple as the revolutionary who was saving the world from conformity.
Feb 4
One of the most fun aspects of this project is investigating which books to read next. Four books slowly trickled in via Amazon this week. I already own The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Now, it’s just a matter of digging in, once I finish, I, Claudius–which is turning out to be a wonderful read. Not sure yet about the order in which I’ll read the next five.
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