7 Philosophical Science Fiction Novels You Need to Read
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ก.พ. 2023
- In this video, I’m giving more book recommendations. This time, we’re discussing philosophical science fiction novels. I include a few science fiction classics, like Foundation by Asimov, and a few of my personal favorites as well.
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0:18 Dune
1:24 Solaris
2:36 Cloud Atlas
4:13 Isaac Asimov
5:28 A Canticle for Leibowitz
6:20 Anathem
7:54 Frankenstein
good because I have no sound and he timestamped in cream color over a cream t shirt so they are 90% invisible
@@ossian1977 he's got CC. And it's in a black band, so it's readable.
¿No Ursula K. Le Guin? It is one of the first writers to come to mind when thinking about philosophy and sci-fi. She has so many different ideas and concepts merge in her writing.
I just saw your previous video and then my comment is now irrelevant.
@@Larckov admiring LeGuin is never irrelevant.
I think Ursula K LeGuin has written several novels that could fit your list. Exploring identity and society.
Absolutely! You can really feel the influence of Anthropology in her writing in the best possible way.
Yes, The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, and any of several short stories or novellas, particularly those set within her Hainish Cycle.
LeGuin was mentioned in his previous video!
Ooh, The Dispossessed, yes, yes!
@@fordhouse8b Definitely both of these! They had a strong influence on me and got me thinking about the structure of our society.
I would recommend soviet scifi "Roadside Picnic" by Strugatsky brothers . Lem said once that he is envious that he did not write that novel. Book nowadays is famous as foundation of Stalker franchise lore
yes!
Monday begins on Saturday... xD too hard
„Hard to be a god“ also worth mentioning
One of the best sci-fi novels out there . The word underrated is overused. But Roadside picknick is truly a underrated novel.
Hi mate!! I have found "Roadside Picnic" and "Stalker: Roadside Picnic"... Which do you recomend??
I love the timeline you put in the video. I appreciate this so much.
I'm 71 years old and read A Canticle for Leibowitz when I was in my late teens. It has never been far from my mind even after all these years. Tha weird thing is I've never met anyone that has read it. Thank you, I was so happy to see someone recognize this profound book.
Stephen, same age as you. Have tried Canticle several times. Haven’t gotten far. Not usually a SF reader but will give it another go after seeing your comment. Thanks!
I read it forty years ago,
I also read Canticle... about 50 years ago when I was in my 20's. It was not an easy read, but haunting. I will read it again.
In 1974 read it in an AP class called "Utopian Novel." Had a big impact on me. Others in that class included 1984, Animal Farm, and Brave New World.
@@delavan9141 Those are the best. I also read those.
Douglas Adam’s: Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy… sci fi comedy, asks many questions of our existence and gives some surprising answers
I'm a big fan of foundation. I bought it on a whim walking through a book store and it really made me think. My background in statistics and data science maybe added a bit to it too as it prompted a lot of thoughts regarding my work as well.
Brave New World - I read it first 40 years ago and its themes (ends vs means, what it is to be human, utilitarianism, how the world should be arranged post-scarcity, and many others) just get more and more relevant.
This one is so beautiful. I actually cried at the end. One of the best books ever.
My absolute favorite book
Must read by everyone in modern society, sad to see how underrated it is, way more relevant than 1984 nowadays
That's because he was a Fabian socialist who helped plan our current technocracy as did his brother Julian who coined the word transhumanism and promoted it in UNESCO.
I can also wholeheartidly recommend Ted Chiangs short stories!
Came to your channel for the philosophy, delighted to see you discussing sci fi as well. And then you mention "Canticle for Leibowitz"! I found it so touching, yet I've never met another person interested in even reading it. I really appreciate your approach to discussing all these books; sci fi can be such a wonderful and terrifying canvas for "what if"s that I always find it sad when people dismiss it.
Read it in my youth when I was greedily gobbling up SciFi. Got to revisit it.
a great book. but was it science fiction? maybe speculative fiction. the only science was the bombs that wrecked everything.
I read "Canticle" too many decades ago. I remember liking it a lot. That it was about monks. Sort of. Really can't help much. I am pretty sure it would be in my top 100 novels, and I've read a few hundred novels over the years.
A Canticle for Leibowitz is my favorite book! I’ve read it six or seven times. I plan to reread it this Spring. A great book!
OMG I love that progress bar bro, absolutely phenomenal!
solaris is such a beautiful novel, it really changed me the first time i read it and i just finished the second reread. before even opening this video i told myself, if he doesnt mention Lem, ill be upset. Lem offers such an accessible trove of thought provoking and short novels that sometimes contain some truly haunting prose about life and death. im working my way through his entire catalogue.
Solaris is also just one of a list of Lem's critiques of alien contact stories, which he sees as Cowboys and Indians in Space. Fiasco, Eden and His Master's Voice are more examples of how you could tell an alien contact story that doesn't mimic human history.
The most philosophical is His Master's voice. Imagine SETI detecting a highly complex clearly interpretable signal from an untraceable source in space. Lem comes up with an amazing set of questions about what that could mean. Little green men is low on the list.
Another very philosophical book is Thus Spake GOLEM.
@@bernardfinucane2061 I argue that you can add The Invincible to that list.
@@AndDiracisHisProphet Never heard of it! I'll check it out.
@@bernardfinucane2061 it is not exactly about an alien CIVILIZATION, but on concepts of life in general. also it is really creepy :)
I also agree with you about Thus Spoek GOLEM. One of my favourite books, period. Although not really a novel, more an essay
I haven't read Eden, though.
Have you seen the 1972 film?
Really fantastic, man. I very much appreciate your thoughtful perspectives on two things (sci fi and philosophy) of which I've been in an amateur's awe of for years.
Great recommendations, just picked up a few. Thanks for another great video!
Thank you, I love History, Philosophy, Science Fiction too, so your enthusiasm, clarity, is a joy.
“We” is one book that I recommend to nearly everyone. Science fiction is filled with philosophical perspectives as so many deal with societies in flux. Octavio Butler does this quite well within her books.
I’d never heard of Anathem before this video, just finished reading it. One of my favorite all-time reads. The world-building is stunning, and the philosophical schools conflicting were so well done and compelling. Reminded me of a more accessible Three Body Problem. Thanks so much for the recommendation!
I have read a lot of Stephenson, and Anathem is by far my favorite. It should be more well known, but gets overshadowed by some of his other works. All of the other books on this list are great, too, but Anathem might be my personal fav.
yea, that's a good one. reminded me of The Glass Bead Game and Candide.
Anathem is one of my favourites! I was not expecting the journey I was taken on!
I’ve read 3 of his books but not this one. The other the endings were… not great. Great storytelling but can’t finish a book. The Stephen King of SciFi. Does this one have a decent ending?
@@BrandtHambrick That's so interesting! This was my first book from him, haven't read others yet. I actually really liked the ending of Anathem, I highlighted and have revisited some of the closing dialogue because it felt close and resonant to me.
Just found your channel and made my way through some of your videos. I'm loving all these book recommendations. I'm particularly looking forward to reading We. I've also heard of Anathem, your recommendation has certainly pushed it further up my to read list. Thank you.
Please do a bookshelf tour! your collection looks extremely informative
Philosophical sci-fi is my favorite genre. Thanks for the list. I recently read the mountain in the sea by Ray Nayler. Lots of great stuff about language, artificial intelligence, and identity. I would put it alongside cloud atlas, a canticle for Leibowitz, and Foundation in terms of how often I’ve thought about it/brought it up in conversation.
Thank you for the recommendations Jared. Just started reading Solaris.
Small thing. I LOVE the timeline graphic you have at the bottom of the screen. It's perfect.
jared: you have been a key part in my renewal of reading and love of philosophy, and just wanted to say thanks and keep up the great high quality content (would also love your thoughts on Notes From The Underground)
Agreed ! I just read notes from the underground because jared is such a big fan of dostoevsky but I haven’t been able to borrow crime and punishment from the library yet
I've read them all and I agree with this list. Great content, keep it up! Kudos from Italy
your channel become one of my favorites, thank you for the amazing content, truly, thank you 🤍
The timeline animation on the botton is genius✌I'm taking notes in this video 👽
I love your channel so much
The first time i saw your video, i must i love the way you talk and discuss books! Cheers man
And i will support your channel! Thank you for everything, 🙏
Adored the video, loove the tiny detail of the timeline/progress bar at the bottom
Very good video! This is exactly how I got into philosophy, due to having read several philosophical science fiction books!
Ooh, good video! Cloud Atlas is high on my list of favorite books (and movies), and I'm actually reading Neal Stephenson's SevenEves now, and I'm really enjoying it. I will definitely check out Anathema, and Solaris.
Most would know him for the the Narnia Chronicles, but I recommend CS Lewis' Space Trilogy in particular That Hideous Strength. Even you don't ascribe to his Christian beliefs, he poses some very thought provoking questions around moral relativism, mind control and freedom. Very reminiscent of 1984, particularly as they were written in a similar time period.
I think if your 8 or 10 year old child wanted to read something that inspired his/her creativity, you could suggest the Narnia Chronicles, and just not mention the religious symbolism. Kid wouldn't be hurt by all that reading. I've read only a small handful of fantasy novels, don't really care for the genre, but CS Lewis really knocks it out of the park. Good stuff.
A nice video, I really enjoyed it and my reading list just got longer. I feel that maybe 'The Dispossessed' by Ursula Le Guinn deserved a mention.
WOW! Where have I been....how have I missed this channel up till now? Subscribed immediately. Great stuff, look forward to watching more of your videos. Thanks.
I enjoyed your presentation. One short story that left me deeply affected was Arthur C Clarke's 'The Star.' It's a work that I return to time and again because it makes you realise that, well, someone had to write it!
I might add Roger Zelazny to the list of philosophical authors. All of his protagonists seem philosophically well versed and dialogue, especially about conflicts, often has startling philosophical arguments laid bare to practice. I'm not sure if Zelazny fits sci-fi or fantasy better. I believe the philosophical explorations are his guide, rather than being genre or character driven. His stories and characters often seem sketches, meant only to frame the conflict resolution he wishes to postulate or explore.
It's been a while since I read the Culture series, but from what I remember, the philosophical themes become more apparent in the later books and they become the overarching questions of the series as a whole.
I hope you enjoy your time with the series as much as I did
Jared, if you will make a video on We I will probably be leaving an essay as a comment! Already looking forward to it!
Thanks for the great recommendations, can't wait to get round to them.
I think placing books under the SF label could use a more nuanced positioning. While nobody will argue with you that Dune is a classic of Sf, I can imagine some raised eyebrows at statements like "1984 is actually SF, but technology caught up with it" or "Frankenstein is not (anymore?) considered SF, but literature" The label is quite volatile, as I see it, and arguments can be made on both sides.
Thanks for the great video and please make more!
You have to include Olaf Stapledon on a list like this. He was an actual philosopher who wrote beautiful science fiction. StarMaker and last and first men.
Stapeldon was a philosopher, but a lot of people find him dry and hard to read as a fiction writer
I guess I'm in the minority. I found his prose to be exceptionally beautiful and expressive.
@@McampanellaWork That's true, he's not a remarkable stylist. He is however the single most imaginative writer I've encountered, as well being one of the most prescient. Last And First Men is indeed a hard read, long and densely packed, and as you say, his style takes some getting into. I'd recommend Odd John or Sirius to start with him, they're more typically "stories". He also provided a number of impressive tropes for modern science fiction writers, particularly Bruce Sterling.
Thanks for the recommendation - I'll check him out. Have you read the Three Body Problem Series?
@@darkestafrica3 i have not but I've heard good things. I'm in the process of learning Mandarin so I hope to read it in the original language someday.
The first Foundation book and Dune both really struck me and convinced me to begin reading again in High School, and especially Foundation still lingers in my mind in the way it looks at humanity, politics, and history. As a history student it really speaks to me in a way I wasn't expecting, because its one of those books where the characters are not so much what we're invested in, but the history of this world, you read the stories like a history told by other people, a sort of objective chronology. Whereas Dune is definitely a lot about character and brings us back to the human perspective.
What a lovely selection of books. Some are at the top of my favourites list. A friend of mine, just recently gave me Solaris - and I am eager to give it a read, but now I"m also interested in this Foundations one and the Chanticle for Lebowitz, as well. Thanks so much Jared for what you're doing. Very helpful to a newbie old guy writer, such as myself. Much to read and so little time !
Hi Jared, nice video. As for the Culture novels, the most philosophical ones are "The Player of Games", "Use of weapons" and "Inversions" (from what I have read of the Culture Series). Consider Phlebas it took more action than complex themes. btw all Culture novels are WAY different and you can read it separately. Greetings!
Just found your channel with this video and man this was great. Just got back into reading recently and will definitely have to check out these books. Side note: the production on this was great too. The audio quality was perfect.
Frankenstein is one of the best books I've ever read. every time I put the book down it made me think and question things I probably never cared much about before. especially the parts where the creature talks to Frankenstein about his life experience really moved me.
What a fantastic book.
I think Mary Shelley destroyed her manuscript and then rewrote it? (She wrote very fast.)
I absolutely agree with your comment. In fact I was thumbing through it just yesterday and thinking about giving it a read again. It will be my third time, but has been a few decades since I last did. This time will be more interesting knowing what I know now all these years later.
@@bill_jennings yes it's definitely worth a reread. It's a whole different experience. You'll enjoy the book even more.
I'm reading it through Frankenstein Weekly's email list and I'm loving it
I'm always glad to see appreciation for Anathem, it's so awesome
Agree totally. Read it twice in a row and it was even better the 2nd time. I also recommend his novel The Diamond Age.
so glad to find someone in this space finally give “Canticle” some well deserved time in the limelight 😁
love the rest of your work as well sir!
The Sirens Of Titan is also a really good one! It seems silly at first but then it talks about free will and fate, the meaning of life, and if good ends justify bad means
yes!
Don't forget Vonnegut's fantastic, off the wall, sense of humour.
Lost count of how many times I've read that book.
I adore the little progress bar you have at the bottom. But it's the same colour as your shirt in this video lol
I had to read A Canticle for Leibowitz for a class in college. I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It was unlike anything I’d ever read before, and it was written in such an interesting way. I think I finished it in just a day or two.
For several decades, I taught a Philosophical Ideas in literature course. The books I found the most useful in science fiction were the following:
Arthur C. Clarke, Childhood's End
Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange
Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and The Man in the High Castle
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Isaac Asimov, The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun
Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers and The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag
David Brin, the first Uplift Trilogy
i want to say "nice to finally see some dick" but i know what happens when i say things.
I agree with your entire list -- especially delighted to see Childhood's End at the top! Thank you.
The only one I've read so far is Brave New World. I really want to read Clockwork Orange but I fear it may be too intense for me
I can't speak for the print form but Brave New World did not translate well to audio book. The flood of information with no distinction when changing perspective was maddening.
A great list, but only English-speaking authors, no? So I'd really recommend Lem to reach outside of the bubble : )
Great video, thanks for making it.
Always love your recs
Cheers for the recommendations. I'd suggest a classic like Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, and a more recent excellent trilogy Remembrance of Earth's Past by Liu Cixin
Mr. Henderson,
If I remember correctly, “Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus” was classified a Romance Novel, in critical opposition to Voltaire’s Enlightenment Period.
I have not had time to view the entire video, but will do so this evening. Your Channel is one of the great pleasures in evening’s fading light.
This was great, thanks
man I really loved Solaris, the planet reminds me of our interactions with ai & generative ai, awesome commentary on the concepts of science , measurement, & research too. awesome list!
If someone is interested in Solaris, I strongly DO NOT recommend movie adaptation (with G. Clooney). The message from the movie is totally different than in the book. But I strongly recommend the book, because it is philosophical and futuristic piece of a story, but also there's a poetry in it, that's why Lem is so good. But all of books you recommend are great!
Lem also hated the Tarkovsky adaptation of Solaris btw, claiming Tarkovsky had turned the book about “erotic problems in space”. And it is quite different from the book. Nevertheless, it’s a great film.
Thank you for the video!!
Thank you for this. I'm updating my Kindle Want list right now.
'Cloud Atlas' immediately came to mind (While you were presenting Lem) and still my favorite Mitchell book. Not so big on his 'horology' thread in his other works, but 1000 Autumns was interesting. I guess I need to try Foundation I guess. Haven't tried Asimov for many many years.
Great list. One of the things I love about Solaris is how Lem treats his main character when he first confronts the vision of his ex..it's so mature relative to how others have played with similar ideas. I feel like it's a logical approach in the face of an unusual situation. He doesn't go nuts, he immediately locks his ex in the rocket and tries to launch her. Love it
Please tell me that you are not serious.
You are joking right?
His dead, ex gf, who has never been on this planet. And so must, HAS TO be a manifestation of the planet itself. And he tries to kill it. This is a mature response...
@OmnivorousDeb I was definitely being sarcastic on the 2nd part. I did find it mature that instead of saying, " oh no a ghost," he calmly tests himself and then tests her... he will of course deal with the conflict he feels later on relative to shooting her off on the rocket...
One name that needs to be mentioned: Iain M Banks. His culture series books are deeply pholosophical. He mentions at the end, but this would be among my top picks.
love Banks, trust in Banks.
the Hydrogen Sonata asks the tricky question, what if an alien race dropped a Bible that actually gave scientific answers? Banks is like Dr. Suisse in Grimms fairy tales with ultra technology. he inverts the Trekkie prime directive on it's sharp edge into heavy messing into alien civilizations with ultra subtle means.
i loved the way he gave more clues to the Excession in the Hydrogen Sonata.
Excellent choices and analysis. Greetings from Athens, Greece.
Thanks, WOW a new reading list, looking forward to it....
I'm new to the channel, so I'm not sure if you mentioned already, but if not, you should totally check out Olaf Stapledon's work. He was a philosopher who started to write fiction in order to present his ideas to a wider audience. Star Maker and Sirius are my favorites.
Star maker is by turns beautiful and terrifying, a true achievement
1984 stopped being a dystopia and became an instruction manual.
Great list!
I've read Dune, Solaris, Frankenstein and Foundation. I didn't know about Canticle and I'll be reading ASAP.
Huxley's Brave New World - need I say more? Oops - I just went to your Part 1 video, and this is the first book you bring up - BRAVO!!!
I very much enjoyed your presentation, as well as your conversational and discussional manner. I believe that every federation starship should have a philosophy officer such as yourself🖖
Nice work, subscribed. I would put Greg Bear on this list as well- he explores many philosophical issues, and is a terrific read as well.
cheers from sunny Vienna, Scott
I would concur - decidedly a big picture guy
Last and First Men and Starmaker by Olaf Stapledon. True two of the most incredible works in this genre. Kind of like the Silmarillion of cosmology.
Keep reading Banks! Phlebas is okay, but I REALLY can't wait to hear your thoughts on Player of Games and Use of Weapons!! :)
Love banks. Quite a few of my "morals" are from the books. He put into words what I always felt. Gender, identity, humanity without baggage. Death and ritual. Afterlife. We may not exist in the universe that he presented but I hope we do.
I'm surprised that I haven't seen anyone mention the Book Of The New Sun series by Gene Wolfe. It's honestly some of the best books I've ever read (I think even challenging Anathem and Dune). I definitely feel like it's the kind of thing one can read over and over. Such poetry! It's not easy to describe, but it's certainly something I'd highly recommend reading!
th-cam.com/video/l1L5Ts5cSsk/w-d-xo.html
Dang, I tried and couldn't keep going. I kept getting confused.
Its mainly hated for political reasons.
This is my all-time favorite sci-fi book (and I read a lot of sci-fi)! I also strongly recommend Gene Wolfe’s “The Fifth Head of Cerberus”.
@@thomshrikeI’ve yet to read gene wolfe. I have a few of his books on my shelf that I picked up from a charity shop. Most people I talk to about him tell me to read them asap!
Thanks for the recommendations
I think The Cyberiad by Lem is a more varied and nicely playful philosophical SF book.
I'm not sure if it would entirely qualify as "philosophical science fiction" but Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons are two of my favorite scifi reads of recent years, and dig into a lot of philosophical and religious ideas.
I'm about halfway through The Fall of Hyperion and I can't help but agree with you. Also I really like Stephen Baxter's "Ring". It's more hard Science Fiction, but definitely has some great philosophical elements.
The Hyperion Cantos and The Baroque Cycle are so good they have spoiled me to the extent I struggle to find anything comparable
Great video, Jared.
Paul Atriedes knew exactly what path he had to walk when he took the water of life. It was the knowledge of what he had to become and do that tortured him. The books are about sacrifice of the self.
I like your style and manner, you have a nice voice. And good picks. Dune, Asimov and Anne Rice formed the backbone of my earliest serious reading.
Might read Solaris. The Andrei Tarkovsky adaptation is just an incredible film
It's not an easy read, but the presented ideas and the overall mood is something really uniqe. I read it years ago and I still remember the questions raised there.
Great selection to which I would add Ursula Le Guin - The Left Hand of Darkness.
Neal Stephenson is just very f* awesome. Everything I've read from him is just straight awesome, but "The Diamond Age" is one in my top 5 favorite books ever.
The Baroque Cycle series is my #1 fiction that was written in my lifetime. I'm still hoping that someone will make it into a decade long series.
New subscriber. Love this video. Thank you.
A solid list! (I've never read Cloud Atlas but I'll take it on faith.) I see that someone here has already noted Olaf Stapledon, who has been a major influence on me. I have an odd suggestion of my own: Flicker, by Theodore Roszak. I consider Flicker to be sort of retroactive science fiction, looking back on recent history and worrying over the impact of audiovisual media. (Darren Aronofsky allegedly wanted to film it, which strikes me possibly missing the book's entire point.)
Blindsight by Peter Watts. My favorite SF book, discussing the nature of consciousness vs sentience.
I read dune a while ago and it was refreshing that it actually made me consider my philosophies and actually reorient a bit of how I view things a bit to how I used to when I was younger.
"Roadside Picnic" is an amazing sci-fi philosophical book I'd include! but cool video and cool suggestions!
Agree. Just as good as the film, but somewhat different
Also, love foundation series. If u want a nudge...foundation edge is as good as the first trilogy. Forward the foundation is also excellent. Great video Jared
Great list! *Flowers for Algernon* might also be considered.
Iian M Banks is great, later books get better and better, so I would recommend not to stop on book 1. Many phylosophical questions are explored. I would also recommend Hyperion by Dan Simmons as another great example of phylosophical science fiction.
Enjoyed,thoroughly!! Thank you!! Just saw you today. I’ll be back.
Some books I'd recommend are:
The Languages of Pao by Jack Vance, Blindsight by Peter Watts, Embassytown by China Mieville, The Embedding by Ian Watson, Schild's Ladder by Greg Egan, Odd John and Sirius by Olaf Stapleton.
Embassytown 💜
telling all my friends about this channel!!!
Octavia E Butler, if she still needs to be mentioned. She has some very challenging concepts. The aliens in Lillith's Brood novels challenged my ideas of what first contact might be like, but it is her short story Bloodchild that, as a man, I find genuinely challenging.
Care to reveal how the idea of a first contact gets challenged? That would be much appreciated
It's one of my favorite subjects (and I'm on the sceptical side, firmly in Lem's camp when it comes to contact :) )
I know I could just google it out, but I don't want to run into some major spoilers.
I just finished Remembrance of Earth's Past by Liu Cixin. I don't think I'll ever look at the universe the same again after it. Could fit very well into this list!
I have been hearing so much about Liu Cixin. Just bought The Three-Body Problem last night. Excited to start it, soon.
The Three Body Problem, definitely / Rememberance of Earths Past as a trilogy is one I would add. I’m happy to have already read many of these but have a few new ones to check out now!
THE early classic of philosophical fiction (SF or not) is The Glass Bead Game (Magister Ludi) by Hermann Hesse. Amazing!
yes! i read the Glass Bead Game right after Anathem by a coincidence in the corner library box. i snagged it because it's written as a far future history.
it lead me to Gene Wolfe and the excellent Book of the New Sun.
i thought someone was playing tricks on me!
I took a screenwriting class on a lark a few years ago (this was just for fun as I already have a PhD in English), and I ended up doing a very loose adaptation of The Glass Bead Game. It's a book I think about a lot. Apparently, someone has created an actual Glass Bead Game IRL. It looks sort of interesting.
All but one of these I either had read or have on my list. Thanks.
Thanks for your videos.
Thank you for the recommendations. Le Guin and Asimov are awesome though
I've read everything you listed except Cloud Atlas and Canticle (yes I'm ashamed... they are high on the TBR). Anathem is amazing! I remember it was getting a bit of hate when it first came out but people warmed to it over time. I loved it right away. I still think about many scenes throughout the book.
Frankenstein was the biggest surprise for me. I had only know about the cliche version from cartoons and such, and when I read the book I found a much more humanizing story, and it blew me away. I'd also bet that this book as the highest density of the word "countenance" out of any other!
Love the progress bar
But change the letter color to maybe yellow or red. White letters get lost a little bit.