Introduction to Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

I previously posted links to presentations introducing my students to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  Today, I'm adding the next audiobook option: Shelley's Frankenstein.

Although most students have heard of Frankenstein, most think that Frankenstein is the lumbering, green monster, rather than the scientist.  Indeed, Frankenstein and his monster are both commonly misrepresented and misunderstood characters.  The actual novel  is beautiful, provocative, and insightful.  It tackles issues about human nature within the framework of an entertaining story.  Although told at the time as a ghost or horror story, Frankenstein is now recognized as one of the first true science fiction novels.  I love this novel, and I am excited to share it with some of my students this semester.

To view my Prezi presentation introducing Frankenstein to students, click here.

If you enjoy Frankenstein, you may also enjoy Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis.

(Image from Wikimedia)

"Now and Forever" by Ray Bradbury

There's not really any rhyme or reason to my Ray Bradbury reading order.  Having decided to read all of his books, I'm just reading them as I happen to get ahold of a copy.  This time the library happened to have "Now and Forever" on the shelves.  (To anyone else in Hampshire trying to read Ray Bradbury books, I'm really sorry.  If you can't find them at the library, it's probably because they're at my house.)

"Now and Forever" is actually two unrelated stories published together.

The first is "Somewhere a Band is Playing".  This story has a feeling of timelessness which fits with the theme of the story.  Is it possible for people to stop aging?  If so, what would their lives be like?  It's a slow-paced, understated bit of writing, but I enjoyed it.

The second story is "Leviathon '99".  This story is Bradbury's scifi adaptation of "Moby Dick".  I don't regret reading it, but I'm honest enough to admit that this is my least favorite of Bradbury's work (at least that I've read so far).  I have a feeling Bradbury knew it wasn't his strongest piece as well because this story has been through a lot of different versions and revisions.  Rather than being satisfied with it, I feel like he just gave up and published it so that his time wouldn't be wasted.  As an author it's a little bit reassuring to realize that Bradbury has his off moments too, and that not every single thing he writes blows my socks off.  It makes me hope that in my very imperfect writings I'll still be able to create something meaningful and enjoyable.
Only 55 more Ray Bradbury books to go.

"Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

What can I possibly say about Ray Bradbury's novel "Fahrenheit 451"?

If you haven't read it yet, stop whatever you're doing and go find a copy of it.  Then read.

There should be a reading list for life, and "Fahrenheit 451" should be on it.

This novel is sparse and in some ways simplistic, and yet that's part of it's power.  The futuristic world of "Fahrenheit 451" seems dramatic, and yet in many ways it's not that different from the way we live now.

"The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury, I take my hat off to you sir.
Then I consider putting on another hat just for the sake of taking it off again.

The man is a genius. 

"The Martian Chronicles" is lyrical and beautiful, concise and profound, science fiction without being scientific.  It is more than entertaining; it is relevant.

I think everyone should read it.

It may be called "The Martian Chronicles" and set primarily on Mars, but it is an intensely human book about human nature and humanity.

"The Host" by Stephenie Meyer

Just about everybody has heard of Stephenie Meyer.  She became a superstar in the publishing world virtually overnight when her first book, "Twilight", was published.  Since then the "Twilight" series has become a merchandising empire of best-selling books, popular movies, and related merchandise...but you don't need me to tell you this.  Even if you've never read "Twilight", you know about the vampire love saga.

What less people know about is what else Stephenie Meyer has done.  Her only other published book is a science fiction novel called "The Host".  This book hasn't reached the manic popularity of "Twilight", although I'm sure that both Meyer and the publishing company both made a healthy profit off of it.

Out of curiosity, I read "The Host".  Overall, I have to say that it probably is actually better written than the "Twilight" books.  Meyer's writing is more focused and less awkward with overall better crafting than the "Twilight" series (certainly at the beginning of the series).  Somehow, though, that doesn't necessarily make this a better book.  Despite the many shortcomings of "Twilight", people still get sucked into the characters and story (especially the love story).  In "The Host" you just don't get quite as involved with the characters, and so you're not as emotionally invested in the book.  It was entertaining, but it wasn't groundbreaking science fiction.  I do commend it, though, for the simple fact that I think it probably introduced scifi novels to a new generation of readers that wouldn't otherwise have considered picking up a scifi novel.

For more of what I thought about "The Host", click here.
To visit Stephenie Meyer's official website, click here.

"Out of the Silent Planet" by C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis is best known for his fantasy series of children's books "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe".  I loved the Narnia books as a child, and I've reread and loved them as an adult.  There are a lot of religious themes in the Narnia books, and C.S. Lewis also wrote explicitly Christian texts (like "Mere Christianity").

Although C.S. Lewis is an extremely famous author, some of his books are much less known and read.  In my public library I discovered a used book for sale for 20p.  It was by C.S. Lewis, and I'd never heard of it before, so I bought it.  The book was "Out of the Silent Planet".

"Out of the Silent Planet" is the first in a series usually referred to as either "the space trilogy" or "the cosmic trilogy".  It's a science fiction book (a bizarre type of space rocket flies them to another planet), but it's religious scifi.  Like most of Lewis's writing, it is imbued with religious (especially Christian) themes and imagery.

Overall, I didn't think that it was Lewis's best book.  It certainly wasn't the most entertaining to read for pleasure.  However, it is a thinking book.  Long after you put the book down, you'll be thinking about the issues raised by Lewis and the meaning of "Out of the Silent Planet".  If you're a Lewis fan or enjoy religious fiction, it's worth having a look at this oft forgotten novel.

To find out more about "Out of the Silent Planet", click here.
To find out more about C.S. Lewis and his writing, click here.

"Dune Messiah" by Frank Herbert

Having recently read "Dune", I went ahead and read the next book in the "Dune" series.  The second "Dune" book (there are loads) is Herbert's "Dune Messiah".

The first huge difference between "Dune" and "Dune Messiah" is immediately visible.  The sequel is much shorter than the first book.  For me, the first "Dune" book sometimes dragged and needed some editing (or splitting into two books).  "Dune Messiah" was a better length and still contained a large, sweeping story and significant time passage. 

Paul Muad'Dib is still the main character of "Dune Messiah".  Now we see him as emperor, universe power, and object of religious veneration.  Some of the characters that annoyed me (particularly his mother, the Lady/Reverend Mother Jessica) fade into the background, whereas characters like his sister (Alia the Knife) gain more prominence.

If you've read the first "Dune" book, I'd recommend going on with the second book, "Dune Messiah".

Musician Aubrey Baker has a song partially inspired by "Dune" called "Sufjan invites you to DUNE".  Click here to visit her Myspace page and listen to this song (I love it).

"Dune" by Frank Herbert

I love science fiction (especially sci fi movies), but I admit that it's not usually the first genre that I pick up to read.  I remember reading Jules Verne and H.G. Wells books when I was growing up, but I later found that a lot of science fiction novels get bogged down in too much science and don't have enough fiction.  One sci fi book that I had heard of (being a classic and very famous and having a movie based on it) was "Dune".

My husband recently read "Dune", and asked me to read it as well so that we could discuss it.  So I did.

The beginning of "Dune" is very slow.  If it weren't for my husband's encouragement I don't think I'd have stuck it out past the first 50 pages.  Eventually the story does get moving, but it remains a very slow-tempered book.  Somehow even when there are major events happening and lots of action, it manages to keep plodding along at the same pace (often skimming over events rather than really describing them, but spending lots of space and detail on other things).  There's a lot of info to take in about the world and universe of "Dune", and a lot of characters. 

Overall, the story itself is interesting, and you do feel somehow compelled to find out what happens.  The book "Dune" as a whole, though, is actually kind of boring.  There are only so many times, for example, that we can read that the people were obsessed with moisture/water and lived in a desert full of sand.  I wish there had been less telling and more showing.  (For example, rather than telling us for the 500th time that it was dry, show us that the characters get nosebleeds/cracked lips/dry skin/etc. from their arid surroundings.)

If you do read this book, I recommend having someone else to discuss it with.  For me, the best part of reading "Dune" was discussing it afterward.

There are lots of things in the book that are hard to visualize or should be visually impressive, so I'm interested to watch the movie of "Dune" and see how it interprets the book and shows things (especially the Worms and Fremen sietch).