Currently reading
The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers
The Name of the Rose
Ghostwritten
To the Lighthouse
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
Perfect Wrong Note - Learning to Trust Your Musical Self
The Prince
The Varieties of Religious Experience
Twenty Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy
Brave New World
Maybe a little pain and suffering is good after all. This book was so different from 1984, yet so similar. It's interesting how free love and the suppression of love can lead to basically the same end - when "everyone belongs to everyone else" nothing is sacred or worth fighting for, when nobody belongs to anybody, again, nothing is worth fighting for. I couldn't help but notice the similarity between the axioms that came from speakers under the pillows of sleeping students in Brave New World and the giant Ministry of Public Thought at the disposal of the government today that we call the Public Education System. Both take advantage of the captive attention of students to deliver whatever messages that the state deems appropriate. This sounds like a conspiracy theory, but really, is it that far of a stretch? Public administrators working, not for their happiness, but for the happiness of everyone else. Of course there are exceptions and differences, but the parallels are there.The book is completely relevant today. People are still willing to sacrifice liberty for the siren song of government-provided comfort and security, Brave New World is a great testament as to why that is such a bad, bad idea.