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Poll

Please vote for ALL books you are interested in reading.

A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ by William Miller - (pub. 1959; 334pgs; science-fiction)
4 (9.8%)
BERLIN GAME by Len Deighton - (pub. 1983; 352pgs; thriller)
2 (4.9%)
COSMOPOLIS by Don DeLillo - (pub. 2003; 209pgs; literary fiction)
5 (12.2%)
EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck - (pub. 1952; 601pgs; historical fiction)
2 (4.9%)
MIDDLEMARCH by George Eliot - (pub. 1872; 904pgs; literary fiction)
2 (4.9%)
NAKED LUNCH by William S. Burroughs - (pub. 2004; 289pgs; literary fiction)
5 (12.2%)
OLD MAN'S WAR by John Scalzi - (pub. 2005; 314 pgs; science fiction)
2 (4.9%)
SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD by Orson Scott Card - (pub. 1994; 382 pgs; science fiction)
5 (12.2%)
STAY: A HISTORY OF SUICIDE AND THE PHILOSOPHIES AGAINST IT by Jennifer Michael Hecht - (pub. 2013; 280 pgs; non-fiction)
1 (2.4%)
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Robert A. Heinlein - (pub. 1961; 528pgs; science fiction)
8 (19.5%)
THE EMBEDDING by Ian Watson - (pub. 1989; 196pgs; science fiction)
1 (2.4%)
WE by Yevgeny Zamyatin - (pub. 1924; 226 pgs; science fiction)
4 (9.8%)

Total Members Voted: 11

Author Topic: FS Book Discussion #2 - Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein  (Read 13409 times)


Bondo

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Re: FS Book Discussion #2 - Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
« Reply #31 on: October 07, 2014, 11:14:47 PM »
Anyone have a background with Heinlein before picking this up?

I read Starship Troopers last year...which was probably overly burdened by my having seen the film, many times, first. I think the film is way better. I actually tried to read SiaSL back in middle school. It didn't go well. I'm assuming I'm up to a bit more these days.

My library had SiaSL on both e-audiobook and e-book so it is a bit odd it isn't available to purchase in the latter format. I will probably start with the audiobook while I wait for the physical copy to come to me through the library.


SmashTheTV

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Re: FS Book Discussion #2 - Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
« Reply #33 on: October 08, 2014, 12:31:08 AM »
Must be a location thing I'm on the UK store and it's available.


oldkid

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Re: FS Book Discussion #2 - Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
« Reply #35 on: October 08, 2014, 11:04:27 AM »
I've read Stranger in a Strange Land twice, and I'm not really interested in reading it again, so I will make some comments on the way.

About Heinlein: He is one of the science fiction authors of the "golden era" with Asimov and Clarke who really made a mark.  Before being a writer, he worked on the first aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy.  This experience formed his character and gave him a foundation for his imminently logical philosophy.  Up to this point, he wrote short, intellectual novels or short, pulpy novels, but they are entertaining and to the point.  Occasionally, he would explore philosophical ideas, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress in which he explores the idea of a capitalistic anarchy.

With Stranger in a Strange Land, he begins to explore ideas of societal ethics, especially the logic of sexual norms, which he continues for the next decade or so.  This book, probably as much as any other, formed the popular concept of the sexual revolution later in the sixties.  I think that his ideas are better argued and with more interesting characters in novels like Time Enough for Love and Number of the Beast, but the influence of Stranger in a Strange Land is tough to argue with.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

smirnoff

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Re: FS Book Discussion #2 - Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
« Reply #36 on: October 08, 2014, 11:28:05 AM »
I've read a few but for me the big ones were:
-Stranger in a Strange Land
-Starship Troopers
-Moon is a Harsh Mistress
-Farnham's Freehold

Others:
-Tunnel in the Sky (good, funny, but not as deeply philosophical my favourites)
-Citizen of the Galaxy (stopped about halfway through)
-Time Enough For Love (I couldn't make it past the prologue after two attempts)
-Job: A Comedy of Justice (put it down after a couple chapters)

I feel like I could just keep reading my favourite ones again and again.

oldkid

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Re: FS Book Discussion #2 - Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
« Reply #37 on: October 08, 2014, 01:19:10 PM »
My list is:

Favorites:
Time Enough for Love (the prologue is the worst part of the book, smirnoff)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
The Number of the Beast

Others:
Stranger in a Strange Land
Podkayne of Mars
Methusalah's Children
Job: A Comedy of Justice
To Sail Beyond the Sunset
The Past Through Tomorrow
The Man Who Sold the Moon
Friday
The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hogg
Glory Road
The Cat Who Walked Through Walls

If I were to read more of him, I'd probably explore more of his early novels, pre-Stranger.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

smirnoff

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Re: FS Book Discussion #2 - Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
« Reply #38 on: October 08, 2014, 02:39:48 PM »
Time Enough for Love (the prologue is the worst part of the book, smirnoff)

That's good to know! Next time I try maybe I'll just go ahead and skip it, or read the wiki about it or something. :)

Monty

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Re: FS Book Discussion #2 - Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
« Reply #39 on: October 08, 2014, 06:19:33 PM »
There's an audio version available on YouTube, which is the one I'll be using on my runs...should this weather ever improve >:(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ebKEHTEa7I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0InlH6mV9SQ


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