Tag Archives: dystopia

The Circle

Posted on September 9, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Circle2013 Dave Eggers507 pages Sharing is Caring. Privacy is Theft. Secrets are Lies. Imagine an internet transformed by a company  so innovative and ambitious that it had swallowed Facebook, Google, etc. whole.  It began with TruYou, a common login … Continue reading →

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Fahrenheit 451

Posted on June 17, 2017 by smellincoffee

Fahrenheit 451© 1953 Ray Bradbury158 pages Like 1984, I suspect Fahrenheit 451 is famous enough that its basic details have seeped into the cultural consciousness of people who have never read it. Here we have a fireman whose job is … Continue reading →

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V for Vendetta

Posted on November 4, 2015 by smellincoffee

V for Vendetta© 1988 Alan Moore and David Lloyd300 pages Remember, remember the Fifth of November.  The Britain of 1998 is a nation that has lost its spirit,. After nuclear war and crop failures, widespread disorder was quelled only by … Continue reading →

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Lord of the World

Posted on December 20, 2014 by smellincoffee

Lord of the World© 1908 Robert Hugh Benson352 pages At the turn of the 21st century, war between the states of Europe and the East threatens; at the midnight hour, however, comes an obscure American politician, a senator of no … Continue reading →

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Allegiant

Posted on July 19, 2014 by smellincoffee

Allegiant© 2013 Veronica Roth544 pages  “Sure as I know anything I know this, they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten, they’ll swing back to the belief that … Continue reading →

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This week at the library; Huck Finn and the British crown

Posted on July 14, 2014 by smellincoffee

            Try as  I might,  none of the French-related books I investigated this week struck my interest, so for the first time since starting the tradition,  my Bastille Day reading is a nonstarter. C’est la vie. … Continue reading →

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Anthem

Posted on June 7, 2014 by smellincoffee

Anthem© 1938 Ayn Rand128 pages In a dark future, the triumph of collectivism has created a global society deteriorating to near-medieval conditions.  Man is utterly broken by the state, dominated by institutions from birth onward. Raised in cohorts in government … Continue reading →

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Divergent

Posted on June 5, 2014 by smellincoffee

Divergent © 2011 Veronica Roth 487 pages Every major city has problems with organized gangs, but the Chicago of Divergent’s future has nothing else. The entire society is organized in five factions devoted to an ideal;  Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudition, Amity, … Continue reading →

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1984

Posted on May 18, 2013 by smellincoffee

1984© 1949 George Orwell326 pages 1984 needs no introduction. Written in 1949, it envisioned a world of constant surveillance, perpetual war, and a state with  complete control over people’s minds. Concepts from it – “Big Brother”, “thought police”,  and “doublethink” … Continue reading →

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This week at the Library: Hunger Games, Hunting, and Baseball

Posted on January 12, 2013 by smellincoffee

I started this year off by finishing The Hunger Games: its finale, Mockingjay, utterly consumed my attention. It’s the story of revolution, a war against the oppressive Capitol which erupted in the course of the 75th Hunger Games, a teenage deathmatch … Continue reading →

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