The Worst Channel Nice! I read a book about some pigs making bad decisions for building materials for their houses... Kept getting blown down you know.
rustyfive I read a series called "Rangers Apprentice" (Never finished the last 2 books though, there are like 12 books or something like that but they are aimed for middle school/early high-school people). Then I started "Lord of the Rings", which I am on the last book. Next I am going to read some of the extended universe books for Star Wars.
Our teachers should totally see this video. It's a fact! Changing the causal, boring 'bulletlike' lesson into a story is so much better. For example my biology teacher, makes class so interresting, because he gives us the idea that we are actually in our bodies and explains functions in a similar way as if you were telling a tale! It's really astonishing how easily you remember details even if you are not fully focused to the actual subject! :D
Why aren't my science teachers so good, I want to remember every science fact I am ever told so I can make the next scientific breakthrough, I need to start working harder and question my theorys and but them to the test.
A proton going at 99.9997% the speed of light is 430* bigger than normal because E=MC*C, I don't have a squaring boten, sorry. Is that normal (to remember). Being special is good in my opinion. I prefer making theorys though, often about the universe including one about dark energy.
That is probably why most people can visualize what they are reading in their minds and 'feel like they're there' as they read sentence after sentence in most books.
I suggest Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, the I am Number Four series by Pittacus Lore, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, and the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth. They're all super exciting and well written!
I like "Brave New World" and "Island" by Aldous Huxley. I also like "And Then There Were None", "Clockwork Orange" "Animal Farm" and "Oedipus The King" but my favorite book is "Anthem" by Ayn Rand, if anyone likes dystopian novels they should read that book.
'Swordspoint', by Ellen Kushner. BEST. NOVEL. EVER. It *really* delves into the psychology of all the characters, while also being fast-paced, emotional, beautifully written, riveting, and just all around brilliant. Cannot recommend it enough.
-The Fault in Our Stars -The House of the Scorpion (good sci-fi for, Anthony) -The Time Keeper -Matched, Crossed, and Revealed -The Book Thief -Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant -The Perks of Being A Wallflower -Nineteen Minutes -The Best of Me
Guys. improve your IQ in a short period of time does not need to be hard (I used to think it did). I'll give you some tips right now. Look for a popular intelligence boost system called Rotogenflux Methods (just search it on google). Thanks to it I have increase your IQ of 20 points. I should not even be speaking about it cause I do not really want a bunch of other guys out there running exactly the same game but whatever. I'm just in a excellent mood right now so I will share the wealth haha.
Being aware that more or less your brain immerses itself in experiencing the stories you read is valuable for making skillful decisions. The ideas we busy our brains with shape our behavior and how we perceive the world. I have so lost interest in anything grim and dark. I just think: Why should I occupy my mind with ideas about a troubled world? It is much better to envision a healthy and happy world. I got hooked on that and never looked back. Any why should I? I am very well aware of the troubles of the real world. Feeding my brain with the same stuff in fiction would only create validation of that, when fiction is dearly needed to help us shape a better world, not a worse one. ... You don't have to train yourself for fending off zombies and bare survival. If you do, you might desire that kind of challenges in order to give your life meaning, and then you'll involuntarily bring about those conditions with your craving.
'Flowers for Algernon' is by far the best fictional novel I've ever read! My brain was constantly hungry for more, and I've been mentally digesting it ever since I read it!
Fiction definitely makes our brains better. It uses more of it and in more meaningful ways than just facts. All stories help us learn, no matter how well-written they are based on the opinions of so-called 'literary experts'. Read what genuinely interests you, no matter what anyone else thinks, because you will engage with it more and you will learn more. For example, I read a lot of literary fiction and popular fiction when I was younger, but now as an adult, I'm reading more manga, because those stories are just engaging me more right now. In my opinion, I'm learning just as much as I did when I was younger. Anything that expands your awareness and perspective is a good thing.
You gotta read Corelli's Mandolin! Best book I've ever read. It has everything-humor, poetry, tragedy, history, violence-and comments on love, war, homosexuality, and most everything else. The language is beautiful, and the perspective constantly switches between characters. Highly recommend!!
hey anthony there is a book called "Playboy" there are lots of volumes of this one too! and they are also based on movies from 5 minutes to 1hour+ you should try it ;)
This is great! I've felt for a long time that I should read more novels and stuff, but in a way I thought it would be a waste of time, so I read more factual and educational texts. But not fiction reading can be an exercise for my brain too! Also I love talking about literature and stories and kind of having them as a reference point for my life. But would watching Game of Thrones count for this in some way? I mean you wouldn't be interpreting words and stuff the same way you would when you're reading, but you still see characters and plot.
Everyone should read discworld, the whole darn series, start to finish. Started on that 2 years ago or so, im a bit over halfway through em now. Cant believe how good that series is. The first book or two might take a liiil while to get their charm through, but just keep at it...
Remi BloodWolf Theres 39 books out, with a 40th coming up. Its not one huge sequential epic tho, its separate, mostly independent stories (with a few exceptions, like the first two books) with recurring characters, happening in the same very strange setting you get to slowly discover over time. New characters are introduced and existing characters evolve, so reading tthe books in order does improve the experience quite a bit. Its smart and funny.
Over my break I've been nonstop reading books, all fiction, since I'll have to return to text books once classes start again. I forget how much I love reading when I don't have time for it.
I know it would sound stupid, but the best thing I've red this year was the journal in Witcher 2....which was awesome, well written, interesting to read and better than most of current pop fiction to be honest.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell is entirely about the various means of how narrative storytelling, fiction or non-fiction, affects the way we think and affects society as a whole. In Steven Pinker's non-fiction book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, he argues that the historical decline in violence (the rise of liberal democracy, the various campaigns for human rights, and the declining frequency of warfare) can be directly traced back to the rise of literacy and the reading of fiction.
Try Dune by Frank Herbert. A deeply thoughtful approach to planetary science, world religions, pre-cognition, limited resources, politics, martial arts, tactics, survival, ecology and the hero's journey.
I can barely stand to read novels, I love technical books and I always have. I honestly don't think I have any issues with empathy. As a matter of fact, most people consider me to be kind and compassionate. Also, I'd like to point out that I find it MUCH easier to remember facts than to remember specific parts of stories. Perhaps its because I am more of an introvert. But, personally, I found myself staring in bewilderment at my monitor while this video played.
Divergent is a great book, about a post modern world, where this city is divided into 5 sections, based on what someone thought was wrong with the world they would choose which section they live in for the rest of their lives when they are only 16. After a little bit the main character finds out something is going askew, I won't say anything else as to not ruin it. But it is an awesome book, I read all the few hundred pages in less than a day.
Ender's game series, halo series, maximim ride series, bean series [parallel to ender's game series], eon dragoneye reborn, eona the last dragoneye, and there's a wide array of star wars books. These should keep you busy for a while.
It's not a matter of whether it's fiction or not, in a book everything is in your head, and that takes more work because in a videogame, the visuals are laid out for you.
Yevgeny Zamyatin's 'We' if you've already read 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 if you want more dystopian stuff. If you like weird fiction maybe try house on the borderlands. If you want some really good short novels you should try The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon and The Outsider by Albert Camus
I remember when I was a child in primary school, when my teachers would shout at little old me for reading Keystage3 (early highschool for you americans out there) textbooks during "story time", when we were meant to read generic, poorly written books for children. I even got sent to the headmistress once, who upon hearing why my teachers were telling me off, told the teachers to "stop being so ridiculous, let him read educational books if he wants" (something like that..), which is basically saying "fuck off" on my behalf while I, being a child, was still in the room :) Safe to say I left this state primary school to join a well-known private school while the other students.... well.... let's just say they didn't have to *pay* for their further education ;)
Wow... those ex-teachers of yours sound like they have pea-sized brains (no offence to actually smart teachers). I mean, a person might be my teacher but who the heck are they in my life to tell me what to (or not to) read!? I feel for you O.o
***** Haha, cheers :) I'm studying A-level Bio, Phys, Chem & Math (with mechanics) now, so the choices in reading I've made have certainly benefited me! :D
My teachers refused to let me read higher level childrens fiction books. We had this stupid dot system. I was forced to check out Incredibly badly written childrens books and not allowed to have any good books.
3 suggestions of novels: - Philip K. Dick's "UBIK". Simply the best sci-fi novel ever written. - Philip K. Dick's "Valis". It will blow your mind but might be a little too "out there". That's targeted at a more intellectual audience. - Roger Zelazny's "Amber" series... but only the first 5 books composing the "Corwin Arc".
Vinny Marley if it’s autobiographies than you can still view the world through their shoes making you see a new perspective. Non-fiction is great if you enjoy doing it and still learn something new because you will associate fun with learning
This is why I love reading, this is why I live through the book every time I read one and blush when the main character does something stupid! Yay, now I know i'm not weird-my brain just works properly! :D Yaaaay!!!
I have found personalty that if you want dystopian, fiction from or about the middle-ages works pretty well. Also they have swords and bows sometimes, which is nice.
I suggest Roots of Evil by Sarah Rayne, its a bit dark being a murder mystery but I think that the way it's written keeps your brain on its toes trying to figure out what's going on the whole time. :)
Well it's better to read one book. So that you won't get confused on which part is which on the 1st and 2nd book. But if you want to read more books at the same time. Go for it.
The book that made the biggest impact on me was War and Peace...and no, not because it fell on me. I felt like my brain had just opened up an entire new railway network of new connections.
NOW you tell me! I've spend pretty much my whole life reading only non-fiction. (I've only read two novels in my life that weren't school-assigned.) Not only do I have trouble finding common ground with intelligent people, but I often can't remember most of the non-fiction I've read. The weird thing is that I still feel this inexplicable sense of obligation to study more non-fiction, as if this is what intelligent people are "supposed to" do.
True story....I felt so dumb after reading the hunger games, game of thrones & twilight...never again will I let curiosity get the better of me. I'll stick to Dickens...McCarthy if I really want modern fiction
Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks a good science pop fiction, as well as The Ender's Game, a literary science fiction. Very well thought out. Its also a movie! Never saw it, but it should be good. But please read the book first!!!
I felt very in tune with inferring after reading the hunger games. I think something like twilight or shades of grey would be of a lesser stature in pop literature.
I'm sorry, but you really can't hope to elevate The Hunger Games above Twilight or Shades of Gray on any kind of literary spectrum. They're all pop-fiction.
There is also the issue of bullshit ideas, unsavory attitudes and horrifying biases being ingrained due to cognitive grounding due to the content and reasoning processes of the characters and groups inside the piece of fiction. These are slightly resimulated in real life THANKS to said fiction... Shounen/battle-shounen, most popular comic/movie fiction and a number of literary fiction works have these issues. Like having some sort of extreme racism as a plot device to differentiate the "good guys" or the "bad guys"... the literal act of promoting false negative ad oversimplified stereotype against those who are different than you in some way...or like having the opponent have characteristics that are popular culture wise subtly portrait as negative traits (ex.. being more feminine, having different beliefs than the protagonist or the culture of the intended reader, physical traits etc)..[btw when they do fight against racism of one sorts they then or later commit other forms of heavier racism acts] or the idea of "good guy" "bad guy" and good and evil black and white... complete oversimplification and marginalization of the "others" as evil (lord of the rings [all non euro/white-like races are wild,evil, savage]) Or having the idea that "evil" can be beaten or pushed back or killed via violent means versus finding the root of the problem...which is usually oppression itself caused by the groups related to the "good guys" in some way but hushed down and portrayed as something minor. OR that the "others" are not human or are dehumanized in someway, in a process type way, something VERY REPLICATABLE in real life mental processing and being promoted by such works OR women even and ESPECIALLY the strong ones, exist to be demeaned and subservient by/to men; to be sexualized and objectified. With the "valiant traits" of women (actually even men) being more "masculine" and negative traits being those that are more "feminine" (unless of course, its women who do/have it for subservience and objectification FOR men.) When neither "masculine" or "feminine" is good or bad or rightfully descriptive of the sex. Why is it bad/weird for a woman OR man to be more "feminine"? The real problem isnt that these exists in fiction especially literary fiction and pop fiction(which ever medium it maybe.) The problem lies in not the act or existence, but the process. Just like cognitive grounding teaches us to be more creative and understanding of concepts, it can also negatively embed in us attitudes and mental processes of things that make you into a horrible person. It's a double edged sword. So yes, you can DEFINITELY get smarter,creative and more empathetic via good fiction through cognitive grounding. However, if you are not careful, you can also REINFORCE "negative behavior" and attitudes through the same tool.
I love reading fiction, hate nonfiction when i have to read it. But 1 book series or group of series has more death in it then all of the hunger game books combined. and this is group of book series are children books too.
I often feel that if I'm reading something, I should read something educational, because I often feel that fiction is waste of time if you compare to scientific books. For long I've wanted to read fictional books that are still very educating to combine the benefits and interesting sides of fiction and science, but it's really hard to find one. :/
Permutation city goes into depth about mathematical concepts like Cellar Automation, many others in Computer Science, and philosophical concepts such as the Dust Theory. That's the closest thing I know. ^^ As for fiction in general, another way to view it could be act of using your imagination and data to critically think about how x variable does and might affect people/events. For example, newer understandings of psychology played a massive role upon how realistic characters and their lives are in literary fiction. Likewise, fiction is often used as a good vehicle to present people another perspective, make a point derived from scientific understanding, and give people an interest in science.
Book Suggestions: The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry, anything by John Updike, The Royal Family by William Vollmann, The Women by T.C. Boyle... Enjoy~ from a Literary Fiction reader:)
The Dark is Rising Sequence, Nancy Drew books, Hunchback of Notre Dame, or Dracula if you're into vampires and gothic love stories. They're all books that I've spent my childhood and early adolescence reading. Wonderful novels.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. -Albert Einstein
Thanks
FRISHR and school destroys creativity in exchange for temporary knowledge
@@plasma8321 Not just temporary knowledge. Sometimes also useless knowledge.
Aristoteles mostly useless knowledge
Doesn’t help fictions case
I am going to go on my couch. Turn on a light. Get a book. AND MAKE SOME MAD GAINS!
***** Uhh... Uhh... Hi!
The Worst Channel Nice! I read a book about some pigs making bad decisions for building materials for their houses... Kept getting blown down you know.
really what did you read? in the past 6 months I have read around 5 200ish page books like 6 300ish page books and like 5 200-500 page books :3
rustyfive I read a series called "Rangers Apprentice" (Never finished the last 2 books though, there are like 12 books or something like that but they are aimed for middle school/early high-school people). Then I started "Lord of the Rings", which I am on the last book. Next I am going to read some of the extended universe books for Star Wars.
Tiki Torchs omg the rangers apprentice is amazing I need to re-read it X3 and I need to read the last book
I read almost exclusively fiction, so it's nice to know it's more beneficial for my brain than I first thought :D
Get any Dostoevsky book you can and read it. Thank me later.
^This, the guy actually puts so much detail into his books, its crazy
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky was great.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS AND THE HOBBIT BY JOHN RONALD REUL TOLKIEN.
Our teachers should totally see this video. It's a fact! Changing the causal, boring 'bulletlike' lesson into a story is so much better. For example my biology teacher, makes class so interresting, because he gives us the idea that we are actually in our bodies and explains functions in a similar way as if you were telling a tale! It's really astonishing how easily you remember details even if you are not fully focused to the actual subject! :D
Why aren't my science teachers so good, I want to remember every science fact I am ever told so I can make the next scientific breakthrough, I need to start working harder and question my theorys and but them to the test.
Best way to learn.
Trust!!
Stories and play
FIction is great, the brain needs fiction, as our imagination is a huge part of us.
I have so much of an easier time remembering facts, and my grounded cognition is astounding. Why am I so different?
A proton going at 99.9997% the speed of light is 430* bigger than normal because E=MC*C, I don't have a squaring boten, sorry. Is that normal (to remember). Being special is good in my opinion. I prefer making theorys though, often about the universe including one about dark energy.
That is probably why most people can visualize what they are reading in their minds and 'feel like they're there' as they read sentence after sentence in most books.
I suggest Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, the I am Number Four series by Pittacus Lore, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, and the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth. They're all super exciting and well written!
I mostly read literary fiction and classic novels. I'll recommend A Clockwork Orange, Lord of the flies and Lolita.
Elizabeth Jensen Earthly Powers and Pale Fire are better.
Lord of the Rings.
My God, Lolita and Lord of the Flies are so good! 😍
Elizabeth Jensen What about 1984?
I like "Brave New World" and "Island" by Aldous Huxley. I also like "And Then There Were None", "Clockwork Orange" "Animal Farm" and "Oedipus The King" but my favorite book is "Anthem" by Ayn Rand, if anyone likes dystopian novels they should read that book.
The Giver. One of the best novels i have read.
"The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" series by Douglas Adams. Absolutely fantastic books!
I second this motion!
Jane Eyre. C. Bronte is so good at describing people's minds, feelings, emotions. So much description. All beautifully written.
Well according to a creationist, a science textbook IS a work of fiction. lol
Well it's a good thing they don't read them.
Hilarious!
'Swordspoint', by Ellen Kushner. BEST. NOVEL. EVER. It *really* delves into the psychology of all the characters, while also being fast-paced, emotional, beautifully written, riveting, and just all around brilliant. Cannot recommend it enough.
No way, it's leonard hofstadter
I love Hunger Games and I think that there is a lot of depth to the novels! I would not describe it as trivial!
Mistborn is my favorite fantasy book, and it does very well showing the different thoughts, feelings, and view points of the various characters.
-The Fault in Our Stars
-The House of the Scorpion (good sci-fi for, Anthony)
-The Time Keeper
-Matched, Crossed, and Revealed
-The Book Thief
-Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant
-The Perks of Being A Wallflower
-Nineteen Minutes
-The Best of Me
"The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss.
+Taureanbeaver Came down here to post this
Guys. improve your IQ in a short period of time does not need to be hard (I used to think it did). I'll give you some tips right now. Look for a popular intelligence boost system called Rotogenflux Methods (just search it on google). Thanks to it I have increase your IQ of 20 points. I should not even be speaking about it cause I do not really want a bunch of other guys out there running exactly the same game but whatever. I'm just in a excellent mood right now so I will share the wealth haha.
Being aware that more or less your brain immerses itself in experiencing the stories you read is valuable for making skillful decisions. The ideas we busy our brains with shape our behavior and how we perceive the world.
I have so lost interest in anything grim and dark. I just think: Why should I occupy my mind with ideas about a troubled world? It is much better to envision a healthy and happy world. I got hooked on that and never looked back. Any why should I? I am very well aware of the troubles of the real world. Feeding my brain with the same stuff in fiction would only create validation of that, when fiction is dearly needed to help us shape a better world, not a worse one. ... You don't have to train yourself for fending off zombies and bare survival. If you do, you might desire that kind of challenges in order to give your life meaning, and then you'll involuntarily bring about those conditions with your craving.
'Flowers for Algernon' is by far the best fictional novel I've ever read! My brain was constantly hungry for more, and I've been mentally digesting it ever since I read it!
Yes, definitely, that book is gold.
Read “the story of your life” by Ted chiang I think you’ll like that one too
A good book? Anything by Tolkien
Fiction definitely makes our brains better. It uses more of it and in more meaningful ways than just facts. All stories help us learn, no matter how well-written they are based on the opinions of so-called 'literary experts'. Read what genuinely interests you, no matter what anyone else thinks, because you will engage with it more and you will learn more. For example, I read a lot of literary fiction and popular fiction when I was younger, but now as an adult, I'm reading more manga, because those stories are just engaging me more right now. In my opinion, I'm learning just as much as I did when I was younger. Anything that expands your awareness and perspective is a good thing.
You gotta read Corelli's Mandolin! Best book I've ever read. It has everything-humor, poetry, tragedy, history, violence-and comments on love, war, homosexuality, and most everything else. The language is beautiful, and the perspective constantly switches between characters. Highly recommend!!
hey anthony there is a book called "Playboy" there are lots of volumes of this one too! and they are also based on movies from 5 minutes to 1hour+
you should try it ;)
Is it fapable?
guncluts you can play downstairs if you like and if you have a deep cave you can also put a long sausage in there for the best results!
This is great! I've felt for a long time that I should read more novels and stuff, but in a way I thought it would be a waste of time, so I read more factual and educational texts. But not fiction reading can be an exercise for my brain too! Also I love talking about literature and stories and kind of having them as a reference point for my life. But would watching Game of Thrones count for this in some way? I mean you wouldn't be interpreting words and stuff the same way you would when you're reading, but you still see characters and plot.
Everyone should read discworld, the whole darn series, start to finish. Started on that 2 years ago or so, im a bit over halfway through em now. Cant believe how good that series is. The first book or two might take a liiil while to get their charm through, but just keep at it...
how many are there
Remi BloodWolf Theres 39 books out, with a 40th coming up. Its not one huge sequential epic tho, its separate, mostly independent stories (with a few exceptions, like the first two books) with recurring characters, happening in the same very strange setting you get to slowly discover over time. New characters are introduced and existing characters evolve, so reading tthe books in order does improve the experience quite a bit. Its smart and funny.
See what I mean? 15,000 pages!
Over my break I've been nonstop reading books, all fiction, since I'll have to return to text books once classes start again. I forget how much I love reading when I don't have time for it.
Game of Thrones
I know it would sound stupid, but the best thing I've red this year was the journal in Witcher 2....which was awesome, well written, interesting to read and better than most of current pop fiction to be honest.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell is entirely about the various means of how narrative storytelling, fiction or non-fiction, affects the way we think and affects society as a whole.
In Steven Pinker's non-fiction book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, he argues that the historical decline in violence (the rise of liberal democracy, the various campaigns for human rights, and the declining frequency of warfare) can be directly traced back to the rise of literacy and the reading of fiction.
"the iliad" by homer, "the Odyssey" also by homer, and "lord of the rings" by J. R. R. Tolken.
You like the good stuff ;)
add "dune chronicles "
Try Dune by Frank Herbert. A deeply thoughtful approach to planetary science, world religions, pre-cognition, limited resources, politics, martial arts, tactics, survival, ecology and the hero's journey.
I can barely stand to read novels, I love technical books and I always have. I honestly don't think I have any issues with empathy. As a matter of fact, most people consider me to be kind and compassionate. Also, I'd like to point out that I find it MUCH easier to remember facts than to remember specific parts of stories. Perhaps its because I am more of an introvert. But, personally, I found myself staring in bewilderment at my monitor while this video played.
HP Lovecraft the Complete Collection :B
If A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin doesn't make you understand life from different people's points of view, nothing will.
i think there should be an "if" in there somewhere.
Try We if you liked Brave New World.
This explains so much. I'm not even joking.
Reading books is good, mkay?
Divergent is a great book, about a post modern world, where this city is divided into 5 sections, based on what someone thought was wrong with the world they would choose which section they live in for the rest of their lives when they are only 16. After a little bit the main character finds out something is going askew, I won't say anything else as to not ruin it. But it is an awesome book, I read all the few hundred pages in less than a day.
Ender's game series, halo series, maximim ride series, bean series [parallel to ender's game series], eon dragoneye reborn, eona the last dragoneye, and there's a wide array of star wars books. These should keep you busy for a while.
The Ender's Game series and the Bean series are some of the best books I have ever read.
In my opinion Maximum Ride took a steep downhill after the third or fourth book.
Edie Chno true. plus the end of the last one was a major slap in the face
+1 for Ender's Game
I love reading and even with all my school work, I won't give that hobby up!
What about playing video games? They are fictional, and make you think
Especially Warcraft 3, Frozen Throne.
Witcher is the way to go.
Video games are not the same as literature. The characters don't have enough complexity, because that would distract from the game itself
It's not a matter of whether it's fiction or not, in a book everything is in your head, and that takes more work because in a videogame, the visuals are laid out for you.
Scarlet5680 Although gaming gives us better problem solving skills, readers have broader and more convoluted imaginations than gamers.
Yevgeny Zamyatin's 'We' if you've already read 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 if you want more dystopian stuff.
If you like weird fiction maybe try house on the borderlands.
If you want some really good short novels you should try The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon and The Outsider by Albert Camus
I remember when I was a child in primary school, when my teachers would shout at little old me for reading Keystage3 (early highschool for you americans out there) textbooks during "story time", when we were meant to read generic, poorly written books for children.
I even got sent to the headmistress once, who upon hearing why my teachers were telling me off, told the teachers to "stop being so ridiculous, let him read educational books if he wants" (something like that..), which is basically saying "fuck off" on my behalf while I, being a child, was still in the room :)
Safe to say I left this state primary school to join a well-known private school while the other students.... well.... let's just say they didn't have to *pay* for their further education ;)
Wow... those ex-teachers of yours sound like they have pea-sized brains (no offence to actually smart teachers). I mean, a person might be my teacher but who the heck are they in my life to tell me what to (or not to) read!?
I feel for you O.o
***** Haha, cheers :)
I'm studying A-level Bio, Phys, Chem & Math (with mechanics) now, so the choices in reading I've made have certainly benefited me! :D
Sure sounds that way! Battle against idiots! Lol
My teachers refused to let me read higher level childrens fiction books. We had this stupid dot system. I was forced to check out Incredibly badly written childrens books and not allowed to have any good books.
Edythe Rutledge That sounds.... sounds... so... so... *can't find a good enough word*
Fun fact: A month passed since my last reply on this section! XD
And also, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an AWESOME book. :)
3 suggestions of novels:
- Philip K. Dick's "UBIK". Simply the best sci-fi novel ever written.
- Philip K. Dick's "Valis". It will blow your mind but might be a little too "out there". That's targeted at a more intellectual audience.
- Roger Zelazny's "Amber" series... but only the first 5 books composing the "Corwin Arc".
Thanks
The Fault in Our Stars
What about biographies? I don't really read fiction books.
Fearless Calisthenics: Vinny yeah same
Vinny Marley if it’s autobiographies than you can still view the world through their shoes making you see a new perspective. Non-fiction is great if you enjoy doing it and still learn something new because you will associate fun with learning
Loved The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz!!!!!!!!
Sounds interesting have to check that out,
Does reading Dr. Seuss' count?
I'm starting my fiction collection. I'm reading Darkness at Noon, and my favourite one so far is 1984 followed by 3 Day Road
The Illiad by Homer
This is why I love reading, this is why I live through the book every time I read one and blush when the main character does something stupid! Yay, now I know i'm not weird-my brain just works properly! :D Yaaaay!!!
you should read The fault in our stars
I love fiction and my all-time favorite fiction novel is Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, which I read in 1983.
What about A song of ice and fire?
If you want a good book, read the Divergent Series. I'm on the second book right now and it is not as predictable as you would think.
Hunger Games seems like literature to me. It was well written, and the character's reactions and how they changed over time made sense.
I have found personalty that if you want dystopian, fiction from or about the middle-ages works pretty well. Also they have swords and bows sometimes, which is nice.
Emma & I is a book I'm reading at the moment, about a guide dog❤ also I'm reading Lord of the Flies..😊
I suggest Roots of Evil by Sarah Rayne, its a bit dark being a murder mystery but I think that the way it's written keeps your brain on its toes trying to figure out what's going on the whole time. :)
Welp, looks like no-one's done this yet, so.....
WAT ABUT TEH BIBLE! lelelelel
NB: Let's be glad that this is a troll-free zone; so far. O_O
What about audiobooks, I would assume we would empathize with the characters in each equally. but maybe there's something in the act of reading?
Holy Piss, I read a lot of fiction every day.
DNEWS! you guys should make a video on Audio books vs Reading.
A song of ice and fire?
Dune?
Neuromancer
The cronics of Elric
Anything from asimov
Putting down the text book and pick up a novel? What a novel idea.
Is it better to read one book at a time or more books at the same time?😮
Well it's better to read one book. So that you won't get confused on which part is which on the 1st and 2nd book. But if you want to read more books at the same time. Go for it.
I recommend The Sound of Thunder by Taylor Caldwell. It is a very well written book that questions a lot of things most people just accept instantly.
The Lord Of The Rings.
The book that made the biggest impact on me was War and Peace...and no, not because it fell on me. I felt like my brain had just opened up an entire new railway network of new connections.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I swear by this book. It is absolutely amazing and I think anyone could love this book. :)
NOW you tell me! I've spend pretty much my whole life reading only non-fiction. (I've only read two novels in my life that weren't school-assigned.) Not only do I have trouble finding common ground with intelligent people, but I often can't remember most of the non-fiction I've read. The weird thing is that I still feel this inexplicable sense of obligation to study more non-fiction, as if this is what intelligent people are "supposed to" do.
I'm a huge sucker for anything Vampire or Wahammer franchise related.
Well except the sparkling Vamps.. they're no fun
Warhammer novels are silly fun, reading through the Ciaphas Cain novels now and they are a hoot :)
latest book I've read is Nocturne the Tome of Fire Trilogy
True story....I felt so dumb after reading the hunger games, game of thrones & twilight...never again will I let curiosity get the better of me. I'll stick to Dickens...McCarthy if I really want modern fiction
The stranger! Albert Camus. Great book!
Lina Marcela Yes. It is!
READ: Maniac Magee (by Jerry Spinelli), then Wolf Hollow (Lauren Wolk), then Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card).
Nothing beats Angels & Demons by Dan Brown.
Edrylfher Lucas Amazing book, Inferno isn't that good enough but I really liked the end
Really? I've read two Dan Brown books and they weren't good at all. I might give the one you mentioned a shot.
Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks a good science pop fiction, as well as The Ender's Game, a literary science fiction. Very well thought out. Its also a movie! Never saw it, but it should be good. But please read the book first!!!
BUT WHAT IF I'VE ALREADY READ BRAVE NEW WORLD???!!!???
I am open to suggestions...
Someone else suggested Ender's Game
Well... been there, done that. Sry :D
Anything else?
1984?
Lord of the Rings
I felt very in tune with inferring after reading the hunger games. I think something like twilight or shades of grey would be of a lesser stature in pop literature.
I'm sorry, but you really can't hope to elevate The Hunger Games above Twilight or Shades of Gray on any kind of literary spectrum. They're all pop-fiction.
There is also the issue of bullshit ideas, unsavory attitudes and horrifying biases being ingrained due to cognitive grounding due to the content and reasoning processes of the characters and groups inside the piece of fiction. These are slightly resimulated in real life THANKS to said fiction...
Shounen/battle-shounen, most popular comic/movie fiction and a number of literary fiction works have these issues.
Like having some sort of extreme racism as a plot device to differentiate the "good guys" or the "bad guys"... the literal act of promoting false negative ad oversimplified stereotype against those who are different than you in some way...or like having the opponent have characteristics that are popular culture wise subtly portrait as negative traits (ex.. being more feminine, having different beliefs than the protagonist or the culture of the intended reader, physical traits etc)..[btw when they do fight against racism of one sorts they then or later commit other forms of heavier racism acts]
or the idea of "good guy" "bad guy" and good and evil black and white... complete oversimplification and marginalization of the "others" as evil (lord of the rings [all non euro/white-like races are wild,evil, savage])
Or having the idea that "evil" can be beaten or pushed back or killed via violent means versus finding the root of the problem...which is usually oppression itself caused by the groups related to the "good guys" in some way but hushed down and portrayed as something minor.
OR that the "others" are not human or are dehumanized in someway, in a process type way, something VERY REPLICATABLE in real life mental processing and being promoted by such works
OR women even and ESPECIALLY the strong ones, exist to be demeaned and subservient by/to men; to be sexualized and objectified. With the "valiant traits" of women (actually even men) being more "masculine" and negative traits being those that are more "feminine" (unless of course, its women who do/have it for subservience and objectification FOR men.) When neither "masculine" or "feminine" is good or bad or rightfully descriptive of the sex. Why is it bad/weird for a woman OR man to be more "feminine"?
The real problem isnt that these exists in fiction especially literary fiction and pop fiction(which ever medium it maybe.) The problem lies in not the act or existence, but the process. Just like cognitive grounding teaches us to be more creative and understanding of concepts, it can also negatively embed in us attitudes and mental processes of things that make you into a horrible person. It's a double edged sword.
So yes, you can DEFINITELY get smarter,creative and more empathetic via good fiction through cognitive grounding. However, if you are not careful, you can also REINFORCE "negative behavior" and attitudes through the same tool.
TV TROPES!!! But yeah, you make a good point. Real Life is not a piece of fiction, and it tends not to work that way.
Thanks for the free essay
Jk
I love reading fiction, hate nonfiction when i have to read it. But 1 book series or group of series has more death in it then all of the hunger game books combined. and this is group of book series are children books too.
Brave New World is an awesome book.
Okay, I'll check it out, thank you.
Just try any Haruki Murakami book, you'll never be the same ;D
Or Kobo Abe. Man, I need more Japanese literature in my life, X3
Ready Player One by Earnest Cline. One of the best books I've ever read.
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Awesome series if you haven't read it already.
One of he best series I have read is "Scott Pilgrim vs The World"
The Divergent series by Veronica Roth is fabulous. So is the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin which is the Game of Thrones books.
There's nothing I love more than laying in bed late at night and read a good book. I also like to have my slippers on.
I often feel that if I'm reading something, I should read something educational, because I often feel that fiction is waste of time if you compare to scientific books.
For long I've wanted to read fictional books that are still very educating to combine the benefits and interesting sides of fiction and science, but it's really hard to find one. :/
Permutation city goes into depth about mathematical concepts like Cellar Automation, many others in Computer Science, and philosophical concepts such as the Dust Theory. That's the closest thing I know. ^^
As for fiction in general, another way to view it could be act of using your imagination and data to critically think about how x variable does and might affect people/events. For example, newer understandings of psychology played a massive role upon how realistic characters and their lives are in literary fiction. Likewise, fiction is often used as a good vehicle to present people another perspective, make a point derived from scientific understanding, and give people an interest in science.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami is probably one of my favorite books of all time. Totes check it out!
Book Suggestions: The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry, anything by John Updike, The Royal Family by William Vollmann, The Women by T.C. Boyle... Enjoy~ from a Literary Fiction reader:)
Great idea.
The Dark is Rising Sequence, Nancy Drew books, Hunchback of Notre Dame, or Dracula if you're into vampires and gothic love stories. They're all books that I've spent my childhood and early adolescence reading. Wonderful novels.
Could we have images of males reading? It would be great for sharing these with teenage boys!