Utopian/Dystopian Classic Hierarchy by year

I have made this graph for those of you who like Dystopian and Utopian novels. It was created to put in prospective what each writer had available to read and influence them prior to their Utopian/Dystopian undertaking.

A good example is that "We" which came out in 1921 (1923 English translation) heavily influenced George Orwell's "1984". I find this extremely interesting.

Also what I find interesting is that with Sir Thomas More's "Utopia" in 1591 and through Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward" we find Utopia landscapes in literature. However after World War I we find Dystopian landscapes in literature. In fact every entry on my graph past 1914 is a Dystopian novel.

This is by no means an extensive list of Utopian or Dystopian - merely a small sampling. I can see parallels though about Utopian Socialism having more popularity before World War I and Dystopian Destruction after World War I.

Here are two Wikipedia links for further reading and more in depth coverage of Dystopian and Utopian novels:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dystopian_literature
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopian_and_dystopian_fiction

Your thoughts and comments?

What Classic would you like to read?

What are the top 3 classics that you would really love to read if only you had the time?

My top three are:
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (if you consider this a classic as I do)

Another very small Penguin 60's classic that I will end up reading very shortly is Madame de Treymes by Edith Wharton.

If you are a regular reader what is keeping you from the timeless classics that you so want to read? There is no better time than now to start that classic that you've always had curiosity about. Read something timeless and I bet you'll have a great time!

I like to mix it up when I read books. I try to get a wide variety when reading classics. My favorite writer that I've never read is Edith Wharton. Why? How? I mean since I've never read her how can she be one of my most favorite writers? I do not know except to say that just what little I know about her I am very intrigued to find out who Madame de Treymes or Ethan Frome are, or what is the Custom of the Country, or where is the House of Mirth? I am sure that I will love reading those yarns as much as I will love reading Summer or Old New York. I am especially interested in Old New York since it is a series on different decades of New York set in the 1840's, 1850's, 1860's and the 1870's. I find it very interesting to read something of that kind of historical signficance and accuracy for a place that I could visit today if I so chose (and just how impossibly inconceivably different it has become compared to when Edith Wharton was walking those streets).

I challenge those of you whom have some time to read to pick up a classic. If you can't find one, don't know of one, or need some help - ask me. I would love to help you find the next really good classic that will take your mind to a different place and time where the environment, the story, the mood, and the writing is all classic.

Barnes and Noble Classics - A video view

Today I thought I would give the readers of this blog a tour of my absolute favorite classic set: The Black Dustjacket Barnes & Noble Classics. These classics were originally published between 1992 and 2003. From my first post on this blog in March I said:

"I am also proud creator of the Wikipedia page on Barnes & Noble Classics. My love for classics grew out of finding the Black dustjacket volumes found in that article. It took me several years but in 2005 I was able to track down the entire set."

The linked Wikipedia article has a list of these classics with ISBN numbers. While I have daydreams that potentially millions of people are reading that article and enjoying the fruits of my labor tracking down all of the books and their corresponding ISBN's I am disillusioned back into reality knowing that sometimes seeing a video is much better than reading a list.

Enjoy the video.

Be advised that it is about as amateur as you can possibly get.

As always I look forward to your comments.

Library Book Sales

If you would rather have a classic in your hands instead of an eBook AND you'd like to pay the lowest absolute price, then you can't beat a Library Book Sale. Library Book sales do not guarantee that your choice of classic will be for sale (it is completely random and sometimes chaotic), but in the event that it is, it will be extremely cheap. Usually book prices are anywhere from $0.50 for a paperback and $1 for a hardcover to updwards of $1 per paperback and $3-5 per hardcover. However the majority are the former instead of the latter.

Book sales are held on an annual or even semi-annual basis where most books come from donations and or ex-library books. They range from very small basement rooms to entire floors of a big library or even an outside pavilion. They are also usually pretty crowded no matter where you go.

For most library sales there is usually a "bag" day and it is usually on the last day of the library sale. This is usually (but not always) a Sunday. Bag days are great because for $1-5 the library will offer you to give you a bag and let you fill it with as many books as it can hold. Usually you can buy as many bags as you wish - not just one.

My wife and I spent an entire summer going to many of these book sales and that is the major way that we built up our personal library. While the majority of books are worn and beaten down, there are a fair amount of near mint books or pristine editions of books to be had. Also, if there was a major press run you have a great chance of finding a good copy of something. Examples would be nearly any John Grisham book, lots of Tom Clancy, and Dan Brown. On the classics side you can find copies of Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations at nearly every sale.

Some of my best finds at book sales were hardcover Barnes & Noble Classics with black dustjackets that I mentioned in my first blog post back in March. There are usually plenty of Signet Classics and older editions of Penguin Classics at most book sales in the Illinois region. It may differ depending upon where you are from.

A great website to find book sales in your area is BookSaleFinder.com. Included below are both the general link asking you for a state as well as the Illinois and Wisconsin specific links.

http://www.booksalefinder.com/
http://booksalefinder.com/IL.html
http://www.booksalefinder.com/WI.html

Classic Review - Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy

If you get a chance to read Looking Backward and like classic novels in the utopian/dystopian genre then you will enjoy this book by Edward Bellamy.

Before I give my review, the following links will help you get a copy of the text if you have not read the book:

Project Gutenberg text file
HTML of entire book

Do not read the rest of this post if you are interested in reading Looking Backward.

**** SPOILER ****
Looking Backward takes a very unique approach to explain how a man was able to "travel" through time to a century not his own. In Looking Backward the main character has a separated underground sound-proof room that he uses in order to fall asleep when he is unable to sleep in normal conditions (because of noise outside of his house in the late 1880's). His usual Doctor is out of town, so a traveling Doctor hypnotizes him in his sound-proof room. During the night the house burns down and nobody knows that he is in the room. Since he is hypnotized, his body shuts down to near death almost like hibernation. This is how he is able to sleep from 1887 to the year 2000.

Waking up in Boston in the year 2000, the main character speaks to a Dr. Leete and his daughter Edith in order to find out what has changed since his time.

I was shocked and surprised to read that Edward Bellamy had the idea of "credit cards" as of 1887 when this was written. Simply stating that cards could be given to individuals and could be re-loaded with 'credits' that could be used to purchase goods, be transferred to other individuals, and could be empied out and then re-filled is absolutely amazing to me. It is quite possible that this book helped further that idea into the credit card era that we have today.

What I liked and found plausible about this book:

• Credit cards as previously mentioned.


• I could see how having warehouses in each district could technically be possible. It reminds me of Sam's Club or Costco.
  
• Ability to have music in your room and to turn it off and on at will
  
• That however unlikely it is in reality, that everyone had a purpose and was able to get along in society contributing equally to each other's happiness.
  

What I disliked and had a hard time believing about this book:

• No more money. Replaced by credits. That is hard for me to believe.
  
• That people would retire at 45, although I do understand that a person's life span was dramatically reduced. It just seems unlikely to me.
  
• The odds of Edith Leete being the great-grandaughter of his fiance Edith, and Edith Leete falling for the main character, AND her dad watching their relationship and approving it, AND everything working out for them to marry etc seemed a bit out of line for only knowing each other for only a week. Again though - I understand that times were completely different and that people did get married in much faster circumstances at times.
  
• The way that they book ended by having the nightmare chapter followed by the dream chapter simulating a double dream that countered each other. I wasn't really a fan of that.
  

With all of that said, I did immensly enjoy this classic book. It was a very quick read. It was very interesting to see how a writer writing in the year 1887 actually thought what Boston would turn into in the year 2000. He was completely and totally off in regards to what Boston ended up being in the year 2000, but it was very entertaining and included a romantic element to a story that otherwise might be considered a dry socialist outcome for society.

**** End of SPOILER ****

Some more in-depth links:
Wikipedia Entry
SparkNotes Summary
SparkNotes Analysis

I would highly recommend reading this book!

If you have read it, what do you think of it? I'm interested to hear your opinions!