Brave New World vs. 1984

Numerous dystopian worlds have been imagined, i.e. 1984, Brave New World, The Time Machine, V for Vendetta, Brazil, Gattaca, Den brysomme mannen, A Clockwork Orange, Blade Runner, et cetera. They all show us what society might look like and as such it allows us to explore, as we may analyse a chessgame, the consequences of our choices.

Since 1984 is abundantly invoked to warn us against the evil forces du jour this cartoon is a nice illustration of the different threats Orwell and Huxley warned us about. (h/t Library Grape)

The 100 best books of the decade

The Times published a sequel to the 100 best films of the decade. They now discuss the 100 best books of the decade, and for those who need more suggestions they also have the 50 best winter reads.

How-to-write .........

Trying to write something and then make other people read it requires ....... what exactly? Aside from all the kilos of books that discuss this we may include the notion that whatever you write make sure to credit sources. Merely inventing original stories is great if you want to write fiction, but to comment on contemporary events we should not ignore work done by others.