No, this isn't a political post... I'm still listening to Peace on Earth and in it, they have the idea of a drug or weapon that induces psychosis. This would be a much more effective way of eliminating someone who knows too much. Killing them would draw attention to them, and start an investigation--but if …
Multitudinous progeny
Different creatures have different strategies for passing on their genes. Spiders for example, produce thousands of offspring and send them flying off on the wind without a care for their survival--with a thousand chances, a few are sure to survive. Humans and other mammals, on the other hand, put all their energy and effort into …
Odd people
I've been listening to Odd John recently, and the character is so 'high above' regular humans that he sees them as friendly animals. Hi arrogance is abbrasive, but his overwhelming curiosity and passion for knowledge makes up for it and makes him a likable character. How to write terribly smart characters without being terribly smart …
1Q84: Long, rambling, long, repetitive, too long, doesn’t make sense in the end
I finally finished the 1300 page monster 1Q84 and am glad its over. This is a markedly different experience from a different very long book I read this year that left me physically aching for more at the end of it. IQ84 is interesting, weird, creepy at times, creative and has some nice imagery, but …
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Doers and preservers
I just listened to the section in Crime and Punishment featuring the talk about Raskolnikov's article. (very minor spoilers) The article talks about what Raskolnikov calls 'ordinary' and 'extraordinary' people, and their differences. The ordinary people, he says, are happy to be ruled and told what to do, and have not many exciting or interesting …
Jonas David 