The Final Lineup and The War of the Worlds, Day 1

If you'll recall my post from the beginning of June, you may remember that I had two goals for the summer.


The first was to write a story/book. I'd rather not talk about this goal at this time. Suffice to say the book and I aren't getting along at the moment, but the summer is not yet over, and I have been writing more, on this blog at the very least.


Instead, let's talk about my second goal - partaking in my fourth consecutive summer of reading books I wouldn't normally read and providing public commentary about them.


This year, things are going to be a little different than they have been in the past. The last three years, I've read popular contemporary YA fiction series (Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Divergent). This year, I have opted not for such a series, but rather for a broad overview of a genre that I have yet to develop a taste for: Science Fiction.


Yep, I decided to go with the Sci-Fi.


See, here's the thing; three years ago, when I first decided to read the Twilight series, my aim in doing so was to understand its popularity, if I could, and to form my own opinions of it separate from the constant stream of feedback, both positive and negative, that it constantly receives. This aim continued to be my primary motivation throughout the next two summers. And it still is. Going on a trek through some Science Fiction classics fits in nicely with that motivation.


I've read very little Science Fiction, because - well, because I have yet to find a Sci-Fi book that I like. There are a few Sci-Fi TV shows and movies that I like, but so far no books. And, being the proud-of-my-awesome-reading-abilities borderline literary snob that I am, it's always felt strange that I evidently have no taste for such a popular and diverse genre. I know people, people whose taste and opinions I admire and respect, who love Science Fiction. So why don't I?


The aim of the next few weeks is to look into that question. I feel I've picked out a pretty broad spectrum of books to read. As I have in previous summers, I'll read a little every day, and then jump on here and write about the day's reading. I might try to delve into why Science Fiction and I haven't really clicked in the past. If I get lucky and end up reading a book I like, you can be sure you'll read about it. And, because Science Fiction frequently deals with subjects like politics, philosophy, and sociology, I could very well end up rambling abstractly about things a lot more complicated than mere chances of literary taste.


So with all that being said, here is the final lineup of Science Fiction books I intend to read this month (I'll explain my reasons for picking each one as I get to it):


The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
The Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson


***


As indicated by the title of this post, I started The War of the Worlds today. I didn't get as far in it as I had initially intended to, so probably I'll say most of whatever I'm going to say about it tomorrow (when I'm hoping to finish it, it being a pretty short book, but... we'll see).


I figure my reasons for choosing to start with this book are probably fairly obvious. Wells was one of the pioneers of modern Sci-Fi. The genre started with him and Jules Verne; thus, my small-scale exploration of the genre should start there as well.


As for why I chose The War of the Worlds specifically... well, it's probably his most famous work. It's the quintessential aliens-invading-the-planet story. I'm sure there are people out there in the world who would argue that your education is incomplete if you haven't read it. So I'm reading it.


Like I said, I'm not very far in it yet. The Martians have landed, the Martians have destroyed things, our nameless narrator has survived two shockingly close brushes with death (if it happens again I'm going to have to start keeping a tally), and that's basically it. At this point, I neither love it nor hate it. I don't even like it or dislike it. I haven't gotten back into my summer rhythm, where I can find all sorts of things to talk about every single day, just yet. I'm afraid I'm a bit dull today.


One thing I'll say about the particular edition I selected from the library: the endnotes are hilarious. I don't know if you've ever read an annotated classic by a publication group that specializes in them (the book I'm reading now is published by Penguin Classics, but Barnes & Noble Classics editions are like this too), but as long as you don't allow yourself to get frustrated by it, the almost aggressive over-explaining of things can really add to the enjoyment of your reading experience. My favorite so far -


The book says, "Denning*, our greatest authority on meteorites, stated that the height of its first appearance was about ninety or one hundred miles."


The corresponding endnote says, "Denning: William Frederick Denning (1848-1931), Britain's leading authority on meteorites."


WOW. Thank you, Penguin Classics! How would I ever have known who Denning was if I'd only read the non-annotated version of the book?


Anyway. One other thing today's reading has resulted in is my excitement about this project. Before I was feeling somewhat lukewarm about the whole thing, but actually getting properly underway has gotten me really thinking about it and looking forward to it.


So off I go, on my two-week mission to explore strange new genres, to seek out new interests and new forms of expression, and to boldly go where a lot of people have gone before.


Forward.


~Pearl Clayton