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1984 is a classic! If you haven't read it yet, know is your chance!

Count me in! Always wanted to read this, now is the chance.

I've already started it, in anticipation of our group discussion. I'm up to page 2 (lol. Okay, so I got a little tired last night after I started reading!).

Ah, I wish I had waited a little longer to read it! I just finished it about two weeks ago. I might still come for the discussion though. Some parts confused me quite a bit...

Bethany wrote: "Ah, I wish I had waited a little longer to read it! I just finished it about two weeks ago. I might still come for the discussion though...."

Definitely! We might unconfuse you on those certain parts, or you might be able to enlighten us on parts! And even though you've already read it, you still have plenty to contribute, especially if we talk about how we perceive certain events or characters -- especially since it's still fresh in your mind.

Ah, read this in September! I'm eager to see what everyone else thinks of it though :)

Haven't read this since High School, once I've finished The Casual Vacancy (still trying to finish it - not my cup of tea) - I'll start 1984.

i would read it. Its on my to read list, but I dont have enough money right now to buy it. So, ill just read it another time. Dang it :(

Alison wrote: "i would read it. Its on my to read list, but I dont have enough money right now to buy it. So, ill just read it another time. Dang it :("

Alison normally it's on the free reading list at libraries.

The Kindle app is free and can be downloaded on your computer or smart phone. Amazon has it for 99c for your kindle.

Hope this helps as I think 1984 is a great read.

I don't have a kindle. I have a Nook. I dont want to download an app that I will hardly ever use.

I'm going to try to read it this month!

Wow! Sorry about disappearing on you guys for so long! But guess what! I'm gonna be a momma! So I've been a little busy & away from the interweb for the last few weeks, but I have been trying to read as much of 1984 in the little downtime that I have had. I'll try to keep up with you guys on here since I'll be having a few long weekends coming up thanks to the holidays :) Happy reading, everybody!

Marissa-dono wrote: "Wow! Sorry about disappearing on you guys for so long! But guess what! I'm gonna be a momma! So I've been a little busy & away from the interweb for the last few weeks, but I have been trying to re..."

Congratulations! That's so exciting. I know I'm not currently reading this book but I got a notification so I just wanted to comment and say that. I wish you the best! (:

congrats! I just saw the notification too and just skim the books Im not reading, so I saw the post. :)

Congratulations, Marissa-dono.

So how's the book coming along? What are your first impressions?

I like the writing, I don't think I'll have any troubles getting through this one like I did Emma.

I'm almost halfway through the book, and despite it feeling slow at the beginning, I've really gotten into the swing of it.

Of course I can't help but compare it at times to Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451, but it's not like it feels like they're all the same book, over and over again. Orwell's writing style is very clean, somehow subtle but descriptive at the same time.

I've never read the book before, and the only thing I know about it is the dystopia theme, so I keep thinking to myself as I read, "I wonder how it will end! Does he get caught for something? Will they be found out?? Ooh, what happens?!?" So while most of my mind is enjoying the writing and the mind-boggling scenario of a Big Brother-type society, a corner in the back of my brain also keeps trying to get me to hurry up and get to the end so I can find out if there's some big climax :)

Tiffany, it's not a big brother type society,it is the orginal big brother society.

I can't believe I missed this one :(

So, did Orwell hit the mark? How similar is the present (many years passed 1984) to the predicted future? What are the differences?

I teach 1984 to sophomores in high school, so I'm interested to see what adults have to say about it. In regard to the question Faye poses above, I think that our use of language to hide the truth of something (e.g., "The Patriot Act") is scarily similar to the world Orwell created.

Looking forward to the discussion!

Some of the technology Orwell envisioned is similar to our current technology. The televised exercise instructor who scolded him for not stretching hard enough reminded me of my personal trainer on the Wii. However, I feel that, whereas Orwell, like other science fiction writers of the 40s and 50s, saw increasing technology making us more cohesive, I think the actual result has been to make us more individualistic.

Always been on my "want to read" list ... guess the time is NOW! ;o)

Any final thoughts on this classic? Thanks for reading along :)

Faye wrote: "Any final thoughts on this classic? Thanks for reading along :)"

As I mentioned, I thought it seemed really slow at the beginning, but I kept trucking along, and I'm glad that I stuck with it. It was a really good book, and a little creepy at times, thinking what it would be like if that were really our society. I'm glad I finally read this.

However... sure, this was a groundbreaking book when it was published, but have we been desensitized to the idea of the Big Brother society? Is this story now either so well-known (this particular book's plot) or such a common theme (the general theme in books of government watching/monitoring you) that it's not as shocking to us? Because, yeah, I was a little creeped out at times, *thinking* of what *could* be, but it wasn't the big "OH MY GOD!! RUN FOR SAFETY!! WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE ROBOTS! THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO CONTROL US!" that it seems like this book is usually described as. Is that just because the book is so old that I knew what was going to happen? Or because other books/movies/TV shows have played with this idea for 50+ years? Or because I'm totally cold and emotionless and nothing touches me? :)

Ha ha, Tiffany. I think the book was an inspiration for a lot o books/movies/TV shows/government bodies and that has probably desensitized us to previously groundbreaking ideas.