Reading Uglies this week, I realized how much I like the science fiction genre. I am usually not the one to say I am a fan of fantasy or Science Fiction, but I think that is because as a society we stereotype the people that read these genres as nerds or people that have no “real life,” so they have to read about another world to compensate for it. But in all actuality there are some really good books out there that have also made a lot of money, so you know not just a select few have been reading them. Books like Twilight, the Harry Potter Series, and Ender’s Game are all really good reads and I would tell anyone to read them because I think it would change their attitude when I comes to these genres being “only for nerds.” All of these books force us to look at things like government, and laws and ask ourselves who and why has shaped society the way it is, or what is reality as we know it. These ideas when played with are very enlightening and force us to look at our own existence and wonder how much we are in control of our lives and what the government is hiding from us. This stuff is just interesting to me so please comment your thoughts on these genres and the government…or whatever. Also feel free to add your own favorite science fiction or fantasy novels you like because I want to read more of these types of books!
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I generally don't enjoy science fiction books either because I just don't like science. However, I think this book, even though it was science fiction, was a lot like a fantasy book. I was very surprised when I started reading it. Usually I don't enjoy anything that I'm reading for class. I only enjoy reading if it is just for fun. This time however, I enjoyed reading "The Uglies" a lot. It took a little while to get into, but then I just couldn't put it down. I think science fiction can be fun to read because puts you in a different reality or a different world.
I also admit that science fiction was never really my "first choice" genre of reading. I guess alot of the reason was because I never got into science fiction movies as a child, and therefore I associated science fiction books to be just as unappealing as the films. Reading "The Uglies" opened my eyes to a completely new world, which not only allowed my mind to roam free, but it also did not make me feel as if I was reading something completely revolving around the subject of science (a subject I steer away from most of the time). I had read the "Twilight" books over the summer, and that was really the first time I had opened myself up to the sci-fi genre, and reading "The Uglies" only strengthened my desire to continue venturing into this genre of literature and films. Does anyone have suggestions of a good place for a "newbie" to start in the sci-fi world?
I had never been a big fan of reading in general, but when I do read I prefer science fiction and fantasy. I like taking a break from my own life and jumping into a different world. I didn’t get into the Harry Potter books until I had seen the first two movies and couldn’t wait a year for the next movie. I loved the Harry Potter books even more than the movie, because I hated that so much of the story had to be removed to make the movies a reasonable length. However, I am not a big fan of the Twilight books, because there just not written as well as the Harry Potter books there story just aren’t as good. Try to finish the forth Twilight book was complete torture. The story was just getting so ridiculous and there was a lot of buildup which never lead to any real action. I think liking science fiction and fantasy depend most on the exposure you have had to that genre. And as far as Uglies is concerned I really want to read the next book, because this happened to be a book I really enjoyed reading.
I think that this was one of the first books in the genre of "science fiction" that I actually enjoyed. I think too often we misinterpret what exactly falls under the category of science fiction because of our stereotypes of who reads these kinds of books. For example, I always think of "Star Trek" when I hear the term "science fiction" and that whole "trekkie" stereotype! Honestly though, I think a lot can be done in this genre to show us the potential that science has to shape our futures. I thought "Uglies" had a lot of interesting stuff to say about the way we treat our environment and how it's going to inevitably lead to the destruction of our world as we know it. Science fiction can be very beneficial in raising awareness about certain issues. I'm starting to gain more appreciation for this genre as I explore it more.
It is funny to think that most science fiction novels and books are somewhat related to today's reality. I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Uglies" because of its message. In the back of the book there is a quote that attracts readers, saying "Everyone gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that?" Funny and ironic, lots of things can be wrong with that.
Scott Westerfeld used a problem of today, and tried to find it a solution by making everyone pretty. What are the consequences? Conformity to the government and lack of individuality in the community are just some of the problematic results. As much as Uglies is a fictional story, its main core has to do with today's problem of the media portraying what is pretty and beautiful.
First things first, I HATE READING. Therefor if I actually read a book that is strickly for entertainment purposes it must be crazy interesting. An example of this is Twilight. I've always been a fan of vampires and their workings but when I picked up the Twilight book and read the cover along with observing its thickness I instantly decided that i definitely wasn't reading this book. However through a twisted turn of events I purchased and read the entire book in two days because I couldn't put it down. The next week I went to the book store and purchased the last three novels of the series and read them all in the following two weeks. I love science fiction novels. Just like last time, I looked at the copy of The Uglies and decided I was going to cliff note it. :-) Upon beginning to read it, I feel in love and again, couldn't put it down. Much like the last series, I purchased the rest of the copies and will read them liesurely.
I am usually not into science fiction at all, but the Uglies was quite enjoyable. I started the book Tuesday, after class, and planned to read 40 pages or so. I got hooked in and ended up reading the entire book. Its not a difficult read and my imagination ran wild. I had the intertextual role for this week and had many connections. This reminded me of George Orwell's 1984 with the social classes, Fahrenheit 451 with the aspect of governmental control and was a mirror of an old Twilight Zone episode. During my research, I learned they are making a movie on the book and I'm excited to see that as well.
I enjoyed this book because of the way it stimulated my mind. I kept picture the land and people. The book had a lot of substance and will make for an interesting movie, I don't know if that much can be said about the "Where the Wild things are" movie.
I meant Brave New World, not 1984, my apologies.
Wow, I could not agree more with first off your title and the blog itself. I am the first person to tell you that I do not enjoy the science fiction genre at all. I have thought about it a lot and I came up with the reasoning that it is because I actually do put a lot of faith into reality and when these elements of futuristic or magical things come into play I find myself becoming frustrated and thinking, "this would never happen!" While I understand that this is the point of the genre, I still feel completely uninterested when I read them...that is until we had this assignment with Uglies. I absolutely loved this book and instead of admitting at first I enjoyed a Science Fiction book I tried to convince myself it was another genre. Obviously that didnt' work, I gave in, and can now say...I enjoyed a SciFi book.
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