Ben and my mom sent us an Audible subscription for Christmas, and I just finished listening to our first book order: Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. The book is haunting me. In Atwood's own words, the novel is about "what ifs": "What if we continue down the road we're already on? How slippery is the slope? What are our saving graces? Who's got the will to stop us?" Genetic engineering, environmental carelessness, the media parade of intimate things that leaves individuals full of lust, but alienated from real relationships: these issues and more are followed through to their destructive end, and Atwood makes too much sense. This piece of speculative fiction is not for the faint-of-heart. If you do read it, tell me what you think. 
![[Comments]](/nb//themes/Default/comments.png "8 comments")
(8) Mon Jan 24 2005 13:56 They Paved Paradise, and Put Up a Parking Lot:
I should be doing "tasks" right now, since Atticus is at school and Samuel is napping. Gotta be a slacker once-in-a-while.
- Comments:
Posted by Brendan at Mon Jan 24 2005 20:07
I liked Oryx and Crake, but I found it a bit dim in the light of some of her other books. Too many NerdCapWords for me, but then I guess that wouldn't matter in an audio book. Handmaid's Tale disturbed me more, as speculative fiction--especially the epilogue.
Posted by Alyson at Mon Jan 24 2005 20:41
Yeah, now that I've read Oryx and Crake, I am wanting to read Handmaid's Tale. Funny thing: as I was listening to the book, I thought of recommending it to you.
Posted by Brendan at Mon Jan 24 2005 22:49
!The Blind Assassin is my favorite Atwood book, but I think it's too long (last count: one hojillion pages) to be well served by audio. You should totally read it, in your spare time, ha ha ha.Themewise, I tend to assume that everyone who reads Oryx and Crake has read Z for Zachariah, which I think of as canonical post-apocalyptic fiction, but I tend to be wrong. It's shelved in YA, but I think it holds up well. (And it's much more likely to make for a good audio book.)
Posted by Alyson at Tue Jan 25 2005 13:22
Brendan: I'm glad to know that you're still peeking in on my blog, but I always wonder, when you pop up, don't you have something better to do with your time?
I have read Z for Zachariah, in the 8th grade. Didn't grasp it, really, at that age. There are so many good books out there, so many I want to read. The Audible thing works well for me because of the puttering around I do after the boys are in bed, sorting through the wreckage of the day. It is hard for me to really sit down with a book in hand. Right now I'm working on the formidable 450 pages of Uncle Tom's Cabin for a Book Group I participate in. Maybe I'll make that my next Audible pick, but I'd rather pick something else more upbeat this time, after Oryx and Crake. I was thinking of getting a David Sedaris book, but doh! Even with all the humor, that would be a heavy read, too. I'm a glutton for "suffering" literature, I guess.
Posted by frances at Tue Jan 25 2005 18:48
When Rachel put up the list of banned books I was horrified to realize I have never read Uncle Tom's Cabin. It's on my list now. It will be a while before I get to it though. I have a whole slew of social history and biography books I got over Christmas.
I also got six Terry Pratchett books, but I read them already.
Posted by Brendan at Tue Jan 25 2005 22:52
Alyson, my goodness! If you think I comment here too much, I apologize, and I'll cut back. But I consider reading well-written and entertaining journals like yours one of the best uses of my time; reading quality stuff helps me write quality stuff. (Otherwise I'd be reading emo nonsense on Livejournal--the junk food of blogging.)Terry Pratchett is a good pick for "upbeat." Mort or The Night Watch are good places to start.
Posted by Alyson at Wed Jan 26 2005 07:45
I truly am flattered, Brenden. Thanks for your compliments.
Posted by Rachel at Fri Jan 28 2005 01:48
I read Handmaid's Tale for a lit class and found it v disturbing. Have been wanting to read others. Need to get some more audio books from the library--my driving is lonley now that I have finished listening to OOTP (talk about upbeat).