Sunday, February 05, 2017

Blast From The Past #11 - Nineteen Eighty-Four

Since I started looking back at my old blog posts, I've been sticking with the corresponding month from 10 years ago. However, I thought I'd change it up for this installment. Instead of talking about The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova, I thought talking about George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four might be a little more relevant. It's been almost ten years since I read this powerful novel, since I thought things would never be the way they are in Winston's world, but now I'm not so sure, not after the introduction of "Alternative Facts" or the making up of a massacre that never happened. That some people seem to care more about the imagined dead instead of the real dead.

I have shied away from politics on this blog, though I have started to talk about over in my other space. I have wanted this space to be happy. I wanted to talk about books and movies and television, to share things about parenthood and food. I think I might keep this space that way. Leave the politics over there. However, that leaves me with a different feeling. How can I blog about books and things, when all this terribleness is still happening? I haven't stopped reading, I've just stopped sharing. It's almost like feeling guilty for finding something positive to say right now. I know I'm being silly. So, I will still share what I've read or watched and am excited about. I'll share my thoughts too, but I might link over to the other blog more often. Then again, maybe not. I've always let my feelings guide me here, so I'll just have to see where they lead me.

9 comments:

  1. As they say: 1984 was *not* supposed to be an Instruction Manual. 'Alternate Facts' indeed......... [lol]

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    1. When I first hear that, all I could think was doublethink and newspeak.

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    2. I think the whole world had that reaction....

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  2. 1984 does seem timely and relevant right now. Also The Handmaid's Tale and pretty much every dystopian novel written ever...

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    1. I'm waiting for someone to announce the first annual Hunger Games.

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    2. Totally LOLLED at that!

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    3. They'll call it Survivor with a twist.

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  3. I know what you mean about feeling guilty posting anything happy or silly when SO MUCH TERRIBLE is happening. Like you said, it's silly and of course you can post happy and silly and light things. But ugh to the world. I want to reread 1984 but I think it will just make me angry right now

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    1. I agree... I remember how I felt when I first read 1984 and I just think it'll be worse now. I feel like I should read Carve the Mark or King's Cage, just be entertained. But a reread of The Handmaid's Tale is calling to me.

      I think things may have gotten worse since I first posted this too.

      At least when Trudeau met with Trump, it wasn't a disaster (like a lot of Canada was worried about).

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