Half-way through at the moment. Seen the John Hurt movie and Jesus - oppressive is not the word. Book's much better.

What do you think?

I rather enjoyed the book.

watch (or read the graphic novel) V for Vendetta
thats 1984, with a twist

over rated

I disagree. I read it when I was about 13, and it had me completely captivated. I think Orwell writes amazing analogous stories. 1984 and Animal Farm are all the more significant if you understand that Orwell himself was a communist, and what he is rebelling against is stalinism rather than marxism.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it; but then I like distopian books.

I'm planning a dystopic book - maybe a fan like yourself can give me a few tips?

Well, have a look at some of the genre- I would suggest not only 1984, but also Children of Men by PD James (watch the film as well, because it's completely different).

Didn't like the film, but I understood it. Children of Men, that is.

Read the book. It is very different, and explains much more of the culture and civilization. Plus, it is (in my opinion) much more entertaining than the film.

Amazing book. I read it last year and it's been a favorite ever since.
I'm actually attempting a Big Brother book as well, though I have writer's block at the moment..
But yeah, excellent book, I found the movie to be rather bland, actually.

Movie is not bad, but the book is so much better. Also it's very relevant today. You can observe many things described in the book happening today. I'd say this is a modern classic.

I actually enjoyed 1984 a little more than Animal Farm, though don't get me wrong both books are in my top ten. Orwell was a brilliant writer.

I actually enjoyed 1984 a little more than Animal Farm, though don't get me wrong both books are in my top ten. Orwell was a brilliant writer.

If I compare two, 1984. This might be a matter of preference though.

Agreed. I found 1984 to be extremely gripping, compared to Animal Farm.
Actually.. any big brother fiction does that to me. : )

Yeah, big brother stuff does me good too.

I was assigned to read it in school; it was not an enjoyable reading for me, although certainly better than some other books we had to read. If I compare it to the works it shares the most similarities with, Brave New World and We, I like the latter more. Orwell copied too many ideas and what he invented himself seems too unrealistic to me.

1984 is maybe the best political novel of whole history.

Brilliant stuff. I just bought the eBook, reading it on MS Reader, and I'm zipping through the pages, gripping stuff so far, definite part of my collection.

I was assigned to read it in school; it was not an enjoyable reading for me, although certainly better than some other books we had to read. If I compare it to the works it shares the most similarities with, Brave New World and We, I like the latter more. Orwell copied too many ideas and what he invented himself seems too unrealistic to me.

Brave New World, Brave New World Revisited, and Fahrenheit 451 are all great books for this style (If you're looking for more anti-Utopian pieces of fiction.) I enjoyed Animal Farm, but it doesn't quite compare to 1984 (for some reason, I always felt The Time Machine belonged in this grouping of books, although further in the future and stepping away from the concept of control, but rather evolution the point of loss of power and the spread of ignorance).

1984 is an excellent novel. I especially liked the ending, which really captured the desperate future it portrays.

It was one of the books I read for school too and it stays with me still. There are times when hearing of the latest political decision I think "How 1984". Its a novel that made an impression on our thoughts.

I read it at the beginning of October. I liked it, but it took a little getting used to. I couldn't read Part 1 for the life of me, every paragraph or so I had to put it down. But once I got to Part 2 I was enjoying evey word on the page. And when I finished the book, I reread Part 1 with more understanding of what was going on, and I liked it a lot more.

I love the concept of the story.

Heh, I just got assigned to it today. I'm on like... page fourteen. I think I'm the only person on the planet that actually loved Animal Farm (though that may be because the first time I read it I was twelve and didn't know it was about communism...), so I'm expecting 1984 to be even better. From what you guys say, I won't be disappointed.

*goes off to read*

Trust me, you are not the only one who loved Animal Farm. I read it when I get bored just because it is short enough to finish in one or two sittings.

1984 is an amazing book. It is more relevant than ever and I think that is one of those books that everyone should read. Even though the society in the book is a bit of a strech to what we are used to, its always a good idea to keep your mind open to other perspectives.

Read it before christmas for an essay in english class. Definately at the top of my favorite books list.

Mine, too. Makes a lot of sense, and I'm more leary than ever of the Patriot Act.

The 1913 book Constitution of the Community of Hesperia by William Sidis (available online at sidis.net) has numerous parallels to the 1949 printing of 1984 as well as many laws currently in effect in western countries. Sidis' other small book Geprodis was a pamphlet that may have been made public around 1930, and it had similar ideas as Hesperia.

I have no way of knowing if Orwell got some of his ideas from someone like Sidis, or if Orwell invented his story from scratch. Nevertheless, I found it interesting how the books had so many similarities even though Sidis' books are nonfiction.

I have no way of knowing if Orwell got some of his ideas from someone like Sidis, or if Orwell invented his story from scratch. Nevertheless, I found it interesting how the books had so many similarities even though Sidis' books are nonfiction.

Several of the essays and bios I've read about Orwell mention Sidis. Orwell was a huge hobby politition and linguist. He also must have dropped into the Russians for a short time because of the similarities to "We" and direct quotes from Dostoevsky. Anyway, some of his early essays are pretty similar to the structure of that type of writer. I'd read them if I ever got around to it, since I admire the man, but lord knows he's not the most brilliant writer ever.

Still a kick in the ass though.

You know, I've never gotten the oppertunity to read this book, but I heard it was simply amazing. I'm almost inspired enough to go get it right now.

Several of the essays and bios I've read about Orwell mention Sidis. Orwell was a huge hobby politition and linguist. He also must have dropped into the Russians for a short time because of the similarities to "We" and direct quotes from Dostoevsky.

Wow, thanks, I didn't know that about Orwell. I had my suspicions, but I hadn't researched that far yet (guess what I will be reading next :D ). There was a strong Russian-Jewish-atheist influence in New England academia during the early 20th century, and it's interesting to see how it also influenced novels and laws.

Drink Victory Gin!

or...

Buy magnets to stick on your car to show that you support the United States military!

I had to do a banned-books project so I picked this book. At first I didn't like, but then I started to, and read it for a few hours straight, waiting for the end. And then....I hated the ending! It was like I wasted my life reading that. It made me depressed...

Hey, I'm reading this right now :D

I had to do a banned-books project so I picked this book. At first I didn't like, but then I started to, and read it for a few hours straight, waiting for the end. And then....I hated the ending! It was like I wasted my life reading that. It made me depressed...

Agreed. Books do not have to have happy endings to be good. Tragedies are some of the most popular works of fiction ever. Yet even a tragic book should have some sort of resolution to some aspect that has been built up during the novel. This one never did, and I suppose many could argue that that is the ironic brilliance of the piece...no resolution...a return to the status quo. (Or it having never been challenged in the first place.) But the difference between a tragic ending and a depressing one, is that the tragic one, (in my view) offers some glimpse of something more noble existing either because of the tragedy, or despite of it. A depressing book is just the horrid stuff, with no real indication of anything that transcends it, in this world, or the next.