Welcome to Litsy!

Such an interesting collection. Definitely more technical sci fi than I was expecting and some of it went over my head, but I enjoyed most of the stories. Story of Your Life though, man. One of the best (if not the best) short stories I‘ve ever read; I was weeping at the end of it. I suppose it doesn‘t help that I have a newborn, given the storyline. I want to watch the movie (Arrival) but not sure my heart can handle it just yet.

I'm not usually one for short stories but these exceeded my expectations. Each story was its own little world with real feeling characters. I liked that the stories were so different from each other and yet similar in that each carried out a particular thought experiment to the end.

Happy #BookSpin Day to all who celebrate!

I'm excited about this month's picks. My bookspin is Terra Nullius and doublespin is the tagged. Still working on previous picks as well.

I can't believe it's almost July and time for a new draw! New to the #BookSpin list this month are the tagged and Severance. Fingers crossed no more chunkster draws so I can finally catch up!

This is #99ponkindle today in the UK. The main novella in the collection is the basis for the movie Arrival, which I really enjoyed.

Fascinating ideas, but perhaps not enough room for each idea to breathe? The curse of the short story. The transcript style of 'Liking What You See' worked well; 'Story of Your Life' was even better than the film based on it. Wanted more from 'Seventy-Two Letters' & 'Understand'. Story Notes at the end are worth a read for further insight. A blend of science, religion, social commentary, and humans having emotions. Recommend reading slowly.

New (to me) word alert!
I'm guessing from context it's the first definition...
Cucurbit: "[1] a vessel or flask for distillation used with or forming part of an alembic. :[2] a plant of the gourd family."

Reading this masterpiece again. No one does it like Ted Chiang

#BookReport
I finished something trackable this week! I've been seriously in a slump but this was a great book and worth pushing through.

#WeeklyForecast
My goal this week is to finish Spirits Abroad and start the tagged. Both are the current SFFBC picks and I kind of want to keep up with the group this year.

Deep meanings, relatable ideas. A little to “science-y” for me in some stories.

#AboutMe #AuldLangSpine
Here's a few things about me:
-I live with my fiancee of 7 years (yep, that's years not months 😄) in NJ.
-We've got two amazing 1-yr-old brother cats - Jem (middle right) and Scout (bottom right).
-The kids are my nephew and niece (ages 3 & 5).
-My partner and I love going to concerts & museums.
-Music is my favorite hobby next to reading - I love indie rock and hip hop most.
-Have gotten into birding in recent years 🐦‍⬛

This was my #BookSpin for May, under my category “RM Recs.” RM, or Namjoon, from BTS is a reading man which instantly means I will adore him forever. This was on one of the lists ARMY have compiled of books he‘s read/been seen reading. It was amazing. Science fiction that leaves the reader thinking long after they‘ve finished. I didn‘t read one story in this collection that I didn‘t like, that didn‘t have me pausing to really contemplate his words

I‘m still working on catching up. I just finished my Double BookSpin choice for March! 🙈🙈🙈 I‘m jumping ahead a little because I haven‘t read either of April‘s picks, yet, but Stories of Your Life & Emperor‘s Soul I borrowed from the library and we‘re moving soon! (2 weeks! 🎉) Plus, I am having a hard time putting Chiang down! 😍 #BookSpin #DoubleBookSpin

This list is a couple of years old & I'm sure many of you have seen it, but I just stumbled across it. I think it's an interesting list & appreciate the inclusive nature guiding the selections. I've read only 15 of these😬📚📚
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/21/best-books-of-the-21st-century

A good collection of Ted Chiang‘s early works that contains a few sparkling gems. For the full review, please visit http://benjamin-m-weilert.com/index.php/2021/10/19/book-stories-of-your-life-and...

Don't often agree with a blurb, but this one is spot on.
If you can find a copy of these short stories I'd pick it up!

The existence of free will meant that we couldn't know the future. And we knew free will existed because we had direct experience of it. Volition was an intrinsic part of consciousness.

Or was it? What if the experience of knowing the future changed a person? What if it evoked a sense of urgency, a sense of obligation to act precisely as she knew she would?

This had some of the best short stories that I‘ve read. Standouts include the story used for the collection‘s title, Hell is the Absence of God, and the Tower of Babylon. The only story I could have happily skipped was Seventy-Two Letters. I would recommend this to sci-if and short story fans. I‘m in awe of Chiang‘s intelligence and creativity!
#bookspinbingo

It is an adage that short story collections tend to be uneven in quality. It is the rare book where there is not a single dud. Chiang's is such a rarity, as Cory Doctorow says, "each of those stories is a goddamned jewel." These pieces are thought experiments with a speculative bent, both philosophical & humane. Chiang is the Borges of our time. What a collection!

Paging Polka-Dot Man
#IfYouKnowYouKnow

📚📚📚📚 Awesome collection of short stories (including the one the movie Arrival is based on) ranging from biblical to futuristic to steampunk. Loved it, there seems to be something for everyone in a way in this collection. Raises some very cool questions about beauty standards, theology, and artificial intelligence. As a dabbler in linguistics, I loved the alien language interaction in “The Story of Your Life.”

@Chrissyreadit The #Sliceofsummerswap box arrived🤗 I told you, it would take some time due to our “little” problem in local mail stations.😳But it is here. Let‘s see what is inside😍
@catsandbooks

🎧 8 short stories. Interesting, deep, some religion, weird.

TOWER OF BABYLON - I rolled my eyes but it‘s well done & if you suspend disbelief it‘s a good story.

UNDERSTAND - I liked this story at the beginning but it ended ... weird? Man in vegetative state gets experimental drug with cool side effects!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️9/10 👇🏻

Reading while watching sprints!!

Each of the story is thought provoking and asks ‘what if‘. “What if genuinely alien aliens visited Earth, and an earthling learned their conceptually different language?” “What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent?” The short story Story Of Your Life is the basis of the movie Arrival, starring Amy Adams.
#fallfinds #futuristic

#3books I‘ve recommended

Her Body and Other Parties- For a friend who said she likes horror, erotica, and short stories. I figured this fit that close enough. She loved it.
Stories of Your Life and Others- For my boyfriend who likes thought-provoking short stories. He thought these were great.
I‘m Thinking of Ending Things- For a friend who wanted a short, weird read. She enjoyed it, and we both just watched the movie and enjoyed that too. 😊

#arrival #scifiseptember @Klou

Although I think only The Arrival was adapted into a film, all of the stories in this collection have a very cinematic feel. Several had intense action sequences, but many were quieter and contemplative in tone, even as momentous events were happening, like climbing the tower of Babylon or unraveling alien communications. I appreciated how effortlessly Chiang captured sci-fi on a grand scale, without sacrificing the beauty of smaller moments.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Another excellent science fiction short story collection by Ted Chiang. Really have loved his work and hope he publishes another collection soon.

“Fiat logos. I know my mind in terms of a language more expressive than any I'd previously imagined. Like God creating order from chaos with an utterance, I make myself anew with this language.”

#QuotsyFeb20 | 23: #Language

📷: Made with Typorama

Book #3: I‘ve actually been reading this collection of short stories on and off for a few months now but just finished it today! Ted Chiang is now one of my all time favorite authors, combining beautiful prose with my personal fav topics (bioethics, philosophy, neuroscience) in such an innovate way! I already ordered his second collection after reading just the first story, that‘s how much I loved this!

Just finished it late last night and I loved it. Amazing writing! Started it because I liked the movie Arrival but stories are so much more. Awesome analysis of issues in all their aspects (Liking What You See: A Documentary, Hell Is the Absence of God), such details of math and physics concepts (Division by Zero, Story of Your Life), language meaning (Seventy-Two Letters), all wrapped in great stories. Reminded me at times of Philip K.Dick.

Incredibly smart short stories with a SyFi touch

Going absolutely mad cooped up in the house. Im not someone who copes well being sick and stuck inside when there‘s a whole world out there to be taking part in. My parents and boyfriend are all out and I‘m finally watching Arrival. I love the Ted Chiang story SO much so I‘ve been wanting to watch the movie for so long. Anyone else seen it?

First one of 2020! I loved 4 short stories here. Chiang is talented indeed. #HistoriasDaSuaVidaEOutrosContos #TedChiang # StoriesOfYourLifeAndOlthers #book #bookaholic #booklovers #ler #leitura #leitora #reading #instabook #instaread #instabooks #bookstagram #litsy #booklover #readingabook #amreading #books #Sha2020

This short story collection features some great ideas! I liked "Story of your life" best. "Tower of Babylon", "Seventy-Two letters" and "Liking what you see" were really good too. The only one I didn't like and couldn't finish was "Hell is the absence of god"

Wow, another #litsylove letter! You guys are awesome! Now I'm always looking forward to opening my mailbox! Never mind the bills, I get fun letters now! 😍🤩😍
Thanks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Signed up!
Check it out at: #jolabokaflodswap @MaleficentBookDragon
I think it sounds like a lovely swap! 😍😍

So after the first 5 stories, I kinda need a break. Don't get me wrong the stories were great! It's just that I find it very exhausting to immerse myself into a new setting and characters like every 50 pages. Funnily enough it's worse while I'm commuting. I start a story and have to stop several times then finish, start a new one, only get half way through before I'm at university. Then on the way back same thing again.

Got two books from the used bookstore today! It's a lovely little store with seats everywhere and you can even buy a cup of tea or coffee to keep up your strength while browsing! It was my first visit today, but definitely not the last!

Loved this one - science and philosophy intertwined in an alternate reality - reminded me somehow of Black Mirror and the Twilight Zone

I didn‘t know what to think going into this one, but I loved it. The story is so smart and compelling; I was hooked.

Only 2 stories into the book but I already love it. Wonderfully original ideas!

Ted Chiang‘s short story "Story of Your Life" (in this collection) was the basis of the film Arrival (2016). The stories are precise and I feel like he is a brutal editor of his own work (like he cuts a lot of extraneous writing out during his process). Definitely a fan, I wish he had more work out there.

I've heard a few Ted Chiang short stories on science fiction podcasts and I enjoyed them. For that reason I was looking forward to reading his first collection. I really enjoyed three of the stories but the other five didn't appeal to me and much of this book felt like a slog. I‘m looking forward to reading his next collection of short fiction, Exhalation, which just came out.

Finished something swampy, something blue, something translated, and something true (but sad) for the #readingenvysummerchallenge #readingenvysummerreading

Aww yeah. I kept hitting author names on Hoopla and found out my library had this one available.

Excellent stuff that strikes a perfect balance between brainy and entertaining. Reading "Story of your Life" made me love the movie adaptation even more, such an amazing concept...

These stories were so good, and what‘s more, they were so varied. They were so good that I don‘t even know what to say about them, they‘re just on a whole other level. Definitely some of the best SF short stories I‘ve read.

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