Then again, maybe not.
Your "last posts" have been truly enjoyable. Thank you.
I've also enjoying all the hemming and hawing over identifying the most influential book in your lives -- and it has made me rethink how I present this final blogging assignment.
The actual prompt for this final post was to write about a book that changed your life.
It didn't have to be the only book that changed your life -- or even the book that changed your life the most. Most of you, however, took it one or both of those ways.
I personally hate to give my "favorite" anything. I don't like to pin myself down -- or to rank things I enjoy. In the future, I'll make sure people know there's a lot of flexibility here.
If I had to answer this prompt myself (and Ruth reminded me that I promised to), I would choose the most recent book that blew my mind. And that would be A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge.
It's a science fiction novel -- which, as many of you know, is my not-so-secret literary love. It's long and complex, but here's a good summary/review.
I should warn anyone who might be intrigued enough to pick it up -- it's not a great introduction to the genre of science fiction. It takes place in far, far future with little connection to what we know as Earth. You have to be willing to take that leap and let the world build around you.
But what a world it is! What's most remarkable about it is how it forces us to rethink our cultural assumptions around technology, politics and even adventure and exploration. As good science fiction does, it shows me a future I never thought of -- with far-reaching space travel and beyond-complex computer networks -- but it is rooted in our own culture's present-day cultural and political conflicts.
* * *
Thanks for indulging me in this final assignment. If I could ensure you took one thing from our class, it would be these four words:
Keep reading.
Keep thinking.
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