Anathem discussion ?

[iccanui]

I just started this book. Well i got it in audio form from audible. So anyway, im having trouble getting into it. Its not that its bad, but it feels very dry so far. I loved Snow Crash and i get that this isnt snow crash. But what i was hoping is for a discussion to come up that might bring to light some things that im sure are just going over my head or im not making a connection. What i loved in Snow Crash was not just the setting, but the content. How it touched on ancient themes and the nature of modern man and stuff. I hear this book has that kinda thing in it too. And i do admit to having trouble to getting into a lot of books/stories where i dont know the characters already. But i have started over like 3 times now and its just not grabbing me. Then again, Snow Crash didnt pick up for me till later anyway, i wonder if this is just his style of writing.

So yea, anyone have any thoughts on the book so far?

[trsjeff]

I don't know how it is on audio (some of the language of Arbre might be more confusing listening than reading), but I'll say STICK WITH IT! I am 500 pages in and loving it!! It takes a while to understand what is going on, but when you do, it is awesome.

Stephenson has just grown by leaps and bounds since Snow Crash. That book was fun, but it is a piece of candy compared to the full meals of his last several books.

-Jeff

[aerodash84]

I read Anthem discussion and I thought of Ayn Rands' Anthem. Well I recommend that book as well. Just throwing that out there.

[iccanui]

I don't know how it is on audio (some of the language of Arbre might be more confusing listening than reading), but I'll say STICK WITH IT! I am 500 pages in and loving it!! It takes a while to understand what is going on, but when you do, it is awesome.

Stephenson has just grown by leaps and bounds since Snow Crash. That book was fun, but it is a piece of candy compared to the full meals of his last several books.

-Jeff

Ok, its not just me then. I thought maybe i was just not getting it. But like i said, it seems that it always takes a while to get into a book that is all new material.

I have heard though that a lot of the characters have real life counterparts or themes from the book exist in real life.

Any insight to that? Or is that something best left to reading about. Like spoilerish.

[gabrie11e]

Anathem wasn't as deep as I thought it would be, but it was a fun read nonetheless.

Wanted to toss out this question to forum members: would/could you live in a concent?

I found the idea of a concent very attractive in many ways (simple, slow, cerebral), but I'm not sure I could live confined in such a small/homogenous place for a long time. Unarian - no problem, Decenarian - maybe, Centarian - no way, Millenarian - only if I could liven things up by playing with Narratives. :-)

The idea of the clock was quite beautiful, and I learned what Stephenson had based it on something *really* beautiful (the Clock of the Long Now project.) The overarching mission of the group is to promote long-term thinking. One of the individual projects is to try and enginneer a clock that will run for 10,000+ years. I recommend checking out the "Principles" section if you've into this stuff. I thought the idea of powering it by human means (like the winding in the book) was very profound.