Define: Dystopian Literature

Dystopian Literature is my favorite. I have no idea why I love it so much. I don’t know if it is writing about what our world might become or what it is like now. It’s just awesome. My professor from last year sent me a list of dystopian literature. He was working with a teacher-friend on creating a list of dystopian literature. I was surprised that he remembered! I really wished they offered a dystopian literature class at Private University. I would take it over American Literature or British Literature.

Wikipedia defines dystopia as:

A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian. Dystopian societies feature different kinds of repressive social control systems, and various forms of active and passive coercion. Ideas and works about dystopian societies often explore the concept of humans abusing technology and humans individually and collectively coping, or not being able to properly cope with technology that has progressed far more rapidly than humanity’s spiritual evolution. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over the citizens.

I really like that the reason that I love dystopian literature is because it is modern literature. It’s different from what I read everyday and it’s just so good.

Strawberries add to the awesomeness of dystopian literature but not included

Here is the list (with added commentary):

1. Feed By: MT Anderson (read) 

I hate feed, I hate the whole idea of how advertising is presented. I hate the love story that goes on. I think that I am extremely  biased towards MT Anderson. I read The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, it was terrible. I loved the first half but the second half was terrible.

2. The Handmaid’s Tale By: Margaret Atwood (read) 

3. Oryx and Crake By: Margaret Atwood (read)

4. The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood (read) 

Rumor has it there is going to be a third book in the MaddAdam series (Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood). Not a big fan of Margaret Atwood but slow starting to enjoy her works.

4. Lord of the World, by Robert Hugh Benson (read) 

Quick read, I think I understood it better because we just finished studying Vatican I in one of my classes.

5. A Friend of the Earth, by TC Boyle (read) (Loved this) 

6. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury (read)(New Favorite)

I loved this book a lot. It is now in the running for new favorite book. 

7. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card (read) 

I never realized that it was a book series. It was good but a little unrealistic. I would never send my future child into battle school, even if the government “owned” my child. Also, it is a future reference to know what your child is doing on the internet. I would want to know if my children was making money from writing a political columns (who does this remind me of…).

8. Nights at the Circus, by Angela Carter (read)

Not sure if I liked it, very confused by the end of it.

9. The Hunger Games Trilogy [Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay], by Suzanne Collins (read)

I really liked the first book in the Hunger Games Trilogy but I was not a big fan of Catching Fire or Mockingjay. I was not a big fan of the movie either.

10.Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (read) 

11.Dune, by Frank Herbert

12.Brave New World, By Aldous Huxley (read, one of my favorites) 

13. Children of Men, By: PD James (read)

I saw the movie first and I thought the book was going to be similar. I was a little nervous to read it but it was good and interesting. Way different from the movie which was good.

14. Out of the Silent Planet Trilogy [Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and This Hideous Strength] by CS Lewis (read) 

15. The Giver trilogy [The Giver,Gathering Blue, The Messenger], by: Lewis Lowry (read) 

This was one of my favorite book series growing up. I read them all the time. I think I still have them somewhere. I just remembering in 5th grade when we had reading days. I would also bring in something from the Giver trilogy.

16. Notable American Women, by Ben Marcus (read) (Strange and one of those if women ruled the world kind of book similar to Herland but worst) 

17. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson (read) 

I have seen the movie, but have never read the book. I remembering liking the movie a lot. I might try and read it this summer. I recently got around to reading it and way different from the movie. I tried to watch the other day really late at night but I ended up freaking myself out.

18. The Road, By: Cormac McCarthy (read) (see telling stories with Cormac McCarthy) 

19. A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter Miller (read) 

20. Invitation to a Beheading, by Vladimir Nabokov

21. The Children of the Last Days series [Strangers and Sojourners, Plague Journal, Eclipse of the Sun, Father Elijah], by Michael D. O’Brien (read) (loved Eclipse of the Sun and Strangers and Sojurners)  

20. 1984, by: George Orwell (read) (favorite) 

21. Love in the Ruins, by Walker Percy (read)

22.Frankenstein, by: Mary Shelley (read) (I think it is one of those border dystopian literature, I don’t really consider it dystopian) 

23. Super Sad True Love Story, by Gary Shteyngart (read)(Not Impressed)  

24. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, by Mark Twain

25. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells (I have it for my kindle, I am about 1/3 of the way through and that was at winter break. Someday I will conquer this book.) (read)