As my themeword for 2008 is Explore (other people’s choices are interesting too), I am kicking off a new series: Where Should I Start. The premise is a simple one, ask or answer a question that starts with “If I wanted to [read/listen to/watch/learn about] something where should I start?”
There are so many amazing things in this world to experience, yet it can be hard to figure out where to begin - luckily the LazyWeb can help out.
To start things off, I’ll give a couple of recommendations and ask for some in return:
If I wanted to read a book by Leo Tolstoy, where should I start?
Well, I assume War and Peace is as good a place as any. In fact, I recently picked up a copy as I have never read this epic depicting Napoleon’ invasion of Russia and some of the lives impacted by the war.
After going through a ton of reviews on Amazon, I believe I found a translation that will be both accessible and close to the original in terms of narrative flow and rhythm.
If I wanted to experience Miles Davis, where should I start?
Kind of Blue, recorded in 1959, is by far his best album, the highest selling jazz record of all time and one of the most beautiful jazz recordings ever made.
Kind of Blue tends to be near, if not at the top of many critics’ lists of best albums of all times and is definitely one of the most influential Jazz albums ever released.
Over to You!
- If I wanted to listen to music by Django Reinhardt, where should I start?
- If I wanted to introduce a non-geek to science fiction which books should I recommend to them? Yes, I know non-geeks reaf sci-fi, but I’m looking for interesting sci-fi.
If you have answers to these questions, or would like to add your own to the series, please leave them in the comments!
Sci-fi for non-geeks eh? Might be an obvious choice, but how about Overclocked by Cory Doctorow? Or there’s Bruce Sterling’s Visionary in Residence short stories…
Alex, don’t know about Django, but sci-fi for non-geeks I can do. Ender’s Game, Starship Troopers (the Heinlen short story, not Starship 90210 the movie), or Dragonflight, the first in Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series.
Those three are wonderful entries into some classic sci-fi from which it’s not too hard to spin off to Frank Herbert’s work, Asimov, or even more fantasy-oriented like Tolkien.
Thanks guys! Those are excellent suggestions. I’ve actually recommended Ender’s game in the past and had totally blanked on it. Overclocked is a very good choice, and I’ve heard very good things about McCaffrey’s series, though I haven’t read anything she has written myself. I should change that. I’ll also check out the short stories from Sterling.
Again, thanks for the recommendations, please keep ‘em coming!
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