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I finally read Frank Herbert's "Dune" this year and I'm so happy about the decision to finish the book. In the book are several references to what is known as
by Dowwie 7y ago
I finally read Frank Herbert's "Dune" this year and I'm so happy about the decision to finish the book. In the book are several references to what is known as the "Litany Against Fear". You may have come across references to it in pop culture, where the beginning is often cited. For instance, Elon Musk references it often.
The Litany in its entirety:
> "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
Learning how to manage fear is something I think we can all benefit by.
- ivankirigin 7y agoI just read 1Q84, and decided that it was the worst book I've ever read. Now reading Dune, for the first time since high school 20 years ago. There is a solid argument to only read classic scifi until the reviews are so good that you can't ignore it, or if you learn to trust the author. Dune is an incredibly textured far future. Ecology, waves of anti-technology, post-humanism, politics, and nuanced characters.
- booleandilemma 7y ago1Q84 was the only novel that I've had to "speed read". It was several hundred pages too long. My least favorite book of all time has to be The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford.
- bathMarm0t 7y agoApples and oranges though. Murakami writes symbolic surrealism. A far-cry from down-to-earth (rome?), politically driven scifi. I think 1Q84 is possibly his worst work. He aimed for the moon and the rocket blew up on the launch pad. Normally I really like his works, but reading 1Q84 revealed his plot mechanisms for what they are e.g. loosely connected rabbit holes with no resolution. I think I ignored that fact in most of his other books because there was emotional closure paving over the plot cracks, but it just didn't happen for 1Q.
- slothtrop 7y agoI'm a fan of Murakami and hated that book. Though if you dislike magical realism most of his others won't do it for you either.
- JKCalhoun 7y ago"Dune" taught me to evaluate what people don't say as much as what they do. The italics in Dune were brilliant.
- ddingus 7y agoScrolling through this conversation has been interesting, but I have to resonate with your comment. After reading Dune, what they do mattered much more to me, and it's changed how I appreciate dialog in film. When it's done right, and the actors do things in resonance, it's like you can see right into the soul of a character.
- scandinavegan 7y agoSomeone put the Litany Against Fear to the steps to wash your hands, in order to do all steps for 20-30 seconds in total: https://i.imgur.com/TjjinE6.jpg https://i.imgur.com/TjjinE6.jpg
- maps7 7y agoHas anyone listened to Dune as an audiobook and would you recommend it?
- StavrosK 7y agoI loved Dune, the second book less so (lack of Muad'Dib, I guess). What else can I read that is at that level of quality?