4 ms·

> Many books that were written 30 years ago are still immensely enjoyable today I'd argue that there's a large amount of books that don't age out of their val

> Many books that were written 30 years ago are still immensely enjoyable today I'd argue that there's a large amount of books that don't age out of their value. There's a lot of good material out there written over a hundred years ago that's more enjoyable that the average modern book. Even books which are tightly coupled to their time period are all still relevant and valuable today. A funny example, I was reading an author yesterday who discussed a social issue at a local university, and quoted a professor who shares the exact name of a well known professor today who comments on similar issues. Most of what I read is well over 30 years old, if not older. And very much of it still reflects the world today.

KineticLensman 5y ago
> Even books which are tightly coupled to their time period are all still relevant and valuable today As an example of this I would cite "Mr Britling Sees It Through" [0] which was written by HG Wells during World War 1. It was published in 1916 and describes in a novel the public reaction to the early stages of the war - and Wells had no idea how the war was actually going to pan out when he wrote it. I read it in April last year, one month into the first COVID lockdown. Some of the reactions Wells describes (from fear to to panic buying to concerns about the economy) were exactly what was happening in the pandemic. I found it amazingly relevant even given the massive changes in society over the last century because in many ways basic human nature is just the same now as then. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Britling_Sees_It_Through https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Britling_Sees_It_Through
- trutannus 5y ago
  Similar to The Plague by Camus. The progression basically goes: 1. Everyone ignores it since it's "not serious" 2. People play it down for political reasons 3. People start dying 4. People lock down 5. Alcohol sells out At least where I am, this is exactly what happened.

KineticLensman 5y ago

> Even books which are tightly coupled to their time period are all still relevant and valuable today As an example of this I would cite "Mr Britling Sees It Through" [0] which was written by HG Wells during World War 1. It was published in 1916 and describes in a novel the public reaction to the early stages of the war - and Wells had no idea how the war was actually going to pan out when he wrote it. I read it in April last year, one month into the first COVID lockdown. Some of the reactions Wells describes (from fear to to panic buying to concerns about the economy) were exactly what was happening in the pandemic. I found it amazingly relevant even given the massive changes in society over the last century because in many ways basic human nature is just the same now as then. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Britling_Sees_It_Through https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Britling_Sees_It_Through

trutannus 5y ago
Similar to The Plague by Camus. The progression basically goes: 1. Everyone ignores it since it's "not serious" 2. People play it down for political reasons 3. People start dying 4. People lock down 5. Alcohol sells out At least where I am, this is exactly what happened.