This Book Saved Me From Boring Science Fiction + A Life Changing Read

[@woutervries4929]

Congratulations on the big news! My wife and I are also expecting our first child in December!

[@bookjack]

Wow congrats! It's a crazy feeling

[@suzannebousquet2710]

So happy for you and Sam!! I loved the book, What to Expect When You're Expecting. That was over 30 year ago!

[@bookjack]

I have seen that book at the thrift store so many times. Maybe I'll pick it up

[@bobkeane7966]

Congratulations on the coming child may things go smooth for your wife and baby.

[@bookjack]

Thank you so much!

[@captainnolan5062]

Day of the Triffids is a classic Science Fiction book. Very popular in the 1960s and 70s. Per the internet: "The book has been praised by other science fiction writers. Karl Edward Wagner cited The Day of the Triffids as one of the thirteen best science-fiction horror novels. Arthur C. Clarke called it an "immortal story". Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas praised it, saying: "rarely have the details of [the] collapse been treated with such detailed plausibility and human immediacy, and never has the collapse been attributed to such an unusual and terrifying source". Forrest J. Ackerman wrote in Astounding Science Fiction that Triffids "is extraordinarily well carried out, with the exception of a somewhat anticlimactic if perhaps inevitable conclusion"."

[@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk]

Congratulations. Best wishes on what you choose to read, I hope you get some great stories.

[@ArtBookshelfOdyssey]

The best recipe I’ve found for liver: take it out of the package and place it in the garbage can 😂

[@bookjack]

Lol my wife would agree

[@B0BsBooks]

Congratulations Jack and Mrs!

[@KevinsDisobedience]

The Weapon Shops is Isher is cool concept. It’s definitely a fix-up novel, patched together from pulp scfi ideas, but there’s something fantastic about it. I tried to read on one of his other fix-up novels, but couldn’t make it through.

[@bookjack]

It is a fantastic concept. I can see a lot of interesting ways to take The Weapon Shop

[@psikeyhackr6914]

Clarke also wrote *A Fall of Moondust* Why *Childhood's End* is so much more popular is beyond me.

[@unrealfitness]

Congratulations to you and your wife, great news best wishes.

[@bookjack]

Thanks! :)

[@bazoo513]

12:44 - more factual than Peter Watts' _Blingsight,_ ?!? OK, I know it is not a part of the novel, but look up the PPT presentation of FizerPharm, the company who (re)developed vampires on one of the versions of his website. (Their motto is "Trust, Profit, Deniability".)

[@personmcpersonperson2893]

i always appreciate your videos bruv, looking forward to the next reviews

[@bookjack]

I appreciate that 😊

[@OffRampTourist]

New subscriber. Congratulations! One Brazil Nut per day is almost too much selenium, and too much is really something you need to avoid, so don't overdo this one. The eggs are still a great way to go. Been reading sci-fi 60 years and completely agree about Clarke. And Isher. And Triffids.

[@bookjack]

Thanks for the recommendation. Glad you shared my opinions :)

[@OffRampTourist]

@@bookjack lol dreamed last night that I was visiting a huge library and was upset/angry to find they had no Heinlein or Zelazny.

[@keithdixon6595]

Congrats on the kid! Living in France, it's noticeable how seasonal the fresh fruit and veg is in the supermarkets. Some stuff imported from Spain, which of course isn't far, but most other soft foods are French. As for A.C. Clarke, I noticed A Fall of Moondust mentioned on the cover of one of the editions you showed. I read that in my teens, and my memory is that it was very exciting and plot driven, so he can do it. Otherwise I'm a bit like you - I sense that he writes articles in a fictional format and isn't much interested in character or conflict. Rama was like that, as was 2001. He's a scientist at heart, not a storyteller.

[@bookjack]

I forgot to mention that he was a scientist. I think that explains it all. The difference in food really is night and day. Not sure what the solution is for wintertime

[@NancyLebovitz]

Congratulations! Very good point about triffids as the first zombies, and also about fix-up books that do or don't work. Have you read _City_ by Simak? Psychology in sf tends to be whatever was popular when the book was written. I think _Some of Your Blood_ was Freudian, so the theories about fragility might not hold up. This perfectly nourished fetus theory seems odd. As far as I can tell, nutrition is a very hard thing to study, and there's a lot of guesswork in claims. If you want mild-tasting liver, there's a lot to be said for chicken liver with plenty of parsley, hard-boiled egg, and onion. Also, rabbit liver, if you can find it, is milder-tasting than most.

[@bookjack]

Thanks so much for the recommendations. I didn't know if anyone would actually have a recipe. Also I know the Perfectly Nourished Fetus theory was strange but I tried to bring it back to sci-fi 😅 And I have read City and loved it. Definitely a fixup novel but it seemed to have more cohesion despite the massive jumps in time

[@ionlyemergeafterdark]

I thought that Day of the Triffids was about carnivorous plants, not zombies.

[@bookjack]

Well they are similar 😅

[@jnagarya519]

In the film they are carnivorous plants.

[@isam.2653]

Congrats 🎉🎉🎉

[@helengrover6709]

Try lamb liver,dredged in flour, fried with onions, served with catsup.

[@bookjack]

Lamb liver! Hadn't thought of that thanks

[@SirStuckey]

I like Sturgeon so I'll keep an eye out for that book. Congrats on your upcoming baby

[@bookjack]

Thanks! You might be able to find it in some anthologies

[@nstents7781]

Ocean caught salmon, classical music played a mild bit loud, read up on why Chinese don't use diapers, touch promotes growth of connections. Can't wait for the children's books reviews.

[@bookjack]

Thanks for the feedback and I'll run the no diapers idea by my wife 😅 I like the sentiment

[@captainnolan5062]

It is good to see young readers picking up some of the classic Science Fiction Authors. Have you read Earth Abides, a 1949 American post-apocalyptic science fiction novel, by George R. Stewart? If not, you might want to add it to your TBR. It would fit well in this list.

[@bookjack]

I have not heard of it but it is now on my list. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@captainnolan5062]

@@bookjack You bet!

[@vilstef6988]

Sands of Mars is a relatively early Clarke novel, but it sounds like it has some commonality with his last novels. His last novels were rather lacking in story and drama and were supposed to win you over with the sense of wonder of the solar system grand tour.

[@bookjack]

I got that sense of wonder even 75 years after the book was written which is something to appreciate even if the rest of the book was dull

[@vilstef6988]

One of Clarke's constant talents was invoking the sense of wonder!

[@VMSelvaggio]

Hey Jack! Congratulations on Expecting a child! Hoping for good things for you!

[@bookjack]

Thank you 😊

[@RenkotheLibrarian]

Congratulations!

[@bookjack]

Thank you!

[@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd]

first I've heard of that particular clarke book and haven't read any of the others either though know of the authors but good luck to your wife and you and your diet plans⚛😀

[@bookjack]

Thank you 😊

[@jnagarya519]

Ray Bradbury also wrote short stories that were later combined as novel; see _Martian Chronicles_. Van Vogt's turning short stories into novels was an exciting experiment.

[@bookjack]

I loved The Martian Chronicles and City by Simak. Lots of good fix up novels out there. This one just wasn't for me

[@jnagarya519]

@@bookjack I don't suggest the experiments always worked. But as a beginning writer, it was exciting to see what could be done. Don't give up on Van Vogt.

[@NITEOWLMEDIA2023]

Congratulations on the proverbial "bun in the oven!"

[@bookjack]

Thank you :)

[@LarryKnipfing]

Most of Wyndham's books are great!

[@bookjack]

I've got a few on my shelf. Maybe Midwitch Cuckoos next

[@LarryKnipfing]

@@bookjack Ha ha, that's maybe the only one I was so-so on!

[@memoryhero]

I don't care if this comment is flagged, downvoted, ignored, reacted to in any way or not. Note to KZbinr: ANY title with the word "This" in it, without revealing what "This" specifically refers to, will summarily not be watched. Hurl clickbait into the sun. End of analysis.

[@KevinsDisobedience]

But you clicked and commented, so it worked.

[@bookjack]

I hear what you're saying. I have a click bait tolerance as well but it's higher than yours. Thought I was using it responsibly

[@Kim_Miller]

You think those aliens up there in Childhood's End were sitting there doing nothing? Of course not. They were subtly influencing the diet of pregnant women so that when they took all the kids they would be ready for the new humanity. Congratulations on the baby, enjoy the time of waiting. The perfect diet is just another fiction. Vonnegut's character Kilgore Trout was named after Theodore Sturgeon. He thought having the name of a fish was a bit funny so he turned up the funny dial a bit. And, that reminds me. Eat more fish.

[@bookjack]

Oh that's a fun fact! Thank you I will :)

[@hanniffydinn6019]

The big question is…..are older sci fi books better than modern current day sci fi books? 🤯🤯🤯🤯

[@bookjack]

It's really hard to compare. I think it's fun to read early sci-fi that inspired the new stuff

[@jnagarya519]

Zombies were in film during the 40s at latest.

[@bookjack]

I figured it probably wasn't the first but an early one at least

[@jnagarya519]

@@bookjack There were definitely zombie films during the Bela Lugosi years.

[@PrivateIvan]

Pate!

[@Tetsujin-28]

Health and happiness to you ,your wife and the little one arriving in Dec. Sci Fi in the 40's : extent of the science. The team ( of men) are on a moon base. They argue, constantly. Catholicism is mentioned repeatedly. Everyone smokes. 50's: They are on a Mars base. The men map out a plan. The women make coffee and serve drinks. Their "attributes" are discussed with the men. Everyone smokes. 60's: The men are on a Jupiter base. The women are referred to as "Sweetcheeks", "Honey", "Toots" and "Dollface". The women ask the men , "......if they'd like a cocktail." Everyone smokes. 70's: Traveling on a ship to a base on Pluto. Everyone is having intercourse and participating in orgies. The men try to bring about order. The women's wily ways confound the men. Existentialism is discussed. Love the channel.

[@bookjack]

This is so true but you forgot the alcoholism! 😂

[@eriolduterion8855]

All I have to say about that analysis is: WOW! Did YOU miss a LOT of really good SCIENCE fiction.

[@Tetsujin-28]

@@eriolduterion8855 All I have to say is: WOW!! Totally incorrect Bruh! Dude! LOL.SMH.

[@bobkeane7966]

Heinlein 's Puppet Masters is very much a zombie type story only parasitic.

[@mrmicro22]

Nyet, it is a Cold War paranoid invasion story.

[@thepapertraveler1122]

Congratulations on expecting! Eww liver, maybe if it were the last food left in the world,haha.

[@bookjack]

Have to agree but that iron content though... 😅

[@eriolduterion8855]

@@bookjack There ARE no good recipes for liver. At 75, I've tried quite a few, some of which were claimed to be "you can't tell it from beef steak" - THEY LIED!!!! I finally gave up. IF you need iron, take the vitamins that provide 100% the "daily dose" - your taste buds and stomach will thank you!

[@NITEOWLMEDIA2023]

Check your P.O. Box homie...

[@bookjack]

Thanks again man. Im reading a couple of sci Fi masterpieces right now but want to get into some contemporary stuff soon