Hm, this sounds interesting. But then, I tend to be very sceptical towards too much theorising on this subject (love).
I still think the best way to talk about love is in stories (or other forms of art such as music, paintings or films), and this reminds me that Ray has been writing a whole bunch of amazing stories dealing with this subject and all its shades and facets! Two of my favourites are "The Cistern" and "So Died Riabouchinska".

hey i just read something wicked this way comes, and i have a question about it...

I just finished THE STARCHILD TRILOGY by Jack Williamson and Fred Pohl.

I just started THE PURPLE CLOUD by M.P. Sheil. It's pretty much the proto-type "Last Man" story. Written after Mary Shelley's THE LAST MAN and a similarly titled novel by H.G. Wells, but still it was this novel which defined this sub-genre for decades.

My next books will be more of the "Last Man" variety. They will be EARTH ABIDES by George R. Stewart and CHILDHOOD'S END by Arthur C. Clarke.

I'm also reading ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card to my children at bedtime.

I always like biographies. So I am running thru Oscar Levant's biography. (Come to think of it I believe it's auto-biographical.) I've a Peter Fonda one. And a half dozen others. Fascinating stuff.

Also, a dear friend of mine that I've known from my years in Los Angeles has finally finished his first book. So that'll be on my list to read when it comes in the mail later this week, as he has said that it was on its way for sure. That one is:
'''Leonardo's Chair''', published just this month. It's about a family who aquires Leonardo DiVinci's own chair, and finds it conveys creative powers to people who own it. (Hmm!)

I like bios too.

One of the best I ever read was, surprisingly, an Earvin "Magic" Johnson autobiograghy. It was written early in his career, so you see more of "Earvin" than you do of "Magic". He still had an 'ah shucks' outlook on life and didn't yet think of himself as a superstar. He was actually in awe of the other superstars and I think he didn't see himself as being worthy of being their peer or even being in the same building with them. He was so innocent. It's funny how we see ourselves.

Grasstains: please let us know what you think of Earth Abides. IMHO it's the true classic treatment of what happens after civilization collapses. An old,old favorite of mine.

EARTH ABIDES may now reside at the top of my favorites list. The book had no weakness, no downfalls, there's absolutely nothing I can critisize about it.

I just finished Heinlein's THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS (1966). Great story about The Lunar Penal Colony Revolt of 2076. They take over and intend to claim sovereignity but hungry, overpopulated Earth is reliant upon the "Loonies'" hydroponically grown grains. Earth sends ships to squelch the insolent Loonies. Instead of catapulting grain Earthside, the Loonies throw rocks at their adversaries. BOOM!!!

Heinlein explains in depth how the terror cell organization works and even offers ways to improve upon the setup. He also has the U.S. using interceptor missiles, which prove to be about 30% effective and more often than not end up creating more fatalaties than the incoming boulders alone would have. Sound familiar?

The other nite I read ZERO HOUR to the kids (10-12). They didn't like the ending, peekaboo.

I'm reading CITY by Clifford Simak right now. After mankind leaves the Earth, dogs become the dominant species. Where did man go?

Next will be Arthur C. Clarke's CHILDHOOD'S END followed by about 7 Heinlein books.

Currently: RB units - Martian Chronicles, Illustrated Man, with F451 to follow; Childhood's End (Clarke, pretty good, gs!), Death of a Salesman (Miller), Time Machine (Wells), Flowers for Algernon (Keyes), Enemy Within (Salvage); and just finished WS units - Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet; Frankenstein (Shelley) and Jekyl and Hyde (Stevenson)!

Waiting to start Lonesome Dove (McMurtrey)and Pursuit of Excellence (Zeigler).

And to the boys at night: Toby Tyler, 20,000 Leagues, and just finished Robin Hood. (How about you, grasstain?)

Ahh, "Time Enough at Last"...

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This has always been one of my favorite topics, so I'm glad to see it has been revived. I am currently (and happily) rereading Martian Chronicles, because I am teaching it to one of my seventh grade lit classes. So far, they seem to be enjoying it. One boy in particular, who has been pretty quiet all year, is on fire with this book. He had his hand up to participate about twenty times today. I think I've hooked another one!! I am also reading Magic by the Lake, a bit of light reading for my student book club. At home I am reading another Anne Perry mystery called The Twisted Root. For those of you who like Victorian mysteries, try hers. She has two different series of those, and has recently started a World War I mystery series. I've read about 15 of her books and just love every one of them.

I loved the book "Earth Abides". (I believe the title comes from a biblical book that is the topic in another thread that is active now.

"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever." Ecclesiastes 1:4

Another end-of-civilization story I loved was "Lucifer's Hammer". I think, by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven.

Currently reading (in addition to the reading I'm doing for my philosophy classes):

ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY: A NEW HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY. Vol. 1. Anthony Kenny. Oxford UP

THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. Douglas Adams. (My daughter has read them all and she insists I read this before the movie comes out.)

THE SWALLOWS OF KABUL. Yasmina Khadra. Fascinating novel of life in Kabul under the Taliban. Some passages (on the wife's feelings toward the Burka, an eyewitness account of the stoning of an adultrous woman, etc.) are riviting, moving and eye-opening.

CONVERSATIONS WITH RAY BRADBURY. Steven Aggelis. I had to set it aside for awhile, but am back at it.

THE BRADBURY CHRONICLES; PREDICTING THE PAST, REMEMBERING THE FUTURE. THE LIFE OF RAY BRADBURY. Sam Weller. So far, very, very good.

It looks like I will be reading the want ads soon, as rumors of layoffs for me and others in my small company seem increasingly credible and imminent. Wish me luck. The last layoff was a bit painful, financially.

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Mr. Dark,
If you haven't yet read "The Hitch-hiker's Guide", I highly recommend the audio version that was originally broadcast on BBC beginning in March 1978 by The Mind's Eye. Great characters, sound effects, music, etc. You'll love Marvin the morose robot!

Mr. Dark, how do you find "Conversations?"
I have been reading "RB: Life of Fiction" which is tremendously detailed. I haven't heard much about the Aggelis work, however.
(Worth a bid, for "signed" on ebay?)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: fjp451,

I just started the Brabdury Chronicles last evening by you know who. But have been reading this week "Turbulence" by John J. Nance about aviation in general and a thriller about a plane load of people who are mad and rioting against the pilot.

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I really, really enjoy "Conversations". It is simply a collection of interviews with Bradbury over the years. There are a lot of insights into his views on just about everything -- and Ray has a lot of opinions (which is what we love about him!). It's something like 21 interviews over a long period of time by different interviewers in different contexts. Also I thought the introduction was good.

I highly recommend it.

Looks like this was post 2005 -- the year of our lives.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mr. Dark,

This might be a good place and opportunity to remind people that Aggelis' Conversations with Ray Bradbury is the book version of his PhD thesis, which is available in PDF format.

If anyone would like a copy of the PDF, let me know and I can email it to you. The file is quite large (1.34MB).