BioShock 2 Book club

[KatMann]

This is the list from Jordan Thomas as mentioned in another thread. The purpose of this thread is to help anyone interested in tracking down these works; also it should serve as a place to discuss this literature.

If there is a legal (as far as I can tell) online edition it has been linked to its online source. Other pieces are linked to online book stores that sell the piece; please note that some of these are short stories and can only be found in anthologies so if the titles do not seem to match look a little closer at the contents.

On a personal note while I am linking to booksellers that feature new books I am a proponent of used books and libraries, this is only meant to help people find things it is not a suggestion to buy when you can borrow. Many of these were quite hard to track down be it due to the fact that they were housed in an anthology or because I was so intent on finding online versions, I hope that this eases the burden enough where more of us will read them!!

Go bookworms go!

Fiction

Anthem by Ayn Rand
Amazon
Free eBook

Walden Two by BF Skinner
Amazon.com

Men Like Gods by H.G. Wells
Amazon Link
eBook via Australia

A Modern Utopia by H.G. Wells
Online Book

Eden by Stanislaw Lem
Barnes and Nobel Link
Amazon Link

The Giver by Lois Lowry (Young Adult Utopian Lit!)
Amazon.com link

The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Leguin
Part of the anthology The Wind's Twelve Corners
Amazon link for anthology
Online transcription of The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas

The Machine Stops by EM Forester
Short story transcription online

Non-Fiction (for supernerds):

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, and a host of its intellectual progeny
Amazon Link

The Moral Animal by Robert Wright (as one such example)
Amazon.com link

Being No One by Thomas Metzinger
Amazon link

Essays of John Stuart Mill (just click on the title for online version unless otherwise noted)
Utilitarianism
On Liberty
The Subjection of Women


Essays of Peter Singer
A Darwinian Left
Amazon.com link
The Expanding Circle
Amazon.com link (thanks to Crezth)

Essays of David Pearce (check out abolitionism.com, he’s an ultramodern utilitarian thinker)

[Crezth]

Thanks for this! I'll be sure to check out my local library and acquire some of these books.

EDIT: I notice you have no link for to purchase The Expanding Circle. Ta-da!

Here's some related reading on the subject.

[Dexxy]

Why is Atlas Shrugged missing?

[Clockwork]

I don't know about some of you, but with college books starting to cost me a small fortune I started looking for a legal and free online book source for books in the public domain. There are tons of sites that host books by HG Wells (as they are in the public domain). During this I came across a lovely site of audio books that are recorded by avid reads donating their time to expand the collection.

Librivox is the link to the site.

I found some works of HG Wells there on a quick search around. I figure a lot of people on this forum are starting their first weeks of the semester now and may not have the time to actually READ these books, but if you're doing a lot of traveling back and forth between campus you can just load these onto your MP3 players rather than lugging them all around campus with your text books. Hopefully this site helps any! ;D

[KatMann]

Originally Posted by Crezth

Thanks for this! I'll be sure to check out my local library and acquire some of these books.

EDIT: I notice you have no link for to purchase The Expanding Circle. Ta-da!

Here's some related reading on the subject.

Thanks I am editing it to include more links now...

Originally Posted by Dexxy

Why is Atlas Shrugged missing?

That is recommended reading for the first game. However there is a whole thread right over here the topic of which is the influence of Ayn Rand's novels on BioShock and her novels in general.

[Gameplayer03]

Hey guys. I've never read Any Rand but would like to start. I've read 1984 and Animal Farm and loved both of them.

I was wondering, even though they're not related, I found that reading Animal Farm before 1984 gave me a better perspective on Orwell's writing style as well as his philosophies. I was wondering, should I read Atlas Shrugged or Fountain Head before reading Anthem? Maybe the other way around?

[KatMann]

Originally Posted by Gameplayer03

Hey guys. I've never read Any Rand but would like to start. I've read 1984 and Animal Farm and loved both of them.

I was wondering, even though they're not related, I found that reading Animal Farm before 1984 gave me a better perspective on Orwell's writing style as well as his philosophies. I was wondering, should I read Atlas Shrugged or Fountain Head before reading Anthem? Maybe the other way around?

Anthem is an easier read, about 100 pages to The Fountainhead's 700 pages or Atlas Shrugged's 1300 or so depending on the edition.

You do not need to read any of them in any order, they are all stand alone novels. I was not personally very fond of reading Anthem after reading the others because it is far simpler in comparison; so perhaps it is best to read Anthem first.