Survival Guide

I am currently commuting all over the planet, and this week, I finished How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu. (Cross one off my to read list)! When I was googling to find a link, a lot of reviews turned up. So, I guess we will add another one to the list. Although, I'm not sure I'm very good at doing reviews.

So anywho...living in a sci-fi universe. If I had to sum up this book, I would say "meta". Which is entertaining, because in my field, meta is big, but anyway, back to meta and sci-fi. I think i was expecting a spoof of the sci-fi genre, and if that is what you are looking for, this is not the right book. Although, it does have references to books and authors, like Ursula LeGuin and Star Wars. Everyone wants to be Han Solo. But not nearly as many as I'd expected. Instead, the book seems to use literature and time travel to discuss literature and time travel. Ergo, meta. It's interesting, and I enjoyed it, and it has a unique approach. But in the end, I think the real story is less about time travel and science fiction, and far more about living life to the fullest.

Which makes me wonder. If you strip away all the science fictional aspects of a story, what is really at the heart of it? I think there always has to be something that people can relate to, a very human story that draws us in. (I may have to explore this in a post at some point). But in this book, that story line is somehow more obvious.

I did enjoy the book, even though it wasn't what I expected. (Jacket summaries don't always correlate to the actual book. Have you ever noticed that?) It's not my all time favorite, but I'd pick it up and read it again. And i think next time, I'd definitely read it. It was a fun listen (I did the Book on CD) but I think I want to read it next time. Seeing words helps you focus. Trying not to get run over by semis is a bit distracting. Of course, nothing like a good book to help you recover from almost being run over by a semi!