2001: A Space Odyssey

Hmm. I'm not sure what to think about this one. I probably did it a disservice using this book as my “read while falling asleep if I go to bed before my wife” book. That means it was read occasionally, in small pieces, sometimes while struggling to keep my eyes open, until I finished it one day while waiting to apply for a passport and reading the final 80 pages or so.

I've probably seen the movie, but don't remember much about it except the iconic scenes. I do want to have the voice of HAL for a GPS and for my voice mail. Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the book for me was the Forward to the Millennial Edition. That was pretty riveting.

As for the book itself, although I only rated it three stars, it will likely go up over time. I appreciate the seminal nature of the book, the unique process by which it came to be, and the impact on society. I feel I missed a lot by not giving it the attention I think it needs, because I missed a lot. I am, however, now spending a lot of time watching reviews, videos on the difference between the book and the movie, and generally picking up many of the things I missed. I'll definitely be rereading it.

Knowing the great swaths of information that was left out of the movie I have little desire to try to see it again as a way to understand the book better, but I am interested in watching it for its artistic merit and the amount of controversy it spawns from people who “just don't get it.”

I don't think Arthur C. Clarke is just destined to disappoint me. I did quite enjoy Rendezvous with Rama, and I do look forward to reading Childhood's End, but I don't have a driving desire to read more of the Rama series or the Space Odyssey series. Am I missing out? Am I not “getting” Clarke and his writing? Perhaps I need to focus more on the ideas than the execution. In the meantime, when I put a book down and I'm spending my time thinking about it instead of running to grab the next one, then there is definitely something to be said for the book. Perhaps that reread will be sooner rather than later.