Which books would you put in a time capsule?

[kenikki]

If there was to be a time capsule, to be opened in hundreds of years from today, which books do you think should go in it?

The obvious choice I feel would be 1984 by Orwell to see if the world has become much more like what he had predicted.
Bonfire of the Vanities not an obvious one but a look at 80s consumerism and greed.
Dictionary to see if language has developed.
The Bible, just in case things change...

[Lote-Tree]

The obvious choice I feel would be 1984 by Orwell to see if the world has become much more like what he had predicted.


I thought it had already come and gone with the passing of soviet union.

[kenikki]

I thought it had already come and gone with the passing of soviet union.

Yeah I know that but I am talking more about the overall 'nanny state' government which is becoming more and more evident in the UK today. The more sinister control in the western world.

For example, in London we have scanning electronic travel cards which all carry a 'rice grain' sized chip which knows of every single journey we take on that card especially since you have to register your name and address on it too. I find that incredibly dark and suspicious but that's our London Mayor for you.
Google knowing of all the sites you have searched
We are becoming watched more and more in this world especially wiht the advance of technology which is really to blame.

[Lote-Tree]

For example, in London we have scanning electronic travel cards which all carry a 'rice grain' sized chip which knows of every single journey we take on that card especially since you have to register your name and address on it too. I find that incredibly dark and suspicious but that's our London Mayor for you.


If you have nothing to hide what is the problem?



Google knowing of all the sites you have searched
We are becoming watched more and more in this world especially wiht the advance of technology which is really to blame.

If you have nothing to hide then again what is the problem?

[kenikki]

but what if you did? There are a lot of things that can be turned against you and used to screw you over just something as simple as a journey or a website search. As much as I hate to admit it, but this is a corrupt world and people do have things to hide but it doesnt mean there has to be a 24hour watch over them, it is just basic human rights to have some sort of freedom and privacy.

[Lote-Tree]

but what if you did?


Then we must know what you hiding don't we? or else we will have another july again?



As much as I hate to admit it, but this is a corrupt world and people do have things to hide but it doesnt mean there has to be a 24hour watch over them, it is just basic human rights to have some sort of freedom and privacy.

But Freedom should be with Responsibility?

[andave_ya]

The Bible for one, because of the way it's being jeered at...:(

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy because only bookworms like us read it. Everyone else sees the movies.

Oh, and finally, Sherlock Holmes. He's way too rare as it is nowadays.

Who knows though, in hundreds of years these'll probably be all on the computer.

[NickAdams]

The books I'm writing!:D

[_JadeRain_]

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I will never allow these books to be lost to humanity.

[PeterL]

I certainly agree with Nick, but the books to put into a time capsule would depend on how long the capsule would be sealed. A 50 or 100 year time capsule could have anything, because there isn't much probability that any literature would be lost over that span. So I will assume that the time capsule would be sealed for 1500 years; in the last 1500 years a huge amount of literature has been lost, and the same may be true for the next 1500 years. I will also assume that for some strange reason we want people of the future to know about our culture, and I, personally, would want them to have a good read. I think that the works of H. P. Lovecraft, George MacDonald Fraser, Poul Anderson, Dashiell Hammett, Umberto Eco, Mark Twain, Booth Tarkington, and a few others would work well, if it was clear that they were works of fiction. I wouldn't include any poetry, but a few years of the Wall Street Journal might be good.

[NickAdams]

I certainly agree with Nick ...


You would put my books into the capsule. Thanks. :lol:


I think that the works of H. P. Lovecraft, George MacDonald Fraser, Poul Anderson, Dashiell Hammett, Umberto Eco, Mark Twain, Booth Tarkington.

Imagine: They open the capsule hoping to get a glimpse of our culture and read Lovecraft as non-fiction.:alien:

[PeterL]

You would put my books into the capsule. Thanks. :lol:

Actually, I was referring to "books that I wrote". Books that you wrote migh also b worth putting awa,but I don't knw.


Imagine: They open the capsule hoping to get a glimpse of our culture and read Lovecraft as non-fiction.:alien:

Things as strange have happened, consider the bible.

[NickAdams]

Things as strange have happened, consider the bible.



Shh ... don't tell anybody. ;)

[bazarov]

I thought it had already come and gone with the passing of soviet union.

It's better to compare it with todays western politic then comparing it with Soviet Union.

[tudwell]

Underworld by Don DeLillo, for sure. It really encompasses life in post-war America. Anything by Faulkner. Obviously all the masterpieces I have stored on my hard drive that seem to be the target of some worldwide conspiracy and so have not been published. Samuel Beckett's Trilogy, too. Can't forget that.

[BroadwayBaby]

Gone with the Wind
To Kill a Mockingbird
Pride and Prejudice