Audiobook4 hours
Luke Skywalker Can't Read: And Other Geeky Truths
Written by Ryan Britt
Narrated by Eric Michael Summerer
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Essayist Ryan Britt got a sex education from dirty pictures of dinosaurs, made out with Jar Jar Binks at midnight, and figured out how to kick depression with a Doctor Who Netflix binge. Alternating between personal anecdote, hilarious insight, and smart analysis, Luke Skywalker Can't Read contends that Barbarella is good for you, that monster movies are just romantic comedies with commitment issues, that Dracula and Sherlock Holmes are total hipsters, and, most shockingly, shows how virtually everyone in the Star Wars universe is functionally illiterate.
Romp through time and space, from the circus sideshows of 100 years ago to the Comic Cons of today, from darkest corners of the galaxy to the comfort of your couch. For anyone who pretended their flashlight was a lightsaber, stood in line for a movie at midnight, or dreamed that they were abducted by aliens, Luke Skywalker Can't Read is full of answers to questions you haven't thought to ask.
Romp through time and space, from the circus sideshows of 100 years ago to the Comic Cons of today, from darkest corners of the galaxy to the comfort of your couch. For anyone who pretended their flashlight was a lightsaber, stood in line for a movie at midnight, or dreamed that they were abducted by aliens, Luke Skywalker Can't Read is full of answers to questions you haven't thought to ask.
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Reviews for Luke Skywalker Can't Read
Rating: 3.6764704823529413 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
34 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Author Ryan Britt is a blogger and blog contributor; most of these essays were originally posted online at various science fiction sites. The title essay – the fourth in the book – comments on the apparent lack of literacy in the Star Wars universe – there’s no sign of books, or even newspapers; the entire extent of the written word is labels on controls (and, as Britt points out, those could be icons). The Star Trek universe is slightly more literate – Spock gives Kirk a copy of A Tale of Two Cities as a birthday present; there’s one episode featuring a company of Shakespearean actors; and characters frequently quote Milton, Shakespeare, Melville and Dickens (and even fictional future authors). Bilbo is writing a book in The Lord of the Rings, but there’s no indication he’s ever read one – his hobbit hole as portrayed in the movie doesn’t seem to have a library. (Of course it doesn’t seem to have indoor plumbing, either). Gandalf has to read some books on Ring lore, but they’re in a dusty archive that nobody has visited in years. There aren’t any books in Narnia. Harry Potter has some books, but they’re textbooks, and only Hermione actually seems to like reading (there is a newspaper, though).
Britt argues that the lack of reading material in Star Wars contributes to the dystopian state of the galaxy. Nobody reads anymore, so it’s easy for Palpatine to manipulate public opinion (Britt wrote this easy before the popularity of Facebook; I can easily buy Palpatine getting everybody to believe in him by pseudo-inspirational poster memes).
To be fair, though, conventional literature doesn’t have a lot of reading in it either. Off the top of my head the only literary characters I can think of who read books are Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey (trashy gothic novels) and Tom Sawyer in Huckleberry Finn (apparently the complete works of Alexander Dumas; at the very least The Man in the Iron Mask). (Gatsby, of course, famously has an extensive library of uncut books). So maybe the fantasy and fiction universes aren’t as literature depauperate as they look.
Britt’s other essays include one on Barbarella, dismissed as soft-core porn by “serious” science fiction critics. Britt, however, notes that when he saw it at age ten or thereabouts it was the first time he saw a movie where a woman was “in charge” (the focal point character) and therefore was sort of a consciousness-raiser. Another essay makes an interesting point; The Lord of the Rings really established all modern fantasy and a lot of science fiction – the sacrifice of Gandalf in Moria prefigures Obi-Wan (who is even called an “old wizard”) on the Death Star, Spock in the Enterprise engine room, and Dumbledore in the Astronomy Tower (and they all manage to come back somehow).
A quick read – maybe an hour. Entertaining. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A delightful collection of smart, geeky, and funny essays on various sci fi and fantasy movies, shows, and books. Filled with humour and some particularly intriguing insights (the title essay is a really lovely exploration of the importance of literacy), these essays are a pure joy to read. It does help that almost all of the shows/films/books that Britt discusses are also favourites of mine. While I didn't always agree with all of Britt's arguments, they're fascinating to read. A quick read and worth picking up if you've ever called yourself a nerd or geek. Also note that the glossary is a very funny coda to the book and worth taking a couple extra minutes to read at the end.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rating: 3.5* of fiveThe Publisher Says: “Ryan Britt is . . . the Virgil you want to guide you through the inferno of geekery.” —Lev Grossman, author of the bestselling Magician's trilogy Pop Culture and sci-fi guru Ryan Britt has never met a monster, alien, wizard, or superhero that didn’t need further analysis.Essayist Ryan Britt got a sex education from dirty pictures of dinosaurs, made out with Jar-Jar Binks at midnight, and figured out how to kick depression with a Doctor Who Netflix-binge. Alternating between personal anecdote, hilarious insight, and smart analysis, Luke Skywalker Can’t Read contends that Barbarella is good for you, that monster movies are just romantic comedies with commitment issues, that Dracula and Sherlock Holmes are total hipsters, and, most shockingly, shows how virtually everyone in the Star Wars universe is functionally illiterate. Romp through time and space, from the circus sideshows of 100 years ago to the Comic Cons of today, from darkest corners of the Galaxy to the comfort of your couch. For anyone who pretended their flashlight was a lightsaber, stood in line for a movie at midnight, or dreamed they were abducted by aliens, Luke Skywalker Can't Read is full of answers to questions you haven't thought to ask, and perfect for readers of Chuck Klosterman, Rob Sheffield, and Ernest Cline.My Review: Well, that was fun. I live in a place where I am both the youngest and toothiest resident, so you can imagine what a pleasure it was to have someone to geek out with, even if his side of the conversation is on dead tree remains and my side (often shouted) scared the Wink Martindale out of the older and less dentally endowed residents.Points where I agreed with Mr. Britt outnumbered the annoying points where he was so clearly *wrong* that my blood pressure spiked to most unsafe levels. On the sternly delivered advice of a medical professional, I will limit myself to mentioning the merest and mildest of these latter: STOP WITH THE FOOTNOTES ALREADY! WHEN YOU HAVE TO USE THE DOUBLE DAGGER AND THE BOOK IS NOT A LAW BOOK, YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR!!! *ahem* For the typographically challenged, look on p128 in the Doctor Who essay at the third footnote. Seriously now, Mr. Britt, The Mezzanine was published by Nicholson Baker in 1988. That was the last time heavily footnoted light reading was fun. Oh well, I'm already purple, might as well: Back to the Future?! What the hell?! There are people with such, such, polite words fail me, bland tastes that they're fans of these extremely boring cinematic nap-fests? Assuming you're now nodding, Mr. Britt, brings me to the question, "SO WHAT?? Why waste 15pp on such, such, polite words fail me again, white-bread mouth-breathers' silly addiction?"*ahem* So, with my ranting, I've proven the market for this book exists and is most broad indeed, if it includes my superannuated self. And as mentioned above, I mostly liked and agreed with his essays, especially "I Know It's Only Science Fiction, but I Like It." The mixed pleasure and pain of an adult idol making time for a personal private conversation...and then whipping out a life-lesson...is unforgettable. That's a lesson that will stick.Essays on Dracula-as-hipster, a metric fuck-ton of Star Wars chatter, not one single word about Firefly because he straight up admits (in one of those pernicious footnotes) that he doesn't like Firefly, encomia of a weird sort piled on the already overpowering piles of plaudits about Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek and Tolkien and comic-book superheroes...it's dizzying how many oars this one, uncloned man has in the waters of geekdom. (I'm certain he's not cloned because if he was the street cred it would give him would necessitate discussing it.) That he makes a living while wending his way through the thickets of prickly fandoms is amazing to me. I'm thrilled and delighted that it's possible to be an essayist whose topic is the entertainments of the hoi polloi. Way too much derivative, repetitive thinking, writing, and publishing has taken place on ever-smaller slices of Highbrow Kultur, and I cheer and clap for all the intelligent analysis finally being applied and celebrated these past two or so decades.With any kind of justice, Professor Britt's class on the Skywalker clan and its deeper meanings will outpace the registration numbers of Philosophy 201: The Stoics five-to-one. Now all we need to do is get him that university job so he can publish while the moldy oldies perish.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A collection of essays about things sci-fi-ery and pop-culturey. Entertaining, funny, and sometimes insightful. The title essay is particularly good on Star Wars (but makes some odd claims about readership within the world of Star Trek that I don't think hold up to scrutiny--and which the author seems to contradict himself in another essay in the collection). My other favorites were "The Sounds of Science Fiction" about sci-fi soundtracks and "All You McFlys" about Back to the Future. Recommended if the subject matter flys your starship.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Entertaining, well-written, and great for any fanboy or girl. The author is downright funny (even if I do disagree with him about Firefly) and this book is far better than others I have read in this genre. Recommended for fans who love to discuss all things Sci-Fi!Penguin First to Read Galley