Isaac Asimov Birthday

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Jul 27, 2008
19,425
3,400
Stirlingshire, Scotland
#1
Likes: Tonyblack

RathDarkblade

Moderator
City Watch
Mar 24, 2015
16,002
3,400
47
Melbourne, Victoria
#2
Happy birthday, Dr Asimov! :)

I own quite a few of Asimov's mysteries and love 'em to bits. (Short-story collections, like the Black Widowers, the Union Club Mysteries, and Azazel. Highly recommended. :) Don't have the sci-fi novels, though -- I'm just not into sci-fi).
 

=Tamar

Lieutenant
May 20, 2012
11,961
2,900
#3
Azazel counts as SF, since there is no commonly accepted way to distinguish between F and SF.

Somewhere around here I have two books, simply titled "The Brain", both by Isaac Asimov.
They are both about the human brain. The contents are entirely different.
 

RathDarkblade

Moderator
City Watch
Mar 24, 2015
16,002
3,400
47
Melbourne, Victoria
#4
Hmm. Is one of them a children's book about how the brain works? ;) I think I remember reading, as a kid, Asimov's guide to quasars, pulsars and black holes. IIRC, he wrote lots of these little guides.
 

=Tamar

Lieutenant
May 20, 2012
11,961
2,900
#5
Nope. Both are standard old-style paperbacks aimed at adults who want to fill some times reading something moderately scientific about the human brain. They weren't even published many years apart, though one is a bit newer, and they are not parts 1 and 2 either.
 

raisindot

Sergeant-at-Arms
Oct 1, 2009
5,126
2,450
Boston, MA USA
#6
Asimov's great SF books (the original Foundation series and The Gods Themselves in particular) while a bit old-fashioned, still hold up as classics of the genre. And Nightfall may still be the best SF short story ever written.

But Asimov denigrated his reputation over time by valuing quantity over quantity. He wanted to have as many books published as possible and ended counting many where he served as editor rather than writer. And many of his non-science books (Asimov's guides to Shakespeare and the Bible in particular) demonstrate his lack of knowledge outside of science.

One cool Asimov note. For many years he and his first wife Gertrude lived in the town I grew up in (Newton, Mass, USA) while he was still making his main living as a professor at Boston University. He moved out after he divorced Gertrude to marry a trophy wife. But she still lived in Newton until she died.
 

RathDarkblade

Moderator
City Watch
Mar 24, 2015
16,002
3,400
47
Melbourne, Victoria
#7
Hmm. Isn't it a writer's job to write as many books as possible, though (so he can make more money) -- while, of course, not letting the writing quality deteriorate? After all, most writers don't get paid very much from writing, and never become millionaires like Pterry, Rowling, or (say) Stephen King. So the more you write, the better your prospects. ;)

I haven't read Shakespeare's guides to Shakespeare or the Bible, but I did read his guide to Gulliver's Travels, which was interesting.
 

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