Favorite Books Alfin Alexandra Golubeva, narrative designer and interpreter of "blood, sweat, and pixels"

Books / by admin / December 19, 2019

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Alfina

Narrative designer Ice-Pick Lodge, translator in "Eksmo" and the gaming industry, screenwriter, comic artists, linguist and nihilists. leads Twitter, Draws the web comic "Mareva world».

1. Do you have a favorite author? What his book you recommend to read?

Favorite writer I do not have - and I, frankly, difficult to imagine how it could be. How to Compare Leo Tolstoy and Tom Stoppard? They are interested in different issues, they causing different eras, surrounded by their different contexts. Even if I really, really try, I will not be able to choose their favorite of the many context - and therefore one favorite writer.

And still favorite authors and favorite books do not always coincide. Me, for example, deeply shocked "false blindness"Peter Watts, but the continuation of this book," echopraxia "pretty mediocre, and indeed Watts does not seem to me a very good writer - he is a good philosopher (and scientist). He says curtly, not very versed in the drama, and, in my opinion, it's just because the stars agreed that "false blindness," he was able to spoil their own brilliant discoveries.

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On the other hand, for example, my heart is very cute Roald Dahl, but his book (except for children and about the strange dead airmen) in general quite smooth, it is difficult to recommend any one: you can just take any collection of short stories (Kiss Kiss, Skin, Someone Like You) - and read anywhere.

Finally, the book sometimes sink into our souls of silly and random reasons. «we"Zamyatin's not the best and not the most important works of Russian literature, but his hysterical, choked intonation fourteen so accurately hit in my teenage worldview that some quotations from there I still squeezes throat. Does this mean that I unreservedly recommend it to any one? Not.

And all I have, all my sufferings, all that I am, exhausted, with his last strength, brought here as a feat - these are just ridiculous as the old anecdote about Abraham and Isaac. Abraham - in a cold sweat - have swung the knife over his son - over them - suddenly a voice from above: "It is not worth it! I was joking…"
Alfin favorite quote from the novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin's "We"

By the way, if you add to this list of Nabokov (eg "Invitation to a Beheading") And Umberto Eco ("name of the rose"), It turns out that in his lengthy answer to this simple question, I was able to weave more or less all of their favorite authors.

2. And what shocked "False blindness"? If no spoilers

Climactic chapters of this book - it is, in fact, popular science essays about the structure of the human mind. Sounds boring (half fiction books can be provided with a summary), but Watts looks at the problem from the angle with which I had never encountered.

Next - no spoilers of the plot of the book (about him not a word), but its main ideas.

Generations and generations of scientists, philosophers and thinkers as Watts says, wondering what consciousness; and it would be necessary to ask why it is needed. After all, the brain - and not just its high-level processes, ie, mind - the body takes a bunch of resources. But what evolutionary advantage it gives? Why the body mind if his reptilian brain, which operates reflexes, faster and more efficiently? Centipede is worth thinking about how to walk, she immediately loses this ability.

And what if our "I" - is just a passenger-parasite stuck to the real organism, devoid of self-awareness, but not less than the present? And it's not about some kind of "I" fictional character fictional world with fantasy. Speech on the device of your real thinking, dear reader. Dear conceited subprocess who imagined himself the most important in a complex operating system, where there is still a heap only.

I think this idea - set forth in Watts, of course, is much more expressive and - struck me so strongly because, I have a no natural scientific horizons, so that the facts on which it relies, I outlined familiar. I think, like many of his readers. But to me, damn it never occurred to me to lay down on these facts it is so designed that way and to understand them! Therefore, the main idea of the book worked for me as a good raft-twist.

As you know, the best raft-twist - these are, the solution of which from the beginning has been on your mind. A brilliant - such that more and relate to you personally.

Well, that is it is as if a detective suddenly read "Look" and I looked back and saw the butler would murderer behind him - in the real world.

3. With a book from childhood you have associated with the most fond memories?

"The Adventures of Karik and Valya in the country of dense grass." If you have not read - there are students accidentally become tiny and went on a tour of the microworld. I also just wanted to fly on a satanic dragon-fly, to get into the underwater dome spider silverfish (Almost choking it - history is not worse than the adventures of Captain Nemo) and that one cell was like honey barrel.

Generally speaking, I'm still very fond of books in the genre quest - when there is a certain complex to heroes (Even a purely engineering) problem, there described what they have the tools, and that they solve their problem. As in the beginning "Eden"Lem, say.

4. Which book is the most inspired you to some action?

Books by Louis Bussenar, Mayne Reid and other adventurers Romanticism at one time inspired me to put him to death many, many mugs.

5. Was the book from which you could not break away until you have read to the end?

«Cancer Ward"Solzhenitsyn. On the one hand, there is not that much going on - and on the other, the characters too, so a bit It left in life that every moment, every detail, glare of the sun, or turning the head completely priceless. And it is extremely important to find out whether more anything in life.

I have this book in the form of small volumes of paper - I finished reading it on the go (yes, I walked down the street with a paper book, and tried in what does not crash) because the subway was not in time.

6. What book be sure to read each person and why?

The constitution of the country where he lives. Although practical, of course, criminal and administrative codes. I'm not kidding - you know, ignorance of the law and so on.

7. Which book has been helpful to you professionally? Why?

The answer is a little predictable "Blood, sweat and pixels"Jason Schreier. Firstly, I was lucky enough to be her pereperevodchikom - I suspect that because of this story dear Layfhaker invited me. As you can see, it is pretty useful!

But, of course, it's not just that. I'm myself working in the gaming industry - and sometimes we have it all upside down. And I was very edifying is therapeutic and read a book, for which in the end you realize that the game is developing normally.

Yes, all hell. Yes, all the trash. Even the most experienced and renowned authors recycle, take bad decisions, they go on a rake and get trapped. But that does not stop the games go remarkable, and the industry - to blossom. A pair of rake this book will even help to get around.

8. What of the last read fiction books do you remember? Than?

«city permutations"Greg Egan. Alas, to explain in detail what it is good, will not work without spoilers, but I'll try it this way: one of the themes of this book - the exponential growth. Power, ambition and scale of events is not easy to grow - they grow exponentially exactly that, ie faster and faster with every step.

And about the same changes our understanding of what and why is this book: the first about three-quarters think one thing and then - the other, with the closer to the finale, the more more. And it creates a pretty kryshesnosny effect, because even in his more measured part is fairly highbrow fiction.

However, as we have here is fashionable today call "tough" NF enough in fiction, let's say in the appendage that "The white Guard"Bulgakov, one of the most poetic endings that generally come across in my books.

9. What do you prefer: paper, electronic, audio books? Why?

I mostly listen to audiobooks - for example, run under them (after all, if you go with a paper book can still be, that is already running is not exactly). Symbiosis turns downright ancient Greek harmonious spirit busy high literature, the body - physical exercise. In this book it distracts from fatigue.

By the way, I found that it works the other way: the book that I listen to while running, I better remembered and leave in the soul of a bright mark, than, say, the ones that I listened to the subway. I guess it is for purely somatic causes: running away, the blood rushes to the brain, neural activity furychat. In general, the ancient Greeks knew a lot about life.

10. Do you make a note if quotes are preserved, whether write reviews?

Recently he got himself on account Goodreads. To write reviews I feel very good practice.

We all do not forget that reading - is all taki consumption. According to the book consumption and large, is not that somehow fundamentally different from the consumption pie.

And then, and more can be useful in varying degrees, to different degrees and pleasant to varying degrees, to saturate our needs - and neither one nor the other is an interesting act itself. It's just Jordania. And so, in order not to turn into a man who only eats and burps, I have got myself usually write reviews on anything that has used (ie, games and books - a movie I'm watching too rare).

Of course, the ordinary consumer review - this is not much of a feat, but at least he makes me slow down, digest and comprehend upotreblonnoe. And sometimes even think twice if I wanted to read the book H. Will I then on it is something intelligible to write? If not, not whether it is a symptom of the fact that it is not so, I wonder?

In general, yes - writing reviews and all advise. Just for the discipline of his own mind.