From the Bookshelf of Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)…

1984

George Orwell

Start date: April 1, 2025

Finish date: April 30, 2025

Discussion: New School Classics- 1915-2005

Why we're reading this: New School Read - April 2025

Previous Group Reads:
- Contemporary Classic, July 2013
- Revisit the Shelf Gro…more
[close] New School Read - April 2025

Previous Group Reads:
- Contemporary Classic, July 2013
- Revisit the Shelf Group Read, June 2014
- Revisit the Shelf Group Read, November 2015

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 398 topics — 15,990 comments total

New School Classics- 1915-2005

Farewell, My Lovely - Spoilers
By Sara , New School Classics · 20 posts · 52 views

last updated 11 hours, 50 min ago

The Stepford Wives - Spoilers
By Lynn , Old School Classics · 17 posts · 49 views

last updated Oct 25, 2025 07:41PM

showing 10 of 80 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Feb 22, 2010 Nadine in NY Jones rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopian-and-post-apocalyptic, 1001-books, re-read, classic

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

I first read this when I was young (what we call a "tween" nowadays) back when the year 1984 was still in the future. I found it to be a powerful book even then. Reading it now, as an adult, in 2017, is quite jarring. Things that once seemed vaguely humorous because they were preposterous have come true.

My adolescent self found this to be a dismal and mysterious book. What I remembered best are the obvious things, the s ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 04, 2008 Suvi rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, _great-britain, 1940-1969, sci-fi, _david-bowies-favorites

During the first half I was interested and then it kind of flopped. The person who wrote the introduction in my edition mentioned that the narrative lacks development, the dialogue is sometimes weak, and most of the people are two-dimensional, existing only to explain a political point. Funny, because those things explain why I didn't like it as much as I would've wanted. Interesting and groundbreaking ideas don't yet make a good novel. Orwell's was more like a ham-fisted effort to shout politic ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 26, 2025 Haze rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, 2025-books-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I've seen so many real world references to this book and the ideas in the book, of course, but interestingly, not many references about the characters themselves and what they do. It's crazy that this was written so many years ago and still relevant now. It's a scary world to live in and an extreme one. I would've never believed it could become a reality but a lot have happened that I never believed would.

I think it makes sense that the ideas and not the characters are the big players in this ...more

Like · see review

May 23, 2014 Sandy rated it really liked it

I think I read this in high school but definitely was in need of a re-read since did not remember much. Was surprised at how readable and interesting this book was, yet ultimately incredibly sad. The version of the book I read had a preamble written by Thomas Pynchon which I found to be really helpfully when reading the book. It explained who some of the characters were based upon.

Like · see review

Aug 27, 2023 Rachel rated it really liked it

audio

Like · see review

May 25, 2010 claire rated it really liked it

brilliant. thoroughly grateful for my time overseas & meeting intellectual types that spur broader reading & thinking. nathan from kanses & pavlovs dog!

Like · see review