Sophie's World

[IronParrot]

Anyone else read this? I've read the English translation, and I absolutely loved it. Not only is it a magnificent reality-vs-fantasy tale, but I also use it as my philosophy textbook now. It did for philosophy what A Brief History of Time did to physics - summarized it for the masses.

[jedi master princess]

i started this a while back but had to put it on hold cuz i had too much school. the bit i read was really good though....i want to get back to it after i finish the source by michener....

[andustar]

i love that book!!!!!!!!!

[juntel]

I've heard very good comments about it from friends, but didn't read it myself.

There's a CD-Rom interactive version out there also...

[Imladris]

I've heard very good comments about it from friends, but didn't read it myself.

[elf_princess]

I have never read it or even heard of it... but thanks because now I'll have to look into it... I'll let you know if I read it!

[sun-star]

I thought it was a great book, a good summary of useful philosophical ideas, and a pretty good translation too.

[elendili]

I started to read got half way through then gave up it was so dull! It had too many long names in it all sounding like somethingese I might try it again though considering you lot enjoyed it. But its either Sophies World or the Silmarilllion and I think I'll read the latter it will be much more interesting.

[cee2lee2]

I'm glad I looked into this thread....I kept misreading the title as Sophie's Choice.


I've never heard of this book, but if it's so highly thought of, I may need to check it out.

[Garina]

I really enjoyed it. It really made me think, and the ending was...
unexpected!!!:D

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

I love that book! I read it many years ago, though. Must read again! :)

[Carafin]

my mom told me to read this book, said it was "educational" read boring. but I read it and was pleasantly surprised.(although I had to read it a second time to really get any of the philsopy stuff.:D I could probably read it again and still not get everything from it it is such a good book- oops! sorry I'm rambling:) )

[IronParrot]

Anyone here read it in the original Norwegian?

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to. . .:eek:

[Willow Oran]

I love Sophie's World! It really does give a detailed and understandable summary of the history of philosophy. It does take a while to get through, there's so much information in it to get through.

[webwizard333]

I just finished it (the English translation), and thought it was superb. I found it to really present the philosophers and their beliefs in an interesting way. I also thought the story was extremely creative. Has anyone read the companion to it, it's The Solitaire Mystery ? It's another philosphical book like Sophie's World . I'm just starting it now.

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

I think I've heard of that one...is it good?

[IronParrot]

Originally posted by webwizard333
Has anyone read the companion to it, it's The Solitaire Mystery ?
By whom?

[webwizard333]

It's by the same author, Jostein Gaarder. I've finished it, and although I prefer Sophie's World over it, it was still a good book in its own right. There's some very clever plot lines in it, but it's not any sort of philosphical text book. I believe that they are the only two books of his translated into English.

[sun-star]

He has at least one more that I know of, the Christmas Mystery, but that's more for children. It's about an advent calender with a story inside where a little girl travels to Bethlehem. It leads all the way up to Christmas, and I used to love it!

[eoriell]

i haven't read sophies world but i've read "solitaire mystery" (i liked it, one of my fave books), "christmas mystery" and "through the glass darkly". i'm currently reading "maya". also by the same author.

i like them, though, they are, i think written for young readers. but older people get to enjoy reading the books too.

but i heard, "sophie's world" is so far the best among his works.

[osszie]

it is, by a long way

if you've read it, i'd suggest a re-read, you'll be amazed at what you've missed;)

[Laurus Nobilis]

I loved Sophie's World! It can be boring if you're not really into philosophy, but I for one enjoyed it very much.

My favourite among Gaarder's books, though, is The Solitaire Mystery. Gotta love all the solitaire and joker analogies. :D And it was one of the most original things I've ever read.

Other books from him are The Christmas Mystery; a story about a boy who meets an alien, which I don't know how it's called in English, but the Spanish title would translate to Is somebody there?; and Maya. That one is *amazing*- even better than Solitaire..., I dare say, even if the other one holds a special place in my heart. :) And the main character is a Biologist! Woohoo!

[Artanis]

I'm a Norwegian, and Jostein Gaarder is a Norwegian author who is actually a success around the world (a rare phenomenon), but I've never read any of his books. Maybe I should. But jeez, there has been such fuss around that man .... :rolleyes:

[Linaewen]

Originally posted by Artanis
But jeez, there has been such fuss around that man .... :rolleyes:
Really? Well, I think it's deserved if his other works are like Sophie's World. You're so lucky that you can read it in its origiinal language, Arty, though I think the English translation is very good as well.

[Millane]

i hated this book so much, it was set for year eleven philosophy and we barely used it at all, i think our teacher ditched it for this years year 11 and brought in philosophy in the matrix:eek: we get the **** book while they get to study the Matrix:mad:
Studying articles is way more in depth and interesting than all those books like Sophie's World.