I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov

If you are wondering why there are so many new posts in a row (you probably aren't, but I'll explain myself anyway) it's not because I just read a bunch of books in one day. My grandmother was visiting and I was determined to finish watching the entirety of HankGames by the end of July (I missed it by an hour) so I kind of stopped writing posts. Sorry!

Novel: I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov

Side note: This is really embarrassing, and I'm ashamed to admit it, but I accidentally thought Isaac Asimov  was Kurt Vonnegut. I was trying to tell my sister that I was reading a book by a guy that wrote a few of the short stories we had to read junior year and then I realized that they weren't the same person...

It's Like: I'm going to go with "nothing I've ever read before." As much as I say I love sci-fi, I have not actually read very much of it. Asimov is the king of sci-fi, or so I've been told, so I figured I should probably start with him. Also, I randomly saw I, Robot in the classics section of the library and decided to get it.

Summary: I, Robot is actually a collection of short stories as told by Dr. Susan Calvin to a reporter who wishes to know Calvin's background in robotics and robots in general. The overall story line is how robots start to integrate into society (this is supposedly in the 90s, making our lack of robots in the real world upsetting) and the transition from nannies and slaves to The Machines that basically run Earth.

Notes:

• I wish to read all of Asimov's writing after this. So intelligent and thoughtful and fascinating!
• My favorite story is probably the first one, "Robbie," because it's so adorable. It becomes the most important story after reading the entire book, though. In "Robbie," Gloria is very dependent on Robbie for her happiness because he is her only friend. This is a cute children's story, but it parallels the final story where humanity has become equally dependent on The Machines.
• Another way to view the story is that robots and humans will always rely on each other. Robbie does seem equally dependent on Gloria because his entire reason for existing is to be with her. The rest of the stories (minus the last one) are humans suppressing robots and robots fighting back. But in the end, when The Machines are so complex that no one knows how they work, there are still things that cannot be quantified by robots and only humans can accomplish. They still need each other.
• The Three Laws are brilliant. They are specific enough to keep the robots in line, but general enough that they can be twisted to suit the needs of each short story.
• I kind of feel like it's unnecessary to discuss the characters, because the stories aren't focused on the characters. They are focused on ideas and plot. I didn't really feel connected to any character but it worked well for this novel, which was a new experience for me.

On a scale...: from :) to :) :) :) :) :) , it was a resounding :) :) :) :) :) + 

Recommendation: It might be a little to sci-fi-y for some people; it's not exactly complicated, but it does take a little effort to get through the book and understand everything completely, especially in the last story. I think the majority of people will enjoy it though!