Stories of Your Life and OthersStories of Your Life and Others
Score Modern
What it's about
Ted Chiang's first collection contains eight science fiction stories, each built around a single idea worked out with rigor and emotion. In the title story, a linguist learning the language of aliens finds it changes how she experiences time. In others, workers build a tower to the vault of heaven, a man becomes superintelligent, angels make visits as violent natural disasters, and a mathematician proves that arithmetic is inconsistent.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Guardian's list of the best books of the century, and its stories have won many Hugo and Nebula Awards. The title story became the film Arrival.
You'll love it if you liked
Ficciones
The Left Hand of Darkness
Flowers for AlgernonGood to know
Each story is self-contained. Start with "Story of Your Life" or "Tower of Babylon."
By the numbers
- Readers87 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics51 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller36 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #37 of the 313 science fiction books we rank
- #196 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #386 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous
More by Ted Chiang
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Quick answers
Is Stories of Your Life and Others worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Guardian's list of the best books of the century, and its stories have won many Hugo and Nebula Awards. It ranks #386 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 80.1 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Stories of Your Life and Others about?
Ted Chiang's first collection contains eight science fiction stories, each built around a single idea worked out with rigor and emotion. In the title story, a linguist learning the language of aliens finds it changes how she experiences time. In others, workers build a tower to the vault of heaven, a man becomes superintelligent, angels make visits as violent natural disasters, and a mathematician proves that arithmetic is inconsistent.
How long does it take to read Stories of Your Life and Others?
About 8 hours (320 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Stories of Your Life and Others?
If you liked it, try Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin or Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.