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Reddit mentions of Ship of Theseus

Sentiment score: 23
Reddit mentions: 46

We found 46 Reddit mentions of Ship of Theseus. Here are the top ones.

Ship of Theseus
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    Features:
  • J..J. Abrams and Doug Dorst, Authors
  • 2013 Mulholland, purchased end of 2013 with 6 in stock.
  • Ship of Theseus
  • 22 Inserts
  • Still in Original Shrinkwrap
Specs:
Height9.75 Inches
Length6.5 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateOctober 2013
Weight2.36 Pounds
Width1.75 Inches

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Found 46 comments on Ship of Theseus:

u/workpuppy · 26 pointsr/suggestmeabook

House of Leaves was my first thought, followed by Ship of Theseus.

You need to have someone doing something interesting with the media in order to really lose something going to e-book.

u/ClockParadoX · 26 pointsr/pics

If you like that kind of thing.

Buy this book : http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642

It's a fictional book written by a mysterious author, then checked out by two readers at a library who write correspondence to each other in handwritten notes throughout the book.

u/bluedijon · 10 pointsr/suggestmeabook

Ship of Theseus by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams (yeah, that JJ) seems like it might fit your interests - it's not aesthetically wild from the outside, but the main story takes place in marginalia, post-cards, written letters, and I think at one point a napkin that all happen around the grounding typed text. There are literally papers stuffed into the book that fall out as you read, which is a really fun experience and aesthetically different than anything I've encountered before or since!

u/minni53 · 9 pointsr/suggestmeabook

Ship of Theseus by JJ Abrams seems similar to HoL in it is a physical reading experience. If that makes sense.

Also if you like footnotes & meandering you could try Infinite Jest.

u/PrufrocksCoffeeSpoon · 6 pointsr/tipofmytongue

S., perhaps? I'm actually in the middle of it right now -- definitely fits the bill.

http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396324187&sr=8-1&keywords=s

u/robbotnik2 · 6 pointsr/tipofmytongue

Sounds like S by Doug Dorst. JJ Abrams is involved somehow too.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0316201642/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_Ko.ttb1709JJ3

(Edit) P.S. If it didn't have the box, the book looks like an old library book called "Ship of Theseus" by VM Straka

u/skpanda · 4 pointsr/suggestmeabook

The book S. by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst. Its a book that is about two people communicating through a book. So you are reading what they are writing in the book. I haven't read too far into it but it's really interesting.

http://smile.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411962881&sr=8-1&keywords=s.+book

u/alentrix · 4 pointsr/ifyoulikeblank

You might like S. by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst.
http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642

It has a similar feel to House of Leaves in terms of reading experience with notes written on the pages in different colors and other such things.

u/Aylesbury · 3 pointsr/suggestmeabook

S. (www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/) would be a good example. It's a story about two people who read a book and they tell their story by means of annotations. It also comes with tons of inserts that add to the story, like postcards and maps. Here's a picture:

http://i.imgur.com/Qm4Tmje.jpg

There was a picture, which had watermark illustrations, not sure of the name anymore. There are also tons of cool up-market editions by publishers. I'd say the folio society would be a good example, being a publisher who specializes in such editions. Look at their limited editions - they are beautiful.

http://www.foliosociety.com/limitededitions

u/sabat · 2 pointsr/SFGiants

If you're the bookish type, this book is very much worth reading. https://www.amazon.com/Ship-Theseus-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642

u/euphorickittty · 2 pointsr/suggestmeabook

This may be a little outside of what you're looking for, but I found it pretty interesting. Have you seen S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst? Hard to describe, but it's like a story in a story. There's the main book, and then two people talking about it and to each other in the margins... Ha, it sounds weird, but it was unique if nothing else.

u/creepykirk · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

S. by J.J. Abrams is a wonderful book with a bit of a cult following.

It's actually a book-within-a-book, but is filled with handwritten conversations between readers in the margins, as well as mementos and inserts that go along with the multiple storylines and mysteries being solved. It's thrilling, fun, and very interesting.

u/madicienne · 2 pointsr/writing

I think this kind of material is awesome! I'm more of a fantasy reader myself, but the type of immersion content I like to see is stuff like...

  • maps!
  • artwork - like photos of places; drawings of stuff from the novel (swords/whatever); diagrams. I'm not personally into character drawings/photos, but I think a lot of people probably do like that.
  • unpublished artwork and scenes - like original cover concepts, as well as scenes that had to be cut or side-stories about characters who don't get enough time in the main work
  • "making of" content, like early drafts, planning pages, crappy doodles, whatever
  • games/puzzles related to the story
  • recipes! This is kind of a weird one, but a lot of people love descriptions of food and a lot of books (esp scifi and fantasy) have weird food that I think might be fun to try to make yourself
  • other (non-written) media, like songs/music from the book
  • other genre/format material, like comics about the same characters,

    I'm largely unpublished at the moment, but I do a lot of side-projects and I also enjoy developing a story from multiple angles :D I think that's a great way not only to entertain existing fans, but to draw people to your book/product. Despite the fact that my novel is unpublished, I got quite a lot of attention to a "which character are you?" quiz that I made for my blog.

    This is a big unrelated, but you might also like checking out the Raw Shark Texts (allegedly there are real-world places you can travel to to "discover" more things about the book content) and/or The Ship of Theseus (/"Book of S"), which is sold with a bunch of "extraneous" material like newspaper clippings, and the whole book is filled with notes written back and forth from "previous readers"; it's a pretty interesting experience.
u/BlueSquirl · 2 pointsr/lost

It's the book "S." , which was conceived by JJ Abrams and written by Doug Dorst. Haven't gotten to open it yet, but it looks like a library book titled "Book of Thesus" , and it's 2 stories involving the actual book and someone who I think buys/rents the book. It is a mystery that you solve as you go, it is supposed to have clues and such in it. People who've read it say it's super fun, as long as you go into believing the book is real. I may be making this up, but I think there may be other things in the book that tie in to Lost, like the numbers, but again, I haven't read it. Can't wait to get home and give it a whirl. Here's the Amazon link.

http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642

u/bridgemender · 2 pointsr/books

S. By J.J. Abrams. A mysterious book within a book with margin notes and loose sheets tucked between the pages. It seems to be a non frightening cross between House of Leaves and Griffin and Sabine.

u/breadispain · 2 pointsr/writing

I just stumbled upon S. by Doug Durst and JJ Abrams which sort of falls into this category as well. There's a "people who viewed this also liked..." rabbit hole to venture on from there. I should've thought of that first!

Edit: Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker, from what limited preview is available, also seems to use a footnote format that could be appropriated.

Thank you for your help. You seem to always be dispensing quality advice in general for a single upvote.

u/fictionbyryan · 2 pointsr/writing

You really, really need to purchase this book, today, and study it top and bottom:

https://www.amazon.com/Ship-Theseus-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1539921615&sr=8-7&keywords=S

Maybe that's where you got the idea. If not, buy the book and then read about how it works. It's basically exactly what you describe.

Also - don't be like "oh this was already done, I should quit." No one will care, your story actually sounds good.

u/jaisies · 2 pointsr/tipofmytongue

Could it be “S.” by Doug Dorst and J. J. Abrams?

Edit: found it on Amazon as “Ship of Theseus”.

u/lumpsthecat · 2 pointsr/YAlit

S by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst is all about the footnotes (and the effluvia - it includes tons of letters, notes, maps, whathaveyou).

http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408996926&sr=1-1&keywords=s+book

Very fun book to read, I can't imagine writing anything like it, personally.

u/vivifiction · 2 pointsr/DoesAnybodyElse

Yes. The book S. is made to smell like an older library book, too, so that was fun. Brand new book, old school smell.

u/kijo524 · 2 pointsr/movies

That promo was for a book entitled S. It's a book that JJ Abrams co-wrote with Doug Dorst. Really, really great multi-layered experience beyond just a great read.

http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409957588&sr=8-1&keywords=s

u/Walking_Pneumonia · 1 pointr/books

For a while I was waiting for that one to drop in price on Amazon, but it never happened. It went up, in fact.

There was a time when it was 50% cheaper than it is now. I really wish I had known about it then.

u/Weavingknitter · 1 pointr/kindle

You are right! But do you honestly think that "they" could, or even should, invent a device for such a small pool of books?

There are many experimental books - this is one of them - S. and it will only ever be possible in paper. You know? Because books such as this exist doesn't mean that a device needs to be invented so that I can enjoy it on an ereader.

There is no absolutely pressing need to invent a color ereader as long as there are still paper books and color tablets.

u/cuthman99 · 1 pointr/booksuggestions

Huh... well, I'll take a few shots at this, although I doubt I have any better idea what he means than you do. Still, support the troops...

The ultimate would be S., J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst but only if you can get him the printed copy, not the ebook. The print version is just a phenomenal experience. It is definitely high-concept: in fact, it's best just to read the description in the link. It's a mystery/thriller/geopolitical/surrealist experience, but the object itself is just amazing. Check out the images of the book on Amazon-- normally I don't link to Amazon, but the images give you a sense of it. It's not just that one of the two major parallel stories unfolds in the margin-notes of the other novel; it's that the other novel is stuffed full of odds-and-ends of things the two correspondents shared with each other-- maps written on hotel napkins (and damn if they don't print the thing on an actual napkin), postcards from other countries, etc. It's just amazing.


How to Live Safely in a Science-Fictional Universe, Charles Yu, is the epitome of a high-concept novel. It's 'meta' to the core-- the execution doesn't quite live up to the concept, but it's still a decent read, and it might be what he's after. The premise is that the son of the man who invented the first time-travel machine, but was screwed out of the credit for it, works as a time-machine repairman and travels the... well, multiverse? multi-time?... looking for his father, who eventually disappeared. In the end it's as much a family drama as a sci-fi novel, but I found the premise irresistible.


Another idea would be You Shall Know Our Velocity!, Dave Eggers, It's certainly another "meta" or "high concept" novel; at first it seems like it'll be a standard travelogue, but then it takes a decidedly Eggers-ish turn. Not a lot to say about it without disclosing spoilers. As with How to Live Safely... I don't know that the execution lived up to the concept... or maybe the concept didn't live up to the execution, I'm never sure how I feel about Eggers.

u/Casually_Awesome · 1 pointr/pbsideachannel
u/p_verploegen · 1 pointr/books

S. By J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst came out today. It is EXTREMELY gimmicky, kind of like House Of Leaves. So far it is Awesome.

u/Bizkitgto · 1 pointr/suggestmeabook

Here's something trippy, and something you may not expect...S by JJ Abrams. Its' a puzzle, mystery, drama, love story, mission, action/adventure....all while being a book within a book wrapped in a riddle.....literally! Have a look and have fun, there is no end to what you can uncover in this mess.

['S' the Book] (http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642)

u/kyflyboy · 1 pointr/history

If this story interests you, then my all means take a look at the book "S" by Doug Dorst and JJ Abrams. A very imaginative homage to the written word. Quite entertaining. http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417745191&sr=8-1&keywords=%22S%22+in+books

u/Exemplris · 1 pointr/television

Or try reading S.?

u/Madolan · 1 pointr/suggestmeabook

That's a tall order!

Some books that similarly acknowledge the book you're holding as complicit in the story, or bring in multimedia elements, might include Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer, Night Film by Marisha Pessl, A Humument by Tom Phillips, or S by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst. The Raw Shark Texts also plays with words on the page in an interesting way.

I also liked Danielewski's Only Revolutions. It's not on par with House of Leaves but it is a unique read: two protagonists tell the same story from their own perspective. As the book progresses, each chapter gets shorter and the font gets smaller, like the tale is spiraling in on itself. And when you've finished one character's story you literally flip the book upside down to start the other's. (Danielewski recommends reading one chapter from one side, then the corresponding chapter from the other, as you go. The hardcover includes two bookmarks for this purpose.)

u/-Skadi · 1 pointr/Wishlist

Happy birthday! I hope you've been having a fantastic day!

I have so many books on my wish lists, it's hard for me to pick just one, but I can narrow it down to the top 3 I've really been wanting to read:

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

I love Norse mythology, history, language, religion and learning more about it, and from what I've read of Gaiman's, I enjoy his writing style.

S. / Ship of Theseus by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams

From the reviews it seems like a great book. There's the book Ship of Theseus, but in the margins and inserts there's a whole different story between two people trying discover the identity of the author of Ship of Theseus. It just looks like a fun book.

House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski

Another book I've heard great things about. I've heard it can be a difficult read with the unconventional format and footnotes etc.. But that just makes me want to read it even more.

All 3 are on my Most Wanted list.


Thanks for the contest!

u/IKantCPR · 1 pointr/books

I'm looking forward to reading S. by Doug Dorst and JJ Abrams. It's a book called Ship of Theseus by a mysterious (fictional) author named V.M. Straka. The real story is the correspondence in the margins between a grad student specializing in Straka and an undergrad lit major as they try to uncover the secrets of his life and disappearance. The book comes with all kinds of inserts of things they find during their investigation, like post cards and newspaper clippings. It even includes a decoder ring to decipher one of the chapters of Ship of Theseus.

I can't wait to start it. I've been saving it for vacation.

u/HazMat68W · 1 pointr/books

Sometimes you can get it cheaper off B&N.

Example: "S" by JJ Abrams.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/s-j-j-abrams/1115192310?ean=9780316201643

http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404307853&sr=8-1&keywords=j+j+abrams+s


People automatically go to Amazon b/c they overall have lower prices. But sometimes they jack up the prices of certain items b/c they know this. Always shop around.

That being said, $15 or more for even a new ebook is absurd.

EDIT: My example only reflects print copies.

u/alexatd · 1 pointr/writing

Others have covered this well, but I wanted to throw in some thoughts. You absolutely MUST read if you plan on writing a novel. Just... required.

But don't force yourself to read things you don't like. Have you tried graphic novels? They are chock full of story but are more dynamic than your typical novel. Harry Potter may not have clicked for you because you saw the movies, but have you tried other young adult novels that don't have movie tie-ins? A lot of YA is imminently readable because they're usually in first person, fast-paced and very hook driven. There are some fun sci-fi/timey-wimey YA books out there you could try.

On the adult side, have you tried to read Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde? It's surrealist fantasy with a very fun time travel element, though they are very heavily rooted in bibliophilia--it's all tongue-in-cheek love of books stuff (the main character can jump into fiction). But he's my favorite writer on the planet and a great example of having fun with language/writing.

So I haven't actually read it but one of my BFFs loved this book to pieces: S by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst. http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642. It's apparently a very bizarre "book" that is not quite a book and is supposed to be an experience unto itself. Sounds a bit like what you maybe have in mind.

u/Daruuk · 1 pointr/AskReddit

"S" by Doug Dorst and JJ Abrams

This is the most imaginative concept I've ever seen for a novel. This work comes in a box. Upon opening it, you find a novel called 'the Ship of Theseus bu V. M. Straka, the last work of an enigmatic writer from the early 20th century. The intriguing part is that in the margins of the yellowed pages, two university students take turns writing notes to each other. Together they begin to unravel a sixty year old mystery.


I've never seen anything this innovative before, and it's incredibly well executed!

u/dustybygones · 1 pointr/ARG

Aside from a few instances with web ARGs [EMH, Ackerly Green] most games that involve physical items I've come across are paid for experiences.

The Mysterious Package Company has some experiences that vary in story type as well as number of mailings you get. They're on the pricier end of things, but the artifacts they send reflect the price. They also have a quarterly subscription called Curios and Conundrums that involve a newspaper with stories, riddles, and puzzles as well as some ephemera and objects that all wrap up in a yearly story. The Weeping Book is a good starter point for people who don't want to spend a whole lot on an unknown company. Also, they've got a holiday sale going on right now to knock off a bit of the price tag: https://www.mysteriouspackage.com/

The Mysterious Experience Company is a monthly crate box experience where you get some items and notes on a murder usually. It's up to you to read through it all, investigate online, and determine who from a list of suspects committed the crime. I've only had one box from them so far, but I am impressed so far by it: https://mysteryexperiences.cratejoy.com/

Forgotten Folios is another monthly subscription through Patreon. The letters and artifacts you receive, depending on which level you support at, are more story driven than puzzle oriented but I think they're well worth checking out for their attention to detail: https://www.patreon.com/forgottenfolios

The Haunted Dollhouse is an experience offered by Lady Delaney. You receive a series of boxes through the mail that allows you to put together a small dollhouse and piece together a story of betrayal and murder from the early 1900's. This experience happens a few times a year. Right now the next time it'll start going out is January. The creator also has a monthly subscription called Letters From the Dead where you get letters and other ephemera mailed to you, but I don't know a whole lot about that: https://www.lettersfromdeadpeople.com/about

On the less pricier side of things there are a few books you may be interested in checking out. The Ship of Theseus tells several stories. Some overt and some only apparent when you read into the puzzle. There are artifacts inside the book that add to the stories and help with the puzzles. It may be hard to find at times but I recommend buying the book new so that you know you have all the pieces: https://www.amazon.com/Ship-Theseus-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642

u/Gryndyl · 1 pointr/write

Another recent non-traditional is S by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst. It takes the form of an old library book that was passed back and forth between two people making notes in the margins as they attempt to unravel the mystery of the author's identity. Comes complete with various prop items stuck between the pages of the book-postcards, photos, news clippings, etc.

u/that-writer-kid · 1 pointr/writing

No, but this has actually been sort-of-done. Check out this. I'm not a big romance reader but holy shit, this book was amazing.

u/bsax007 · 1 pointr/movies

And his book's title is "S."

u/gloryday23 · -7 pointsr/books

If by all the credit you mean JJ's name above Doug's on everything about the book including the book itself.

http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642

JJ loves to have his name on shit, always has, and he loves taking the shared glory when it succeeds.