Cosmicomics
by Italo Calvino · first published 2022
79% recommend21% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Playful, short linked stories that turn scientific principles into imaginative fantasy; good as an accessible entry point to Calvino and to literary short fiction, and easy to dip into.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2019–2021The Distance of the Moon
Italo Calvino
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2018–2021Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore
Italo Calvino
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 21 recommend · 2 mention1 recommend · 21 recommend
The Baron in the Trees
Italo Calvino
Recommended by 10 · mentioned by 1210 recommend · 12 mention10 recommend · 1210 recommend
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller
Italo Calvino, William Weaver
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 95 recommend · 9 mention5 recommend · 95 recommend
Invisible Cities
Italo Calvino
Recommended by 33 · mentioned by 5733 recommend · 57 mention33 recommend · 5733 recommend
2010–2024If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
Italo Calvino
Recommended by 11 · mentioned by 1711 recommend · 17 mention11 recommend · 1711 recommend
Finnegan's wake
James Joyce
Recommended by 9 · mentioned by 819 recommend · 81 mention9 recommend · 819 recommend
2010–2026Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges
Recommended by 26 · mentioned by 3926 recommend · 39 mention26 recommend · 3926 recommend
…your jam I wouldn't sweat it. That said, Moby Dick is perhaps a poor example of "literature" to start on if you're not sure you like "literature", mostly from being so long. If I might recommend trying Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino, or The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem, as they are easy to dip in and out of are nominally "sci fi" while still laying some claim to "literature". Lem and Calvino may lead you to Borges or…
on “Making a 88x31 button book using ImageMagick” ↗Cosmicomics has long been my single favorite collection of written work. Calvino's amazing.
on “Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)” ↗…likable person, and I'm glad he wrote one of my personal classics: "Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore" is an extraordinary book. I've also enjoyed most of his works, especially "Le città invisibili" & "Cosmicomics". If you haven't read any of these, try them or his famous trilogy: they all have that special signature of his, but they're different enough that you might like one and not the other. About reading…
on “Why Read the Classics? (1986)” ↗Italian here. I read all Calvino's novels and short-stories in high school. I would suggest The Nonexistent Knight and Cosmicomics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nonexistent_Knight https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmicomics
on “Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)” ↗I'm inclined to agree. Invisible Cities is introspective and reflective. Perhaps "Cosmicomics" is a better example of the author having a laugh. I loved both tho.
on “The Worlds of Italo Calvino” ↗…Bach" - his stories seem to develop fantastic themes in an endlessly imaginative way, exploring all the possibilities afforded by the theme, (loose) internal consistency and language. My favourites are "Cosmicomics" and "The invisible cities" .
on “Umberto Eco has died” ↗I thought it would mention "The distance of the Moon", the first (and one of my favourites) short story from Italo Calvino's "Cosmicomics". http://www.ruanyifeng.com/calvino/2007/07/ch_1_the_distance_...
on “Raising a Ladder to the Moon, Under the Sea” ↗My favorite Calvino book is Cosmicomics. It's a collection of his stories that deal with a scientific principle that he weaves into a beautiful fantasy story!
on “Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)” ↗…Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, Most of the Jules Verne's books, The Iliad and The Odyssey from Homer, The Godfather from Mario Puzo, Hermit in Paris, Under the Jaguar Sun, The Complete Cosmicomics from Italo Calvino, The Name of the Rose from Umberto Eco, In the World from Maxim Gorky, ... First works coming to mind but there should be more... Also I probably re-read many times basic printed…
on “Ask HN: What book have you re-read 3x or more?” ↗I'm a big Calvino fan and can thoroughly recommend Cosmicomics as a great collection of shorts. If you enjoy Calvino you may also enjoy Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges.
on “Ask HN: What are you reading these days?” ↗Calvino is amazing. His short story collection Marcovaldo is just brilliant, it's my personal favorite. Cosmicomics is great too. Well actually, all his work. It would be worth learning the language to read Calvino in original Italian. And maybe even Umberto Eco.
on “The Timeless Magic of Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities at 50” ↗Calvino's other creations are good too and recommended. I really enjoyed Cosmicomics!
on “I gave Opus 5.5 one prompt and six hours to visualize Invisible Cities” ↗Thanks! Cosmicomics rings a bell as something I'd considered reading but never got around to, and those mini-synopses on the Wikipedia page are pretty enticing.
on “Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)” ↗…One Man's Meat Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery Cosmicomics Why Quark Rhymes with Pork The Unfolding of Language A Sand County Almanac
on “Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?” ↗According to Italo Calvino [1] the universe was created from the impulse to make a bowl of pasta. [1] All at One Point https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cosmicomics/cWMec8TktW4...
on “Spaghetti science: What pasta reveals about the universe” ↗