Knowledge base
Book
Books named in the Agency editions, each one with the editions that mention it.
- 1Q841Q84 is a novel by Haruki Murakami. In Creative.6, interviewee Suelen Viana names it as the book she would take to Mars, calling it probably one of the best books she has ever read, and says she thinks about it every day.
- An Enquiry Concerning Human UnderstandingAn Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is a book by the Scottish philosopher David Hume, first published in 1748. The Agency editorial takes from it the example of what it calls the aphoristic style: three numbered paragraphs from Section III, on the association of ideas.
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a book by Philip K. Dick. In Issue.9, the edition names it as the original story behind Blade Runner, the 1982 film that represents the true cornerstone of sci-fi dystopia in cinema.
- Does Writing Have a Future?Does Writing Have a Future? is a book by Vilém Flusser. In Writing.1, the edition cites it briefly: Flusser bravely argued that writing does not have a future. Issue.16 quotes a passage from it, page 42, on contemporary publishing that sets out to numb readers.
- DuneDune is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. In Issue.5, the edition describes it as a Star Wars for adults and uses its fictional spice economy to illustrate the economic concepts of novelty and commodity.
- Farewell, AuroraFarewell, Aurora (Adeus, Aurora) is a novel by Thiago Patriota, the author of the Agency editorial, published by Editora Sentient in 2022. Its heroine, Aurora, is a fashion designer whose voice assistant becomes sentient and helps her face the existential questions behind life. The editions quote it in Issue.4 and Design.2.
- Heart SutraThe Heart Sutra is one of the most well-known texts in Mahayana Buddhism. Its full name in Sanskrit is the Prajnaparamitahrdaya Sutra, meaning The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. In Archetype.1, it connects the Hannya mask to the Buddhist concept of wisdom through suffering.
- Homo LudensHomo Ludens is a book written in 1938 by Johan Huizinga. In Issue.23, the edition says the term Homo Ludens was first coined in this work, which argues that play is a fundamental aspect of human culture that permeates art, language, law and rituals.
- I, RobotI, Robot is a book by Isaac Asimov. In Creative.5, interviewee Pietro Verona recommends it in the context of his philosophical critiques about the future, generations and technology.
- ItIt is a novel by Stephen King. In Creative.6, interviewee Suelen Viana names it as her second favourite Stephen King book, after Pet Sematary.
- Marketing WarfareMarketing Warfare is a book written by Al Ries and Jack Trout in 1985. In MetaMarketing.2, the edition cites it as a work that compares the competitive landscape in business to battlefield scenarios and provides marketing strategies for companies to gain a competitive advantage.
- Pet SemataryPet Sematary is a novel by Stephen King. In Creative.6, interviewee Suelen Viana names it as her favourite book by Stephen King, her favourite author.
- Plato's PharmacyPlato's Pharmacy is an essay by Jacques Derrida. It appears only in the Portuguese edition of Issue.26, where Derrida is said to have written extensively about the ambiguous concept of pharmakon and its connection to the pharmakos.
- Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin UncensoredStairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored is a book by Richard Cole. In Issue.14, the edition cites it as the source of an interview where Robert Plant described how he was inspired to write the lyrics of Stairway to Heaven.
- SymposiumThe Symposium is a book written by Plato. In Issue.13, the edition describes it as a book that grew from a gathering where some of the greatest thinkers of ancient Greece discussed the meaning of love. In Creative.11, the author cites it as the source of his philosophy of love.
- The Art of Worldly WisdomThe Art of Worldly Wisdom is a book by Baltasar Gracián. In Writing.1, Proverb 8 from the book is quoted at length, arguing that perfection resides in quality, not quantity, and that intensity brings wisdom.
- The Demon-Haunted WorldThe Demon-Haunted World is a book by Carl Sagan. In Issue.25, the edition cites it as the source of his famous line about grasping the universe as it really is, in a passage that contrasts Sagan's scientific cosmology with the author's own worldview.
- The Design of Everyday ThingsThe Design of Everyday Things is a book by Don Norman. In Design.2, the edition says Don Norman was the true author who popularized the term through this book, and that Norman taught the author a clear direction: considering the holistic experience of users when designing products.
- The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. In Issue.14, the edition mentions that Robert Plant was inspired by the natural beauty around him and the mythology of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings when writing the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven.
- Through the Looking-GlassThrough the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a book by Lewis Carroll. In Issue.14, the edition says the lyric 'The answer's in the looking glass' can very much be a reference to this 1871 book, which coined the meaning 'the opposite of what is normal or expected.'