So, I got a bunch of books as presents and so many of them are books I've wanted to read for awhile, so I don't know where to start and it's driving me crazy. So I turn to you, Hatrack, for help. I got the following books:
Isaac Asimov - The Gods Themselves Orson Scott Card - Worthing Saga Robert Heinlein - Tunnel in the Sky Robert Heinlein - Citizen of the Galaxy The first 3 books in George Martin's A song of Ice and Fire series. Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse Five
What order should I read it in? Should I read according to the year they were published, starting with the older books (ie Asimov, Heinlein) then going onto more contempory books (Card, Martin)? Should I read them based on which ones are the best? If so, which ones are the best? I wouldn't know. Help! (Note: I have some kind of OCD when it comes to these things and I need to have an order before I begin reading)
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
It is not important in what order you read them. Just pick up the one with the prettiest cover art and dig in.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Do you read quickly or slowly?
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
I could finish a book in a day if I'm interested in it, or it could take me a month if it's a slow book.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Song of Ice and Fire. Posted by cheiros do ender (Member # 8849) on :
i'd read the ones I'd expect to be the best first. For me that's OSC and Asimov, two of my three favourite speculative fiction authors. And from there I'd just pick whichever is shortest. Then I'd read the other, then the rest in order of shortest to longest of the four.
But that's just me. Luckily, the seven books I got for Christmas are all part of the one series! Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Definitely A Song of Ice and Fire.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
So, The Gods Themselves is my favorite Asimov book. The Worthing Saga is my favorite Card book. Citizen of the Galaxy is my favorite Heinlein book.
I don't know what to tell you.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
What's your favorite Martin book, blacwolve?
Posted by Mr.Funny (Member # 4467) on :
I'd vote for shortest to longest (clumping the A Song of Ice and Fire series into one category).
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I didn't really get into Song of Ice and Fire, actually. I love those short stories (novellas?) of his that I've read, though. Especially "Portraits of His Children". I find them a bit too disturbing to intentially seek out more, they're a little too well written.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
ooo I want to play. After you finish with Gaal, I got the following books for Christmas:
Julius Caesar "The Conquest of Rome" JRR Tolkien "The Book of Unfinished Tales" Ovid "Metamorphasis" Livy "Early History of Rome" Polybius "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire"
I was thinking Tolkien, then Ovid, and save the Roman world for last.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Yeah, there is a certain ache to his short stuff, isn't there?
For me his work in ASoIF is his absolute best work, but a lot of his short stuff is nearly comparable in quality. I haven't really been that wild about his other novels that I've read. Don't get me wrong, they're solid pieces of work, but ASoIF is just a huge leap beyond them, in my opinion. I'd be curious to know what you thought of them, given that you didn't like ASoIF so much, but do like his short stuff.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
To be honest, I wasn't aware that he had written other novels. I'll check them out though.
A huge part of the reason I didn't continue with the series after A Game of Thrones was that it was just too depressing. All of his short stories have also been very depressing, but it's different with short stories, you know? So if his other novels are similarly depressing, chances are I won't like them.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Citizen of the Galaxy is the first book I ever read twice cover to cover in one sitting. It was just so good! I couldn't put it down! Even when I got to the end! It was that good! Better read it first. Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Oh, and I have a reading order for all of you guys.
Read Mark Salzman's " True Notebooks"! Seriously. Like now! You have to! Just do it! READ IT!
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Well, I didn't find Fevre Dream terribly depressing.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
The question is, of course, whether you found ASoIF terribly depressing. I'm a bit of a baby about stories.
Ok, I'm a huge baby about stories.
Posted by A Rat Named Dog (Member # 699) on :
Don't read Heinlein last. The endings of those books will totally ruin your day.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
Citizen of the Galaxy ends happily, doesn't it? I thought that was why I liked it. It was a fun, well-written adventure book.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Good point, blacwolve. I didn't really find it depressing, but it does grind a bit, if you know what I mean. Fevre Dream didn't have that effect on me. Neither have his other novels, but I think that after ASoIF, Fevre Dream is the best of them (that I've read).
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
You should read the Vonnegut book. He is amazing.
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
I've always said that Martin ruined reading for me for a long time simply because he's so darned good. Everything else I read just seemed...blah. Read Martin last; your other books will thank you for it.
space opera
Posted by Valentine014 (Member # 5981) on :
Martin, hands down. *
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* Well? Have you started GoT yet?
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
I think I'm going to read the Heinlein books first and George Martin's books last, and in between the books going from shortest to longest, like Mr. Funny suggested. Sounds good. I just got back from the beach, I wish I would've brought my books with me Thanks alot everyone, I appreciate your help.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Very interesting! You guys are completely different from me in your reading habits! I always start with the ones I think I will enjoy the least and save the best for last. (Based on which, I recommend you save the OSC for last.) When all things are equal, I read the longest book first.
I haven't read any Martin, so I would start with the Heinlein, then the Asimov (I love Asimov, but that's not my favorite by him), then the Vonnegut, and then the Card.
Based on what I've read, all of those are great books to be reading, though I think in general you are not reading the best book by each author. (With the probably exception of Martin.)
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
Icarus, any suggestions for better books by the authors that I can read after these? From Asimov I've already read the Foundation trilogy, from Vonnegut I've already read Cat's Cradle, and from Card I've read about 10 of his books. I've never read Heinlein before.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
If you've read the Foundation books but not the Robot novels, I would recommend those.
My favorite Heinlein is The Door Into Summer. It's far from his most ambitious work, but it's one I have a warm place in my heart for. Beyond that, I'd have to know your politics, to know shich of his books will piss you off least.
My favorite Vonnegut novels are Sirens of Titan and Breakfast of Champions. Oh ho.
(I would probably put [i]Slaughterhouse Five third on that list, but Cat's Cradle, along with Galapagos would probably be my least favorite of his books. And I believe I have read them all.)
Card is my favorite writer and I don't think anything he has written is truly bad--well, okay, there was this one novel, but why go into it? --and I don't know what you have read. Have you read Treason? Any of his short story anthologies? (He may just be a better writer of short stories than of novels, and I mean no disparagement of his novels when I say that.) Have you read Pastwatch? (Then again, a good question may be, did you like the Speaker books better or the Shadow books? Do you want to avoid anything particular, like "too much" introspection or "too much" religion? I personally will go wherever he wants to take me, but some people have definite preferences as to which of his books they like. I know a lot of Spaniards I communicate with online who don't like Folk of the Fringe, while I totally did, but that gets down to a cultural difference thing.) Have you read Red Prophet yet? That one makes my top three, but it's right smack dab in a long series--which is no chore for me, but you might not be looking to start a new series.
(Boy, did that last paragraph ramble!)
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
Its not a novel, but its a book all the same. If you haven't read Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut, you need to read it.
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
Heh, thanks Icarus.
For Heinlein, if I enjoy the two books I have now, I'll read that one next for sure. I don't really have politics, I'm 15, and as long as a view is well thought out and makes sense, I won't get pissed at it. And you didn't like Cat's Cradle? I loved that book. Either we have different tastes for Vonnegut or the novels you liked from him must be amazing . For Card, I have Maps in a Mirror and I read short stories from them often. I love them. I haven't read Treason or Pastwatch, but both were on the list of books I asked for, so I'll probably read them eventually. Card is also my favorite author, tied with Philip Dick.
Well thanks for the suggestions, after I'm done with my current books, I'll check this thread again and look up the books mentioned here. Thanks.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
quote:Originally posted by GaalDornick: And you didn't like Cat's Cradle? I loved that book. Either we have different tastes for Vonnegut or the novels you liked from him must be amazing .
I'm going to out on a limb and say it's the latter.
(Cat's Cradle was the first Vonnegut I read, and I liked it enough to read more. Just not as much as the others I mentioned. Based on the other things you are reading, I would say we probably have pretty similar tastes.)
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Icarus, how do you happen not to have read Martin? You might not like his stuff--celia and Jon Boy are two people whose taste in fiction I respect who don't care for him--but it's definitely worth trying.
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
I hope I do like Martin, otherwise I'll have 3 massive books on my shelf which I've never read. And I finished the first 3 chapters of Citizen of the Galaxy just now. Very cool, so far. I think I'll get along with Heinlein just fine.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I'll be curious to hear what you think when you get to them, Gaal. Actually, I'll be curious to hear what you think of all the books on your list, if you're interested in posting your thoughts on them.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
My Favorite Heinlein Ever is "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress".
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
Jake, I usually fly through the first one, and then get distracted by a Robin Hobb or Stephen King book in the middle of the second one. I'm going to see if I can find an audio book, and see if I can get through it anybetter that way.
Ni!
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
quote:Originally posted by Noemon: Icarus, how do you happen not to have read Martin? You might not like his stuff--celia and Jon Boy are two people whose taste in fiction I respect who don't care for him--but it's definitely worth trying.
Check out the Sakeriver "What's in your reading queue?" thread. The Song of Ice and Fire series has been bought and in my queue for some time now. But as I mentioned here, I read what I think I will like most last, so naturally, based on how highly it's recommended, I haven't read it yet.
:-p
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
I actually still haven't finished A Feast for Crows. I can't seem to pick it up again. Maybe I'll go do that now. *goes*
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Ah, okay, that makes sense. Maybe celia and Jon Boy's dislike can bump it up in your queue a bit.
Mack, really? It was probably my least favorite of the four so far, and I haven't quite been able to get myself to reread it yet, but I didn't have any trouble finishing it once. How far along in it were you before you put it down?
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I wouldn't know. Help! (Note: I have some kind of OCD when it comes to these things and I need to have an order before I begin reading)
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I'm a bit of a baby about stories.![[Grumble]](graemlins/grumble.gif)
Thanks alot everyone, I appreciate your help.