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Blindsight, Starfish, and Maelstrom have all be rereleased in paperback. I already owned Blindsight, but picked up Starfish last fall and Maelstrom last week.
Now I'm reading R. Scott Bakker's newest book, The Judging Eye. It picks up 20 years after his exemplary previous trilogy, The Prince of Nothing.
After that I'm going to read more Steven Erikson, Ian Esselmont, and Glen Cook. I'm on a bit of an epic fantasy kick.
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The Dragonbone Chair, By Tad Williams Otherland: The City of Golden Shadow also by Tad Williams (Which, Jake, I loved. Picked up the second book, but got absorbed in other stuff) The two Dark Tower graphic novels Drawing of the Three by Stephen King(again) All three of Buffy Season 8 Graphic novels Sandman by Neil Gaiman(again) The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett(again) Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman (again)
Even though I have a whole stack of new books, I do a lot of rereading, because I can't read anything I get really excited about before bed, but I can't sleep without reading a chapter or two. It's a delicate balance.
quote:Originally posted by kwsni: Even though I have a whole stack of new books, I do a lot of rereading, because I can't read anything I get really excited about before bed, but I can't sleep without reading a chapter or two. It's a delicate balance.
Ni!
I'm currently reading Rhodes' "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" - it's interesting reading, but not the sort of interesting reading that keeps me up late, so it's perfect for bedtime. Posts: 324 | Registered: Mar 2008
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quote:Originally posted by kwsni: Otherland: The City of Golden Shadow also by Tad Williams (Which, Jake, I loved. Picked up the second book, but got absorbed in other stuff
Glad you liked it. Hey, when I loaned you those books, did I include any Ursula K. LeGuin short story collections in the mix? I can only find one of my collections of her stuff.
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Ah, okay. There's no terrible rush on getting them back to me. If you're going to be making the great trek back to MI at some point, you can just bring them along. That'll be a good excuse to detour through Dayton.
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Just updated my list and I figured that I'd bump the thread so that new participants may enter.
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I finished The Judging Eye. I think Bakker has surpassed every other fantasist I've read, from Tolkein to Cook. Outstanding.
But read The Prince of Nothing first.
Now I'm digging into the Malazan books by Erikson and Esslemont, who IIRC are both anthropologists. The writing is nothing special, but the scope, detail, and internal consistency of the setting are astonishing.
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Now I'm digging into the Malazan books by Erikson and Esslemont, who IIRC are both anthropologists. The writing is nothing special, but the scope, detail, and internal consistency of the setting are astonishing.
How far are you in the Malazan books? I have read Erikson's and I found the writing got progressively better.
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I've only read the first of Erikson's and I'm currently reading the first of Esslemont's. I've already picked up Erikson's second and third in the hope that the writing improves -- I'm glad to hear that it does! Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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Ender in Exile Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman As You Like It Measure for Measure Wuthering Heights The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative On Narrative, edited by W.J.T. Mitchell
Started: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon Players: The Mysterious Identity of William Shakespeare, by Bertram Fields
Re-started: Speaker for the Dead Ulysses, by James Joyce
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I finished Kite Runner a few weeks ago-it was amazing. I haven't cried like that during a book for a while.
I am still trying to find good books.
I finished rereading Animal Farm and started 1984. [Dystopian kick, I suppose.]
I have a really strong urge to reread East of Eden, or other Steinbeck.
None of the epic fantasy/fantasy authors seem to be within my reach easily. Any other recommendations?
I'm trying really hard to finish I Will Fear No Evil, which is an absolutely beautiful book for his ideas, but he wrote Joan to be utterly unbelievable and I find it hard to pick up again.
I have a problem with finishing books if I get even slightly disinterested, no matter how good the actual novel is-I was halfway through As I Lay Dying, and pulled 400 pages of the Brothers Karamazov before I called it quits.
As I Lay Dying because of Faulkner's incomprehensible prose, and Karamazov because, as enlightening and beautiful as it was, at the time I needed something much lighter. [I plan on going back and finishing both of these soon.]
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I found the 2nd book in Caro's Lyndon Johnson series to be incredibly fascinating: Master of the Senate. It was both gripping as a story, and also a stunningly revealing as to the political world of the 50s (as well as today's no doubt). I'd recommend it to anyone interested in politics, or into biographies. It's on loan from my Dad who only has this one; I think next I'd like to either read the next volume, or perhaps a biography on Richard Russell.
A History of the Conquest of Mexico is one of the great true adventure stories of this world. A man and less than 1000 soldiers conquer a country of millions, a thrilling tale of courage and determinations that is very informative when it comes to Mexican history (including that which predated Cortes). The author, William H. Prescott, has clear moral views of what happened and doesn't seem to be afraid to state them right out there in public. This can be off putting for those of us used to reading more dry, historical accounts. I found it quite refreshing to hear the Author's take on all sorts of different activities, even when I disagreed with him. Either way, though, this story is truly incredible, and incredible that it's true!
Along those lines, I didn't read it this year, but The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E> Lawrence (aka "Lawrence of Arabia") is another of those true accounts of history that are far more exciting then just about any action that occurs in fiction.
posted
Nightfall- Asimov Deception Point - Dan Brown Princep's Fury - Jim Butcher Ender in Exile Half of Keeper of Dreams - OSC Fat Kid Rules the World- K.L. Going
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quote:Originally posted by Vyrus: I finished Kite Runner a few weeks ago-it was amazing. I haven't cried like that during a book for a while.
I am still trying to find good books.
I finished rereading Animal Farm and started 1984. [Dystopian kick, I suppose.]
I have a really strong urge to reread East of Eden, or other Steinbeck.
None of the epic fantasy/fantasy authors seem to be within my reach easily. Any other recommendations?
I'm trying really hard to finish I Will Fear No Evil, which is an absolutely beautiful book for his ideas, but he wrote Joan to be utterly unbelievable and I find it hard to pick up again.
I have a problem with finishing books if I get even slightly disinterested, no matter how good the actual novel is-I was halfway through As I Lay Dying, and pulled 400 pages of the Brothers Karamazov before I called it quits.
As I Lay Dying because of Faulkner's incomprehensible prose, and Karamazov because, as enlightening and beautiful as it was, at the time I needed something much lighter. [I plan on going back and finishing both of these soon.]
Khaled Hosseini has another book, A Thousand Splendid Suns.
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quote:Originally posted by Vyrus: Sounds good-I believe I began reading Fledging a couple years ago, but didn't finish reading it for whatever reason. [I was too young to understand the ideas, or at least to apathetic to care.]
*Writes down names of authors* *Brings to school library*
Ever check out any of those authors? If so, what did you think?
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At this point I've given up on making a list, as there are too many articles and books to count.
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The Whole Truth - David Baldacci The Appeal - John Grisham Black Cross - Greg Iles Sleep No More - Greg Iles Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox - Eoin Colfer The Summons - John Grisham Neverwhere - Neil Gaimann The Black Ice - Michael Connelly Wild Justice - Phillip Margolin Currently reading The Street Lawyer by John Grisham
--Most of these are standard fiction, not of the sci-fi/fantasy variety. But towards the end of last yr I had finished the Twilight Series by Meyer and the Dark Tower Series by King, so I thought I'd step back to general fiction for a bit, but I am ready to get back to the Sci-Fi/Fantasy arena. Any suggestions?
I mean I know I want to read Brisngr. Besides that I need suggestions. I was looking at the Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan, but it looks like a huge commitment, as most of them are very long. Anybody read it before? Any Good? Thanks.
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quote:Originally posted by The Pixiest: Anyway, I second anything by Octavia Butler. I'm so MAD at her for dying! She never wrote a bad book. I wish she had written more.
I'm more sad than mad. I loved Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, and can't get over the fact that there was to be a third called Parable of the Trickster that will never be.
And I also recommend anything by Butler. Her short story Bloodchild is disturbing, powerful, emotional, thought-provoking, original, awesome. One of the best.
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I'm in the process of rereading all of her stuff right now, actually (though I may take a break from it to read all of the books and short fiction nominated for the Hugo; I want to cast an informed vote). Just finished the Patternmaster series last night. I'm irritated to discover that my copy of Bloodchild and Other Stories has apparently walked away. I must have loaned it to somebody, but I have no idea who.
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quote:Originally posted by Dobbie: 1.Double Cross 2.And Then There Were None 3.The Last Lecture 4.A Thousand Splendid Suns
5.The Kite Runner 6.Three Cups of Tea 7.The Kabul Beauty School 8.Zoya's Story 9.A Painted House 10.A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 11.MarchPosts: 1794 | Registered: Jul 2002
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quote:The Dragonbone Chair, By Tad Williams Otherland: The City of Golden Shadow also by Tad Williams The two Dark Tower graphic novels Drawing of the Three by Stephen King(again) All three of Buffy Season 8 Graphic novels Sandman by Neil Gaiman(again) The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett(again) Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman (again)
The Stone of Farewell, Tad Williams Otherland book 2:River of Blue Fire Otherland Book 3:Mountain of Black Glass The Wastelands, Stephen King (again)
Tad Williams has taken over my brain, and it's all your fault, Jake. Also, everything you get me hooked on seems to go back to Troy for some reason.
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I do like the Iliad, but that's still funny.
Glad you're liking Tad Williams! I really haven't read his stuff beyond Otherland, despite having liked that series quite a bit. After I've read all of the Hugo nominated stuff, and after I've worked through some of my non-fiction backlog, I'll give more of his stuff a try. Anything you'd recommend starting with?
I've just been editing my original book list in this thread as I've added or completed new books, but I think that I'll excerpt the list from that post and repost it down here. In a bit.
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Last Light of the Sun - Guy Gavriel Kay Poems of the Elder Edda - Charles W. Dunn and Patricia Terry (translators, of course)(reread) An Autumn War - Daniel Abraham Fledgling - Octavia Butler (reread) The Guns of August - Barbara Tuchman (in progress) Intimate Voices from the First World War - Svetlana Palmer and Sarah Wallis (editors) (in progress) The Year's Best Science Fiction: 25th Annual Collection - Gardener Dozois (editor) (in progress) Animals Make Us Human - Temple Grandin & Catherine Johnson The Faces of World War I - Max Arthur Busted Flush - George R. R. Martin (editor) Animals in Translation - Temple Grandin & Catherine Johnson (in progress) The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman Wildseed - Octavia Butler (reread) Wild Cards - George R. R. Martin (editor) (reread) Wild Cards II - Aces High - George R. R. Martin (editor) (in progress) (reread) Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand - Carrie Vaughn Mind of My Mind - Octavia Butler (reread) Clay's Ark - Octavia Butler (reread) Patternmaster - Octavia Butler (reread)
[Edited to add a bunch of "reread" notes]
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quote:Originally posted by volssam: I mean I know I want to read Brisngr. Besides that I need suggestions. I was looking at the Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan, but it looks like a huge commitment, as most of them are very long. Anybody read it before? Any Good? Thanks.
You're likely to get the entire range of possible opinions in answer to this question. General consensus is books 1-4 or so are pretty good, books 5-10 get progressively more boring and tedious, book 11 starts to get better again. Book 12 is due out this year by a different author.
I would guess that a lot of people, upon seeing that you're interested in epic fantasy, would rather suggest A Song of Ice and Fire, though that series is also in progress, and it is becoming frustrating how long GRRM is taking on this next installment.
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quote:Originally posted by EmpSquared: Spin by Robert Charles Wilson A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Spin was incredible.
I read 50 books last year. Spin was easily the best of the lot.
So far this year has been slow for me.
I've read
1. Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein 2. The Fountains of Pardise - Arthur C. Clarke 3. Disclosure - Michael Crichton 4. The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo 5. Politically correct bedtimes stories/Once upon a more Enlightened Time - James Finn Garner
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I hadn't heard of Spin. What is it that you like so much? What are a couple of your other favorite books, Mathematician? I'm trying to judge whether or not our tastes are close enough that I'd respond to it in the same way that you did.
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I finished Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson, which is indeed significantly better-written than his previous Gardens of the Moon. I would have jumped right into Memories of Ice, but I've got a copy of Daniel Abraham's The Price of Spring, which isn't out yet but which I've been eagerly anticipating, so I moved it to the front of the queue and am reading it now.
After that I've got Shadowbridge by Gregory Frost, Move Under Ground by Nick Mamatas, and more Malazan books.
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quote:Originally posted by Noemon: I hadn't heard of Spin. What is it that you like so much? What are a couple of your other favorite books, Mathematician? I'm trying to judge whether or not our tastes are close enough that I'd respond to it in the same way that you did.
Spin follows three characters, all of whom I ended up caring deeply about for very different reasons. The story line was full of new ideas I hadn't even considered, as well as plot twists I didn't see coming.
Some other favorites include: The Hyperion saga, Illium, Olympos by Dan Simmons, Wyrms, Treason, and Saints by OSC Dune - Herbert Ringworld - Niven The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Heinlein
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Hmmm...with the exception of Ringworld, it sounds like our tastes in SF are pretty similar (I love the ideas in Ringworld, but I find Niven's writing to be just impossibly wooden). I'm officially adding Spin to my queue.
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The Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series is good, it's a little stock fantasy, with the wise old elves, and the quest to find something that your enemy is trying to use against you, and the short people who talk funny, but I like it. It doesn't grab and hold me like Otherland does, though.
I just picked up copys of Tailchaser's Song and War of the Flowers, but I haven't had a chance to read them yet.
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Thanks for the suggestions.... I went to the library and picked up the first book in the Ice and Fire series. I had started it before and stopped and went to something else when I had only gotten 20-30 pages or so in. I know; that's weak, but I'm not an extremely fast reader like some. And it was taking me I think almost 2 1/2 min to read each page, and it was going to take me forever to finish, so I got discouraged. However, another book that took me over 2 min per page - Wizard and Glass by Stephen King - is one of my top 10 favorite books, so I may give it another shot sometime. I also picked up the first book in the Otherland series. And I picked up Spin by Robert Charles Wilson after reading the above posts. I am 90 pages into it, and it is very interesting. AND....it only takes me about 1.5 min or so to read a page Posts: 56 | Registered: Jul 2008
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quote:Lila A Short History of Nearly Everything The Salmon of Doubt(reread) Snow Crash(reread) The Ancestor's Tale Ender's Game(reread) Speaker for the Dead(reread) Xenocide(reread) Children of the Mind(reread) Ender's Shadow(reread) Shadow of the Hegemon(reread) Shadow Puppets(reread) Shadow of the Giant Guns, Germs & Steel(reread) Consciousness Explained
I re-read the Ender series for fun. The Shadow series was to counterbalance my fun with lots of pain and frustration.
Also, I must say, I wouldn't be able to get so much accomplished if it wasn't for audiobooks, they double my input of books(which is how i've been able to fit in so many re-reads, I think I re-read 2 or 3 books all of last year). I hope they still count!
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This year, I've been reading a combination of youth fiction and adult, academic non-fiction. I just finished The Blind Watchmaker and I'm reading a book about tracing mitochondrial DNA called The Seven Daughters of Eve. I'm also reading a book about the legends and traditions of London called London Lore. (I have books by the bed and books on the go).
On the fictional side, I re-read The Indian in the Cupboard trilogy the other day. I've also been reading Isabelle Carmody's The Obernewtyn Chronicles--so far the first two books. That's a reread for me but with a big gap; I used to get them out the library but then they disappeared and it was only this Christmas that I found them on the shelves. I've also been working on increasing my Diana Wynne Jones collection and reading my new acquisitions.
I really need to read more books for grow-ups.
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Yes, the Wheel of Time series is a lengthy commitment and some books are better than others.
I do heartily recommend the audiobooks. The production is excellent and captivating. It's a great way to get up to speed for the new novel coming out in November.
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Reading this thread makes me so sad that I've only had time to read academic books. For what its worth though:
Finding Order in Nature: The Naturalist Tradition from Linnaeus to E. O. Wilson by Paul Lawrence Farber The Portable Darwin The Darwinian Revolution by Michael Ruse Lords of the Fly: Drosophila Genetics and the Experimental Life by Robert Kohler The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox Sociobiology by E.O. Wilson Naturalist by E.O. Wilson The Song of the Dodo by David Quammen The Creation by E.O. Wilson The Ecological Indian: Myth and History by Shepard Krech III Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold Silent Spring by Rachel Carson Dust Bowl by Donald Worster The Great Delusion: A Mad Inventor, Death in the Tropics, and the Utopian Origins of Economic Growth by Steven Stoll Insatiable Appetite: The United States and the Ecological Degradation of the Tropical World by Richard Tucker The Elementary Forms of Religious Life by Emile Durkheim The Myth of the Eternal Return by Mircea Eliade The Disenchantment of the World by Marcel Gauchet ‘Religion’ and the Religions in the English Enlightenment by Peter Harrison Enemies of the Enlightenment: The French Counter-Enlightenment and the Making of Modernity by Darrin M. McMahon The Enlightenment Bible: Translation, Scholarship, Culture by Jonathan Sheehan A Secular Age by Charles Taylor (most of it anyways The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution by Dale Van Kley From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology The Fall of Natural Man by Anthony Pagden The Myth of the Noble Savage by Ter Ellingson Catholics and Unbelievers in 18th Century France by R. R. Palmer All Mankind Is One by Lewis Hanke Las Casas and the Search for the Poor Jesus Christ by Gustavo Gutierrez
And almost all 73 volumes of The Jesuit Relations, the first volume of Joseph Francois Lafitau's Customs of American Indians, a crap load of Las Casas' writings, three biographies of Linnaeus, two of Comte de Buffon, and a partridge in a pear tree.
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quote:Originally posted by Dr Strangelove: Reading this thread makes me so sad that I've only had time to read academic books. For what its worth though:
Finding Order in Nature: The Naturalist Tradition from Linnaeus to E. O. Wilson by Paul Lawrence Farber The Portable Darwin The Darwinian Revolution by Michael Ruse Lords of the Fly: Drosophila Genetics and the Experimental Life by Robert Kohler The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox Sociobiology by E.O. Wilson Naturalist by E.O. Wilson The Song of the Dodo by David Quammen The Creation by E.O. Wilson The Ecological Indian: Myth and History by Shepard Krech III Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold Silent Spring by Rachel Carson Dust Bowl by Donald Worster The Great Delusion: A Mad Inventor, Death in the Tropics, and the Utopian Origins of Economic Growth by Steven Stoll Insatiable Appetite: The United States and the Ecological Degradation of the Tropical World by Richard Tucker The Elementary Forms of Religious Life by Emile Durkheim The Myth of the Eternal Return by Mircea Eliade The Disenchantment of the World by Marcel Gauchet ‘Religion’ and the Religions in the English Enlightenment by Peter Harrison Enemies of the Enlightenment: The French Counter-Enlightenment and the Making of Modernity by Darrin M. McMahon The Enlightenment Bible: Translation, Scholarship, Culture by Jonathan Sheehan A Secular Age by Charles Taylor (most of it anyways The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution by Dale Van Kley From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology The Fall of Natural Man by Anthony Pagden The Myth of the Noble Savage by Ter Ellingson Catholics and Unbelievers in 18th Century France by R. R. Palmer All Mankind Is One by Lewis Hanke Las Casas and the Search for the Poor Jesus Christ by Gustavo Gutierrez
And almost all 73 volumes of The Jesuit Relations, the first volume of Joseph Francois Lafitau's Customs of American Indians, a crap load of Las Casas' writings, three biographies of Linnaeus, two of Comte de Buffon, and a partridge in a pear tree.
::Checks calendar::
It's only April... Wow!
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I finished A Game of Thrones - the first in the Song of Ice and Fire Series by George RR Martin. And I must say I was amazed. It was SO GOOD. It's a long book, but it kept me enthralled and engaged in the storylines, of which there are several going on at all times. It was cool the way way he kept switching from character to character but still kept the story progressing. Thanks for the recommendation! I have started the second one already - A Clash of Kings.
Oh, I also I read Spin by Charles Wilson, and it was OK. It started out cool, but about 2/3 or 3/4 through, it dulled a lot for me. It was fine though, but I don't know if I will ever read the sequel.
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Actually, I signed onto Facebook the other day, and it had an application where you could pick your top 5 books of all time and I placed A Game of Thrones at number 4. My list was: 1. Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn 2. Harry Potter 7: Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling 3. Wizard and Glass: Dark Tower IV by Stephen King 4. A Game of Thrones: Ice and Fire 1 by GRRM 5. Lost Boys by our very own Orson Scott Card.
I'd be interested to see what others' top 5 lists would look like......
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quote:Originally posted by Sean Monahan: You're likely to get the entire range of possible opinions in answer to this question. General consensus is books 1-4 or so are pretty good, books 5-10 get progressively more boring and tedious, book 11 starts to get better again.
Really? I thought it started to get better by the 8th book or so.
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Besides all the books that I reread almost annually (OSC, Jane Austen, Harry Potter):
1. Contact by Carl Sagan 2. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Carl Sagan 3. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson 4. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll 5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by I forget 6. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies...(Well, I bought it and I may read it someday.)
If I did the whole Facebook thing, my top 5 would be: 1. Ender's Game 2. Speaker for the Dead 3. Pride and Prejudice 4. Sense and Sensibility 5. Harry Potter (series...If I had to pick one, I guess I'd pick the first)
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1. Victims: A True Story of the Civil War by Philip Shaw Paludan
I also read bits of other things for school; out of those the only other thing that really sticks out in my mind is Signs of the Unseen by Rumi and Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M McPherson (which I do intend to read all the way through).
Fiction (Novels)
1. A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears by Jules Feiffer 2. The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson (The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages) 3. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson 4. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 5. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein (reread)
Fiction (Short Stories/Novellas)
*All of these are from the Wizards short story collection, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois, with the exception of Robota and Henry's Gift
1. Robota by Doug Chiang and Orson Scott Card (reread) 2. Henry's Gift: The Magic Eye by David Worsick, Joyce Harris, and Bohan Petyhyrycz (reread) 3. Stonefather by Orson Scott Card 4. The Witch's Headstone by Neil Gaiman (which is what led me to read The Graveyard Book) 5. Holly and Iron by Garth Nix 6. The Ruby Incomparable by Kage Baker 7. A Fowl Tale by Eoin Colfer 8. Slipping Sideways Through Eternity by Jane Yolen 9. The Stranger's Hands by Tad Williams 10. Naming Day by Patricia A. McKillip 11. Winter's Wife by Elizabeth Hand 12. A Diorama of the Infernal Regions, or The Devil's Ninth Question by Andy Duncan
What I'm Currently Reading at the Moment (I'm having bad reader ADD right now; I keep hopping between these but intend to finish all of them; I'm about to get Elantris by Brandon Sanderson and I know I'm going read that all the way through):
1. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle 2. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli 3. Howl's Moving Castle by Diane Wynne Jones 4. Women of Genesis: Sarah by Orson Scott Card 5. The Riddle Master Trilogy by Patrica A McKillip
And I always read, reread, and rereread The Book of Mormon every year.
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What a cool thread! I can't believe I missed it until now.
Ursula K. Le Guin is one of the very best writers I've ever read. Plus she writes fantasy and SF both. I just finished reading three books by her that are billed as YA fiction but really they're for anyone. There's nothing YA about them.
Gifts Voices Powers
All three were really good but I especially loved the last one, Powers. I hope she writes more in this series.
Also underrepresented in the lists above is Lois McMaster Bujold. She's light and usually funny, and lots of fun to read. Not as serious or important as some of my other favorite writers but consistently good. All the Vokorsigan Saga books are good. I recommend starting with "Cordelia's Honor" if you haven't tried her yet.
I want to point out one more of my favorite "classical" authors that didn't get a mention above (that I saw). Nikos Kazantzakis is amazing. Zorba the Greek, and The Last Temptation of Christ are my two favorites of his.
One more recommendation. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding is one of the funniest and best novels of all time. I had a copy for years before I finally was moved to read it, and I kicked myself for waiting. It's hilarious and delightful.
Oh, and please join Goodreads so I can read all about all the books you're reading and what you think of them. It's so much fun! Here's my profile so you can friend me when you sign up. Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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A lot of speculative fiction this year. I'm trying to read every great speculative fiction novel. I should finish before I reach 90.
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson Hatrack River by Orson Scott Card (Yes, first time. I only got turned onto Card in the last couple years.) Little Brother by Cory Doctorow Eyes of Heisenberg by Frank Herbert Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham The Time Machine H.G. Wells John Adams: Party of One by James Grant (Along with the John Adams miniseries in greatly increased by estimation of John Adams) American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin (Biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer. The best biography I've read. Lots of personal information about history's greatest physicists.) The First Three Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan
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I am gently nudging this thread back to the first page, so that those who are interested can complete their lists (if memory allows).
Posts: 1100 | Registered: Apr 2008
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quote: Lila A Short History of Nearly Everything The Salmon of Doubt(reread) Snow Crash(reread) The Ancestor's Tale Ender's Game(reread) Speaker for the Dead(reread) Xenocide(reread) Children of the Mind(reread) Ender's Shadow(reread) Shadow of the Hegemon(reread) Shadow Puppets(reread) Shadow of the Giant Guns, Germs & Steel(reread) Consciousness Explained Guns, Germs, And Steel (reread) This is Your Brain on Music Neurophilosophy God is not Great A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness The Language Instinct Quicksilver (reread) Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are The Varieties of Scientific Experience Predictably Irrational In Defense of Food The Cyberiad Blink Mind Wide Open Hyperion The Fall of Hyperion Dune (reread) Foundation (reread) Foundation and Empire (reread)
currently reading:
The Engine of Reason, The Seat of the Soul
I read more this year than any other since I was much younger. Though audiobooks had a lot to do with that.
One more month! I wonder if I can finish any of the series I started in the last month or two...
Posts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
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