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Author Topic: What are you reading, take 3583
HollowEarth
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Currently, The Hellfire Conspiracy by Will Thomas, and (not started yet) City at the End of Time by Greg Egan. Just finished The Uplift War by David Brin.

Of the three 1980's uplift books, Startide Rising was the hands down best. Too many of the characters in TUW were just too flat, or under used (The marine commander that gets caged, Benjamin and Max come to mind.) On the whole though, I liked it. The uplift universe seems to have a lot of potential. Wouldn't mind seeing some other authors getting to play there. Say like the series of man-kzin war books. Right now, I don't think I'll read the 1990's uplift trilogy. For one, the bookstore didn't even have them to look at and the wikipedia synopsis does exactly sound great.

Wil Thomas's books are about a Victorian "private enquiry agent" and narrated by his assistant. The other two that I've read have been good, so I have high hopes for this one, even though they are not terribly long and are pretty easy reads.

No comments on the Bear book yet.

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Tatiana
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Hollow Earth, I've been slogging through those darn uplift books for a while now. I finished the 5th one and started the last one, then ordered some Ursula K. Le Guin books which I eagerly dropped Brin for. She's so much better a writer. The latest one I read was Lavinia. It was a jewel of a book. I loved it.

Before that I had read the Western Shore series by UKL. "Gifts", "Voices", and "Powers" which I read about 3 times in a row it was so good.

Before that it was Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion series which was good and enjoyable, if not up to UKL's level.

Next I'm reading a series of UKL books that I haven't read before. I had pretty much read everything she's written so this is filling in the gaps. A book of short stories called "The Birthday of the World", a book of apparently non-fiction called "Cheek by Jowl", and a kids' book called "Cat Dreams" which I already read and it was lovely (and dedicated to her cat Zorro).

Join goodreads and friend me for more details. Probably more than you ever wanted to know about what I'm reading now. I'm on there as Tatiana. My goodreads profile.

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Luet13
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Late September is one of my rereading times. Currently half way through 'The Hobbit.' Already got through 'The Silmarillion," and will soon be reading the LotR trilogy for the um.... 17th time. Yep. Ever since my mom read it to me as a bed time story, I've read it to myself every year at the beginning of fall. It just feels good.
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AchillesHeel
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The State of Jones, all about Jones county Mississippi who succeded from the confederacy and one Newt Knight who successfully fought the confederacy from within thier own borders.

The Sociopath Next Door, all about common day sociopathic behavior. I wouldnt suggest it though, the doctor admits in the prologue that shes cut and pasted differant patient stories together for the book, so now Im doubting the validity of a prognosis because she doesnt give a factual portrayal to let me see the reasoning.

The Original Man, by Albert Camus is being very patient and waiting for me to get around to reading it. Its supposed to be the book that Camus himself never published and Im told that it may be a precurser to The Stranger, in story and style but Camus apperantly didnt like it enough and re-wrote the entire thing with a brand new name. Edit-- The First Man, sorry.

Hidden Empire is definatly on the list though, just got to climb my way out of what Im reading right now.

[ September 21, 2009, 01:28 PM: Message edited by: AchillesHeel ]

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Shanna
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Right now I'm on the third book of the "Percy Jackson" series. Not as good as I had heard (its no Harry Potter) but a coworker lent me her copies and its always nice to keep up with what's popular so I can make recommendations to my customers (I work in a bookstore.)

I also need to finish "The Know-It All" by AJ Jacobs. I misplaced my copy while I was moving this week and I just found it again. He has a new book out that I'm dying to get but that may have to wait a few weeks.

There's a copy of "The Planet of the Apes" sitting on my bookshelf staring at me forlornly but I'm tempted to re-read "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" next instead.

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DDDaysh
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I just finished "My Sister's Keeper" which probably ranks along "Lost Boys" and a couple of others for "Most Depressing Read Ever".

I'm rereading all the Amelia Peabody books and all the Wheel of Time books as well.

I'm also reading, "The Kid, What Happened when my boyfriend and I decided to get Pregnant". Very funny so far!

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Dr Strangelove
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Aside from school books (The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France by Robert Darnton is today's read), I just finished the first three Halo books in preparation for ODST, and am currently reading The Name of the Wind again.
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Leonide
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I'm reading Endymion, soon to be complete, and just received the hardcover of The Rise of Endymion which I'm sure will follow shortly. [Smile]
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Dr Strangelove
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Is this your first time reading them? If so, enjoy. Rise of Endymion was the single most enjoying sci-fi read I've ever experienced, and that's saying something.
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CaySedai
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"Web Server Administration"

I can't begin to express how riveting I'm finding this book. So much so that I haven't cracked it open since Friday's class, and class begins again at 8 a.m. Monday. Oh joy.

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katharina
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Deja Dead. It's okay, I guess. I'm not a fan of the genre.
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Armoth
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Blink. Malcom Gladwell. Yay non-fiction.
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Tara
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I am reading "Wicked". Good so far.
The only other book I've read by Gregory Maguire was "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" which was pretty good...not great.

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AchillesHeel
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quote:
Originally posted by Armoth:
Blink. Malcom Gladwell. Yay non-fiction.

I loved that one, I read Whispers: the vioces of paranioa not long after and the two go strangely hand in hand.
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Alcon
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I love Brin's uplift books - the first trilogy more than the second. But I think that's mostly because I love the uplift universe. I second the wish that he would open it up and allow other writers to play in it.

Right now I'm reading a bunch of computer books including Refactoring by Martin Fowler, et al and The C++ Programming Language, Special Edition by Bjarne Stroustrup. I'm actually really enjoying both books. I'm not kidding. I'm really enjoying reading them and I'm kind of devouring them. It helps that I've been spending 8 hours a day writing code, so that's kind of where my head is right now, but I'm learning so much from both that's kinda hard to put them down!

For slightly less work-related reading I'm working my way through Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, which is really good as well. And I'm listening to Shelly read A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins out loud when she happens to be reading it and I'm hanging around. [Smile]

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Leonide
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quote:
Originally posted by Dr Strangelove:
Is this your first time reading them? If so, enjoy. Rise of Endymion was the single most enjoying sci-fi read I've ever experienced, and that's saying something.

Yes, actually. I loved Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion, Endymion is kind of...eh. It has it's moments, and I really like Aenea and the Farcaster travels. Hopefully, like you say, Rise of Endymion is much better. [Smile]
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twinky
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The third Black Company collection, containing Bleak Seasons and She Is The Darkness, just came out. I picked it up yesterday and plan to dive into it tonight. [Smile]
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Noemon
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I'm reading Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, Tad Williams' third Otherland book, Machiavelli's The Prince, Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking, and Joe Haldeman's Dealing in Futures.
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Sean Monahan
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quote:
Originally posted by Leonide:
quote:
Originally posted by Dr Strangelove:
Is this your first time reading them? If so, enjoy. Rise of Endymion was the single most enjoying sci-fi read I've ever experienced, and that's saying something.

Yes, actually. I loved Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion, Endymion is kind of...eh. It has it's moments, and I really like Aenea and the Farcaster travels. Hopefully, like you say, Rise of Endymion is much better. [Smile]
I just finished RoE myself a couple weeks ago. Loved all four, though I think I liked the first two more than the second two.

Currently reading Dune by Frank Herbert, and American Front by Harry Turtledove. It's alternate history, and takes place in Turtledove's Timeline 191 series. AF is the first of a trilogy called The Great War which tells the story of WWI in a world where the South won the War of Secession. In this story, the USA and the CSA are bitter enemies, and they both join WWI on opposite sides.

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Godric 2.0
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quote:
Originally posted by Leonide:
quote:
Originally posted by Dr Strangelove:
Is this your first time reading them? If so, enjoy. Rise of Endymion was the single most enjoying sci-fi read I've ever experienced, and that's saying something.

Yes, actually. I loved Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion, Endymion is kind of...eh. It has it's moments, and I really like Aenea and the Farcaster travels. Hopefully, like you say, Rise of Endymion is much better. [Smile]
After loving the Hyperions I gave up on Endymion (well, I do plan to go back and finish it at some point). I guess I really should if Rise... is worth it.
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Sean Monahan
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On a whim, I did a search for the number 3583 (which I assume was chosen at random). This was about the most interesting thing I could find.
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The Rabbit
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I finished reading Guerillas by V.S. Naipaul about a week ago. The book is extraordinary in many ways but I found it deeply disturbing.


I'm currently reading "Science and Poetry" by Mary Midgley. Midgley manages to crystalize many of the ideas that have been swirling in my brain for some time about the relationship between science, the humanities, religion, emotion and consciousness.

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paigereader
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I just finished "Olive Kitteridge." What a sassy lady! I also finished "The Monsters of Templeton" based loosely on the history and folklore of Cooperstown.
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Traceria
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This thread just reminds me that there is so much out there I'd like to one day read and that there's even more that I didn't even know existed!

For the record, I'm reading Memory by K.J. Parker. Trying to finish the trilogy (a word I always mistype as triology) so I can pass it along to a friend.

For those of you reading several books at once, may I live vicariously through you? Too busy these days to fall into that old and loved habit.

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