Recommended Reading

[Vedra]

I thought I would make a thread where we could all discuss books we like, are in the process of reading, or are planning to read.

Right now I'm reading:
Heat Stroke (sequel to Ill Wind, in the Weather Warden series)
Snow Crash
Life of Pi
and Revelation Space

Is anyone else reading any of these? I'd love to discuss them.

[Zeke]

I haven't read any of those, though Life of Pi has been recommended to me. I've had very little reading time lately... read the first couple of chapters of a Robertson Davies book I picked up cheap (Murther and Walking Spirits), but that's about it.

[Alexia]

Life of Pi was recommended to me to, but I rarely can find time to read these days other than when I'm on holiday (when I catch up a bit by reading about 8 a week :wink: )

Sitting on my desk in front of me is an ANCIENT copy of Dune...I haven't read it, or seen any films or TV series of it. I have, in fact, no clue what it's about *ducks for cover* But everyone else seems to love it, including my dad, the owner of the ancient copy.

So, eventually, I will pick it up and read :mrgreen:

[Gatac]

I heartily recommend Cryptonomicon. It's Neal Stephenson's longest book, and it's got tons of interesting things going on, not the least of which is that you get a - comprehensible - introduction to various theories of cryptography.

Read it and be a better geek for it. :)

Gatac

[Michiel]

I'm reading the Sherlock Holmes books at the moment. They're ok, but not all that I expected them to be.

I did immediately recognize a lot from TNG, of course. ;)

[PointyHairedJedi]

Sitting on my desk in front of me is an ANCIENT copy of Dune...I haven't read it, or seen any films or TV series of it. I have, in fact, no clue what it's about *ducks for cover* But everyone else seems to love it, including my dad, the owner of the ancient copy.

So, eventually, I will pick it up and read :mrgreen:
Oh, you'd better.... :twisted:

[Chancellor Valium]

I would recommend:
The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy series,
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman,
Christian Jacq books,
1066 and all that by Sellars and Yeatman,
the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (although in North America they are very hard to come by, apparently, and are in inferior covers.)
A Black Hole In Neasden ( by David Sutherland).

[mudshark]

I heartily recommend Cryptonomicon. It's Neal Stephenson's longest book, and it's got tons of interesting things going on, not the least of which is that you get a - comprehensible - introduction to various theories of cryptography. Quite liked that one. Some fascinating historical stuff there, although I thought that the ending left a few things hanging.

[Sa'ar Chasm]

I'm re-readed Mr. Midshipman Hornblower while waiting for the library to put Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies back on the shelf. I highly recommend that series. Roddenberry used it as one of the inspirations for Star Trek, and is the source of "Aye aye, sir", "belay that" and all the other nautical gibberish spouted by the characters (although I've yet to see anyone say "Man the scuppers and keelhaul the halliards!" on the show).

Harry Turtledove's novels are good if you like alternate history, not so good if you like well-drawn, believable characters or sparkling dialogue (think Chakotay as a writer). He has a degree in Byzantine history, and writes like a college professor: belabouring the point in a dry, boring voice.

Better alternate history (although with a decidedly military bent) is written by David Drake (eg, The General series written with -->) S. M. Stirling (eg, Island in the Sea of Time, which was ripped off by -->) Eric Flint (1632 has a similar premise as Island, but the Belisarius series written with David Drake is pretty good, even if is does cover similar material to The General).

And, of course, there's always Discworld, or anything by Arthur C. Clarke.

[Nan]

William Gibson! I liked all the books of his I've read, and recently read Pattern Recognition. It's tres bien.

I haven't read The Difference Engine yet, because everyone I know who's read it said it sucked.

[Vedra]

I've read a lot of the Discworld books already, and I do love them more than I would my own children, if I had any.

I've also read Neverwhere, very good book, if you like gross under-society stories, and I'm working on American Gods...that's a weird book.

I've also read parts of the Hitchiker books, I have that leather-and-gold-leaf compilation book, everyone at school thought I was carrying around a bible, hehe, how little they know me!

[MaverickZer0]

I'd recommend the Dragonriders series by Anne MacAffrey. Always a good read.

[Sa'ar Chasm]

The later novels more than the early ones. Anne's got a choppy writing style. The very first novel began life as a short story, and it feels very much like she just tacked on some stuff at the beginning and end to make it longer.

[mudshark]

I haven't read The Difference Engine yet, because everyone I know who's read it said it sucked.Hmmm, I thought that was a good one. Go figure.

[Nan]

Gotta go with Sa'ar on the Clarke. His and Asimov's short story anthologies are muy bien.

Starlight 2 was good, too.

[Vedra]

I've never read Asimov,all his stories seemed to have depressing views of the future and technology...or maybe I'm misinterpreting?

[Gatac]

Well, if anything by Gibson, then the Neuromancer trilogy. Gotta be old-school.

As for Cryptonomicon's ending, yeah, it felt a bit rushed, but I can forgive that.

Gatac

[Nan]

I've never read Asimov,all his stories seemed to have depressing views of the future and technology...or maybe I'm misinterpreting?

Not necessarily. Bicentennial Man is fairly feel-good as robot stories go. Movie sucked, though.

[Zeke]

If we're doing "sci-fi writers you recommend" here, first and foremost I recommend Ray Bradbury. I've only read one of his full-length novels, but he's a master of the short story. His originality and talent for description and atmosphere are among the best I've ever encountered. Bradbury is one of the writers most responsible for building sci-fi into a full-fledged genre. (Additional note for ENT S3 viewers: Bradbury's novella "Frost and Fire" is about a character named Sim, born on a world where humans live only seven days. Sound familiar?)

Other authors... C. S. Lewis is best known for the Chronicles of Narnia and for his theological writings, but he also dabbled in sci-fi. He wrote three books now generally known as his Cosmic Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra (Voyage to Venus in the U. S. edition), and That Hideous Strength (which I understand MmeBlueberry is reading). They're all remarkable books; of the three, I think Perelandra is the deepest, but they're best read in order. A word of warning, though... like the Narnia books, the Cosmic Trilogy turns out to be based in Christianity. The books explore questions like what a world would be like if it were "unfallen," i. e. no Original Sin, and whether it would be right to intervene and prevent the Fall from happening on another world. (That's where the title of the first book comes from -- the "silent planet" is Earth, whose spiritual communication with the rest of the solar system has been broken by the growth of evil.) In other words, if Christianity annoys you, you probably shouldn't try reading these.

John Wyndham and Arthur C. Clarke are very good too, and if you know French, I recommend trying some untranslated Jules Verne. The French in his books isn't difficult at all. The Dune books are amazing, though each is less amazing than the last. As for franchise sf novels, my abiding love of the Reeves-Stevens' DS9 trilogy Millennium is on record, and my favourite one-shot Trek novel is The Devil's Heart by Carmen Carter; in SW, Timothy Zahn is fantastic, and Kevin J. Anderson's not bad either.

[Vedra]

When I was in France, I bought a book in French, J'accuse by Emile Zola, I bought it mostly because I learned about that case in Euro History.

And yeah, I can actually read some of it, but it isn't easy.

[Vedra]

OMG, Zeke put my rice joke in his sig! That is SO AWESOME!

[Chancellor Valium]

I go with Vedra that Asimov is depressing

[MaverickZer0]

Depressing? Maybe. I also hold most of his robot stories in very high regard. It's the basis for a lot of the robot theory I believe in. Second only to some Mega Man stuff.

From me, that's a high and mighty compliment.

[Chancellor Valium]

Yes depressing. I personally think the Guide contains much more of what the future may well be like.....especially if Microsoft moves into cybernetics..... :wink:

[NAHTMMM]

The Devil's Heart is great, all right. The Millennium trilogy I was less thrilled with but enjoyed except for one or two parts I think.


I've read two of Bruce Catton's Civil War books and both are ABSOLUTELY UNDENIABLY SUPERLATIVELY FANTASTIC READS. Seriously. ;)

[mudshark]

I personally think the Guide contains much more of what the future may well be like.....especially if Microsoft moves into cybernetics..... :wink:Are you Sirius?

[Chancellor Valium]

Certainly not! I use Macrosoft Doors(tm)

[Vedra]

Has anyone read the Canterbury Tales? I used to think this book was confusing and, thus, intelligent, but now I've realized it was written by some rhyming Middle Age dork that probably owned a lute. And some kind of hat with bells on it.

Oh,and have any of you read Atlas Shrugged? I borrowed a copy from my friend and I'm only a few pages in,and I'm not gettin it.lol So help me out?

[Xeroc]

Has anyone read the Canterbury Tales? I used to think this book was confusing and, thus, intelligent, but now I've realized it was written by some rhyming Middle Age dork that probably owned a lute. And some kind of hat with bells on it.
Actually, I'm reading them right now.

And Geoffrey Chaucer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Chaucer) was both a politician and a poet, and he is widely regarded as the first major poet to legitimize the English Language as valid as an art form. Before that it was all in french and latin.

I wouldn't complain about stuff just for the sake of complaining about it, remeber also, this is Reccommended Reading.

[Vedra]

Fair enough...I'm mainly complaining about it because I'm reading it for English, and that automatically makes it evil. So I'm sorry, Canterbury Tales, for besmirching your name.

Canterbury Tales: You betta' be, biatch! *smack*

Ow!

Stupid Chaucer...*rubs face*

[Xeroc]

Fair enough...I'm mainly complaining about it because I'm reading it for English, and that automatically makes it evil. So I'm sorry, Canterbury Tales, for besmirching your name.

Canterbury Tales: You betta' be, biatch! *smack*

Ow!

Stupid Chaucer...*rubs face*
Yeah, the whole English Class factor can do that to you.

[Sa'ar Chasm]

I've read a rewrite of the Canterbury Tales in the form of the Hyperion Cantos, a sci-fi pair of duologies by Dan Simmons. The first volume parallels the original Tales: several pilgrims travelling somewhere while telling their personal stories, set against a highly-technological future. The second novel goes a bit beyond that (revealing that the author has something of a Keats fetish, as well as an unhealthy obsession with Catholicism). The further on you go, you notice that there's a distinct parallel to the Terminator movies as well. Simmons is stealing from all over the map.

I recommend them, for the take on the progress of technology and society if nothing else.

[Vedra]

An unhealthy obsession with Catholicism is never good.

[MaverickZer0]

An unhealthy obsession with religion of any kind is never good.
An unhealthy obesession of any kind is never good.

*hides MegaMan NT Warrior Trading Cards*

What? It's a healthy obsession!

[Vedra]

Sure it is, Maverick...sure it is. *coughlunaticcough*

Heehee!

[Chancellor Valium]

Ahem. Sa'ar wrote: "unhealthy obsession with Catholicism)."
Vedra wrote: "An unhealthy obsession with Catholicism is never good"
Maverick wrote: "An unhealthy obsession with religion of any kind is never good."
It. Depends. On. Whether. It. Is. Positive. Or. Negative. Like. Dan. Brown. Or. Whoever. :x :x :x
If you mean in the form of "it claims to be white, therefore it is black and evil and KILL KILL KILL!" then yes I agree. If you mean interest or that they think it is good, I might have to reveal my religious beliefs thusly. I am Catholic and I find negative comments about religion highly highly HIGHLY offensive. Sorry, I am devout and I do find comments about people such as myself being "wyrd" as an excuse for open hostility, aggression and war. And yes, I believe in the Last Judgement. :roll: . Sorry, just embittered over the subject because over here religion is still a sore point. Bloody Henry the zarking VIIIth.

[Vedra]

I wasn't saying anything about Catholicism, I was talking about people that believe in Catholicism. Those are not the same.

Besides, we were talking about unhealthy obsessions with religions. Being devout and having an obsession are, hopefully, two different things. They are to me.

[PointyHairedJedi]

Okay, going to restrict myself to just the one book. And because Dune has already been mentioned, it'll be a different book.

The Shape of Things to Come, by H.G. Wells. It's mostly written in a somewhat abstract style, and is deliberately very dry, but it is absolutely fascinating in it's analysis of the modern day society and the take on the idea of the world state that it presents so ably. Some of the predictions do even stand the test of time, but the really interesting thing is though the world that Wells presents is very different than our own, you can imagine that this really might have happened, that the world might have gone down this path in exactly the way he sets out. In some ways one might compare it to Citizen Cane - once you've read it, you'll start to notice the echoes even in books written recently. All in all, one of those books that I think everyone should read the once.

[Chancellor Valium]

Vedra: sry, just wanted to clear that up...sry if it sounded wrong, was still irritated after the spat this morning.... :oops: . And i happen to find people like Dan Brown extremely worrying....and stark staring bonkers, obviously.... :roll: :D

[Vedra]

His books are fiction, I hope you realize. They're only pseudo-scientific. But the stories are pretty good, even if the books are poorly written, because he usually keeps up a good pace.

[Chancellor Valium]

Yes I do know they're fiction but he still has an unhealthy obsession.... :D

[Vedra]

*Shrugs* He held my interest for a night.

[Chancellor Valium]

I wont tell you what my twisted imagination thought of as an alternative to your meaning......I'll just say :twisted:

[Vedra]

You dirty, dirty man.

[Vedra]

Have any of you read House of Sand and Fog? I just saw the movie and loved it, so I'm thinking of getting the book.

[Chancellor Valium]

Never heard of it. Sorry. But yes, I am twisted and dirty-minded in the extreme - At your service! :D

[AKAArzosah]

As someone who reads 3 inch books in three hours if given the chance, i must reccomend:

Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders (mentioned earlier)
Phillip Pullmans 'His Dark Materials Trilogy'
Garth Nix's's's Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen
Katharine Kerr's 'Deverry' Series
Sara Douglass's 'Threshold'
Traci Harding's 'Ancient Future Trilogy' and 'The Alchemist's Cat'
The Andromeda Books (Well DUH!)
Bryce Courtenay's 'Jessica' (especially for Aussies)

More will most likely follow.

[mudshark]

Oh,and have any of you read Atlas Shrugged? I borrowed a copy from my friend and I'm only a few pages in,and I'm not gettin it.lol So help me out?It's a favorite of mine, for what that's worth. As a caveat, though, it's been my experience that people either love or hate this book; there doesn't seem to be a lot of middle ground.


Recommended reading?

One thing any fan of science fiction worth his/her/its salt should read is Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy.

Others (not necessarily sci-fi):

- Mark Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses (The latter is what got him in trouble with the Ayatollah Khomeini in particular, and Islamic clerics in general.)
- Joseph Heller - Catch-22
- Robert Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange Land and Friday (forget Starship Troopers, it's crap)
- Thomas Pynchon - Mason & Dixon
- Douglas Adams - the Hitchhiker's Guide books, as well as the Dirk Gently ones (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul)
- Practically any science fiction short story collections from the '40s and '50s you can get your hands on


That should be enough for a start.

[Edit: code] and to add: read Shakespeare's Hamlet and Othello, though not necessarily back-to-back, as I did.

[Vedra]

Uh oh, guess I haven't been worth all this salt for many years now.

I'm reading too many books already now! Arrgh! At least I have Thanksgiving break coming up so I can make a dent in this stack of books.

[PointyHairedJedi]

Just yesterday I was finally able to lay my hands on a copy of The Years of Rice and Salt. And now I'm a happy Jedi indeed. Wheeeeeeee!!

[mudshark]

Uh oh, guess I haven't been worth all this salt for many years now. I was casting no aspersions. It's just that, if any work deserves the designation "Science-fiction Classic", Foundation is it. Try it out when you can find time. The later ones in the series are also enjoyable, for the most part (I'm not including those by other authors than Asimov, because I haven't read them), but the original trilogy is the Real Stuff. :D

[marplanauta]

I have read all the Foundation series, and you´re right, the first trilogy is the best. I don´t think those are depressing at all, but i haven´t read the robot series, so i don´t know.

As for Dune...is highly recommendable and the 2nd and the 3rd books too, but then it goes downhill, even though it is still very good. More scifi, i recommend "ring world", "solaris" and "do androids dream with electrical sheep?"

[mudshark]

I'd recommend the Robot novels (Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun and Robots of Dawn), too, as well as the I, Robot story collection. Essential material for the science-fiction reader.

[Vedra]

*gets back after auctioning away all his Sci-Fi salt on eBay* Oh,NOW you tell me.

[ijdgaf]

My favorite, favorite, favorite novel ever is Brave New World.

I know a lot of people have read it through school. But if anybody hasn't, then get it. It's tremendously well written, and it poses a question I've never quite seen elsewhere "screw distopia -- is utopia truely disirable?"

Damn, now I want to read it again.

[Alexia]

I read a lot of girly books as they require no thought, but there is only one author I would recommend and that is Marion Keyes.

She rocks. Period. Oh crap, I'm typing American :wink:

The best one of hers for making you think is Rachael's Holiday, which is about a woman with a drug addiction.

*awaits pelting for reading girly books* :wink: :mrgreen:

[Chancellor Valium]

I can't remember who the author is, but A Very Private Life is....interesting and horrifyingly realistic portrayal of the future - less depressing than Asimov and more (that was a random MacBeth quote - which I didn;t intend....), read it, READ IT! It will really make you think about our society.....or at least it made ME think....

[Vedra]

Wow....just...wow.

I just read what is probably one of the best books I've ever read up to this point of my life. It's called Like the Red Panda. You should all...I dunno...go read it.

*feels slightly disturbed*

[PointyHairedJedi]

My favorite, favorite, favorite novel ever is Brave New World.

I know a lot of people have read it through school. But if anybody hasn't, then get it. It's tremendously well written, and it poses a question I've never quite seen elsewhere "screw distopia -- is utopia truely disirable?"

Damn, now I want to read it again.
It is excellent indeed. Been a while since I read it though.

I've a pair of recommendations - The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, and Starship Troopers by RAH. I mention them together because I feel they both provide a fascinating counterpoint to each other on the subject of war. Now, it's not nearly so simple as one of them being pro- and the other anti-, but they both make you think, which is the mark in my view of a really great book. Catch 22, which I believe has already been mentioned, is also fascinating, but for different reasons.

[Chancellor Valium]

The Not-So-Very-Nice Goings-On At Victoria Lodge is a hilarious and very silly picture-book style publication, with a twist. The twist is that all the pictures are from the Girl's Own Paper from 1891-2 (apparently), but the author has rearranged them and given them new captions, with very funny results

And now, I must away....

[Zeke]

And now, I must away....

...ere break of day, to claim your long-forgotten gold?

[MaverickZer0]

Oh boy, books. Now that I'm finally caught up on math, I can focus.

First off, if you're into comics and Japanese manga, I higly recommend X/1999. It's dramatic and well-written for a comic, with only a little shonen-ai.

As for regular books, I'd recommend Dragonriders of Pern but someone's done that already. I do, however, like British mystery books..."A Matter of Clues" by Monica Marsden springs to mind. It's hort, but very enjoyable. And I don't think anyone has mentioned another classic-Narnia. For what was originally kids books, tehy're very good. I have to dig out my old box set sometime.

All I've really had time to read recently is stuff for school, and that means Shakespeare. "Romeo and Juliet" was good, but I liked "A Midsummer Night's Dream" a lot better.

The worst part is, we had to watch the new Leonardo Di Caprio version of the Romeo and Juliet movie because my class wouldn't shut up until we did. And it was horrible. But considering who was in it, I suppose that was a given.

Anyways, that was a tangent. I have to go pick up "Catch 22" from the bookstore now...

[Sa'ar Chasm]

The worst part is, we had to watch the new Leonardo Di Caprio version of the Romeo and Juliet movie because my class wouldn't shut up until we did.

Aww, you missed the version with the boobs. My teacher rewound and had another look.

[Kira]

Thank goodness that movie wasn't around when I took Romeo and Juliet.

All I've really had time to read recently is stuff for school, and that means Shakespeare. "Romeo and Juliet" was good, but I liked "A Midsummer Night's Dream" a lot better.
I'm a fan of the "comedies" over the tragedies too, but nothing has ever been able to stand up to my high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (or adaptation thereof). The guy we had playing Puck was so perfect that I've never been able to see any other version since. My two favorite adaptations are Much Ado About Nothing with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson (and Keanu Reeves, BOOO!) and Twelfth Night with Helena Bonham-Carter. Shakespeare in Love, too, just for pure cleverness and the mixture of Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night.

[Alexia]

Much Ado was my favourite Shakespeare play of the ones that I studied in college. I was actually laughing at points throughout the play...and everyone was looking at me going, "What?"

Well, I thought it was funny :wink: :mrgreen:

[Sa'ar Chasm]

When watching the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet in Grade 12, I was the only one who laughed when it got to the graveyard scene and the line "You don't want to go to England. It's full of Englishmen" went by.

[Mj]

Books eh? Dunno if Dan Browns books have been discussed yet... AMAZING read. And also I'm reading another amusing book set by Jasper Fforde, again a really good read!

[PointyHairedJedi]

You know, I always get Dan Brown and Dale Brown mixed up.

But anyway. Kim Stanley Robinson is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors, no mean feat, I can tell you. I'm also reasonably impressed with this George Martin chap, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series which Nic turned me on to.

[Sa'ar Chasm]

I read the Red/Green/Blue Mars series and came away with the impression that KSR couldn't actually write.

The ideas impressed me, but the narrative and the dialogue were nigh-well intolerable.

[MaverickZer0]

As far as sci-fi hrillers go, I'd say check out "Digital Fortress". It's written by the same person who wrote 'The DaVinci Code' which I haven't bothered to pick up yet.

(Actually Sa'ar, we saw that one in Drama class two years ago. The acting was a lot better...not that it's even a real comparison...)

[PointyHairedJedi]

I read the Red/Green/Blue Mars series and came away with the impression that KSR couldn't actually write.

The ideas impressed me, but the narrative and the dialogue were nigh-well intolerable.
It is difficult reading, yes, buit for some reason I found that after half of Red Mars it suddenly got easier. I've no idea why. But anyway, I always maintain that the best books are sometimes the least easy to read, though with the Mars trilogy I think you can either get into it, or you can't. You might try the Three Californias trilogy, which tell a different sort of story, or The Years of Rice and Salt, which I found to be magnificent, analagous in many ways to The Shape of Things to Come.

[Alexia]

On a non sci-fi note, I'm reading the Adrian Mole books at the moment and laughing a lot. Anyone who thinks they are childrens books is mistaken in the same way as people who think Shrek is a kids film. I'm glad I didn't read them when I was a kid, I'd have missed some great humour!

[Chancellor Valium]

On a non-fiction note, Rubicon by Tom Holland is good - about the decline and fall of the Roman Republic - very readable, and very interesting.

[Chancellor Valium]

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but......The Diary Of A Nobody. Go. Read. Now.

[PointyHairedJedi]

Read Antartica not so long ago, by - you guessed it - Kim Stanley Robinson. Okay, so it's a book with an agenda, but not in a pushy way - it's still very well written, with characters that you can actually (gasp!) like, though I maintain that isn't always necessary in a book. Anyway, say what you like about him, the man can write.

[Sa'ar Chasm]

Anyway, say what you like about him, the man can write.

Were you reading the same books I was?

[PointyHairedJedi]

The real question is - how many Dried Frog Pills had I just taken?

I can see that his style would not be to everyone's taste, but I still myself think he is an excellent writer.

Can I ask - is it just Red Mars you tried to read?

[Sa'ar Chasm]

I plodded through all three. I liked the ideas, and the little nuggets of scientific gimickry he worked in.

The narrative and the dialogue, however, were hard to stomach. I did manage to finish them, rather than tossing them across the room like I've done to other books.

[PointyHairedJedi]

I think it says something about me that the only book I've ever put down before I'd finished it is Lord of the Rings, which it took me four goes before I managed to read completely. Although I did recently put down a Douglas Reeman after reading only the first chapter, but that was mainly because I knew what was going to happen, more or less exactly - he writes exactly the same story in almost every single book he's written. After you've read ten or so it just gets repetitive.

You should, at any rate, try and read The Years of Rice and Salt. It's a totally different book than any other he's written.

[Chancellor Valium]

"A Hat Full of Sky" by Pratchett is definitely worth buying, nay, paying money for.

As usual, Pratchett is on top form with another masterful piece of witchcraft for nine-year-olds.....