What are you reading?

[Russell Nash]

Now reading "The Miocene Arrow" by Sean McMullen.  It's the 2nd of the three Greatwinter novels.

"Souls in the Great Machine" is one of my all-time favorite books (it's McMullen's first Greatwinter novel).  It has literally EVERYTHING without being boring or trite.  The post-Greatwinter world, IMO, would make a great graphic novel or Sci-Fi-Channel miniseries.

... assuming they don't "adapt" it like they "adapted" Earthsea 

I remember seeing previews for that and wondering what all the fuss was about.  I haven't read Earthsea, but it had a hobbit in the film.  That's all I know.  (Didn't watch the movie, either.)

I saw the movie.  My reaction was, "this is just hollow.  I'm sure the book is a lot better."  I then put the series on my Amazon wishlist.

[Listener]

Finished "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" (Michael Chabon).  I definitely think it's more a noir-crime novel than sci-fi, but as we've discussed in various other threads, the fact that it's alternate history puts it into some SF categories.

I enjoyed most of it, though toward the end I felt like "oh, so there's 70 pages left and NOW they're going to figure this out?"  Felt a little cheated by the rich -- often lurid -- descriptions of the world and the events before, and then he wraps it up in a nice little package.

Small spoiler:
I wasn't surprised that Meyer ended up back with Bina, just at how long it took.  It was something to look forward to from the moment she showed up.

Now rereading "Voyage of the Shadowmoon" (Sean McMullen) for like the 10th time.

Also trying to read "Learning PERL" (the Llama Book) when I have a minute.

[DKT]

I finished William Gibson's Spook Country.  Not my favorite Gibson by a longshot, actually it might possibly be my least favorite.  I really wanted to like it, but it just felt way too fragmented, especially with three different characters competing for the protagonist role in the narrative.  (This might not have bothered me so much if the chapters had been a little longer, because whenever the chapter ended, I was just getting into hearing what was happening with that character, and 2/3 times didn't really want to hear what was happening with the next character.  Also, the character I liked the most seemed to have the least to do with the ideas behind what Gibson was talking about.)

I'm gonna read some James Lee Burke next, I think...

[Tango Alpha Delta]

I petered out on "Antarctica" (it's still waiting patiently on the back of the loo, but I've had other crap to do... pun intended); took a quick side-trip through "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress".  Not sure how I felt about the Loonies' faux-Russian dialect; all they really did was treat pronouns inconsistently.  It didn't make the English feel all that Russian to me, but I am a little biased by knowing what Russian sounds like.  Meh.

Went to the library, and actually came home with only graphic novels.  And comic strip collections; "Boondocks", "Pearls Before Swine"; Linda K. Hamilton's Vampire Hunter; and Persepolis (and Persepolis 2) by Marjane Satrapi.


I don't want to jinx it, but I feel a story brewing in my head, so I'm not forcing myself to read anything heavy... just look away casually, and see if it will come out on its own....

[Anarkey]

Went to the library, and actually came home with only graphic novels.  And comic strip collections; "Boondocks", "Pearls Before Swine"; Linda K. Hamilton's Vampire Hunter; and Persepolis (and Persepolis 2) by Marjane Satrapi.

Oh I loved Persepolis!  It's a wonderful book.  Hope you enjoy it.  Persepolis 2 wasn't quite as good (imo), but worth reading also. 

[Listener]

Finished "Shadowmoon".

Now on "Glass Dragons", the second Moonworlds book by Sean McMullen.

[Darwinist]

"Pearls Before Swine"

Good stuff.  I love the Watchduck and Rat's Danny Donkey.  I'll have to check that out.

[bolddeceiver]

Just finished Midnight's Children, which might be the best book I've ever read.  Seriously, read it NOW.

Picking up The Giver, by Lois Lowry.  I read it back in 4th grade, shortly after it first came out.  I was already an avid reader, but I think it was the first book I ever read that got me thinking about ideas and issues bigger than the specific events of the stories; it was also my introduction to the idea of dystopia.

I decided to pick it back up for two reasons.  First, I'm working with kids right now, and I constantly recommend this book.  I realized that I remember how the book affected me a lot better than I remember the book itself.  Second, I just found out that it has two sequels, and I want to check them out.

[Chodon]

I finished The World Without Us and was not too impressed by the time I finished.  The author was advocating eliminating humanity because of the damage we cause to the earth.  I was more interested in learning about how entropy was going to slowly eat away at everything we had built, but it turned into a preach session about humans=bad, nature=good.

I'm not sure if we want to start doing this on this forum, but I would be willing to sell or trade this book for the going rate on half.com.  Russell, if this is against the rules let me know.  I'd like to get my hands on a book I would enjoy reading, and I don't plan on re-reading this one.

[Darwinist]

I finished The World Without Us and was not too impressed by the time I finished.  The author was advocating eliminating humanity because of the damage we cause to the earth.  I was more interested in learning about how entropy was going to slowly eat away at everything we had built, but it turned into a preach session about humans=bad, nature=good.

Interesting.  I have not read the book.  I did see the History Channels's "Life After People" (discussed elsewhere in the forums a couple months ago) and thought it was really good.  It didn't come cross preachy at all, it was more of a history of the stuff we left behind with pretty good animations.   More like what you were looking for. 

[Tango Alpha Delta]

I finished The World Without Us and was not too impressed by the time I finished.  The author was advocating eliminating humanity because of the damage we cause to the earth.  I was more interested in learning about how entropy was going to slowly eat away at everything we had built, but it turned into a preach session about humans=bad, nature=good.

I'm not sure if we want to start doing this on this forum, but I would be willing to sell or trade this book for the going rate on half.com.  Russell, if this is against the rules let me know.  I'd like to get my hands on a book I would enjoy reading, and I don't plan on re-reading this one.

There are a few sites that let you trade; all it costs you is the postage.  I haven't been brave enough to sign up for one, though.  If anyone uses one a lot and can recommend it, let me know.

[stinkymike]

Buying books in Japan, the English language ones, is damn expensive.  Thankfully I've got a community of friends here that also read SF and we've a "leave one - take one" box in the staffroom.  Right now I'm reading Vernor Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky".  A great book for reading and reflecting upon during long train rides.

[Chodon]

I finished The World Without Us and was not too impressed by the time I finished.  The author was advocating eliminating humanity because of the damage we cause to the earth.  I was more interested in learning about how entropy was going to slowly eat away at everything we had built, but it turned into a preach session about humans=bad, nature=good.

I'm not sure if we want to start doing this on this forum, but I would be willing to sell or trade this book for the going rate on half.com.  Russell, if this is against the rules let me know.  I'd like to get my hands on a book I would enjoy reading, and I don't plan on re-reading this one.

There are a few sites that let you trade; all it costs you is the postage.  I haven't been brave enough to sign up for one, though.  If anyone uses one a lot and can recommend it, let me know.

I wonder if we could start something like that on here.  Sci-fi books for trade or maybe even selling.  We all have similar tastes in fiction.  Why not try to trade some books while we're at it?  It would be like Oprah's book club, but with spaceships and lasers.  Thoughts?

[Tango Alpha Delta]

Buying books in Japan, the English language ones, is damn expensive.  Thankfully I've got a community of friends here that also read SF and we've a "leave one - take one" box in the staffroom.  Right now I'm reading Vernor Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky".  A great book for reading and reflecting upon during long train rides.

Fantastic book; so is Fire Upon the Deep (same universe, one character "in common", but otherwise totally different).  And his Rainbow's End is available through his site for free.

[Russell Nash]

I wonder if we could start something like that on here.  Sci-fi books for trade or maybe even selling.  We all have similar tastes in fiction.  Why not try to trade some books while we're at it?  It would be like Oprah's book club, but with spaceships and lasers.  Thoughts?

I started the thread here.

[Leon Kensington]

Hi guys, I'm back!

Just Finish:  Gridlinked by Neal Asher

Starting:  Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (it pays to help with a newspaper)

Next:  99 Coffins by David Wellington

[Russell Nash]

Hi guys, I'm back!

Just Finish:  Gridlinked by Neal Asher

Starting:  Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (it pays to help with a newspaper)

Next:  99 Coffins by David Wellington

Leon,  Nice to see you back. 

[Nt 2 B TKN INTRNLY]

Just finished reading Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, whose works I started re-reading and further digesting because of a thread here on the Escape Artists forum.

Honestly, I've read a few of Vonnegut's books, and maybe that's not enough to properly judge, but I'd say this was one of his harder books to read. The story was... Balancing on the edge of realism, and fiction. During the beginning, the book dipped into what could have been real. In the middle, it balanced quite well on the edges of both, realism and fiction, and finally, the conclusion fell into the latter.

All in all, I'd have to, with great sadness, say that I was disappointed. 

Now reading "Cat's Cradle". I love it so far.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

Just finished reading Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, whose works I started re-reading and further digesting because of a thread here on the Escape Artists forum.

Honestly, I've read a few of Vonnegut's books, and maybe that's not enough to properly judge, but I'd say this was one of his harder books to read. The story was... Balancing on the edge of realism, and fiction. During the beginning, the book dipped into what could have been real. In the middle, it balanced quite well on the edges of both, realism and fiction, and finally, the conclusion fell into the latter.

All in all, I'd have to, with great sadness, say that I was disappointed. 

Now reading "Cat's Cradle". I love it so far.

Rule of thumb: pre-Breakfast, more fictional; post-Breakfast, increasingly about the author.  Not that Vonnegut's "thing" hasn't always been a coy blurring of himself with his narrator.

Personally, I enjoyed Sirens of Titan, Galapagos, and Cat's Cradle most; I've re-read Deadeye Dick and Mother Night most frequently; and after I had read everything else, he did Timequake, which was all about how hard it was for Kurt Vonnegut to write a book when all he really wanted to do was fart around. 

(So, you probably will only enjoy that one if you're looking for a protracted one-on-one session with Kurt.)

[Boggled Coriander]

Just finished Vinge's A Deepness in the Sky, which I also totally recommend.  I read it in two weeks, at a time when I had a lot going on in my life.  If I'd had nothing on my schedule, I probably would have demolished its 700+ pages in a few days.

Just to drink up every available genre, I've started Richard Mason's The World of Suzie Wong.  Living in East Asia myself, it's fascinating to read European accounts of ye olde Far East.  In parts it's incredibly dated, in parts it's incredibly... not so.

[Listener]

"Perdido Street Station", by China Mieville.  For about the 6th time.

I'm in kind of a "read stuff I know I like" rut, rather than a "read new stuff" rut.

[Ocicat]

I don't think Breakfast of Champions should be attempted until after you already love Vonnegut.  Didn't he call it "his present to himself"?  It's indulgent and very much about the author.  It's also good, but better if you've already read God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater and a bunch of his other works.  Cat's Cradle is by far my favorite of his stuff. 

I also adore Venus on the Half Shell, by Killgore Trout.  Well, okay, it was actually written by Philip Jose Farmer, around a one page excerpt of one of Killgore's fictional novels that appeared in one of Vonnegut's books.  It's a pastiche of Vonnegut's style, but ends up being a lot like Hitchhiker's Guide, though published long beforehand...

As to what I'm reading - Just finished Obama's The Audacity of Hope - not exactly SF.  Just starting Neil Gaimain's Neverwhere.

[birdless]

I'm reading a self-published book by a friend of mine called A Bridge in Time. He wants me to illustrate it, which is a pretty intimidating task in my eyes. It's being looked at by some big Christian publishers. It's sort of a Narnia type book, but it's not allegorical, per se. But I'm about to get back on the "read stuff I know I like" wagon myself, beginning with Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. But I really need to branch out.

[Nt 2 B TKN INTRNLY]

I'm just switching temporaraly to "Robot Visions" (which I aquired from the book trade thread  ).

[wintermute]

I'm currently reading Niven's Scatterbrain (in dead-tree) and Sigler's Infected (on my phone).

My to-be-read pile:
Death By Black Hole And Other Cosmic Quandaries - Neil DeGrasse Tyson
America (The Book) - Jon Stewart
1759: The Year Britain became Master of the World - Frank McLynn
What Do You Care What Other People Think? - Richard Feynman
Empire: The Rise and Fall of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power - Niall Ferguson
The Da-Da-De-Da-Da Code - Robert Rankin

Oh, and I have Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters by Donald Prothero on order. I am almost certain it will arrive before I run out of reading matter.