What are you reading?

[beth]

I'm open to this and think it's a good idea to pick something of moderate length - at least for the first go.

Would each who are interested nominate 1 book as a good possibility and we'll let someone not reading pick one at random? I'll try to come up with my pick by the weekend.

[♫anna♫]

I'm reading grammar books for Spanish and Russian! Actually this cheers me up! I get depressed when i read about political stuff!

[beth]

I was going to suggest The Clinton Tapes, figuring with Lin involved that should make for a lively roundtable ;D .

But, OK, no political suggestions from me.

What does that leave in non-fic . . . crime? historical? biographical? (I've been putting off to read Patti Boyd's Wonderful Tonight.)

I'll nominate Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan's

The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

[beth]

Where'd everybody go?

Gabriel has put up 3 book suggestions, I've put up 1. What else can we have for consideration?

[pumpkinette]

Oct 17, 2009 14:20:11 GMT beth said:

Where'd everybody go?

Gabriel has put up 3 book suggestions, I've put up 1. What else can we have for consideration?

Can we JUST put up suggestions? Beth, this is a wonderful thing to do, but my problem is time! I wish I had more of it what with balancing my health problems (working VERY hard on those lately), work, free time, etc. I'll be starting school again in a few months and that won't help, but I have to do it for my future.

[beth]

Sure, Laura. Lob in a couple of suggestions. When all who want to have added somthing, we can put up a poll to decide. One or two are good - three is tops so we don't overload the poller.

Thanks!

[gabriel]

Sounds good to me.

[beth]

lol

Well, it was a thought.

[indiga]

I am reading The Girl Who Dreamt About An Oil Tin And A Match

[Alpha Hooligan]

I devoured "Space" (second book in the "Manifold" trilogy by Stephen Baxter). Done it in over two nights - What a book! Really, really good and really depressing (yet uplifting in it's own way)...totally loved reading this volume.

Will dive into the third and final volume "Origin" this weekend (also have "Phase Space", a book of "Manifold" related short stories on standby).

Anybody who is even remotely interested in sci-fi (or Fermi's Paradox) needs to have a go at this trilogy...it's mind blowing.


AH

[chefmate]

I walked into the public library this morning and scored the newest book out about Michael Jackson......it is about 700 pages and I only have three weeks to finish it but I am quite happy and smiling like a Cheshire Cat to have scored that book.

[Alpha Hooligan]

Finished the third book in Stephen Baxters "Manifold" trilogy - "Origin"

After the amazing ride I had with the second book, the first half of the third volume just didn't grab me as much, but the second half made up for it though...cracking trilogy all round, really enjoyed reading these three novels...all I have left is the related book of "Manifold" short stories..."Phase Space".

The greatest thing about this series was the use of mostly the same characters in each of the three books, but each of the three novels was set in "alternate earths", so the characters backgrounds, drives and personalities differed from book to book...it was all very spectacular.

The Japanes woman "Nemoto" who only appeared in the second two books was wonderfull, I really liked her, she was scientific, cold, clinical, yet driven to extremes by her passion...her actions in the second book just blew me away!


AH

[beth]

Your reviews have been so good, I may have to put these on my list. I never cared much for fantasy or sci fi until abt 10 years ago when I happened onto Arthur C. Clarke and enjoyed a couple of his.

There is a book I wish you'd try - may not be anything you'd like at all, but I loved it and wouldn't mind reading it again. It's the first book of a trilogy by Mitchell Smith, Snowfall. As you say , it blew me away.

www.amazon.com/Snowfall-Trilogy-Book-1/dp/081257933X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257558056&sr=1-1

[Alpha Hooligan]

Thanks for the tip Beth, it gets mixed reviews on Amazon, but I am a total sucker for any kind of post apocalypse books, movies or TV shows...so it goes on my "to buy in the future" list.


AH

[beth]

I never guarantee anyone will like the same books I like. Snowfall has a plot that carries it along, but it's really the characters that grabbed me and held on.

An older book that uses post apocalypse and that I enjoyed is Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The story unfolds similar to Stephen King's The Stand, but there's less drag and less fantasy in this one. As one review says, it's "massively entertaining".

Snowfall's the one I like best, though.

[Liberator]

From the review there's a lot similar to the sequel to Isaac Asimov's 'Nightfall' - except that the sequel is really the second part of the novel revision with Robert Silverberg of the original short story that ends with chaos when the people go mad discovering there are millions of stars in the sky (their world of six suns only has full night once every 2049 years and then only during a short eclipse). I'm trying to think of a similar story but I think the asteroid was deflected, where there is a doomsday cult at work trying to sabotage the deflection. In that case I think the asteroid is called Kali. Unfortunately the last thing I happened to be reading was pretty heavy-going politics, Trotsky writing about Stalin in 1936! I'm busy writing! Something to do with missing people in an unlikely alliance between Randite libertarians and Christian fundamentalists in a settlement called the Christian States of America (they both agree about 'free trade').

[june]

We have Unseen Academicals to read - just going through Thief of Time at the moment again and might slip in Hogfather for Christmas reading

[Alpha Hooligan]

Nov 8, 2009 21:02:34 GMT Liberator said:

From the review there's a lot similar to the sequel to Isaac Asimov's 'Nightfall' - except that the sequel is really the second part of the novel revision with Robert Silverberg of the original short story that ends with chaos when the people go mad discovering there are millions of stars in the sky (their world of six suns only has full night once every 2049 years and then only during a short eclipse).

That sounds interesting. Cheers.


AH

[chefmate]

damn, most of what you all read would put me fast asleep but in case anyone is interested, the Michael Jackson book is great and does explain alot of the Michael Jackson in later years.

[Liberator]

Nov 9, 2009 9:31:03 GMT Alpha Hooligan said:

That sounds interesting. Cheers.


AH

A lot more interesting than a lot of Asimov's later fiction! It's the 1990 novel you need I think, not the 1945 original re-issued with other short stories. Probably the greatest rebuild after apocalypse is A Canticle for Leibowitz (1960s?) in three parts 600 years apart - but ends on a downer because Leibowitz had the idea to save science in a monastic order even if they didn't understand what they had but when nuclear war breaks out again the monks decide to leave for another planet.

Why don't some authors know when to stop? Frank Herbert did it and his son has added endless sequels and prequels to the Dune trilogy and the same thing happened to tie the robot and Empire novels together and then a whole second trilogy about how the Foundation came to be set up. I was more interested in the war with Earth and how the Outer Worlds developed away in such a few of their lifetimes.