What have you been reading?

Tim

Tim

Creative Writer
Since we've misplaced the original reading thread, we need another one.


Burden of Broof, by John G Hemry

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I was looking for textbooks in charity shops (got a couple) and found this. Whilst it had a cover that resembled nothing so much as a romance novel, the reviews about it being military scifi and 'JAG in Space' were intriguing so I picked it up and read it in one session.

It is vanilla flavoured JAG storyline indeed and was a pleasant if uninspiring read. Something to pass the time really. A lot of conversation in the early part of the book, moving into adding large passages of thought (almost like a different writing style) and then into something more interesting as the story started coming together. Worth the £1.30 cover price (in that particular shop) I must say.
 
Unfortunately most of my reading this past few weeks have been dealing with real estate transactions.
 
I'm currently reading James Joyces : Dubliners. Most definitely not scifi!

It is because I read one story from the book in class and the imagery left me thinking that the rest of the book deserved a read. I remember at least one girl in class vehemently urging me to stop describing the imagery used in the story even though she was supposedly an adult herself.

The rest of the stories in the book have far more powerful and dirty imagery than that one simple story, Araby had. Unfortunately it's not for this forum, Dubliners is definitely an adults book. The book couldn't be published for a few years as it was pointed out to Joyce that the characters in the book far too well resembled certain important and not so important but nevertheless still well known personages still living and living in Dublin at that! Never use real people in fiction! Especially when the work is degrading, or at least illuminating their degraded characters!
 
i'm currently reading a bit of philip k dick - his short stories... absolutely loving it!!! what a guy! just watched the old arena documentary on him too (which i was lucky enough to find) and its great too! seriously messed up man but hey... what an imagination!
 
The Mechanic's Tale by Steve Matchett

Matchett, currently one of the announcers for Speed Channel's Formula 1 broadcasts(alongside fellow announcers Bob Varsha and David Hobbs) takes the reader through Formula 1, following his career in the F1 paddock[he worked for Benetton/Renault during the 1990's] where he got to see the ups' and downs' of the Grand Prix circuit, giving an eye-witness view of some of F1's greats, from Alain Prost to Il Leone, Nigel Mansell to Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher and a closeup view of the personalities within Benetton that saw them rise from backmarker status to a 3-time constructors' champion. It's an excellent book and makes for great reading.
 
use of weapons - iain m banks. fantastic! woring my way through all the culture stuff VERY VERY slowly but enjoying it very much.
 
kay kenyon's A world Too near, book two of The Entire and the Rose
The pisstown Chaos by David Olhe
Jodi Piccoult's Wonder Woman run
Alan Moore's Supreme : Story of the year graphic Novel
Rose graphic Novel by Jeff Smith and Charles Vess
Also im rading the whole DC comics final crisis thing. its thier latest all encompassing tie -in event, timely realeasd to compete w/ marvels Secret Invasion.
I've toally rediscvovered DC in the past 2 years. If anyone is interested they should check out the Green lantern:Sinestro Corps. It was probably the best GL run ive read. Thats saying a lot.
 
Trying to find time to get my way back into Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. It's good, but not nearly as good as Snow Crash.
 
i just finished eon by grag bear. looking foward to its sequel eternity
has nayone ever read 'the Sparrow by mary doria russel, or its sequel 'The Children of God?'
excellent both.
 
Recent sci-fi novels I've read over the past several weeks......
~~Sphere, Congo by Michael Crichton
~~Radio Free Albemuth by Philip K. Dick
~~At All Costs, The Shadow of Saganami by David Weber

Other recent novels read...............
~~Chains of Command by William Caunitz
~~The Investigators by W.E.B. Griffin
~~Team Yankee by Harold Coyle
~~The Hot Zone, The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston
~~And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts
 
i just finshed Camoflauge by Joe Haldeman.This was the first book by Haldeman I've read. i liked it alot, and read it very fast. it was a little Crichton-esque, but a totally decent book.
Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk: I got into Palahniuk in like 2002 with Choke. I subsequently read everything by him. i didn't like Haunted. But his last most recent book, Rant, I liked a whole lot. i can't say the same for Snuff though. palahniuk is sort of a minimalsit writer, which isnt a bad thing. But with Snuff he seemed to affirm what all his deriders claim. That he is a no-substance shock fiction wiriter. i think he peaked with Diary or Rant and, unless your a big fan of Palahniuk, skip this one.
Eon by Greg Bear: This was the first full novel i've read by bear. I once read a story of his called Hardfought in some collection i cant remember, which blew me away. Eon was a great read, also. fans of the so-called 'enormous big thing' sub-genre of SF will dig this book. This is a genre that includes stuff like the Ringworld tetralogy by Larry Niven, Renzdevous with Rama By Clarke, and maybe Kay kenyons latest, Bright of the Sky and A World Too Near. I recommend this one. I cant wait to read Eternity, the sequel to Eon.
Currentyl I'm reading World of Ptavvs by larry Niven. Its one of the few Known Space books I haven't read, so far so good.
 
mlittle, i noticed you read The Hot Zone and The Band Played On
you should check out Virus X by Frank Ryan MD. Its a great book about epidemics like hanta, ebola and a lot more. if you liked hot zone you will dig this book

just picked up Three Tales of Known Space by Larry Niven. i read most of the KS stories, but in this volume they are in chronological order and it includes World of Ptavvs and A Gift From Earth, which are like the only KS stories i haven't read.
 
Against the Day, Pynchon. I suppose it ends up in the literary section of bookstores, but if it's not fantastic, I don't know what is. Both deep and funny, really been enjoying it. I also got a Kindle recently, tho I admit I didn't buy it myself (don't know if I would have), as it seems to me they should be giving them away, but that's another story. On it, I reread Snow Crash, which was fun bc it had been a while. I also tried some books that were exclusive to the device, a couple of which I didn't care for at all, and another called Blue Halo that I liked, don't remember the author's name tho, oops!

I really like adventure + comedy in the scifi universe. If anyone has particular knowledge of books like that, I'd be interested to hear. And yes, before you say it, I've read all the HH books :wink:
 
Been going back and forth between two books this past week............
~~Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain; excellent novel, as most of Crichton's works are....the original film was pretty decent but the mini-series.......:rolleyes::rolleyes:

~~Roy Appleman's East of Chosin: Entrapment & Breakout in Korea, 1950; interesting military history. Anyone who's ever read about the Korean War probably is familiar with the actions of the 1st Marine Division on the western side of the Chosin Reservoir(the fighting withdrawal conducted by the division btwn. 27 Nov.-6 Dec. 1950 is considered one of the most successful breakouts in military history).....at the same time that the Marines were fighting south from Yudam-ni down to Hagaru-ri and eventually to Koto-ri, the U.S. Army's 31st Infantry Regiment(31 RCT) was involved in a fight for its' survival on the eastern side of the Chosin Reservoir. The irony of the battle of the Chosin Reservoir is that, for all the glory the Marines earned in breaking out from the near-entrapment of the Chinese forces around them, it might've been for naught had 31 RCT not managed to hold off the Chinese on the eastern side of the reservoir. :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
I've just gotten myself a copy of Lord of the Flies. Haven't read it since I was about 10 or 11 at school.

Reason being, my usuall local theatre is putting on a production of it, with a cast of 8. It's a youth theatre project, but I'll be going along and taking someone for their first ever trip to the theatre, if I can persuade her to read the book first to help her out!
 
thetinyglobule said:
use of weapons - iain m banks. fantastic! woring my way through all the culture stuff VERY VERY slowly but enjoying it very much.
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Brilliant book. I need to read more Iain M Banks' stuff but I never get round to it. I'm currently reading Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, a hard core sci-fi tale of the colonisation of Mars. It's very good and I'd recommend it!
 
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