The Internet Book Database of Fiction

I'm reading Paris 1919, seems to reasonably well written.

Fun, this site has already taught me what a big list geek I am.



I am reading:



The Aenead of Virgil and hope to be done this weekend, finally. Its kind of interesting, but I am so sick of lists of Anglicized, Romanized Greek names.



A Game of Thrones: So far not the be all and end all it was made out to be, but better than most of its kind.



The Penguin Irish Literature Omnibus, hit and miss so far and I am not even at Joyce yet.



I guess I won't count the 1991 National Geographic.

i just finished Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett earlier this week, and i am currently working my way through On the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy (edited, with commentary) by Stephen Hawking.



this book is a compilation of the great works of Copernicus (On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres), Galileo (Dialogues Concerning Two Sciences), Kepler (Harmonies of the World: Book 5), Newton (Principia), and Einstein (selections from The Principle of Relativity).



aside from translations of the works themselves, Hawking offers a mini-biography on each of the five geniuses which gives a kind of "behind-the-scenes" look and insight to how each of their lives led to these works...

Ah, let's see.. lots of SF titles, as usual, all at the same time:



Mindbridge, by Joe Haldeman: not as riveting as 'Forever War', but gives an interesting spin to terraforming and planet scouting.



Cosmonaut Keep, by Ken Macleod: I can't resist success stories of humanity's blooming into the galaxy in the distant future (takes my mind off the despondent present); but it's a dual chronology tale, and reading about software engineers herding AI's (it's like herding cats!), ancient Linux geeks and the EU going to space is definitely a big plus



Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville: interestingly weird, in a sociological sort of way, definitely not run-of-the mill SF; city portraits are among my favorite themes.



Fallen Dragon, by Peter F. Hamilton: the back cover blurb promises high adventure; I've only just begun reading it but it looks like standard Hamilton fare until now (a cross between Mandel and Night's Dawn)



..Plus, a bundle of short story collections.. I'll rotate to fantasy titles next.

I just finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Right now, I'm reading Peter Straub's Koko, which is pretty good so far. Then, I've got a bunch of Stephen King books, and I'll probably be getting some things recommended on this site soon.

Jessamy by Barbara Sleigh, and a collection of H.P. Lovecraft's short stories.

I'm reading the newest book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "Living to tell the Tale". But in the US it won't come out till November, so you have to wait half a year. It's something like an autobiography, but it's full of magical realism like all of his other books. A fantastic read!

I just started on "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson...seems good so far

I enjoyed that one...



Then again, I've also enjoyed every Sterling and Gibson book as well... including Zeitgeist.

deFacto wrote:I just started on "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson...seems good so far

It looks interesting -- I've been thinking about picking it up.



(Had an amusing experience at work, when someone came in looking for that book and I directed him to the SFF section. He said to me, rather coldly, "I don't read fantasy." I explained to him that they're not separated in our store, and hoped very hard that he didn't hear me burst into laughter after leaving the section.)

Mariko wrote:

deFacto wrote:I just started on "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson...seems good so far

It looks interesting -- I've been thinking about picking it up.

It's an interesting adventure, spinning together a WW2 action tale (think Medal of Honor, the PC game), crypto-geek paranoia (in a semi-technical but correct vein) and a bunch of historical references.. Plus, Stephenson is again showing off on his prose skills, and the characters are lovably wacky.

Somewhere in there is also hidden a business plan for overseas high-tech (=ICT) startups!



PS: If you dig Stephenson, be sure to also read 'Snow Crash'; it reads like a cross between martial arts anime and Neuromancer, hidden bonus is an alternative (but researched) history of Messopotamia!

Oh, and Zodiac, in which Greenpeace meets the X-Files.. 'nuff said

Catch-22 (very good)

The Earthsea Trilogy

Several VERY BORING text books (info. systems, computer audit and java - the java one is actually OK).



S.

I just finished On the road by Jack Kerouac, pretty decent... boring the first two thirds but got better in the end. And now I'm reading The satanic verses by Salman Rushdie. Probably the best first chapter I've ever read!

That's exactly how I felt about On the Road. Never got the urge to read it again though. I didn't enjoy the Satanic Verses that much, I found it a bit forced. May have just been all the hype at the time. I like Midnights Children a lot better.



I am still struggling through the Irish Omnibus, but have moved on to Chocolat, which is interesting to read around Easter, and A book of critical essays on Heinlein, which is mostly funny, because it was written over 20 years ago.

I'm reading Grapes of Wrath right now.

just finished Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. simply awesome. this is a great read for anyone from any walk of life, it'll have something to captivate you.



just started on Immediate Action by Andy McNab. i've only talked to one person who has read it, but he says it's extremely well written and pretty exciting as well.

resd the first book in Game of thrones. good, very good, but not as good as the reviews.



have read: assaisins aprentice, robin hobb : great magic system, great anti-hero



read first 3 boks in Homecoming series by Card. Not enought Science in the SF, at least in the first 3 books.



Read, Cordelias Honor, great plot great female charachters, which can be rare in SF.

I'll second the Gates of Fire. I still haven't found time to read his newer ones yet.

I'm reading Blackberry Wine by Jonne Harris. I'm really enjoying it a lot. I think its great. Full of everyday magic... I'll have to get the other books she has written :)

I finished Grapes of Wrath - great book! I really love Steinbeck's work.



I'm now starting Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay.

I'm now reading Sex, Drugs & Magick by Robert Anton Wilson...



A decent book.



In some ways it seems very dated in the views about drugs/drug culture... but then again, I can't really say that I'm in touch with that demographic.

I've started reading "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A.A. Milne. Ooooh how wonderfully written it is. Such quirky logic. :)



Finished Guy Gavriel Kay's Sarantine Mosaic, but wasn't particularly enchanted by it. I think Kay lacks.. heart, in his stories. He writes well, though.

Coincidance: A Head Test by Robert Anton Wilson



Who here can sense a theme?



I'm trying to acquire and then read every book that he's published this year.



9 down and about 30 left to go.

"King of the Corner" (1992) Loren D. Estleman

1990 Detroit, falls in line with many of his other stories surrounding motown. I just finished "Jitterbug" which was 1943 Detroit. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to these. Very light and enjoyable.

A Deepness in the Sky - Vernor Vinge (pretty good -about 750 pages, I'm just about to the halfway mark. It's a prequel to A Fire upn the Deep which was brilliant)

Appleseed - John Clute (one of the most unreadable books I've ever bought - which is a shame as I respect his opionion as a critic, but this book just gives me a headache after only a page the language and layout is so bizarre and pretentious)

Greg Iles - Forget the books name - OK thriller

So Long and Thanks for all the Fish by Douglas Adams (reading it to my wife as her Glandular fever makes her too tired to read herself these days)

Windows 2000 Server Active Directory guide (for when insomnia strikes )

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