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[Haly]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy : Douglas Adasm
1984: George Orwell
Stories of Your Life and Others: Ted Chiang
Wool: Hugh Howey
The Scar: China Mieville
The Dispossessed: Ursula K. Le Guin
Between the Rivers: Harry Turtledove
The Book of the New Sun: Gene Wolfe
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate: Ted Chiang
Neuromancer: William Gibson

I want to fit in Feet of Clay somewhere... maybe give The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate the boot since Chang has another book on the list already.

 

[Zona]

Aside from Hitchhiker's, Nuromancer, and The Commonwealth Saga(Peter F. Hamilton) I think my top ten is entirely made up of Iain M. Banks. My love for The Culture novels knows no bounds.

 

[phoenixyz]

Well, no top ten, but a few of my favourites are:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Ubik by Philip K. Dick
Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
and also 1984, which becomes more real every year.

 

[Tenrius]

Are you talking about the book I listed?? It's not a children's book.

I know it's not, but I think some people might have assumed so from the cover if not for that additional line. I'm talking about this book:

Doesn't the cover looks kinda like that of a children's book?

 

[Maklershed]

Top ten sci fi books, because I'm bored. In no particular order:

What you got gaf?

Ohh man, tough one. Here's my list but there's an asterisk next to it as it could change for me on any given day. Also, I cheated by listing series but I only list series if they stay consistently good the whole way.

Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov
Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller
Pushing Ice by Allistair Reynolds
Heechee Saga by Frederik Pohl
Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Postman by David Brin
Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo
Expanse Series by James SA Corey

 

[Ratrat]

Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
Starship Troopers by Robery Heinlein
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Tuf Voyaging by George R R Martin
Light by M John Harrison
Surface Detail or Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M Banks


Can't think of ten. I'll be reading Cloud Atlas and Neuromancer soon.
I suppose I could fit Mieville or Murakami in there but they don't tend to fit my definition exactly.

 

[Tim the Wiz]

Top ten sci fi books, because I'm bored.

...

What you got gaf?

I'll give you eleven:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
1984 by George Orwell
Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delaney
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Neuromancer by William Gibson
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

In terms of pure aesthetic, I feel bad leaving out novels like Slaughterhouse-Five, Perdido Street Station, Cloud Atlas or Dhalgren, but those are probably the most essential SF works IMO.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Finished:

Good book! Abrahams is really becoming one of my favorite writers. I just wished that there had been some kind of overview for the 13 races since I kept mixing them up. Nothing much to say about the story though since it ended just the moment things really started to get going. Already downloaded the second book though.

Oh man, let me tell you, the next two books get even better.

Been delaying listening to this for ages because I know it is the last one and I don't like it when things I love come to an end. Not far enough in yet to have an opinion. Atlantis Complex was rather weak in my opinion, so I hope this one brings the series back to its former genius for one last time.

Oh geez Artemis Fowl is still going? I haven't read those books in years.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Finished off Zagreb Cowboy by Alen Mattich tonight and thought it was pretty good for a debut novel. Felt a little too relaxed at times for something that should be gripping...

Now onto some Steampunk with The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder.

Man, the one Burton and Swinburne I read was nuts. It wasn't bad it was just crazy. I think I didn't start with whichever the first one was.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Top 10 sci-fi, no particular order:

A Talent for War - Jack McDevitt
Hyperion & Fall of Hyperion - Dan Simmons
Vorkosigan Series - Lois McMaster Bujold
Doomsday Book - Connie Willis
The Dispossessed - Ursula K Leguin
Old Man's War - John Scalzi
The Stand - Stephen King
Fallen Dragon - Peter F Hamilton
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Dune - Frank Herbert

 

[Scythian Empire]

Got these two on the go for final year of my English degree.

 

[rudieboy77]

Last week I read The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown, now I'm reading Inferno also by Dan Brown. Both are from the Robert Langdon series of books. I still cannot tell for sure though if I actually like this books.

 

[Haly]

Dan Brown only ever writes one book so it seems you may never find out.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

Got these two on the go for final year of my English degree.

Both excellent books.

 

[ShaneB]

Doesn't the cover looks kinda like that of a children's book?

I suppose so, but stop judging a book by its cover

 

[Jintor]

I do the same sort of thing. Just went to my non-fiction shelves and pulled out three that I reread a lot because each of them is truly awesome in its own way:

- Frank Arnaud: "3,000 years of deception in Art and Antiques"
- Guy Deutscher: "The Unfolding of Language"
- Peter Thompson: "Creative Propogation"

I might add to that, depending on your background, Karl Sigmund's "Games of Life". Even if you are familiar with the intellectual content, the writing and the humour throughout is a joy in itself.


There's more, and more varied, where those came from. But if you're after true crime you can't do much batter than Ann Rule's "The Stranger Beside Me".

Forgot to mention it earlier, but thanks Phi.

Anyone else have non-fiction recommendations? Else I'll go sweep the back threads until I build up a cache.

 

[Tenrius]

I suppose so, but stop judging a book by its cover

I never meant to imply that! Just to be clear, that's how the discussion went:

Can someone explain to me why some books use the tagline "A Novel"? Is it just a stylistic thing now or what?

It's either stylistic or because they're afraid people will mistake realistic works of fiction for a biographical/autobiographical piece.

Or a children's book in this case, lol.

 

[ShaneB]

I never meant to imply that! Just to be clear, that's how the discussion went:

I know I know, I'm just teasing with that old statement

 

[Setre]

Can you good ladies and gentlemen recommend me some historical fiction set in medieval times?

 

[Confusion Illusion]

Currently 6 chapters into The Well of Ascension

 

[fakefaker]

Man, the one Burton and Swinburne I read was nuts. It wasn't bad it was just crazy. I think I didn't start with whichever the first one was.

Yeah I think this is the first one, it's still setting up the partnership between the two hero's, but then again I'm only up to chapter 3. So far it's pretty good and inventive and just met that crazy guy on the cover. Opps give away, sorry...

The cover is a lie!!

 

[fakefaker]

Can you good ladies and gentlemen recommend me some historical fiction set in medieval times?

You might like The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, it's a very good read.

 

[Verdre]

Finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I liked it, but it had a very stilted beginning and I'm not sure if it was meant to be that way or if it was just because it's his first book. It was a nice bit of cleverness if done on purpose. (And yet still not particularly enjoyable to read.)

 

[Trouble]

Finished:

Iron Council - China Miéville

Probably my least favorite of the 3 Bas-Lag novels, but still pretty decent overall. My reading pace slowed down a lot because of that an general life stuff.

About 2 pages into:

The Long War - Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

Been looking forward to this one. I really enjoyed The Long Earth.

 

[ymmv]

Can you good ladies and gentlemen recommend me some historical fiction set in medieval times?

Ken Follett - Pillars of the Earth
Bernard Cornwell - The Last Kingdom
Marion Zimmer Bradley - The Mists of Avalon
Anya Seton - Katherine
Sharon Kay Penman - The Sunne in Splendour
Connie Willis - Doomsday Book (technically SF, but 85% of the book takes place in the middle ages)
Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose
Hella S. Haasse - In a Dark Wood Wandering
Frans G. Bengtsson - The Long Ships

 

[FunkyLounge]

After hearing so much abou Game of Thrones, I decided to give it a try and go straight to the root of it all.

Oh my god am I glad I did! Already nearing the end of the second book, can't stop!

 

[Seanspeed]

About halfway through. Its not a good book. I don't like or care about any of the characters. The writing is really hard to follow as he breaks up sentences with commas, semicolons and dashes constantly and excessively. And its funny how futuristic things are even though its only set in 2028.

I'd stop reading this in a heartbeat if I wasn't a sucker for disaster stuff. The one saving grace is that the science behind the weather stuff is actually fairly solid and goes a ways into making it seem somewhat plausible.

 

[Bazza]

Been looking forward to this one. I really enjoyed The Long Earth.

Just finished The Science of Discworld and before moving onto the 2nd i was looking at The Long Earth and was going to ask what other people thought of it, guess i will give it a go.

 

[skybald]

Reading Arguably: essays by Christopher Hitchens.

Mother effer could WRITE

 

[Quake1028]

Picked this up for $1.99 so I'll give it a shot. Been in a huge reading funk lately :\.

 

[Jag]

Ken Follett - Pillars of the Earth
Bernard Cornwell - The Last Kingdom
Marion Zimmer Bradley - The Mists of Avalon
Anya Seton - Katherine
Sharon Kay Penman - The Sunne in Splendour
Connie Willis - Doomsday Book (technically SF, but 85% of the book takes place in the middle ages)
Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose
Hella S. Haasse - In a Dark Wood Wandering
Frans G. Bengtsson - The Long Ships

Reading Sunne in Splendour now and read Long Ships before it. Both solid recommendations, but my favorite from this list is Pillars.

 

[Mr.Swag]

I did not expect Gone Girl to be this good...

If I didn't have to study for a presentation and a midterm, id be finishing it up right now...

Can't wait to see what Fincher does with the novel.

 

[Maidenpool?]

Watch the movie first.

 

[Movement]

About to finish

and just starting

 

[ShaneB]

I did not expect Gone Girl to be this good...

If I didn't have to study for a presentation and a midterm, id be finishing it up right now...

Can't wait to see what Fincher does with the novel.

Yeah, I'm very excited for the Fincher film as well. Can't wait to see your reaction to the ending.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Picked this up for $1.99 so I'll give it a shot. Been in a huge reading funk lately :\.

People keep mentioning this, buying ebooks for 2 bucks on amazon. Is this something they regularly do? Should I be looking for this somewhere?

 

[ShaneB]

People keep mentioning this, buying ebooks for 2 bucks on amazon. Is this something they regularly do? Should I be looking for this somewhere?

Indeed. Amazon's Kindle Books section has daily deals (just 1 book for 4 or 5 different genres), plus they have month long deals, which will be 20-30 books in each genre. Most of these specials being 2-4 dollars.

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=154606011 See here. The Big Deal, Daily Deals, Monthly Deals, etc

 

[Sam Vimes]

Indeed. Amazon's Kindle Books section has daily deals (just 1 book for 4 or 5 different genres), plus they have month long deals, which will be 20-30 books in each genre. Most of these specials being 2-4 dollars.

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=154606011 See here. The Big Deal, Daily Deals, Monthly Deals, etc

Hey, thanks a bunch!

 

[ShaneB]

Hey, thanks a bunch!

No problem at all

 

[Narag]

Indeed. Amazon's Kindle Books section has daily deals (just 1 book for 4 or 5 different genres), plus they have month long deals, which will be 20-30 books in each genre. Most of these specials being 2-4 dollars.

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=154606011 See here. The Big Deal, Daily Deals, Monthly Deals, etc

I'm so glad they've expanded that recently. Used to suck when the daily deal was just one book.

 

[besada]

Top Ten Science-Fiction Series (because just novels is too hard):

[In no particular order]
1. Dune series by Frank Herbert
2. Foundation series by Isaac Asimov
3. Ringworld series by Larry Niven
4. XeeLee sequence by Stephen Baxter
5. Red/Blue/Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
6. Culture series by Iain M. Banks
7. Great Sky River series by Gregory Benford
8. Rama series Arthur C. Clark
9. Quantum Logic series by Greg Bear
10. The Way series by Greg Bear

 

[dripdripsplash]

I recommend this to anyone who even has the slightes interest in the history of the Middle East. A compelling and very interesting book.

 

[bengraven]

Reading all the top 10 lists makes me realize I have barely ever read ANY sci-fi novels.

Hitchhiker's,1984, and Dune. That's it.

So many classics I haven't even attempted.

Have you watched the show? A must watch. I can't believe how underrated or off the radar the series is here on GAF.

What...? Dude, Lonesome Dove is well beloved here!

 

[Verdre]

Finished Carrie by Stephen King

I quite liked it, but I thought the excerpts from interviews and books took away from the story rather than added to it. Still, probably my second favorite book by him.

 

[Leeness]

Back to It

Nooooooo at all these things the kids see/experience as they're learning/investigating It.

 

[Tragicomedy]

Back to It

Nooooooo at all these things the kids see/experience as they're learning/investigating It.

The odds of me ever reading that book grow smaller each time I hear about it.

 

[TripOpt55]

I'm working through Dreams of Steel by Glen Cook. I'm really liking this series a lot. Has anyone read any of his other books outside of The Black Company ones? I'm curious if any of the others are worth checking out.

 

[fredrancour]

I'm working through Dreams of Steel by Glen Cook. I'm really liking this series a lot. Has anyone read any of his other books outside of The Black Company ones? I'm curious if any of the others are worth checking out.

I read 3 of the Dread Empire books and also quite enjoyed those.

These threads have had a lot of people reading that fantasy-detective series of his, but I haven't gotten around to them yet.

 

[irriadin]

Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch. Really good so far, just came across an insane plot twist. Like, wtf.

 

[Leeness]

The odds of me ever reading that book grow smaller each time I hear about it.

It's fun as hell though haha.

It's fun-horrifying