Summer reading recommendations?
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For those of us in the Northern hemisphere going into summer and potentially holidays it's traditional to stock up on books that can be read on holidays while lazing beside a large body of water sipping the beverage of your choice. A good summer read should be a book that suits the mood of a relaxing holiday, enjoyable, not too deep but thought provoking is ok (I.E. not War and Peace), definitely fiction (NO PROGRAMMING BOOKS), ideally a single self contained novel, not a huge series etc. I'm taking the summer off after a hard 5+ years of straight long hours, anyone have any summer reading recommendations? My recommendations for a couple of classics: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury[^] While I read it many years ago it's an all time classic and I'd recommend The left hand of darkness by Ursula LeGuin[^]
"110%" - it's the new 70%
I stand out too much by asking questions for answers to other questions... but do you like hard sci-fi? If so, most stuff from James P. Hogan is good (there are exceptions). I actually love RealTime Interrupt, but it is hard-sci-fi in programming related industry (AI and VR), so it depends on how much you want escape from the industry in your readng. Thrice upon a time has a bit of a love-story as well as the time paradox related theme. Inherit the Stars is my personal favorite, it is the first of a series, but stands on its own as many first books do. As a programmer I re-read the Rick Cook fantasy books, but only the first three are any good. The first is a stand-alone (Wiz-Biz is the first two books in one republished, Wizard's Bane is first by itself). Mostly anymore I have a large collection of myths and legends from various American Tribal histories. I also have a few on Celtic and other groups around the world. I have more variety in very few books than most people. :) the gentle term for me is eccentric. ;) If you want a variation on the vampire mythos, there is Children of the Night[^] I loaned my copy and never got it back (I am always prepared for this, I never loan something I am not prepared to give away, so I am never disappointed when it never returns). :) Burning water is good, Jinx High is okay, but Burning water is incredibly violent even compared to Children of the Night. All three books are in a series, but stand on their own with only the lead character, not the story to link them together. -- modified at 14:29 Wednesday 6th June, 2007
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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I stand out too much by asking questions for answers to other questions... but do you like hard sci-fi? If so, most stuff from James P. Hogan is good (there are exceptions). I actually love RealTime Interrupt, but it is hard-sci-fi in programming related industry (AI and VR), so it depends on how much you want escape from the industry in your readng. Thrice upon a time has a bit of a love-story as well as the time paradox related theme. Inherit the Stars is my personal favorite, it is the first of a series, but stands on its own as many first books do. As a programmer I re-read the Rick Cook fantasy books, but only the first three are any good. The first is a stand-alone (Wiz-Biz is the first two books in one republished, Wizard's Bane is first by itself). Mostly anymore I have a large collection of myths and legends from various American Tribal histories. I also have a few on Celtic and other groups around the world. I have more variety in very few books than most people. :) the gentle term for me is eccentric. ;) If you want a variation on the vampire mythos, there is Children of the Night[^] I loaned my copy and never got it back (I am always prepared for this, I never loan something I am not prepared to give away, so I am never disappointed when it never returns). :) Burning water is good, Jinx High is okay, but Burning water is incredibly violent even compared to Children of the Night. All three books are in a series, but stand on their own with only the lead character, not the story to link them together. -- modified at 14:29 Wednesday 6th June, 2007
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
I particularly love hard sci fi and have probably read everything there is short of stuff published in the last 6 months going all the way back to Jules Verne. Hogan is good, I also read the Rick Cook series and that's an ideal recommendation for a summer read for programmers in particular, good one! My only interest in myths and legends tends to be trippy fantasy stuff set in north america featuring native legends as part of it's theme, but as a child I *loved* sea stories and of course the mythos of HP Lovecraft.
"110%" - it's the new 70%
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I particularly love hard sci fi and have probably read everything there is short of stuff published in the last 6 months going all the way back to Jules Verne. Hogan is good, I also read the Rick Cook series and that's an ideal recommendation for a summer read for programmers in particular, good one! My only interest in myths and legends tends to be trippy fantasy stuff set in north america featuring native legends as part of it's theme, but as a child I *loved* sea stories and of course the mythos of HP Lovecraft.
"110%" - it's the new 70%
John Cardinal wrote:
My only interest in myths and legends tends to be trippy fantasy stuff set in north america featuring native legends as part of it's theme
ahhhh, well then you came to the right place! Burning Water (Aztec theme)[^] (warning: exceptionally violent!) Sacred Ground (modern tribal)[^] (reading candy, nothing to think on too hard except trippy fantasy stuff)
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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Fiction unless it's about food in which case I love travelogues written by chefs or about food in general such as the absolutely brilliant: Heat[^] And The man who ate everything[^]
"110%" - it's the new 70%
I just started reading Heat last night. It seems interesting so far.
Using the GridView is like trying to explain to someone else how to move a third person's hands in order to tie your shoelaces for you. -Chris Maunder
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For those of us in the Northern hemisphere going into summer and potentially holidays it's traditional to stock up on books that can be read on holidays while lazing beside a large body of water sipping the beverage of your choice. A good summer read should be a book that suits the mood of a relaxing holiday, enjoyable, not too deep but thought provoking is ok (I.E. not War and Peace), definitely fiction (NO PROGRAMMING BOOKS), ideally a single self contained novel, not a huge series etc. I'm taking the summer off after a hard 5+ years of straight long hours, anyone have any summer reading recommendations? My recommendations for a couple of classics: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury[^] While I read it many years ago it's an all time classic and I'd recommend The left hand of darkness by Ursula LeGuin[^]
"110%" - it's the new 70%
Dean Koontz and Michael Crichton have some great books. If not any of those, then What To Read Next might help you find a good book.
Trinity: Neo... nobody has ever done this before. Neo: That's why it's going to work.
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For those of us in the Northern hemisphere going into summer and potentially holidays it's traditional to stock up on books that can be read on holidays while lazing beside a large body of water sipping the beverage of your choice. A good summer read should be a book that suits the mood of a relaxing holiday, enjoyable, not too deep but thought provoking is ok (I.E. not War and Peace), definitely fiction (NO PROGRAMMING BOOKS), ideally a single self contained novel, not a huge series etc. I'm taking the summer off after a hard 5+ years of straight long hours, anyone have any summer reading recommendations? My recommendations for a couple of classics: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury[^] While I read it many years ago it's an all time classic and I'd recommend The left hand of darkness by Ursula LeGuin[^]
"110%" - it's the new 70%
Well here's some stuff I've either read or am enjoying right now, it's admittedly Sci-Fi lovers list :) Greg Bear: Eon Eternity Darwins Radio Darwin's Children The Forge of God Anvil of the Stars Vitals Peter Hamilton: The Night's Dawn Trilogy (The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God) A Second Chance at Eden Fallen Dragon I'm looking into Misspent Youth / Commonwealth Saga and Void Trilogy Ian Douglas: Semper Mars Luna Marine Europa Strike Star Corps Dan Simmons: Hyperion The Fall of Hyperion Illium Olympos Children of the Night Edgar Rice Burroughs: A Princess of Mars John Norman: Tarnsman of Gor Outlaw of Gor Priest-Kings of Gor Nomads of Gor -- modified at 15:17 Wednesday 6th June, 2007
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! Real Mentats use only 100% pure, unfooled around with Sapho Juice(tm)! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! VCF Blog
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I really enjoyed Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency[^] series. Yes, it's a series, but most of the novels are self-contained and short. If you like science fiction, then Iain M. Banks' is a good bet, especially (IMO) Consider Phlebas[^] and Player of Games[^]. I'd also recommend (some of) his non-sf books, especially Crow Road[^] (others, like Complicity and the Wasp Factory are probably an acquired taste...). If you're in the mood for something slightly off-the-wall, try J.G.Ballard - I very much enjoyed Cocaine Nights, Super-Cannes and Millenium People (his most recent novels) as well as some of his first ones (The Drowned World, The Burning World, The Crystal World - NOT a series, but related, as they're all 'end of world/civilization' fantasies). What else....if you can find it, Harry Harrison's 'A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!' was a nice piece of 'alternate-world' fiction, as was Stephen Fry's 'Making History'. Neal Stephenson - not his enormo-tomes of recent years (although I *did* enjoy, and would recommend, 'Cryptonomicon'), but 'Snow Crash', 'The Diamond Age' and 'Zodiac'. If you can find room for some non-fiction, I can heartily recommend Simon Singh ('The Code Book', 'Fermats Last Theorem' aka 'Fermats Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem') and Dava Sobel ('Longitude'). If you have an interest in 'alternative' music, Michael Azerrad's 'Our Band Could Be Your Life' is excellent (and not just because the title is taken from a Minutemen song!). Well, that lot would keep me going for a couple of weeks if I were on a 'lounging
I second Iain M. Banks, his Culture books aare great :)
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I just started reading Heat last night. It seems interesting so far.
Using the GridView is like trying to explain to someone else how to move a third person's hands in order to tie your shoelaces for you. -Chris Maunder
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Well here's some stuff I've either read or am enjoying right now, it's admittedly Sci-Fi lovers list :) Greg Bear: Eon Eternity Darwins Radio Darwin's Children The Forge of God Anvil of the Stars Vitals Peter Hamilton: The Night's Dawn Trilogy (The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God) A Second Chance at Eden Fallen Dragon I'm looking into Misspent Youth / Commonwealth Saga and Void Trilogy Ian Douglas: Semper Mars Luna Marine Europa Strike Star Corps Dan Simmons: Hyperion The Fall of Hyperion Illium Olympos Children of the Night Edgar Rice Burroughs: A Princess of Mars John Norman: Tarnsman of Gor Outlaw of Gor Priest-Kings of Gor Nomads of Gor -- modified at 15:17 Wednesday 6th June, 2007
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! Real Mentats use only 100% pure, unfooled around with Sapho Juice(tm)! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! VCF Blog
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Well here's some stuff I've either read or am enjoying right now, it's admittedly Sci-Fi lovers list :) Greg Bear: Eon Eternity Darwins Radio Darwin's Children The Forge of God Anvil of the Stars Vitals Peter Hamilton: The Night's Dawn Trilogy (The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God) A Second Chance at Eden Fallen Dragon I'm looking into Misspent Youth / Commonwealth Saga and Void Trilogy Ian Douglas: Semper Mars Luna Marine Europa Strike Star Corps Dan Simmons: Hyperion The Fall of Hyperion Illium Olympos Children of the Night Edgar Rice Burroughs: A Princess of Mars John Norman: Tarnsman of Gor Outlaw of Gor Priest-Kings of Gor Nomads of Gor -- modified at 15:17 Wednesday 6th June, 2007
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! Real Mentats use only 100% pure, unfooled around with Sapho Juice(tm)! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! VCF Blog
Event by David Golemon is supposed to be a really good Sci-Fi book, although I haven't read it yet.
Trinity: Neo... nobody has ever done this before. Neo: That's why it's going to work.
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For those of us in the Northern hemisphere going into summer and potentially holidays it's traditional to stock up on books that can be read on holidays while lazing beside a large body of water sipping the beverage of your choice. A good summer read should be a book that suits the mood of a relaxing holiday, enjoyable, not too deep but thought provoking is ok (I.E. not War and Peace), definitely fiction (NO PROGRAMMING BOOKS), ideally a single self contained novel, not a huge series etc. I'm taking the summer off after a hard 5+ years of straight long hours, anyone have any summer reading recommendations? My recommendations for a couple of classics: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury[^] While I read it many years ago it's an all time classic and I'd recommend The left hand of darkness by Ursula LeGuin[^]
"110%" - it's the new 70%
Any book by Robert Ludlum (e.g., "Bourne Identity"). Any book by James Michener (e.g., "Hawaii").
John P.
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Any book by Robert Ludlum (e.g., "Bourne Identity"). Any book by James Michener (e.g., "Hawaii").
John P.
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For those of us in the Northern hemisphere going into summer and potentially holidays it's traditional to stock up on books that can be read on holidays while lazing beside a large body of water sipping the beverage of your choice. A good summer read should be a book that suits the mood of a relaxing holiday, enjoyable, not too deep but thought provoking is ok (I.E. not War and Peace), definitely fiction (NO PROGRAMMING BOOKS), ideally a single self contained novel, not a huge series etc. I'm taking the summer off after a hard 5+ years of straight long hours, anyone have any summer reading recommendations? My recommendations for a couple of classics: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury[^] While I read it many years ago it's an all time classic and I'd recommend The left hand of darkness by Ursula LeGuin[^]
"110%" - it's the new 70%
John Cardinal wrote:
...anyone have any summer reading recommendations?
Are you interested in any of Steve Alten's books? I've read three of them!
"A good athlete is the result of a good and worthy opponent." - David Crow
"To have a respect for ourselves guides our morals; to have deference for others governs our manners." - Laurence Sterne
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John Cardinal wrote:
...anyone have any summer reading recommendations?
Are you interested in any of Steve Alten's books? I've read three of them!
"A good athlete is the result of a good and worthy opponent." - David Crow
"To have a respect for ourselves guides our morals; to have deference for others governs our manners." - Laurence Sterne
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I particularly love hard sci fi and have probably read everything there is short of stuff published in the last 6 months going all the way back to Jules Verne. Hogan is good, I also read the Rick Cook series and that's an ideal recommendation for a summer read for programmers in particular, good one! My only interest in myths and legends tends to be trippy fantasy stuff set in north america featuring native legends as part of it's theme, but as a child I *loved* sea stories and of course the mythos of HP Lovecraft.
"110%" - it's the new 70%
John Cardinal wrote:
fantasy stuff set in north america featuring native legends as part of it's theme
Cyber Way by Alan Dean Foster.
Software Zen:
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For those of us in the Northern hemisphere going into summer and potentially holidays it's traditional to stock up on books that can be read on holidays while lazing beside a large body of water sipping the beverage of your choice. A good summer read should be a book that suits the mood of a relaxing holiday, enjoyable, not too deep but thought provoking is ok (I.E. not War and Peace), definitely fiction (NO PROGRAMMING BOOKS), ideally a single self contained novel, not a huge series etc. I'm taking the summer off after a hard 5+ years of straight long hours, anyone have any summer reading recommendations? My recommendations for a couple of classics: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury[^] While I read it many years ago it's an all time classic and I'd recommend The left hand of darkness by Ursula LeGuin[^]
"110%" - it's the new 70%
I battled through that The left hand of darkness. Was a tough read. Looking at Jim Crafton's List there's some good stuff; Hyperion was good but the series went on a bit, definately not a quick read. I've heard good things about the Illium series though. I've just started Peter Hamilton's - Night's Dawn Trilogy, so far they're cool but they're also not quick reads. Some other old classic sci fi that I enjoyed: I. Asimov - Foundation Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451 John Wyndham - The Day of the Triffids Philip K. Dick - Do Androids dream of Electric sheep (the book Blade runner was based on) Robert A. Heinlein - Starship troopers Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game, Speaker for the dead Larry Niven - Ringworld I don't know if you enjoy warhammer 40k but there was a book by Dan Abnett called Eisenhorn that was fantastic. I've also heard good things about William Gibson's Neuromancer although I haven't read it myself yet. Oh, and you can never go wrong with Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman.
Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis. I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.
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I particularly love hard sci fi and have probably read everything there is short of stuff published in the last 6 months going all the way back to Jules Verne. Hogan is good, I also read the Rick Cook series and that's an ideal recommendation for a summer read for programmers in particular, good one! My only interest in myths and legends tends to be trippy fantasy stuff set in north america featuring native legends as part of it's theme, but as a child I *loved* sea stories and of course the mythos of HP Lovecraft.
"110%" - it's the new 70%
John Cardinal wrote:
My only interest in myths and legends tends to be trippy fantasy stuff set in north america featuring native legends as part of it's theme
The David Sullivan series by Tom Dietz[^] would be right up your alley. It's a blend of Celtic and Native American mythology set in Georgia. There are nine books in the series, though most stand on their own pretty well. Flynn
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Any book by Robert Ludlum (e.g., "Bourne Identity"). Any book by James Michener (e.g., "Hawaii").
John P.
Be careful, there was a book released recently with Robert Ludlum's name emblazoned across the front cover. I picked it up with great curiosity, as Robert Ludlum has been dead for quite a while. In the fine print was a note that the book had been commissioned by the Robert Ludlum foundation, or something along those lines, to be written in the 'style' of Robert Ludlum. In my mind that's worse than the tripe put out by shadow writers, of which Clive Cussler seems to have taken a great fancy. As for a good book, written by the guy with his name on the cover (well how about that) try 'From Here To Eternity' by James Jones. Quite old fashioned (in a middle of last century way) but beatifully written and very moving.
I have no blog...
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For those of us in the Northern hemisphere going into summer and potentially holidays it's traditional to stock up on books that can be read on holidays while lazing beside a large body of water sipping the beverage of your choice. A good summer read should be a book that suits the mood of a relaxing holiday, enjoyable, not too deep but thought provoking is ok (I.E. not War and Peace), definitely fiction (NO PROGRAMMING BOOKS), ideally a single self contained novel, not a huge series etc. I'm taking the summer off after a hard 5+ years of straight long hours, anyone have any summer reading recommendations? My recommendations for a couple of classics: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury[^] While I read it many years ago it's an all time classic and I'd recommend The left hand of darkness by Ursula LeGuin[^]
"110%" - it's the new 70%
The New Life by Orhan Pamuk.
Cheers, Vıkram.
After all is said and done, much is said and little is done.
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I particularly love hard sci fi and have probably read everything there is short of stuff published in the last 6 months going all the way back to Jules Verne. Hogan is good, I also read the Rick Cook series and that's an ideal recommendation for a summer read for programmers in particular, good one! My only interest in myths and legends tends to be trippy fantasy stuff set in north america featuring native legends as part of it's theme, but as a child I *loved* sea stories and of course the mythos of HP Lovecraft.
"110%" - it's the new 70%
So, how are you with David Weber? I love the Honor Harrington books, but there are a number of other series that he wrote or co-wrote that are certainly worth the reading. Or Modesitt's science fiction can be fun (the fantasy is, too, but you have to be into that sort of thing). Elizabeth Moon's stuff can be excellent, either sci-fi or fantasy. And of course, there's always Asimov, Poul Anderson (The "Time Patrol" stuff is usually a nice time-waster for me), Larry Niven/Jerry Pournelle ("The Mote in God's Eye is an old favorite!). Heinlein is a good read if you're in the right mood - in fact his young adult sci-fi was among the books that got me really hooked on science fiction. Andre Norton if you're more into character than hard-core sci-fi. And if I'm in a full-on fantasy mode, bring on the Mercedes Lackey :)
Caffeine - it's what's for breakfast! (and lunch, and dinner, and...)