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 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...)
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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...)
I've read all of the books and pretty much all the books and short stories written by the authors you mentioned, all good choices. I too first got addicted to sci fi reading Heinlein in junior high school, however going back and reading some of it now it's very different.
"110%" - it's the new 70%
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I've read all of the books and pretty much all the books and short stories written by the authors you mentioned, all good choices. I too first got addicted to sci fi reading Heinlein in junior high school, however going back and reading some of it now it's very different.
"110%" - it's the new 70%
Sounds like you have the same issue I do - while it's fun re-reading old friends, some books just aren't the same on a re-read, and finding *new* books can be a problem! I definitely agree about Heinlein - although I have probably read each and every thing he's written at some point, it's definitely different reading his stuff with adult eyes. And some of the last stuff he wrote, while entertaining, was just a little... well, odd. If I find anything new, I'll definitely pass it along. I'm looking, myself, since I have a few weeks' vacation coming up in less than a month.
Caffeine - it's what's for breakfast! (and lunch, and dinner, and...)
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I don't know if you like Sherlock Holmes, but if you do - get his complete collection which is worth a week or two's reading :-) [I've re-read the entire collection some 7-8 times; though I haven't done that in several years now]
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com linkNishant Sivakumar wrote:
I don't know if you like Sherlock Holmes, but if you do - get his complete collection which is worth a week or two's reading
Yea! I decided to purchase one... Nish who authored the one you specified? I got confused with Search Result from ebay.in[^]
-Sarath_._ "Great hopes make everything great possible" - Benjamin Franklin
My blog - Sharing My Thoughts, An Article - Understanding Statepattern
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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%
As a sci-fi geek I've been chastising myself having missed Frank Herbert's "Dune" from my reading list until only recently. Fantastic read that I have a hard time putting down! Will definitely be buying the rest of the series. A fave of my favorite sci-fi authors: Issac Assimov: Foundation series for an enthralling (long) read, or pick up one of his great robot books (e.g. Caves of steel) for a quick read. William Gibson: Early work like the sprawl series (Nueromancer, Burning Chrome, Monolisa overdrive) are easier IMHO to read than his more recent work, but I enjoy almost anything he releases. Neil Stephenson: Cryptonomicon and Snow-crash are my faves...i'll be starting on his latest trilogy after I finish Dune. Iain Banks: Most of his sci-fi work follows a similar, but enjoyable theme. Or perhaps just flick threw the Hugo and/or Nebula award winners and take your pick?
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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%
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Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
I don't know if you like Sherlock Holmes, but if you do - get his complete collection which is worth a week or two's reading
Yea! I decided to purchase one... Nish who authored the one you specified? I got confused with Search Result from ebay.in[^]
-Sarath_._ "Great hopes make everything great possible" - Benjamin Franklin
My blog - Sharing My Thoughts, An Article - Understanding Statepattern
Sarath. wrote:
Yea! I decided to purchase one... Nish who authored the one you specified? I got confused with Search Result from ebay.in[^]
Author is Arthur Conan Doyle. The one you need is "Complete Works Of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle"
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link -
Sarath. wrote:
Yea! I decided to purchase one... Nish who authored the one you specified? I got confused with Search Result from ebay.in[^]
Author is Arthur Conan Doyle. The one you need is "Complete Works Of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle"
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com linkThanks Nish.
-Sarath_._ "Great hopes make everything great possible" - Benjamin Franklin
My blog - Sharing My Thoughts, An Article - Understanding Statepattern
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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%
If you have lots of spare time & fancy something different & very rewarding, I'd recommend "In Search of Lost Time" by Proust. It's quite a sizeable series but worth the effort. Science Fiction/Fantasy-wise Tad Williams' "The Dragonbone Chair" is one of my favourites, & up there with Tolkien IMO. History: "A People's History of the United States: 1492-present" by Howard Zinn Quick & brilliant Philsophy: "The Consolations of Philosophy" by Alain de Botton Inspiring Biography: "Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life" by Jon Lee Anderson Superb classics: "The Iliad"; "Dangerous Liaisons"; "One Hundred Years of Solitude"; "The Catcher in the Rye"; "1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four" (Perhaps relevant now more than ever). Enjoy!
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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%
For me, a good summer read is one that informs me, makes me think, and is interesting to read. While your interests may or may not coincide with mine, here is what I would recommend: - Any of the "Left Behind" series of novels - "Godless" by Ann Coulter - "The Politically Incorrect Guide to ..." (any of the series) - "The Real Abraham Lincoln" by Thomas Dilorenzo - "City of God", a classic by Augustine of Hippo - "War Stories" (any of the series by Oliver North) - "Breaking the Da Vinci Code" by Darrell L. Bock and if you want to retain some modicrum of geekness, I recommend these DVDs for watching on your personal DVD player or laptop as you lay about in sun and sand: - "Flywheel" - "Facing the Giants" - “Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe” - "The Great Raid" - "The Greatest Game Ever Played" - "The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend" (newly re-released on DVD) - "Quo Vadis" (an oldie but a goodie) - "The Nativity" - "Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius" - "The End Of The Spear" -- modified at 9:20 Friday 8th June, 2007
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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%
If your going to be out camping in the woods I recommend Nevada Barr books. Each book is set in a different National Park. Another good series for camping is anything by Dana Stabenow. Her books are a series but can be read independantly. My latest Sci-Fi series is the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. I just finished rereading the series. Some good Fantasy books are also by Lois McMaster Bujold. The Curse of Chalion is a great book to start with. A slightly different Fantasy series is the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz. It wasn't what I expected but was a great book. Another one is The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks. Then there is my latest addiction, the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher. I can't put them down once I start.
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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%
Fiona bought me The World According to Garp which so far is pretty good.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa
Shog9 wrote:
And with that, Paul closed his browser, sipped his herbal tea, fixed the flower in his hair, and smiled brightly at the multitude of cute, furry animals flocking around the grassy hillside where he sat coding Ruby on his Mac...
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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%
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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:
I'm taking the summer off after a hard 5+ years of straight long hours, anyone have any summer reading recommendations?
This place is full of developers, so they'll all say "Shakespeare", "Dickens", etc, to show how cultured they are. ... But what they'll be reading themselves is Playboy and D&D manuals.
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I've read all of the books and pretty much all the books and short stories written by the authors you mentioned, all good choices. I too first got addicted to sci fi reading Heinlein in junior high school, however going back and reading some of it now it's very different.
"110%" - it's the new 70%
Heinlein is what got me into real science fiction in Jr. High as well. I think my first was Spaceman Jones. Let me think of stuff that you might not have read that is sci-fi since you seem to be really well read.