I just started Robert Charles Wilson's Vortex, having recently finished the first two in the series, Spin and Axis. About 2/3 of the way through Spin, I still wasn't sure I liked it. By the end, I was hooked. Wilson presents some substantial new SF ideas (new to me anyway), but he seems to focus a lot more on individual characters' reactions to technology rather than technology itself or it's more universal effects. But there's enough scientific detail to keep this nerd interested anyway. A lot of it comes in short bursts towards the end of the novels with a lot of allusion and hints along the way.

I actually have The Quantum Thief on my kindle, and started one or two chapters, but put it down for some reason. I'll have to start it again, then.

I've been reading a couple of biographies: Mao: A Life, and Chris Matthew's new book on JFK, Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero.

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I really enjoyed those Wilson books too. It was a SF subject, but didn't read like SF - maybe because, like you say, he focused more on the characters' reactions than the technology itself. The first one, Spin, is a great "almost end of the world" kind of book.>> ^jonny:

I just started Robert Charles Wilson's Vortex, having recently finished the first two in the series, Spin and Axis. About 2/3 of the way through Spin, I still wasn't sure I liked it. By the end, I was hooked. Wilson presents some substantial new SF ideas (new to me anyway), but he seems to focus a lot more on individual characters' reactions to technology rather than technology itself or it's more universal effects. But there's enough scientific detail to keep this nerd interested anyway. A lot of it comes in short bursts towards the end of the novels with a lot of allusion and hints along the way.

I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, which is a pretty good page turner.

I'm interested in reading some classic American literature if anyone would recommend some for a guy who has never really read any of the classics (like Mark Twain, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald).

I'm green.

Huckleberry Finn>> ^kymbos:

I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, which is a pretty good page turner.
I'm interested in reading some classic American literature if anyone would recommend some for a guy who has never really read any of the classics (like Mark Twain, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald).
I'm green.

>> ^dag:

I really enjoyed those Wilson books too. It was a SF subject, but didn't read like SF - maybe because, like you say, he focused more on the characters' reactions than the technology itself. The first one, Spin, is a great "almost end of the world" kind of book.Yeah, the view point of the story is very "bottom up", with incredible technology presented like a force of nature, accessible to humans, but never controlled by them. His writing style is not typical of SF either. Some words that come to mind regarding his style are plain, solid, easy flowing. He's never trying to impress you with linguistic finesse, just keeps the text moving right along. Sort of the opposite extreme of Stephenson, where word play, sentence construction and all that is very much a part of the show.



Speaking of end of the world books, I had read Lucifer's Hammer for the first time a few months ago. It was published in 1977, so it's a little dated, but a great read nonetheless.

I'm between books right now. My last was Peter F. Hamilton's The Evolutionary Void which is the third book in a trilogy, set in the same universe as Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. It's not groundbreaking, but it's fun -- space opera stuff, will make a good movie someday.

Next in the queue will be Neal Stephenson's Anathem. Or possibly John Rawls's A Theory of Justice. Or maybe Vernor Vinge's Children of the Sky. They're all sitting on the table nearby, reminding me that I've been neglecting my dead tree media again...

Twain is a great choice - definitely read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. It's LOL funny. Some of my favorites among the American classics are Poe, Emerson, Washington Irving, Walt Whitman, Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut, Gore Vidal (are those last two counted as classic yet?). Edgar Allen Poe is a must. I first read The Pit and the Pendulum in my 30s and it scared the shit out of me. He clearly had access to the best drugs available in the world at the time. Other top Poe choices - The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Tell-Tale Heart.
In reply to this comment by kymbos:
I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, which is a pretty good page turner.

I'm interested in reading some classic American literature if anyone would recommend some for a guy who has never really read any of the classics (like Mark Twain, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald).

I'm green.

the last thing i read that i enjoyed was the 'his dark materials' trilogy. now i am struggling to get through audiobook 7 of harry potter.. even with stephen fry's lovely voice i just find the material friggin boring.

yes i know i am way behind the times on both these series. whatevs!

i really need to get a copy of reamde

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I tried to get into a couple of Hamilton books but they never clicked for me. The ones I tried seemed to have a weird mix of space opera (which I like) and the occult (not so much).

Though, having just written that, I really do like Allistor Reynolds' books which are just that same kind of mix. go figure.
>> ^NetRunner:

I'm between books right now. My last was Peter F. Hamilton's The Evolutionary Void which is the third book in a trilogy, set in the same universe as Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. It's not groundbreaking, but it's fun -- space opera stuff, will make a good movie someday.
Next in the queue will be Neal Stephenson's Anathem. Or possibly John Rawls's A Theory of Justice. Or maybe Vernor Vinge's Children of the Sky. They're all sitting on the table nearby, reminding me that I've been neglecting my dead tree media again...

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Also, Children of the Sky was a little disappointing - though I wanted it to be great.>> ^dag:

I tried to get into a couple of Hamilton books but they never clicked for me. The ones I tried seemed to have a weird mix of space opera (which I like) and the occult (not so much).
Though, having just written that, I really do like Allistor Reynolds' books which are just that same kind of mix. go figure.
>> ^NetRunner:
I'm between books right now. My last was Peter F. Hamilton's The Evolutionary Void which is the third book in a trilogy, set in the same universe as Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. It's not groundbreaking, but it's fun -- space opera stuff, will make a good movie someday.
Next in the queue will be Neal Stephenson's Anathem. Or possibly John Rawls's A Theory of Justice. Or maybe Vernor Vinge's Children of the Sky. They're all sitting on the table nearby, reminding me that I've been neglecting my dead tree media again...

I'm reading The Name of the Wind and I can't recommend it highly enough!!! It's the first in the Kingkiller Chronicles, it's a lovely book to start reading after the marathon of Song of Ice and Fire and the first one I'm reading on my new kindle

Nice. I was just looking through previous what are you readings yesterday for suggestions.

Starting The Mote in God's Eye. Looks promising.

Skim-read The Reluctant Fundamentalist this afternoon - it's rather dreadful.

Finished Crime and Punishment a couple of days ago. Loved it. One of those few 'classic' novels that isn't all hype. It's engaging and enjoyable, and very rewarding. The ultimate message that we should stop trying to think for ourselves and just do what Jesus says is possibly not the best, but that doesn't overwhelm and the style isn't preachy. I have yet to read a novel more perfectly structured.
It was a little distracting that one of the characters is basically Columbo. When he did the 'just one more thing' routine I had to put the book down for a minute. Turns out Columbo was based on Porphyrius. Man, that makes it weird for the modern reader.
I'm developing a taste for golden age russian literature; I hope to read a lot more soon.

Before that I burned through I Am Legend in one sitting. It's electrifying.

Brave New World needs to be more widely read.

The Algebraist is notable for having one of the least likeable villains ever. Genuinely, I think that's its main literary achievement. I have huge respect for Iain Banks for writing a world-conquering, star-spanning tyrant who is in no way cool or enviable. Archimandrite Luseferous is like a parody of a fourteen-year-old's power fantasies; not a Magnificent Bastard, he's just a contemptible, nasty (occasionally terrifying) creature with no charisma or real intelligence and we need to see more of that.
There's great stuff in this book, but it does follow the standard disappointing SF novel arc of: 'big ideas, big ideas, oh no the plot is taking over, narrowing focus, narrowing focus, now it's just about this guy and his Quest, how did the galaxy get so small, inevitable convenient climax.' Very much worth reading to pick out the many great elements in this book, but those elements don't really come together.
I'll get round to the Culture novels eventually.

Oh, I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for the first time since I was five, but couldn't carry the enthusiasm on to the rest of the Narnia books.

Thinking about Crime and Punishment reminded me, I really need to pick up a cheap second-hand ereader so I can stop paying for public domain books.

I like the sound of The Quantum Thief, that goes on the list.

After realizing what I'm missing out on currently am reading The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy which is one of those books making me cry laughing.
Hitchen's God Is Not Great is definitely worth the read for his articulate mind alone.
And I can't really say I'm finished reading The Wheel Of Time while the last book is still missing.
For all the fantasy-junkies out there: Robert Jordan.
I came across a lot of critics that his books are boring and slow paced, which is absolutely, mind bogglingly deranged to say in my opinion.
For what I know of the fantasy world one of the most interesting and best thought out universes in existence.

>> ^dag:

I tried to get into a couple of Hamilton books but they never clicked for me. The ones I tried seemed to have a weird mix of space opera (which I like) and the occult (not so much).

You're probably talking about the Night's Fall series -- yeah that was not so good. The premise was okay, but he introduced way too many characters, way too many settings, and it went on and on for well over 2,000 pages, and then has a crap ending.

His later works are better. Try Fallen Dragon or Pandora's Star. The former is a completely standalone book, the latter is an ongoing series (5 books in the universe so far, and I suspect more are on the way).

Oh if you want a book that will make you laugh til you choke, try A Fraction of the Whole, Aussie Steve Toltz's debut. It's part comedy, part philosophy and part family drama and it's one of the best things I've ever read

I've just started Richard Morgan's The Cold Commands (which I think is sci-fi/fantasy with gay characters but I'm not entirely sure) and then I'm going to reread American Tabloid by James Ellroy as I stopped and forgot all about it and I want to read the entire trilogy eventually.

>> ^dag:

Also, Children of the Sky was a little disappointing - though I wanted it to be great.

That seems to be the overwhelming consensus of reviews I've seen, so I haven't bothered to buy it. I did read a free "Prologue" story, After the Battle on Starship Hill, but it didn't especially excite me. I would have been much more interested in a sequel to A Deepness in the Sky. The characters and story are more compelling to me than those of A Fire Upon the Deep.

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Yes, more adventures with Pham and the Qeng Ho. Sadly, I sort of feel like Vinge peaked a while back, around the time of Deepness - and his books have not improved since. Other writers like Stephen King seem to never run out of steam.>> ^jonny:

>> ^dag:
Also, Children of the Sky was a little disappointing - though I wanted it to be great.
That seems to be the overwhelming consensus of reviews I've seen, so I haven't bothered to buy it. I did read a free "Prologue" story, After the Battle on Starship Hill, but it didn't especially excite me. I would have been much more interested in a sequel to A Deepness in the Sky. The characters and story are more compelling to me than those of A Fire Upon the Deep.

I just finished this book about the French Revolution. I felt the knowledge I had received from the Norwegian educational system was inadequate for such an important event in European history. I really liked the book; it is a fast read and lays out the important events during the 12 year period between the fall of the Bastille and the advent of Napoleon in a concise and entertaining manner. What is stunning about these events is how chaotic they really were, and how many similarities there are with other social changes in more modern history, violent or not.

Right now I'm reading two books in parallell:

Ian Cameron Esslemont's Stonewield
er, his 3rd novel in the Malazan universe he co-created with Steven Erikson. I have gotten hooked by this dark and gritty world through Erikson's books, which are unlike any other run-of-the-mill fantasy out there. Esslemont's books in the same universe have so far been under par in comparison, but his writing is getting better and better with each book.

Zur Sache, Chérie by Alain-Xavier Wurst. I'm reading this to learn German better. It's a very funny book written by a Frenchman living in Germany, about how bad German women (and men) are at flirting.

Well, I am on the last book of the Night's Dawn Trilogy... I blazed through book one (The Reality Dysfunction), slowed a bit through The Neutronium Alchemist, and now, half way through The Naked God I keep finding other things to do rather than read it, like playing games on my phone. (I read on the train in and out of work)

Not to say it's still not enjoyable when I read it, but it's less of a page turner than it used to be

>> ^Deano:

I've just started Richard Morgan's The Cold Commands (which I think is sci-fi/fantasy with gay characters but I'm not entirely sure) and then I'm going to reread American Tabloid by James Ellroy as I stopped and forgot all about it and I want to read the entire trilogy eventually.


You, sir, have excellent taste in books. Ellroy and Morgan are both awesome, especially the Dudley Smith and Takeshi Kovacs books respectively.

As for me, my last few were Iain Banks Transition, the Atheists Guide to Christmas and Paul Kimmage's Engage (true account of a tetraplegic rugby player, fascinating story and insight into coping with such a horrific accident).

I'm currently reading Milligan's Meaning of Life: An autobiography of sorts by Spike Milligan. It's really just a collection of Milligans other writings but it's great fun.

Does he touch on what led to the gathering arms and subsequent storming of the Bastille? I read a book on the forbidden literature of pre-revolutionary France, and one of the opinions on the Revolution passed on by the author was that at the decision to storm the Bastille, the terror was already a foregone conclusion.

I looked up all the books you mentioned, and was disappointed to find that my local library holds exactly none of them
>> ^Ornthoron:

I just finished this book about the French Revolution. [...] lays out the important events during the 12 year period between the fall of the Bastille and [...]

Just finished "A Song of Fire and Ice" series. All up to date. Some light reading to take a break from my cell-bio text. Ahhh... who am I kidding? I don't do homework. I just watch TED and pass all the tests.

>> ^oritteropo:

Does he touch on what led to the gathering arms and subsequent storming of the Bastille? I read a book on the forbidden literature of pre-revolutionary France, and one of the opinions on the Revolution passed on by the author was that at the decision to storm the Bastille, the terror was already a foregone conclusion.
>> ^Ornthoron:
I just finished this book about the French Revolution. [...] lays out the important events during the 12 year period between the fall of the Bastille and [...]



I expressed myself a bit unclear: The book starts of course with some background and overview of the general condition of french society before 1789. The first big event described is not the fall of the Bastille, but the Day Of The Tennis Court Oath at Versaille, one month earlier. What struck me as I read the book was how it was not really a people's revolution, but a conflict between the bourgoise on one side and the nobility and clergy on the other.

Like so many other events during the revolution, the storming of the Bastille was not really one decision; it was merely a modest confrontation that escalated out of control due to miscommunication. As such it is a good metaphor for the revolution as a whole, which started out relatively moderate and in cooperation with the king, and subsequently was taken over by more and more radical voices culminating in the Days of Terror, after which there was a backlash to more conservative policies again. I wouldn't say The Terror was a foregone conclusion, but it did seem to me that the revolution took on some kind of life of its own and started on a slippery slide outside of any one person's imagination.

Right, I think you have described exactly the book I want to read on the subject, so thanks for the pointer
>> ^Ornthoron:


[...]The first big event described is not the fall of the Bastille, but the Day Of The Tennis Court Oath at Versaille, one month earlier. What struck me as I read the book was how it was not really a people's revolution, but a conflict between the bourgoise on one side and the nobility and clergy on the other.[...]

@oritteropo

Cheers, mate! I'll put an amazon link for you above if you want to order it and support videosift at the same time. (Edit: It seems I can't submit the british amazon link, but I believe this book from amazon.com to be the same one with a slighly changed title.)

A word of warning, though: The dramatis personae of The French Revolution is huge, and if you are not familiar with french names you will quickly confuse all the different individuals with each other. It does not help that the author will sometimes throw in a reference to some character that was last mentioned 50 pages ago. But the index in the back is quite extensive, so if you forgot who someone was you can just look up where they were first mentioned and get back on track.

Anyone else want to weigh in on @kymbos request of the Great American Novel? I think Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a must read (I actually reread this story every couple of years and still enjoy it).

What other candidates do people have?>> ^longde:

Huckleberry Finn>> ^kymbos:
I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, which is a pretty good page turner.
I'm interested in reading some classic American literature if anyone would recommend some for a guy who has never really read any of the classics (like Mark Twain, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald).
I'm green.

>> ^longde:

Anyone else want to weigh in on @kymbos request of the Great American Novel? I think Twain' Huckleberry Finn is a must read (I actually reread this story every couple of years and still enjoy it).
What other candidates do people have?>> ^longde:
Huckleberry Finn>> ^kymbos:
I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, which is a pretty good page turner.
I'm interested in reading some classic American literature if anyone would recommend some for a guy who has never really read any of the classics (like Mark Twain, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald).
I'm green.




I reread Catch 22 every 5 years or so, gets better every time.

edit: oh, not necessarily a classic, though.

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I like John Irving for that category - Cider House Rules or World According to Garp.>> ^longde:
Anyone else want to weigh in on @kymbos request of the Great American Novel? I think Twain' Huckleberry Finn is a must read (I actually reread this story every couple of years and still enjoy it).
What other candidates do people have?>> ^longde:
Huckleberry Finn>> ^kymbos:
I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, which is a pretty good page turner.
I'm interested in reading some classic American literature if anyone would recommend some for a guy who has never really read any of the classics (like Mark Twain, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald).
I'm green.

Robert Massie's Catherine The Great
And
Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation

both are great if you're a raging history nerd.

sidenote: we're going to see Sarah Vowell talk about history in a few weeks. Imma geek out.

>> ^luxury_pie:

>> ^longde:
Anyone else want to weigh in on @kymbos request of the Great American Novel? I think Twain' Huckleberry Finn is a must read (I actually reread this story every couple of years and still enjoy it).
What other candidates do people have?>> ^longde:
Huckleberry Finn>> ^kymbos:
I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, which is a pretty good page turner.
I'm interested in reading some classic American literature if anyone would recommend some for a guy who has never really read any of the classics (like Mark Twain, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald).
I'm green.



I reread Catch 22 every 5 years or so, gets better every time.
edit: oh, not necessarily a classic, though.

Really? Because I couldn't get through it. I thought he just kept hammering the same points over and over and over again until I was bored to tears and stopped (kind of like American Psycho actually, I didn't need any more graphic depictions of murder to get the inanely shallow existence he led).


Pity, as I thought I'd like it. The general premise is good, hell it spawned the extremely common saying... but I was left wanting by the source material itself.

@spoco2 Well I found the characters well written and interesting and to get to know what happens to them and how it happens is one of my favorite things about the book. The main story is not as interesting I'll give you that.

I'm reading "A Universe From Nothing" by Lawrence Krauss. Awesome book, although I'll have to read it a second time. He really does march down the timeline from the initial hypothesis of the big bang through the steps we have taken to be able to verify this hypothesis with science. It really is an awesome book for the lover of science or history. His approach is very historical, but he doesn't shy away from the science at all.

But don't take my word for it...duh duh DUH

Ham on Rye.

>> ^kymbos:

I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, which is a pretty good page turner.
I'm interested in reading some classic American literature if anyone would recommend some for a guy who has never really read any of the classics (like Mark Twain, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald).
I'm green.

I just finished "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jarrod Diamond.

For school I'm reading "Reporting for the Media," "Essentials of Criminal Justice," "Classics of Western Philosophy," and "Ethics in Criminal Justice."

Also, I'm teaching myself InDesign from "Exploring Adobe InDesign CS5."

Hope to finish Plato's "The Republic" sometime between.

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I just finished the afore mentioned Stephen King latest. What a great book. I heartily recommend it if you like Stephen King, time travel, or the sixties - just fantastic.

Some great ideas herein, ladies and gents.

One small suggestion: don't waste yr money on new books. Buy them second hand and save yourself literally dollars and cents. http://www.abebooks.com/