suliman on 26/7/2010 at 01:25
The Demolished Man, which is shaping up as probably the best SF book I've read after Solaris and The Martian Chronicles. Definitely better than The Stars My Destination so far, and I liked that one a lot, too. It's part of the anthology "A Science Fiction Argosy" by Damon Knight, which also contains a lot of great short stories.
june gloom on 26/7/2010 at 03:31
Quote Posted by T-Smith
Just finished reading Neuromancer for the first time.
How was it? It's one of my favourite books of all time, so I always look forward to hearing what other people think. Even if they hate it (as long as they have a good reason.)
SubJeff on 26/7/2010 at 03:38
World War Z.
So far so good. These days I can't seem to stick with anything that is non-sci fi.
T-Smith on 26/7/2010 at 03:58
Quote Posted by dethtoll
How was it? It's one of my favourite books of all time, so I always look forward to hearing what other people think. Even if they hate it (as long as they have a good reason.)
I loved it. I've only recently started getting into hard sci-fi (thanks to Peter Watt's BlindSight and Rifters Trilogy) so I've been playing catch-up.
What impressed me most wasn't the book, but how long ago it was written and how many of the concepts and ideas haven't become outdated, and rather have become sci-fi staples.
V. Equinox on 26/7/2010 at 11:08
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (fantasy). 58 pages in and enjoying. Plays up the mystery of the main character(s) a bit too much, but that's a minor quibble. The man has a talent for making me want to read more, that's for damn sure.
reizak on 28/7/2010 at 05:27
Just finished Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House, which I found while digging around in an acquintace's bookshelf. I don't really like his short stories that much, but it was one of the few of his that I hadn't read so I thought I should read it. I've been rationing his books for the last decade or so because I figured he wouldn't be writing many more (and now he certainly isn't), but I've recently realized that that was a needless concern as I've forgotten everything about the ones I've read anyway. Hooray for a crappy memory!
Glasmand on 28/7/2010 at 11:08
"White Noise" by Don DeLillo. Excellent, funny stuff.
"Duma Key" by Stephen King. NOT excellent; I might not finish.
frozenman on 28/7/2010 at 11:21
I'm slugging my way through Klingsor's Last Summer by Hermann Hesse. I was delighted to find it because it's in that ubiquitous Bantam books edition and it was one entry in my collection I somehow overlooked.
Compared to other Hesse books its really quite different, and I'm not so sure I like it but it's interesting to see. I believe it was written in the period before Demian/Siddhartha/Steppenwolf but after his 'romantic artist struggles to come to terms with himself' phase Beneath the Wheel/Peter Camenzind/fuck all the early books
What's interesting is that the stories in it have such a different tone from the rest his body of work. With Demian and so on he definitely acquired a more esoteric scope, but the way it was written still remained the same from his earlier books. In Klingsor's Last Summer, which I guess is bookended by these two periods, the prose is so tangential and psychotic it sounds like a different author altogether. Lots of internal dialogue and so forth.
Still the most amazing author I have ever read. There's the saying that a really good book is like holding up a mirror to the reader in which they see parts of themselves- what's magnificent about Siddhartha is that you can't HELP but see yourself in the character. The most perfect mirror.
Risquit on 2/8/2010 at 08:45
Quote Posted by Glasmand
"White Noise" by Don DeLillo. Excellent, funny stuff.
The guy is about as smart as they come. I think I'm smart. I read him and I think I'm the stupidest person alive.
june gloom on 2/8/2010 at 09:47
Chuck Palaljfadlskfjalkjf's Fight Club.
I like it more than the movie.
