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Just ripped through UNDERGROUND AIRLINES by Ben H. Winters.
It is an alternate history yarn mixed with secret government agent thriller. Fast paced with strong characters and quite a bit of overt socio-political subtext.
RIYL
The Man In The High Castle; Two Trains Running; The Bone Labyrinth
Finally finished it. Pretty rare for the last 10% of a novel to be that much of a slog. Okay, the last two (short) chapters were pretty good; not a smashing ending, but it worked well enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by bobz
I think one big problem with Fall (and I never thought I’d say this about a Neal Stephenson book) is that it’s insufficiently imaginative. A digital new world follows the meatspace world prototype so closely that it contains early characters actually named Adam and Eve. The later bitworld sagas, when isolated from the fact that they’re set in a digital simulation, only barely qualify as science fiction or fantasy; they’re just quasi-biblical dramas in which certain characters have supernatural powers or quirks.
So, skip Fall. There are some excellent Stephenson books, and the earliest ones are the most fun.
The End Is Always Near...Apocalyptic moments from the Bronze Age collapse to nuclear near misses..by Can Carlin.
Just started “Where the crawdads sing” by Delia Owens...the writer’s voice has got me sucked in so far...
Ebooks, for the win, with the library sys closed
If it hasn’t been mentioned, I’m enjoying “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles.
His other book “Rules of Civility” is supposedly good as well, but I haven’t gotten to it yet.
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OK Boomer!Quote:
Originally Posted by ::: :::
I just starter a good memoir called "Songs Only You Know" by Sean Madigan Hoen. Great read so far. https://www.amazon.com/Songs-Only-Yo...4813528&sr=8-1
By the way, can't really say I'd recommend The Terror. I never wanted to quit reading it, but can't say it kept me up late at night, either.Quote:
Originally Posted by The AD
Quote:
Originally Posted by The AD
His novels The Song of Kali and Carrion Comfort sound most intriguing...
I'm reading Long Road To Mercy by David Baldacci. It is good
Thanks I will read
"Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel is a pretty good post-apocalyptic novel for those looking for that kind of uplifting stuff right now. :)
Just finished The Wives by Tarryn Fisher. Quick read, pretty good psychological thriller.
The Screwtape Letters is a Christian apologetic novel by C. S. Lewis, a great book. I strongly recommend it. If you read it, please give me your feedback
JFC, go away.Quote:
Originally Posted by SheriGoddart85
Listicles be abounding in this time of CovidSIPing...
Wired's Best Sci-fi List:
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/best-sci-fi-books
I have only read 2 of the 21 listed...
That's a good list, aside from Jurassic Park. I've read 15.
Got any suggestions for where to start? I'm not a huge sci-fi reader, but I've read five on that list (JP, Frankenstein, The Martian, Neuromancer, Dune).Quote:
Originally Posted by teledad
Only 5.Quote:
Originally Posted by teledad
But there’s a lot of recent books from the last ten years. Will check some of the newer ones
But They missed a lot of classics.
Start with Foundation; an absolute masterpiece.
It misses a lot of classics, but it's a good sampling of different types of SF and provides a jumping off point for readers. I would have probably added Fahrenheit 451, 1984, A Canticle for Leibowitz, The Forever War, and Ender's Game (but then would have had to figure out what to drop).
Agree on Foundation. If you like it, read The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and The Three-Body Problem. If you liked Neuromancer better, read Snow Crash.
Snow Crash is an enjoyable engaging read, perhaps Stephensons best (I prefer the Diamond Age of his books, and to me it’d have made a more interesting addition, even if it’s not as great)Quote:
Originally Posted by The AD
Gish Jens (an excellent writer) latest is The Resisters. Outstanding in my opinion!
Not a new book, but for a great satire of life in early 1900s England read The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler. I am surprised to how relevant it is to the present
We just read the kids "hatchet" by Gary Paulsen. It was really good read even for me at 43. It was quick but super fun if you're looking for one to share with the little ones. My kids are 9 and 10. My daughter loved it so much she wants to be plane wrecked in Canada, alive.
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Has anybody read anything by this gent?
http://www.edwardashton.com/
His upcoming novel, which is not due until late 2021, just got optioned by Brad Pitt's film production company...
The River by Peter Heller
Holy shit, intense
I'm reading it right now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyoverland Captive
Some intriguing suggestions herein:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...or-summer.html
The Peripheral by William Gibson. A really interesting sci fi book that covers virtual reality and splits of future/past time threads
It is really good
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Foundation by Asimov was a quick read, although it's certainly more of a political book in the guise of sci-fi.
Just started Fall of Giants by Ken Follett which I think is going to be good. It's the first book in a trilogy covering the major events of the 20th century.
Has anybody read anything from either of these guys?:
Frank Bill
https://us.macmillan.com/author/frankbill/
Daniel Woodrell
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/co...niel-woodrell/
Read Winter’s Bone and Bayou Trilogy by Woodrell - both excellent.
Right on.Quote:
Originally Posted by teledad
I recently watched the film Donnybrook, based on the novel of the same name. When researching the author, Frank Bill, he was frequently compared to Woodrell...
THE FREE
Willy Vlautin
I just ripped through Vlautin's 2014 novel The Free in under 24-hours.
5 stars.
I read my first Willy Vlautin novel in 2007 (The Motel Life). I can't remember how I got turned onto him, but it may have been via Green Apple Books in San Francisco. I lived in The City at the time and frequented that shop as often as I could. They were great about hi-liting interesting books and on more than one occasion over the years I bought a book based purely on a written staff recommendation.
I really dug The Motel Life and ended up buying a copy for my buddy (and longtime Maggot) Corky, who happened to live in Reno.
Back in 2014 Vlautin hosted a screening of the film version of The Motel Life in Fallon, NV, and Corky attended the event. He met Willy and even bought me a copy of The Free, got it autographed by Mr. Vlautin, and gave it to me shortly after.
Why it took me 13 years to read it is beyond me, but once I started it, I could not put it down.
Vlautin's economy of style and naturalistic dialogue is fantastic. He manages to create rich, three-dimensional characters with such ease and grace and utter simplicity that you end up believing they are real people.
While bittersweet at its core, the novel's overall conclusion is one of hope and joy without being the least bit maudlin or explotive.
Long Road To Mercy by David Baldacci. + FBI agent stationed at Grand Canyon. National Nuclear crisis. Bomb placed in G.C.
“Say Nothing” by Patrick Radden Keefe. A tale of a specific murder in Northern Ireland spins into a deeper tale of the origin of The Troubles. Riveting shit.
You Don't Love Me Yet - Jonathan Letham
This is simultaneously a love letter to and brazen condemnation of Los Angeles scenesterism. It also mocks pretension, while being a bit pretentious itself.
Underneath this veneer is a story about intellectual property, the creative process, and the rules of attraction.
If you already dig JL and you grew up/matured during the college/indie rock boom of the mid-to-late 80s, you will most likely dig this joint.
If you're in your 50s you probably remember the Roots TV mini-series in the mid-1970s that was quite a national phenomenon. It had a profound effect on me at the time. Decided to revisit that and checked the audiobook out of the library. It's 30 hours but highly worth it IMO if you want a stark perspective on everything going on today. And although there was some nitpicking at the time about the accuracy of some details, it remains a great story. Great reader too.
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I've now read "The Dog Stars" and "The River" by Heller and although I enjoyed both, I've got to say he has a tendency to run out of steam in the second half of his books.Quote:
Originally Posted by Danno
Probably not the best thread to post this in, but the Le Guin documentary is free through aug 30: http://www.openculture.com/2020/08/d...this-week.html
Maybe it’ll give you a few books to add to your list. It has for me.