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Rackstar
September 7th, 2009, 11:02 AM
Hi there!

I was searching for a book thread in The Community Cafe, and was suprised that I didn't find one, in the last years.

Are UF-members not big readers? Well, I am... And I like getting suggestions about books.

The biggest suggestion I can give readers here is JPod by Douglas Coupland. It's actually about 5 programmers, but really makes great points about modern world. Great story.


Ethan Jarlewski and five co-workers whose surnames begin in 'J' are bureaucratically marooned in jPod. jPod is a no-escape architectural limbo on the fringes of a massive Vancouver game design company.

The six workers daily confront the forces that define our era: global piracy, boneheaded marketing staff, people smuggling, the rise of China, marijuana grow-ops, Jeff Probst, and the ashes of the 1990s financial tech dream.

JPod's universe is amoral and shameless. The characters are products of their era even as they're creating it. Everybody in Ethan's life inhabits a moral grey zone. Nobody is exempt, not even his seemingly straitlaced parents or Coupland himself.

Full of word games, visual jokes and sideways jabs, JPod throws a sharp, pointed lawn dart into the heart of contemporary life.
http://www.jpod.info/

Cheers!

hanzomon4
September 7th, 2009, 11:32 AM
Umm.. I really liked Pattern Recognition..

I don't read much fiction but others that I enjoyed: the Thrawn Trilogy, the Darth Bane books, later Melville like Bartleby and Billy Budd, and Kafka's The Trial.

bodyharvester
September 7th, 2009, 11:32 AM
i own and have read all of stephen kings books :p except the two or three most recent, ive downloaded a torrent of all his books to check my collection against.

i would suggest his non-horror books, the seven volumes of The Dark Tower and Hearts In Atlantis

i also suggest the Jurassic Park novels by Michael Crichton, much better than the movies

also the Harry Potter novels arent too bad ;)

Barrucadu
September 7th, 2009, 12:20 PM
I've got a big collection of books sitting on the shelves on my bookcase, and on top of my bookcase, and in several heaps on the floor, and on my desk :)

Currently reading The Stand.

geekygirl
September 7th, 2009, 01:19 PM
Well I love the Magician series by Raymond E Feist, and I am also a fan of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series HELLO MY NAME IS DEATH....;)

Of course I also love Douglas Adam's Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, So Long and thanks for all the fish, The restaurant at the end of the universe - although its been a while since I read those ones.

My boyfriend has recently put me on to Piers Anthony and I have just started reading Split Infinity - about 2 chapters in now and I think I am getting hooked :)

Jimleko211
September 7th, 2009, 02:58 PM
I love A Song of Fire and Ice by George R.R. Martin. Best book series I have ever read, too bad it's not finished yet. First book is A Game of Thrones. Check it out, you'll be glad you did.

Greg
September 7th, 2009, 03:15 PM
It would be really nice if Martin would finish aDwD already...

Obligatory Wheel of Time and Ender's Game...

zmjjmz
September 7th, 2009, 03:25 PM
Currently reading Rudy Rucker's Postsingular. I need to get through the ware series after hylozoic, then I want to get through all of these old Stanislaw Lem novels.

raronson
September 7th, 2009, 03:31 PM
Anyone not familiar should check out Neal Stephenson's books (http://www.nealstephenson.com/):

In the Beginning Was the Command Line, Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, and Cryptonomicon.

hessiess
September 7th, 2009, 03:35 PM
Anything in the Discworld series.

MikeTheC
September 7th, 2009, 05:05 PM
I would agree with many of the previously-mentioned titles in this thread and add to that Roger Zelazny's "Nine Princes of Amber" which will really keep you guessing for a while.

Rackstar
September 7th, 2009, 06:00 PM
Alright thanks!

I will check those out :) Currently reading Eleanor Rigby also by Douglas Coupland. Not as good as JPod though.

Jimleko211
September 7th, 2009, 06:38 PM
It would be really nice if Martin would finish aDwD already...


+1 He was supposed to announce the release date on June 1st...and sometime in June he said that the months just flew by. It's not September, I want my book >.>

Greg
September 7th, 2009, 06:52 PM
+1 He was supposed to announce the release date on June 1st...and sometime in June he said that the months just flew by. It's not September, I want my book >.>

What really bothers me is the fact that it was supposed to come out with A Feast for Crows- and then when it split, a few months later. We're talking about 4 or 5 years now.

sydbat
September 7th, 2009, 07:00 PM
We have so many books in our house that they hold doors open, fill several bookshelves and half are still in boxes not unpacked since we moved in (15 years ago). How many exactly? I have no idea...thousands...

Right now I am reading a weird book called "The Book Of Dave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Dave)" about a future society (formerly England) that worships DAVE and is based upon a rant written by a London cab driver going through a mental breakdown. It is...um...interesting...

Mrs. Bat just finished reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I'll be reading that next.

Jimleko211
September 7th, 2009, 07:13 PM
Currently I'm reading The Naming by Alison Croggon. It can't compare to A Song of Fire and Ice, but I doubt anything will, and the plot seems interesting enough.

What really bothers me is the fact that it was supposed to come out with A Feast for Crows- and then when it split, a few months later. We're talking about 4 or 5 years now.
I hope he doesn't die before the books are finished, he is an old man.

cptrohn
September 8th, 2009, 01:21 AM
Hmm my 2 favorites right now...

Just re-read The Stand.... still an absolute masterpiece....

And Infinite Jest by the late David Foster Wallace is a great read.

drawkcab
September 8th, 2009, 01:25 AM
http://img.listal.com/image/productsus/200/0140286802/books/-borges-collected-fictions-jorge-luis-borges.jpg

hanzomon4
September 8th, 2009, 02:34 AM
Junky... William Burroughs

Greg
September 8th, 2009, 02:59 AM
Currently I'm reading The Naming by Alison Croggon. It can't compare to A Song of Fire and Ice, but I doubt anything will, and the plot seems interesting enough.

I hope he doesn't die before the books are finished, he is an old man.

That's YA Fic if I remember. It's decent, but if you like aSoIaF, check out:

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Magician and also, Empire by Raymond E. Feist
The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Foundation by Isaac Asimov

mamamia88
September 8th, 2009, 03:04 AM
haven't read a book in awhile but i would reccomend Patriot Games by Tom Clancy that is one of my favorite books ever

Jimleko211
September 8th, 2009, 09:06 PM
That's YA Fic if I remember. It's decent, but if you like aSoIaF, check out:

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Magician and also, Empire by Raymond E. Feist
The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Alright, I'll check them out when I have time. Got a ton of books to read and school isn't making it easy D:

Firestem4
September 8th, 2009, 09:24 PM
There's a good book thread in the Cafe,i'll find it later when i'm not busy.

Currently i'm reading Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley. I've heard very good reviews about it. Its an Epic Fantasy-style novel.

xpod
September 8th, 2009, 09:42 PM
I`m not the greatest fantasy fan but the Magician was a cracking read.I read the rest of the series too but they weren`t quite as good imo.
Apart from Tolkien`s Hobbit & Lord of the Rings there`s not that many more fantasy books that i can even remember reading.

I used to like Nigel Tranter, Robert Ludlum, John Le Carre, Alistair McLean, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, James Herbert, Jeffrey Archer, Wilbur Smith, John Grisham and quite a few more....when i was reading that is.
Children`s books asides it`s been few years now since i did any serious book reading.Most of the reading i do now is online and half of that is just Gumph posted on Internet forums.Of course though, some of that is actually as good as any fictional story i`ve ever read.

Renée Jade
September 17th, 2009, 08:49 PM
Magician and LOTR are both amazing. Just had a bit of a run on Heinlan; Stranger in a Strange Land was good. Farenheit451 by Bradbury changed my life. Harry potter is the greatest thing ever written. David Eddings is good if you like magic and battles and you're feeling lazy. I'm currently reading Dune - yet to pass judgement.

Perfect Storm
September 17th, 2009, 09:20 PM
Read the Harry Potter novels a couple of times. Amazing universe if you ask me.

Also Darren Shan: Cirque Du Freak (http://www.darrenshan.com/vampires/index.html) series and The Demonata (http://www.darrenshan.com/demons/index.html) series a good read if you like a bit creep'n'gore genre.


"Sorcerers of the Nightwing (http://www.ravenscliff.com/)" by Geoffrey Huntington are also worthwhile.

markbuntu
September 17th, 2009, 09:24 PM
Out, Natsuo Krino
Probably one of the most grotesque books ever. It just sucks you in and then creeps you out again and again.

If you like magical realism and Gabriel Garcia Marquez and are looking for more along those lines then you will probably like these. They take it to extremes.

Lous De Bernieres masterful trilogy

The War of Don Emmanuels Nether Parts
Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord
The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman

The War of the End of the World, Mario Vargas Llosa

Other Authors

Ken Macleod if you want to see an anarcist future
Fractions
Divisons

Hard Sci Fi, not your normal space operas
Child of Fortune, Norman Spinard
Natural History, Justina Robson
Light, Nova Swing, M. John Harrison
A Fire in the Sun, When Gravity Fails, George Alec Effinger
Vurt, Jeff Noon

That's enough for now.

openfly
September 17th, 2009, 09:29 PM
I've written two book reviews for NYCR thus far...

One for the fourth book in the Web Mage series.
http://www.nycresistor.com/2009/06/17/book-review-mythos/

One for the Moon is a Harsh Mistress. My favorite Heinlein novel.
http://www.nycresistor.com/.../book-review-the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress/

Enjoy.

Firestem4
September 17th, 2009, 10:13 PM
I've written two book reviews for NYCR thus far...

One for the fourth book in the Web Mage series.
http://www.nycresistor.com/2009/06/17/book-review-mythos/

One for The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. My favorite Heinlein novel.
http://www.nycresistor.com/.../book-review-the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress/

Enjoy.

I started reading that book a while ago, I need to pick it up and read it again..Fabulous book.

Another really good book is Eon by Greg Bear. Truly a great Science Fiction novel.

No sci-fi novel can beat the classic Martian Chronicle's though!

Muffinabus
September 17th, 2009, 10:31 PM
I love Kerouac and Burroughs.

On the Road, The Dharma Bums, Junky, And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks, Big Sur, etc.

Also loved The Master and Margarita and Crime and Punishment. Right now I'm reading Les Miserables, although slowly with school picking up over the past few weeks, and I will be reading Gravity's Rainbow.

I am also fond of Card's Ender series (:

Technoviking
September 17th, 2009, 10:36 PM
I have been reading a lot of classic Sci-fi (Dune, Enders Game, The Mote in Gods Eye) recently.

T-V

Greg
September 17th, 2009, 10:52 PM
Magician and LOTR are both amazing. Just had a bit of a run on Heinlan; Stranger in a Strange Land was good. Farenheit451 by Bradbury changed my life. Harry potter is the greatest thing ever written. David Eddings is good if you like magic and battles and you're feeling lazy. I'm currently reading Dune - yet to pass judgement.

Dune seems so strange at first, then you get towards the end and it's like woah.

Sevgiolam
September 17th, 2009, 10:57 PM
Dune is awesome, Douglas Adams books are kind of cool too.

Right now I'm reading The Spirit Molecule , but that's not fiction :p

JoshuaRL
September 17th, 2009, 11:09 PM
I'd suggest H. Beam Piper's Terro-Future Human series. A lot of stuff, but really good. And most is available on Gutenberg.

Also, Jules Verne. Really great writing, especially to read as an adult who can understand the scientific descriptions. I would strongly suggest reading "Paris in the 20th Century".

apmcd47
September 17th, 2009, 11:48 PM
Peter F Hamilton's The Temporal Void - Sequal to The Dreaming Void. (The Void trilogy follows on from his epic Commonwealth Saga) This guy likes to introduce several characters and slowly allow their paths to cross. Flippin' annoying as something exciting is about to happen and we move to another character ](*,)

Andrew

starcannon
September 18th, 2009, 03:00 AM
I'm slowly reading my way through the works of Charles Dickens. I'm on a "take a break" book, I forget the name of it (sorry); it's pretty good though, kinda a weird version of the building of Noah's Ark. I've read a lot of Stephen King, some Joseph Conrad, Tolkien, and I dunno, more stuff than I can remember.

handy
September 18th, 2009, 03:24 AM
Any Tom Robbins book, though my favourite is "Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates".

Any Kurt Vonnegut book.

I just finished the biography of Tom Kruse:

Mailman of the Birdsville Track - The Story Of Tom Kruse by Kristin Weidenbach (http://www.thebookabyss.com.au/inc/sdetail/10933)

An incredible story of a man born in 1914, & who is remarkably still alive, after the amount of incredibly hot & hard work that he did in his life, & he is a giant of a man as well.

A genuine hero, from an all but vanished way of life in Oz. A humble, generous, good hearted, kind man who was a true adventurer for a living.

One of the best books I have read in a very long time. Actually, I think I might just read it again. :)

[Edit:] Oops, I just saw the (fiction) in the thread title. Sorry about that, biographies don't cut it. ;)

magmon
September 18th, 2009, 04:00 AM
One of my favorite series' would have to be the one written by llyod alexander. The name excapes me at the moment, but it begins with the book of three and ends with the hight king. One of the best fantasy storylines of all time.

Greg
September 18th, 2009, 04:01 AM
One of my favorite series' would have to be the one written by llyod alexander. The name excapes me at the moment, but it begins with the book of three and ends with the hight king. One of the best fantasy storylines of all time.

The Chronicles of Prydain. A fun series... it's been a number of years since I've thought of it.

Renée Jade
September 18th, 2009, 04:39 AM
Also, if you've never read it, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is classic.

HappinessNow
September 18th, 2009, 05:58 AM
Hi there!

I was searching for a book thread in The Community Cafe, and was suprised that I didn't find one, in the last years.

Are UF-members not big readers? Well, I am... And I like getting suggestions about books.

The biggest suggestion I can give readers here is JPod by Douglas Coupland. It's actually about 5 programmers, but really makes great points about modern world. Great story.


http://www.jpod.info/

Cheers!
http://www.librarything.com/

tcoffeep
September 18th, 2009, 02:09 PM
Books. The only thing I love more than my computer. Here we go (will only name the first books if they are series) :

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker
Dune by Frank Herbert

Can't think of any more "great" books at the moment. Will get back to it later.

Tristam Green
September 18th, 2009, 02:16 PM
Reading a lot of comic books lately.

Marvel:
Anti-Venom limited series
Ultimate Avengers
Ultimate Spider-Man
Old Man Logan
Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth
Marvel Zombies Return

DC:
Blackest Night cross-story
Gotham City Sirens
Gotham City Streets
Batman: The Widening Gyre
Batman and Robin

IDW:
Transformers: All Hail Megatron

Dark Horse:
Star Wars: Invasion
Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Zenescope:
Return to Wonderland
Dante's Inferno

tcoffeep
September 18th, 2009, 02:50 PM
Books. The only thing I love more than my computer. Here we go (will only name the first books if they are series) :

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker
Dune by Frank Herbert

Can't think of any more "great" books at the moment. Will get back to it later.

Alright. back. Now, where was I?
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
The Stand by Stephen King
IT by Stephen King
The Difference Engine by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (I read this 4 or 5 times before I finally finished it)
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Will think of more later.

markbuntu
September 18th, 2009, 06:43 PM
...

The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker
...


Did you read just that one or all three?

tcoffeep
September 18th, 2009, 07:25 PM
Did you read just that one or all three?

All three. They were all great, but the ending of the trilogy was horribly disappointing :(

(by ending, I mean the last chapter. I thought it was great up until that point. I am, however, still looking forward to christmas to get the aspect-emperor trilogy, which, iirc, continues the story about 30 years after the prince of nothing trilogy)

koleoptero
September 18th, 2009, 08:50 PM
I wouldn't know where to begin! But there are many people reading fiction here I see, that's good.:)