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[shinygerbil]

I thought they were terrible Mary-Sue schlock -- I don't really understand why people like them. What is the appeal, exactly?

Well, I enjoyed the original enough to consider checking out the sequel (with some trepidation, I must admit) and just found myself drawn into them. If I had to pick out what was appealing, I'd probably say that I liked the characters more than the actual plot or setting. I wanted to know more about them and what happens to them. I wouldn't necessarily recommend them or say they were great books - but I enjoyed them, so I kept reading them.

I'm fully aware that they were cheesy and often a thinly-veiled attempt to advocate Mormon values, but I found it entirely possible to enjoy them anyway.

I don't know whether to love or hate that feeling when you get to the end of a book and you think, "Yaay! Next story, please! Tell me what happens next!" and then there are no more books.


I'm currently reading Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, and next on my list will be some Cordwainer Smith. Never read any, I've been told I'm in for a treat.

[moi]

I found the first one predictable and very overrated and the sequels terrible.

[Fallsburg]

I found the first one predictable and very overrated and the sequels terrible.

Yeah, that's about right.  I liked the first one when I was 12, because it is written to directly appeal to 12 year old boys who are smart (or think they are smart) and are (at least slightly) misunderstood.  But it's a shitty book that is completely Mary Sue (or Gary Stu, rather) wish fulfillment.  Sort of like Ayn Rand, but more realistic, better written, and deeper.



Oryx and Crake is decent, but definitely not Atwood's best work.  I would recommend The Blind Assassin, as I personally think it's her best work.  But whatever you do, don't read The Year of the Flood (the prequel, coquel [contemporaneous], and sequel to Oryx and Crake).  It reads like someone's bad Oryx and Crake fanfiction.

I'm rereading The Magicians.  I'm picking up a lot of hints that I missed the first time through.  Not the best book in the world, but it's fun.

[oyog]

I'm rereading The Magicians.  I'm picking up a lot of hints that I missed the first time through.  Not the best book in the world, but it's fun.

It is definitely that.  I still can't decide whether or not I liked it more than The Magician King. The Magician King felt like a ...larger story, somehow.

Anyone know if Grossman's Codex is worth reading? I need to read something awesome when I'm done with Shrodinger's Cat (again).

I have a couple of collections of Lovecraft that I never seem to be able to get into. Maybe I'll try that again.

[doctor_roxo]

Just finished "A Game of Thrones."

I also just finished this book. little over halfway thru Clash of Kings now. Trying to get to the 3rd book. the tv show is what got me into it. i've always loved reading but never discovered george rr martin before. knew who he was, just never picked up anything of his. when i finished watching season 2, i just had to know what happened next and knew i couldn't wait a whole year for the show to come back on, so i picked up game of thrones and am furiously trying to get to book 3.

[KissMaj7]

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. I haven't read much scifi before but this seems interesting.

[InfiniteStateMachine]

Ultimate History of Videogames. Great read

[Sean Hogan (seagaia)]

plato's republic cuz of skooooooool

[Fallsburg]

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. I haven't read much scifi before but this seems interesting.

I'd definitely recommend "A Deepness in the Sky" by Vinge, if you like "A Fire Upon the Deep" even a little.  It's a much better, more interesting book.

[moi]

well both stories are part of the same arc, aren't they?
And yeah vinge is the best author I've read in a long time.

[Tanner]

Much Ado About Nothing for Intro to Shakespeare. It's pretty funny.

Also, ANSI Common Lisp by Graham for a CS class. Lisp is pretty fuckin' cool.

[dewlap]

Castro by Reinhard Kleist
Collected ghost stories of M.R. James

[sublinimal]

Also, ANSI Common Lisp by Graham for a CS class. Lisp is pretty fuckin' cool.

Practical Common Lisp for me. why-can't-i-hold-all-these-parentheses.lisp

[Fallsburg]

well both stories are part of the same arc, aren't they?
And yeah vinge is the best author I've read in a long time.

Yeah, in book chronology it goes:

Deepness in the sky -> 20,000 years -> Fire Upon the Deep -> 10 years -> Children of the Sky.

And I'd rank them Deepness, Fire, Children.  Deepness and Fire are some of the most inventive sci-fi I've read in a long time.  Vinge writes aliens unlike anyone else I've ever read.  He manages to write them in a very real, relatable way despite the fact that they are completely foreign to the human experience (talking about the Spiders and the Tines).

[moi]

I read the second before the first and it wasn't very important because there is no real chronology between the two, I didn't even know there was a third book!

[Fineldar]

Also, ANSI Common Lisp by Graham for a CS class. Lisp is pretty fuckin' cool.

Practical Common Lisp for me. why-can't-i-hold-all-these-parentheses.lisp

I just finished The Little Schemer, which is like those books, but for babies.  You two obviously have a much higher grasp and appreciation for Lisp languages than I do.

I'm also reading Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.  Not normally my thing but it's really good.

[Alec S.]

Finished reading The Cornelius Chronicles.  Probably my favorite thing by Moorcock so far, although I have to admit much of it confused the hell out of me.  There were times during the sentence-long chapters of A Cure for Cancer and the episodic scenes of The English Assassin that I missed the (relatively) straightforward but well-written and enjoyable The Final Programme.  However it all came together into a really effective package.  I'll probably want to read it a second time in the future and see if I can catch things I missed the first time around.

Now started reading Anansi Boys.

[Ashkin]

Finished reading Ender's Game for the first time. I liked it. Now I'm reading 'Stories of Mystery From Lafcadio Hearn', a compilation of Japanese short stories based on myth and folklore.

[Inanimate]

That sounds wonderful, Ashkin! How are you liking it?

[Ashkin]

I'm actually really enjoying it so far. It reminds me of Mushishi, the anime, and I can see how they both draw from the same pool of inspiration. I've always found Japanese folklore much more interesting than that of other cultures. It's pretty much a collection of ghost stories, and the atmosphere is really inspiring to me.