What are you reading at the moment

[Junkyard]

Just tell me he doesn't read like Kim Stanley "Completely Overrated" Robinson and I'll be happy.

 He doesn't read like Kim Stanley "Completely Overrated" Robinson.

With that said, who is  Kim Stanley "Completely Overrated" Robinson?

[RoninFox]

Neil Gaiman, until recently I haven't read that much of his stuff, but now I'm hooked.  My brother let me borrow a sandman graphic novel years ago and I liked it, and I absolutely loved his version of The Dream Eaters, but it wasn't until two months ago that I picked up one of his novels (Good Omens, he co-wrote that one with Terry Pratchet, someone else I have to track down work from) and I'm about three quarters done with American Gods now.  If you enjoy reading about any mythological figure or the nature of gods then this is a fantastic read.

[Tripe]

Just tell me he doesn't read like Kim Stanley "Completely Overrated" Robinson and I'll be happy.

 He doesn't read like Kim Stanley "Completely Overrated" Robinson.

With that said, who is  Kim Stanley "Completely Overrated" Robinson?

[Tripe]

Neil Gaiman, until recently I haven't read that much of his stuff, but now I'm hooked.  My brother let me borrow a sandman graphic novel years ago and I liked it, and I absolutely loved his version of The Dream Eaters, but it wasn't until two months ago that I picked up one of his novels (Good Omens, he co-wrote that one with Terry Pratchet, someone else I have to track down work from) and I'm about three quarters done with American Gods now.  If you enjoy reading about any mythological figure or the nature of gods then this is a fantastic read.

If you're of a theological bent and want to read some Pratchett that also deals with that, check out these:

[RoninFox]

If you're of a theological bent and want to read some Pratchett that also deals with that, check out these:

Sweet, they are all noted for the future.  Thanks.

[Tripe]

Now admittedly the last two have characters from earlier books (the first is more or less stand alone) but they're the ones which to my mind have the highest level of religious philosophy in them.

Oh and if anyone wants to read a nonfiction book that essentially espouses the same concept of divine potency that both Pratchett (especially at the end of Wintersmith) and Gaiman (particularly with the character of Hinzelmann) also subscribe to, this is one of my all time favorite books:

[Junkyard]

Part of me is tempted by Kim Stanley "Completely Overrated" Robinson's books, as I'm all about Martian terraforming, if that's what it is about, but I'd have to have a look.

[Junkyard]

Hmmm.... I like a human element, (or the equivalent,) but I'm pretty selective in that regard. Clement usually has interaction taking place in an active problem solving environment, and is pretty subtle with giving personality, and those personalities don't overwhelm the story.

[Junkyard]

Clarke. Love his older stuff, but he started to progressivly lose it.

[mrbasehart]

Part of me is tempted by Kim Stanley "Completely Overrated" Robinson's books, as I'm all about Martian terraforming, if that's what it is about, but I'd have to have a look.

Well, that is what it's ostensibly about, yes. What it's actually about is the petty bitching and squabbles and neo-messianic bullshit of a bunch of colonists who are perhaps the least unlikeable bunch of characters I've seen since the last time I watched "The Real World"*  It's a soap-opera with a techy background.



*1997?  Whatever the one with the cowboy and irish guy was...

I think that's a little harsh on the book.  I've only read the first one, but apart from the fact that it was needlessly long, I thought it was pretty good.  If you like "hard" Sci-Fi then I think it's a good choice.

[Tripe]

It occurs to me I posted a cover of another KSR book a couple of pages back. I actually quite like The Years of Rice and Salt certainly more than the Mars Trilogy

[Jinto]

I personally think you should just go ahead and try out the Mars trilogy by KSM yourself Junkyard and see for yourself if you like them. Yes there's civics, but there's science too, and both cover multiple areas in regards to the colonization of Mars.

Note that I did not say just 'terraforming', because colonization is more than that. It's about the people who make it happen as well. So what you end up with in these books, is the influence of both the technological need for the survival of humans on a hostile world, and the psychological and philosophical views of individuals or societies on how this should be accomplished (or not in some peoples views), all influencing the actions and directions taken in the overall colonization of Mars.

To me, it wasn't so much a civics or even science lesson, as much as it was a broad, possible-future history lesson of mankind exerting its individually competing wills on a new world, where in a sense humans are starting from square one.

[immcdonal]

Collected Stories of Flannery O'Connor (loving it), The Room by Hubert Selby (ok so far) and A Gentle Madness (very interesting)

[kodiakthejuggler]

I've decided to tackle The Lord Of The Rings trilogy again, only this time, I'm reading it with an old British man's voice. It's more fun that way!

[Meat Trademark]

Happy Cruelty Day!
By Bob Powers!

Maybe funniest book I've ever read (and I work at a library)!

 

(Quick shout out to the books Cosmic Banditos, Principia Discordia, The Fan Man, Flicker and Snow Crash. All books I reread more than I probably should.)