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Cptn Moose

Summer Reading List

32 posts in this topic

With my summer vacation imminent, I need a good page turner to lay open on my chest as I sit by the pool passed out from one too many Bloody Marys.

 

I already took Tachyon's advise and read the first volume of the Neanderthal Parallax. I thought it was good but not enough to move on to volume II.

 

I thoroughly recommed Tad William's "Otherland" series for everyone. It's about a virtual reality world that's a little too real. Get settled in for a long ride though. Four volumes and about 3500 pages total, but impossible to put down.

 

So ... what is everyone reading these days?

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Dude, check out Tad Williams' War of the Flowers. It's been on my list for a year and I *just* finished it today, really good fantasy read, and only one volume :D If you're in for a longer read, though, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is Otherland's predacessor, another excellent, more traditional fanasty trilogy.

 

::is a rabid Tad Fan::

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I absolutely loved the Dragonbone Chair!! Glad to see someone else did Marris. Well, since we seem to have all of Tad's books listed but one, might as well drop it in as well. Tailchaser's Song, but you have to like cats! lol

 

Actually, if you're looking for another really good space series though, one of my favorites is David Weber's Honor Harrington Series.

 

On Basilisk Station

The Honor of the Queen

The Short Victorious War

Field of Dishonor

Flag in Exile

Honor Among Enemies

In Enemy Hands

Echoes of Honor

Ashes of Victory

War of Honor [book 10 of the Honor Harrington Series]

Worlds of Honor [Honor Harrington Anthology 2]

Changer of Worlds [Honor Harrington Anthology 3]

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I've been pulled deeper into the Trek world. The "A time to..." series is very good. I have all the books that are out right now.

 

The ones I've read:

 

A Time to Be Born

A Time to Die

 

A Time to Sow

A Time to Harvest

 

Ones I've got (Not read yet):

 

A Time to Love

A Time to Hate

 

Ones not out yet:

 

A Time to Kill

A Time to Heall

 

A Time for War, A Time for Peace

 

You'll notice that each story (except for the final book) runs across two books, with the titles being opposites. It's a good series that explores the events between Insurrection and Nemesis, dealing with everything including:

 

Wesley and his adventures as a traveler

Beverly and her career

Will and Deanna's marriage

Data and his emotion chip

 

Just my 2 cents

 

Dr. Smith

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Ehh, I've been reading basically suspense fiction type books..

 

such as,

Action:

Trojan Odyssey, by Clive Cussler

Turbulence, by: (forget)

Altman Code, by: Robert Ludlum

Odd Thomas, by: Dean Koontz

 

Mystery:

Q is for Quarry, by: Sue Grafton

Blowfly, by: Patricia Cornwell

Debt of Honour by: Jack Higgins

 

Medical:

Seizure, by: Robin Cook

 

Military

 

Barracuda 945 by: Patrick Robinson

Red Rabbit, by: Tom Clancy

Typhoon, by: ?

Teeth of the Tiger by: Tom Clancy

 

Fantasy:

LOTR Series, by: JRR Tolkien

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Let's see, there are many ST books that I like however, for some great books (at least I think so) that aren't ST...well fro now I would recommend 2.

 

Timeline--by Michael Crichton

-->I am afraid to watch the movie because I can see form the previews they already changed the story. The book however is one of his best I think.

 

Angels & Demons--by Dan Brown

It's the prequel to the Davinci Code. I haven't read it yet. However, I just finished Angels&Demons and thought it was pretty good.

 

That's it for now. So you asked a question Moose, and now your bombarded with too many to chose from :D . Happy reading everyone!

 

:D

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Right now I'm reading Skeleton Crew by Steven King. My brother's getting me the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams boxed set (the series) for my birthday next month, so I guess the rest of my summer's going to be spent reading that.

 

Zaphod,

"This little kitty went to market."

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I already took Tachyon's advise and read the first volume of the Neanderthal Parallax.  I thought it was good but not enough to move on to volume II.

:D I actually read only books 1 and 3. I have this terrible tendency to skip a book in the series if it's not readily available, as so often happens when your library has 4 branches that are constantly lending, losing, and transporting books. Book 3 was only swell, though, so you're not missing much.

 

I've put a hold at my local library on Dune: The Battle of Corrin. It comes out this August, and I can't wait to get my hands on it, the latest chapter in the saga of Dune. For those of you who haven't read all 11 existing books so far, I recommend them. Frank Herbert, and now Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, have created this entire world.

 

I just finished Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Although I've heard of Gaiman's work before, up until now I never got around to actually reading one of his books. It was a great novel, and while it was a little confusing at times, overall it was very entertaining. My favourite type of novel: it catches your interest with a solid plot, while still leaving some lingering things to think about even after you have finished the book.

 

Other than that, no long-term books planned. I should find some more authors to read, because I tend to exhaust them pretty quickly.

Edited by Tachyon

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Right now i'm reading Voltaire's "Candide". Wonderful work.

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I had to read that in High school...I thought it was good too :D

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I'm reading "How we Believe" by Michael Shermer. Just finished "a devil's chaplain" by Richard Dawkins.

 

If you like psychology and evolution, you'll like these books. Unless you don't like non-fiction :D

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Hmm...lets see ::looks at his bedside bookcase::

 

 

Right now I am reading:

 

"Coach" by Keith Dunnavant (About Coach 'Bear'Bryant)

"Red Ant House" by Ann Cummins

"Bush vs the Beltway" by Laurie Mylroie

"Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" by Al Franken

"Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

"War Torn: Stories of War" by the Women Reporters of Vietnam

"Officer Friendly" by Lewis Robinson

"The Women of Troy" by Euripides

"Moby Dick" by Herman Melville

"The Green Hills of Africa" by E. Hemmingway

 

Also on my bookshelf but already read:

 

"A Farewll to Arms" by E. Hemmingway

"Night" by Elie Weisel

"Love Lucy" by Lucille Ball

"Jupiter" by Ben Bova

"1984" by George Orwell

"Animal Farm" by George Orwell

The LOTR books

"Where I'm Calling From" by Raymond Carver

"The Giver" by Lois Lowry

"Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradberry

"The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli

"Mein Kampf" by Hitler

"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorn

"The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

 

 

...hmmm....I have a few more I've been reading off and on at my parents house...mostly Clancy and Western books... :D

Edited by NDak

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::blinks:: whoa .... i can't even read. :D

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:D  I actually read only books 1 and 3.  I have this terrible tendency to skip a book in the series if it's not readily available, as so often happens when your library has 4 branches that are constantly lending, losing, and transporting books.  Book 3 was only swell, though, so you're not missing much.

 

I've put a hold at my local library on Dune: The Battle of Corrin.  It comes out this August, and I can't wait to get my hands on it, the latest chapter in the saga of Dune.  For those of you who haven't read all 11 existing books so far, I recommend them.  Frank Herbert, and now Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, have created this entire world.

 

I just finished Neil Gaiman's American Gods.  Although I've heard of Gaiman's work before, up until now I never got around to actually reading one of his books.  It was a great novel, and while it was a little confusing at times, overall it was very entertaining.  My favourite type of novel: it catches your interest with a solid plot, while still leaving some lingering things to think about even after you have finished the book.

 

Other than that, no long-term books planned.  I should find some more authors to read, because I tend to exhaust them pretty quickly.

If your interested in some Non-Sci-fi Literature:

 

Check out John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" or "The Pearl" both of them are pretty good.

 

I also like Hemmingway..."A Farewell to Arms" it's really good, "The Old Man and the Sea" is something everyone should read too. (even if I detest it)

 

Faulkner's "The Great Gadsby" is also a good story.

 

Oh and the "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair, good muckraking ^_^

 

"Lord of the Flies" (I can't Remember who wrote it :D )

 

Sci-Fi (ish) Novels:

 

George Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm" are both excellent and I highly recomend them.

 

"Fahrenheit 451" is awsome.

 

I absolutly love The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, little kidish but still awsome.

 

Just my two cents :D

Edited by NDak

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::Reads off the books on his bookshelf::

 

-The Harry Potter books (Year 1-5)

-"A Patch of Blue" by Elizabeth Kata

Almost every Tolkien Book :D

-"The Hobbit"

-The Lord of the Rings trilogy

-"The Silmarillion"

-"The Unfinished Tales"

-"The Book of Lost Tales" (Pt. 1 and 2)

-"Red Dragon" by Thomas Harris

-"The Silence of the Lambs" by Thomas Harris

-"Hannibal" by Thomas Harris

-"Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

-"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

-"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

-"1984" by George Orwell

-"Animal Farm" by George Orwell

-"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain

-"The Moons of Mirrodin" by Someone (Name isn't on the spine)

-"The Darksteel Eye" by Someone

-"The Fifth Dawn" by Someone

-A Collection of Works by Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield)

-"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Authur S. Golden.

-"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

-A big book with Shakespeare's plays (Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, to name only a few)

-"Plan of Attack" by Bob Woodward

-"Against All Enemies" by Richard Clarke

-"My Life" by Bill Clinton

 

A fair amount of these books were read when I was in High School and I simply fell in love with and have kept them for several years.

 

The last book I just got and haven't really read yet, since I've been pretty busy with school, but I'll read it when I get the chance.

 

All the other ones I pick up and read whenever I'm bored, but, most of my books have been read atleast twice. ^_^

 

EDIT: I just noticed I have "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy on my shelf. My English professor gave it to me and told me it was a good read, and I told him I'd do it if he gave me extra credit :D. Just an interesting story I wanted to add.

Edited by John_Anderson

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The only book I've read so far this summer, but never got through is "The adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.

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I've already read Animal Farm, it's one of my favourite books. I keep on trying to remember to grab 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 (however it's spelt!) whenever I go to the library. I go through books too quickly to make buying them fiscally feasible, although I do occasionally by a book and then let it sit on my bookshelf until I read it again.

 

Speaking of War and Peace, I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I recently started Pardise Lost by our old friend John Milton.

 

I also recommend all of Douglas Adams' books. Those being the Increasingly Inaccurate Trilogy of Four Hitchhiker's Books, and then the two Dirk Gently novels. They are excellent. I own every one except the last Hitchhiker book, Mostly Harmless, which I--shock, gasp--borrowed from the library.

 

We just read To Kill a Mockingbird in English class this year. It was an excellent novel, although due to the increasing amount of illiteracy in today's youth, many of my classmates did not appreciate fully. I have no clue what novel they want us to study next year.

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::remembers when he used to have time to read::

 

 

::sigh:: :D

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Tad Williams, you say? Good, I need something new. These days I tend to start books and chuck 'em after a few chapters. The only thing that has kept my attention recently (besides LOTR, lol) has been The Cider House Rules (John Irving). Oh and surprisingly Michael j. Fox' book, Lucky Man was refreshingly well written. The boy can write - who knew?

 

Hmm, I should get the other Harris books too, I think. I loved psycho head thrillers...

 

Oh, and John, as usual your bookshelf looks much like mine, lol. Scary.

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Well, lately I've unearthed a box of my old childhood favorites in the process of cleaning, so I've been reading through some of those, and discovering that there are those you never outgrow.

 

However, on the older end of the scale...

*LotR, of course. I had to purchase new copies, having read the old ones to tatters. (Hey, I've had 'em since I was 6!)

*Newton's Cannon and sequels, by J. Gregory Keyes. I'm still working my way through the third one. They're as scientific as the title would lead you to believe, but if you can follow Trek technobabble, you should have no trouble.

*Elizabeth Kerner's Song in the Silence and sequels, if you like Dragons.

*Also Dragonish -- Bertin's The Last Dragonlord and Dragon and Phoenix

*Working my way through Mists of Avalon, I had to start it over because I put it down too long and lost my place. ::sigh::

*More fodder for my Arthurian kick -- Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset and it's sequel/prequels. I read The Silver Branch and The Eagle of the Ninth way back in 5th grade without realizing they belonged to a set, now I'm trying to work my way through them all.

I also read Sir Thomas Malory recently, but that wasn't for pleasure. ::chuckle::

*Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool

*In non-fiction, Simon Singh's Fermat's Enigma and The Code Book. I actually liked the latter more than the former.

*I'm also reading Ben Franklin's autobiography.

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I've read Keyes' Newton's Cannon and others. I just never remember the books I read.

 

If you like Arthurian, I recommend Bernard Cornwell's Warlord series. It's a trilogy that retells the Celtic Arthurian legend, and I quite liked it. Far superior to Mallory's version. Cornwell has a bunch of historical fiction: a novel about Stonehenge, a trilogy about an Archer searching for the Holy Grail, and even a huge series of books (Sharpe's. . .) that have been turned into History Channel movies. I've never read the Sharpe's books, but that era of history is not one of my favourites. I'll get around to it if I ever find the first one.

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Oh, I've read the some of the Sharpe books. I realy reccomend them. Filled with action, and quite an interesting glimpse of military and Naval life in the 18th-19th centuries.

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Oh, and John, as usual your bookshelf looks much like mine, lol. Scary.

GMTA Huff....GMTA :D :D ^_^

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With my summer vacation imminent, I need a good page turner to lay open on my chest as I sit by the pool passed out from one too many Bloody Marys.

 

So ... what is everyone reading these days?

I don't recall any book on your chest while you zoned out during your reflexology session :D

 

What am I reading ...

 

Cosmo, Glamour, Redbook -- they make the best poolside reading, however; when the trashy articles and quizes become boring, I pick up my current summer read. Penned by Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina

 

A brain and pleasing to the eye :D

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I don't recall any book on your chest while you zoned out during your reflexology session :P

Well, I had the best of intentions, but going to the bookstore or the library ended up falling into that 'exercise' category, and while that works for real life, it has no place on my vacation. : )

 

However, I'm home now and can pick up the hunt once again. Thank you all for your suggestions. : )

 

M.

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