The Sword and Laser discussion

I finished up Solaris: The Definitive Edition from Audible last night and started The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time today (darn you Jenny and Tam!).

terpkristin wrote: "I finished up Solaris: The Definitive Edition from Audible last night and started The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time today (darn you Jenny and Tam!)."

You'll learn a lot of maths.

I finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time earlier and I am now officially not starting anything else until the next book is announced (I'm assuming it will be announced on Monday). I'll catch up on podcasts in the meantime... :)

I'm reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. When I finish that I'll probably read Steve Jobs or Southern Gods.

I finished The Last Unicorn. It was a refreshing read. Next I'm reading Ringworld.

I bought Wilde Stories 2011 this morning and have been utterly captivated by it all day, save for a few hours in which my flatmate dragged me out to the pub.

Joshua wrote: "I'm reading the first book of the Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson, and am struggling a bit, for all the reasons you are probably well aware of if you've ever tried to read this tale ..."

I found Thomas Covenant to be one of the least likable protagonists I've ever come across. I read the first two (I think it was) and never finished simply because I couldn't stand the main character.

Dennis wrote: "Joshua wrote: "I'm reading the first book of the Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson, and am struggling a bit, for all the reasons you are probably well aware of if you've ever tried to ..."

Many people tell me that, but my 9th grade science teacher loved those books.

Joshua wrote: "I'm reading the first book of the Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson, and am struggling a bit, for all the reasons you are probably well aware of if you've ever tried to read this tale ..."

I remember enjoying this series as a teen, and have been considering going back and re-reading them if i can track them down,as far as i can tell they are just in print and not in a e-book format right now. Good reason to hit the used book stores in the area.

Rereading (listening on Audible) the Deathstalker series. Also reading Daring and The Hero of Ages. Will probably read Inheritance as it is released this month.

Finally reading The Way of Shadows. I read to my wife before bed every night and we are working the Patricia Cornwell series on book 2 Body of Evidence.

Next I am either going to reread the Wild Cards series or Thieves World. I read those about every 8-10 years.

Just finished reading the Acacia trilogy by David Anthony Durham. It was really good and original. Check it out.

I'm working on - this is a timeless classic. some stuff that were mentioned were very prophetic knowing that this book came out in 1950s. Stuff like, ear monitor, iPod, etc. :)

Boots wrote: "I just finished Ender's Game, I'm currently reading Speaker for the Dead and I only wish had I read them sooner."

my all-time favorite book! it's very emotional book. Did you know that they're making a movie based on this book with target release date of 2013.

John Paul wrote: "I'm working on - this is a timeless classic. some stuff that were mentioned were very prophetic knowing that this book came out in 1950s. Stuff like, ear monitor, ..."
If you like that book, you should try The Book by M. Clifford, a hardly known self-published book that I really enjoyed about a future with no books (just e-readers, aha dystopia!)

It took me almost all of two months to trudge through the labyrinthine Cryptonomicon, but I finished it on a bus journey yesterday. Needing an amuse-bouche after that monstrous tome, I picked up Slaughterhouse-Five and read half of it in one sitting.

It'll be a while before I consider going anywhere near anything of Stephensonian magnitude again so for November, it looks like Catch-22 and Cloud Atlas are on the docket.

John Paul wrote: "Boots wrote: "I just finished Ender's Game, I'm currently reading Speaker for the Dead and I only wish had I read them sooner."

my all-time favorite book! it's very emotional book. Did you know that they're making a movie based on this book with target release date of 2013."

Actually it was Tom and Veronica mentioning that they were going to make the movie a few podcasts ago that motivated me to read it. I still have to read Xenocide and I'm looking forward to it but it's on hold at the moment.

I'm currently reading Death Of Kings and I'll be getting The Alloy of Law sometime this week. Also whatever the S&L pick is unless it's 1Q84 which I ordered from the library but I'm 28th in line so I don't think I'll be getting it anytime soon.

Nevan wrote: "It'll be a while before I consider going anywhere near anything of Stephensonian magnitude again so for November, it looks like Catch-22 and Cloud Atlas are on the docket. "
I love Cloud Atlas so hard! I need to re-read it.

Having just wrapped up Pratchett's Discworld Snuff, Reamde and the Steve Jobs Bio, I'm listening to The Night Circus and Cory Doctrow's reading of The Hacker Crackdown

Brad wrote: "Finally reading The Way of Shadows. I read to my wife before bed every night and we are working the Patricia Cornwell series on book 2 Body of Evidence.

Next I am eith..."

Nice!

I am just over 65% through Leviathan Wakes and loving it. Great space opera so far and I really like that it is set in a bit closer future where FTL artificial gravity and a million other advancements that are common in science fiction have not been developed yet. It feels like something that some of us might live to see the beginning of.

I'm reading David Weber's On Basilisk Station. With my reading habits, it'll probably take me the rest of the year to read. :)

Just finished the Axis of Time Trilogy by John Birmingham (what a ride that was - my first experience with an alternate history story arc - very enjoyable). I'm thrilled to start on another Brandon Sanderson novel the Alloy of Law!!!

Cheers, Jim

Jim wrote: "I'm thrilled to start on another Brandon Sanderson novel the Alloy of Law!!!"

I really don't know where he finds the time for it, with the final WoT novel to complete. Personally I want him to get cracking on the next The Stormlight Archive book. I really enjoyed the first one.

Finally finished Mists of Avalon last night. I'm moving on to The Red Tree, which I've heard good things about and should be short enough to finish before our next pick.

Kate wrote: "I've started The Mists of Avalon, which was a Sword and Laser pick ages ago. I'll catch up eventually."

I've been meaning to start that one, too.

Andrew wrote: "Jim wrote: "I'm thrilled to start on another Brandon Sanderson novel the Alloy of Law!!!"

I really don't know where he finds the time for it, with the final WoT novel to complete. Personally I wan..."

I want another Stormlight too, but after reading Alloy I want him to write more of Wax and Waynes stories first. They're just fun.

I just started The Castings Trilogy on kindle. It has been sitting in my to read list for a few weeks. Not sure if I will read the whole trilogy in one go or if I will take a break between books.

Decided to postpone listening to Daemon long enough to listen 1Q84. At a 46 hour long audible book, I hope its worth it.

Nick wrote: "Decided to postpone listening to Daemon long enough to listen 1Q84. At a 46 hour long audible book, I hope its worth it."

A lot more sex scenes, that's for sure. But being Japanese literature, they aren't always sex scenes you want to read about.

I am going back throughEragon, Eldest, and Brisingr before moving on to Inheritance.

Sean wrote: "[1Q84] A lot more sex scenes, that's for sure. But being Japanese literature, they aren't always sex scenes you want to read about..."

Wierder than Clive Barker?

Stephen wrote: "I am going back throughEragon, Eldest, and Brisingr before moving on to Inheritance."

Nice, I just did that last weekend.

I'm about to finish Stone of Farewell but I don't know if I will finish the series right away or take a Hitchbickers guide to the galaxy break.

Tamahome wrote: "Sean wrote: "[1Q84] A lot more sex scenes, that's for sure. But being Japanese literature, they aren't always sex scenes you want to read about..."

Wierder than Clive Barker?"

Not in 1Q84 so far, but I'm only up to page 100 -- just some underage lesbianism and a kid seeing his mom have sex. However, there are the Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai novels (I Don't Have Many Friends), which contain a girl who has to qualify the statement, "That was my first kiss," by adding, "with a mammal." (It's hinted that her previous relationships include a jellyfish and a planarian.) She also enjoys reading pornographic stories about Gundams -- not characters from Gundam, but the giant robots themselves having sex.

And that's tame compared to the manga Velveteen & Mandala which contains a scene ... well, it's too perverse to describe, but suffice it to say that the fact that the woman's having sex with zombies is the least disturbing aspect of it.

I just finished the 2nd and 3rd books in the Eli Monpress series by Rachel Aaron. Loved `em both! Fantastic series.

I'm rereading the rest of the Sprawl Trilogy, still slogging through Count Zero. In my memory this was my favorite, but it isn't this time around. I keep thinking of the somewhat similar art dealer story in Dervish House, and how much I love that book....

11/22/63 Loving it!

Sean wrote: "She also enjoys reading pornographic stories about Gundams -- not characters from Gundam, but the giant robots themselves having sex."

Who doesn't like a little metal on metal action.

Just finished Ready Player One. Now it's time to finish off the Acasia Trilogy with David Anthony Durham's The Sacred Band.

On my Kindle I finished Exile, the second book of the Dark Elf trilogy. I like where the story's going heading into the third book. I think (hope) it's going to add something new. Next up I'm reading Northanger Abbey.

Just started Dragon Fate by E.E.Knight. So excited to have this one! Love the Age of Fire series. Sad that this is the last one though.

Now that I'm done with my Gibson re-reading binge, I'm finally going to give The Magician King a fair shot, finish up Brideshead Revisited for a book club, and maybe finally get to House of Holes.

Giving The Color of Magic a spin, because it's on sale in the Nook store for 99¢ this month. Prior to this my only Pratchett was Good Omens.

I'm reading Great Expectations, my far overdue Dickens (Oliver Twist didn't impress me that much but I love the Christmas Carol) and enjoying the last 200 pages of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values.

I haven't reread Zen in an over a decade... I wonder where my copy is

Ala wrote: "I haven't reread Zen in an over a decade... I wonder where my copy is"

It's my first time. But it got me hooked almost immediately. If I look at my boyfriend's copy, I now understand why it looks so tattered and loved and read to bits. Feels like one of those books you want to re-read a lot.

It really is. I reread it a number of times in my youth. I think I may have lost it in a move, though.

Guess it's time to buy another copy.

I finished listening to Ready Player One. Now I'm going back to The Fuller Memorandum and wrap up that goodness before Thanksgiving.

Just finished American Gods on audible and starting the new Brandon Sanderson Mist Born book The Alloy of Law