NationStates Jolt Archive

Any ideas?

My taste is reasonably eclectic...though dont suggest any harry potter/dan rice type shit...ill just tell you a few of my faves...

William Burroughs
Hunter S Thompson
George Orwell
HP Lovecraft
Chester Himes
James Ellroy
Will Self
August Derleth
Joe R Lansdale
Philip K Dick
Clive Barker
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Andrey Kurkov

and many more...so if you have a suggestion as to what I might like to read id much appreciate it as im looking for new direction

Two words:

Hal Duncan.

You (hopefully) won't be disappointed.

Two words:

Hal Duncan.

You (hopefully) won't be disappointed.

Ive just wikied him...Vellum sounds interesting...he's not another Sword od Shinewara type writer though is he? I find the fantasy genre to consist of very poor writers to be honest...the exception to the rule is Clive Barker whom I forgot to mention in my faves...a modern day fantasy/horror genius in the way he creates alternative realities

George OrwellIf you like dystopias, try We by Yevgeny Zamyatin and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

If you like dystopias, try We by Yevgeny Zamyatin and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

Ive read Brave new world Jello...a fantastic book up there with 1984...ill try Zamyatin on your reccomendation...I am also a fan of Dostoevsky

Ive just wikied him...Vellum sounds interesting...he's not another Sword od Shinewara type writer though is he? I find the fantasy genre to consist of very poor writers to be honest...the exception to the rule is Clive Barker whom I forgot to mention in my faves...a modern day fantasy/horror genius in the way he creates alternative realities

About as far from traditional sword and sorcery as I am from constructive arguments.
If you like Barker and Lovecraft, I sincerely advise you give Vellum a look;)

Try Zelazny (Nine Princes in Amber) and Moorcock (Elric of Melnibone).

Bernard Cornwell. All of his books are pretty damn good, but the Sharpe books rock face, about a redcoat during the Napoleonic wars, as well as the Nate Starbuck series, about a yankee fighting for the Confederacy during the US civil war. Beautifully vivid battle scenes in both.

Also, look into Robin Lane Fox's biography of Alexander the Great. Fantastic book.

Don't ready any Dean Koontz. For fuck's sake listen to me on this.

you can't go wrong with Michel Foucault

Any ideas?

My taste is reasonably eclectic...though dont suggest any harry potter/dan rice type shit...ill just tell you a few of my faves...

William Burroughs
Hunter S Thompson
George Orwell
HP Lovecraft
Chester Himes
James Ellroy
Will Self
August Derleth
Joe R Lansdale
Philip K Dick
Clive Barker
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Andrey Kurkov

and many more...so if you have a suggestion as to what I might like to read id much appreciate it as im looking for new direction

From your list, i *strongly* suggest Robert Anton Wilson.
Not necessarily with Shea, either.

Ive read Brave new world Jello...a fantastic book up there with 1984...ill try Zamyatin on your reccomendation...I am also a fan of DostoevskyGood. According to the introduction to the copy of We that I have, it was the first dystopia.
If you like Dostoevsky, have you read Tolstoy, particularly Anna Karenina?

Try Zelazny (Nine Princes in Amber) and Moorcock (Elric of Melnibone).

Read both.

Benedict of Amber would smoke Elric like a beotch.

Good. According to the introduction to the copy of We that I have, it was the first dystopia.
I heartily concur with Mr. Jello. I've just finished this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Library-Classics-Yevgeny-Zamyatin/dp/081297462X/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198490997&sr=8-2) new translation of We, and I'd recommend it to anyone with a liking for Orwell or Huxley.

If your heading in that direction, then I'd personally suggest The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.

I'm currently addicted to the Blue is for Nightmare collection by Laurie Faria Stolarz.

For more thought-provoking books, might I suggest Japanese author Yukio Mishima; especially his Confessions of a Mask and the Sea of Fertility Tetralogy.

JG Ballard: "Crash" (erotic car wrecks!)

Mark Z. Danielewski: "House of Leaves" (a family moves into a house and discovers that the interior is much bigger than what the exterior could possibly contain. Much, much bigger)

What about Kafka? "The Trial", "The Castle", "Metamorphosis", etc.

Mark Z. Danielewski: "House of Leaves" (a family moves into a house and discovers that the interior is much bigger than what the exterior could possibly contain. Much, much bigger)


Poe fan! *points finger*

Thanks for the suggestions...im going to look into all the authors you suggested...will make for some good yule time reading :)

JG Ballard: "Crash" (erotic car wrecks!)

Is that what Lynch translated into film?

This sound as interesting as it is absurd :

The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson purportedly between 1969 and 1971[1], and first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex- and magic-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both historical and imaginary, which hinge around the authors' version of the Illuminati. The narrative often switches between third and first person perspectives and jumps around in time. It is thematically dense, covering topics like counterculture, numerology and Discordianism.

This sound as interesting as it is absurd :

That's largely why i said to skip the Shea part. :p
I think it's more worthwhile to pursue Wilson. Trust me.

Is that what Lynch translated into film?
Yup, and as much as I like Lynch's stuff, the book is arguably better.

This sound as interesting as it is absurd.
It's fantastic.

An amazing, mind-bending romp of a read; basically, imagine if every single conspiracy theory was true.

It's fantastic.

An amazing, mind-bending romp of a read; basically, imagine if every single conspiracy theory was true.

Odd, then, that there isn't so much propegation of it here on NS, huh?
Some of us think like that for a few minutes every day. Every. Day.

Odd, then, that there isn't so much propegation of it here on NS, huh?
I think there is quite a bit; talk of fnords, Discordianism, etc.

Maybe not all directly from the Illuminatus! Trilogy, but certainly there's a lot of Wilson fans on here.

I think there is quite a bit; talk of fnords, Discordianism, etc.We did have a few Erisians and some Subgenii as well ...
and there's always good occasion for a fnord. *nods*
*waxes nostalgic upon Miss Holy See*

Maybe not all directly from the Illuminatus! Trilogy, but certainly there's a lot of Wilson fans on here.Good. And there can be such a thing as too many of them, certainly, but there aren't quite enough of 'em here.

]Good. And there can be such a thing as too many of them, certainly, but there aren't quite enough of 'em here.
Well, you can count me as a Discordian/follower of Eris/fan of Wilson.

Not everything he did, mind. And I have serious reservations about his friend Terrence McKenna and all that 2012 bullshit.

Well, you can count me as a Discordian/follower of Eris/fan of Wilson.
Yay!

Not everything he did, mind. And I have serious reservations about his friend Terrence McKenna and all that 2012 bullshit.Do you mean some Cosmic Trigger mention?
http://www.rawilson.com/trigger2.shtml
I recommend Coincidance and The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles, m'self. *nods*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9Q30_XOv-g

:p

Do you mean some Cosmic Trigger mention?
Yeah, sorta.

Novelty theory, humanity 'moving into a new density' in 2012, time 'speeding up', the talk of holistic worldviews without any mention of scientific study... I recognise not all these things are attributable to Wilson himself, mostly to McKenna and his pals, but there's a point where healthy scepticism becomes shroom-induced nonsense.

I recommend Coincidance and The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles, m'self. *nods*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9Q30_XOv-g
Cheers, I''ll have a look.

Master & Commander by Patrick O'Brian.

It's the first of a series of 20 novels (21, if you coun the final, incomplete novel) and they're quite good. I'm halfway through them and have taken a little break while I gather the remaining volumes. Very excellent read.

If you haven't seen the movie or heard of these before, the novels are a series of stories about a fictional English Navy Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend Doctor Steven Maturin and their adventures during the Napoleonic Wars (Including the War of 1812.) Many of the events are taken directly from historical events with the presence of these fictional characters. (For example, the battle between USS Constitution and HMS Java is depicted historically accurately, except for the presence of Aubrey and Maturin aboard Java.) Some of Aubrey's exploits are directly inspired by true events that took place around the real-life English Captain Cochrane.

The novels are well-written and highly entertaining. Strongly recommended.

Clockwork Orange.

Outside of the phenomenally interesting linguistic aspect of the book, the story is quite well told, and thoroughly frightening.

Gore Vidal's Julian

Guy Gavriel Kaye's "Sarantium" books (The Lions of Al-Rassan, Sailing to Sarantium, Lord of Emperors, The Last Light of the Sun). Also, his Tigana is great, as is A Song For Arbonne.

Find a collection of Damon Runyon's Broadway stories. There was one, possibly still in print, called Guys And Dolls. The language is wonderful.

Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker. You'll need to read the frist few pages out loud, because it's written in a very phonetic English.

I would suggest Niel Gaiman. I really liked his "American Gods" and have started "Neverwhere".

I would suggest Niel Gaiman. I really liked his "American Gods" and have started "Neverwhere".
Gaiman rocks.

American Gods, Neverwhere, Coraline, Stardust and Anansi Boys are all great books, but the pale in comparison to the Sandman series of graphic novels.

Outstanding pieces of literature and art, every one.

Gaiman rocks.

American Gods, Neverwhere, Coraline, Stardust and Anansi Boys are all great books, but the pale in comparison to the Sandman series of graphic novels.

Outstanding pieces of literature and art, every one.

Im familiar with the Sandman books...think I read a novel of his once too...about a demon and an angel on earth...remember it being quite funny

Im familiar with the Sandman books...think I read a novel of his once too...about a demon and an angel on earth...remember it being quite funny

Good Omens,... with Terry Pratchett.

Im familiar with the Sandman books...think I read a novel of his once too...about a demon and an angel on earth...remember it being quite funny
As Vandal-Unknown correctly says, that was Good Omens, co-written with Pratchett.

Interestingly, Gaiman wrote the bits of the book involving characters that Pratchett would normally write (such as Death of Discworld fame) and vice versa.

Clockwork Orange.

Outside of the phenomenally interesting linguistic aspect of the book, the story is quite well told, and thoroughly frightening.

QFT however God knows how that book reads without the final chapter

I do have to state that the movie is no substitute in this case

On the more SF front:

Heinlein: I started with Stranger in a Strange Land, but I'd recommend The Moon is a Harsh Mistress for a beginner to his work.

Asimov: I've read far too little of his stuff --- the Foundation books are said to be very good. Nemesis is awesome, and his short stories are fun.

Pratchett: Funny, clever, satirical. His stuff is awesome. Try starting with Mort.

William Gibson: Neuromancer is basically the founding novel of Cyberpunk, and I'm getting The Difference Engine for Christmas, so I'll let you know how that is.

And more generally, Oscar Wilde is fantastic. Bill Bryson is good, Eric Newby, William Dalrymple, Thor Heyerdahl, Tim Severin are all fun travel writers. Mathematics: Ian Stewart, David Acheson, Martin Gardner, Ivars Peterson, Benoit Mandelbrot. That stuff covers some science as well.

There are probably at least 50 books under the Christmas tree at the moment, so I'll have more recommendations in a day or two.

I second Gaiman. Neverwhere and Anansi Boys in particular... Anansi Boys was almost my bible for a while ^.^ (Brite's Lost Souls, however will never be replaced in that position)

Also, Steven Brust, if you're looking for some books on the edge of their genre. One of the biggest reasons I like his Jherge series is that it's so far removed from any other fantasy I've ever read, and does boarder on science fiction in some novels.

On the more SF front:

Heinlein: I started with Stranger in a Strange Land, but I'd recommend The Moon is a Harsh Mistress for a beginner to his work.

Asimov: I've read far too little of his stuff --- the Foundation books are said to be very good. Nemesis is awesome, and his short stories are fun.

Pratchett: Funny, clever, satirical. His stuff is awesome. Try starting with Mort.

William Gibson: Neuromancer is basically the founding novel of Cyberpunk, and I'm getting The Difference Engine for Christmas, so I'll let you know how that is.

And more generally, Oscar Wilde is fantastic. Bill Bryson is good, Eric Newby, William Dalrymple, Thor Heyerdahl, Tim Severin are all fun travel writers. Mathematics: Ian Stewart, David Acheson, Martin Gardner, Ivars Peterson, Benoit Mandelbrot. That stuff covers some science as well.

There are probably at least 50 books under the Christmas tree at the moment, so I'll have more recommendations in a day or two.

Ooh. I remember you!
Hello again. :)

I'd advise against starting with Mort, to be honest. All of Pratchett's works are real gems, but I don't think he really matured until, oh, Wyrd Sisters. Guards, Guards! was brilliant, as were all the Vimes novels (I'm currently extremely annoyed because I can't find my copy of Thud!, which was my favourite of all his works).
The Lipwig series is shaping up to be great, as are the Tiffany Aching ones. Granny and Rincewind might not last much longer (indeed, the entire series might not last much longer, what with him having Alzheimer's... a grievious blow to the world indeed. :(), but I could see Vimes, Lipwig, Tiffany et al. lasting for years if by some miracle the Alzheimer's doesn't strike him down.

Hmmm.
So, Pratchett is a good recommendation. Start with Wyrd Sisters would be
my advice.

In the fantasy genre, I could suggest Dave Duncan, particularly the King's Blades (was it a trilogy) and Raymond E. Feist (Exile's Return was fantastic).

Also the Crimson Shadow trilogy (can't remember the author); not really what you'd call epic fantasy, but an entertaining read and some pretty amazing battle scenes.

Roddy Doyle - The Woman who Walked into Doors

I can't say I exactly enjoyed this book, since hte subject matter is so scary, but it was incredibly copelling and strong. Best book I've read in the last few months.

I'll copy an old list with a few of my favorites (hopefully the links are still good):

Jeremy Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375724834/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance)

Colson Whitehead, The Intuitionist (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385493002/qid=1118473483/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Kurt Vonnegut, Player Piano (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385333781/qid=1118473516/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-0345811-1703011)

Sherman Alexie, Reservation Blues (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0446672351/qid=1118473546/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Iain Banks, The Wasp Factory (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684853159/qid=1118473573/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060740450/qid=1118473600/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671746723/qid=1118473640/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age : Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553380966/qid=1118473672/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) (anything else by Stephenson is recommended as well, especially the System of the World series)

Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus : And Other Essays (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679733736/qid=1118473724/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

I'm afraid I could go on and on and on. Books are my greatest passion.

But I'll spare you all. ;)

I will add a recommendation for F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack (http://www.repairmanjack.com/works.htm#rjseries) series, anything by Neil Gaiman, any of the "Newford" Novels by Charles De Lint (http://www.sfsite.com/charlesdelint/newbook.htm), and any of the Burke novels (http://vachss.com/av_novels/burke_novels.html) by Andrew Vachss (download free samples here! (http://vachss.com/av_books/samples.html)).

Any ideas?

I'm totally hopeless at knowing other people's tastes, and my own aren't always conventional. These are just a few I like that probably haven't been mentioned by others. Read at your own risk.

Milton Steinberg's As a Driven Leaf. A beautiful book in so many ways... speaking as a militant atheist who worships pure reason, it quite literally takes an exertion of will to keep this book from converting me.

Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time. AnarchyeL recommended this one to me many months ago, and it's since become a favorite of mine... very political fiction, and (but?) well-written and interesting.

Randall Kenan's A Visitation of Spirits. I hesitate to recommend this one... it's weird and makes at times for somewhat difficult reading, but it's powerful in its own way. Some of Kenan's short stories are good, too... "The Foundations of the Earth" is probably my favorite short story of anyone.

Sylvia Engdahl's Children of the Star trilogy. Perhaps less "elevated" literature than the others here, the first book is written (ostensibly) for adolescents... but if you like somewhat atypical sci-fi with something of a philosophical bent, you might enjoy it. The style is perhaps a little simplistic, but the ideas are not.

Plus every existentialist play I can get my hands on.

Fyodor Dostoevsky
Andrey Kurkov


I love you.
I recommend:
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - Edward Albee
The White Castle- Orhan Pamuk (Nobel Prize Winner)
Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev....yeah

I love you.
I recommend:
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - Edward Albee
The White Castle- Orhan Pamuk (Nobel Prize Winner)
Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev....yeah

Haha...doesnt everyone love me...I'm Beeker ;)

As for the comments just made...yeah I remember now it was Good Omens with Terry Pratchett...I see alot of you are fans...which on this website is understandable...but to be honest I find Terrys books to be rather samey...ive read alot of his works over the years and he seems to be somewhat of a "one trick pony" Color of Magic was a classic granted...and as previously mentioned I enjoyed Mort but all the rest that ive read have been disappointing...

Iain Banks has been mentioned too...again...although an enjoyable read...his fiction is rather cliched...

Two books that I really want to read are

Luke Rhinehart - The Diceman

and

Jack Kerouac - On the Road

and by the way...Happy Christmas to you all :cool:

Ooh. I remember you!
Hello again. :)

I'd advise against starting with Mort, to be honest. All of Pratchett's works are real gems, but I don't think he really matured until, oh, Wyrd Sisters. Guards, Guards! was brilliant, as were all the Vimes novels (I'm currently extremely annoyed because I can't find my copy of Thud!, which was my favourite of all his works).
The Lipwig series is shaping up to be great, as are the Tiffany Aching ones. Granny and Rincewind might not last much longer (indeed, the entire series might not last much longer, what with him having Alzheimer's... a grievious blow to the world indeed. :(), but I could see Vimes, Lipwig, Tiffany et al. lasting for years if by some miracle the Alzheimer's doesn't strike him down.

Hmmm.
So, Pratchett is a good recommendation. Start with Wyrd Sisters would be
my advice.

In the fantasy genre, I could suggest Dave Duncan, particularly the King's Blades (was it a trilogy) and Raymond E. Feist (Exile's Return was fantastic).

Also the Crimson Shadow trilogy (can't remember the author); not really what you'd call epic fantasy, but an entertaining read and some pretty amazing battle scenes.

Ooh, I'm remembered! Hello there.

Lipwig is a lot of fun so far, isn't he? Also, The Truth was quite fantastic. One of the things I've always enjoyed about the Discworld is that things change. If Ankh-Morpork gets a newspaper, then later books in Ankh-Morpork mention the newspaper when it would make sense, and so on. That really lifts it into a load of stories set in a much realler world. The Alzheimers is an embuggerance, but we can hope there's a good few books left.

Anyway, I promised I would list books I got for Christmas:

Concrete Mathematics: Fantastic, but hard going.
The Children of Hurin: I'm not sure how good this will be, but I know that the story and characters are fantastic, from the previous times I've read bits of it in the Silmarillion and the like.
The Difference Engine: Very good so far --- steam powered computers in Victorian London.
Where's Bin Laden? CIA Undercover Edition.: A Where's Wally style thing. The illustrations are a little inferior, but the text is funny, and it comes with a small Fresnel Lens, always a plus.
The Time Machine: Said to be very good, but I haven't got round to it yet.
One Hundred Favourite Comic Poems: No idea how this is going to be, but could be good for a laugh or two.
The Tiger That Isn't: Looks very good. It's mostly statistics and the like: how to avoid being confused by numbers, etc.
Searching For God Knows What: I don't know how this is, but Blue Like Jazz, by the same author, was very good. This is a book about religion, so you may disagree.
Dumb Britain: Laugh out loud funny on every page. It's a collection of dumb quiz-show answers.

Altogether too many books, for the time I have available. Ah well, I'll get through it somehow.

Ooh, I'm remembered! Hello there.

Lipwig is a lot of fun so far, isn't he? Also, The Truth was quite fantastic. One of the things I've always enjoyed about the Discworld is that things change. If Ankh-Morpork gets a newspaper, then later books in Ankh-Morpork mention the newspaper when it would make sense, and so on. That really lifts it into a load of stories set in a much realler world. The Alzheimers is an embuggerance, but we can hope there's a good few books left.

Anyway, I promised I would list books I got for Christmas:

Concrete Mathematics: Fantastic, but hard going.
The Children of Hurin: I'm not sure how good this will be, but I know that the story and characters are fantastic, from the previous times I've read bits of it in the Silmarillion and the like.
The Difference Engine: Very good so far --- steam powered computers in Victorian London.
Where's Bin Laden? CIA Undercover Edition.: A Where's Wally style thing. The illustrations are a little inferior, but the text is funny, and it comes with a small Fresnel Lens, always a plus.
The Time Machine: Said to be very good, but I haven't got round to it yet.
One Hundred Favourite Comic Poems: No idea how this is going to be, but could be good for a laugh or two.
The Tiger That Isn't: Looks very good. It's mostly statistics and the like: how to avoid being confused by numbers, etc.
Searching For God Knows What: I don't know how this is, but Blue Like Jazz, by the same author, was very good. This is a book about religion, so you may disagree.
Dumb Britain: Laugh out loud funny on every page. It's a collection of dumb quiz-show answers.

Altogether too many books, for the time I have available. Ah well, I'll get through it somehow.

The Truth was pretty good, yes, and I do love how the newspaper is incorporated into everything else. I wouldn't mind seeing de Worde return as a main character again somehow.
The Discworld really does evolve, which is brilliant. The clacks was a really new thing in The Fifth Elephant, barely extending into Uberwald and definitely giving the impression of a bubble that was about to pop. Then it ended up not doing so, and in Going Postal it really became a prominent feature of the Discworld as opposed to something which was going on in the background, and it's remained that way ever since.
Have you read Making Money yet, by the way? Absolutely brilliant!

Those books sound pretty good. I assume that The Time Machine is Wells'?

I can recommend Quirkology: The Science of Everyday Lives (not the hard science, but instead psychology; really very interesting and amusing to boot) and Geekspeak: How Life + Mathematics = Happiness (not the hard maths, unfortunately; it's mainly concerned with estimating things with only a little knowledge at hand (such as the number of piano tuners in Boston or the weight of a bus); a fantastic read, though).
I also got a small collection of Doctor Who books, which are pretty good so far; I still prefer the TV show, though, and I would have preferred some of the old books (of which I've read one, some years ago now).
I didn't get very many books for Christmas, unfortunately. No Pratchett ones at all, something unheard of for the last three years. :(

The Truth was pretty good, yes, and I do love how the newspaper is incorporated into everything else. I wouldn't mind seeing de Worde return as a main character again somehow.
The Discworld really does evolve, which is brilliant. The clacks was a really new thing in The Fifth Elephant, barely extending into Uberwald and definitely giving the impression of a bubble that was about to pop. Then it ended up not doing so, and in Going Postal it really became a prominent feature of the Discworld as opposed to something which was going on in the background, and it's remained that way ever since.
Until I read Monstrous Regiment, which I was extremely impressed by, I hadn't read any of Pratchett's 'modern' novels; the last one was I read was Jingo.

His work kinda dipped for me, got a bit samey.

Until I read Monstrous Regiment, which I was extremely impressed by, I hadn't read any of Pratchett's 'modern' novels; the last one was I read was Jingo.

His work kinda dipped for me, got a bit samey.

:O
Heretic.

Jingo was one of my favourites. Seeing rampant nationalism get defeated was fun. :(

Did you try Night Watch, by the way? 'Tis amazing.

:O
Heretic.
I just moved on; like you, I regularly got a new Pratchett to read. When I expanded my reading tastes, Pratchett sorta fell by the wayside. Around about when The Fifth Elephant was released, I just lost a bit of interest.

Not that I don't still love Terry's work. And if I had to admit it, I'd say the Bromeliad Trilogy was a better series than Discworld.

Jingo was one of my favourites. Seeing rampant nationalism get defeated was fun. :(
Yeah, it was one of his more refined political commentaries.

Did you try Night Watch, by the way? 'Tis amazing.
No, I haven't, though I'm tickled pink by the Rembrandt pastiche on the cover. However, nothing will beat Josh Kirby's work; he is sadly missed.

I just moved on; like you, I regularly got a new Pratchett to read. When I expanded my reading tastes, Pratchett sorta fell by the wayside. Around about when The Fifth Elephant was released, I just lost a bit of interest.

Not that I don't still love Terry's work. And if I had to admit it, I'd say the Bromeliad Trilogy was a better series than Discworld.


Yeah, it was one of his more refined political commentaries.


No, I haven't, though I'm tickled pink by the Rembrandt pastiche on the cover. However, nothing will beat Josh Kirby's work; he is sadly missed.

Hmmm. The Bromeliad was pretty decent, but I still prefer the Discworld series.

Night Watch is a very good book, covering the revolution which put Winder out of power and Snapcase in.
To be honest, the Vimes series just keeps on getting better. Guards, Guards! was good, Men at Arms better, Feet of Clay brilliant, The Fifth Elephant amazing, Night Watch even better yet and Thud! was just bloody ridiculously good.

Vimes will be the character I most miss when he stops writing. The inner struggle theme he has going is really engaging.

Hehe, I love it when people ask for recommended reading...

This is just a list of my personal favourites btw- I'm not guaranteeing you'll like all or even any of them, but I loved em:

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. In fact, just about anything by Haruki Murakami, but I think Kafka is a good introduction to his work. Japanese magic realism of the highest order

The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons (Hyperion, the Fall of Hyperion): Yes, its sweeping sci-fi, but its sci fi on its most epic and intellectual scale, and it manages to blend religous and philopsophical pondering, the cut and thrust of future politics and breathtaking action sequences in two wel-thought out, award winning books.

Perfume by Patrick Suskind: I'm sure you've seen the movie, but the book is even better. Suskind uses rich, powerful narrative to convey "the fleeting realm of scent" in a way I dont think any other writer, before or since, has ever managed, and the character of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is one of my favourites of all time

The House of the Spirits by ISabelle Allende: A titanic book detailing the lives of five generations of a South American family during the first half of the century, that incorporates forbidden passion, communicating with spirits, revolutionary upheavals and quirky mysticism in one of the finest Magic Realist works ever written. Even better than Garcia Marquez IMO

Happy reading

The Truth was pretty good, yes, and I do love how the newspaper is incorporated into everything else. I wouldn't mind seeing de Worde return as a main character again somehow.
The Discworld really does evolve, which is brilliant. The clacks was a really new thing in The Fifth Elephant, barely extending into Uberwald and definitely giving the impression of a bubble that was about to pop. Then it ended up not doing so, and in Going Postal it really became a prominent feature of the Discworld as opposed to something which was going on in the background, and it's remained that way ever since.
Have you read Making Money yet, by the way? Absolutely brilliant!

Those books sound pretty good. I assume that The Time Machine is Wells'?

I can recommend Quirkology: The Science of Everyday Lives (not the hard science, but instead psychology; really very interesting and amusing to boot) and Geekspeak: How Life + Mathematics = Happiness (not the hard maths, unfortunately; it's mainly concerned with estimating things with only a little knowledge at hand (such as the number of piano tuners in Boston or the weight of a bus); a fantastic read, though).
I also got a small collection of Doctor Who books, which are pretty good so far; I still prefer the TV show, though, and I would have preferred some of the old books (of which I've read one, some years ago now).
I didn't get very many books for Christmas, unfortunately. No Pratchett ones at all, something unheard of for the last three years. :(

Yep, I've read Making Money. Possibly not quite as good as Going Postal, but very nice all the same.

The Time Machine is indeed Wells, but I still haven't picked it up to read. I read The Tiger That Isn't this afternoon. Highly recommended, a very entertaining and informative look at statistics. Very good for helping you get the hang of how things work and what various Government spending commitments really mean.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check them out sometime.

I'm rather fond of Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy

Jack Kerouac - On the RoadThis one is pretty good.

This one is pretty good.

yeah ive heard some good reports about it :-)