231–240 of 529 posts
Bradbury: Now and Forever: Somewhere a Band Is Playing & Leviathan '99 Gleick: The Information Michener: The Source Martin: A Song of Ice and Fire (all of them, digital)
Just read The Source. What an epic whirlwind of historical fiction. Good call.
1. Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter. When I think of epic hard science fiction, the Xeelee Sequence books spring to mind. With a story line that spans millions of years (and a few dozen books), this collection of short stories is a good introduction to one of the best and most underrated sci-fi series out there. Baxter's Manifold trilogy (Manifold: Space, Manifold: Time and Manifold: Origin) are also fantastic.
2. Foundation by Isaac Asimov. The whole Foundation series is wonderful, but this book is a landmark of sci-fi that should be on any fan's bookcase.
3. The Martian by Andy Weir. This book is what I've been giving the last couple years to people who don't think they like sci-fi. Everyone I've given it to has loved it.
4. Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. Another hard sci-fi staple. The rest of the Rama books he "co-wrote" with Gentry Lee are decent but become more space opera than hard sci-fi. I enjoyed them but many sci-fi fans find them polarizing.
5. Silver Tower by Dale Brown. More of a military thriller than sci-fi (Flight of the Old Dog is another favorite of mine by him) and terribly dated by modern standards (it was written when the Soviet Union was still a thing). But it's the first "adult" sci-fi book I ever read as a kid, so it'll always have a special place for me.
EDIT: Another one:
6. Coyote by Allen Steele. I love stories like this one: primitive, longshot interstellar exploration and primitive, first generation colonization. Especially for desperate reasons. The first two Coyote books were good, but I just can't get into any of the subsequent ones.
The Black Swan by Taleb
Thinking Fast & Slow by Kahneman
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Diamond
The World According To Monsanto by Robin
The Organized Mind by Levitin
The Vital Question by Lane
Life Ascending by Lane
Chasing the Scream by Hari
Anything By Gladwell.
The Selfish Gene - fundamental world-view shaker
i play a game where i have duplicate copies of some books to give to anyone interested who has yet to have heard of one here's a incomprehensive list in alphabetical order: a people's history of the united states; howard zinn a rebours; joris-karl huysmans alcestis; euripides apology; plato belaya staya; anna akhmatova die verwandlung; franz kafka elements; euclid epic of gilgamesh; unknown ficciones; jorge luis borg…
Someone stole a A People's History of The United States from me at a party I hosted, and I don't mind at all. Hope they read it or gave it to someone who would.
https://www.amazon.com/Replay-Ken-Grimwood/dp/068816112X
It's ground hog day, but on a lifetime scale. The search for happiness and what it means to be happy.
The most: Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. Think I've bought almost a dozen copies over the years. Although that book wasn't really a gift, more a loan I never got back. Others: Lord of the Rings - I gave this to the guard who detained me in Russia. I thought it was the best revenge. The life changing magic of tidying - to my partner. We're both messy. I've read it, she hasn't... neither of us have changed. 1Q84 by…
Searched the page for Ender's Game, I've always really enjoyed that book. I never had to read it for school but an older friend of mine did and told me to read it. I did and then a few years later was able to use it for a "pick your own book" report in school. I was always embarrassed to lend out my copy as it had writing in the margins that I had to do for school so I just bought it and gave it away whenever I was g…
The most: Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. Think I've bought almost a dozen copies over the years. Although that book wasn't really a gift, more a loan I never got back. Others: Lord of the Rings - I gave this to the guard who detained me in Russia. I thought it was the best revenge. The life changing magic of tidying - to my partner. We're both messy. I've read it, she hasn't... neither of us have changed. 1Q84 by…
Make an effort to pirate Ender's Game versus spending money on it; the author is a notorious bigot who uses his money to destroy equal human rights.
He literally said that, at a reading I attended. After telling us about the power of stories and humanity, he veered into that as a total non-sequitur.
I've literally just bought someone "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami. It was the first Murakami book I read, and I've read plenty since. Wonderful.
I read Murakami books not because they are entirely entertaining WHILE I'm reading them, but because the dream-like memory of the experience sticks in your mind for years.
I think when Rothfuss releases his final Kingkiller Chronicle book it might be my new intro series :)