Comments on: What I’m consuming

By: What we’re consuming : buttonmashing.com

What we’re consuming : buttonmashing.com — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 02:57:52 +0000

[...] Books: I had a pretty good thing going while I was working on my “reading list.” I finished Stranger in a Strange Land and moved on to Ender’s Game, which was superb. [...]

By: Finally reading Starship Troopers : [Jason Preston]

Finally reading Starship Troopers : [Jason Preston] — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 17:45:50 +0000

[...] least accidentally reading one of his best-sellers, but hey, it wasn’t so long ago that Tony hadn’t read Ender’s Game, either [...]

By: Jason Preston

Jason Preston — Fri, 04 May 2007 10:19:36 +0000

I actually just recently read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – think i had a bad Heinlen experience as a child or something. Maybe he was dropped on my head.

You’re next up list looks pretty solid, although I’d recommend reading Ender’s Game as soon as possible. It’s one of those books that, once you’ve read, you can’t imagine having not read it, if you follow my logic.

As to further recommendations, I like anything written by Timothy Zahn, and I have read everything he’s written.

Also, I always like good comedy in my sci-fi, so you could pick up Douglas Adams’ lesser-known but equally-awesome detective masterpieces: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

Currently, however, I’m reading Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett, which is more fantasy than Sci-Fi, but definitely an excellent read.

By: ARogan

ARogan — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:05:25 +0000

I read a ton of Robert Heinlein back in high school (a long time ago). Snow crash was also a very fun read (but a pretty piss poor ending). And yeah I like the harry potter books. Also, unabridged audio books are a great way to get through a lot of books if you have a commute. Some other suggestions:

- Tom Clancy: I’ve read pretty much everything. I love the games and I love the books. The movies? not so much.
- David Eddings: Start with the Belgariad. This was my favorite fantasy author back in high school. I recently started the series over again but it’s not quite as good as I fondly remember it.
- Stephen King: Start with the dark tower series but just a warning. The ending was HORRIBLE! Cheap lazy ass author cop-out. Other than that the series is really pretty brilliant.
- Dean Koontz: Start with the Odd Thomas series which is my favorite.
- Dean Takahashi: The Xbox 360 Uncloaked. I’m currently reading this. It’s pretty interesting.
- The halo novels aren’t bad. the first one is great. I’m almost done with the 2nd one. I remember a while back there were some Doom novels too that I enjoyed.
- Phoenix the rise and fall of videogames. This is an older book (read a long time ago) but I remembered it was interesting.

avoid:
- Wheel of Time series: unless you enjoy thousands upon thousands of pages filled with characters that you hope would die because they won’t stop whining.
- Lord of the rings: I could never make it through the first book. I enjoyed the hobbit but LOTR just drags too much for me. Maybe in this case an abridged version would be better. Too many songs!

By: Brinstar

Brinstar — Wed, 02 May 2007 17:00:53 +0000

I was a huge Dragonlance nerd in high school. Dragonlance is what made me want to play D&D.

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 02 May 2007 13:39:04 +0000

@Will – Glad you like Fort Minor. I’ve had their album on heavy rotation and am really liking it. As far as why Dragonlance is required reading, I think it’s because it’s the model structure of a fantasy novel: heroes fall from grace and later redeem themselves. Selfless heroes sacrifice themselves which steels the rest of the “party” against Evil. Periods of action followed by periods of rest. It’s all there.

@Josh – yeah, it’s the unabridged. I wasn’t sure what the difference was but I figured I’d get the whole story.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 02 May 2007 13:20:59 +0000

I assume the Stranger in a Strange Land you have is the unabridged “uncut” edition.

By: Will

Will — Wed, 02 May 2007 11:40:20 +0000

Thanks for putting me onto Fort Minor. I’m listening now, and I like them so far.

May is a huge month for enjoyable movies. Spiderman 3, Shrek the Third, 28 Weeks Later and Pirates. A very nice lineup of movies. Last week’s Hot Fuzz was a great deal of fun as well.

I’m not sure how Dragonlance became required reading for fans of fantasy. I am surprised how many people have read them. Even my wife, who doesn’t read novels as a general rule, has finished the Chronicles.