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A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

From the Bottom Up by Leigh Allison Wilson

The Bushido Incident by Betty Anne Crawford

Supermind by A. E. Van Vogt

The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe

The Little Colonel by Annie Fellows Johnston

The Dreaming Jewels by Theodore Sturgeon

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Friends: avaland, BookAngel_a, booknutzz, BorisVian, cdogzilla, Dannelke, dorothean, EdwardEinhorn, Majorbrew, markarayner, marknevins, MoochPurpura, msaari, paulhurtley, rowens, scottmga, sfarmer76, thelotusqueen

Interesting library: 300BaudAcoustic, andyl, antimuzak, avaland, barrybaker, bluetyson, CliffordDorset, cmthomas, cosmicspyder, Dannelke, Drew_Blood, EAG, engelcox, EnriqueFreeque, EstelleChauvelin, fitzwater, GwenH, iansales, iftyzaidi, jagmuse, krobinett, LamSon, leonardr, lquilter, madnessabides, matociquala, Maurice_Joost, Medellia, MRN, PhileasHannay, Planetary, Quatrefoil_library, quinaquisset, Rynemonn, Rynosseros, Sakerfalcon, Schehezerade, sdobie, sollette, stellarexplorer, StormRaven, surlygrrrl, Surtac, teratologist

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Member: psybre

CollectionsYour library (3,907), Unread (2,347), To read (939), Currently reading (8), Read but unowned (41), Gifted (18), Katie (42), Norton Critical Editions (23), Bookmooched (33), Technical Reference (36), All collections (4,153)

Reviews81 reviews

TagsFiction (3,182), Unread (2,367), Speculative Fiction (2,204), Novel (2,140), 20th Century (1,952), Science Fiction (1,748), SF (1,692), American Fiction (1,692), Paperback (1,421), mmpb (1,259) — see all tags

Cloudstag cloud, author cloud, tag mirror

Recommendations25 recommendations

About meI searched around long enough and found out who I am. Yep, I'm a northeastern Iowa bibliophile (rare).

About my librarySome upstairs, some downstairs, some in the bathroom, in the kitchen, in the garage, in the car, in the basement, on the stairs, at the office, in my head...

GroupsAlternative Sexuality, American Postmodernism, Banned Books, Book Collectors, BookMooching, Books on Books, Build the Open Shelves Classification, Chango Books, Early Science Fiction, Feminist SF —show all groups

Favorite authorsKathy Acker, Douglas Adams, Iain Banks, William Barton, Georges Bataille, Charles Baudelaire, Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Alfred Bester, Richard Brautigan, Charles Bukowski, Octavia E. Butler, Pat Cadigan, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Ted Chiang, Arthur C. Clarke, Cory Doctorow, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Greg Egan, Harlan Ellison, Steve Erickson, Philip José Farmer, William Gibson, Nicola Griffith, Ursula K. Le Guin, Joe Haldeman, Peter F. Hamilton, Knut Hamsun, Ernest Hemingway, John Irving, Nancy Kress, Henry Miller, David Mitchell, Chris Moriarty, Friedrich Nietzsche, Anaïs Nin, Jeff Noon, Chuck Palahniuk, Alastair Reynolds, Tom Robbins, Kim Stanley Robinson, Pam Rosenthal, Miguel de Cervantes, Dan Simmons, Norman Spinrad, Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling, Charles Stross, Theodore Sturgeon, William Styron, Sheri S. Tepper, Hunter S. Thompson, A. E. van Vogt, John Varley, Vernor Vinge, Kurt Vonnegut, Roger Zelazny, Howard Zinn (Shared favorites)

VenuesFavorites

Favorite bookstoresAldine Books, Counterpoint Records & Books, Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore

Favorite librariesDecorah Public Library, Luther College Library

Also onBookMooch, Facebook, Flickr, LiveJournal, Mog.com, Slashdot

Membership LibraryThing Early Reviewers/Member Giveaway

LocationNortheast Iowa

Account typepublic, lifetime

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/psybre (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/psybre (library)

Member sinceJun 6, 2006

Currently readingProgramming C#: Building .NET Applications with C# by Jesse Liberty
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The Boat of A Million Years by Poul Anderson
The Worlds of Theodore Sturgeon by Theodore Sturgeon
The Generation Starship in Science Fiction: A Critical History, 1934 - 2001 by Simone Caroti
show all (8)

Hey you're quite welcome! Glad you joined. Erickson's been a tough nut to crack for me; I'm hoping the group will help me fathom more what he's up to in his writing. You've got a first printing of Arc D'X I see. Very nice. I hope to get to that one in a couple months, once I finish his second novel and then Tours, his third.

posted by EnriqueFreeque at 12:49 pm (EST) on Mar 5, 2012

That is an extremely eclectic mix of "currently reading" titles!

posted by avaland at 2:29 pm (EST) on Jan 10, 2011

FYI - I uploaded a cover for Biodroids 2300, although it's a little worn.

posted by LamSon at 11:19 am (EST) on Feb 28, 2010

I did not read Door Into Ocean, nor will I get to much SF in the near future, unless you consider Les Miz, Paradise Lost, Infinite Jest, or Clarel to be SF. I'm pretty committed for a while with other reads. Not to mention how much time LT itself takes up.

I think your idea about books being easily got is a good one. Maybe a good basic read like Dune or Stand on Zanzibar to put everyone in the mood again. Or start a series, I liked KSRs Mars trilogy a lot.

posted by geneg at 3:53 pm (EST) on Jan 14, 2010

I think people may be a little burned out at having to do this month after month. I believe I said I would kick it off but it would have to be self-sustaining. Why don't you take a stab at bringing it back?

posted by geneg at 3:35 pm (EST) on Jan 14, 2010

Thank you for your recommendation of Radio Freefall. I'll look it up. Cheers.

posted by AleatoricConsonance at 2:11 am (EST) on Sep 30, 2009

Thanks for the recommendations you made in the Feminist SF group. I posted a reply there too. (You also inspired me to check out the thread in the Science Fiction Fans group; there are some great recommendations there as well!)

Oh and by the way, I'm a Joan Slonczewski fan as well!

posted by avisannschild at 2:15 pm (EST) on Sep 8, 2009

I am not a member of Science Fiction Fans but I lurk. I wanted to thank you for the list of women sci fi authors you recommended to the group. I was particularly taken that you recommended Joan Slonczewski, as I liked the two-three books I have of hers (not yet logged) but do not hear much about her. I am looking forward to making the acquaintance of the writers you mentioned that I did not know about.

posted by NeverStopTrying at 12:27 pm (EST) on Aug 18, 2009

Thanks for the tip. I'm aware of Harlan Ellison, but haven't read anything from him. Strange Wine is available in BookMooch, so perhaps I'll start with that.

posted by msaari at 11:53 pm (EST) on May 15, 2009

I just finished Arc d'X. I think my favourite is still Sea Came in by Midnight, but this one was strong, too. As usual, Erickson managed to craft the book really well, I like how the same scenes repeat in the novel, seen by different eyes, and how the characters kind of overlap.

posted by msaari at 5:53 am (EST) on May 15, 2009

Thanks for the kind comments about my review of Nova. I'm trying to review all the books I've listed as "read", aiming for one new review a day (roughly). I'm going to try to do a few more Delany books in the next couple days.

posted by StormRaven at 8:01 pm (EST) on Apr 16, 2009

Yeah, I mooched another Steve Erickson book. I think I now have most of them, either read or on the to-be-read list. From the books I've read so far, Sea Came in at Midnight is my favourite. Interesting if you think this is even better, I'll have to read it and see, then!

posted by msaari at 11:48 am (EST) on Apr 15, 2009

I'm excited to get to it! A lot of what I've been adding lately has been from making my way through that Guardian UK 1000 must read books list. I hit Sci-Fi/Horror and Travel pretty hard. Bookmooch has actually treated me really well in my attempt to check them all out!

posted by Drew_Blood at 9:12 am (EST) on Apr 8, 2009

I either love or hate Kim Stanley Robinson, but I'm willing to try anything he's written. I'll also take a look at Air. Thanks!

posted by sturlington at 10:12 am (EST) on Mar 14, 2009

Hi, Thanks for the comment you left on my review of Earth. My favorite Octavia Butler novel is definitely Parable of the Sower, although I love everything she's written with the exception of Kindred, which I thought was a little weak. I have read The Gold Coast by Robinson, which I didn't like all that much, but I should probably try another one in that trilogy. Right now, I am trying to get through the Mars trilogy, which I like a lot, but the books are so long! Cheers, Shannon

posted by sturlington at 4:21 pm (EST) on Mar 13, 2009

Hey! We have a lot of books in common. You have a lot of books, and they cover many topics. I added you to my interesting libraries list :) Take Care!

posted by BooksToLove at 2:37 am (EST) on Mar 10, 2009

Hi -- thanks for adding me to your Interesting Libraries list. We have a lot of books in common, and a wide variety. I like your tag cloud. And not only because it resembles mine! You are an active tagger. See you around the water cooler!

posted by stellarexplorer at 6:41 pm (EST) on Mar 4, 2009

Instead, I read your reviews. I was delighted to find your positive reaction to *Spin State* and *Anathem.* I was swept up by the first and will get back to the second when my life calms down a little. I'd like to add you to my interesting libraries as a reference.
Peggy

posted by LizzieD at 9:07 pm (EST) on Feb 1, 2009

So to be a northeastern Iowa bibliophile is as rare as to find one of the breed in southeastern N.C.? This is a mighty fine place for a lonely reader. I like the selection of books that we have in common and especially the fact that you have so many in common with my friend Nulla. I'm going to poke around in your library a bit and then go read something of my own!

posted by LizzieD at 8:59 pm (EST) on Feb 1, 2009

Thanks for the interesting library addition.
You have a very impressive collection of science fiction!
Glad to see Uncle Hugo's as a favorite bookstore,, I try and get the every couple of weeks.

posted by LamSon at 11:56 am (EST) on Jan 30, 2009

Here's what I wrote on Mind of My Mind (a reread) on the 75 Book Challenge thread where I keep a book log/journal:

This novel is the 2nd book in a group of five 'Patternist' novels by Octavia Butler who wrote the five books in the series out of sequence. The first novel chronologically is Wild Seed and a good place to start. In that book, we are introduced to Doro, an immortal and, frankly, a parasite, who has been breeding throughout the centuries, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. In Mind of My Mind he confronts a telepathic daughter who has developed into something special, something he has been waiting for, for a long time. Be careful what you wish for.

I'm not sure the book stands on its own very well - it is a complete story but, imo, the reader is better served by reading the whole series. I enjoy Butler's novels because she draws great characters and always has something to say about family, gender, race, and power.

posted by avaland at 7:24 am (EST) on Nov 7, 2008

Seems I read somewhere that Mieville has something new on the horizon (Kraken? or something like that), and Jeff seems too busy editing to write another novel (I hope this is not true). I doubt they are likely to touch on the themes of race, family, and power in the way Butler did it:-) Me thinks their influences come from elsewhere . . . sigh. I have stockpiled a few newer authors who sound promising: Theodora Goss, Catherynne Valente and Nisi Shawl but they are in the massive TBR pile. . .

Well, happy reading. I'm sure we'll be talking:-)
Lois

posted by avaland at 9:08 pm (EST) on Sep 22, 2008

Hey... yes, we share quite a bit in common by way of literary tastes... do you teach? So on your recommendation I went ahead and ordered "Ghostwritten." I had heard of Mitchell before and look forward to reading him, so thanks for the suggestion. You know, if you were a slightly alienated 21 year old college kid I won't recommend Palahniuk, but I see you're not, so I say, skip it, although he is fun, a pleasurable read, and Lullaby is a pretty good one of his. I was thinking of the Mitchell you pointed out and Tokyo in and would recommend to you Stephen Barber's "The Tokyo Trilogy" (Sodom/Slaughterhouse/Supernova). Its really stunning, although your tastes have to run for sure on the "transgressive" side - since you list Acker as a fav I'd say you'd dig it. OK, Ill let you know how it goes, any other suggestions would always be welcome...

- Josh

posted by BorisVian at 10:30 pm (EST) on Aug 19, 2008

Damn, nice library... I used to stay in Dubuque for a while... mostly I was gambling on the riverboat.

posted by BorisVian at 3:02 am (EST) on Aug 16, 2008

I just "became friends" with LibraryThing member and author scottmga who keeps a blog about books and writing and to whom I send a tip-of-the-hat for an excellent taste in literature.

posted by psybre at 10:31 am (EST) on Feb 13, 2008