Samsara's 75! (short reviews for most)

1-3. The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
I read this because I heard another science fiction said that this was the reason he liked science fiction. My feelings are certainly not that strong. It's certainly interesting, but it feels dated. How can a book set in a future where space travel is common feel dated? Good question.... I guess contemporary sci-fi is more action-packed, due to the influence of movies and video games in our lives. If it's not more action-packed, the science in more detailed, or the characters. Only the central concept, the idea of psycho history and Selden, is elaborated. The rest feels thinner than I'm used to. Not necessarily bad, just thinner.

Welcome to the group, Sara! I look forward to seeing what you read over the course of the year.

4. The Mount by Carol Emshwiller
The mount is about a world in which humans are used as steeds for an alien race. We live the lives we force upon the animals around us, and for the most part, we accept it! I was worried that with a subject like this, the novel would not be able to rise above the level of metaphor. I was happily disproved! Emshwiller manages to create characters that you care about with very few words. I'd highly recommend this to anyone, especially since it's a short, fast read. (I read it on one three hour train ride.)

5. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein
I've been trying to hit the classics of science fiction, first Asimov and now Heinlein. This is the first Heinlein that I've read and I wasn't particularly enthused. I knew that it spawned these free love communes, and generally I like the idea of free love communes. This book, however, demonstrates all of the facets of "free love" that make it so icky in practice. The women are all hot and interchangeable and live to please the older, not necessarily attractive men. Ick ick ick.

6. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert Heinlein
Nope, Heinlein's not getting any better for me. Time to move on.

7. Galileo's Dream - Kim Stanley Robinson
I love love love Kim Stanley Robinson, but not necessarily this novel. Don't get me wrong, it was a good novel. It just didn't include the same elements that make me keep Red Mars permanently at my bedside.

8. The Well of Eternity - Richard A Knaak
If it looks like I'll get to 75 without this, then I'll take this off the list and pretend I didn't read it.

9. Daemon by Daniel Suarez
This was recommended to me by a friend with more hyperbole than I could even reproduce here for you. Born again Christians don't even love Jesus as much as my friend loved this book. How could I not go into this book with super high expectations? It was good, but definitely not as hyped. It's basically a cyberpunk Da Vinci Code. But unlike the Da Vinci Code, Suarez is really living the reality that he's writing about, as am I. Although the plot is so implausible that it ruins the book for me, the mysteries and science in this book are very possible, if not already existent. Even though it's not going to be the best book I read this year, months later I'm still thinking about it and the possibilities it suggests.

Major trigger warning though, for victims of abuse.

10. Moving Mars by Greg Bear
I really enjoyed it, for the same reasons I love Red Mars. This book is more personal though, following one woman's story. The politics of Martian colonization are still present, but all filtered through a single narrator rather than the variety of viewpoints that you get in Red Mars. Thus it's not as epic, but perhaps more readable.

Sorry that touchstones aren't working for some reason. I'll try and edit them later to see if it'll work.

11. The Book of Night Women by Marlon James
This might be the best book that I read all year! I reviewed it here on LT but for some reason when I tried to post the link, wacky things happened. Just use the touchstone.

12. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

13. Big Machine by Victor Lavalle

14. Lowboy by John Wray
It's definitely good, but there are certainly better books that you can be reading, like Big Machine, The Book of Night Women, etc.

15. Freedom(tm) by Daniel Suarez
Sequel to #9.

16. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
Bleeehhhhhhh

Hi Sara -- I read your intro and then scampered over to your page and then to here, enjoying all of it. The whole business of what approach to take -- I've given away so many books that I've read already, plus using libraries that I decided to go mostly for books I've read, with a couple of exceptions of real 'collections' -- well, only one so far -- Tolkien. But we have a LOT of gorgeous art books and I intend to 'put them in' as a real collection too, but who knows when.....

I move around a lot too, I like it, keeps me stirred up!

I didn't much like the previous Russo either, I just read, heavens, um, Bridge of Sighs -- it had insights and good things in it, but dragged along..... so I'm bummed the this new one (which I am hoarding) may not be any better. Have you read Straight Man? Just about the funniest book.....

Murray Bookchin! That's great!!!

Welcome! Looks like you've done some good reading this year.

@sibyx: I haven't read any other Russo. The reviews on Amazon mostly say "I love Russo but this book sucks compared to his others!", so I'm not dismissing him completely. That Old Cape Magic was definitely funny and had its moments, but in the way a sitcom might, i.e. cliché but still humorous.

@ everyone... thanks for the warm welcomes!

Hi Sara - welcome to the group!

I have been meaning to read the classics of sci fi and fantasy (although I'm not sure I've got very far yet) so I will be following your thread to see what you think of them!

I really liked Asimov's Foundation books although I know they're not for everyone. There are a lot of others you've read that I shall look out for.

What did you think of The Lacuna? I've been trying to decide whether to reserve it at the library.

Welcome, Sara. I'm also interested in knowing what you thought of The Lacuna. I read it earlier this month, and it really resonated with me.

I completely agree with your one-word (or sound effect) assessment of That Old Cape Magic. Not much magic in that one, was there?

Glad you could join us Sara. I too read Asimov's Foundation trilogy relatively late in life and wasn't particularly impressed (sorry, Heather). It's basically one somewhat interesting idea wrapped in packaging (characters, plot, dialogue) of limited value. But then, I came to it after reading many, many later works, and the genre has grown and matured (IMHO).

I too did not like Heinlein so much. Well, let me say that I thought Friday was simply brilliant and amazing when I read it in high school. Then after a few rereads, I decided I didn't like it so much after all, though I can't remember any specific reasons for the change of heart. I started Stranger in a Strange Land when I was a teenager, but didn't finish it. I knew all about its tremendous influence on society and the genre when it came out. So I finally read it and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress a few years ago when I went through all of the Hugo winners for best novel. And I came to the same conclusion as you--the sexual stuff was pretty squicky, in terms of women's roles. I was talking with a friend (a major Heinlein buff) last year and mentioned this. He didn't get it at all. He suggested that I was just uncomfortable with women taking charge of their sexuality.

The other titles and authors are all unfamiliar to me, so no comment.

I used to move around every 6 months. Did it for years and mostly enjoyed it. I'm happy to be settled in one location now, though.

Sorry for burbling on at length.

I so agree with you about Heinlein! I'd like to recommend a book I recently read by Arthur C. Clarke, Childhood's End. It was originally published in 1953 and amazingly does stand up to time. A very fast read and very worth it.

@souloftherose and Donna828: The Lacuna was beautiful, but boring. I'm not sure exactly how it got to be so boring. Exciting things happen (revolutions! assassinations! riots!) and her writing is rich. It should work. Maybe the problem is the narration style that she's experimenting with. The narrator talks about himself in third person and purposefully distances himself from everything, even any discussion of himself. A lacuna is a gap, and there is a gap between you and the events in the novel that makes it hard to feel compelled by it.

@justchris Thanks for the burbling. :) I still want to give Starship Troopers a try, because I'm determined to like something of his. You know, if all of the women in Stranger in a Strange Land were like Patty, the tattooed religious zealot, I might be "more comfortable with women taking charge of their sexuality," as your friend would say. The part that really made my stomach churn was when people kept commenting on how the tall beautiful blonds Jill and Dawn were interchangeable. Jubal is hoping Jill crawls into his bed, Dawn does instead, and his thought is "well, same difference I guess." It also irked me that Michael preached loving everyone, but that love is going to be strictly heterosexual. Women can take charge of their sexuality, but men still have to be careful where their penises are in relation to other men.

Anyway, off my soapbox. :)

@mamzel Arthur C. Clarke's one of the next author's I have to read to complete my "classical" education. I was going to start with Rendezvous with Rama, but I might check out Childhood's End.

Don't neglect Clarke's short stories. Clarke's one that, for me, didn't weather well. I loved all his stuff in high school but now, 35 years later, the novels I've re-read don't seem quite as interesting. The short stories, however, I still enjoy, particularly those from Tales from the White Hart and Expedition to Earth.

@12,14: Mamzel and Tad, perhaps I too will try Childhood's End and the short stories. The only Clarke I've read was Rendezvous with Rama and The Fountains of Paradise (Hugo winners). They were fine, no big complaints, but neither did they inspire me to read more. And I am largely unfamiliar with the short stories and novellas of science fiction--a definite lack in my education, but my reading focus has always been novels.

@13: I found Heinlein's premise of the basis for citizenship in Starship Troopers an interesting concept, but this book no more converted me than his other works. There's just no pleasing some people.

And beating that dead horse, it's women taking charge of their sexuality in service to men, plus your additional points. Heinlein does have some interesting ideas, but the packaging and agenda just don't work for me. There's lots of other ideas in the SF arena...

17. The Martians
See my review here.

18. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
I. loved. this. book. Am working on a full length review to add to LT.

19. Passing by Nella Larsen
Irene accidentally bumps into Clare Kendry, whom she grew up with as a child. Then Clare was the poor kid in the neighborhood, an outsider. Now she's a gorgeous woman... and passing as white, which comes as quite a shock to the light-skinned Irene who identifies with her African American roots. Clare insists on building a new relationship with Irene, despite Irene's attempts to force her out of her life. Finally, driven part by pity and part by a possible lesbian attraction, Irene lets Clare into her life even though she knows that it can only end in tragedy.

A quick read, very "plotty" in the way that Dickens is*, but with modernist influences.

*I've never actually read Dickens, believe it or not. I'm just making an assumption here.

#17: I have had that one in the BlackHole for a while now. I really must get it read.

18. The Thirty-Nine Steps by john Buchan

19. The Affinity Bridge by George Mann
for the steampunk group read.

20. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

#21: Did you like Slaughterhouse-Five? I have yet to read it.

I did, but... I'm definitely reading it at the wrong time in my life. It's about war, and it's not in any way optimistic about humanity. The entire time that I was reading it, one part of my brain was appreciating the artistry in the novel while another part was telling me that this week I really needed to read something more upbeat. But so it goes...

#23: Thanks for the input. Maybe your next read will be a little on the lighter side.

21. This Immortal by Roger Zelazny
I picked up this book because of this positive review on io9 which says that "...This Immortal broke the ground for a particular popular, mildly highbrow style of science fiction and fantasy, the kind Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Dan Simmons, and others traffic in to such success and acclaim, where not just the fantastic but the divine are juxtaposed against a contemporary sensibility..."

That pretty much highlights the elements that I liked in This Immortal. The setting is a post-apocalyptic Greece where nuclear fall out is causing old myths to be recreated. Zelazny has his hero battle everything from vampires to creatures out of the Odyssey. The blending of "high culture" in the form of classic myths, combined with the action-adventure of a superhero comic made for a novel that was both exciting AND thought provoking.

The bad part is... if you consider this work in terms of the superhero comic, it's ok, but if you start considering it alongside Moore, you'll start to realize how weak the writing is. The characterization is particularly weak. Besides the hero and his pal assassin Hasan, the characters are so hastily developed that I had trouble keeping track of who's who. If this were a drawn comic, there would be visual differentiation. Here though, the confusion was so distracting that I wasn't able to enjoy the novel until halfway through when the weak characters kind of faded into background and I didn't have to worry about them anymore. The world building also comes a little too late to be effective. The novel hinges on politics, but the political structure of the world isn't explained until a third of the way through.

I lost almost a whole week of reading just dragging my feet through the first 100 pages. I just don't know if I can forgive Zelazny for that.

22. Who's Your Gladys?
23. The No Gossip Zone

These two books are extremely similar on the surface. Both concern how to handle people in the workplace and both use small case studies from different companies as examples. One is ultimately effective, the other isn't.

I started with Who's Your Gladys?, which promised to teach me how to deal with my most annoying and difficult customers. The first case study in the book is of a moving company who has to deal with Gladys, a little old lady who likes to complain and vent. Their solution to dealing with her? Treat her with respect and do whatever she wants. The moving company also has a lot of Japanese customers, and alters their usual routine when dealing with those customers in order to reflect traditions of Japanese culture. The book continues with stories like this and ends each chapter with a list of assignments such as "respect your customer."

I feel like this book completely neglected the real issues that I deal with in relation to my customers. Take Gladys for example. I imagine this moving company here has a minimum amount that they're going to make off of each assignment. Even if all of your characters are Gladys's, if you're making $100-$500 off of each one, it might be worth it to deal with her. If you're in retail, though, and Gladys is only spending $10, at what point does it cease to be worth it to devote a team of people to dealing with her attitude? How do you figure out when a customer is worth appeasing (especially thinking of their value as a word of mouth reference) and when they need firing? I would be especially interested in knowing if anyone has studied whether the constant complainers speak of companies negatively or positively when talking to other customers as well. If a customer is consistently negative, they aren't useful as a word of mouth reference.

Then take the example of the Japanese customers. The moving company was locally owned, and the owner could micromanage what happens for each customer. What about if you are in a situation like a Starbucks where the corporate office clearly defines the limits of what you can and can't do?

In short, the anecdotes weren't applicable across the board, and the book failed to address the deeper issues of customer service. Instead it just lists trite advice.

On the surface, The No Gossip Zone looked very similar, except that the focus was on coworker interactions. It goes further than just the issue of gossip and provides fake stories about employees who have communication problems, along with suggestions on how to deal.

The No Gossip Zone looked at the deeper issues that Gladys didn't. Instead of addressing surface problems (such as a coworker who is always late) it discussed the deeper personality issues that causes this behavior. For example, it talks about how people become locked into work personas, such as "the martyr", and can't be sincere as a result. It doesn't give trite advice. Instead it admits that change is hard, because rather than just treating the other person with respect (the bland advice of Gladys) you will have to look at yourself and see which communication sins you yourself or committing.

The No Gossip Zone also touches on interactions with customers as well. The suggestion for communicating with customers are the same as for with coworkers: be sincere. Unfortunately, how sincere you can be will depend on the type of business you're in, and The No Gossip Zone glosses over this just like Gladys did. At least The No Gossip Zone admits that a customer who treats you like s*** might not be a customer worth keeping.

If you have any problems at work, customer-wise or coworker-wise, I would suggest giving The No Gossip Zone a try.

Two (three?) great reviews!

I've been revisiting some of these 'elder' sf/fantasy folks for a project I'm involved in and it is painful that so many haven't aged well.

It seems that there are a few of us aquainting ourselves with older sci-fi. Sounds like a group read might be in order.

24. Logicomix
It was good, so I'm ashamed to say that I wished it were instead a book by Simon Singh.

25. The City and The City
Shelved with sci-fi, but I'd really recommend it to lovers of mysteries.

edited to add touchstones

#29: Logicomix has been in the BlackHole for a while now. I hope I can get a copy soon.

The City and the City I have home from the library now and will be getting to it in the upcoming weeks.

26. Wild Seed by Octavia Butler
This book is part of the Patternist series, but I didn't realize that when I picked it up. It can definitely be enjoyed without reading the others!

Anyanwu is over three hundred years old. She has had several husbands, many children, and a multitude of grandchildren. She has superhuman strength, can transform into any animal, and can heal anything. In short, she is the most powerful human alive.

Until she meets Doro. He lacks her power but has a trick of his own. Doro has been alive for millennia and cannot die. If he dies, his spirit possesses the body closest to him. This means that he can also kill just by willing it, taking over the victim's body.

To keep himself busy, he has been breeding humans to try and create other superhumans like himself. To him, Anyanwu seems like the perfect breeder. Powerful as she is, Anyanwu can't kill him. But neither will she allow herself to be bred like cattle...

Hey, Sara, just found your thread after reading your comments in the steampunk group. I'm late, but don't expect Starship Troopers to change your opinion of Heinlein. Go for some of his early books, before the brainrot set in. Try Star Beast or Between Planets. I like The Door Into Summer because of the cat. And you might like Glory Road.

I loved the Foundation Trilogy as a teen, but have to admit it has lost much of its luster when reread as an adult. I think maybe one has to read it for the first time as a young teen. Or maybe it was partly the time, before today's bloated story lines?

My favorite Clark as a teen was The Deep Range and Tales from the White Hart, but I also liked Childhood's End a lot. I have never read his later work, however, for some reason.

Hi Sara

Logicomix sounds intriguing - I've ordered a copy from the library. Why did you want it to be a book by Simon Singh - am I being dim?

The City and the City sounds really good and is already on my wishlist. I think it was nominated for this year's Hugo award too.

And I have an Octavia Butler book out on loan from the library which I need to get to. It's Parable of the Talents. Wild Seed sounds good too.

LOL, if Stranger in a Strange Land is "ick ick ick" (love that!) then do not even venture near something like Time Enough for Love. :-)

Personally, I think Heinlein went off the deep end with his personal sexual agenda when he started writing novels for grown-ups. None of them survive a re-read. The YA stuff fares better.

On the Clarke front, I would agree with Roni about The Deep Range and Tales from the White Hart. I loved Childhood's End when I read it in high school, but a re-read a few years ago left me saying, "Why the heck did I think this was so good?" Still a good premise, but I found I could no longer identify with any of the characters and Clarke's usual dry writing style left me a bit cold on that go 'round. Oh well, perhaps just my wonky taste.

#31 - I love, love, love Octavia Butler's work! A college friend introduced me to her. The patternist series and the and talents series are my favorites.

@ronincats - My next read was almost going to be Childhood's End, on recommendation from mamzel. When I started looking at the books at the library, though, Childhood's End had no teasers on the cover to give me an idea of what to expect, while Rendezvous with Rama had a lot of tempting material. So Rendezvous it is!

@souloftherose - You're not missing anything. I just really enjoy Simon Singh's works (The Code Book, Big Bang) and the history of logic sounds like just the type of thing that he would write about. Logicomix tried to do too much: give the history of logic, the biography of Bertrand Russell, and the story of how they wrote the book, and then tie all that into a Greek tragedy. Singh would have focused on just the Logic and the zany lives of those who studied it, and you would have walked away feeling like you were a hundred times smarter.

@Tad - I'm willing to give Heinlein's YA stuff a try. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress wasn't TOO bad. It was just distracting that I found the politics so unrealistic. Except for his fetishes, Heinlein seems to have held up the best over the years. A Heinlein book without a naked Heinlein in it might be worth reading.

@markon - I can only find one other patternist book at my library and bookstore! Woe is me! I'm going to read the talent series next because the library luckily DOES have that. I read Kindred in college and wasn't blown away by it... I wish I had been introduced to some of her other work first so that I wouldn't have ignored her for so long!

27. Makers by Cory Doctorow
I could review this as a story, or I could review it as a political statement. But I'm not sure how to approach it for what it is: a combination of the two.

In other news...
I started Rendezvous with Rama and so far it's the most contemporary of the noncontemporary scifi that I've been reading. I hate the usage of 'Raman' though. Makes me think of ramen noodles!

#37: I have Rendezvous with Rama in the BlackHole already. Did you like it?

@alcottacre
It was amazing. It's the first of the sci fi classics that I've read that don't seem "classic" at all. It seems like it ends just when things start getting really exciting, so I had to immediately cancel the rest of my plans for today and go pick up Rama II.

So that makes #28 for this year. To make it official:
28. Rendezvous with Rama

I hope you might still go back and try Childhood's End. I think you won't be disappointed.

#36 Ah, that makes sense - I really like Simon Singh's books too. Fermat's Last Theorem is the maths books that I try to lend to non-maths friends to show them why I like maths. It's such a great story. Not read The Big Bang but I did also enjoy The Code Book.

#39: I will have to bump it up some. Thanks for the input!

#39 don't bother with Rama II. Clarke's name is on the cover, but they were mostly written by Gentry Lee, and they're nothing like the original.

Haha I wish I had read your post in time ian, but it's too late! I've already had the Raman universe ruined for me by this awful book.

29. Rama II
In short: This book sucks.

The long version:
I've been lamenting for a while about how classic scifi novels just can't stand up to what modern readers expect. When I read Rendezvous, written in 1972, I was excited to find one that I could enjoy despite its age. Then I read the sequel, Rama II, written in 1989, which is exactly what one expects of the scifi of the 90's and 00's. Comparing it to Rendezvous, what I notice most is what modern scifi does wrong.

It seems like classic sci fi didn't have to try so hard to do everything. I enjoyed Rendezvous because Arthur C. Clarke only provides as little as he needs to keep you enraptured. The novel was so *clean*. Clarke never felt compelled to engage in useless worldbuilding, to describe all of the politics and history of this future civilization. Nor did he need the entire biographies or motiviations for every character. Instead it was a novel of discovery. In each small chapter we took one small step into this new world. We experienced one or two new bits of Raman reality, or took one small peak into a character's mind. It was just enough to alternately tantalize and fufill.

Now, Rama II is just the opposite. There's so much exposition and background information provided that the characters don't even get into space until about 100 pages in. When they finally do get into Rama, it's almost glossed over because so much time is provided to covering the interpersonal drama. Honestly, it's more like an episode of The Real World than it is like Rendezvous with Rama.

And the characters are just so ridiculous! Who in the hell decided that the most important space voyage of all time would be primarily manned by media pundits and journalists rather than astronauts? And did no one think that it was a bad idea to send three people involved in an ugly and tempestuous love triangle? But it gets worse... My favorite part is when the main heroine falls into a pit and then wonders why the other character with her, a suspected murderer and her arch nemesis, won't help her out. She literally wonders this for HOURS. The stupidity of this book is just beyond description.

*sigh* I had such high hopes! And they were all dashed!

#44: Skipping that one. Let's hope your next read is much better for you.

#44 I think you're being a bit unfair on modern sf. Rama II is a bad example to use because, well, because it's a bad book. A lot of classic sf fails to make the grade today because it's not very well-written. The early sf writers, many of whom went on to have long careers, just weren't very good writers. At the time they were writing, they offered what readers wanted - and that didn't include things like good writing, proper characterisation, immersion, or even rigour.

Which doesn't mean all modern sf offers good writing, proper characterisation, immersion and rigour. There's a lot of crap being published now. We just don't hold it up as the best of the genre - well, not all of it, anyway. But I'd certainly say the best of modern sf is much much much better than the best of classic sf.

# 44 Group LOL - Just read your last patagraph to my hubby causing him many chuckles and ' I never rated Clarke'.

Ignore him he's a big comic book geek. I may go for the first one and skip this one though...

#46 I'm definitely not against modern sci-fi. On the contrary, I had started recently to catch up on the sci-fi "classics" and have been let down by all of them until Rendezvous with Rama. What I was trying (unsuccessfully) to express was that Rendezvous encapsulated what was best about that age for me.

Now for...

30. Mind of My Mind by Octavia Butler
This comes chronologically after Wild Seed and is just as great.

Unfortunately, that's the last of the Patternist books that my library has. :(

Point taken. I wasn't all that impressed when I reread Rendezvous with Rama last year - see here - but I think it's certainly an interesting novel.

I think a lot of the classics are definitely over-rated, and it continually annoys me that sf fans seem to privilege them over modern sf. For such a forward-thinking genre, it readers do like to look backwards a lot.

#49: I like this line in your review: "Should a science fiction novel be remembered for its furniture or for its story?"

I am very attracted to the architecture and landscapes in fiction, which probably explains why I enjoyed Rendezvous-- the furniture.

31. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
I enjoyed reading this book, but there's not much to it. It seems like this book only exists to set the background for the rest of the series.

I have a couple of Butler's books. I need to get them read soon. Thanks for the reminder!

32. Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
A group of men settle a planet as far away from other civilized planets as they can safely get in order to create a world without females. They raise their babies (all male of course!) in machines and teach their children to fear the dreadful species called 'women.' Ethan is a reproductive doctor on this planet, tasked with the job of nurturing these vat grown embryos.

One day trouble with the embryos forces him out into the world, into a spy drama, working with a woman. Hijinks ensue. It's a cute enough book, recommended for anyone who wants a fun, quick read.

I just read Ethan of Athos in January -- it was the last 'unread' Bujold on my shelf..... I'm curious if that was your first Bujold or whether you have read others?

My first

Sara, I'm glad you greatly enjoyed Rendezvous with Rama and therefore commiserating at the bitter disappointment of Rama II. Thank you for the warning. Our reading shares some parallels.

I read Ethan of Athos a couple of years ago as I made a sweep through the McMaster Bujold ouevre as part of Hugo quest. I liked it well enough, but it ranked lower compared to her other stories, including the other stand-alone novel Falling Free. I prefer the stories featuring Miles Vorkosigan's mother Cordelia most (Shards of Honor and Barrayar), though A Civil Campaign ranks right up there as some of the funniest SF camp around. I enjoyed her works, but I'm no rabid fan, and I'm not inspired enough to collect the books beyond The Curse of Chalion--fantasy again.

I guess I'm not surprised by your reaction to Parable of the Sower. I haven't read it yet, but I picked it up after being bloown away by Parable of the Talents. Given how much of the backstory is included in the later novel, I don't expect Parable of the Sower to contain many surprises. I haven't read any other Butler works yet, beyond a short story that I enjoyed in Dark Matter

I have to tell you that the sequel, Paladin of Souls, to The Curse of Chalion, featuring Ista, is well worth it!!

@57: I know that Paladin of Souls got more recognition--it was a Hugo winner, after all--but after reading both, I prefer The Curse of Chalion. Ista as protagonist just didn't do it for me, and the concepts and themes explored in this sequel just didn't resonate for me compared to those in the first book. Once again, I liked Paladin of Souls fine, and the secondary characters, particularly the brothers, are amusing. Sorry, Sara, for hijacking your thread.

Wow, lots of Bujold admirers out there! This is the first time she's been recommended to me, so I'm definitely going to have to check her out.

After visiting many bookstores, I finally found another Patternist book so I'll be posting on that shortly!

>57 ronincats: Just can't resist seconding every word you say! I love Miles and Cordelia I really do, but I like the Chalion books even better. I look back on those months when I 'discovered' Bujold and tore through her books as one of those golden reading times....... One book I didn't like as much was The Spirit Ring and these latest Sharing Knife ones, I'm not sure what I think. I liked the most recent one best.... but.... I respect what she does, though, always choosing 'unlikely' protagonists.....

I almost grabbed some of the Sharing Knife ones because they were displayed quite prominently at the bookstore. Glad I didn't now. I want to check out some of her other stuff first.

Definitely -- I think they are good - but for someone who has already read all the others and understands why she is branching out and trying something different.....

Sorry to have disappeared. I initially disappeared because I was on such a reading spree that I didn't spend as much time on the internet. Then I just got used to staying away. Here's what I've read since then:

33. Patternmaster - Octavia Butler
34. The Final Programme - Michael Moorcok
35. Clay's Ark - Octavia Butler
36. Parable of the Talents - Octavia Butler
37. Asterios Polyp - David Mazzucchelli
38. Bloodchild and other Stories - Octavia Butler
39. Beyond the Blue Event Horizon - Frederick Pohl
40. Dawn - Octavia Butler
41. Adulthood Rites - Octavia Butler
42. Imago - Octavia Butler
43. Fledgling - Octavia Butler

As you can see, I had Butler fever!

I've been slowly enjoying Middlemarch since then. I think it may be the BEST book I've ever read, but the reading is very slow. Every sentence is so perfect that they all deserved to be lingered over. If I don't make it to 75, it'll be because of this tome.

Wow! That's a great list! I read Fledgling a bit ago, thought it was great. Butler is awfully good, isn't she?

I love those fevers! They are the best.

I am glad you are enjoying Middlemarch. I definitely think it is time for a re-read.

I have not yet read anything by Octavia Butler. Obviously, I am going to have to change that!

Fledgling was my least favorite out of the bunch. It was weirdly similar to Twilight-- vampires living in Washington state? Except it's written by Octavia Butler so it's in every other way the complete opposite. It also feels like maybe it's part of a series that she never finished writing. Parable of the Sower, by itself, wouldn't be that great, but I can apreciate it as part of what makes Parable of the Talents sooooo fantastic. Fledgling needs a similar book to drag it along.

If you've never read any Butler, I'd recommend Parable of the Talents, but you need to read Parable of the Sower first. Or Wild Seed.

I finished Middlemarch today (#44) and will move on to something easier now.

I own Butler's Seed to Harvest and Kindred, so I will probably start with those. Thanks for your input though. I will look for your recommendations after I finish the titles I own.

Seed to Harvest is a combination of the two Parable books, so that's perfect! :)

45. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
When I posted on Facebook that I was reading this, everyone commented in ALL CAPS. One friend said that he would pay a million dollars to read it again for the first time. That's the kind of hyperbole surrounding this series!

It's an interesting YA book, but it's not the next great American novel. I read it all in one sitting, so I was absorbed in it, but not as much as any of the other books I've read lately. Why do people have to get my hopes up as if this is the second coming of Virginia Woolf?

#70: I loved The Hunger Games, but there is no way I would put it in the same category as Virginia Woolf.

Yeah the hyperbole doesn't help at all!

46. The Silent City by Elisabeth Vonaburg
Wow, I really loved this book. Very hard to summarize though. The back of the book does a great job of summarizing the first 50 pages or so, but to encapsulate the book as a whole is a more difficult undertaking. The book covers generations, and plot wise it's almost like a trilogy smushed into one volume. It might be easier for me to explain the recurring themes than the plot, the questions that it raises. Here goes:

Elisa is created as part of a genetic experiment to try and create a race that can live in the harsh environment of post apocalyptic Europe. She is initially raised apart from the rest of humanity, in a mostly deserted City, one of the last refuges of our now destroyed civilization. Her watchers treat her mainly as the experiment that she was designed to be, observing her from a distance, testing her, training her. But is she an individual as well? What is her relationship to her creators? To the rest of humanity that lives as barbarians outside of the City? What is your sex life like when you're the only existing example of your new race? How much free will do you have when you realize that the fate of civilization might rest with you? Do you have enough to love?

This book reminds me a lot of Octavia Butler. A lot of the same preoccupations are there: genetics, incest, matriarchies, super powers, gender. I'm going to create a recommendation here on Librarything linking this book and Wild Seed. Wild Seed takes place in the past, this book takes place in the future, but otherwise they are extremely similar. I loved both!

#73: Wow! Looks very good. I will have to see if I can locate a copy. Thanks for the recommendation.

It's currently only in print from EDGE Publishing - see here. Although you might be able to find a second-hand copy of its original publication.

Thanks for the link. I want to read Dreams of the Sea. (I will have to do touchstones later because my phone can't type brackets.)

47. The Blue Flower - Penelope Fitzgerald
48. Dance Dance Dance - Haruki Murakami

#77: How was the Murakami book? I have not yet read that one.

Glad you enjoyed Octavia Butler - I like both the Patternmaster and the Parable series.

The silent city sounds intriguing.

#78: It's a sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase, so it's best to read that one first if you haven't already. It's definitely weaker than some of his other works but I enjoyed it.

49. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño