Flare Sci-Fi Forums: My own personal library

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Posted by D. Lerious on :

One of my favorite places to hangout are bookstores. For me, there is nothing likebrowsing through lots of interesting looking books and finding one to buy, especially in used book stores. I just love to buy books!!Just this summer I've bought 5 new books( mostly fantasy) and several used Reader's Digest condensed book volumes. When I will read them all, goodness knows... Latly, I've kinda gotten into fantasy, but I also like historical fiction and realistic fiction. Any else like browse through books, if so, what kind do you like to buy?

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Posted by Mikey T (Member # 144) on :

Oh... I love hanging around a bookstore like Barnes and Nobles and Borders here in Los Angeles, especially if there is a cafe or Starbucks next to it. I usually read through the magazines like Car and Driver, ST: The Magazine, XY, The Advocate, Vanity Fair, and People. After that, it's off to look at the Star Trek books and psychology area.

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Posted by Diane (Member # 53) on :

D. Lerious: Read "Enchantment" by Orson Scott Card. It's his newest book, a modern rendition of Sleeping Beauty rooted in realistic terms. It is quite good.

I love books, but I prefer browsing in a library (I don't know of any used book stores around here). I'm rather confused at how some stores sort their books, and they don't always have everything. Now I buy most of my books online. Not only are they easier to browse a huge selection, they're cheaper (even with shipping).

My favorite genre is fantasy, and I like some historical books (E. L. Doctorow is a current favorite). I haven't read much science fiction, though. One time I tried to read Dune, but I put it down after I saw the glossary. I know it's supposed to be good, but I wasn't in the mood to learn vocabulary from another planet. I don't read too many mainstream novels, but I liked John Irving after read "A Prayer for Owen Meany".

If you like strange things, try "Geek Love" by Katherine Dunn. I haven't read it yet, but it came highly recommended. It's about a family of circus freaks who experiment with "genetic engineering" to breed freak children, and it's written in an earnest tone that presents this as a good thing. The parents even favor the stranger children because they can bring in more customers. The main character is one of the freak children, a girl, who's not deformed enough and mostly ignored by her parents. She somehow got her brother who can do telekinesis to get a sperm from another brother's body because he's their parents' favorite, in hopes that she'll get a child strange enough to raise her standing. The next part is sort of a spoiler, but it's the most interesting part (it is NOT the ending). $$$ The child was a girl who's completely normal and rather beautiful, except for one thing--a tail. She became an exotic dancer. And I don't know what happens after that.$$$

I went on Amazon and read some of the reader reviews there. It's one of those things that people either love or hate with no middle ground. I guess the suggestion is don't read it if you're firmly entrenched in your dogma and can't keep an open mind.

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"One more day before the storm
At the barricades of freedom!
When our ranks begin to form
Will you take your place with me?"
--Enjolras, "One Day More," Les Miserables

Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :

Oh, are we doing book recommendations now? My turn!

"Smilla's Sense Of Snow," by Peter H�eg. WOW. I've always been fascinated by Arctic cultures & this book really helped to understand. It's primarily a mystery, but it has a subtle sci-fi edge to it; the movie made out of it with Julia Ormond & Gabriel Byrne was fairly good, too. (I'm listening to the soundtrack right now)

"Warday," by Whitley Streiber & James Kunetka. It's out of print, but if you find a copy at the library or in an old/used bookstore, GET IT. READ IT. It's semi-sci-fi, but it's fantastic. I'm not a Streiber fan; in fact, I think the man to be a quack. But the story is powerful. Written in 1984, the novel postulates a short 30-minute nuclear exchange between the US & the USSR in October, 1988. Flash-forward 5 years & Whitley & Jim decide to travel around the country to see the effects of Warday on the US & how it's changed life. Primarily written in the 1st person, it's an extremely moving story about human survival, struggle, & a hell of a primer on nuclear warfare.

The Dead Sea Scrolls. Holy Christ. I started reading these because of references to them in the anime series "Neon Genesis Evangelion"....I still have yet to read them all, but what I HAVE read is MAJOR way cool. You thought the Bible was barbaric & doom-foretelling? UH-UH. The Scrolls are FULL of that shit. Even if you're not a religion or spirituality freak, you've gotta read.

There's more, but most of it is series or author stuff: Clive Cussler, P.D. James' Cordelia Gray books, Douglas Adams.....although I STILL think that "Stranger In A Strange Land" should be required reading for everyone.

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"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel