h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well it looks like the Book Nook has been a little desolate the last few weeks, so let's try to pick it back up again.

What are the last 3 books you've read, and what do you consider a must for you personal library.

Last 3 books:

Grunts by Mary Gentle - a very interesting take on Fantasy, the premise is that a group of Orcs find a cache of advanced 20th century weapons in a Dragon's lair, the dragon has cursed it's treasure so that the people who take it will become whatever the weapon is, so the Orcs start to act like 20th century Marines. It's enjoyable to see the Last Battle from the Orcs view, especially Orcs who have an understanding of tactics.

Chanur's Legacy by C.J. Cherryh - welcome back to the Alliance/Union universe. We follow Hilfy Chanur through her trials as the new captain of the latest Chanur ship. Cherryh provides everything that we have come to expect from her and her universes.

The Faded Sun Trilogy by C.J. Cherryh - okay so it's three books but they are under one cover This is a fantastic look at the dynamics of a race that only lives to fight. Cherryh takes this group of nomadic warriors, who have been traveling the universe for millenia, and demostrates all their core functioning and rational. An engrossing read and yet another fantastic book and universe from Cherryh.

A must have in my library would be Ender's Game, I have read three copies to tatters and am still finding things. Also, Frank Herbert's Dune and God Emperor of Dune, he's the best.

Hopefully this will spark some interest.

courtesy

Hey Courtesy!
Good to see you back here

Ah, but to business.
Last 3 books I read:
'Last Chance to See' by Douglas Adams. Need I say more? An excellent and admirable piece of writing from he who shall be sorely missed
'The Reality Disfunction' by Peter Hamilton. It's BIG and the next two in the series are just as big but so far it has been worth the effort although the friend who lent them to me may have to wait some time to get them back...
'100 Love Sonnets' by Pablo Neruda. Just to prove a heart beats deep within this metallic piece of poultry. Also a nice balance to the above epics to have something short and relatively cheerful to read.

A must for the personal library.
Erm
Do I really have to choose just one?
Maybe Theodore Sturgeon's 'More Than Human' or Daniel Keyes's 'Flowers for Algernon' both of which I seem to have kept coming back to over the last 20 years. But ask me again tomorrow and I'll request something completely different

Last three books:

Faster by James Gleick
Stiffed by Susan Faludi
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them by J K Rowling

The first two were good reads, but not exceptional. The last was a lot of fun but way to short (Isn't that always the case?)

And if I have to chose just one must - it would have to be something by Greg Egan, probably a collection of short stories. Luminous or Axiomatic. Yes, I'm a math freak...please don't hurt me

I've read about the Reality Disfunction, always kinda skipped over it though. My problem is that I'm extremely wary (sp?) of authors I have not read. With your recommendation I think I might try it out.

As for math, I just read a great book on number theory about a year ago. I want to reread it, however I can't seem to find it, I would blame it on my old roommate taking it, however I don't think she would have looked past the cover.

Please feel free to give any books you think are important to a library, I was just posing a question to get the ball rolling

Also, what are some of the worst books you have read and why?

One of mine is the newest Dune Prequel, but I've also had a horrible time with Atlas Shrugged, I'm not sure if it's the book or me. However that's another book I can't find

courtesy

Metal Chicken,

Thanks for the welcome back, and we know that a heart beat inside of you, and if I had to guess, a very passionate heart at that.

courtesy, who is trying to figure out all the new smileys

Last three books read:
1. Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkein (Reread for the first time in 10+ years in preparation for the forthcoming movie adaptions.)
2. Dune, by Frank Herbert (An excellent book that I read for the first time in my decades of life. What was I waiting for?)
3. At The Earth's Core, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

I suppose I'm in a fantasy and science fiction phase at this moment, so I'll suggest some classics of those genres as must-haves:

Science Fiction:
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert A. Heinlein
More Than Human, by Theodore Sturgeon
Dune, Frank Herbert

Fantasy:
Mythago Wood, by Richard Holdstock
The Riddlemaster of Hed, by Patricia A. McKillip
The Once and Future King, by T.H. White
The Earthsea cycle (4 books), by Ursula K. Le Guin
Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkein

Hi, everyone. Nice to meet you all.

The last three books I have read so far were all for my English class, but they weren't too bad, and there where some great moments in a couple of them.

The most recent book I read was 'The Color of Water,' by James McBride. I thought he did a great job of portraying his family life and the struggles he and his family faced from the early sixties on, being black and having a white mother. It could have been quite depressing a story, but he successfully made it humorous at times, making it a very heart-warming tale that I would recommend to anyone with the time to kill.

Before that I had read Kurt Vonnegut's, 'The Sirens of Titan.' It was not my first my Vonnegut book, and it won't be the last. Generally speaking, the thing with Vonnegut's books is that they are really well written, but the endings are always lacking...that same drive that the rest of the novel has. My thoughts on why this is the case with all of his books is because when a great contemporary writer writes a great contemporary novel, it cannot have a great contemporary ending (This is most definately wrong, and I can already think of an example where this is not the case; Catch-22).

And before reading, 'The Sirens of Titan,' I read, 'A Tale of Two Cities,' by Dickinson. I thought that the character Charles Darnay was possibly the most interesting and captivating character I'd ever encountered. I also thought that the book could have been slimmed down by a few hundred pages (Dickinson was payed by the word and this is apparant), but then again, the ending might have made it worth the wait. The ending, is one of the most beautiful (not romantically, but majestic) endings I'd ever read.

I strongly recommend Candide by Voltaire.

I remember Candide - think I read it in school a while ago. Funny in a dry sort of way - I loved the ending

Oh yeah. The ending's great with the Dervish that slams the door in his face when he asks about why people are cruel, and how they ending living happily ever after like the Gilligan's Island from hell. Hilarious stuff.

end, rather

end, rather

Have any of you ever read James Clavell's, 'Shogun?'

No, but I saw the TV series

*ducks behind chair to avoid being hit by *

I didn't see that one coming...

Well, the book may be a tad bit thick (1200 pages or so, but it is definately worth it. I had to read it for this Eastern History class I took some time back, and it was so addictive I read 400 pages in one day.

Not only will it keep you on the edge of your seat while you wait in suspense to see what the main character, English ship pilot Blackthorne will do next, but it is also incredibly accurate, correctly portraying the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the year 1600

Don't know anything about Shogun but I've a high opinion of Kurt Vonnegut and think I might go and dig out Sirens of Titan for a re-read sometime soon. Maybe you've got a point about his endings fizzling out but the whole package still sparkles don't you think?

In response to Courtesy's call for nominations of worst books we've ever read, I'd like to suggest Ian Irvine's 'A shadow on the Glass' - a piece of fantasy with admittedly some nice points but so horribly written I couldn't believe his publishers hadn't taken him aside for an educational chat about alternative career options. Probably not the worst book ever written but the worst I've read this month.

I've never read Shogun, however, like Freedom I have seen the miniseries ..... sorry.

The only Vonegurt (sp?) book I have read was Slaughterhouse 5, a great read. I would be interested in more suggestions from him, I have noted the Titans book.

Worst book of all time for me was Dune: House Atreides, for those of you who saw my rants on this about 2 years ago, I just wanted to warn you

Probably one of the worst books ever written, the authors took a series that is recognized as one of the most intricate and well written of all time, and dumbed their plot down to the teenage lever. I realize I'm taking credit away from teenagers on this one The worst travesty was that one of the authors was Frank Herbert's son, and should be ashamed at what he did.

/rant

courtesy

Some of my personal Vonnegut favorites:

Bluebeard, Cat's Cradle, Timequake, Breakfast of Champians, Bagombo Snuff Box, and Galapagos. As well as Slaughterhouse five, and sirens of titan, but I figured I'd just mention the ones you hadn't read before.

On the subject of worst books, I'd like to nominate The Catcher in the Rye. Had to read it for an english class, and I can not remember one single good thing about it.

Slaughterhouse 5 has been sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read - maybe the time has come to get started at last. Vacation is coming up

As for myself:
Shogun
Catcher In The Rye
Kurt Vonnegut

And I just finished another book I highly recommended:
The Ground Beneath Her Feet, by Salman Rushdie