Well the days are getting colder and shorter which means more time inside instead of outside hanging out. So what books have you been reading lately? Also would you recomend them?
I am reading the the 9th book in the Robert Jordan series titled Winters Heart. I would tell you about it but it would give away too much. I dont know if I would recomend the series. Each book is almost 1000 pages and most of the content is just talking and plot twists that just seem to be killing time. I find myself thinking that this series is Jordans nest egg because people who have read this far will continue to buy his series because we want to see how it ends. Since book 4 it seems the the next book will be the last. It just seems like every book is full of useless content until the last 200 pages where there is some progress made. I really like the series as a whole but I just wish it would get on with the story. I think Jordans writing style is really good and vivid but way too many characters. It reminds me of George R.R. Martin.
So what is everyone reading and would you recomend it.

I'm currently reading "Changer of Worlds", an Honor Harrington universe compilation. I've read all the core HH books, and thought it was time I finished the "Worlds of Honor" books as well. If you like "miltary" SF, you'll love the Honor Harrington series by David Weber (available at Baen's (http://www.baen.com/) website. The first book, On Basilisk Station is a free ebook, and a good read.

I've read up to book 9 of Jordan's stuff (and the end of B9 will blow you away). I have B10, but haven't started it yet (too many other books to read before I get to it :) ). I like it, and have heard that Jordan plans to wrap it up soon.

Craig.

I think my taste is a bit different than most here, but I love spy novels. My current read is Numbered Account by Christopher Reich.
Nick Neumann had it all: a Harvard degree, a beautiful fiancée, a star-making Wall Street career. But behind the dazzling veneer of this golden boy is a man haunted by the brutal killing of his father seventeen years before. Just started that book, but I know from experience that the author is fantastic. I found out about him through the free summer books from Microsoft when they were trying to get everyone to upgrade their version of Microsoft Reader. One of the free books was The Devils Banker, which is about the hunt for terrorists using financing clues. The writer has a lot of inside info about that sort of thing and it makes the book great. His writing is captivating and it's the sort of book you just can't put down.
The explosion that shatters a smart Parisian apartment reverberates around the globe. In an instant, a suspected terrorist is dead and half a million dollars has vanished. The CIA is certain it has found a connection between the dead man and a planned terrorist attack on U.S. soil. The Devil's Banker creates an adrenaline-fueled world where following the money has never been more dangerous, and evil has never been harder to unmask.In fact, as more indication of how much I like this author, I just finished the First Billion by Reich.
Former fighter pilot Jett Gavallan, the high-flying CEO of a billion-dollar investment firm, is taking Russia's leading media company public on the New York Stock Exchange. When he dispatches fellow Desert Storm fighter pilot Grafton Byrnes to Moscow, Byrnes fails to return. The reason... is more diabolical and shocking than Gavallan can imagine. Speaking of can't put the book down, Mary Higgens Clark wrote The Second Time Around which I picked up and read until I finished because it was really captivating.
In a novel that reaffirms her reputation as "America's Queen of Suspense," Mary Higgins Clark delivers a gripping tale of deception and tantalizing suspense.

Nicholas Spencer, charismatic head of the medical research company Gen-stone, involved in the development of an anticancer vaccine, suddenly disappears. His private plane crashes en route to Puerto Rico, but his body is not found.

cabarnet that sounds really good. Ill check out that book. I have only read one military science fiction book and that was ARMOR. It was fairly good but not enough action. When there was action it was amazing. Ever since then I wanted to read a good military SF book but have been too busy with other good books. ha ha. I am happy to hear that jordan is going to wrap it up and that the end of books nine is great. usually they do end good though. I also have the 10th book but after I finish the 9th book I have some other books I want to read.
I love spy movies but I have never read spy books. maybe Ill have to try sometime.

BobR, from what you said Numbered Account looks like a great book. I will give it a try the next time I visit Barnes&Noble!

I am currently reading Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and cannot decide whether I like it or not. Slashdot runs a discussion (http://books.slashdot.org/books/04/09/24/1744223.shtml?tid=192&tid=6) on that book:

In Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel, the lost art is magic. This is England as the Nineteenth Century opens, and magic--founded in this country by a king who was once its strongest practitioner, a king who reigned three hundred years--is not practiced any longer. Oh, hundreds of magicians still argue vigilantly over its customs and methods and history, but the casting of actual spells is beyond them.

Enter Gilbert Norrell, a strange little recluse of a man, who hoards books and does his damnedest to end the career of any magician he can find. Who is also, by the way, the first Englishman to do magic in centuries. Mr. Norrell's purpose is to restore magic to England, provided it is studied and practiced under his terms, and preferably by no one but him.

Jonathan Strange, a young man who stumbles upon magic on a whim, who is to become Norrell's colleague, student, and adversary, has something slightly different in mind.

Morpheus,

They also have Reich books at eReader.com if you want the eBook variety. Just do a search on Reich. I think I got a bundle of two of his books at a reduced rate. And there was a note yesterday about getting one of the books free. Maybe it's with purchase of the eReader pro or something like that? (I already had it so didn't try to figure it out.)

BobR, from what you said Numbered Account looks like a great book. I will give it a try the next time I visit Barnes&Noble!

Well, what I'm reading is a little different. I'm reading Junky, by W S Burroughs. So far I'm hooked into it. I don't know why but I like this sort of literature about sordid existences, where the main character (Burroughs, himself in this case) has, from the very beginning, already lost it all.
Recently I finished A Universal History of Iniquity, by Borges. I definitely love Borges, and this book is one of my favorites. This is the second time I read it (I seldom read a book twice), and there will be a third time, for sure. I found this review in Amazon:
In his writing, Borges always combined high seriousness with a wicked sense of fun. Here he reveals his delight in re-creating (or making up) colorful stories from the Orient, the Islamic world, and the Wild West, as well as his horrified fascination with knife fights, political and personal betrayal, and bloodthirsty revenge. Spark-ling with the sheer exuberant pleasure of story-telling, this collection marked the emergence of an utterly distinctive literary voice.

I'm currently reading Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution (http://www.smartmobs.com/book/index.html) by Howard Rheingold. It's a non-fiction title about the social impact of wireless handheld communications, how people can communicate and collaborate like never before thanks to wireless PDAs, smartphones and text messaging devices like the Blackberry.

I just ordered On Intelligence (http://store.palmone.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1878457) by Jeff Hawkins (yes, the father of the Palm Pilot, Handspring Visor and Treo).

As a PDA enthusiast, this work could provide some valuable insight into the direction personal digital assistants are heading:


With his powerful new theory of how the human brain works, Jeff Hawkins not only explains why today's computers fail to achieve real intelligence, he begins to chart a path for us to finally build a truly intelligent machine. Check out why leading scientists are calling Jeff's book "the most important book in neuroscience, psychology, and artificial intelligence in a generation."
.

Sounds like maybe we'll really start to see some truly "smart" devices that can anticipate what we need them to do for us, along the lines of the Apple Newton's "Intelligent Assistance Architecture" (http://www.msu.edu/~luckie/gallery/mp2000.htm).

Brian

I just ordered On Intelligence (http://store.palmone.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1878457) by Jeff Hawkins (yes, the father of the Palm Pilot, Handspring Visor and Treo).

That one sounds like a very interesting book. Have you read Penrose's The emperor's new mind and Shadows of the mind? I read The emperor's... only. It's a tough one, and the difference with the book you mention, is that in this one Penrose states that there will never be trully inteligent machines.
It's always nice to find new authors, thanks.
EDIT:
did you know about onintelligence.org?

No, I'm not familiar with Penrose and thanks for the info, I'll check his titles out.
I didn't know Hawkins and Sandra Blakeslee had www.onintelligence.org as a site for their book.

Brian

what was his reason for machines never being truly inteligent? It seems like that would be the logical evolution of computers. That could just be that I have watched terminator one to many times.

Well, I find it hard to tell you in a few words (in a lot of words, too, actually). What he says (I hope Penrose doesn't read MobileRead) is that he believes consciousness (where's the spellchecker?) can only be imitated by algorithms, that there's something about it that goes beyond logic and determinism. He says that our approach to artificial intelligence must dramatically change before we can really create it, because in their current state, mathematics only can lead us to create heaps of algorithms that imitate intelligence but are void of consciousness.
I disagree with you, Team. I don't think computers will ever have "independent" intelligence, I don't think they'll ever be aware of nothing. Why? Maybe because we're not powerful enough.
I feel it's impossible for the mind to fully comprehend itself. To me, it would be as if we could lift ourselves just by pulling our hair.
Maybe it's just romanticism.

Wow, there's a lot to respond to here. Last things first:

I think that we will be able to produce intelligent machines, but in a different way than you guys seem to be talking about. To me, it will more likely come from either a neural net or parallel processing style setup. It will be set into motion and it will "learn" on its own. It won't be released fully created and fully intelligent. It will grow and consciousness may well be a sort of unintended consequence. In the same way that insects and animals are governed by simple rules that create complex patterns, I think that intelligence can evolve from a (relatively) simple setup. But I do agree that we will not be able to create a fully intelligent mind on our own. I predict that we will make strides with the simple-minded robots first, the robo-insects and fish, that will help us understand the structures of intelligence.

I've just read Interface by Neal Stephenson, which was a fun read, but definitely not his best work. Still, I couldn't put the damn thing down until I was done. It chronicles a presidential campaign swallowed whole by the media (in fact this aspect of the book is very timely) and a candidate who has come under outside control through a brain implant that helped him recover from a stroke.

I'm almost done with The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil. It's a book of futurism, guesses at the progression of computers and humans and ultimately, how we will join. He imagines a future of augmented humans and machines that learn. (I have to say that while he did influence the above rant some, I had the same setiments before reading this book.) I don't agree with many of his predictions, and I think he severely underestimates the social and political changes that will accompany his predictions. He also does not address some core issues of futurism, namely the forthcoming shortage of resources with which to build the machines. Still, the book is quick and it does make you appreciate the ever-accelerating rate of change.

Next I'm working on Creative Home Schooling by Lisa Rivero and Natural Learning Rhythms by Josette & Ba Luvmour. Can you tell I have a (nearly) three year old? I hope that the bulk of her education can be done at home and I've got to prepare!

Finally, Francesco, I recommend to you Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller, which fits your current theme. It's a bit more mundane than Junky, but it does have the advantage of being set in France in the 30's. Good stuff.

I have a strong prejudice against Henry Miller. I believe he wasn't authentic, that he was just a show-off. The funniest thing about this is that I don't know why, and that I haven't read any novel by him (I did read a short essay about Mishima, though). So, I'll give him a try, for sure.

Current and Recent Reading (all _highly_ recommended):
1. early issues of Planet Magazine for some good short SF interludes between larger books; I've got the first 40 editions in my UX50 (I did the ebook conversions on their site, BTW) - http://www.planetmagazine.com
2. Cory Doctorow's "Eastern Standard Tribe" - available in ebook form from the author's site http://www.craphound.com
3. T.E.Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" (that's "Ned" to his family, "T.E." to his publishers, and "... of Arabia" to the popular press...) is my current read. I'm only 1/4th through, as of lunch today, but I already consider it one of my recommended reads as it sheds a lot of light on today's Middle-Eastern politics and society. Availalbe in TXT form from Project Gutenberg.

(I did read a short essay about Mishima, though). So, I'll give him a try, for sure.

Ah, Mishima!


:laugh3: --ryan

On the 'digital side' I'm currently reading Michael Connelly's "City of Bones", Lynn Hightower's "Fortunes of the Dead" and Sherman Alexie's "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven." For my job I'm reading the clinical case file of the Parker-Hume Murder (the real-life case the film "Heavenly Creatures" was based on). In the 'anolog format' (paper books) I'm reading "Black Dahlia Avenger" by Steve Hodel.

--ryan

Hello I am new on this message board. I am a internet assistant to Mark Raney, a virtually unknown author. Mark has an ebook website, www.markraney.com and he needs a tester. He needs someone that has a handheld reader to go to his site and download his short story (FREE) DREAM - He needs to see if it is possible to read this
story on a handheld. We do not own a handheld and are not sure of their capabilities.
Could you please try this for us. Lasseelady lasseelady@yahoo.com

I would like to invite everyone here to visit www.markraney.com
for a great selection of instant download e-books written by author Mark Raney.
Mark is a native North Carolinian and has a history and love of sea adventures.
Two of his novels are available now for FREE DOWNLOAD, the novels are
SHELLCASTLE and SMILE FOR ME, I'M CRYING.

We would love for you to stop by his website and download your copy today. Then please share this info with your friends. Mark needs the publicity badly and I am running out of places to go. I was so excited to see that people here actually read ebooks. That is music to my ears.

Lasseelady
Writers Assistant to Mark Raney
lasseelady@yahoo.com

Hey All,

Right now I'm reading The Cobra Event by Richard Preston. Just started and so far so good. Have only been reading it for two days. My next book will be The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket. By the way doing this all on my zire71...

I just recently finished Numbered Account by Christopher Reich. It was wonderful as were all of the books I've read by him. (I got the eReader version, which was very nice, and not very expensive in a Reich bundle. Actually, it might have even come with the Pro Bundle.. can't remember.)

I'm now reading Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens. I am a Dickens fan, but every time I pick up one of his books (Great Expectations, David Copperfield, etc.) I hate the first part. It's so slow and hard to keep track of the characters. There doesn't seem to be much happening and it's just boring. I ask myself "why am I reading this?" And then at some point I start to get into it and it turns into one of the best books I've ever read. Martin Chuzzlewit is starting out the same way. Slow, but getting a little interesting now already. Knowing Dickens, I'm counting on it becoming a masterpiece if I give it time. We'll see.

I'm reading "No plot, no problem", by the nanowrimo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) inventor, Chris Baty. I'm eager to participate in nanowrimo next November!

I am reading "Dragonsblood" at the moment.

I am reading The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket it's great!

I've heard (from reading the movie review) that Lemony Snicket is similar to Harry Potter, just darker?

http://www.ebookslist.org/index.php?target=price&p=5&s=For%20Dummies
http://www.ebookslist.org/index.php?target=desc&ebookid=2660

Currently reading Titan (http://fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook30638.htm) a new Star Trek novel at the moment. The book picks up after the events of the last Trek movie and follows Riker on his first command. The book is holding my interest so far.

My tastes run from spy to mysteries to science fiction, fantasy and horror.

I just finished 'Bangkok Tattoo' by John Burdett which is a murder mystery set in Bangkok's exotic red-light district. The novel takes a very circuitous route in solving the crime but this is very much what the author wants to do: illustrait the difference between the Western mind and the Eastern mind. I found it very entertaining.

I'm reading "Le rouge et le noir" (The red and the black) by Stendhal, classic french literature. (I'm learning french, that's why I'm reading it in original language.)
So far it's a little bit boring but it's still interesting. (Men... it's a long book!)
After watching Spielberg's "War of the worlds" (Which is not THAT bad) I want to read HG Well's original book to see how they differ.

PS: I'm searching for The emperor of scent" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007NLUZO/ref=lpr_g_1/103-4591959-3333410?v=glance&s=books") on the net. Anyone has a link?

I just finished "Anti-Grav Unlimited" by Duncan Long; some interesting ideas but, on-balance, only a so-so piece of SF (available from Baen Books). I recently read a few more issues of Planet Magazine (good stuff).

I'm currently in the middle of O Henry's short story collection "The Voice of the City". O Henry is one of my favorite writers and this collection hasn't let me down; highly recommended. His stories are based so much on human nature and not specific surroundings, that they seem current a century after they were written and not "distant", despite being set in the NYC of ~1900 and I'm reading them from my porch in Key West.

I recently finished Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (from the Portable Harvard Classics), and On Intelligence by Palm founder Jeff Hawkins. They were both really fantastic. Also recently finished Michael Connelly's Black Ice, which was a solid and fun read about a mystery from a policeman's perspective with murder, drug smugglers, and some adventures in Mexico.

Oh.. and I'm currently reading American General by Tommy Franks, Journal of John Woolman (who started off much of the movement against slavery in America) also from Portable Harvard Classics, and A Brief History of Nearly Everything (which is a laymans very nice multi-year effort to take science and make it interesting). All three of these are also turning out to be great choices.

But I wish I could get through a good book as fast as I can watch a good movie! ;)

Currently I'm reading a lot of books simultaneously. Usually I don't do that, but it's working quite alright for me:
- Complete digital photography. I love to take pictures, and this book is helping me to improve their quality. I recommend it a lot.
- Cartas desde el infierno (letters from hell), by Ramón Sampedro. The sea inside, by Amenábar is a movie you definitely have to see. It's about the struggle of Ramón Sampedro, a tetraplegic, to end his life with diginity. His arguments are exposed in this book with amazing lucidness.
- Digital photography hacks. Looks like I'm really into photography lately. O'Reilly Hacks series are really cool compendiums of "messing-arounds"... to be handled with care. Well, I tried an XP hack from a pre-SP II edition, which resulted in total havoc (my computer would just not boot!) Now I can't help seeing my Mind Hacks book without a distrustful look.
- Internet Oracle "bestof" digest. Great for waisting your time: http://cgi.cs.indiana.edu/~oracle/bestofs.cgi
- L'étranger, by Camus. Great book for an intermediate-French student. Well, great book in any case. Reading it in French has forced me to read it slowly and carefully... I'm enjoying it a lot!
- Zen mind, beginners mind, by D T Suzuki. I'm trying to grasp a little of Zen. I guess I'll have this feeling I don't understand one thing until, suddenly... well, I don't know. In fact is a very interesting reading.
- War of the worlds. Sorry, but the movie is rubbish. From beginning to end. The book is fine, I expected a little more, though. Maybe is the fault of the guy in charge of the special effects.

Harry Potter, of course :D

Yeah, I read the HP book pretty quickly (though I didn't devour it in hours like a lot seemed to - what a waste of something that takes years to write - savour it!!). I just finished David Feintuch's Seafort book Voices of Hope (book 5 in the Seafort series... I love 'em, but the main character's almost as tragic as Thomas Covanent).

Now might be a good time to revisit GRR Martin's works so I'm prepared for the new books release :)

Craig.

Everyone says GRRM is the best, but Ive never been able to get into his books. Hobb either. Now Feist OTOH...

The Song of Ice and Fire series is excellent, IMHO. I loved Hobb's Assassin trilogy. I've got the other two trilogies as well, ready to read, but I've got a lot of other stuff to get through first before I get to them :)

Now started Feintuch's 6th Seafort book - Patriarch's Hope. I'm feeling a bit masochistic at the moment (also needed for GGRM's books :) ). Woot!

Craig.

I just got finished reading Black Company by Glen Cook. It was excelent but a little hard to get used to his writing style. It is a story of mercinaries written from the bad guy stand point. Really makes you think about what evil really is.

Did you read all the books of the series? I stopped with book six or so, where the Company was still going South to Taglios.

The first three books were definitey Cook's best.

I have only read the first one so far. Why did you quit reading them? did they get old?

Unfortunately yes, like most fantasy sagas that never come to an end (Wheel of Time...). I'd say read the first three books and you'll be happy. After these don't waste your time for more.

Finished the Seafort book....now I'm trying out the Dune prequels while waiting for GRRM.... House Atreides down, well into House Harkonnen... I'm on fire!!! :D

Craig (also looking at updating his PDA - X50v looking _real_ tempting at the moment)

the last bits of books read (including ebooks)

Phules Company series. (Buddy of mine in the Army got me started on them. EXCELLENT read for a quasi military setup with a ton of humor. And of course, the hero sticking it to the system, AND to the enemy). ROFLMAO!

Harry Potter book 6. Plan to reread that entire series. Right before going to the movies for watching Ep 4. ROFL. But need to find an ebook on Book 6. Got the other 5, just need 6. And I don't want to waste my days doing OCR and corrections / proof reading! LOL.

A Hymn Before Battle (book 1)
Gust Front (book 2) ... Both are by John Ringo, also available at www.baen.com/library ... EXCELLENT reads. Far more realistic in terms of military set up. Wonderful alternate universe, a bit reminiscent of Starship Troopers. But only vaguely. It's 'present day', and lots of things going BOOM. Oh, and power suits/armor. /grin/ Carrying Rail Guns.

I just finished Gust Front about 2 days ago, and haven't yet settled on my next target. I'll find one soon enough. My wife has her own personal library, in paperbook format, and that's with 5 boxes still unloaded. /sigh/ /laughs/

the last bits of books read (including ebooks)

Phules Company series.

A Hymn Before Battle (book 1)
Gust Front (book 2) ... Both are by John Ringo, ... EXCELLENT readsThanks for the tips. I downloaded the Ringo books a few days ago and may give them a try sometime even though I'm not a big SciFi reader anymore. First, some others.

As for my reading, I just finished the Journal of John Woolman, another book in the Harvard Classics series, which I'm now reading from front to back (or wherever I give up). Next up is something by William Penn, I think. I'm using the Portable Harvard Classics which has many books in eReader format, and those plus more in txt format. He's adding them as he completes them, and it's a great project. <I'm hoping Hacker still has some interest in his "enhanced" version of the same which he's been working on in the past, and will provide it in some formats like rtf, html, iSilo, eReader, Plucker, etc. Hint. Hint. Not sure if it's still active because it sounds like he's got a very full plate of exciting projects besides that.>

Also finished A Brief History of Nearly Everything, by Bryson I think. Was excellent and was a science-based survey with creation of the universe, makeup of the universe, creation and makeup of the the earth, same for life and humans. And many interesting notes that remind you of how fragile life and our current environment is in the midst of space collisions, activity and turmoil under the surface of the earth, ice ages, etc. Well worth reading, even though it might get you skimming portions because of the length.

In addition to the next Harvard Classics book, I'm going to read Ender's Game, which a lot of sources seem to feel is the best scifi book ever. Like I said, I'm not usually a big scifi fan, but best ever... gotta give it a try.

I'd also like to read Orbitsville. By Bob Shaw maybe? Highly recommended to me as a perfect "escape from reality" book. Can't find it in electronic form anywhere, though, with is a bummer. Actually out of print also, I think. If anyone knows if it is available somewhere in ebook form, please let me know.

Bob that Breif History of Nearly Everything sounds great. I read a Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking and it was amazing. I really want to read another science book like it because I am really interested in time travel and all the dimensions and stuff. It really blows your mind.

Bob that Breif History of Nearly Everything sounds great. I read a Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking and it was amazing. I really want to read another science book like it because I am really interested in time travel and all the dimensions and stuff. It really blows your mind.If you like science and science history, it's fantastic. About big bang, and atoms and particles all the way up to life. And the best part is that is sort of chronicles the whole discovery process and the human interest stories behind it.

But nothing but brief mention of extra dimensions or string theory. Nothing at all about time travel or worm holes or stuff like that. I still think you'll like it. ;)

I'll have to check out Hawking's book. I am jealous of those students that got to study under him. He's supposed to be an incredible teacher. Or was that Feyhmann? Shows how much I know about science! :D

Brian had posted on the front page a reference to Tom Friedman's "The World Is Flat". I read this book (available from ereader) when it first came out and thought it was my best read of the summer. Friedman gives some pretty convincing arguments for why things are the way they are in this "global economy".

Friedman starts off by describing ten "flatteners" that have changed the way business is done. These range from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the invention of the PC, open source software, the internet, connecting the world with broadband pipes and the "dot com" bust of the late 90's. He goes on to describe how the convergence of these flatteners act in a synergistic way, allowing businesses anywhere in the world to be more responsive and more competitive than traditional businesses.

Friedman provides plenty of examples and anecdotes - from your US tax returns being prepared in India, to a fast food restaurant in the American mid-west that uses a call center over seas to take hamburger orders, to Colin Powell sending cell phone text messages to his foreign secretary counterparts in negotiations at the UN.

If you want to hear a good argument as to why the price of gasoline has gone through the roof or why things are so cheap at Wal-Mart, or why out-sourcing and off shoring is a good thing and what you need to do to survive it, take a look at this book.

I'm really not a shill for Friedman. I don't agree with a lot of his columns in the NY Times, but I really enjoyed this book.

My next read is going to be Freakonomics by Levitt & Dubner. Also available from ereader.com

Those sound like some great books to keep in mind for my "serious reading" list. (World is Flat, and Freakonomics I mean.)

Currently, I'm reading Plato from Harvard Classics about Socrates' last days. It's actually fascinating to me, even though it sounds old and dry.

I finished Ender's Game, and it is probably the most enjoyable sci fi I've ever read. I really got into the characters so it wasn't all just artificial and empty like a lot of sci fi seems to me to be. Very addictive also. I had so much fun with it, I miss it now that I'm done. I feel sort of like I got to know the main character and I miss him!

I'd like to read Orbitsville which is supposed to be really good, except it's only available in paper form and even maybe out of print, so I'll probably wait.

I'm also listening to the EarthCore podcast novel, and am a little more than half way through. It's not bad. Sort of has the feel of a first novel by an author just learning his trade, but I get the impression his writing is getting better the further I go. Unfortunately, the plot seems to be getting a little boring to me so I'm not sure that I'll finish this book. (Sci Fi isn't my favorite genre anyway.) On the other hand, I think this author might really have a big time future, and I'm interested in his future books.

You can find it here, by the way... http://www.scottsigler.net/earthcore/

There are portions of EarthCore that are really, really nice, and I appreciate the way that things are written so you don't lose track of the story if you miss one sentence. It's fun to listen to, despite his silly voice characterizations! (They voices are corny, but kind of enjoyable even though I can't tell the men from the women!) I didn't find the characters very compelling so far, which is my main complaint. I didn't really care about them enough either to empathize with them or to dislike them. And while he had some great analogies to use, I think he overused them in the early chapters. Phrases like "was as enthralled as a cat at the window" (or whatever it was) can get annoying if used to much. But I have to admit that they were pretty good analogies.

Anyway, like I said, it leaves me with the feeling that here is one extremely talented writer who is just getting started with a first book and great things are ahead. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with over the next few years, and even though I may or may not finish EarthCore I'm definitely keeping him on my list of authors that I like.

(BTW, Scott -- If you're reading this I hope you won't hold the comments against me! I'm not much of a sci fi reader in general. And, of course, I have no skills or education to give any credible basis for my comment. They're just my personal opinions for better or worse. But congratulations on your big successses so far, and I hope your work will continue to explode with lots of future success.)

Scott Sigler has also started another podcast novel, "Ancestor". It can be found here

http://www.project-daemon.net/

He has just released the second installment.

Currently reading Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. I haven't gotten that far in it but so far I'm enjoying it. The same author has also written a book about Cinderella from a different characters point of view in Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.

Heh, I'm still on my Dune kick... finished the prequels (Atreides, Harkonnen and Corrino), and I'm reading the final of the Preludes trilogy now (they were Butlerian Jihad, Machine Crusade and currently Battle of Corrin). Not bad reads, but they still don't hold a candle to the original masters.... it's a shame FH died before he could finish the series <sigh>

Now I need to start thinking of the next book... should I start the Robotech series, or get into some Fantasy (Hobb most likely).... hmmm

Have you read some of the ebooks offered by Baen Free Library?

Unfortunatelly here in Portugal the Sci-fi genre isnt sold very much (if at all), although the fantasy genre is developing very nicely (thanks to lotr and Harry Potter).

When i found Baen two years ago it was love at first site.

Baen is one of my favourite and most visited commercial ebook sites. I've got and have read all the Honor Harrington books (except At All Costs, out this month, woot!). John Ringo is another favourite, but there are so many good authors being published there, and so many ebooks are free (and those that aren't are DRM'less, which is another big plus in Baen's favour).

If anyone likes sci-fi or fantasy, and hasn't been to Baen's website (http://www.baen.com), do it! :D

I just finished listening to LeCarre's Honorable Schoolboy. It was an abridged edition, but it really didn't strike my fancy. Probably because it was too intense to listen to without more concentration. Not sure what my audiobook will be, but I'm thinking about Michael Connelly's Lost Light.

I'm also reading the Stephanie Plum mystery, One for the Money. That's a long series that will provide a lot of books for me if they are good. This one is excellent and easy to read and fun. I wish they hadn't thown the bits of gratuitous crude or sexual references here and there (probably for mass market appeal), but other than that it's been a lot of fun. About a woman that basically becomes a bounty hunter to find criminals that skipped out on bail, and ends up chasing an old brief flame who was a detective that killed someone. This becomes her career out of necessity to have something to live on. It has certainly got me drawn into it all.

I'm currently reading several: The Colorado KId by Stephen King, Dance of Death by Preston & Child and Fortunes of the Dead by Lynn Hightower...

--ryan

Current "reading" list ;)

just finished reading:
"The Lathe of Heaven" - Ursula LeGuin - re-read that is.
"Life on the Mississippi" - Twain - great read, the reports on the 1882 flood in La was extremely vivid in light of the recent flooding of New Orleans.
"Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" - Cory Doctorow - very good read.

Currently reading short stories, alternately, in another issue of Planet Magazine and "The Voice of the City" by O.Henry as a break from longer works.

The first two were paper books, the last 3 are ebooks.

Mmm..this weekend, I read book 1, 2 and 3 of 'The Shadow Gods' as well as book 2 and 3 of .. what is it called ... Dead Empire's fall.

I have been reading up a storm over the past couple of weeks:

Starfish and Maelstrom by Peter Watts
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Raising Atlantis by Thomas Greanias
Ghost by John Ringo
Serenity Movie Adaptation by Keith RA DeCandido

I'm currently reading Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold (#11 in the Barrayar series)

Sorry if I'm a bit overly political in my reading selections. I guess you can call me the "activist reader."

I am in the midst of reading "No Logo" from Naomi Klein. Definitely a must read if you like in-depth study of the out-sourcing of North American jobs, corporate branding, and details on the anti-globalization movement. I've found the study of Multi-national companies behavior in foreign countries to be particularly "enlightening." I am amazed that the civic values of fair wages/holiday pay/anti-discrimination so embraced in the US and Canada are so quickly abandoned by our corporations when they do business in other countries. Maybe our corporate presence is a vanguard to international hatred by other countries toward the US/Canada?

Just finished "The Survivor" about the Clinton presidency by John Harris. A very interesting and objective read (refreshingly, not particularly partisan) on a controversial topic.

Does anyone know how to locate some good ebooks on Peak Oil topics? I've looked at Palm and Mobipocket to no avail.

On that happy note...

Cheers,

Scott

I'm reading Camera Lucida, by Barthes.
Every once in a while I read a difficult book, each one of them for a different reason. This time I have two: I deals with the Photography (it's become my top hobby), and it was recommended by one of the biggest influences in my life.
For people familiar with philosophy readings, this one might be a piece of cake (some parts ARE a piece of cake), but for me, with a background in engineering, it's a beast to tame. Still, I'm loving this ride into Barthes' mind.
Previously I read Barthes for beginners, and I enjoyed it thoroughly, just as I've enjoyed every title from the "for beginners" collection I've read: Foucault, Zen, and Derrida.

I have been reading up a storm over the past couple of weeks:

Starfish and Maelstrom by Peter Watts
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Raising Atlantis by Thomas Greanias
Ghost by John Ringo
Serenity Movie Adaptation by Keith RA DeCandido

I'm currently reading Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold (#11 in the Barrayar series)

How did you like Anansi Boys? I read the jacket flap of the "hard copy" version in the bookstore a couple of weeks ago and thought it looked interesting.

--ryan

How did you like Anansi Boys? I read the jacket flap of the "hard copy" version in the bookstore a couple of weeks ago and thought it looked interesting.


I loved it! Gaiman has an amazing knack of putting seemingly normal people in extraordinary situations (e.g. in Neverwhere (http://www.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=book&bi=4060&id=5069) and American Gods (http://www.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=book&bi=3824&id=5069)). Anansi Boys is a bit more down-to-earth, and it moves at a steady pace - I finished the whole book in 2 days.

I got my copy from Fictionwise. As of this writing, Anansi Boys comes with 22% Micropay Rebate (http://www.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=book&bi=33914&id=5069) so it might be a good deal for you.

I loved it! Gaiman has an amazing knack of putting seemingly normal people in extraordinary situations (e.g. in Neverwhere (http://www.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=book&bi=4060&id=5069) and American Gods (http://www.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=book&bi=3824&id=5069)). Anansi Boys is a bit more down-to-earth, and it moves at a steady pace - I finished the whole book in 2 days.

I got my copy from Fictionwise. As of this writing, Anansi Boys comes with 22% Micropay Rebate (http://www.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=book&bi=33914&id=5069) so it might be a good deal for you.

Thanks for the 'heads up' and the review too!
I just picked up Stephen King's "Colorado Kid" from eReader, I really like it so far...

:cool: --ryan

My current books are (believe it or not), the Hardy Boys Tower Treasure mystery, and an audiobook called the 1st Ladies Detective Agency (which I heard of from an OPML podcast.)

The Hardy Boys book is nice, but very much a teenage book. Guess I've really outgrown it, but it's fun in a nostalgic way, and it's an easy quick read.

The other book is odd. I can't decide yet whether I like it or not. The writing and characters come out naive, but intelligent. There are simplistic and drawn out parts that seem unrelated to anything and devoid of meaning. But then there are other still simplistic parts where there are these very deep observations put into the simplest of terms. The book is full of enough of them to make the slow parts and simplistic plot worthwhile. And the glimpse at a different world and culture is fascinating. I wonder if anyone else has read this one. It seems to have become rather famous.

I've finished the Dune prequels I was reading (and was reasonably happy with them - not up to the standards of the originals but still quite readable).

Since then, I've read finished a novel length Harry Potter fan fiction called "Paradigm of Uncertainty" (tragic I know, but I like the well written ones, and there _are_ some very good ones out there). Set about 10 years after Harry left Hogwarts, it was pretty good.

I'm currently re-reading David Weber's "War of Honor" in the Honor Harrington series, in preparation for the new novel "At All Costs", which is newly released at Baen. The HH series, as I've mentioned before, is military SF at it's best!

I loved all the HH books.

I can definately recommend At All Costs too. It was a good book when I read it several weeks ago.

I'm about half way through War of Honor now. I should finish it in a few more days, and will start AAC then. By the time I finish that, GRR Martin's A Feast for Crows should hopefully be available in ebook format, and not _too_ expensive!!

Ah, the bliss of books to read.

I have so many still waiting in my cue to read....so little time...

Just bought the e-book of George Martin's A Feast for Crows (http://ereader.com/product/detail/20703?book=A_Feast_For_Crows) (came out yesterday). Tonight I start reading, probably won't have much sleep at all ...

I have it here at home too, A Feast for Crows. Haven't got around to it and probably won't yet for a while either.

I'm managing to finishing the last of the mars trilogy.
Blue mars by Kim Stanley Robinson in ebooks.

I've decided to no more buying books with drm inside so a Feast for Crow will be on a large delay.
(Last one with a drm is the last R.Hobb, but it was 'free' in micropay at fictionwise at the time).
This decision is in part because I plan one day to buy a linux pda (like the Nokia) in a more or less future.

In paperbook from dead trees, I'm reading a french writer (in french) : La cité du soleil et autres récits héliotropes
from Ugo Bellagamba. A set of 3 novella. I recommend it to you if you can understand french.

I checked Fictionwise and they don't carry A Feast for Crows yet. It's probably not going to be DRM-free any time soon; the most suitable format for you would be .LIT which can be converted to HTML using well-known third party tools...

They have released FfC today I think. It's available in Secure Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/Palm Reader. So effectively bundle with drm.

I haven't tried to unlock a .lit as I have a palm and not a ppc.
But it's more on ethics than in another thing. I don't want to caution the drm in ebooks :(

Ph

I might be wrong, but I think if you decrypt a legitimately bought .LIT file for your personal use only, in order to be able to read it on your device, then the fair use principle applies.

In general, there is no need to have a Pocket PC for unlocking .LIT files... there are binaries of the required tool available for both Windows and Mac... you get back HTML files which you can then use with your favorite e-book conversion tool (such as iSiloX for iSilo or Sunrise for Plucker).

AFFC is definately available on Fictionwise (just checked), in the 3 main formats. It's also got a 30% micropay rebate at the moment, so it's a real bargain!

<repeats to self> Finish David Weber first.... finish David Weber first.... :p

AFFC is definately available on Fictionwise (just checked), in the 3 main formats. It's also got a 30% micropay rebate at the moment, so it's a real bargain!
Ahhh, I did search for it on Fictionwise twice before today, and now I finally came up with a link:

http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook34704.htm

Too bad, I have to stick to eReader now for reading this one.

Ouch, not to worry.

On another note, I just checked out the Amazon top 10 list, and noticed Robert Jordan's released book 11 of the Wheel of Time series. Another book in the queue (though this one's not as urgent as some others :D )

I read the wheel of time twice. The first time to book seven, the latter time to book nine. I just becomes a rather huge bookseries and I am losing overview.

If I started at book eleven I'd need half the book just to decide who was doing what where.

I've read the series twice as well (well, up to book 9 anyways). As you said, I had to do it to know where I was when I read book 10. That was only earlier this year though, so I'm ready to go with this one. Now if only JR would release them in ebook format... <sigh>

Oh, I thought I knew someone who had then in ebook format. Probably not bought then.

I might be wrong, but I think if you decrypt a legitimately bought .LIT file for your personal use only, in order to be able to read it on your device, then the fair use principle applies.

Yep, I think too that it's legitimate. In France for now I think it's legal (peharps not fot a long time...).


In general, there is no need to have a Pocket PC for unlocking .LIT files... [...]

But you have to register, download the software and buy a drm book. That's against my decision to not support anymore this formats.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/zodiacmobs/0596007655.gif (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=Bc6UQ6fCeq&isbn=0596007655&itm=1)

This book review (http://books.slashdot.org/books/06/01/02/1748219.shtml?tid=192&tid=6) just posted at Slashdot.

Is anybody reading the new Stephen King, "Cell"?

--ryan

I haven't tried it, but would be interested in your opinion once you're done with it. I find Mr Kings books _much_ better than the movies made of them :)

Stephen King's Cell is on my list, although the quality of his work has gone down lately. I'm currently reading this book :

The Bear Trap (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0971170924/themobileasian)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0971170924.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

It's about Pakistan's role in the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

Kinda old, this is the second time I read it, but how about Stephen King's - It ? What a book! Fantastic! :)

King explores your inner childhood fears in a compelling storyline that will travel you many years ago. With a hint of euphoria in the end, you realize that your childhood was indeed good and what if this would happen to you... Would the reader be the same person if he met It ?

wonderful
imo possibly his best book

And much better than the film of the book! (as usual :) )

Hey Joe* thanks for reminding me of this book. I was on a bit of a King kick as a teenager but that one was definitely over my head. Since I was still a kid I wasn't quite in tune with all of the childhood nostalgia and symbolism. I have a feeling it will make a lot more sense to me now. Just finished the Da Vinci Code (yea I'm probably one of the last ones to get to it) and maybe IT will be next. If not IT maybe something else by King.

*Now I have the song in my head. Not Hendrix though but Roy Buchanan's live cover. Smoking version.

Kings's new book "Cell" is fantastic and I'm not a big Stephen King fan.

Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321384016/104-8385061-4925518?v=glance&n=283155) by Adam Greenfield.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0321384016.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Tom Holt:
Earth, Air, fire and Custard

Very amusing book...the first Holt book i'm reading (recommendation from Amazon...ad email can sometimes be useful...)

Unfotunately I
m reading it in paper...I don't think I could find it as ebook...even if I had a proper ebook reader...^^

I currently have Retief! on my Treo 650. I just got into Keith Laumer's work (via the Bolo series).

I haven't tried it, but would be interested in your opinion once you're done with it. I find Mr Kings books _much_ better than the movies made of them :)

I don't know if you ever got around to reading "Cell", but I give it four and a half stars (out of five). It's one of Stephen King's best ever and, in my opinion, is proof positive that he's back. After reading it, you'll never look at your cellphone the same way again...

:cool: --ryan

The complete Memoirs of Casanova. I got it from Gutenberg and it's absolutely fascinating. It's huge, several thousand pages, but FB Reader handles it just fine. It is really one of the most interesting books I've ever read - and well written too. I would have loved to have met the guy.

I don't know if you ever got around to reading "Cell", but I give it four and a half stars (out of five). It's one of Stephen King's best ever and, in my opinion, is proof positive that he's back. After reading it, you'll never look at your cellphone the same way again...

Thanks for the review. I have been meaning to get to this one myself. Have the dead tree version at home and will start it soon. And I thought King was retiring? Was that a rumor or did he mean as in Roger Clemens retiring?

Thanks for the review. I have been meaning to get to this one myself. Have the dead tree version at home and will start it soon. And I thought King was retiring? Was that a rumor or did he mean as in Roger Clemens retiring?

Actually, I am watching Roger and his son play right now, as I write this!
The score is: Lexington 2, Lake County 1; 2nd Inning. Clemens just got his fourth strike-out.

:kid: --ryan