What should I read next?

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

There was a Catch 22 movie? I had no idea.

http://www.amazon.com/Catch-22-Alan-...5076556&sr=1-1

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

There was a Catch 22 movie? I had no idea.

Don't bother. Art Garfunkle should have stuck with singing.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Don't bother. Art Garfunkle should have stuck with singing.

And Art Garfunkel was in it????

[tali3sin]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

And Art Garfunkel was in it????

The plot thickens ;-)

[Over]

lol

[mjh215]

Dang, I got to the party late again... Well, I'd have voted for The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein as well... And then Catch-22... I also never knew there was a movie...

-MJ

[europas_ice]

Originally Posted by Over

n) Altered Carbon, by Richard Morgan
l) Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
k) Dune, by Frank Herbert
m) Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
j) Dream Thief, by Stephen Lawhead
b) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein

I'm a little late here, but I'll pitch in my 2 cents anyway.

I've read all the above books, except for the last (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), which was so dry and boring that despite being short I could never finish it. And I like a lot of Heinlein books.

Altered Carbon is the only one I unreservedly recommend. The others are all quirky in their own way, and while I enjoyed them to no end, I can see how others might or might not. To enjoy Cryptonomicon you may need to be a bit of a computer geek. Dune and Anathem are a bit philosophical. And Dream Thief is scifi from a Christian perspective. But I like them all!

Given that I like half the books on your list, maybe I should try the other half.

[bigmoney]

Cryptonomicon it's one of those "love or hate" books, hard to recommend. I found it a bit boring, but then again I am more into far future, epic sci-fi. In that line, Dune is a must-read. It may be a bit dense sometimes, because the author creates such a complex, living and breathing society and culture, but it's just a great universe.

Right now I am reading another classic, Hyperion, and loving it. If you haven't read it you might want to check it out. Altered Carbon is definitely next in my list, I only see praise for it.

[europas_ice]

Originally Posted by bigmoney

Right now I am reading another classic, Hyperion, and loving it.

Yeah, it was pretty good. Note that there is a "sequel". That is, the story doesn't end at the end of the first book, you need to read the second book too to get the whole story. (I hate it when authors do that without a huge warning in big letters at the end with the name of the second book. Actually, a warning on the cover would be even better.) Then there are two more books that are really the sequel to the first two. I forget all the titles, but I'm sure you can look them up.

[DixieGal]

Here's this http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/books/search
It may have already been posted.

[Penforhire]

I recently read the Hyperion books (first two). The next are Endymion, haven't read 'em yet. I was struck by the repeating themes in Hyperion to Simmons' other books Ilium & Olympos. I do enjoy his writing, even if he MAY be an Islam-a-phobe. I don't get as strong a whiff as more sensitive folks. He has an interesting series of essays on writing well posted on his website.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by PieOPah

I would personally say Frank Herbert Dune.

The only problem is that you would then have to start reading the rest

I think I read the first 4 or 5 (at which point I started to get bored) straight after each other

Considering the father had written 6 books, of which books 5 and 6 are direct sequals of each other, I'd say you've read 4 of them (you wouldn't have stopped after book 5 as that leaves more threads open than it opened...)

Originally Posted by ErwinOtten

The first book is the only one worth reading...... It reads like an adventure, the rest just reads like overpompous sh...... wow I almost got caried away there

I found the 2nd book the most boring one. After that one, the pace picks up again, to be suddenly cut off (caused by the death of the author...). But, there's hope! Paul of Dune should come out this year and I've heard from a good source that the missing book 7 is excellent (which is followed by book 8, which is also good, or so my sources tell me).

So, Over, if you start on Dune, don't worry about having to find another book to read for a time!

I just finished the three Prelude to Dune books in one week... Now I've moved on to the Legends of Dune books, then I'll move to the finishing books of the original Dune Series, just in time to pick up Paul of Dune, which fits between books 1 and 2...

[Over]

I've finished Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson. I've been reading on par with his annotations and loved the book. I wouldn't say it's a classic, but I enjoyed the read very much. I've already bought the 2nd one in a promotion, so I'll add to the list in the first topic. I'll definitely read the whole trilogy. I liked the world and the magic system and there are still many things I'm curious to know about.

The story isn't perfect, I think the main protagonist's change and growth is a little bit too fast & easy for my tastes, but nothing that made me roll my eyes

The pace was excelent and the prose efficient.


My next read will be Pillars of the Earth and Heinlein's classic.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by Over

I've finished Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson. I've been reading on par with his annotations and loved the book. I wouldn't say it's a classic, but I enjoyed the read very much. I've already bought the 2nd one in a promotion, so I'll add to the list in the first topic. I'll definitely read the whole trilogy. I liked the world and the magic system and there are still many things I'm curious to know about.

The story isn't perfect, I think the main protagonist's change and growth is a little bit too fast & easy for my tastes, but nothing that made me roll my eyes

The pace was excelent and the prose efficient.


My next read will be Pillars of the Earth and Heinlein's classic.

Mistborn is on my to-read list. I loved Elantris, I hope I enjoy Mistborn just as much.

[Penforhire]

Over, coincidentally, I recently finished Pillars of the Earth. I agree with the better criticism you can find. It is entertaining but the characters are off. They are engaging but surreal. He had a long enough text to explore motivation more. I wouldn't go as far as to say two-dimensional but it just so plot-driven. I was hoping for more. I realize Follett makes a conscious effort to write plain prose (noted on his website) but I was hoping for something more lyrical. He connects to a modern reader by using, perhaps, too many modern phrases. As one critic correctly noted, I do not recall enough similes or metaphors.

Hah, with all that said I just started World Without End! I must be a masochist. But I am enchanted by the picture he paints of brutal living in those days. Makes me feel better every time I turn the water on in my sink or flush the toilet at home!