The Sword and Laser discussion
Represent Yourself in 5 Books
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Stewart wrote: "Choose 5 (and only 5) books that you think best represent you (or just your bookshelf). Not necessarily the best books. Not necessarily your favourites. No need for explanations or caveats.Whittli..."
Oh, evil man -- that is sooo hard. I'll choose five, but I reserve the right to come back and change my list after some thought.
The Surgeon's Mate by Patrick O'Brian
Life by Richard Fortey
The Mote in God's Eye by Niven and Pournelle
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Stewart wrote: "Choose 5 (and only 5) books that you think best represent you (or just your bookshelf). Not necessarily the best books. Not necessarily your favourites. No need for explanations or caveats.Whittli..."
"The Winter King" is a nice pick.
Fun... crossover David Mitchell but it does make me wonder why you picked Ghostwritten.Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
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Two Dogs on a Trike
Life is Better on Three Wheels Notebook
Trikes & Aliens
I Hate Everything
I Love Dinosaurs
Trike wrote: "..
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Two Dogs on a Trike
Life is Better on Three Wheels Notebook
Trikes & Aliens
I Hate Everything
I Love Dinosaurs"
Heh.
The Bourne Identity by Robert LudlumThe Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Jack in the Box by William Kotzwinkle (Book of Love)
Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton
Not Nice by Aziz Gazipura
Extra credit if you can match the covers of the editions you've read.
The Lord of the RingsTime Enough for Love
This Book Needs No Title: A Budget of Living Paradoxes
The Good Bad Boy
A Brief History of Time
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Fun... crossover David Mitchell but it does make me wonder why you picked Ghostwritten.Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
The short answer is that I enjoyed it more than Cloud Atlas. They both feature a similar 'gimick' in the way the chapters are connected (tenuously) and contain multiple styles and voices but I found that the final two chapters in Ghostwritten put the rest of the book in a completely new perspective. It's the only book I've closed, thought about for a few minutes and then flipped back to the start and read through again. It was like the prestige of a grand illusion. 'Show me again now I know what to look for!'
Maybe that spoiled Cloud Atlas for me. The similar set up made me think another grand flourish was coming at the end, so personally the end was a bit of an anti-climax.
The long answer (internet forums are not the place for long answers) involves the context in which I read Ghostwritten being more formative than Cloud Atlas. I remember precisely where I was when I read the final page almost 18 years ago. An almost perfect conjunction of the right book at the right time.
May I ask in return why you have gone for Cloud Atlas?
The MartianMason & Dixon
A Stitch in Time
Rijks Masters of the Golden Age
Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand
Interesting collection there. Was Mason & Dixon hard to read? Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand?
Not hard to read, no. The language only takes me a few pages to get used to.
Mod
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Ripper Tassie tales
The Grumpy Old Git's Guide to Life
Secrets of a Master Moderator
Aussie Rules
The Miner
Here are 5:The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (10th Anniversary Audio)
Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey
Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry
& Because I don't like to play by the rules, here are 3 runners up:
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two by John Tiffany (I listened to the full cast audio play & it blew me away!)
Stewart wrote: "May I ask in return why you have gone for Cloud Atlas? "Because it was my first, so I had maybe the opposite experience.
The Fellowship of the Ring (n.b. The whole trilogy, of course, but this is the edition I read first.)Red Planet
A Princess of Mars
Downbelow Station
The Man of Gold
Here we go:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Still Life with Woodpecker
Neuromancer
Jude the Obscure
Flowers for Algernon
To Kill a Mockingbird1984
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Call of the Wild
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
all read in my childhood were very formative to me! i will reread them many more times.
just because i like Ian rule breaker style!
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
All Quiet on the Western Front
two recent read that touched me!
For me it is:Dune (re-reading right now, what a book!)
The Hobbit
David Copperfield
Pride and Prejudice
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I have read each of these books many times. Love reading!
Dana wrote: "For me it is:Dune (re-reading right now, what a book!)
The Hobbit
David Copperfield
Pride and Prejudice
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I have read each of these books many times. Love ..."
all five of those are on my bookshelves. although technically Pride and prejudiced is my wife's still counts right!
Lee wrote: "To Kill a Mockingbird1984
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Call of the Wild
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
all read in ..."
Also rereading Dune for the 20th+ time.... Ahhhhhh....
Joelle wrote: "Lee wrote: "To Kill a Mockingbird1984
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Call of the Wild
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
..."
Somehow that linked to Lee's comment... Was supposed to connect to Dana's. 🙃
The Stand by Stephen KingVan Halen Rising by Greg Renoff
The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
No Logo by Naomi Klein
The Martian by Andy Weir
Dracula by Bram StokerPersuasion by Jane Austen
Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway by Sara Gran
IT by Stephen KingPandora’s Star by Peter F Hamilton
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
@Tamahome It’s the first of a mystery series that takes place on the Iron Range in northern Minnesota. I love northern Minnesota, used to camp up that way all the time, and William Kent Krueger really writes the area as a character of its own. They’re great mystery novels too.I see you’re a Pandora’s Star fan too. That series hit me like no other sci-fi ever has.
Reading Iron Lake now. Seems like good characters and good writing. I also watch a lot of youtube videos with Brandon Sanderson talking or teaching. I think he's offering the original version of The Way of Kings, The Way of Kings Prime, for free. https://www.brandonsanderson.com/the-...
Dexter: Darkly dreaming by Jeff LindseyWhite Water, Red Hot Lead by Dan Daly
Et Cepher by God
Bendigo Shafter by Louis L'amour
Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem
@Tamahome Glad to hear it. Always good to see some local writers getting more eyes on their work.
All Systems Red by Martha WellsA Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D. MacDonald
To Green Angel Tower by Tad Williams
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
Daemon by Daniel SuarezSnow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Horns by Joe Hill
Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero
Red shirts by John Scalzi
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (other topics)Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (other topics)
The Lord of the Rings (other topics)
Time Enough for Love (other topics)
Mason & Dixon (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Naomi Klein (other topics)Jane Austen (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
Anthony Burgess (other topics)
Tad Williams (other topics)
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Whittling it down is hard I know.
I've got my five. Post your own lists or use mine to try and figure out my personality traits.
Soul Music - Terry Pratchett
The Winter King - Bernard Cornwell
Ghostwritten - David Mitchell
Use of Weapons - Iain M Banks
Transmetropolitan - Warren Ellis & Darrick Robertson