Ben N's Challenge

[Ben]

1. Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill

2. Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud, A Memoir by Cornel West

[Ben]

3. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

[Ben]

4. 2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke

[Ben]

5. 2061: Odyssey Three by Arthur C. Clarke

[Laurie]

How was the Cornel West? I saw him recently on Colbert & he totally made me want to read all of his books.

[Ben]

Laurie wrote: "How was the Cornel West? I saw him recently on Colbert & he totally made me want to read all of his books."

That's how I got onto this book too, a friend and I saw him on Colbert and he got it for me for Christmas.

I really enjoyed the book and gave it 4 stars. This one was the first of his I'd read and it was a fairly brief recounting of his life. I definitely want to read some of his earlier books now, like Race Matters and Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism.

[Laurie]

Cool...he definitely seems like someone you'd want to know.

[Greta]

We saw him speak at Washington State University in Pullman, WA a couple years ago and he was great. He has a fine tuned sense of humor with serious undertones. I bought a few of his books, but have not yet read them. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Ben]

Greta wrote: "We saw him speak at Washington State University in Pullman, WA a couple years ago and he was great. He has a fine tuned sense of humor with serious undertones. I bought a few of his books, but ha..."

You're welcome! He's an amazing man.

[Ben]

6. 3001 The Final Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

[Ben]

7. Fighter Boys by Patrick Bishop

[Ben]

8. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

9. Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn

[Ben]

10. Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn

[Ben]

11. Mass Effect: Revelation by Drew Karpyshyn

12. Mass Effect: Ascension by Drew Karpyshyn

[Ben]

13. The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold

[Ben]

14. The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold

[Ben]

15. The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds

[Ben]

16. Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold

[Ben]

17. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

[Ben]

18. Gallipoli by Les Carlyon

Yay for ANZAC reads!

[Ben]

19. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

[Ben]

20. VALIS by Philip K. Dick

I'm a PKD fan but I did not like this one at all.

[Lynsea]

Ben wrote: "20. VALIS by Philip K. Dick

I'm a PKD fan but I did not like this one at all."

I agree with you on this one, it was unfortunately the first and only book of his that I read. Any recommendations?

[Ben]

Lynsea wrote: "Ben wrote: "20. VALIS by Philip K. Dick

I'm a PKD fan but I did not like this one at all."

I agree with you on this one, it was unfortunately the first and only bo..."

My favourites are the more well-known ones like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, but some of his more pulpy SF ones like We Can Build You and The Game-Players of Titan are fun too! Also, I dig The Cosmic Puppets which is quite different to most of his others.

[Ben]

21. Pegasus Bridge by Stephen E. Ambrose

[Ben]

22. The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

[Ben]

23. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

24. The Black Company by Glen Cook

[Ben]

25. Shadows Linger by Glen Cook

[Ben]

26. Death's Head by David Gunn

[Ben]

27. The White Rose by Glen Cook

[Ben]

28. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

[Ben]

29. Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

[Ben]

30. Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

[Ben]

31. Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold

[Ben]

32. The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy

[Ben]

33. Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K. Dick

[Ben]

34. My Booky Wook by Russell Brand

[Ben]

35. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

[Ben]

36. Abarat by Clive Barker

[Ben]

37. Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker

[Ben]

38. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

[Ben]

39. Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds

Unfortunately was not as good as others by Reynolds that I have read. The plot and tech were good, but the bickering between the two protagonists was insufferable.

[Ben]

40. Galactic North by Alastair Reynolds

[Ben]

41. House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds

[Ben]

42. Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds

[Ben]

43. Cabal by Clive Barker

[Ben]

44. Human Smoke: The Beginnings of WWII, the End of Civilization by Nicholson Baker

[Ben]

45. Beyond Band of Brothers by Dick Winters

[Ben]

46. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

[Ben]

47. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas E. Ricks