Nothing to Read - Suggestions?

[Mark CMG]

(. . .) which is why I think I've been trying to find some escapist reading and to play D&D.

Books on tape and paint some miniatures. That way, when you don't like the book, you at least have some gaming stuff done.

 

[Steverooo]

I'm not sure how that differs from the book I have: Ishi: Last of His Tribe (after all the Author's have been dead for quite some time.

I think yours might just be some sort of re-print. Or a 'new' hardcover edition. Of they might have just wanted a jazzier title. Ishi wasn't exactly 'wild', he was quite civilized (as opposed to the Hollywood evil savage sterotype).

Its a good book. Not the most uplifting of stories, and doesn't exactly have a 'happy ending'.

This version is paperback, by Theodora Kroeber, with a new Forward by Karl Kroeber, on the UC-Berkeley label. Who's yours written/published by? ISBN: 0-520-22940-I. Originally Copyrighted in 1961, and again in 1989. This printing is from 2002, or later.

I doubt that these are the same books, as Ishi is MUCH written about (and current archaeology indicates that he was NOT the last Yahi)! He died in 1916, and is still making news... Theodora Kroeber died in 1979. There are even several documentaries about Ishi, some available on DVD.

PS: "Wild" means "in the wild", as opposed to either being a property-owner, or living on a reservation.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

This version is paperback, by Theodora Kroeber, with a new Forward by Karl Kroeber, on the UC-Berkeley label. Who's yours written/published by? ISBN: 0-520-22940-I. Originally Copyrighted in 1961, and again in 1989. This printing is from 2002, or later.

I doubt that these are the same books, as Ishi is MUCH written about (and current archaeology indicates that he was NOT the last Yahi)! He died in 1916, and is still making news... Theodora Kroeber died in 1979. There are even several documentaries about Ishi, some available on DVD.

No, its the same book.

Yours just might be a little more revised & have info not found in the orginal (mine doesn't have the forward yours does).

Mines the 1980 Paperback Printing of the 1964 Hardcover Editon by Theodora Kroeber.

I'm curious as to how 'expanded' yours is beyond mine. Or if they just tacked on a new forward & called it quits (that happens often enough these days).

 

[CCamfield]

Justin, have you read Simmons' Ilium and Olympos? I haven't read Olympos yet, but I thought Ilium was just fantastic.


If you could articulate what you don't like about military in fiction, or what it is that you do or don't like, it might help people suggest books. Unfortunately I'm more of a fantasy reader, so it's hard for me to come up with suggestions.

Well, hang on. Have you ever read anything by Alison Sinclair? A Canadian SF writer who's written 3 or 4 books (I think the last was fantasy; haven't read it) I thought her book "Blueheart" was really great. Basically it's the story of a political crisis on a waterworld between adapted and unadapted humans. No sex that I recall, and practically no violence.

 

[Pielorinho]

I second the audiobook suggestion--just make sure you find one with a good reader. My three favorites in this regard:

The Pleasure of my Company, by Steve Martin. That man can write! I had no idea. And he reads it himself, and he's got a lovely reading voice. It's modern realistic fiction, very funny but also with some heartbreaking moments. The story of a man with serious obsessive-compulsive disorders.

The Plot Against America. It's author's autobiographical account of growing up as a Jew in New Jersey in 1940 and watching Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindbergh run against FDR and win, and what happens after that. Very well written, and again, a great reader.

Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson. A straight-up adventure story; the narrator has a delightful thick Scottish brogue, and is an absolute pleasure to listen to.

If SF is boring you, it might be worth trying other genres for a bit: essays, short stories, comedic novels, mysteries, etc. See if something different grabs your fancy.

Daniel

 

[Justin]

Justin, have you read Simmons' Ilium and Olympos? I haven't read Olympos yet, but I thought Ilium was just fantastic.

I read Ilium when it first came out and wasn't very impressed with it. When Olympos came out, I started rereading Ilium and just couldn't get through it. It had some interesting concepts, but I felt the characters were one-dimensional and that Mr. Simmons was trying too hard to recapture what he had with Hyperion. Plus the sex and violence were a major turnoff. And my tastes have changed as well. H and FoH were very military/political, while E and RoE were very religio-political.

If you could articulate what you don't like about military in fiction, or what it is that you do or don't like, it might help people suggest books. Unfortunately I'm more of a fantasy reader, so it's hard for me to come up with suggestions.

I don't want this to devolve into a political thread, so suffice it to say that I'm not a big fan of the military and government and military fiction (well, most sci fi and fantasy) tends to glorify military and strong central governments. If you wish to comment on this opinion but can't do so civilly, feel free to PM me rather than PO the moderators.

As to science fiction versus fantasy, while I have generally preferred sf I'm not averse to fantasy. It's just that, in my experience and opinion, fantasy is usually poorly executed, cliche, and very contrived (fetch/destroy some object before the BBEG destroys the world). Science fiction in general isn't much better, though since my preference is mainly for hard sci fi, e.g. some of Alastair Reynolds, Greg Egan, and some early Greg Bear. And Dune. And Neuromancer (but Pattern Recognition was a waste of time).

Well, hang on. Have you ever read anything by Alison Sinclair? A Canadian SF writer who's written 3 or 4 books (I think the last was fantasy; haven't read it) I thought her book "Blueheart" was really great. Basically it's the story of a political crisis on a waterworld between adapted and unadapted humans. No sex that I recall, and practically no violence.

Again, I'm not really interested in deeply political stories, either. On the other hand, the handful of more libertarian/ancap fiction I've read were abyssmal: The Probability Broach, Atlas Shrugged and Unintended Consequences come to mind.

Here are some things I want in fiction: intelligent characters (good and bad), hazy morality (not black & white like most are), ethical dilemmas and lating consequences to characters' actions, epic scope, high magic (fantasy), hard science (sci fi).

Here are some other things I don't like: modern fantasy, historical fiction and alternate history, anything strongly based on Earth cultures (esp British/Victorian like The Diamond Age), time travel (never done well, though the first two Dragonlance trilogies, Chronicles and Legends, had potential if they weren't written for children), horror, romance and/or sex (I'm not prudish, I just don't care for those in my fiction).

 

[Justin]

I second the audiobook suggestion

The problem isn't the medium, though I do prefer books over audio anyway (except for listening to Dune unabridged on my 25 hour drive last month from Northern Virginia to Denver).

If SF is boring you, it might be worth trying other genres for a bit: essays, short stories, comedic novels, mysteries, etc. See if something different grabs your fancy.

It's not that SF or fantasy is boring me, it's just that I can't find any with the elements that I like that don't also have major elements that I strongly dislike. I'm sure the same would go for regular fiction if I ever bothered to look through that section of the bookstore. And no other genres are of interest to me at all. Hence my struggle to find some good sf/f.

 

[WmRAllen67]

I'll suggest James Rollins, just for the sake of argument: Subterranean, Excavation, Deep Fathom, Amazonia, Cold Hunt, Sandstorm and Map of Bones.

They're modern action-adventure, but not excesively militaristic or political. He also has a knack of putting a unique spin on current scientific discoveries &/or old legends which might satisfy your hard-science cravings...

I enjoyed John Cranmer's Twistor and Einstein's Bridge as well-- again "harder" science fiction than the standard fare (the author is a physicist, I believe), although the second does get into time travel in a limited way...

 

[Undead Pete]

Have you tried books by China Mieville?? I'm pretty sure he pays homage to Mervyn Peake in his fiction, His world of Bas-Lag is the most unique bit of society creation I've ever read.

 

[Justin]

Have you tried books by China Mieville?? I'm pretty sure he pays homage to Mervyn Peake in his fiction, His world of Bas-Lag is the most unique bit of society creation I've ever read.

Years ago I got about 5 pages into Perdido Street Station. Now, rereading the description of it and others of his, I find myself completely uninterested.

I would like to say to both Pete and everyone else here that while I may be rebutting (not the word I'm looking for, but it should be close enough) all of your suggestions, it is nothing personal and I do greatly appreciate the time and thoughtfulness you have put into your replies. This just goes to show the frustration I've had with finding any enjoyable fiction in the past couple of years.