ThunderPeel2001

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It's good enough that I bought this version of it. I think it has a better ending than Moon, and explores some similar themes with fewer cliches. I also don't think there are many science fiction authors that can go as deep into characters as this.

(I didn't get on very well at all with Asimov's non-robot stories for that reason; the characters seemed like cardboard cutouts).

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I made a start on Asterios Polyp just before bed last night (There's a preview of about 8 pages there). The artwork is absolutely incredible, I can't think of any other comic books that have mesmerised me like this.

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I never really enjoyed any of Asimov's non-robot books with one exception. Rendevous With Rama is incredible. I recommend it even if you're not an Asimov fan.

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I never really enjoyed any of Asimov's non-robot books with one exception. Rendevous With Rama is incredible. I recommend it even if you're not an Asimov fan.

I believe that was Arthur C. Clarke.

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Damn, you've very right. Never mind. I will now shut up and walk away. I guess I don't like Asimov much at all then.

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The 'book corner' in this weeks episode was great. Id like to hear it become a regular feature. the recommendations were good and i've now bought the two i didn't have (the not sherlock homes ones).

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So I got Franz Kafka's The Castle for my birthday ages ago, bought Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics for a bit easier reading and downloaded Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle as an audiobook when I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

The Castle is incredibly well written, hazy and dreamlike, following its own logic that still makes sense to the reader. It is also, by far, the most frustrating novels I have ever read. Or tried to read, I gave up about a half way through. It's ok though, if I ever decide that I want to know if anything happens in the end* I can just pick from where I left because nothing significant hasn't happened so far. In case you'd like to read about a land surveyor with a brilliantly short name having troubles doing anything in a village filled with snow and bureaucracy by the castle, however, I can highly recommend this book. It's really quite good.

I'm lazy so I'll just echo what Wikipedia has to say about Cosmicomics:

"Each story takes a scientific "fact" (though sometimes a falsehood by today's understanding), and builds an imaginative story around it. An always extant being called Qfwfq narrates all of the stories save two, each of which is a memory of an event in the history of the universe."

Some of the stories were good, some weren't very good. Sometimes the stories felt a bit too naive and sometimes they had an amazing hook in the end. It was an ok book. The theme didn't interest me that much to begin with and I would have rather read Invisible Cities or Mr. Palomar by the same author if this hadn't been the only Italo Calvino book available.

Kurt Vonnegut is why I hate my preconceptions (or some other word that's more appropriate). I ignored him for so long for him being that German author of depressing and cynical novels about World War II and space. It was only after stumbling across his Wikipedia page that I found out that his books might actually be kind of interesting. I loved Cat's Cradle so much that after listening to about one third of it I went on and bought Slaughterhouse 5 and Breakfast of Champions, both of which I enjoyed very much as well. Now Kurt Vonnegut is easily one of my favourite writers of things.

Actually, which Vonnegut book should I read next?

*It seems that Franz Kafka died before he finished the book so it could be that nothing actually happens in the end.

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I quite enjoyed Timequake by him, though I think Slaughterhouse 5 remains my favorite. The Sirens of Titan is pretty good too.

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I actually already ordered The Sirens of Titan and Timequake as well as The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon.

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I found Timequake to be a bit of slog, but it's still fun spending time with Kurt Vonnegut (maybe because it seems to make reference to loads of things -- that I wondered if you needed to know his previous works to appreciate).

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I wanted to recommend Watchmen. I finished it two weeks ago and I can honestly say I have not been thinking of anything else since (except for you, Tales of Monkey Island).

I won't get into specifics, but, man, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons did a fantastic job of making sure it worked purely as a graphic novel. Everything from the framing and choice of colour to how much detail they put in the panels made the story (the incredibly gripping story) so much more effective.

The characters themselves are actual human beings - hurt and broken, trying to make sense of it all. And they're unique; I don't think I've ever come across anyone as fascinating as Dr. Manhattan or Rorschach.

You have to read Watchmen.

Currently reading The Stand, enjoying it very much.

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About halfway through

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and I can't really find a single fault. For the unfamiliar, it's part travelogue, part philisophical discourse and just absolutely remarkable page after page. A friend gave it to me as a gift after I bought my first motorcycle so the timing couldn't be better, but really the theme is only there to serve as a solid anchoring point for the concepts that Pirsig puts forth, and to puncuate the ideas so that you're not overwhelmed with near brain melting perspectives on our world and ourselves.

Hugely recommended, obviously, though I'm sure everyone has probably read it or heard about it. This is for the few who, like myself, might've let it slip under their radar for far too long.

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I know zombies are a bit played out, but The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks by Max Brooks just came out! Also, if you haven't read the original Zombie Survival Guide or World War Z, you're missing out on some great books.

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Also, if you haven't read the original Zombie Survival Guide or World War Z, you're missing out on some great books.

I've been planning on getting one or both for a while, and was even thinking of getting one or both for my recent holiday, but I only ever have these thoughts when I have no means to buy one. I suppose that means I should order it right now, what with the Internet and all. Fine, I've ordered some books. I guess I'd better order some music while I'm at it, too, right? FINE, I'VE DONE THAT AS WELL. HAPPY NOW?

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I think WWZ is generally considered the better read of the two. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

I absolutely agree. The Survival Guide is amusing due to the serious way it treats zombie-self-defense, but in WWZ Brooks does a great job of telling the story of a worldwide zombie attack with "interviews" of prominent people post-attack. If you're forced to make the choice, WWZ should take it, easily.

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I'm not a huge reader of fiction, but I'm in the mood for some toned down old scifi stuff(it doesn't need to be old, but just in the same vein as the classic stuff)

Any recommendations on what I should start with? thx.

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I'm not a huge reader of fiction, but I'm in the mood for some toned down old scifi stuff(it doesn't need to be old, but just in the same vein as the classic stuff)

Any recommendations on what I should start with? thx.

What do you consider the 'old classic stuff' to be?

I just finished Douglas Adams Mostly Harmless, would that fit?

If not, I suggest The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.

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Ah, sorry, I got the idea implanted from one of the thumbs cast where they were talking about Moon then off on classic scifi stuff. So basically no space opera; also I can't recall if I've even read a "classic scifi" novel, but anything along the lines of Solarice, Moon, 2001, bladerunner, metropolis, etc..

I suppose this could just be a question for the thumbs of what comes to mind when they think of their greate classic, or retro scifi fictions, but curious if anyone else has some suggestions too.

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The Castle is incredibly well written, hazy and dreamlike, following its own logic that still makes sense to the reader. It is also, by far, the most frustrating novels I have ever read. Or tried to read, I gave up about a half way through. It's ok though, if I ever decide that I want to know if anything happens in the end* I can just pick from where I left because nothing significant hasn't happened so far. In case you'd like to read about a land surveyor with a brilliantly short name having troubles doing anything in a village filled with snow and bureaucracy by the castle, however, I can highly recommend this book. It's really quite good.

*It seems that Franz Kafka died before he finished the book so it could be that nothing actually happens in the end.

I've read the whole thing, and I don't recommend finishing it. Probably my least favorite piece of all the Kafka I've read. Whenever someone tries to write pure allegory like that, it comes off so heavy-handed, because the themes are so far in the forefront and the story is usually thin. The infinite machinations of Kafka's imagined bureaucratic agencies are clever and quite interesting, but the whole thing gets old. It's kind of supposed to, I think, because it seems Kafka intended the reader to feel as bogged down in red tape as the surveyor does.

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I highly recommend finding Nebula Award collections, from any particular year that you desire. They are most excellent. Try any second-hand book supplier.

I personally own the 1971 collection, which includes the award winning The Queen of Air and Darkness - an excellent tale to be sure.

There is also a more recent series of books - the Flying Sorcerers, Wizards of Odd and Knights of Madness, which collect both classic and modern short stories from the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres; all with a slight humorous bent. I cannot commend them to you enough.

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Ah, sorry, I got the idea implanted from one of the thumbs cast where they were talking about Moon then off on classic scifi stuff. So basically no space opera; also I can't recall if I've even read a "classic scifi" novel, but anything along the lines of Solarice, Moon, 2001, bladerunner, metropolis, etc..

I suppose this could just be a question for the thumbs of what comes to mind when they think of their greate classic, or retro scifi fictions, but curious if anyone else has some suggestions too.

I assumed by classic you meant Welles and Verne early Late 19th/Early 20th Century science fiction and got a little scared off, because while I have a few books of that nature (hurray for 1st year Science Fiction Literature class!) I don't tend to enjoy them as much.

Since you're not looking for those type of stories, I would still go with The Sparrow, because it presents its themes in much the same ways as the films you mentioned (and novels on which some are based) but it's much less focused on any technological factor. Also We by Yevgeny Zamyatin may do something for you.

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