What are you reading?

I finished Connie Willis's "Blackout" and "All Clear". Many page turning moments causing sleep deprived late nights. :) Great twists and emotional connections with characters and Blitz-era London. Made me feel like I was really there. Also, nice treatment of time travel paradoxes like one person being in the same time twice, and convoluted temporal effects. Very emotional read.

If you like immersive historic fiction mixed with sci-fi (as I do), plus time travel and its ability to change the past to affect the outcome of important events like WWII, this an absolute must read. Don't pass it by!
 
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I finished Connie Willis's "Blackout" and "All Clear". Many page turning moments causing sleep deprived late nights. :) Great twists and emotional connections with characters and Blitz-era London. Made me feel like I was really there. Also, nice treatment of time travel paradoxes like one person being in the same time twice, and convoluted temporal effects. Very emotional read.

If you like immersive historic fiction mixed with sci-fi (as I do), plus time travel and its ability to change the past to affect the outcome of important events like WWII, this an absolute must read. Don't pass it by!

Have you read her earlier stuff? It seems better reviewed, and your description hs me intrigued ... Wondering where to start ...
 
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This is my first foray into her work. But I WILL be following up, and trying her back catalog. She did get BOTH best novel Hugo and Nebula for Blackout / All Clear, which is rare accomplishment on its own.

My experience with authors is that they usually improve with age (to a point), so I first try their latest award winning books, and then go to earlier books, if I like what I read. If they wrote an earlier series, I try the first in it, otherwise, I pick another award winner that has the synopsis that intrigues me the most.

I've been pretty successful with this approach. Most of my regretted reads have be recommendations by friends, rather than those that followed from my interests and those that have won awards.
 
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great thread. I love fictional books that teach history, just read the skystone, AWSOME. I hope blackout will contain some historical facts as well. Very Notable sci fi books to mention is "mass effect" (the whole trilogy), If only all Games encouraged my desire to read.
 
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I'm currently reading the Bas Lag "series" by China Mieville, 3 sci-fi/phantasy novels set in the same world, but still largely independent. Finished Perdido Street Station which now is one of my absolute favourites. I am currently 1/3 into The Scar, the second book in the series. Not quite up there with PSS so far, but still a very good read.

What I like about him is his imagination, the world is very rich with lots of interesting things, interesting aliens and humans, science and magic, artificially modified peopel and in PSS a couple of very nasty creatures. And a confusing giant spideroid.

pibbur who with 3 posts on 3 different threads within a very short period feels like he's spamming the watch
 
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Finished Robin Hobb's "Fools Errand" (book 1 of the Tawny Man trilogy). Liked it.

Next up is Sanderson's The Alloy of Law, a stand-alone volume following the Mistborn Trilogy that takes place 300 years later in a Wild West sort of era. Should be interesting!
 
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In Swedish "reading" can also mean "studying", so I thought I would say that during summer I study Corruption, Religious Terrorism and Hooliganism, three subjects at the same time.

The course about corruption is the first course I take in political science which is much more hardcore than the softer sociology or social anthropology I read before. A lot of books and a very interesting subject. Sweden is among the 6 least corrupted nations in the world which makes it very interesting to read about corruption here.

The course about religious terrorism is actually my first course that fall into theology (which in Sweden is more about the study of religions than the study within a religion). It's focused on using modern psychology to understand what terrorism is and how religious terrorism works.

The course about hooliganism blends many phenomenons like local patriotism, masculinity, aggression, groupthink, riots etc of which all is related to social psychology. It's just interesting that I never saw a football match in my life and still decided to take the course.
 
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I'm currently reading the Bas Lag "series" by China Mieville, 3 sci-fi/phantasy novels set in the same world, but still largely independent. Finished Perdido Street Station which now is one of my absolute favourites. I am currently 1/3 into The Scar, the second book in the series. Not quite up there with PSS so far, but still a very good read.

What I like about him is his imagination, the world is very rich with lots of interesting things, interesting aliens and humans, science and magic, artificially modified peopel and in PSS a couple of very nasty creatures. And a confusing giant spideroid.

pibbur who with 3 posts on 3 different threads within a very short period feels like he's spamming the watch

Recently started reading The City and The City and thoroughly enjoying it so far. The crosshatch concept is simply mind blowing.
 
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The course about hooliganism blends many phenomenons like local patriotism, masculinity, aggression, groupthink, riots etc of which all is related to social psychology. It's just interesting that I never saw a football match in my life and still decided to take the course.

I found this very interesting and important regarding "Hooliganism" : http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/zimchallenge.html

I have held the theory for several years now that there can be a kind o "addiction to adrenaline".
He in part supports my theory, but expands it towards a general theory - as I put it - "addiction to arousal and excitement".

Boys’ brains are being digitally rewired for change, novelty, excitement and constant arousal. That means they’re totally out of sync in traditional classes, which are analog, static, interactively passive.” (Philip Zimbardo)

This explains to me why Hooligans seek to get into fights very nicely for me, because fights = arousal/excitement/adrenaline etc. .
 
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Reading Gone With the Wind as part of a group on Goodreads.

Well written book and with lots of details (I like this in books) but the characters are horrible. Except Rhett they are all shallow, selfish and mediocre.
 
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I'm reading T.A.Barron's Merlin Saga. So far he has written 12 books in the series. Also started reading Jack Whyte's Templar trilogy and Camulod Chronicles.

Now a question does anyone know any books were the villain or enemy nation wins in alternate history? I'm getting tired of the old cliche good always wins.
 
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Next up is Sanderson's The Alloy of Law, a stand-alone volume following the Mistborn Trilogy that takes place 300 years later in a Wild West sort of era. Should be interesting!
Finished. It was a nice diversion, a relatively short novella. I recommend it to anyone who liked the Mistborn trilogy.

I'm ready for Sci-Fi again, but don't want to continue with the Mars trilogy just yet. But I think I found something I'll probably like a lot: Consider Phlebas, first book in the Culture series by Iain M. Banks. I read the very short prologue and was immediately drawn into it. If the rest of the book is anything like it, I'm going to love it. Seems like just my kind of Sci-Fi.
 
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"Reise nach Yndalamor" by one Nina Blazon - not a very good or detailed story - but a very, very funny roller coaster ride !
 
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Started reading A Game of Thrones… Disappointing.

Moving on, can you people recommended some old gothic/horror novels? Written in the Victorian era or even before.

I found this list on Goodreads and I have read some of them (others are in the "to read" list) but I was wondering about less known authors or works.

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1230.Best_Gothic_Books_Of_All_Time
 
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Try "Tunnels". It has a bit of Steampunk, too.
And victorian era as well.
But not so much horror … Although underlying a bit as well …
Well, I'm not sure how to call it …

You can have my book if you want it. I have read it once and lost interest because it was too dark for my taste.
It is still in very good shape since I'm careful with my books.

You could send me another book in exchange, if you agree with it.


Another book would be Skullduggery Pleasant, have only read the first one good dialogs, story not that much fleshed out. I'm intending to keep it. ;)
 
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Sir Terry Pratchett : "Snuff". It begins innocent, almost too innocent within the first hundred or so pages … Then things begin to smell rotten. In fact, the whole WHAM of smell hits you hard into the face ! - But only as slight and almost unnoticed side remarks … Which grow … and grow … and grow … As the story progresses ...
 
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Finished "Snuff" by Sir Terry Pratchett.
A good book. Makes one angry. Makes one wanting to make this world a better place.
 
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The secret book, and How to be successful in your work.. this two really helps me to enjoy my life and realize that there is a lot of things to learn in the world.
 
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