I just finished Price's Lush Life, which I thought was a compellingly readable crime novel. It's the first Price I've read, and I liked the fact that it had such well-developed characters. (I notice, however, that on Amazon that's what some of Price's fans objected to: they wanted fewer digressions.)

Read Clockers, Samaritan. He also wrote 3 books when he was in hs late teens / early 20s about Bronx project life in the 60s. Raw, but decent reads.

space opera recommendations?

Space Opera, I've done plenty.

I've recommended in the past Iain M Banks Culture novels here in the past. I will tell you that are several respected posters here who wound up not happy with these books. But I think that may be because it was as a Science Fiction recommendation in general rather than a Space Opera recommendation in paricular. They can be read in any particular order

I would characterize the Lois McMaster Bujold Miles Vorkosigian books as space opera. They are best read in order of Miles' life so read The Warrior's Apprentice first. There are some prequels that are about his parents that you can read later if you want.

Crossing over a bit into military Science Fiction you could try the Honor Harrington books by David Weber. I regard these as guilty pleasure reading. They need to be read in order and the first book is On Basilisk Station.

The fact is that I've probably forgotten more space opera books that I've read than most people have read total in this thread (more beat than brag). All of these books are fun and none of them will score you any points in fashionable circles.

Mote in God's Eye would count as space opera and it is awesome.

Space Opera is a new genre for me.

I've read lost of Iain M Banks Culture series and really enjoyed them. I'd recommend "The Player of Games" as a first read.

Currently reading Peter Hamilton's Commonwealth saga. I'm enjoying it but it's a bit trashy.

I'm rereading John Irving's The Water Method Man, something I do every few years. I love it so much. Fred "Bogus" Trumper ftw.

Just finished King Leapolds' Ghost - Adam Hochschild
Non Fiction about the Congo in the late 1880s to 1910ish. And how a King of nothing(Belgium) engineered the largest colony in Africa and exploited it worse than even the Germans and French did with their colonies.

A light tale of 10 million natives be treated horriblly and killed. It was a interesting beach reading book for a holiday in Mexico 9/10

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is not nearly as brilliant as I remembered.

LIES


A good question is what's your favourite version of THHGTTG, as there's one for every medium, and each is different.

There's the book, the radio version, the vinyl album version, the BBC TV version and the movie.


Personally I like the BBC TV version with its wonderful, pre-computer, graphics and the brilliant delivery by Peter Jones as the book. Also that version of Marvin was hilarious.

Currently reading A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson ... light, moderately humorous. A couple notches up from Dave Barry but in the same vein. Looks like he's written quite a few books so I'll probably check out some of his other stuff.

I liked his The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America. I also enjoyed the one he wrote about the history of science, although that one I listened as an audio book.

I've read Notes From A Small Island and enjoyed it.

The dementia has begun to set in. Seek help.

Pretty excited this book is coming out in May.



It is in the Malazan world. This is by far my favorite fantasy series. I like it way more than Song of Fire and Ice or Name of the Wind, but I understand this series is not for everyone.

Still pretty pumped this is coming out. Looks like it is finally going to explain the backstory of the Selugeh, who have been pretty enigmatic so far.