Let's not ruin Howard's book thread which is turning out to be very, very good. I'll even pass on my sardonic remarks. We can do political thrashing in other threads, if necessary.

-Zeno

Well...

Now, that's just goddamn disappointing.

He also knows not to step on a joke.

Au contraire, my good man: I'll definitely read that one. If it comes out in '09 as promised, I'll buy it the day it comes out and finish it by the end of the next weekend, if only as the capstone on the dozens of hours I've spent reading the prior ten volumes or however many there might actually be.

No, part of the idea of this thread was to accept the good-faith recommendations of books I might not otherwise read and thus extend my range somewhat. I'll finish it even if I don't like it overmuch, so long as it's competently written. I have little doubt of that.

livinitup, do you agree with this?

FYP. Much as I'd like to weigh in on this, I'm liking this thread and don't want to threadjack it over to a politics discussion. Let's wait on that until my vastly biased reviews of all these books start coming out.

Have you read Glen Cook's "Black Company" trilogy? There are more than 3 books, but I recommend stopping after the 3rd, as the quality drops off after that. They are very close to GRRM's epic in tone, if not in scope. Plus, they can be read in a relatively short period of time.

Also, the most famous works by Stanislaw Lem are a must. There are reportedly good translations into English (I read it in Russian), and it's some of the most inventive and funny Science Fiction (with capital S and F) ever written.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

OK, first of the Glen Cook books is on. I've read most of what Lem wrote: whimisical and smart, I liked his stuff but haven't read any of it for probably twenty years.

lol didnt know he did that, havent read it yet, but I assume its pretty far from the James Bond universe?

I keep thinking of '50 ways to leave your lover' by Paul Simon...


"There are 50 books for Howard Treesong...
1984, Thor,
Brave New World, Earl,
Name of the Rose Joe,
Old Man and the Sea, Dee,
Set yourself free...."

Weren't Hop off the Bus, Gus and Make a New Plan, Stan originally written by Dr. Seuss?

This is highly perturbing and that damn song is now running through my head too.

This thread has made me realize I'm madly in love with diebitter.

I can't believe Dan Simmons' "Hyperion" hasn't been mentioned. I assume you have read it, but if not....make it tops of the list. It's a science fiction epic, with the first book structured like Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Several travelers tell their stories set in a huge universe. It was written relatively recently, but it more than stands up to the classics of the genre. Stories are very different in tone, and one of them I find really heartbreaking. It would make a great HBO mini-series imo.

2nd book finishes the story started in the 1st, and if you like them, there are two more novels called "Endymion" which are of somewhat lesser quality, but they expand the Hyperion's world greatly and are well worth the price.

didn't scour every post, but if it wasn't suggested already, The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway is a great book.

I bet no one said water for elephants by sara gruen I know howard would like it.

I am basically forced to read all his bbv4l threads : (

Historical

Devil in The White City by Erik Larson

Chronicles the 1893 worlds fair in Chicago focusing on two men, the architect who designed the fair and the serial killer on the loose in the city at the time.


Historical Fiction

Nevermore by Harold Schechter

Davy Crockett comes to Baltimore to confront Edgar Allan Poe over a Scathing review of his autobiography, but they end up joining forces to solve a murder.

The List of 7 by Mark Frost

Set in Sherlock Holmes' London, Arthur Conan Doyle is drawn into a supernatural mystery where he partners up with a man claiming to be a secret agent in the service of Queen Victoria herself. The man becomes his inspiration for the character of Sherlock Holmes.

Sci-fi/fantasy

Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon

A post apocalyptic (nuclear war) tale similar to Stephen Kings The Stand in scope, has the Devil walking the Earth tormenting the last human survivors until he discovers a young girl named Swan has the power to heal the land and sets out to make sure that doesn't happen.

The WarHound and The World's Pain by Michael Moorcock

Set in Europe during the Thirty Years' War, a mercenary soldier with a doomed soul is enlisted by Lucifer to find the Holy Grail so that Lucifer can heal the world's pain and be accepted back into Heaven.

I seem to think I've tried Hyperion at some point in the fairly distant past and never got into it. It won a Hugo, no?

On your recommendation, I'll try again. It's on.

I've read it. But it's time for a re-read of something by the Master of simple sentences. It's on.

I am not sure I can accept any recommendation that doesn't use even marginally correct capitalization. Why do you think I'll like it?

Nevermore and Swan Song are on; thank you.

Turns out that Mrs. Treesong had a copy of Tuchman's GoA buried somewhere in the depths of chez Treesong, and she kindly put it on my desk a couple of days back. I'm five chapters in and very much like Tuchman's narrative style. Amazon delivered Silas Marner and The Power Broker, so I'm off and running.