The Bookworm Corner

[Grobalot]

we're in the right place now
I love books! I have well over 300 in my collection, ranging from Textbooks to religious texts (purely for reference, i'm atheist lol) and everything in between, but mostly Sci-fi and Fantasy books.
I love literary classics too! Dostoevsky is probably one of my favourite writers of all time in terms of classics and Raymond E. Feist in the fantasy/Sci-fi crossover section. A lot of my books are in storage as i currently don't have shelf space after recently moving. But i'm in the process of sorting that out.
I read at every opportunity and never go anywhere without some form of book, be it my Cisco CLI Porftable Command Guide or an Asimov light novel. But i can't get behind using a kindle or phone to read. it's too sterile for my liking. And there is nothing like having a book in one hand and a vape in the other lol.
So please, if any fellow bookworms want to share their favourites, least favourites, strange finds, relics and classics, please post here so we don't derail threads haha.
Much love to all and happy vaping and reading
I hope the people i've tagged don't mind me doing so
@Dank_Star @Gray Area @ClearBlueLou

and to the mods, I apologise if this thread is in the wrong place. wasn't sure where to start up a discussion about books as i couldn't find any thing similar on the forum or a more ideal place for it

 

[Ramahs]

Recently I've very much enjoyed reading The Expanse series of sci-fi books as of late. I think that they are up to at least 8 books so far.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077L6GJWW/?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

 

[Grobalot]

Recently I've very much enjoyed reading The Expanse series of sci-fi books as of late. I think that they are up to at least 8 books so far.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077L6GJWW/?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

i'll have to look into them. The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell sounds like its along similarish kind of lines, very in depth military science fiction. i've read Dauntless and Fearless. Premise is a fleet fighting a war get stranded after a hard won victory and are limping back home. A legendary captain is picked up by the fleet and it all kicks off from there lol. it's and incredible series and very addictive. well worth a look

 

[ClearBlueLou]

Hey, y’all!

as suggested, life-long SF fan and bookworm. DankStar, props on picking up Dangerous Visions - that was real boundary-crushing stuff back in the day, great great stuff!

since we’re mentioning series, gotta share the Lensmen series by EE Smith: classic space opera in the grand style, if you want to know for sure what “space opera” means, there ya go. A fantasy series that gives rich returns is “The Wheel of Time” by Robert Jordan. Should we keep Fantasy separate, or are we just on about books in general?

 

[Grobalot]

@ClearBlueLou i was thinking books in general myself. but i suppose we could possibly add sub theards lol
i've only ever watched the lensmen anime and that was dope way back when. i need to add a few of these suggestions to my reading list. got the ICND1 and 2 for the CCNA to get through before i indulge myself in reward reading.
but im open to any and all suggestions! Dangerous Visions is one i need to get hold of too. i've heard of The Wheel of Time but never actually found a copy in a book shop to pick it up. may have to dig about online or amazon and see what there is.

 

[Tranquility]

Hey, y’all!

as suggested, life-long SF fan and bookworm. DankStar, props on picking up Dangerous Visions - that was real boundary-crushing stuff back in the day, great great stuff!

since we’re mentioning series, gotta share the Lensmen series by EE Smith: classic space opera in the grand style, if you want to know for sure what “space opera” means, there ya go. A fantasy series that gives rich returns is “The Wheel of Time” by Robert Jordan. Should we keep Fantasy separate, or are we just on about books in general?

The Lensmen series is awesome!

If a person is truly "woke" today they might not be able to get past the sexism in his work. For the rest, anachronistic stereotypes are useful for understanding how things have changed--and how they have not.

The series is not only space opera, but also hard science fiction. I re-read the series about a year ago and was amazed at how much science was packed into it I didn't understand when I read it first as a much younger fan. A great parody of the space opera genre is from Harry Harrison (Read his "Stainless Steel Rat series for another space opera-type that is quite interesting as the anti-hero tests our own place in society.) called "Bill the Galactic Hero". It is hilarious and makes fun of most older SciFi space operas' tropes.

 

[Gray Area]

Can’t think of everything all at once, brother - the head explodes...then there’s the mess...but Dune (skip the follow-ups)

Quite right, I'm sure I've forgotten stuff to mention too. It'll come...

I agree the Brian Herbert/Kev Anderson books are just awful. Nothing like the original stuff.
Loved the Stainless Steel Rat books as a younger reader (haven't re-read them as an adult) but might just for kicks. Must check out Bill the Galactic Hero.

Re-read my Larry Niven faves only a few months ago; Protector and the Ringworld books of course...

If anyone hasn't read H G Wells' Time Machine and War of the Worlds (less so First Men in the Moon) I highly recommend them very easy to read too (considering when they're written). Some good short stories too.

Recently I've very much enjoyed reading The Expanse series of sci-fi books as of late. I think that they are up to at least 8 books so far.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077L6GJWW/?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Definitely on my list. Really enjoyed the Netflix series... and the books are "always better"...

 

[Dank_Star]

Hey guys ! Nice to see you all over here ! Can I have some recommendations for Ursula Le Guin novels please ? Believe it or not the name is new to me but her reputation appears to be pretty awesome. @ClearBlueLou I've been giving the Lensmen series some consideration. I'd like to read something epic (Dune trilogy proportions) over the coming winter months. I know this will probably not be Lou's cup of intergalactic tea, but I'm curious about Brian Aldiss "Helliconia" (hope that's the correct spelling) series. Anyone read it ? Overall I haven't read a great deal of science fiction to be honest but I'm in the right frame of mind at the moment. Without going into too much detail, life has been throwing up some major challenges for the last few months and so escapist literature (and there is SO much classic science fiction that by rights I should have read by now), especially if it has good credentials, is irresistible right now !

 

[Tranquility]

Hey guys ! Nice to see you all over here ! Can I have some recommendations for Ursula Le Guin novels please ? Believe it or not the name is new to me but her reputation appears to be pretty awesome.

She has published many novels. I have not read that many. The one's I have seem...political. It's cool to use your political theories and take them to the limit to see what will happen, but, you have to actually imagine what will happen. She seems to avoid the middle step between gathering underpants and profit. I like big ideas in SciFi and she has many of them. I just wished she examined them from a more neutral perspective at times.

 

[Gray Area]

Has anyone read The Radix Tetrad series of (four) books by A A Attanasio??

I've only read the final one The Last Legends of Earth. Read it before I realised it was part of a series. They stand alone as separate stories anyway, so no prob I guess...
Very good indeed. I really need to hunt down the first three at some point as I was very impressed.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

@ClearBlueLou i was thinking books in general myself. but i suppose we could possibly add sub theards lol
i've only ever watched the lensmen anime and that was dope way back when. i need to add a few of these suggestions to my reading list. got the ICND1 and 2 for the CCNA to get through before i indulge myself in reward reading.
but im open to any and all suggestions! Dangerous Visions is one i need to get hold of too. i've heard of The Wheel of Time but never actually found a copy in a book shop to pick it up. may have to dig about online or amazon and see what there is.

It’s thirteen volumes, I believe...’The Eye of the World’ is the first

not familiar with ICND and CCNA - ?

 

[Grobalot]

its a network engineer study guide for an administrator certification in Cisco network engineering lol
very technical, more technical than i thought it'd be when i stated . also trying to teach myself Python at the same time . should have done this shit when i was alot younger
I'll have to have a look around for The Eye of The World and give it a go.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

General non-spoiler tip on ‘Lensmen”: “DEA in Space”

I wouldn’t call it Dune-level, but then, I didn’t like ANY of the follow ups.

everyone mentions Heinlein, but a couple specifics: Starship Troopers (*don’t* judge it by the movie!), Glory Road, Stranger in a Strange Land.

Alfred Bester: The Demolished Man, The Stars My Destination, any and all short stories.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

its a network engineer study guide for an administrator certification in Cisco network engineering lol
very technical, more technical than i thought it'd be when i stated . also trying to teach myself Python at the same time . should have done this shit when i was alot younger
I'll have to have a look around for The Eye of The World and give it a go.

Ex systems guy myself...gave up programming for a living when I started getting nauseous sitting down at a computer
(I’m much better now...). Totally get how hard it can be to pick up some of this crap as we age....

 

[Dank_Star]

General non-spoiler tip on ‘Lensmen”: “DEA in Space”

I wouldn’t call it Dune-level, but then, I didn’t like ANY of the follow ups.

everyone mentions Heinlein, but a couple specifics: Starship Troopers (*don’t* judge it by the movie!), Glory Road, Stranger in a Strange Land.

Alfred Bester: The Demolished Man, The Stars My Destination, any and all short stories.

I read The Stars My Destination before I started Non Stop - excellent book and The Demolished Man is high on my reading list. Spent some time this afternoon hanging out on the doorstep with my cat (her name is Maisie and she's my avatar star!) and reading

@Grobalot Dangerous visions is available for less than £8 on amazon. I use a shop called the book depository via amazon quite a lot. Their prices are very good and they're postage free. If your prepared to wait a week or so for your books they are a good option

I've also had my 'mature student' experience, believe me I can sympathise guys LOL

 

[Grobalot]

Ex systems guy myself...gave up programming for a living when I started getting nauseous sitting down at a computer
(I’m much better now...). Totally get how hard it can be to pick up some of this crap as we age....

i'm technically disabled but after years of dealing with chronic pain i needed to do something to better myself. that and our savings have taken a massive hit lol
its a nightmare dude haha. it's going in slowly though. i changed tack recently into cloud platform engineering, focusing on virtual networking and security in Azure and i've finally found something i love lol.
i've been around computers my whole life but always avoided it as a career. i didn't want to end up hating it so did everything besides computing work wise. i'm a fully licensed tree surgeon. worked as a dispatch manager for a large tableware company for a long time. fully qualified body repair and paint technician and worked freelance for a consulting firm for a few years too. hated every single job i've ever had besides building PC's to spec and messing with systems lol. only took til 31 to figure my shit out haha
im glad computers don't mess you up anymore dude. i couldn't imagine life without mine haha

Starship troupers is a book i've wanted for ages but never picked up! need to get a copy. you guys are costing me way too much money! will definitely look for the Lensmen books too!
I've never actually heard of Alfred Bester but its on my reading list for sure now.

@Dank_Star i'll have a look. thanks dude! i'm used to waiting for books through amazon usually. my H. P. Lovecraft Necronomicon took a few weeks to arrive. it's the best thing i ever found on it! Blue leather Hardback with gold leaf inlay cover and spine. its beautiful lol

I've been working my way through the Asimov books as an aside to the CCNA text books and Azure material.
Read the Robots series in about 3 or 4 weeks and working through some random ones within the same time frame as the Foundation and Empire series. he truly was the master when it came to androids. Elijah Baley is a boss lol. one of my favourite characters from a series of books, besides Thomas Covenant from the The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant books. that's an awesome series too!

 

[el sargantano]

Hi folks
Counting on Asimov's masterworks, it has to include a really little novel called 'The gods themselves'.
Won the major literature prices at its time and it paints its aliens in an outstanding way that made me freak out in a deeper way than robots, fundations & empires

 

[Grobalot]

Hi folks
Counting on Asimov's masterworks, it has to include a really little novel called 'The gods themselves'.
Won the major literature prices at its time and it paints its aliens in an outstanding way that made me freak out in a deeper way than robots, fundations & empires

good call! it's one i've not gotten around to reading yet. Currently reading The Currents Of Space. really good, quick read but very entertaining.
i'll have to have a look through my collection and see if i've already got it

 

[Dank_Star]

Hi folks
Counting on Asimov's masterworks, it has to include a really little novel called 'The gods themselves'.
Won the major literature prices at its time and it paints its aliens in an outstanding way that made me freak out in a deeper way than robots, fundations & empires

I see "The Gods Themselves" is part of Gollancz SF Masterworks series, as have all my recent purchases...another candidate for the (rapidly expanding) reading list. There's a few of the slimmer volumes in the SF Masterworks series can be bought in 2 for £5 type offers in some of the city centre stores - HMV for example. Thanks for the heads up and welcome to the thread

 

[Grobalot]

you still have an open HMV?? my god! lol
I've got a Philip K. Dick short story book somewhere but i cant remember for the life of me where it is (the move has resulted in casualties i think) or what the name of it is lol. as soon as i find it i'll post the name. But Beyond Lies the Wub is an awesome collection of his early work.
i'm hunting for my copy of The Gods Themselves right now!

 

[Dank_Star]

you still have an open HMV?? my god! lol
I've got a Philip K. Dick short story book somewhere but i cant remember for the life of me where it is (the move has resulted in casualties i think) or what the name of it is lol. as soon as i find it i'll post the name. But Beyond Lies the Wub is an awesome collection of his early work.
i'm hunting for my copy of The Gods Themselves right now!

HMV ? there are still 3 shops in and around Glasgow. I live approx. 7 miles from the city centre so its a quick commute...actually it was a recent visit to HMV that triggered my current interest in exploring sci-fi more thoroughly than I have done up til now. I'm planning on finishing "Non Stop" tonight but I've just had a protracted Vapcap>bong session followed up with a "dry" capful on a different Vapcap. To say I'm truly vaked would be something of an understatement haha !.... and now the hi-fi is on,,,ah ! we'll see how the evening pans out

 

[Tranquility]

Read the Robots series in about 3 or 4 weeks and working through some random ones within the same time frame as the Foundation and Empire series. he truly was the master when it came to androids. Elijah Baley is a boss lol.

While I had read the short stories on the laws of robotics, I did not read the I Robot series until after reading all the foundation books. Pity. I would have enjoyed Foundation and Earth more if I had read the Robot novels first.

Edit:
I bet you'll find a lot of older Sci-Fi on free ebook sites. While not that old, when I re-read Lensman series last year, I got all the books, legally, over the web for free. Also, anything before 1923 is copyright free in the U.S. so, knock yourself out.

 

[Grobalot]

While I had read the short stories on the laws of robotics, I did not read the I Robot series until after reading all the foundation books. Pity. I would have enjoyed Foundation and Earth more if I had read the Robot novels first.

Edit:
I bet you'll find a lot of older Sci-Fi on free ebook sites. While not that old, when I re-read Lensman series last year, I got all the books, legally, over the web for free. Also, anything before 1923 is copyright free in the U.S. so, knock yourself out.

i read The Rest Of the Robots before i started reading anything else haha. confused was a bit of an understatement until my dad gave me the reading order. some of the books can stand alone, but others need a bit of backstory gleaned from a certain series to make it more coherent.
Asimov has to be one of my favourite authors of all time. Definitely makes more sense to read them in order. i love his mix of hard science and detailed fantasy science. the man was well ahead of his time for both his laws or robotics and the general feeling of vastness and detail i get from his writing. the Foundation and Empire sense combines it all incredibly well. and the time scale it covers in just a few short but concise books i find phenomenal.

i'll definitely have a look for the free stuff online, but im funny about not having a physical book in my hands. but i suppose it saves money if i don't actually like the book i've found. i've numerous copies of books i've read half way and given up because they don't catch my attention properly. they go to a good home in the local library or charity shops so not a total waste lol

 

[GetLeft]

I bet you'll find a lot of older Sci-Fi on free ebook sites

All leads to e-book versions welcome This thread got me interested in the Lensman series. Seems the place to start would be with the orginal magazine version of Galactic Patrol. So looked into amazon and B&N and discovered via reviews that the 'lone' digitized version of the novel is poor. Are there others out there? Somewhere there must be a pdf of the original magazine version of the story, no? God forbid I have to buy a real book and read it that way.

EDIT: Galactic Patrol The novel, not the original serial version.

 

[Ramahs]

Funny enough, you remember old-school IRC chat boards? I've found that the largest collections of available-to-anybody pirated books libraries are found in IRC these days.
I've been able to find almost every book I've looked for in the last few years there.