Comments or suggestions for the list gladly accepted.
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Currently Reading:

To Read:

Have Read:

  • 1984 by George Orwell
    • The lessons in this book are perhaps more important now than ever... though every generation probably thinks that at some point or another. Read as a cautionary tale before they take the book away and burn it.
  • Again, Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison
    • Read the description of Dangerous Visions. This is MOTS (more of the same), but it isn't diminished by that fact.
  • American Gods by Neil Gaiman
    • Finished 01/16/2004
    • When the settlers came to America, they brought something with them: Their beliefs. Their gods. But it turns out, America isn't a great place for gods. Just ask Shadow, a man fresh out of prison and swept into events that are stranger than anything he has ever experienced before. This is a great ride, with tons of little mythological nods for those that are looking for them.
  • Animal Farm by George Orwell
    • In Orwell's analogue of the Russian revolution, the farm animals, led by the pigs, rise up and overthrow the corrupt Farmer Jones and take over Manor Farm, renaming it Animal Farm. Though it is an analogue, it has lessons outside of history, because the central theory is that any revolution led by those that are hungry for power can only lead to a replacement of the master.
  • Batman: Hush, Volume 1 by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee.
    • Finished 06/04
    • Good beginning, but was a little disappointed that the series is in two collections. It could easily be collected in one volume. This collection makes a nice contrast with Year One, because in this one Batman is an established crime fighter with his circle of allies and enemies intact.
  • Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli
    • Finished 06/04
    • Excellent comic book collection that is largely the source of the Batman Begins movie.
  • The Best of Ray Bradbury: The Graphic Novel by Ray Bradbury
    • Finished 3/30/04
    • I found this piece of work a bit disappointing. I couldn't figure out why for a bit, and then I realized - Bradbury's work is simply fantastic at painting pictures within your mind. In this graphic novel, his stories are chopped up horribly to put only relevent text... meanwhile, artists are forcing your vision down their path. The story itself, the words, suffer... and the art suffers, because it is juxtaposed with snippets of evocative words. Few of the stories figure out the fine balance between showing us through the artwork and showing us through the text. This is a frankenstein monster, cobbled together with pieces and parts of greatness, but on the whole is less than the sum of its parts. A bit disappointing and not really recommended.
  • The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
    • Finished 4/04
    • Meh. I have a feeling it's a big hit on campuses, and with the literary critics, but I found the stories mostly uninteresting. The author is too self-aware that she's being 'literary'. There were only two that I really liked. If you read this, see if you can figure out which ones they were!
  • The Big Time by Fritz Leiber
    • Finished 11/04
    • Very odd work. It's worth reading, yet I don't think I liked it. It's confused and misdirected, and it's saying something, but it doesn't always know what that something is. It's also written in an oddly jarring style, and the voice is exceedingly masculine for what is supposed to be a feminine main character. Not really recommended.
  • Boy's Life by Robert McCammon
    • Finished 3/2/04
    • Good book that is written in a very 'Wonder Years' style. Many of the scenes start out so schmaltzy that they may make you sick. But, the author usually twists those scenes in odd ways and ends up capturing your attention and easing your sickness. Good characterization and a very interesting story, which is told in 'short stories strung together, holding the same threads' structure.
  • Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
    • A book that should be read first when one is young and next when one is a bit older, because it will take on all new tones each time. Though even the first time I read it, I thought Holden was a freaking tool. Great book though.
  • Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
    • Absolutely brilliant book that is simple to read and appreciate as pure story, but has oodles of depth underneath the surface, and little cynical suggestions that will tear at your mind. That's a good thing. The general plot revolves around a substance called Ice 9 that could destroy the Earth if it were released. Yes, there is a parallel there... or two... or three.
  • The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
    • An incredible achievement of fantasy literature, Lewis is writing on at least two levels here. The Lion, The Witch, and the Warddrobe is one of the more blatant Christ parallels in Fantasy literature, and it strengthens and anchors a series of books that touches everything from religion to politics and back again, in words that children can read and enjoy.
  • Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
    • The most ambitious novel by Stephenson that I've read up until this point. Tough going at times, especially when he gets down into nitty gritty details about codebreaking or other logic problems. But that stuff adds real depth. This novel was an education, though it skirted the line between success and failure for a long time before coming out on the side of success by the end of the book.
  • Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison
    • Outstanding anthology. Like all collections, the stories vary wildly in content, but the stated mission ensures that this is going to be something special. Harlan Ellison asks authors for stories they couldn't get published elsewhere because they were 'dangerous'... too politically incorrect, too strange, too much cursing... whatever. This is an outstanding book.
  • The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King
  • The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
    • Well worth a read. Great imagining of nanotechnology applied in creative ways. Some difficult spots, some poor decisions, and some odd plot outcomes. But we've sort of come to expect that from Stephenson, haven't we? This novel shows a continued growth in ambition in his novels.
  • The Dragon Prince Series by Melanie Rawn ** Marked for Re-read **
  • The Dragon Star Series by Melanie Rawn ** Marked for Re-read **
  • Dune Chronicles by Frank Herbert
    • The first three books are masterful. The second is shorter and a bit weaker than the other two, but still worth the read. My biggest complaint is that the main characters are pretty god-like. But then, Herbert is making commentary on messiahs so they'd almost have to be.
    • Dune, finished 01/05
    • Dune Messiah, finished 02/05
    • Children of Dune, finsihed 02/05
  • Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
    • An all time classic. Remember, the enemy's gate is down.
  • Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
    • It doesn't compare to Catcher, but this book (actually a collection of two short stories) is still very good, and can leave the reader thinking. If you don't care for Salinger's style, though, this one is likely to be avoided.
  • Forests of the Heart by Charles de Lint
    • Really a nice, readable book. Great characterization. The author once again weaves in his love of music, also crossing together old Irish, Native American and Mexican mythologies. It also reads almost as if the author was teaching himself spanish - he puts a great many spanish sayings into the work. The strong point is the characterization... the story kind of takes an odd turn, but it is still a good one. Recommended.
  • From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury
    • Another nice piece of fiction by Bradbury. However, he is visiting old themes, so if you are just a casual acquaintance with his work you may choose to pass this one up. It will delight fans and also serves as another good entry point for his writing.
  • God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
    • Finished 05/31/04.
    • Great book. Vonnegut is a fantastic author. As usual, he's working on several layers here. The story itself is engrossing, an the social commentary in and around it is also fascinating. I could just copy and paste these sentences for all of Vonnegut's books, I think.
  • Gumbo Ya Ya by Lyle Saxon, Edward Dreyer, Robert Tallant
    • Some very antiquated, and sometimes uncomfortable, language. Also, some chapters are much better than others. But overall, a very worthy read for anyone interested in Louisiana history. These are folk tales that aren't necessarily told as narratives; rather, they are told in chapters that create blankets of experience from the culture.
  • Hawaiian Legends of Ghosts and Ghost-Gods by W.D. Westervelt (Translator)
    • Finished 03/13/04.
    • Somewhat difficult read. Since I am not Hawaiian, many of the names really run together, and it is hard to keep the characters straight. Still, the best way to learn about a people is to read their legends, and for that reason, this is a good read.
  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
    • This is a children's book in tone and pacing. If you like this, you may not like Lord of the Rings... and vice versa. Even still, the beginnings of something powerful can be found within these pages.
  • I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
    • A nice introduction to Asimov's fiction. A very important work in the history of Science Fiction.
  • Idoru by William Gibson
    • A bit of a departure from Neuromancer, this novel shows Gibson's growth as a writer of characters. The book is about a rock star that wants to marry a virtual creation. Like most of Gibson's work, it has alot to say about society and technology.
  • The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis
    • Finished 05/22/04.
    • Excellent book. Liked it more than I thought I might. There are some oddities that come from the fact that it is a translated work, but overall it's pretty engrossing.
  • The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
    • Yeah, and I read it before it was a blockbuster media event. The story is sometimes tough going and is not for everyone. You'll either love it or hate it.
  • Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
    • Fantastic collection of soft science fiction short stories, set on Mars and amongst Bradbury's imaginative Martian creations. An influential work that is an ideal introduction to Bradbury's tone and themes.
  • Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century by Orson Scott Card (Editor)
    • Finished 3/24/04.
    • The word 'masterpiece' oversells this collection just a tad. In some cases, the best of any single author is not included. The selection criteria is arbitrary and completely at the whim of Orson Scott Card. Even still, there wasn't a single story that I absolutely loathed. Each one was interesting and this book is likely one that I would read again.
  • The Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Series by Tad Williams
  • Native American Legends: Southeastern Legends By George E. Lankford, W.K. McNeil
    • Written more like an athropological textbook than a book of tales. Some of the segments get tiresome, especially when the author tells several tales of the same type to accentuate the differences between the tribes. Even so, the balance of the book is both educational and entertaining. Recommended mostly to those with interest in legends, anthropology, and/or the history of the southeastern United States.
  • Neuromancer by William Gibson
    • The launch of cyberpunk. Fantastically imagined, but personally cold. Gibson's characterization had not yet found its stride, but his imagination is here in full force.
  • Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
    • Finished 03/05
    • Very good and enjoyable, but simply not Gaiman's best work. The plot is too simplistic. The characterization and the imagination are fantastic though, and it's still recommended.
  • On the Road by Jack Kerouac
    • What a long, strange trip this book is. We listened to it on tape while on a road trip, which may be the perfect way to appreciate it. It is a thinly veiled autobiography that can both annoy and delight you. The characters are incredibly well realized, quite probably because they are based on real people. I kept wondering how this work inspired so many others to follow in his footsteps, because he doesn't glorify. He shows you the pain along with the joy of living on the road. So many people want freedom, though... and they see something like it in this book.
  • The Otherland Series by Tad Williams
  • The Sandman Series by Neil Gaiman
  • Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
    • A book with moments of absolutely genius interspersed with other decisions that show a bit of immaturity. In all, though, the type of read that is difficult to put down. Suprisingly funny... a fresh take on cyberpunk.
  • The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis
  • Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
    • Excellent novel (closer to a novella, actually, but who's counting?) that tells the story of two young boys who find something... very wrong... in a travelling carnival. Something that could destroy the souls of everyone in town, including themselves.
  • The Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
  • Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams
    • Finished 12/29/03.
    • Tad Williams' first book. You see signs even here of the writer he will become. It isn't excellent, but it is very good and worth reading for fans. Or for cat lovers.
  • The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams
    • Finished 07/25/04.
    • Eh. Not bad. Reads like the author went back and reworked one of his earlier, unpublished works. Parts are very good, parts are disappointing. Early character interaction when our hero leaves our world and goes to 'Fairyland' is full of stereotypes, and this section is the worst the book has to offer. If you can overcome the lull in the middle, the book gets better.
  • The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
  • Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
    • Finished 02/06/04.
    • The book meanders a bit in places and leaps around oddly at times, but overall it is an interesting and successful extension of the L. Frank Baum classic. It is not, however, a children's book. The work has inspired a broadway adaptation, which we hope to see soon.


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