Favorite Non-Covenant book?
Moderator: Orlion
I am going to be very conventional and just say that I really like 'The Lord of the Rings'. Of more obscure things there are several, let me just recommend Roger Zelazny. His books are usually good. With a few which are just average.
(Forgot to mention the Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin.)
(Forgot to mention the Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin.)
"Und wenn sie mich suchen, ich halte mich in der Nähe des Wahnsinns auf." Bernd das Brot
- Alynna Lis Eachann
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Hmm... SRD's Gap Cycle, of course. Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, Ingrid & Reiner Klimke's Cavalletti (It's a horse-training book. Sue me), Thucydides' Peloponnesian War (except the dreaded original Hobbes translation), and I'll confess to having read several Star Trek and ST:TNG books multiple times. Also Douglas Adams, Tom Holt's Who's Afraid of Beowulf?, Marguerite Henry's King of the Wind , Harry Potter, and James A. Michener's Chesapeake. Pretty fond of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by GRR Martin at the moment, too. In general, I've read so much that I have a wide range of favorites, but I have a short memory and I've forgotten a lot of the books I read.
"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard... and too damn cheap." - Kurt Vonnegut
"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
- Fist and Faith
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Have you read Vendetta? My favorite Trek book! Spock's World is great too, and Sarek was nearly as good. Federation was tons of fun. Also, if I'm remembering the right Q book, Q Squared, where the Squire of Gothos and Gary Mitchell are given more detail.Alynna Lis Eachann wrote:I'll confess to having read several Star Trek and ST:TNG books multiple times.
All lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest -Paul Simon

Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest -Paul Simon

- Alynna Lis Eachann
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Yup, read Vendetta and Federation, and Q-Squared. I've only just lately become interested in TOS books, so I haven't read Spock's World or Sarek yet. I love Strangers from the Sky, though, and Best Destiny and Prime Directive were a lot of fun - especially Best Destiny; seeing Kirk as a teenager was great.Fist and Faith wrote: Have you read Vendetta? My favorite Trek book! Spock's World is great too, and Sarek was nearly as good. Federation was tons of fun. Also, if I'm remembering the right Q book, Q Squared, where the Squire of Gothos and Gary Mitchell are given more detail.
"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard... and too damn cheap." - Kurt Vonnegut
"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
The Malazan Book of the Fallen
The Prince of Nothing
The Gap Cycle
Outlander Series
that's pretty much it for me right now and most of this year.
i'm engrossed by these.
The Prince of Nothing
The Gap Cycle
Outlander Series
that's pretty much it for me right now and most of this year.
i'm engrossed by these.
you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
Nah, I think I'll just sit through Kevin Costner's The Postman. I'm the guy in the conversation who goes, "Uh, no, I didn't read the book, but I saw the movie..."Menolly wrote:
and I agree with Avatar. Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz is a must read for everyone, IMO.

Favorite non-Covenant opus by SRD: Mordant's Need
Favorite non-Covenant book not by SRD but still sf/fantasy: Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
- Avatar
- Immanentizing The Eschaton
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Is that the asteroid one? No wait, wasn't that Hammer of God or something? Been too long.
See we have another Iain M Banks fan in The Somberlain too...excellent stuff. I think that Against a Dark Background is my favourite, closely followed by Player of Games, Use of Weapons and Feersum Endjinn.
--A
See we have another Iain M Banks fan in The Somberlain too...excellent stuff. I think that Against a Dark Background is my favourite, closely followed by Player of Games, Use of Weapons and Feersum Endjinn.
--A
- Alynna Lis Eachann
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Er, how is The Postman like A Canticle for Leibowitz? Other than being post-apocalyptic, I mean.
"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard... and too damn cheap." - Kurt Vonnegut
"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
LOTR, Chronicles of Narnia, Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead, 3 Musketeers and Count of Monte Cristo, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Tale of Two Cities, Left Behind series, Shelby Foote's Civil War Narrative, all military novels by Michael/Jeff Shaara, and most of Stephen Ambrose's stuff, especially on WWII.
And all the books in the Bible.
And all the books in the Bible.
--Andy
"Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur."
Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.
I believe in the One who says there is life after this.
Now tell me how much more open can my mind be?
"Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur."
Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.
I believe in the One who says there is life after this.
Now tell me how much more open can my mind be?
-
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THE SWORD OF SHANNARA(TRILOGY)Terry Brooks
HIS DARK MATERIALS(TRILOGY)Phillip Pullman
ICEWINDALE(TRILOGY)R.A. Salvatore
DARK ELF(TRISLOGY)R.A. Salvatore
THE ELRIC SAGA: Michael Moorcock
LOTR (TRILOGY)Tolkien
DUNE:Frank Herbert
EARTHSEA(TRILOGY)Ursula K. LeGuin
WIZARD FOR HIRE (TRILOGY) Jim Butcher
ROMEO AND JULIET: Willian Shakespeare
JULIUS CAESAR: William Shakespeare
THE GAP: (Do I need to say it?)
OF MICE AND MEN
TO KILL A MOKINGBIRD
THE SECRET GARDEN
THE GRAPES OF WRATH
(plus many more)
Anything by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
......Sorry I can't remember the name of all the Authors
HIS DARK MATERIALS(TRILOGY)Phillip Pullman
ICEWINDALE(TRILOGY)R.A. Salvatore
DARK ELF(TRISLOGY)R.A. Salvatore
THE ELRIC SAGA: Michael Moorcock
LOTR (TRILOGY)Tolkien
DUNE:Frank Herbert
EARTHSEA(TRILOGY)Ursula K. LeGuin
WIZARD FOR HIRE (TRILOGY) Jim Butcher
ROMEO AND JULIET: Willian Shakespeare
JULIUS CAESAR: William Shakespeare
THE GAP: (Do I need to say it?)
OF MICE AND MEN
TO KILL A MOKINGBIRD
THE SECRET GARDEN
THE GRAPES OF WRATH
(plus many more)
Anything by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
......Sorry I can't remember the name of all the Authors
all that glitters is not gold and all who wander are not lost
Strangely enough, apart from SRD my other favourites are pretty much non fantasy.
- Charles Dickens - Pickwick, Martin Chuzzlewit, Hard Times - I rate Dickens even higher than SRD *ducks*
- DH Lawrence - Women in Love. But everything I've read of his is brilliant.
- Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
- David Mitchell. If you havent read "Cloud Atlas", run out and grab a copy and start reading this instant! How this didnt win the Booker two years ago I'll never know.
- Charles Dickens - Pickwick, Martin Chuzzlewit, Hard Times - I rate Dickens even higher than SRD *ducks*
- DH Lawrence - Women in Love. But everything I've read of his is brilliant.
- Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
- David Mitchell. If you havent read "Cloud Atlas", run out and grab a copy and start reading this instant! How this didnt win the Booker two years ago I'll never know.
Lucimay wrote:The Malazan Book of the Fallen
The Prince of Nothing
The Gap Cycle
Outlander Series
that's pretty much it for me right now and most of this year.
i'm engrossed by these.
i can add Heart of Darkness to this list now. phew. LOVE Conrad!

you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
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Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstader
An excellent book! But wasn't it cowritten by Daniel C. Dennett? Or was that The Mind's I? Anyway, both men are amazing philosophers.
Could you tell when the book ended? (I think this is the ONLY book for which such a question could be asked!) If you remember, the characters hint that the end of the book will not be determined by the last printed page, but instead by a thematic or formal ending that should be obvious to those paying close attention to the whole. After that, the last couple dozen or more pages was just stuff that sounded similar to the rest of the book, but for the attentive readers was obviously filler. Now THAT is a challenge: to know when such a deeply philosophical book has ended! An amazing read.
All the books by Peter Straub - he is up there with Stephen king, but overshadowed by the greatness of King
All the James Crumley books
The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Whittaker (?)
The Belgriand Series
Everything by Donaldson, of course!!...
The Gap in particular
All the James Crumley books
The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Whittaker (?)
The Belgriand Series
Everything by Donaldson, of course!!...
The Gap in particular
Shihad
Fat Freddy's Drop
Katchafire
Fat Freddy's Drop
Katchafire
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- danlo
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Great observation on the ending of G, E, B Malik!
A Canticle for Liebowitz is definately one of my fav books of all time!
interesting tidbits and corrections:
It's Lucifer's Hammer (the book about the asteriod) by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournell
It's Fred Saberhagen, who lives in New Mexico, and is good friends with SRD, Jack Williamson, Ben Bova & Roger Vardeman
MM: The book The Postman by David Brin starts out like the movie but is entirely different in the end, especially the Corvallis stuff.
The Education of Little Tree was written by Forest (Asa) Carter. I became familiar with it as a "book-monkey" work-study at the UNM Press--while I agree it is a very good groundbreaking book for it's time it was originally and immediately exposed as a fraud, but people liked it so much they tryed very hard to forget who actually wrote it. Here's a fascinating aticle about the whole controversy: archive.salon.com/books/feature/2001/12/20/carter/
A Canticle for Liebowitz is definately one of my fav books of all time!
interesting tidbits and corrections:
It's Lucifer's Hammer (the book about the asteriod) by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournell
It's Fred Saberhagen, who lives in New Mexico, and is good friends with SRD, Jack Williamson, Ben Bova & Roger Vardeman
MM: The book The Postman by David Brin starts out like the movie but is entirely different in the end, especially the Corvallis stuff.
The Education of Little Tree was written by Forest (Asa) Carter. I became familiar with it as a "book-monkey" work-study at the UNM Press--while I agree it is a very good groundbreaking book for it's time it was originally and immediately exposed as a fraud, but people liked it so much they tryed very hard to forget who actually wrote it. Here's a fascinating aticle about the whole controversy: archive.salon.com/books/feature/2001/12/20/carter/
fall far and well Pilots!
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