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[Teneb]

Rescuing this thread from the third page because I've started reading Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency last night and holy crap it is great. I'm not even that far in and can already tell I'll like it far too much.

Also finished The Difference Engine and it was weird, and is certainly one of those books that makes more sense after a few re-reads. After reading it all, as well as the authors' notes at the end of the book, I think I liked it. It was a nice twist, even if I only partially understood it without an explanation.

Spoiler: Actual spoiler, related to the twist (click to show/hide)

I really liked how it's actually cyberpunk, only disguised as steampunk.

[Spehss _]

Reading Andy Weir's The Martian after someone else posted about it in this thread and I added it to my list of books to look for at bookstores. Bought it today. Read it non-stop for ~6 hours. About 4/5 finished with it. Only stopping because it's late at night.

Wooooooo that's a good sci-fi novel. Would recommend.

[Amperzand]

Can confirm. Damn good book.

[NJW2000]

Jorge Luis Borges, Garden of forking paths/ Artifices.

Pretty great.

[JoshuaFH]

I've taken a very keen interest in reading lately. I finished "The Golden Condom" by Jeanne Safer in three days, a new reading record for me given how long I'm prone to hemming and hawing. It was about the psychological states of unrequited lovers, cheaters, the cheater's victims, and both fulfilling and unfulfilling relationships, and more. It was very interesting and enlightening.

Before that I read "It's All About The Bike" by Robert Penn, about a man's worldwide journey, collection parts from the greatest manufacturers to build his perfect bicycle, interlaced with a biography of himself and his bicycling journeys, an informative documentary on the invention and development of the bicycle since it's invention, and interesting bicycling and bike facts. That was a great read.

I'm going to be picking back up 'Adventures of a Bystander', Peter Drucker's Autobiography. Also, Drucker's "Managing for Results" which I have on loan from the library. Just so much by him is so enchantingly pragmatic.

I grew up loving fiction, but now it seems that nonfiction has arrested my interest almost entirely, especially by worldly and wise authors. I'm actively searching for more books that fall under this distinction to gobble up.

[Dozebôm Lolumzalìs]

I can't remember the name, but I've recently read some very good scifi books. "Hard" science fiction along with a good plot - and it's a loosely related series! My favorite kind!

Edit: Jack McDevitt.

[TempAcc]

Currently reading the Confessions of Saint Augustine. Its a pretty impressive acount of medieval middle upper class life and the educational systems of the time, and also depicts Augustine's conflict with faith as a whole and his general search for wisdom and happiness. Its not often you find a reliable account of a medieval man who started his life as mostly non religious and his heartfelt search for truth.

[Spehss _]

I grew up loving fiction, but now it seems that nonfiction has arrested my interest almost entirely, especially by worldly and wise authors. I'm actively searching for more books that fall under this distinction to gobble up.

I'm in the same boat. As a kid I pretty much read only fiction. Now my collection of non-fiction books is growing steadily. _{^{Most of them are computer books or robot books, but I swear I've got some philosophy in the pile as well.}}

Just started The Fire in The Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer 2nd Edition by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine. It's pretty neat.

[Flying Dice]

American Vandal, a biography of Mark Twain that draws quite heavily on his travel writing. It's been rather interesting thus far.

[Yoink]

I'm reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Luiz Zafón.
So far it has been one of the greatest books I can remember ever having read. For a while I was hesitant to praise it too highly, no matter how much I was enjoying it, since I've had seemingly excellent books suddenly lose their spark along the way before, but I'm (sadly) nearing the end and the quality has not let up for a moment.

In fact, it's become even more gripping in recent chapters, something that didn't seem possible given how absorbed I was in the first half- or even third- of the book. Now I shall get back to it; it seems rather likely that I will stay up until I finish it. Gods help me tomorro- er, later today when I have to make an early start, doing a lot of stressful things, most of them involving high levels of social interaction.

Worth it.

[Tack]

Just finished the Steelheart/Reckoner series by Sanderson.
Sadly less gripping. Awesome story and setting, though honestly the ending was surprising yet disappointing.

[Emma]

Just started Dune and I'm feeling a little disappointed. It seems to me that if George R R Martin over-describes things, Frank Herbert under-describes things.

[JasmineJas]

I'm much more a fan of Murakami's shorter than longer books (Wind-up Bird Chronicle was very much a book of great and tedious parts mixed together whereas - I beg to differ on this, Yevgeni - After Dark is a perfect description of the uncanny world of a city by night, and South of the Border West of the Sun or Sputnik Sweetheart are masterpieces) but I thought 1Q84 was wonderful.

[NJW2000]

Talking of Murakami, wtf was up with his "The Strange Library"?

I mean, the writing is good, but that's all I got from it... and for the price of a normal, hundred page + novel.

[milo christiansen]

Reading "Alex Archer's" Rogue Angel series. It's one of those terrible serial series that are actually written by several authors that couldn't make it any other way.

As such series go it isn't bad, but I can tell that they will get really boring in a hurry... Generally I prefer something with more continuity and a non-stupid plot, but a change of pace is nice one in a while.

So far it's day 5, and 13/41 books down (with breaks for work, sleep, and plating computer games)... Yes, I am a very fast reader, I regularly astound the local librarians