Recommend a Book.

[Rust]

Skip "Hell's Gate". It starts out excellent, and falls apart at the end.

[chrysalis]

Although "Crum" painted a good picture of true Appalachian life, it was fictional and very vulgar at times. Read it only if you can stand the vulgarity (it's bad, really bad.)

"Mammy Jane" on the other hand was completely biographical and offered the other true Appalachian life of that time period. One gets to know the hows and whys of the development of the Appalachian culture and the wonderful life of such a fine lady.

[Akitsu]

Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch series just had a new release... Last Watch... (making the series thusfar include Night Watch, Day Watch, Twilight Watch, and Last Watch) ... which I read while I was sick in bed. I'm impressed with the fact that a lot of elements from the first 3 books were incorporated in the 4th, and not final despite the name, book.

The writing is solid... very solid indeed. There were a few surprise mentions of events that happened in the alternate history of the movie series, but they were passed off as dreams and fantasy... which is pretty amusing. The series has gotten nothing but better over it's course, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.

Saw the movies? Trust me... read the books. The movies are a good companion piece to the novels, and have a few common plot threads... but the books are far more interesting.

[Rust]

"God's Demon" by Wayne Barlowe.

From the back cover:

The Powerful Lord Sargatanas, brigadier general in Beelzebub's host, is restless. For millennia Sargatanas has ruled dutifully over an Infernal metropolis, but he has never forgotten what he lost in the Fall. He is sickened by what he has done and what he has become. Now, with a small event - a confrontation with a damned soul - he makes a decision that will reverberate through every being in Hell. Sargatanas decides to attempt the impossible, to rebel, to win his way Home and bring with him anyone who chooses to follow...be they demon or soul.

He will stake everything on fighting all the abominable forces of Hell arrayed against him when the prize is nothing less than redemption.

A compelling read about hope, hopelessness, loss, and forgiveness. A nightmarish landscape that cannot be rivaled, with an evil that is absolutely unbound. And a hope of forgiveness that cannot but be admired.

[Akitsu]

Been reading Jack McDevitt's books as of late. Started off with his latest, Devil's Eye... then went to the used book store to snatch up the first in the series... A Talent For War. Very interesting writing style for science fiction... tends to turn them into mystery novels in a realistic scifi setting, where the main character isn't some super detective... but a normal person with a more mundane background.

The main character in the series I'm reading, Alex Benedict, is an artifact hunter who's passion is hunting down antiquities of great value... but he's no Indiana Jones. He tends not to carry a weapon... often walks into traps... and makes very human mistakes the entire time.

If you want interesting scifi that actually makes you think, it's a fun romp.

Also reading the second Ember book, which is addictively awesome. A must read.

[Akitsu]

Reading updates? What's everyone else mentally munching on at the moment?

The third Ember book kind of threw me off... and I lost interest in it. It's a prequel set before the war... which really isn't my cup of tea. I hear book 4 gets back to our characters, but I've yet to dive in to The Diamond of Darkhold. (The third book is The Prophet of Yonwood I believe)

Digested some more McDevitt... now I'm on Polaris Star. Very good thusfar.

Here's an interesting freebie that got some good reviews. Not as impressive as the Zombie Survival Guide, but it's free... so how can you complain? The Steampunk's Guide to the Apocalypse is entertaining if nothing else, but a lot of it's "science" is wrong. Like the idea of using old CDs to reflect light onto plants. Unfortunately this tends to create "hotspots" on them which can burn said plants rather than help them grow. A simple white board is a much more fitting reflector when it comes to botanical cultivation.

The book is filled with a lot of these concepts which look good on paper, but tend to fall apart when it comes to the practical aplications. Only someone who's made a real growbox can tell you why you don't use highly reflective surfaces like mirrors and mylar to reflect sunlight onto plants. (Erm why did I make a concealed growbox? Eheh... ummm.... I PLEAD THE FIFTH!!!!)

In any event, it's entertaining if nothing else... and at 56 pages small enough to read through fairly quickly. Prints up nicely if you put 2 pages to each sheet as well... as each PDF page is actually 2 pages in one. Landscape orientation that is.

[Rust]

I've begun injesting the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Modern Day Detective stories told from the perspective of a Wizard.

But right now, I'm on "Wrath of a Mad God" by Raymond E. Feist, and the third book in his "Darkwar" series.

[ambrose]

Haunted
by Chuck Palanhiuk

One of his most messed up works.

[Maxx]

Slaughterhouse Five was, is and will always be Excellent.

Though Cat's Cradle was better.

[moonmistress]

I'm reading Mockingbird by Walter Tevis. He also wrote my favorite book, The Man Who Fell to Earth (nothing like the horrid film of it). I'm enjoying it. Tevis was good at writing science fiction. I'm sorry he didn't write more of it. Before I started reading Mockingbird, I read a series of 6 murder mysteries by Martin Cruz Smith featuring a Russian investigator named Arkady Renko. I enjoyed those as well. Unfortunately, I started with the 4th book in the series because I didn't realize it was a series. I recommend starting at the beginning with Gorky Park.

[TheAmazingRando]

The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. It's very enlightening, and actually makes me a little scared

"You know what I blame this on the breakdown of? Society!"

-Moe Sizlack, The Simpsons

[ambrose]

I'm sure everybody here has read it already, but just in case, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

[BlitzwingHaz]

Heh I recently bought Cat's Cradle and Good Omens funnily enough Haven't got around to reading them yet though.
Was reading Robin Hobb's Farship Traders and The Dark Tower series, and sort of got bored with both (Song for Suzzanah was a big dissapointment to me). I need to finish the stories though.

[TheAmazingRando]

Heh I recently bought Cat's Cradle and Good Omens funnily enough Haven't got around to reading them yet though.
Was reading Robin Hobb's Farship Traders and The Dark Tower series, and sort of got bored with both (Song for Suzzanah was a big dissapointment to me). I need to finish the stories though.

Song of Susannah is tough slog, I'll be the first to admit. I did really like "The Dark Tower" though.