That happens all the time with TV shows BTW (sorry for being slightly OT).  I am thinking for instance to SAAB (Space Above and Beyond) which had a few nice points but was cancelled with more questions opened than closed.

Random entry:
Christopher Anvil collection RX For Chaos.
Interesting note: It came out in 2008, and I just got around to looking at Wikipedia and noticed that the author passed on only a year after that. So Baen books must have decided to ask him for republishing rights while he was still alive both to make him feel good / send him a little money for his funeral costs, and maybe to avoid estate wrangling.

At a glacial pace, I am doing a project relating certain fiction which was ahead of its time with subsequent news stories that cast the original story in new context of relevance. Turns out that a full third of what were once SciFi stories he wrote are *just now* hitting the news. Typical example: A hilarious pseudo-documentary from *1978* called "A Handheld Primer" is just now describing the iPhone-Android wars.

Just finished:  Dark Fire, by C.J. Sansom, the second in his "Shardlake" series, that starts with Dissolution.  These are outstanding historical thrillers, set at the time of Henry VIII.

must check that out.

A while back I read Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. It's a really good novel -not a thriller as such, but lots of suspense in there- based on the story that there was a female pope in the early middle ages. Wikipedia doesnt have much faith in the story but that's besides the point really ;-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Joan#Analysis_and_critique

That was one of the first historical novels I've read. I moved on to The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (1989) about the building of a cathedral in 12thC England. It is a good read, very gripping - but the writing at times gets in the way of the story. There was a bit of a low in the middle where I almost gave up - but at 1,150 pages in my copy, he did well to keep me reading to the end.

The Quincunx by Charles Palliser - it's like Dickens to the power of ten.

Currently reading:



Update: If you want to read a Koontz novel for the first time - I recommend you don't start with this one.  After reading this and then going back to read the reviews on Amazon I'd have to agree with almost every person who gave it 3 stars or less.  This is one of the most tedious books I've ever waded through and I ended up just skip-reading whole pages at a time, (possibly about 30% of the book as a whole).  His Frankenstein series is far, far better than this.

I've picked up Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead once again. I'd abandoned it years back, I remember it being interesting but a similar scenario played out in the story once too often and I lost patience. Hope to complete it this time... (once I get through all those missed Breaking Bad episodes.  )

(Please don't ask me what I consider to be the the most dangerous books ever written. )

There's two of them, isn't there? (Perhaps three, if you consider the first book to consist of and old and a new part).

Thanks 40, I'll bear that in mind. I've been curious about objectivism for a while now, because it gets referenced from time to time in pop culture.

otherwise smart people...

Looks like I have the upper hand here. I didn't get "the most dangerous books" part till I read f0dder's comment... see what I mean? There's atleast one other book in that genre that I consider equally dangerous.

Thanks for the links too. I'll come back to them once I've heard what Ms.Rand has to say.  

The Machine That Changed The World

Quote from: 40hz on August 29, 2012, 04:03 PM

But if you find yourself too readily buying into her Objectivist Philosophy, do yourself a favor and read this and this afterwards.

Now, that was quite interesting and fun read.

+1! Real philosophical discussions usually are if you take the time to read and digest them. And Bob Nozick is always a good read. Check out this book Anarchy, State, and Utopia for more.

Quote from: 40hz on August 29, 2012, 04:20 PM

Quote from: f0dder on August 29, 2012, 04:16 PM

Quote from: 40hz on August 29, 2012, 04:03 PM

(Please don't ask me what I consider to be the the most dangerous books ever written. )

There's two of them, isn't there? (Perhaps three, if you consider the first book to consist of and old and a new part).

Yes two. One consisting of an old part and a new part, plus its "next generation" sequel. Put them together and they've probably provided the 'rationale' and the 'justification' for more bloodshed and suffering than anything else ever written.

The sequel...would that be the one from the L.D.S.? (We would be in total agreement if that is the case)

Oops. Make that three books.

Next up for me is a book on set theory -- something I haven't read about since I was an undergraduate.

Thanks to 40hz, got hands on 101 Zen stories book. Worth a read.

Two books in queue -

48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene
What every BODY is saying.

Which 101 Zen Stories? There's a couple (ish). Blue Cliff Record is the most famous one, but then there's a second one that ... is hiding in my library.

Thanks to 40hz, got hands on 101 Zen stories book. Worth a read.

Glad you like it. I think it's one of the best things I've ever read. Possibly the best considering the difference it made in my life and way of thinking.

Which 101 Zen Stories?

The one I'm referring to is by Nyogen Senzaki (details here). It's more accessible and playful than The Blue Cliff Record with its collection of 100 koans with commentaries. Senzaki's book has been excepted and translated to create 101 Zen Stories which is one of four 'books' released as a collection by Paul Reps under the title Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. The other pieces in the collection are The Gateless Gate, Ten Bulls, and Centering.