Book book book
As usual, nothing's ever all good or all bad. Currently I'm full of profound sadness, much anxiety, moderrate happiness, great anticipation, etc. The more things change, the more they stay the same, and all that.
One of the really good things right now is that a new 13" Unibody MacBook Pro (easy to read fonts + reverse colors with 1 button + size that really does fit on my lap comfortably) means that not only can I do some of the additional training/prep I need without getting eyestrain and tension/migraines so quickly, but I'll also be able to resume reading recreationally.
I don't even know where to start; it's not like I have a ton of money to spend on books nor to read as voraciously as I have at times in the past, but... any suggestions? I've tended toward hard science fiction with intelligent, introspective, analytic protagonists -- although I found it increasingly difficult to get attached to SF starting sometime i the 90s, with some exceptions.
In no particular order: Clarke left me cold for the most part, Heinlein was fascinating but sexist until Stranger in a Strange Land (goofy/entertaining/annoying/sexist thereafter); Asimov, throughout his career, almost always caught an held my attention in practically every genre. I've enjoyed some Brin (Earth, Glory Season), some Benford (Timescape!), some Bear (Moving Mars), some Silverberg (Up The Line), Frederik Pohl (Gateway and pretty much everything else), a bunch of others I can't remember right this second -- most are packed in boxes in the basement right now or aren't terribly mainstream. Softer SF's OK too if it's good (fsvo good), ditto for pretty much any genre if the book is right.
Time travel and its cousins are awesome. A relatively small or well-defined cast of important characters is better than having a zillion people to keep track of (probably why I could never get into Turtledove's books). Too much action/battle tends to annoy me, but characters who engage in mental masturbation do, too.
Umumum... Niven annoyed me even though I always should have enjoyed his work... cyberpunk did nothing for me, though I'm sure I'd enjoy something in the genre if I tried hard enough... hated Sterling's work... used to enjoy Orson Scott Card but couldn't stand him after a while.
Don't care about male vs. female protagonists; I tend to relate to make ones slightly better, but again, how they think is far more important than their gender identity.
Anyway, suggestions? Remember, it doesn't have to be SF despite my leanings in that direction...
One of the really good things right now is that a new 13" Unibody MacBook Pro (easy to read fonts + reverse colors with 1 button + size that really does fit on my lap comfortably) means that not only can I do some of the additional training/prep I need without getting eyestrain and tension/migraines so quickly, but I'll also be able to resume reading recreationally.
I don't even know where to start; it's not like I have a ton of money to spend on books nor to read as voraciously as I have at times in the past, but... any suggestions? I've tended toward hard science fiction with intelligent, introspective, analytic protagonists -- although I found it increasingly difficult to get attached to SF starting sometime i the 90s, with some exceptions.
In no particular order: Clarke left me cold for the most part, Heinlein was fascinating but sexist until Stranger in a Strange Land (goofy/entertaining/annoying/sexist thereafter); Asimov, throughout his career, almost always caught an held my attention in practically every genre. I've enjoyed some Brin (Earth, Glory Season), some Benford (Timescape!), some Bear (Moving Mars), some Silverberg (Up The Line), Frederik Pohl (Gateway and pretty much everything else), a bunch of others I can't remember right this second -- most are packed in boxes in the basement right now or aren't terribly mainstream. Softer SF's OK too if it's good (fsvo good), ditto for pretty much any genre if the book is right.
Time travel and its cousins are awesome. A relatively small or well-defined cast of important characters is better than having a zillion people to keep track of (probably why I could never get into Turtledove's books). Too much action/battle tends to annoy me, but characters who engage in mental masturbation do, too.
Umumum... Niven annoyed me even though I always should have enjoyed his work... cyberpunk did nothing for me, though I'm sure I'd enjoy something in the genre if I tried hard enough... hated Sterling's work... used to enjoy Orson Scott Card but couldn't stand him after a while.
Don't care about male vs. female protagonists; I tend to relate to make ones slightly better, but again, how they think is far more important than their gender identity.
Anyway, suggestions? Remember, it doesn't have to be SF despite my leanings in that direction...