A Million Open Doors, by John Barnes. He isn't well known, but I like his way of mixing scifi worlds with modern day problems. This novel is about thousands of human cultures on various worlds dealing with intermixing of cultures after instantaneous travel is discovered. In other words, an examination of globalization.
Onto The Hound of the Baskervilles. It was interesting reading The Final Problem. If it had been written today I'm sure there would have been more foreshadowing and allusions to Moriarty. I can only imagine the frustration of people reading The Final Problem when it first came out. I also finished Essential Daredevil vol. 1. It's pretty good, I don't think I've ever actually read any Daredevil comics before (I'm not counting Battlin' Jack Murdock). The blurb on the back claims he has a rogue's gallery to rival Spider-Man's which is not exaggeration, more like outright lying But there are appearances by Spider-Man and Ka-Zar Not sure whether to go for Essential Spider-Man vol. 6 or Essential X-Men vol. 2 next.
Well finished this, and whilst not the worst thing I've ever read it is one of those books that really spurs me on as a writer because, frankly, if this guy can get published I sure as hell can! Now started rereading Creed by James Herbert.
Too spastic to read just one. Shadows of Ecstasy by Charles Williams, part of the Inklings circle with J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Psychohistorical Crisis by Donald Kingsbury. Everything Must Go, by James Ladyman.
^^ Psychohistorical Crisis is great. I must re-read that at some point. I'll check that out. The used copies at Amazon were pretty expensive.
I think you need to look again. I just saw second-hand paperback versions of A Million Open Doors on Amazon beginning at 1c.
^ Dammit, I'm such a nerd, it just took me a second to realize WW didn't stand for Wonder Woman. Anyway, recently finished Robert E. Howard's "Almuric", started Ursula Le Guin's "The Dispossessed" afterwards. Planning on reading the final installment of Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos, "Rise of Endymion", after that.
I am two-thirds through Ghost Map: The Stoy of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How It Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World by Steven Johnson. It is about the 1854 cholera outbreak and how Dr John Snow investigated its cause.
I am now reading Heroic Leadership, and not just because it reprints two of my essays. This is the second book on heroism, a favorite topic of mine, and it's great stuff. As is their blog. I guess so. I could have sworn it said the cheapest copy was $56. It's been a long week.
As a freshman, I took a class called: Heroism: Ancient and Modern which looked at how societies defined heroes from the Hellenistic Age to today (well, the 90s at that point). It was a fascinating study in how heroes are representative of the society which elevates them to such status. It's incredibly telling, therefore, that many 21st century heroes are incredibly flawed, dark, and of otherwise personally conflicted (Nolan's Batman comes to mind).
I bought it, but it's still in my unread pile. I'm glad you reminded me, though, because it would be a good resource for something I'm writing at the moment. Oh, don't get me started. I think you'd find both of Scott's books interesting, but you should also check out that Blog-- a lot of it is about how heroism is defined and categorized. There's a lot there to inspire, but also a lot that's thought provoking and a lot that's illuminating as to how different people and cultures define their heroes.
Lasy night I finished reading The Latehomecomer; A Hmong Family Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang. This warm, and beautiful story is about an extended familiy's flight from war-torn Laos, into the refugee camps of Thailand (where the author was born and spent the first few years of her life), to their arrival in America and the problems they had settling into a country so different from their own. I love that the author explained so much about Hmong culture and also that she was able to convey the great love and respect she felt for her family especially for her grandmother. Today I started reading Freycinet by Melanie Calvert. It is a mystery set on the east coast of Tasmania.
Delving back into more Edgar Allan Poe as I wrap up the current book on the Cold War that I've been reading.
On the last chapter of Bad Blood. As expected, a good story, appealing characters, and beautiful descriptions of Alaska. Unexpected... some nice little references to TNG.
I have been having phone/internet problems for the post 2 days so I have been reading more than usual. In those 2 days I have read *Freycinet by Melanie Calvert. Murder mystery set on the wast coast of Tasmania. 3.5/5 *Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books - Leah Price (editor). This book looks of the collections of the following writers Alison Bechdel, Stephen Carter, Junot Diaz, Rebecca Goldstein ans Steven Pinker, Lev Grossman and Sophie Gee, Jonathan Lethem, Claire Messus and James Wood, Philip Pullman, Gary Shteyngart, Edmund White. The writers answer questions about their collections, and pick their 10 favourite books. About half the book is photos of the writers' bookshelves. 3.5/5
While i am not finished reading Crime & Punishment I am trying to figure out what i am going to read next. I'm torn between Ulysses and the Diaries of Franz Kafka :/