For those of you who have been reading for a bit, you know I’m attempting to read 52 books in 52 weeks. You also know that I’ve not posted a review for a while. The main reason for this, obviously, is that I haven’t been reading nearly as much! My reading machine got a bit clogged up when I was trying to read Guns, Germs and Steel, alongside A History of Russia, alongside a book about how Buddhists deal with anger. It was the first two books that really slowed things down. Things then slowed down even more a few weeks ago, when I classes started up for me, and a ton of reading for that was heaped on my head.
Thus, it is time for a change in my reading plan. I have, for the time being, wiped Guns, Germs, and Steel, as well as A History of Russia, off of my list. I was 3/4 done with the first, and only 120 pages into the second. At least until this quarter is over, for my 52 books, I’m going to stick to science fiction, fantasy, etc. – things that aren’t too taxing on the brain! If I good figure out how to create 10 or so more hours in a day, I’d continue reading nonfiction for pleasure while also having to read it for school… but alas, I haven’t figured out how to do that yet. Sticking to fiction while in school will give me a nice mix of both fiction and nonfiction, a mix I should be able to keep up with.
The first book on this new reading diet is Ender’s Game, which I started yesterday. I’m about 150 pages into it, and really enjoying it. I still don’t get why the boys are playing essentially lasertag in null gravity to train to be ship commanders, but that’s okay. It’s still quite an enjoyable read. When I finish it, I may move on to the next in the series. I’m also considering 1984 by Orwell. I may end up checking out some lists of classic science fiction novels, and picking out some from that.
If you have any favorite titles from science fiction, fantasy, or just plain fiction, let me know, and I’ll attempt to get them read. I’ve already got a few recommendations to work from, from this post. (Ironically, in the comments area of this post, I predicted that I might not be able to keep up with 52 books in 52 weeks once classes started…)
I may have told you this before, but note that the Ender series kinda fractures beyond the first. The direct sequels featuring Ender are very different than the first. The “Shadow” series (written later) takes a different approach, giving it in many ways a more similar feel to the first book, but not really following Ender himself.
Give Ender a try – the reveal is worth it. Oddly enough, I just finished the book for the nth time yesterday and started on the ‘second’ this morning. Joshua does have a point, Speaker and to an even greater extent Xenocide, don’t follow directly from Ender. Scott Card always said that Speaker (and Xenocide) were the books he really wanted to write, but Ender had to be written first to set the scene. They’re much more philosophical and grown-up. The ‘Shadow’ series is more in the Ender vein for young adults, and is much less complex and layered. Still a good read though.
As for 1984 – it’s good, but more for the scary predictions than the quality of the writing. If you’re looking for other ‘classic’ sci-fi, you can’t do much better than John Wyndham. Very ‘British’, very 1950′s, but very good, especially Day of the Triffids and Kracken Wakes. The Midwich Cuckoos is also very good and MUCH better than the film! And Azimov and the Foundation books of course. And if you haven’t read the Hitchhikers Guide books by Douglas Adams yet, why not?
Oh, and then there’s Neuromancer (THE cyberpunk classic) and my personal favourite Cryptonomicon (and related System of the World trilogy) by Stephenson
Other non-sci-fi recommendations? Think I’ve said this before, but ‘The Crow Road’ by Iain Banks is brilliant.
Joshua, I don’t remember you telling me that, but of course, that doesn’t mean that you didn’t tell me. What are Speaker and Xenocide like, time-wise? Has Ender aged quite a bit?
Yeah, Cas, that is rather odd that you just finished Ender’s Game. Also, thanks for the recommendations. A few of those folks, I’d never heard of. I own a copy of Hitchhiker, but I’ve not read it yet (story of my life, I swear). Neuromancer was also on my list already, from seeing it noted elsewhere as the “maker of cyberpunk”.
There are a few jumps in time, but in short he’s a grown man by the time we see him again.
Maybe you should think about some speed reading course… that would let you finish your 52 books a bit faster.