Books

My ongoing reading 'project': read every book which has ever won the Hugo award for best novel. I hope to maintain the list of read/unread by updating this post as I go along; as of now I have read 17, 6 of those this year. I know some of these books may be difficult to get hold of (in particular I know The Forever Machine, which has the reputation of being easily the worst book ever to win a Hugo, is). Hopefully more will be available second hand, or for the borrowing.

Unread:

• 2007 Vernor Vinge Rainbows End
• 2006 Robert Charles Wilson Spin
• 2004 Lois McMaster Bujold Paladin of Souls
• 2003 Robert J. Sawyer Hominids
• 2000 Vernor Vinge A Deepness in the Sky
• 1995 Lois McMaster Bujold Mirror Dance
• 1993 Vernor Vinge A Fire Upon the Deep
• 1993 Connie Willis Doomsday Book
• 1992 Lois McMaster Bujold Barrayar
• 1991 Lois McMaster Bujold The Vor Game
• 1990 Dan Simmons Hyperion
• 1989 C.J. Cherryh Cyteen
• 1987 Orson Scott Card Speaker for the Dead
• 1986 Orson Scott Card Ender's Game
• 1982 C.J. Cherryh Downbelow Station
• 1981 Joan D. Vinge The Snow Queen
• 1979 Vonda N. McIntyre Dreamsnake
• 1978 Frederik Pohl Gateway
• 1977 Kate Wilhelm Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
• 1975 Ursula K. Le Guin The Dispossessed
• 1974 Arthur C. Clarke Rendezvous with Rama
• 1973 Isaac Asimov The Gods Themselves
• 1972 Philip José Farmer To Your Scattered Bodies Go
• 1970 Ursula K. Le Guin The Left Hand of Darkness
• 1969 John Brunner Stand on Zanzibar
• 1968 Roger Zelazny Lord of Light
• 1967 Robert A. Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
• 1966 Roger Zelazny This Immortal
• 1965 Fritz Leiber The Wanderer
• 1964 Clifford D. Simak Way Station
• 1962 Robert A. Heinlein Stranger in a Strange Land
• 1961 Walter M. Miller, Jr. A Canticle for Leibowitz
• 1960 Robert A. Heinlein Starship Troopers
• 1959 James Blish A Case of Conscience
• 1958 Fritz Leiber The Big Time
• 1956 Robert A. Heinlein Double Star
• 1955 Mark Clifton & Frank Riley The Forever Machine
• 1953 Alfred Bester The Demolished Man
• 1951 Robert A. Heinlein Farmer in the Sky (retro)

Read:

• 2005 Susanna Clarke Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
• 2002 Neil Gaiman American Gods
• 2001 J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• 1999 Connie Willis To Say Nothing of the Dog
• 1998 Joe Haldeman Forever Peace
• 1997 Kim Stanley Robinson Blue Mars
• 1996 Neal Stephenson The Diamond Age
• 1994 Kim Stanley Robinson Green Mars
• 1988 David Brin The Uplift War
• 1985 William Gibson Neuromancer
• 1984 David Brin Startide Rising
• 1983 Isaac Asimov Foundation's Edge
• 1980 Arthur C. Clarke The Fountains of Paradise
• 1976 Joe Haldeman The Forever War
• 1971 Larry Niven Ringworld
• 1966 Frank Herbert Dune
• 1963 Philip K. Dick The Man in the High Castle
• 1954 Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 (retro)
• 1946 Isaac Asimov The Mule (retro)

You may remember I posted about the book Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell; if you have read that, you may be interested in this seminar—a series of blog posts discussing the book, including by the author. This is at Crooked Timber, which I have recently discovered, and deem worth my reading. Also from there, links to a pair of essays by H. Chandler Davis, mathematician, SF author, resident of Canada—on the American red-hunt in the universities, from the perspective of a huntee. Interesting because of the qualities of the author, but also the perspective gained from writing in 1960 and 1995.

Intriguing for those of a scientific bent, perhaps, is Naive Theories of Motion (via theweaselking).

We have argued in this paper that people develop on the basis of their everyday experience remarkably well-articulated naive theories of motion. These theories provide not only descriptions of, but also causal explanations for, the behavior of moving objects. In particular, many people believe that the act of setting an object in motion impresses in the object an internal force or impetus. This impetus is assumed to keep the object in motion after it is no longer in contact with the original mover. According to this view, moving objects eventually slow down and stop because their impetus gradually dissipates. This naive theory is, as we pointed out, strikingly similar to the medieval theory of impetus.

Lastly, interesting reading has come my way somehow Ontology is Overrated and Situated Software (no doubt the other writing at that site is also worthwhile).

Quick update.

Been meaning to write more, but not finding the time or effort required, so I'll be brief.

Mr dearg's been away over the pond for the week, so I've been cranking on with work mostly. Last Saturday I took a bike ride down to the Pentlands, over and back, which was excellent and shall be repeated. Nice to finally ride off-road, if hard for the uphill bit...

Not up to much else, went to Glasgow shopping yesterday with Mum and Grandma and my Aunt Sarah, which was nice. Have a new pair of running shoes to try out... better be good.

And finally. I must recommend The Time Traveler's Wife as a most excellent book. A nice idea, well executed, very easy to read and generally sucked me in.

Well. What have I been up to lately?

Last weekend was relaxing in a sense... Off up to visit my Dad before he goes off to New Zealand (at the end of the month). A nice lunch courtesy of Sue, and I was off down to visit my Mum. For a good dinner... On Sunday it was back home. And out for dinner! The Gurkha, very hot but still good. Fortunately, as it turns out, I could still remember how to cook after a weekend 'eating out'...

Sunday's dinner was in honour of dearg's birthday; beforehand we saw Serenity. Fun movie (continuing the cancelled TV-series Firefly), ties some loose ends of the series together in a way that actually creates a convincing movie plot. I wasn't entirely convinced about the ending, but generally the film exceeded expectations and was good easy-watching fun with all the requisite explosions and ass-kicking.

In other entertainment news, on Sunday night I finished Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (and now that I link it, currently cheap on Amazon). I was rather impressed by this book, a real kick up the arse for the fantasy genre (not that it will notice). An alternate 1800s England with magic, it's a modern fairy-tale with decent characterisation and setting. Susanna Clarke creates a great period feel, from the faux-historical narrative to the antiquated spellings of a few key words, but mostly through a well-considered use of language, such that it is a pleasure to read sentence by sentence.

If it wasn't over a thousand pages long, I wouldn't have cared whether there was a plot at all.

Two of the books I have read recently. I'll avoid spoilers (I haven't worked out what to do with them on here anyway). On to the superficial mini-reviews!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I won't say too much here, other than I've read this and I'm unsurprised. You've either read all the rest, so you're going to read this, or you've not and you won't, so there's little point going into the details.

The Grapes of Wrath

I approached this in the "let's read a classic" mindset, but wow, really a powerful book.

The bank—the monster has to have profits all the time. It can't wait. It'll die. No, taxes go on. When the monster stops growing, it dies. It can't stay one size.

It is perhaps somewhat dogmatic (and this essay suggests that the 'dust bowl' and resultant migration wasn't as it is portrayed in the book), but the story itself is sad and stirring.

Sabriel / Lirael / Abhorsen

Okay, not going to stop at two books.

Garth Nix seems rather a blatent k3wl kiddie-fantasy pen-name, but I actually found the above trilogy rather interesting and engrossing. His world pushes all the right fantasy buttons, so I found it a good piece of necromantic escapism.

The Big Over Easy

I'll never finish this post if I keep reading more books rather than writing about the ones I've read.

A Jasper Fforde book without Thursday Next! Oh no! This is a murder-mystery in a Ffordian style, where the Nursery Crimes Department are trying to solve the death of Humpty Dumpty. The ending is amusing in its satirical complexity, but I'm not sure whether this matches up to his earlier work.

Alien Vs Predator

Watched Alien Vs Predator the other night. Was about as good as one expects. It could have been a much better film if it wasn't constrained to the 1.5-hour attention span, as there didn't seem to be quite enough to make me care about the characters. Generally rushed, but still sufficiently entertaining for a rental.

Lanark

I finished reading Lanark (Alasdair Gray) last night. It was... different. Certainly glad it was recommended to me, although I can't help but feel I need some time to feel the impact of the book. Wonderfully weird and gloomy.

Man is the pie that bakes and eats itself, and the recipe is separation.

A Widow for One Year

The night before last I finished reading A Widow for One Year, by John Irving. Reading in parallel, since I took that one on the train, see. I really do like Irving's stuff; I wasn't so sure after reading A Prayer for Owen Meany that I'd want to read much more of his stuff. Not that I didn't like the book, but I didn't know if his writing varied much. Now I want more! I suppose I enjoy it because it's fairly easy reading (hard to put down), and yet there is a well-constructed story which works as a whole.

Not a great deal happening at the moment.

Had a good day on Saturday though. I went to the Pentlands with dearg, and it was an enjoyable mostly-dry walk. It's a bit colder now, leading to the usual amusement of me trying to put layers on in a sudden strong freezing wind at the first peak. Must get some warmer clothing.

Either we finished at just the right time, or it's a lot more pleasurable walking up a hill in the rain than standing at a bus stop.

In cosier news, I recently borrowed and read Going Postal, the latest Terry Pratchett. As engrossing as expected, if perhaps a little too believable. Must pick something else to read tonight.

Um. That's it.

Finished A Suitable Boy last night. Butbutbut... Finished? How can it be finished?

Yes, I really enjoyed it. A story woven in fascinating fashion.

I can't believe I'm going to have to read a different book now. It had better be something lighthearted, I guess.

I'm still reading A Suitable Boy, but I haven't felt up to reading for very long since before the weekend, so I've just (yesterday) finished off Man of Everest, an old Reprint Society hardback I'd picked up from a charity bookshop. It's Tenzing Norgay's autobiography, transcribed by James Ramsey Ullman. Of course these days books are ghostwritten without such acknowledgement, and their supposed authors are quite probably not illiterate.

Anyway, didn't realise that it was on his seventh attempt that Tenzing succeeded in climbing Everest. Amazing. Glad I picked this book up...

Hopefully going to see Kontroll tonight.

I finished reading Felaheen yesterday, the last of that trilogy. It was good enough (the book and the trilogy), and certainly worth reading, but while I enjoy the alternative history aspect and the general ambience, detective stories aren't really my thing. I have a hard enough time keeping track of what's going on in a novel without a liberal sprinkling of plot twists and the like. Well, I can't make up my mind, I do like the teasing revelations, where one gets a vague feeling of what's going on but can't really tell, but I'm sure I miss most of the little hints present.

I've just started A Suitable Boy. That's been on my shelf for a while. I'm enjoying it so far, having just finished part one of nineteen. At this rate, the book will take 34 reading hours.

First post this month. Oops.

I've settled into a 9-5 kind of routine these days. Weird. Getting up at 7.30 or so, in for 9ish, stay until 5, producing a pile of paper covered in weird symbols and diagrams, go home and cook and zonk. Come the weekend, something random on Saturday, climbing on Sunday.

Been reading a bit, on Effendi just now (Jon Courtenay Grimwood). I'd still recommend the trilogy—hope the third's okay too.

So... Yes, that's a point of interest/annoyance, I often start an explaination with the word "so". I think it's because I start answering a question because I know the answer quite well, but then find myself still constructing the words to communicate this as I open my mouth.

Oh yes, I'm now tutoring CS2. Interesting... My first shot at this sort of thing.

A classical theme again... Last night, I finally watched Bram Stoker's Dracula. At last. Fun. Currently, I am reading 2001: A Space Odyssey (still only seen the first two thirds of the film).

I guess I need a third item. Well, I bought Fermat's Last Theorem today. The book not the theorem, haha. Not quite as classic, is it.

So, I wonder what should be top of the list of classic books and films to read and watch. Metropolis is sitting waiting to be watched, but apart from that...

P.S. eating one's pasta on one's knee in the living room feels a damn sight more civilised with the CD of Beethoven's piano sonatas on in the background

Yesterday, I read to the end of The Dice Man (interesting, enjoyable), and read/watched both ends (and the middles!) of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (classic), Dirty Pretty Things (great film) and X-Men II (fun).

I really would recommend Dirty Pretty Things. Sort of gritty thing with Audrey Tautou, I thought it was really well done.

Reading. Scared. Far too alluring.

Started reading A Scots Quair last night. Having read Sunset Song (the first book of the trilogy) at school I keep noticing particular paragraphs that I must have memorised to quote, or used in some essay. Even so, I am emjoying reading it again, and I'm glad I didn't just dive into the 2nd book. The language used is really very pretty, the scots as used there strikes me as very poetic in contrast to the usual harsh English tongue, in the way that flowery old English writing does, or indeed the peculiar American style of The Catcher in the Rye and similarly artful works.

Perhaps it's just a question of the unusual being elevated to some special status through no virtue of its own, but I do think some of the great dialect writers really knew how to weave their magic.

I was tempted away from my book by Martin and a visit to the Casino; having rewatched the excellent Casino earlier (Martin just bought the DVD) I found it difficult to resist (although we hoped there would be no hand-or-money dilemmas). After a can of Coke in Nickel Edwards, I went with the guys to the casino, and indulged myself with a cup of coffee and ham sandwich, before proceeding to break even at the blackjack table.

Rebel that I am.

Well, Fingersmith gripped me in the end, got to sleep about 5.30 after reading it. Probably will finish it fairly soon after all.

Liz arrives in a couple of hours. I wait...

Read The Catcher in the Rye the other day. I can sort of see why it's regarded quite so highly, it is very distinctive, and probably was much more so at the time. The style of narration probably wouldn't work for a much longer book (certainly not over twice the size), but it fits the central character really well. Yes, I did rather enjoy it, and only really put it down to fetch myself more glasses of water.

Currently reading Fingersmith. It was hard to get into at first, being told in a much less artful (and rather clichéd) style, but it has gripped me now. Even so, it might be a while until I finish it.

At the time of my last entry I was feeling a little weird, but fortunately this meant I was eventually able to sink into my work, and got stuff done. Well, at least I wrote a couple of pages of junk.

Feeling relatively pleased with myself, I went along with folks for a couple of games of pool. Wasn't going to drink or anything. Um, ended up on a mammoth night, involving visits to the casino and many pubs, getting to bed at 10am after a wonderful fry-up in the flat.

So, Friday was a bit of a write-off. For no good reason, got nothing done yesterday either until just after midnight, at which point I had a few good hours. Now starting again, things are going well.

Now, enough of that dull stuff I always wibble about. Been reading a few novels recently. Starting off with a couple of books of Milligan's autobiography, Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall and so on. Partially because it's the quickest way to get my reading pile down, numerically speaking at least, and partly because the film of said book was on TV earlier in the week.

Moved on to Night Watch which I enjoyed immensely, and I'm currently reading Science of Discworld II: The Globe. The story is enjoyable enough, and the pop science chapters aren't bad as such, but feel a bit strained. I'd really rather just read the story and then read a science book. Don't recall feeling like that about the first one.

Well, I've recently got into watching lots of good movies. About a movie a day. On that note, I'm still waiting for Trilogy of the Dead to arrive, although for now I do have the Evil Dead trilogy (which was posted at the same time!), and have watched the first one. I've seen the third before, but now I'm watching them in order.

However, it's been a while since I've been reading regularly. I stopped buying books because the to-read shelf got full, and still failed to start reading. Well now I have. I finished off The Years of Rice and Salt the other day, and read the last 4/5 of From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey subsequently. Oh, I had read the start in a couple of coffee shops before, I don't make a habit of starting books partway through.

Now I've started A Prayer for Owen Meany. I'm really enjoying the style of writing, the way sentences are put together, and the unhurried pace.

I'm a happy bunny. Also, amused by this Amazon entry on a category theory book I've got from the library. Note to self: get the Barr book out too.

Currently reading The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson. Started on the train down, also in the pub waiting for random, some on the tube, more coming back. Probably over ten hours and I'm only on page 466 of 772. What value! :)

This made me laugh out loud, regarding the sufis:

Love, oh yes, all is love. God is love, but if everything is love and all is one with Allah, then why do they have to get so drunk every day?

At least I've got to the stage where I know what the years of rice and salt are.

So, the night before last I finished Dirty Havana Trilogy. Odd. Disconnected stories document life's progression. Sex-mad cuban man, women, whores, a picture of poverty.

Blink.

Now I'm reading a book with a plot. Stone. Not that great either, but a nice storytelling style.

As I said, I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on the trains etc.

As the software behind this weblog is not yet sophisticated enough to hide spoilers (predictably), I shall not go into details, much as I'd like to. I shall merely state that there is a different feel to the book, which I enjoyed. It was more part of a series of books than self-contained; previous books are more singular adventures, where as this was full of intrigue and feels like it is building up to the last two books. Yes, it is of the standard form, but it feels different.

Going to start reading Dirty Havana Trilogy tonight or tomorrow, looks interesting.

Oh, apparently it was announced at my School prizegiving tonight that I just graduated with a first from Edinburgh.

What you got back home, little sisters, to play your fuzzy warbles on?

Tonight I am reading A Clockwork Orange.

You may have heard of the BBC's The Big Read. They have a list of the top 100 books here and here.

I've only read about 30. How about you?

This is indicative of how much I've been reading recently. Not in the last few weeks, but in the last couple of years. I just haven't read as much as I used to. It's a shame, because I really love reading when I find time for it.

Hopefully I'll make an effort once my report is handed in. I have a couple of stacks of promising books waiting for me.