Read Before 2001
Submitted by dgeiser13 on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 10:03
Tags:
- About a Boy by Nick Hornby
- Acts of the Apostles by John Sundman
- American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
- Among The Missing by Richard Laymon
- Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins
- Bag of Bones by Stephen King
- Bellwether by Connie Willis
- Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
- Bite by Richard Laymon
- Carrie by Stephen King
- Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons (Twice)
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
- Children of the Night by Dan Simmons
- Christine by Stephen King
- City Come A-Walkin' by John Shirley
- The Cobweb by Stephen Bury
- The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
- Count Zero by William Gibson
- The Crook Factory by Dan Simmons (1999)
- Cujo by Stephen King
- Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
- The Dark Half by Stephen King
- The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King
- The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three
- The Dead Zone by Stephen King
- Demons by John Shirley
- The Descent by Jeff Long
- The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
- Demon by John Varley
- Desperation by Stephen King
- The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
- Distraction : A Novel by Bruce Sterling
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
- Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
- The Double : An Investigation by Don Webb
- Dry Water by Eric S. Nylund
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- Einstein's Bridge by John Cramer
- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
- Endymion by Dan Simmons
- Essential Saltes by Don Webb
- The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
- Fires of Eden by Dan Simmons
- Firestarter by Stephen King
- The Firm by John Grisham (Unfortunately)
- Floating Dragon by Peter Straub
- Fool on the Hill : A Novel by Matt Ruff
- For Love of Mother-Not by Alan Dean Foster
- The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
- A Game of Universe by Eric S. Nylund
- Gateway by Frederik Pohl
- Gerald's Game by Stephen King
- Ghost Story by Peter Straub
- The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
- The Golden Globe by John Varley
- Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
- The Hacker and the Ants by Rudy Rucker
- The Hellfire Club by Peter Straub
- High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
- The Hollow Man by Dan Simmons
- Hyperion by Dan Simmons
- Idoru by William Gibson
- Ill Wind by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason
- The Illearth War by Stephen R. Donaldson
- In the Beginning...Was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson
- In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
- Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
- Insomnia by Stephen King
- Interface by Stephen Bury
- The Inverted World by Christopher Priest [03/12/2001]
- It by Stephen King
- Koko by Peter Straub
- The Legacy of Heorot by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes
- Lifehouse by Spider Robinson
- Lord Foul's Bane by Stepehn R. Donaldson
- The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
- Master of Space and Time by Rudy Rucker
- Midnight's Lair by Richard Laymon
- Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese by Mike Nelson
- Millennium by John Varley
- Mindkiller by Spider Robinson
- Misery by Stephen King
- Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
- Mother of Storms by John Barnes
- Mr. X by Peter Straub
- Mystery by Peter Straub
- Needful Things by Stephen King
- Neuromancer by William Gibson
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
- Noir by K. W. Jeter
- The Number of the Beast by Robert Heinlein (Twice)
- On Writing : A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (2000)
- One Rainy Night by Richard Laymon
- The One Tree by Stephen R. Donaldson
- Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card
- Pet Semetary by Stephen King
- The Power That Preserves by Stephen R. Donaldson
- Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore
- A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
- The Proteus Operation by James Patrick Hogan
- The Real Story: The Gap into Conflict by Stephen R. Donaldson
- Ringworld by Larry Niven
- The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons
- Rose Madder by Stephen King
- Run by Douglas E. Winter [3/2/2001]
- Salem's Lot by Stephen King
- Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson
- Seek! Selected Nonfiction by Rudy Rucker
- Sewer, Gas & Electric : The Public Works Trilogy by Matt Ruff
- Shadowland by Peter Straub
- The Shining by Stephen King
- A Signal Shattered by Eric S. Nylund
- Signal to Noise by Eric S. Nylund
- Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
- Song of Kali by Dan Simmons
- Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
- Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster
- The Stand by Stephen King
- The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
- Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
- Startide Rising by David Brin
- Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick
- Steel Beach by John Varley
- Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
- The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
- The Tar-Aiym Krang by Alan Dean Foster
- Tea from an Empty Cup by Pat Cadigan
- Telempath by Spider Robinson
- The Throat by Peter Straub
- Timescape by Gregory Benford
- Time Pressure by Spider Robinson
- Titan by John Varley
- To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer
- Tommyknockers by Stephen King
- Transmaniacon by John Shirley
- Twistor by John Cramer
- White Gold Wielder by Stephen R. Donaldson
- A Widow for One Year by John Irving
- The Wounded Land by Stephen R. Donaldson
- Wizard by John Varley
- Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
- Zod Wallop by William Browning Spencer
- Zodiac : The Eco-Thriller by Neal Stephenson
Is there a time period for this list (a year, a month, your life) Since I din't read sci-fi, I only know Salinger, John Irving & Tom Robbins (and Steven King, but I haven't read him much) but they are a few of my favorites!
Hi, Nadine,
Actually these are the books I read last month.
(Very Long Pause)
Just joking! :-) The time-frame is definitely my life. I'd subdivide it into more easily digestible chunks if I had a good plan. But as of now I'm sort of doing a core dump as they occur to me. Perhaps I'll come up with an interesting way of organizing them in the near future. Any ideas?
yikes. i've read 42 of those!
so kristin are you married? :-)
*laugh* actually no, but I already told one friend I wouldn't marry him just he could have access to my library. ;)
make that 59.
I'd be interested to read your opinions of IT, THE LEGACY OF HEOROT, and STEEL BEACH.
Hi, bertie,
Well it's been a long time since I read IT. As I recall it was just a passable Stephen King book. Some of his books are just that way. :-)
The Legacy of Heorot is awesome. I haven't read the sequel, Beowulf's Children, yet. Heorot literally had me going one way, standard sci-fi fare, and then, boom, it turned into this full bore horror/action novel. If a filmmaker could ever do this book justice it could top Jaws and Alien from a pure scarability standpoint.
Steel Beach is a typical John Varley book. Liberal doses of radical viewpoints. Cool concepts. Lots of sex. Definitely worth reading. Of his recent stuff I think I liked The Golden Globe better but that's probably because Globe had a ton of film references.
Of the three I would say that Heorot and Beach are must reads. IT you could probably pass on.
Well, this is interesting. In fact, I've read all three and while I agree with you on THE LEGACY... and STEEL BEACH we part company on IT, which is my favorite King novel. I particularly like the way the story is told, cutting back and forth over the 30 year span that separates the characters' adult adventure from their childhood one. And the youngsters are just amazingly written - you can tell there's a lot of King's own childhood in them.
THE LEGACY OF HEOROT, depite its being trashed by many critics, is one of my favorite sf novels. And the comparison with JAWS and ALIEN is very apt. The novel adds an extra dimension to the basic Beowulf-style plot (isolated humans preyed upon by monster(s), hero emerges, etc.), when you consider that it's a story of damaged brain versus augmented brawn. I have also read the sequel, which in my neck of the woods was published as THE DRAGONS OF HEOROT. It's good, very good, but...it's a sequel and not the original.
STEEL BEACH has extra delights if you're also a fan of the late great Robert Heinlein.
Hi, bertie,
Well it sounds like I need to go back and re-read IT. As I said it has been a long time. Maybe I can't remember the original and instead I am thinking of the made for TV movie with Tim Curry.
I just checked and IT was originally published in 1986 which was when I read it. Let's see 14 years. Yea, I think it's safe to say I can't remember it well. I'll put it back on my re-read list! :-) Thanks for your comments...
How was the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Also could you comment on Stranger in a Strange Land, I've wanted to read it for a while now.
Both are good books. If I had to choose between the two I'd pick Stranger in a Strange Land. I've only read 2 of PKD's books so I don't know how "Android" compares to his others. Robert Heinlein is one of my very favorite authors and that is probably the first book I read of his. To be cliche...a classic of the genre! ;-)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is the book the movie Bladerunner is based on. I'd say it's better than the movie. (though it's been awhile since I've read it)
oops.. feeling like an idiot here :)
I've read a couple of other PKD books, Androids is probably more accessible than a lot of his works, which are more of a personal psychological profile in some senses than novels.
How did you like Movie Megacheese? I happened upon this excerpt regarding Face/Off in a newsgroup, and I almost bought it on the spot:
I was also encouraged by this excerpt. So's it worth picking up (and possibly vaulting to the top of my "to read" pile)?
Ya know, yet another reason I favor Joel over Mike - Mike tries way too hard, and isn't half as funny...
Face/Off. He's ragging on that? The title has been sliced in half, whole appropriate since the film is not only about the face-off between the two leads, but also about slicing faces (identities?) off and switching them around.
I know, I'm cranky, but I skimmed through Megacheese in the bookstore, and I felt it pretty much was yet another book that was probably much funnier in another (maybe video?) format.
My change. Forgive me.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Well I thought the Face/Off excerpt was funny, even if the symbolism of the slash is obvious. :-)
I have to admit, I don't have much Joel vs. Mike baggage, since I think the only MST3K episodes I saw were Joel episodes.
But I'm grateful for the comments. Vindication for my nagging little voice that said, "don't buy just yet - ask around."
Well, I admit to being quite cranky... :)
I'll also admit that the first few MST3K episodes I watched were Joel episodes, so I suppose it is possible that I like him best because I saw him first. I doubt it, but it is possible.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I just thought I'd follow up on this. I picked up Movie Megacheese yesterday, and at least parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny. The Anaconda piece was inspired. But that's not what I came here to tell you (after all, you already checked it out and decided it wasn't for you) . . . I noticed an interesting fact in Nelson's bio - he hosted MST3K for five seasons, but he was the head writer for ten. I don't know how long MST3K ran, but it sounds like Mike played a significant behind-the-scenes role during the Joel years.
Oh, he certainly did. He is a quite gifted television writer. In front of the camera, however, Joel seemed like Joel, while Mike seemed like he was trying very hard to be relaxed as Mike. This earnestness did have a certain charm of its own, but Joel's stoned (?) space refugee wins me over any day.
As for the book, I simply find that most television writers' and stand-up comedians' humor works best live and not on the page. I've had this reaction to several such works.
I'm glad you like the book!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Hey, Jim! The book is hee-larious. A very easy read. You can probably just get a copy and set it in the bathroom (if you're into bathroom reading). Some of Mike's insights need to be savored. I laughed out loud many, many times!
I too have zero Mike vs. Joel baggage. I don't think they should be compared.
Cool. I think I'm gonna get it, thanks!