What do you read that's non-Trek

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Originally posted by Dan Stack
D'oh - I meant Stephen Ambrose. :D That's the oddest typo I've made in a while...

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ROFLMAO

Had me worried too!

Dickens. 'Nuff said.

Robert B. Parker, his Spencer books have cracking dialogue.

Laurell Hamilton. Anita Blake rocks!

Jack Womack. 'Random Acts of Sensless Violence' is a must read.

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Originally posted by Dan Stack
D'oh - I meant Stephen Ambrose...

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I've read a few Ambrose works, and saw (relatively) recently the big 'to do' about Ambrose and his alleged plagarism. I looked at his website and read his defense, and reluctant admittance of, the allegations of plagarism, and I have to admit that I was more than a bit disappointed.

Even though he claims relative innocence, I know, after discussing the issue with my professors, that if a student got caught doing what he has admitted doing, an "F" and probably some sort of academic discipline would be headed my way...

I think it's sad that students are held to a higher standard when it comes to reseach and accurate writing than an accepted author...


Greg

Greg, I'm inclined to agree.

It bothers me that students are held to a standard that says even if you unknowingly plagarize you will be expelled, without any real recourse. (This has happened - at Harvard for example) However, if you are a professional writer, you can simply get away with it.

Another writer I enjoy who has tarnished credentials is J. Ellis - American Sphinx, Founding Brothers. (He made up stories about serving in Vietnam).

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Originally posted by Dan Stack
Another writer I enjoy who has tarnished credentials is J. Ellis - American Sphinx, Founding Brothers. (He made up stories about serving in Vietnam).

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I hadn't heard about Joseph Ellis, Dan...apparently yet another author who can succeed with fewer writing restrictions than the standard college student... :(

At the same time, I'm thankful that I've been held to this higher standard. It'll make journal and dissertation writing in the future much more constructive, I think, if I'm not inclined to cheat and take easy ways out when confronted with writing roadblocks.

Still, it's surely disappointing when writers, whose work we often admire, are less reputable, in terms of literary credibility, than the typical college student...

Thems the breaks, I guess!


Greg

The book everyone should read: Farenheight 451. Forgive me if I spelled that wrong, I'm Canadian, so the concept of "degrees Farenheight" is foreign to me. :) Is this book mandatory reading in American schools? It isn't here. It should be.

Let's see, stuff I read...

Cyberpunk
William Gibson (the Burning Chrome anthology, Neuromancer, Count Zero, Idoru, All Tomorrow's Parties... Mona Lisa Overdrive and Virtual Light kind of sucked)
Neal Stephenson (when the door-to-door disciples come knocking again, I'll tell them I'll read their religious tracts if they read Snow Crash, muahahaha. The Diamond Age is also good)
Bruce Bethke (Cyberpunk!, Headcrash)

Other Sci-Fi
Kim Stanley Robinson (Red Mars, Blue Mars, Green Mars)
Huxley (Brave New World... read it because it was mentioned in Headcrash)
Edgar Rice Burroughs (A Princess Of Mars)
Douglas Adams (Hitchiker's trilogy, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency)

Manga (Japanese comics)
Shirow Masamune (Dominion Tank Police, Ghost In The Shell, Orion, Appleseed)
Kosuke Fujishima (Oh My Goddess!)
Kenichi Sonoda (Gunsmith Cats features "Goldie", a villain who drips with pure evil more than any other, in any media, ever.)
Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo)

Yawn
Orwell's 1984 might have an outstanding message, but it's boring as hell.

Right Now
...I'm trying to read Robert M. Pirsig's "Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance", but it's tough going.

Patrick Suskind's "Parfum" was one heck of a read, if you're into sociopathic serial killers in a renaissance period trying to make perfume out of their victims... ;)

Also, Saramago's "Blindness" was amazing. He won the Nobel for it, I believe, and it's the first book I've read - and enjoyed - where no character has a name and there is no quotation mark usage for conversation.

Just two more that occurred to me. ;)

The Doc

Hmmm, I seem to have forgotten a few. :)

I've been enjoying Raymond Chandler's Marlowe detective stories - I'm about halfway through the series - loved all but one so far.

I used to be a huge Clancy fan, but his last few books have lost me - I think he needs a less fearful editor.

I'm not ashamed to have enjoyed the Harry Potter novels. I also really enjoyed CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.

Victoria (my 4-month old) and I have been reading a lot of Sandra Boynton - favories include "Hippos Go Berserk" and "But Not the Hippopotamus". Honorable mention for "Doggies - A Counting and Barking Book". We also enjoy "Goodnight Moon" and "Guess How Much I Love You".