What do you read that's non-Trek

[Perrryyy]

As I indicated in another thread, I read almost exclusively Trek.

So I'm wondering..

Those of you that read non-Trek, what do you read? Who are your favorite authors?

Feed me some non-Trek ideas

[Argyle]

I've read most of Neil Gaiman's books. He does a good job of telling old stories (or at least stories with an old feel) in a contemporary setting. They all deal with the supernatural at some level. Neverwhere is a good place to start and will tell you if you like his style.

There's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its four trilogy-mates, of course. Written by the late Douglas Adams, may he rest in peace. Science fiction humor at its best, and if you haven't read them, shame you you!

I read Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon after purchasing it on impulse. I just liked the cover, I guess. The ending felt rushed (even after a thousand pages!) and a bit forced, but the rest of it was very interesting and highly worthwhile. I've been meaning to read more of his work, but haven't gotten around to it.

Richard Feynman wrote two books, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" and "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" , which are collections of anecdotes and stories from his life. They are very funny, often educational, and if you put them together, a pretty good autobiography of a reluctant public figure.

Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley hooked me faster than any book I've ever read before or since and it never let go. It's that good. I read it before the movie came out still haven't had the chance to see it so I can't make any book-movie comparisons, but this is an excellent book.

[Greg Davis]

Personally, I don't read much Trek, and very, very rarely pick up a Trek-related novel.

I tend to follow a few book series, like the Star Wars New Jedi Order series, which is, by my own account, very hit-and-miss at best. I also pick up the other Star Wars novels (such as the prequel novels), as they appear. Some I like, some I don't, but I've been following the Star Wars book series since Splinter of the Minds Eye, and I figure that I might as well follow it to its eventual conclusion.

I also read R.A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realms novels, as I am a fan of Drizzt Do'Urden. I recently picked up the three different republished collections of Drizzt tales, as my old copies have become lost over the years, as well as Book 1 of the War of the Spider Queen series that Salvatore is supervising (but not writing). I've never really gone for the bulk of the TSR / WotC novels, but I tend to enjoy Salvatore's works, and continue to follow them (even though I can't stand to roleplay in the Forgotten Realms when we play D&D...go figure!).

In between the new releases for those series that I follow, I occassionally sift through the History of Middle-earth Series, in an effort to further my Tolkien-geekdom to heights unimagined!

For school and educationally-related enjoyment, I read a variety of Political Science / Political Philosophy / Political History books, such as Hamilton's Republic by Michael Lind, Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis, The Bill of Rights by Akhil Reed Amar, and A People's History of the Supreme Court by Peter Irons. Favorites in this category that I go back to every now and then are Tom Paine and Revolutionary America by Eric Foner, Faith of My Fathers by Senator John McCain, The Greatest Generation and The Greatest Generation Speaks both by Tom Brokaw, as well as various works by Thomas Paine, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and other political thinkers.

That about covers it for me, in terms of books, but there's also magazines, journals and whatnot, though those are mostly for school (with the occasional Dragon issue tossed in).



Greg

[Dan Stack]

Some of this I haven't read in ages but here goes...

Isaac Asimov - His Foundation and Robots series (two separate series) are the foundation of much of modern science fiction. I'd especially suggest The Caves of Steel, which features a humanoid robot who might remind you a little of Data

Frank Herbert - Dune is one of the hallmarks of science fiction. A future without computers, where the goal is to advance humanity while minimizing technology. Though shalt not build a machine to replace man. Sequels range from ok to bad, with the first few sequels being best - in my opinion.

Frederik Pohl - One of the grandmasters of science fiction. His novel Gateway, about an alien space station with FTL starships that humans can barely control is a great starting point.

Jack Williamson - Another grandmaster, I'd suggest his stories The Humanoids (robots with a dangerous desire to protect man from harm) and Darker Than You Think.

CS Forester - I love nautical stories - Horatio Hornblower during the Napoleonic Wars. I haven't read them all but I'm working my way through them.

J.R.R. Tolkien - Not a big fan of the napkin scribbles his son has published, but The Hobbit is one of those books I read every few years. Lord of the Rings is the inspiration for countless imitators, all inferior in my opinion.

David McCullough - Author of Truman and John Adams, very good at brining historic figures to life.

Ambrose Bierce - Another history writer - I prefer his non-WWII books like his book on Lewis & Clark.

Robert Leckie - History writer, did a great job writing a concise WWII book.

John Keegan - British military historian, you'll find him on PBS history shows a lot. Does a good job explaining what goes on in various wars, especially his book on WWI.

Harry Turtledove - I love alternate history, especially his take on the Great War between the USA and CSA.

Neil Gaimian - Both his comics (Sandman) and text novels (American Gods) are great examples of Urban Fantasy.

Charles de Lint - Another great urban fantasy author, brings magic into everyday life.

Orson Scott Card - His novel Ender's Game is about gifted children being recruited to fight a way against bug-eyed monsters. A fantastic book, but I dare not give anything away. The sequels range from great (Speaker for the Dead for example) to pretty good. I only wish his characters were a little more three dimensional - they are often pure good or evil.

[AslanC]

My current fav is George RR Martins Songs of Fire & Ice

Can't wait for book 4.... grrrr....

[Dan Stack]

Ooh, just saw Greg mention Founding Brothers - fantastic book in my opinion, discussing the early years of the USA.

[Perrryyy]

Forgot to mention the non-Trek stuff I've read (though you can find it in another thread)

Aftermath by Levar Burton (picked it up because I saw him touting it on datyime tv)

and the 4 Tolkien books that everyone's read.

I've decided my "to read" list is going to consist of the following the next time I hit the book store

I, Robot
1984
Brave New World
The Time Machine

Never read any of them, except for BNW. I've seen the movie productions (mostly the older ones) for 1984, BNW & TTM.

Thinking about going on a "classics" splurge soon

[Sea Tyger]

Aside from other RPG books, the only non_trek books on my active reading list are "The Quotable Harry Truman" and "The Prince."

[Michael Barratt]

What don't I read... Hrm.

Okay, this week:

• Purity in Death by J.D. Robb. Yup, that's Nora Roberts by another name. She has a semi-sci-fi futuristic mystery series with a cop and a man richer-than-Hades cracking crime. It is mind candy of a calibre capable of rotting teeth at fifty paces, but dear Goddess I'm hooked. I bow to Tracey, master Goddess of reccomending books to me. For those interested, the first book is Naked in Death.
• The End of Gay - Bret Archer. He's got an interesting ability to diffuse and discuss sociological terminology and how the language - and the attitudes - are changing. Quite frankly, I'd give it more credit if he wasn't constantly pointing out his previous flings and how he learned from them. Okay guy, you got around. Shut up and get sociological, damnit.
• Eternity Row - The latest S.L. Viehl novel, continuing the "Stardoc" series. She can really tick you off with her cliffhanger endings, and yet, I still want to eat this one in one big gulp.
• Summer Knight - Jim Butcher. Contemporary-set fantasy at its wittiest and grittiest. Sort of like Anita Blake -meets- Douglas Adams. It's the "Dresden Files" series, following the only magical wizard listed in the Chicago yellow pages. It's a blast, and started with Storm Front.
• Tea - I wish I could remember the author's name, but I can't - bad bookseller, bad bad! I snagged this off the bargain pile because it offered a queer character and tea. How strange is that? Anyway, I actually am enjoying it, but it's my walking book - the book I read on the walk to work and back. Not exactly a nonstop pageturner.
• Lovely Bones - Not because Kelly Ripa (sp?) said so, but because I love a good fantasy/ghost story. Man this book reeled me in, actually made me sniffle, and I put it down with a few new ideas in my head. I really enjoyed it. Especially wonderful is the inclusion of the whole "personalized Heaven" details that she came up with. And again with the bad bad as I cannot recall her name. Starts with an S.

That said, if you asked what I read the most: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Canadian Authors, Queer-Positive Fiction, Sociology and Psychology studies (have to make my degree count for something), Simplified Science (I'm willing to admit that my working knowledge of science doesn't work too well), and the occasional title that grabs my notice even though it's none of the above.

The Doc

[Michael Barratt]

Actually, I'll tack on a shameless plug for my fledgling reviews on Amazon.com. Click here .

The Doc

[Ineti]

I read a little bit about everything. Main non-fic interests are ancient Egypt, WWII (esp. U-Boats), the American Civil War, and assorted bios.

Fiction-wise, I'm trying to get through Tolkien's LOTR, but it's slow going.

I read Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series once a year, just because they're so good.

I like Stephen King's The Stand and his Gunslinger series, but few of his other works.

I like silly books too - classic Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, and Bloom County.

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, just cause it's so well-written.

All the Star Trek Strange New Worlds anthologies because, well, it's research! Gotta know what's been done already so I don't accidentally repeat a story in the ones I'm writing and submitting.

That covers the major stuff. I'll lose myself for hours in a book store given a chance.

[Phantom]

I tend to read military sci-fi, when I can find some passable stuff. My favourites;

-The Falkenberg Series by Pournelle (all time fav)
-Starship Troopers Heinlein
-Hammer's Slammers Drake (haven't read them in long while)
-I find the B Tech passable, lately, and I want to see how the Davion Civil War finishes.
-Honor Harrington Weber (just getting into this really good series)
-Sherlock Holmes Doyle
-Beowulf
-LotR Tolkien

Assorted Gaming Materials

For University (currently)
Life in the Ancient Near East
Myths of Mesopotamia
Ancient Egyptian Literature
Ancient Greece

I also read alot of Military History
-Roman
-WWII
-Military Philosophers
Art of War Sun Tzu
Vom Krieg Clausewitz
The Prince (haven't read it yet)
The Book of Five Rings Musashi (only read bits and pieces)

I guess that covers most of it.

[Ramage]

I actually read very little Trek -- most of the novels aren't that good, for my tastes.

For me its Neil Gaiman, Patrick O'Brien, Robertson Davies, Ursula LeGuin, Margaret Atwood, and Charles De Lint.

I get my Trek through movies & tv

[...doing a bit of judicious editing...]

I get ideas from a lot of history books (I had great fun pulling notions from Napoleon's Italian & Spanish campaigns for their sheer mayhem & confusion, both political and military), as well as the authors noted above (although Margaret Atwood plays a pretty small role in my Trek games).

If I limited myself to the military aspects, I would never get that real "Trek feel", so I go to National Geographic, Stephen Jay Gould, and Dougal Dixon for science thoughts. Surprisingly, I have also found some fascinating seeds in Studs Terkel's book "Working". Great social history there to draw on.

Star Trek has never really been "military" to my mind, but more "humanist", so the sources are almost limitless.

[qerlin]

Right now?

The Starbuck Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell ( the Sharpes' Rifles guy) -- it's his Civil War stuff. Cracking good reads.

Ray Kurzweil's 'The Age of Spiritual Machines" -- this is the guy if you want a good idea of what's coming on the AI horizon.

About a million books on Victorian London; research for the game supplement I'm writing.

Favorite Authors:

Arturo Perez-Reverte: Spanish mystery writer who does phenomenal character studies, and who always choses strange background ideas for his books (Vatican troubleshooter, art restorer, book investigator [movie The Ninth Gate was based on The Club Dumas]). Read him, he's brilliant!

Bruce Sterling: best sci-fi author out there short of...

Greg Egan. Great sci-fi!

Anything by George MacDonald Fraser -- best known for Flashman.

Any histories by Thomas Pakenham or cantrememberhis first name Farwell: Victorian era. (See a pattern?)

[C5]

Currently, I read a lot of Trek novels too. Apart from that :

Terry Pratchett (all of Discworld, plus the Nomes and Johnny trilogies). I just love this author (eagerly awaiting his next book).

Doctor Who novels (well my brother is a fan, plus there are some good ideas in these sometime).

All of these in english (it improves my level and besides, the Trek translations are awful, Pratchett is just not the same when translated and DrWho is simply not translated).

In the past, I've read and enjoyed :

Asimov, the whole Foundation cycle (translated) - my favourites were the first three books.

Dan Simmons, Hyperion and Endymion. Loved the universe... I'm sometimes thinking to make a crossover in my ST RPG adventures.

Agatha Christie, almost all of her work (translated). For me, she is the master (mistress ?) of the genre.

H.G Wells and Jules Verne - hey, they're the guys who started it all, right ?

Emile Zola (19th century socialist French writer) - loved it for historical interest and humanist values, but can be very depressing.

And a few others, like 1984, Animal Farm and Brave New World.