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Quote: Originally Posted by DMcCunney ,,... I was vastly impressed by The Hyperion Cantos, and recommended them to a friend. Bantam published them as two mass market PB editions, but did not label the first in any fashion as part one of two. My friend was so incensed at running into the cliff hanger at the end of book one that he flatly refused to read anything else Simmons had written. . ______ Dennis That's me ... exactly the same ......

Just an update on my read of _The Pillars of the Earth_. I am really enjoying it well. It is certainly well written and parts are very suspenseful. The chapter when Jack did what he did (you know if you know) I was really unable to stop reading the chapter even though I was well past bedtime. It is quick and easy to read. To me that is the mark of a good author. BOb

Although it's not billed as a skeptical publisher, the Westar Institute (home of the Jesus Seminar and publishers of The Five Gospels ) does contribute to Enlightenment ideals by applying the methodologies of science and historical research to Biblical and Bible-related texts. I recently send the following letter to them via snail-mail: <><><> Westar Institute Polebridge Press Willamette...

This is a wonderful choice of books; I honestly don't know what to vote for!

I thought the first third was fairly interesting, the second third had me gripped, and the last third was a struggle. It reminded me of 'Catch 22' - a one-theme novel that would have been better as a short story. I liked the evocation of dream-like scenes, and the overall sense of pessimism and futility was interesting. I imagine it was supposed to be an allegory of a human life from birth to death, and all the inconsequential things...

Quote: Originally Posted by DMcCunney I think the key point to Joyce is that hearing was his primary sense. He was in part attempting to reproduce what he heard on his famous walks through Dublin. You might try reading it aloud and see if it helps. There's a story, incidentally, about Joyce encountering an old friend on a walk shortly after Ulysses was published. Joyce asked what his friend thought, and the friend said he'd only...

Quote: Originally Posted by cassidym To all these recommendations, I would add The Physics of Star Trek by Lawrence Krauss. Written back in the mid-90's, it examines all of the science in the Star Trek series, like warp factor speed, 'beam me up Scottie' etc and discusses the actual physics. Very interesting book. Which brings to mind The Science of Jurassic Park and The Lost World. (Not available as an ebook, though Google has...

Ella Minnow Pea is a novel about words and wordplay. The subtitle calls it "A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable." A lipogram is a story written without using a chosen letter or letters. Epistolary means the story is told using the letters the characters write to one another. It's progressive because as the story goes on more and more letters are banned by the government. One more definition, a pangram is a...

No I don't mind I think that would be another fun point of view. Hey while your at it can you please fix the title, it appears the title was truncated

Quote: Originally Posted by Muskrat Lord of the Rings. I've had the book for so long the pages have turned yellow and started to disintegrate. Tried to read it again and again but just die of boredom each time. Seems to be about funny little gnomes having huge long......long.....longgg battles. I actually made it through the series but I did often wonder why it became such a hit. Loved the movies but it was such a hard read for me....