Well-rounded book list

[Sandwichman]

On the decidedly fiction side of life:

The Hornblower series is 10 1/2 books (author died mid-book, sadly) about Horatio Hownblower, a fictional man in the British Navy when they were fighting Napoleon and afterwords. In the first book, Hornblower is just joining the navy, and by the end of the series he is one of the most respected old admirals from the Napoleonic Wars who is serving his last tour of duty in Central America (if I remember correctly). Great books for anyone who like the Master And Commander movie or just tall ships fighting.

In terms of Sci Fi... David Weber is the one author I really like. One series of his, the Honor Harrington series, is just like (and inspired by) the Hornblower books... but set several hundred years in the future where Earth and the Old Planets are a political mess, the Republic of Haven is collapsing on itself economically... and sees conquering it's neighbors, as it has for years, as the best way to give the problem to the next generation. For decades the Star Kingdom of Manticore has been quietly gearing up for war among the stars... for a lot of reasons, Manticore is rich and powerful despite being a single star system. The whole series follows Honor Harrington the way Hornblower is followed (but she starts as a captain). Great tactics, exciting, good story... makes a chill go up my spine just reading the back covers...

David Weber also has a series he co-authored with Steve White called the Starfire books. Two good ones: In Death Ground and The Shiva Option. Basic premise in thirty seconds or less*: Humanity and the other not-so-different-on-the-inside-but-kinda-weird-on-the-outside races have finally ended a few bloody wars in space. (War here is interesting because, instead of a super-fast 'hyperspace', ships move between star systems via 'warp points', points in space that connect instantaneously to wherever. This means war is costly because ships go through these points into enemy defenses one at a time. Exploring is necessary because maps of space show inter-connected warp lines, and two thirds of warp points can't be found until someone goes through the other side. Freaky.) So peace comes for a few years until a couple Terran (human) planets and a few billion people get eaten by the Arachnids (literally in the case of the people), who just expand in an unthinking hive mind. And then things get interesting. Again, good tactics, little weaker story than the other two... good weekend read.


Sorry about the long post, I could write forever about good books. Sci Fi in particular. ;D

*actual time may vary.

 

[cheesybanana]

Yeah, it's four parts and about forty minutes long, so pretty much treat it as you would a class. You'll recognize Shermer right away too, he's the token skeptic on A TON of shows on the paranormal.

Yes, be sure to let me know what you think of it.

I did recognize him immediately. He is on Bullshit all the time.

I loved it. It really got me interested in his books. I will for sure check them out. Thanks!

 

[Nabooly]

This is funny cause in my school, reading is seen as "uncool". I love reading, it really changes the way you look and understand certain things.

Im currently reading A Veiled Journey by Nell Brian. I really like it.

 

[TheCustomer99]

This is funny cause in my school, reading is seen as "uncool". I love reading, it really changes the way you look and understand certain things.

Yeah, well when you get to college and everyone else you know from school is having trouble sitting down and studying, (and even when they do their reading comprehension is terrible) you can laugh and say, "You should've read when you were younger."