Best read books in 2012

Crassus · Post by **Crassus** » Wed May 09, 2012 9:41 pm

Sci fi has been hit or miss for me too.

Have just read The Forever War by Haldeman. Very good.

Can also recommend The Stars My Destination by Bester.

These are both part of the S.F. Masterworks series.

Arroway · Post by **Arroway** » Thu May 10, 2012 12:00 am

chiral, if you want to check out some escapist fare, I have a recommendation for you.

The book is called "The Da Vinci Code" and it's by some guy named Dan Brown. Supposed to be really good...

chiral3 · Post by **chiral3** » Thu May 10, 2012 12:26 am

Never heard of it. Thanks for the recommendation ${L_SMILIES_SMILE}$

mj · Post by mj » Thu May 10, 2012 1:25 am

Jack Vance -- Tales of the dying earth

It's not clear whether it's science fiction or fantasy, but

it's pre-Tolkien and very different.

ComteZero · Post by **ComteZero** » Thu May 10, 2012 9:29 am

chiral, yep Gibson is somehow boring. Jon Walter Williams or Bruce Sterling ("Mozart with mirror lenses" is short stories, quick to read) are my favorites in this field.

nikol · Post by **nikol** » Wed May 23, 2012 9:19 pm

Stanislaw Lem, "Philosophy of randomness".

Although written about the literature many thoughts are universally applicable: the nature of pattern recognition in the chaos vs aesthetic/appeal, perception, commonly acceptable things, interpretation of information etc.

Incredible book.

http://www.lem.pl/

jslade · Post by **jslade** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:13 pm

This is already the best thing I've read all year, and I'm only 2/3 through:

Ignition! An informal history of liquid rocket propellants

The guy who wrote it is hilarious. A history of rocketry as high comedy.

"And if you, gentle reader, have never seen a nervous rocket mechanic, complete with monkey suit, being buzzed by nine thousand demented bats and trying to beat them off with a shovel, there is something missing from your experience. "

It's available in PDF here. Prints small on the kindle, but it's worth it.

redox · Post by **redox** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:57 pm

I took a peek and now you got me into it too. If the first two pictures don't hook you nothing will.

chiral3 · Post by **chiral3** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:56 am

Half way through... Many sections are funny. From the beginning:

"The next combination that the group tried then, was nitrogen tetroxide and methanol. Tests began in August 1937. But Malina, instead of working outdoors, as any sane man would have done, was so ill advised as to conduct his tests in the Mechanical Engineering building, which, on the occasion of a misfire, was filled with a mixture of methanol and N2O4 fumes. The latter, reacting with the oxygen and the moisture in the air, cleverly converted itself to nitric acid, which settled corrosively on all the expensive machinery in the building. Malina's popularity with the establishment suffered a vertiginous drop, he and his apparatus and his accomplices were summarily thrown out of the building, and he was thereafter known as the head of the "suicide squad." Pioneers are seldom appreciated."

pj · Post by pj » Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:05 pm

> Jack Vance -- Tales of the dying earth

Here, here!