Books!

I love reading. I hope you do too. If you like to read, try some of these on for size.

Should you decide you want to buy a book look at BookSense.com. It's a conglomerate of independent booksellers. You can find out what independent book stores are near you and shop on-line from those stores.

BookCrossing.com is a way to track the books you've given away for others to read. My nickname on BookCrossing is bunbun; you can see the books I've registered and found here.

Visit American Library Association's Banned Books Week to Celebrate your Freedom to Read.

For information on banned and challenged books in Texas public schools visit BannedBooks.info and ACLU of Texas Banned Books project. Quote from the Banned Books project: "AUSTIN—Students, parents, local citizens and school officials attempted to remove 134 books including the Holy Bible and Webster’s Dictionary from public school libraries or classrooms in Texas last year...."

I have a number of authors who are definitely my favorites. Instead of listing all their great works, I've chosen my favorite book or story by each one.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

The first trip to Mars leaves one survivor: a baby. By the time the next ship arrives he is a young man who has only known the Martian way (Martians exist and have intricate social structure). The book considers the man's struggles once he has returned to Earth and their ultimate societal consequences.

I reread this book about every other year. It's one of the few books I've ever read more than twice. Definitely a must-read for anyone, particularly those who feel somehow out of place in society. I think I've managed to read all of Heinlein's books and short stories of any genre; I'd consider this one quintessential reading.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Siblings Meg and Charles Wallace with their friend Calvin travel through space and time to find their father who is missing. Struggles between good & evil and love & hate are major themes.

This book was the first scifi book I ever read. It was back in 3rd grade and I've been addicted ever since. Give this book to inquiring young minds! This book is actually a good read for everyone, not just young adults. But if perchance the categorization doesn't appeal to you, she does have a number of novels that are placed in the regular adult fiction genre (not even scifi; imagine that!) As a young adult I read *all* the books of hers I could find regardless of genre. I remember enjoying them all.

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin

A man occasionally has dreams that he thinks literally change the world. The book explores the consequences and abuses of this and the guy's personal struggle to determine whether his dreams actually are changing reality or not and what he should or shouldn't do about it. Also explored is the idea of "What is Utopia?".

It's an absolutely fascinating book particularly if you enjoy any alternate realities thought experiment.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

A humorous look at the coming apocalypse as considered by a minion of each side who has spent a great deal of time on Earth. The combination of Gaiman's modern exploration of myth and Pratchett's incredible humor has created an unforgettable tale of good and evil.

A warning, however: if you take religion (in general or specific) very seriously this may offend you. If you like this book, go read other stories by each of these authors. They're both great storytellers on their own too!

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Aliens have attacked Earth and almost destroyed humans. To prepare for the upcoming battles the world's government has begun a program to breed military geniuses. The children are taken from their families at a young age to attend military training institutions. Often, training comes in the form of games. The story focuses on an extremely intelligent young boy by the name of Ender Wiggin.

Recently Card has published a couple more novels revolving around this same story except from points of view of a couple of the other children. These and the continuation of Ender's life story in some other books are all wonderful and intense books. I highly suggest you read them all. However, you have to start with this one. You can really sympathize with Ender as he struggles not only with the everyday problems a child has (like siblings and bullies) but also with the vast adult concepts of war and government. Expect not to be able to put this book down until you're done reading it.

Voyage from Yesteryear by James P. Hogan

Earth nears its final war. In order to preserve the species an automated exploration ship is sent out with human genetic information and robots to raise the children. When a habitable planet is found the ship begins the process of beginning the human race again. The people raised on this new planet have no concept of a number of issues we on Earth are taught, like racism and war. During this time people on Earth manage not to kill each other off and eventually send out a colonizing ship to "reclaim" their "lost tribe". This is where the fun begins.

The focus of this book (as with most of Hogan's stories) lies in technology and its social consequences and not so much in character development. However, don't let that keep you from reading his books. This issue is one that we should all be considering and his stories are a wonderful and adventuresome way to explore these ideas. This particular book also looks at the concept of Utopia.

"One Night in Your Life" by Ray Bradbury

This story can be found in The Toynbee Convector, a collection of short stories by Bradbury. It's a beautiful tale of one man's moment of peace.

I think what I like so much about "One Night in Your Life" is the sense of peace. Often Bradbury's stories feel anxious in a kind of creepy way, not the sort of story I can read right before going to bed. But this story exudes a calm everything-is-going-to-be-okay atmosphere. It's like a dream you wake up from that influences your outlook on life for a while. All that day you are at peace because of this one dream. I'd swear he gets his tales right from dreams. Events in dreams seem insignificant to me compared to the general emotion of the dream and that's the way his stories feel to me. Some of Bradbury's works have become standard required reading at many schools. I hope this hasn't turned anyone off of his work. Considering all the censorship occurring these days (yes, it's still happening in schools today), everyone should read Fahrenheit 451 again.

Strangers in Paradise graphic novels by Terry Moore

This is easily the most realistic graphic novel series I've seen, both in plot and illustration. This is not a "blood and guts" kind of realism; it is life. A very heartfelt story of three young people each with their own hopes and dreams and issues. If you decide to read these, please start at the beginning. Be warned: once you begin reading you won't want to stop, which will be painful when you've read all that has been written thus far. The story has not ended yet, as it is with life.

If you're interested in gender explorations in science fiction you should definately read Bloodchild by Octavia Butler. All I can say about it is "Wow."

Ursula LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness is fascinating look at ambiguously gendered beings on an icy planet.

Also find the short story collections called Women of Wonder edited by Pamela Sargent (there are several volumes). They showcase science fiction written by women.

There are some short reviews for The Lathe of Heaven, Women of Wonder and other sci-fi works by women at http://www.readingwoman.com/scifi.html

See also Feminist Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Utopia's list of books by theme. Themes include Social, Biological/Gender, Reproductive Strategies, Sexuality, Fantasy, Women Heroes, and more.