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What else do you read besides scifi?

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Re: What else do you read besides scifi?
Post by Grabthar's Hammer   » Mon Mar 18, 2013 12:56 am

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Daryl wrote:Grabthar's Hammer - totally agree. I managed to pick up a boxed set of the Saga of the Exiles at a country market for $5. Had already reread them but now have a permanent copy. Agree with the Amtrak Wars, Honorverse and Emberverse also.
About a year ago got a phone call that a book I had ordered had arrived, got there and the latest Honorverse, Emberverse, and 1632 releases were waiting for me. Needed a three sided coin to decide which to read first.* Try Turtledove, Lackey, Moon, Cherryh, Bear/Brin/Bova as well.




J'accuse - You Sir, have exceedingly good-taste!


* Oh the pain! The sweet, sweet pain! :D
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    Re: What else do you read besides scifi?
    Post by Redleg68   » Tue Mar 19, 2013 5:34 pm

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    :) well I start with Historical Fiction about Middle ages, Roman Empire and before. I started off with Ceasar's Commentaries on the Gallic Wars. Went on to Simon Scarrow.
    Also got into C.S. Forester. My first book of his was Captain from Con. I then moved on to woodman, Pope, Reeman/Kent, and a host of others. Iaqso read Tom Clancy, WEB Griffin, Dale Brown, Harold Coyle, James Cobb and may others. Read much on Mideval England. Enjoyed Roberta Gelles's series on families in England and Provenince. While classified as romance novels found her descriptions of some of the details of fuedal life and castle life very intresting. Not what may romance novels are about. I als red A host of others in the Crime/Detective novel genere.

    I read Hunger Jay trillogy to be able to discuss it with great great nieces. Read much History, Politics, and Geographical documentaries on countries around the world. Also some westerns which described places I have trveled in the Western United States. Much history of the United States with concentration on State histories and local history viewpoints. I have also read the clasices including Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Kepler. I am reading rick Atkinson's History of the American Army in wwII.

    I am also reading a detective fiction by a local Nw author set in the Seattle and Washington state environs.
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    Re: What else do you read besides scifi?
    Post by Redleg68   » Tue Mar 19, 2013 5:41 pm

    Redleg68
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    :) well I start with Historical Fiction about Middle ages, Roman Empire and before. I started off with Ceasar's Commentaries on the Gallic Wars. Went on to Simon Scarrow.
    Also got into C.S. Forester. My first book of his was Captain from Con. I then moved on to Woodman, Pope, Reeman/Kent, and a host of others. I also read Tom Clancy, WEB Griffin, Dale Brown, Harold Coyle, James Cobb and may others. Read much on Midieval England. Enjoyed Roberta Gelles's series on families in England and Provience. While classified as romance novels found her descriptions of soee of the details of feudal life and castle life very interesting. Not what may romance novels are about. I also read A host of others in the Crime/Detective novel relm.

    I read Hunger Jay trilogy to be able to discuss it with great great nieces. Read much History, Politics, and Geographical documentaries on countries around the world. Also some westerns which described places I have traveled in the Western United States. Much history of the United States with concentration on State histories and local history viewpoints. I have also read the classics including Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Kepler. I am reading Rick Atkinson's History of the American Army in WWII.

    I am also reading a detective fiction by a local NW author set in the Seattle and Washington state environs.
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    Re: What else do you read besides scifi?
    Post by thinkstoomuch   » Tue Mar 19, 2013 5:44 pm

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    Kind of surprised nobody has mentioned Tony Hillerman (detective) or Louis L'Amour (western).

    Have fun,
    T2M
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    Re: What else do you read besides scifi?
    Post by Hallofaman   » Wed Mar 20, 2013 12:13 am

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    thinkstoomuch wrote:Kind of surprised nobody has mentioned Tony Hillerman (detective) or Louis L'Amour (western).

    Have fun,
    T2M


    oh God, his westerns crowed out all the other books i might buy at the truck stops.... luckly he has not invaded the places that i buy books online.... but how am i supose to discover new aurthors if no one else has a place on the shelves? come-on T2M there is a reason no one has mentioned him :)
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    Re: What else do you read besides scifi?
    Post by Northstar   » Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:09 pm

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    thinkstoomuch wrote:Kind of surprised nobody has mentioned Tony Hillerman (detective) or Louis L'Amour (western).

    Have fun,
    T2M


    How about Eisenhower's fave western writer, IIRC, Zane Grey? They were his escape reading while he worked at winning WWII in Europe. :-)

    I like Tony Hillerman and have all his books. He's dead now so there will be no more.

    Elizabeth Peters writes a lot of mysteries but my fave series of hers is the Amanda Peabody series. There are a dozen or so, set between late Victorian and the 1930s, in Egypt. The stories are crazy fun.

    Elizabeth Peters is the pen name for Barbara Mertz, who is a PhD in Egyptology from The Oriental Institute of the U of Chicago. She knows her stuff. Has a non-fiction book on ancient Egypt written under her true name, Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs :-)

    Another mystery writer I like is Virginia Lanier. There are a half dozen or so mysteries involving bloodhounds. She did her homework also. :-)

    The earlier W E B Griffin novels are interesting. Not the later ones written with Butterworth.
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    Re: What else do you read besides scifi?
    Post by Relax   » Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:24 pm

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    Northstar wrote:
    Elizabeth Peters writes a lot of mysteries but my fave series of hers is the Amanda Peabody series. There are a dozen or so, set between late Victorian and the 1930s, in Egypt. The stories are crazy fun.


    Read and loved every last one of them. Own a few too through the second hand store.

    Gordon R. Dickson. The Dragon and the George series, though really the good books were the first 4 and after that it was just publishing to make money.

    I also like Jim Butcher. Tad Williams, Otherland series was a great romp as well.

    Amber series by Zelazney. Anyone else like it?
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    Re: What else do you read besides scifi?
    Post by Northstar   » Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:27 pm

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    Relax wrote:
    Northstar wrote:
    Elizabeth Peters writes a lot of mysteries but my fave series of hers is the Amanda Peabody series. There are a dozen or so, set between late Victorian and the 1930s, in Egypt. The stories are crazy fun.


    Read and loved every last one of them. Own a few too through the second hand store.

    Gordon R. Dickson. The Dragon and the George series, though really the good books were the first 4 and after that it was just publishing to make money.

    I also like Jim Butcher. Tad Williams, Otherland series was a great romp as well.

    Amber series by Zelazney. Anyone else like it?


    Hi Relax,

    Peters also writes under the pen name Barbara Micheals. Under the Elizabeth Peters name she also has many mysteries in the Vickie Bliss series but I have not read them as yet nor any of the Barbara Michaels books so cannot comment on them, but I agree with you completely the Amanda Peabody books are keepers. I've got them, mostly in hardback, mostly bought used. Have yet to find the first one, Crocodiles on the sandbank or some such, in Hardback so have it in mass market pb.

    Agree with you on the Gordon Dickson. Have a bunch of his, including the Dragon & George ones, at least some of them. been a very long time since I read them. Ditto Zelazney, though I have quite a few of them. Ditto Butcher though got tired of the Dresden Files after a half dozen or so. Have not yet read his other series. Ditto Williams. Been a long time. They're all in the bookcases here. Along with many others.:-)

    Have you tried Simon R. Green? Esp his Nightside books. Again after a dozen or so gets kind of enough already, but they were fun.

    James White, esp his Sector General books, though they are scifi so I'm kinda breaking my own 'besides scifi' parameter.

    I like most of Katherine Kurtz, esp Lammas Night and The Adept series. St. Patrick's Gargoyle was interesting. Her Deryni series, not so much. I have them in pb but... its sorta the Safehold churchy thing. Not my thing. eh. :-) She's got some knights templar novels and anthologies that bleed over into the Adept stories and into Lammas Night. There are also some KTs as vampires books that are fun, by her and her hubbie, IIRC, Scott MacMillan.

    Ann McCaffry. of course. The Pern books and the Ship books. Others. Andre Norton.... oops scifi again. :-)
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    Re: What else do you read besides scifi?
    Post by Northstar   » Tue Mar 26, 2013 2:25 pm

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    I want to add some authors.

    Mary Renault, her wonderful novels set in ancient Greece. The Bull from the Sea, The Last of the Wine, The Persian Boy, The King Must Die, Funeral Games, Fire from Heaven, The Mask of Apollo, The Praise Singer.

    Mary Stewart, esp her Merlin trilogy, The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, the Last Enchantment. Related Arthurian book, sometimes grouped in a quartet with the others, The Wicked Day.

    Anne Rice - not the vamp stories. Cry to Heaven, which is set in the world of castratti opera singers in 18th century Italy. I think this is by far her finest book.

    Lloyd Douglas - Many, but especially Magnificent Obsession, Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal, Green Light, White Banners, Precious Jeopardy.

    Elizabeth Chadwick - I have her medieval historic novels about William Marshall, The Greatest Knight, The Secret Lion, To Defy a King. She has many others I hope to read in future.

    Parzival - by Wolfram von Eschenbach, trans by Hatto. Composed in the early 13th century. This is a wonderful book. Wolf has a wry dry sense of humor.

    Cretien de Troyes, anything by him. Also medieval writer. Some of his stories read like modern beach books set in the middle ages. Instead of fast cars and guns, or Weber's starships and their weapons, he goes on about powerful horses and their equipment, Knights' equipment and generally carrying on in an exuberant style as, in one I remember (Eric?), he cheerfully hauls his wife along on a round of jousting, visiting, partying and adventuring. Best known for his Arthurian stories.

    non-fiction - Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. Interesting and thought-provoking.

    Anything by Barbara Tuchman. Always superb. A Distant Mirror, The March of Folly, The Guns of August, The Proud Tower, The Zimmerman Telegram, etc.

    Robert K. Massie, Dreadnought, Castles of Steel, others.
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    Re: What else do you read besides scifi?
    Post by Northstar   » Thu Mar 28, 2013 9:52 am

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    Redleg68 wrote::)

    I am also reading a detective fiction by a local Nw author set in the Seattle and Washington state environs.



    Ok, who is the Seattle etc detective writer? I'm originally from Seattle. :-)

    And to all the rest of you thank you so much for your offerings. Please continue adding as names occur to you :-)
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