I have a great H G wells with 7 of his books, my favorites are the island of dr moreau, first men in the moon, and the time machine. the time machine has been one o fmy favorite books for many years

Okay, totally non-sci-fi, but I've been reading a book by a guy named Francesco Alberoni. I can't remember the name of the book in Italian, but the translation is called "Falling in Love". There is much truth and much wisdom to be found as the author (head of the sociology dept. at the University of Milan) examines what it means to fall in love in the context of a social revolution (such as marxism, the French revolution, hippiedom, etc.) I'm currently reccomending this book to everyone.

Hm, this sounds interesting. But then, I tend to be very sceptical towards too much theorising on this subject (love).
I still think the best way to talk about love is in stories (or other forms of art such as music, paintings or films), and this reminds me that Ray has been writing a whole bunch of amazing stories dealing with this subject and all its shades and facets! Two of my favourites are "The Cistern" and "So Died Riabouchinska".

hey i just read something wicked this way comes, and i have a question about it...

I just finished THE STARCHILD TRILOGY by Jack Williamson and Fred Pohl.

I just started THE PURPLE CLOUD by M.P. Sheil. It's pretty much the proto-type "Last Man" story. Written after Mary Shelley's THE LAST MAN and a similarly titled novel by H.G. Wells, but still it was this novel which defined this sub-genre for decades.

My next books will be more of the "Last Man" variety. They will be EARTH ABIDES by George R. Stewart and CHILDHOOD'S END by Arthur C. Clarke.

I'm also reading ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card to my children at bedtime.

I always like biographies. So I am running thru Oscar Levant's biography. (Come to think of it I believe it's auto-biographical.) I've a Peter Fonda one. And a half dozen others. Fascinating stuff.

Also, a dear friend of mine that I've known from my years in Los Angeles has finally finished his first book. So that'll be on my list to read when it comes in the mail later this week, as he has said that it was on its way for sure. That one is:
'''Leonardo's Chair''', published just this month. It's about a family who aquires Leonardo DiVinci's own chair, and finds it conveys creative powers to people who own it. (Hmm!)

I like bios too.

One of the best I ever read was, surprisingly, an Earvin "Magic" Johnson autobiograghy. It was written early in his career, so you see more of "Earvin" than you do of "Magic". He still had an 'ah shucks' outlook on life and didn't yet think of himself as a superstar. He was actually in awe of the other superstars and I think he didn't see himself as being worthy of being their peer or even being in the same building with them. He was so innocent. It's funny how we see ourselves.

Grasstains: please let us know what you think of Earth Abides. IMHO it's the true classic treatment of what happens after civilization collapses. An old,old favorite of mine.

EARTH ABIDES is the best book I've ever read. Other than some typical 1940s racial stereotypes the book was flawless.

*bump*

Who wrote it?

Finished I Robot and I liked it alot, very analytical and a little dry but still liked the pace, and characters. Would have liked it more if the characters were more brought out. I'd give it an b++. Now started Lucifer's Hammer which seems good. Last night, read out of I Sing for first time in week. Finally got through the irish tale. Its like, I like his irish tales, but they seem out of place or something with his other stories. I seem to drag through them slower, but when finished with one, it is good almost always.

LUCIFER'S HAMMER was an odd book for me. There was some things I didn't like about it, and some more things I did like about it. In the end the good definately outweighed the bad. It reminded me of a soap opera, with all these characters and their daily struggles. I'd read other books like that before and didn't really mind it because there just wasn't THAT many characters to keep track of. There really is a lot characters in LUCIFER'S HAMMER.

I think you'll like it.

I agree grass about alot of characters in that book, sometimes I had to skim back in the book and then I'd be like, oh yeah I remember him or her. Good analogy with the soap opera. Finished Seven For Oregon by Dandelion. I've been so into sci-fi lately that I wasn't sure about reading a true historical novel, but I was very surprised. It was so good that I couldn't put it down. I could not beleive what some people can go through and still remain sane. I'm about three pages into Earth Abides and I just have a feeling already that this one's special. A lot of people have told me its good too. Next, I have to, and want to, try More Than Human by Sturgeon. Also diligently still reading Ray, usually at night.

I just finished "Dandelion Wine" and I'm just starting "Goblin Reservation" by Clifford D. Simak. I've got a big stack of Simak books to wade through right now.