Aburt's Favorite Books List

There are a few things aburt knows well -- computers, science fiction, and writing -- plus a few subjects in which he just knows what he likes. Here are some of my favorite books, with links to Amazon.com in case you want more information about them, read reviews, or to pop right off and buy them.

I'm on a publisher's review list, and receive all (well, most) new SF books that come out. I'm a pretty harsh critic when it comes to SF -- it has to be well written, with terrific characterization, big ideas, well drawn settings, all in one package. So not that you'll agree with me on these, but here are ones I thought worthwhile:

Ilium by Dan Simmons


Greek gods & goddesses, the Trojan War, little green men, and robots from the asteroid belt... what more do I need to say, other than it's great?




The System of the World by Neal Stephenson
Quicksilver
The Confusion

Neal just lets loose in this epic... Epic is too small a word. The kitchen sink is in here.




Eyes of the Calculor by Sean McMullen
The Miocene Arrow
Souls in the Great Machine

Since I get so many books, I give most the one-page test -- did it draw me in after one page. I couldn't put this one down. The Greatwinter trilogy are pure SF delight. You need not read one to enjoy the other, but you'll want to. Folks who think computers were just invented to make us slaves to our desks will love the Calculor -- a computer literally made up of human components, slaves with names like ADD 17, MULTIPLIER 8, and FUNCTION 9, who toil at their desks on behalf of a wicked arch-librarian. Byzantine intrigue, love, epic drama, sentient satellites, dueling librarians, it's all here. More lords a dueling in Arrow, this time over a retro-future US with low-tech personal flying machines... Run, don't walk, your mouse to the links above & buy these!




Dark Matter : A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora by Sheree Thomas, ed.


As Amazon.com says in their review, "This anthology's critical and historical importance is indisputable. But that's not why it will prove to be the best anthology of 2000 in both the speculative and the literary fiction fields. It's because the stories are great"!




Dune: House Corrino by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson
Dune: House Harkonnen
Dune: House Atreides

Frank Herbert's son, Brian, and Kevin Anderson, using FH's original notes, have written a terrific "prequel" series. It captures the essence of FH's style and world, just as if FH were still alive. If you liked the Dune series, this one's for you.




My Favorite Science Fiction Story by Martin H. Greenberg, ed.


Marty Greenberg, the grandmaster of science fiction anthologies, asked seventeen of the biggest names in SF writing to choose their favorite story (much like "You've Got to Read This" for non-SF, below). A must read for SF fans and would-be writers.




The SFWA Grand Masters, vol. 1 by Frederik Pohl, ed.
The SFWA Grand Masters, vol. 2 by Frederik Pohl, ed.
The SFWA Grand Masters, vol. 3 by Frederik Pohl, ed.


Got to be one of the most spectacular anthologies of science fiction short stories ever. (The Grand Master awards are given out to the true legends of SF, a sort of lifetime achievement award.) The most exemplary works from the greatest of the great.

There are just some classic SF books that (IMHO) everyone should read who likes SF, and can't be said to know the breadth and depth of the field if they haven't read them. They're timeless, seminal, the cream of the crop.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card


Scott writes some of the best character-oriented fiction today, bar none. His newest, Ender's Shadow (a parallel novel to Ender's Game), is my guess for winning next year's Hugo and Nebula (like Ender's Game did before). These and the sequels (which only get better, IMHO) aren't to be missed. The sequels are:

Speaker for the Dead

Xenocide

Children of the Mind

and the newest, "parallel" (non-sequel) novels:

Ender's Shadow

Shadow of the Hegemon

Shadow Puppets

Shadow of the Giant




Hyperion by Dan Simmons


For epic SF, the Hyperion cantos is staggering. Don't buy the first book without buying The Fall of Hyperion at the same time; they're really one book split into two parts. The second two are likewise a pair:

Endymion

The Rise of Endymion




Dune by Frank Herbert


One of the best all-time SF books ever. Period.
The sequels are worth reading to flesh out the whole universe, and a real treat if you've never read them:

Dune Messiah

Children of Dune

God Emperor of Dune

Heretics of Dune

Chapterhouse: Dune

Dune: House Atreides

Dune: House Harkonnen

Dune: House Corrino

The Butlerian Jihad

The Machine Crusade

The Battle of Corrin




Foundation by Isaac Asimov


The first in Asimov's classic Foundation series. Followed in the series by:

Foundation and Empire

Second Foundation

Asimov later followed up with:

Foundation's Edge

Forward the Foundation

Prelude to Foundation

Foundation and Earth (out of print!?!)

The "killer B's" (Benford, Bear, Brin) have written subsequent books as well:

Foundation's Fear by Greg Benford


Foundation and Chaos by Greg Bear


Foundation's Triumph by David Brin





Gateway by Frederik Pohl


Nobody's SF education is complete without laughing through therapy with Robinette Broadhead and wondering where the Heechee went. When you're done, you'll have to read the rest of the Heechee saga: Beyond the Blue Event Horizon, Heechee Rendezvous, The Annals of the Heechee.




Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith
and The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Fiction of Cordwainer Smith

Cordwainer Smith created some of the most incredible and literary science fiction ever written. His future history with the Instrumentality of Man are seminal to the field (where do you think Frank Herbert got the idea from for the "spice" in Dune?). His writing is way weird; sometimes you think he's writing like a child, other times like a god. His short fiction is almost always included in "best ever" anthologies, so why not get it all in one volume? His SF novel, Norstrilia, set in the same universe, is almost always ranked amongst the most popular.




The Hobbit and the complete Lord of the Rings "trilogy" by J.R.R. Tolkien


Granted, this is not strictly science fiction, but his world is as carefully constructed as any in "hard" SF. Even if you don't care for fantasy in general, you have to read Lord of the Rings. (I personally find most fantasy pale in comparison afterwards, and read very little straight fantasy; except to read LotR again. :-)




Now, no, I don't only like multi-volume series. :-) I ascribe the multiple volumes above more to the fact that those universes were so well received they demanded additional volumes. But here are some singles that stand proud with the rest:




1984 by George Orwell


The classic tale of pervasive monitoring, Big Brother, thought police, revising history and language.




Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes


The ultimate character story. One of the few places where "literature" and science fiction cross.




A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess


Hey, droogie, it's the satire that spawned the Kubrick movie.




A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller


Read about the sacred shopping list...




Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle


It's not a novelization of the movie -- it's the novel the movie was based on. While it is different, with an ending that's interesting vs. the movies on the whole, I find it actually amazing how little was fundamentally changed in concept. The book is well written (the author also wrote the novel-that-became-the-movie for Bridge over the River Kwai, so he's no slouch), with a fun style. It's about a lot more Issues than the movie brings out, but it gave me a renewed appreciation for the movie. Writers will find it fascinating to compare the two ways of doing basically the same thing... yet differently... :-)




And then there are some I just happen to really like, and while popular, may not be Required Reading:




Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein


One of the first SF books I read, discarded from the library with pages that fell out as I turned them -- held me breathless.




Expanded Universe by Robert Heinlein


(And his entire future history series.)




The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem


And anything else by Stanislaw Lem, such as The Futurological Congress, The Star Diaries, Memoirs Found in a Bathtub. They're hilarious (except Solaris, which is just weird.)




The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester


Some like The Stars My Destination better, but I'm keen on this classic murder mystery in an age of mind-reading cops.

I believe writing is best learned by practice and by reading the best works. Although I, myself, mainly write science fiction, I believe that the way to write the best science fiction is to study the absolute best fiction. (Not to mention, it's terribly fun to read.)

While I've recommended my favorite SF books and short stories above, here are some of my favorite non-SF works. Science fiction is frequently light on characterization, a problem novice SF writers could overcome by studying the likes of the following. And who knows, you might actually enjoy them, since they're just so well written.

Since so many writers begin with short stories, this list is weighted with many anthologies and collections.

You've Got to Read This by Ron Hansen and Jim Shepard


This is an awesome anthology of short stories, recommended by famous authors asked to suggest the stories that "held them in awe". Since science fiction is about the "sense of wonder," this book is particularly appropriate, since all the selected stories are ones that induced that sense of awe and wonder in the reader/authors who chose them. If you're not "into" non-SF literature, this is the one anthology you should read.




The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor


Flannery O'Connor just writes amazing stories. Dark but terribly funny. She has an incredible way with words. One of, if not the, best short story writers ever.




The Oxford Book of American Short Stories by Joyce Carol Oates, ed.


A terrific anthology of stories spanning from Washington Irving to Pickney Benedict, chosen by Joyce Carol Oates, one of the legends of our time. Anthologies like these are great jumping off points to find authors you want to read/study more of.




The Norton Book of American Short Stories by Peter S. Prescott, ed.


Like the Oxford collection, the Norton collection has an engrossing mix of stories, just chosen by a different editor.




Collected Stories by Willa Cather


I often find that female authors have the best insights into characters, and I think Willa Cather among the best. It's also interesting reading from a standpoint of Americana, but read it simply for the characterization.




The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher J. Koch


One of my personal favorite novels, even though it's relatively obscure. It was also made into a movie, with Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver, and Linda Hunt (who earned a well-deserved Academy Award for her portrayal of Billy Kwan). To my mind, Billy is just about the ideal character: Incredibly complex, chasmically deep of feeling, terribly conflicted, idealistic, selfish... The novel is important to SF writers also for how it brings to life an exotic culture. Koch doesn't hit the reader over the head with worldbuilding as much SF does, but weaves it so integrally into the story it becomes a multidimensional character itself.




60 Stories by Donald Barthelme


If you want to write compactly, as the short form requires, study Donald Barthelme. 450 pages with 60 stories -- an average of 7.5 pages each. His style is most unusual, but he manages to do a lot with a little.




The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov by Vladimir Nabokov


If you want to put incredible textures in your writing and study a master of "sumptuous" evocation of the senses, study this. Incredible.




The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald


Sure, you probably read it in school, but if you haven't read it recently (since you began writing seriously), read it again. It's consistently ranked as one of the absolute best novels of all time (and is my personal #1).




The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien


It's hard to tell if this is a novel or a collection of short stories linked together. Both, I suppose. They're all terrific, and fantastic examples of how to write short fiction that packs a kick, but the title story is so good I can't think of a more perfect example of a short story. (Yes, I am indeed saying this is my all-time favorite short story and something I consider as near to perfect as a short story can get.) You don't have to even like Vietnam stories to want to read this one over and over.




The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life

Buy this book (both of them!). I read the first as a galley, and instantly knew this is a book I had to recommend to writers. Noah's an agent, has been an editor, and he knows his stuff. This is not particularly a book on how to write -- it's better: It's a book on how not to get rejected. The second continues the excellent advice.




The 10% Solution by Ken Rand


As Ed Bryant says in his blurb, "This little book offers no magical shortcut; but it does distill many years' professional experience and common sense. When I suspect that one of my own stories is working, it's inevitably for one or more of the reasons Ken enumerates herein. The guy knows what he's talking about. If you're a long-time successful writer, pick this up as your refresher course. If you're an ambitious novice, consider this your bible." Also available direct from the publisher, Fairwood Press.

I firmly believe that a healthy mind requires a healthy body. Toward that end, I'll recommend the following:

Body for Life : 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Fitness Forever by Bill Phillips & Michael D'Orso


I confess I'm a neighbor of Bill Phillips so I've seen the meteoric rise of his fitness empire, but perhaps because of that I admire him all the more. He runs EAS, a company that makes nutritional supplements, he runs a fitness magazine, and he's the guy folks like John Elway, Mike Piazza, and Sylvester Stallone consult. (Watch Bronco games, and you'll see many EAS baseball caps. :-) I also confess I haven't done more than browse this book (I'm not quite the target audience, though I might have been many years ago, before I began working out), but I doubt you can go wrong here.

You haven't laughed until you've listened to Tom Lehrer, a math grad student at Harvard eons ago who wrote the most incredibly funny songs... until they kicked him out. :-) Get all of his albums; the above and:

Songs & More Songs by Tom Lehrer





That Was The Year That Was by Tom Lehrer

I've spent twelve years teaching computer science, and have amassed a number of favorite books for learning how to program, etc. Most of these are books I've used as class texts.

Problem Solving with C++: The Object of Programming by Prof. Walter Savitch


I confess I helped critique this book when it was in draft form, and consider Walt a friend, but I'm still picky about what book I'd use to teach C++ from, and this is it. When you're done with that, if you're going to try to earn money at C++ programming, you'll want:




The C++ Programming Language by Bjarne Stroustrup (the inventor of C++ itself)


And the companion volumes:

The Design and Evolution of C++

The Annotated C++ Reference Manual

and I'd also recommend:

Advanced C++ Programming Styles and Idioms

C++ Programming Style




Unix System V Release 4: An Introduction by Kenneth Rosen, et al.


This is, in my opinion, the definitive book on using Unix.




Using Linux by William H. Ball


A great book for beginning to intermediate Linux users, with lots of examples. Once you've become a more advanced user, check out Running Linux by Matt Welsh & Lar Kaufman





Modern Operating Systems by Andrew Tanenbaum


So, you want to write an operating system? Here's how. When you've finished that, try his Distributed Operating Systems.




TCP/IP: Running a Successful Network by Kevin Washburn and Jim Evans


How the Internet really works, from the inside. Very technical, meant for programmers who need to understand the nuts & bolts of TCP/IP.




HTML Complete by Sybex


Excellent coverage of HTML for beginners to advanced.




Beginning Java 2 by Ivor Horton


One of the best books for learning Java.

Noontide Night by Andrew Burt, Ph.D.


Well, I have to list my own book, don't I? It's, well, an alternate history cyberwar thriller. :-)

Amazon has lots of other books. Follow this link to Amazon and enter whatever in their search box.