Five Book Challenge discussion

I'm stuck at home today "sick" (I tore my cornea) so I decided to get out my machete and a native guide and brave the mess that is my "library" to stand and peruse my titles to see what might be good.

Here is a list of 5. If you've read any of them already, let me know and I'll go for some alternates.

Caveat: I read a LOT of damned series, so this is hard. :)

Book 1: Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker

Book 2: Kiln People by David Brin

Book 3: Pillars of Earth by Ken Follett

Book 4: Permutation City by Greg Egan

And this is the first book of a trilogy. Sue me. :)

Book 5: Black Sun Rising by C. S. Friedman

I think they're all still in print in some format or another. :-/

By the way, these five books could NOT be any more different each from each. Just so you know. ;)

I sent you lots of firsts, so its fine. :) Looks good.

My criterion was this: These are all books that, often YEARS after having read them, I find myself thinking about during the course of a normal day.

Pillars of the Earth was voted the "best book ever" or something crazy like that by British voters. But don't think you can get away with watching the cheesy miniseries...

It's a 40-hour audiobook and I listened to it twice. It IS that good. ;)

hmmmmm.... audio you say?

Yes, Beth. I might still have it, if you want to borrow it. Let me go check. I think it belongs to my mother, though.

I think it's one of the ones she kept, but I'll check. I'm sure the library will have it if she managed to downsize it in her move.

^.^ that sounds so much easier than reading a 900 page book. That would take me longer than a month, right now anyway.

Plus it forces you to go at the reader's pace, which is usually slower than you'd read. I like it because I like to savor a good book like a good meal. :)

Wow... Gary socks Beth with a 900 pager, I wonder what she will come back with?

Also did you guys want to pick an official start date? The deadline to read them all is one year.

Well, it's a 900 pager but Beth reads faster than any three people I know. :)

Yea... took me a month to read The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid/The Golden Apple/Leviathan which is 800 pages, or something liked that. I loved the book, but some of it rambled, a lot of it rambled like a old drug addict remembering the golden days. Which is strange because I actually loved the book... My point, although I got pretty far from it, is I plan to listen to it. Gary has the right idea... Plus, I haven't read it before, not because I haven't heard of it, I think everyone has, but because it is really long, and the content never made it sound that exciting.

I sent Gary my picks already though. I think that the books he sent me are not what I would pick up by myself. I might turn out to love them. I do feel like you sent me the cream of the crop though, while most of the books I sent you haven't been out that long, and lack any book club seals. lol.

I shouldn't be allowed contact with a keyboard this late at night...As everyone can see. Then Beth took a bow, and fell into the pillow.

......zzzzzz....

I'd thought about putting Mister B. Gone in my next set of picks, although mind you that set needs a lot of whittling.

How does it compare to earlier Barker? (Hellbound Heart, Weaveworld, etc?) I read Barker a lot, way back when, and I am frequently amazed at how awesome those books were.

I think he has a new Abarat book coming out soon.

Mister B. Gone has a unique, as far as I can tell, POV. The book directly addresses the reader. Because the book is sentient. :)

I haven't read a lot of other Barker. I read this one after picking it up at a party at a friend's house and reading the first few paragraphs. :)

Yea, I think that one looks the best. ^_^

Hmmm, I think so, too. Maybe our next picker could include it in their poll. Hint, hint.

Who is the next picker?

I guess if Gary already read it then it wouldn't qualify. I think we go back to the start, though, so that would be Nathan picking. I've picked twice so it's either Gary or Nathan.

I've got some thoughts about this on ATL-pocalypse, it took me a minute to realize that on Goodreads different threads have different audiences?

True. I'll be right right over.

Beth, I DO have the audiobook for Pillars of Earth. I'll bring it on the 17th. :)

Sweet!!

I've got the three books in the Coldfire series, and you are welcome to borrow them.. I bought them all second hand but after reading reviews of them I doubt I'll be reading them.

Good deal, I am still headed over there Sunday.