05-17-2003, 06:37 AM
I suppose this is very off topic, but I figured that people who like Diablo might have similar tastes when it comes to reading material. Anyway, two books I've read recently that I really recommend to just about anybody who enjoys reading are:
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood (she of The Handmaid's Tale fame). She's got some really interesting ideas about Genetic Engineering run amok in the near future, but there's a lot more to it than that. This is one of those books that make me really want to join a book club in order to have someone to ponder over it with.
Jennifer Government, by Max Barry. Another dystopian near-future (I seem to be reading a lot of these lately), but this one describes a world overrun by Marketing as opposed to Science.
The odd thing about both these novels is that in today's world of instant information dissemination, both books seem a little dated even though they were just published this month. It's as if culture is changing faster than is possible to document, and some day books will be entirely replaced by blogs (or whatever the natural progression is). Hmm, I can imagine a future where everyone produces content with no one to consume it.
Oh, and if you're into fantasy, you've got to pick up Philip Pullman's His Dark Material's trilogy. It isn't exactly recent, but it's timeless (hmmm) and absolutely necessary as a balance to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
So, what's on your nightstands?
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood (she of The Handmaid's Tale fame). She's got some really interesting ideas about Genetic Engineering run amok in the near future, but there's a lot more to it than that. This is one of those books that make me really want to join a book club in order to have someone to ponder over it with.
Jennifer Government, by Max Barry. Another dystopian near-future (I seem to be reading a lot of these lately), but this one describes a world overrun by Marketing as opposed to Science.
The odd thing about both these novels is that in today's world of instant information dissemination, both books seem a little dated even though they were just published this month. It's as if culture is changing faster than is possible to document, and some day books will be entirely replaced by blogs (or whatever the natural progression is). Hmm, I can imagine a future where everyone produces content with no one to consume it.
Oh, and if you're into fantasy, you've got to pick up Philip Pullman's His Dark Material's trilogy. It isn't exactly recent, but it's timeless (hmmm) and absolutely necessary as a balance to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
So, what's on your nightstands?