Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Who I Want to Read in 2010...

Who I want to read in 2010…

After reading Adam’s (Visions of Paradise) post on writers he would like to read more of, I was inspired to start doing my own annual post on the subject.

1. Isaac Asimov – the good doctor has always been one of my favorite authors. I decided to start re-reading his future history starting with “The Caves of Steel”. More will follow on a regular basis.
2. Gerard F. Conway – I loved his book “Mindship” when I first read it 30 years ago. Recently, I found a copy of “The Midnight Dancers”. It is next on my to be read stack.
3. Poul Anderson – last year I was impressed with “The Enemy Stars”. I have enjoyed many of his books over the years. This year I am targeting “World Without Stars”, “Day of Their Return”, and “People of the Wind”.
4. Arsen Darnay – Darnay was a regular in Jim Baen’s Galaxy magazine in the 70s. He was one that I forgot about. While reading Mike Ashley’s “Gateways to Forever” I saw his name and wondered how his stories would hold up. “A Hostage for Hinterland” is on my list for 2010.
5. Philip K. Dick – in 2009 I picked up a big stack of PKD books. I have not narrowed it down yet but I plan on reading a few of his this year. PKD is a very interesting author and his books are usually different from any others.
6. James Morrow – one of those authors I have never tried. On my 2010 list is “This is the Way the World Ends”. The reviews I have read sound like this is a soul searching morality play.
7. Robert Silverberg – I am way behind on reading his novels. The first one I will be reading this year is “Tower of Glass”. I hope to get to “Nightwings” and “Hawksbill Station”. I liked “Hawksbill Station” when the shorter version was published so I am curious how the longer version compares to it.
8. Roger Zelazny – another old favorite of mine. The first of his I plan to re-read this year is “Doorways in the Sand”. From what I remember, this one is different than his other books. It was a fun story.
9. Alastair Reynolds – I have been promising to read one of his novels for some time now. This year I will do it. I do like his short stories. I am thinking about reading “The Prefect” first.
10. James White – “Hospital Station” was recommended by a friend. I picked up a copy through Paperback Swap. This series looks different enough that it should stand out from the standard SF series.
11. Mike Resnick – I read and liked “Walpurgis III” last year. I have not determined which of his books will be on this year’s list.
12. Robert Charles Wilson – “The Chronoliths” was one of my favorites from last year. Definitely more will be read this year. I am leaning towards “The Divide” and “Spin”.

Other authors on my radar that I hope to get to include George O. Smith, Stephen Tall, H. G. Wells, A. and B. Strugatsky, Jack Williamson, Robert Sawyer, Kay Kenyon, Frank Herbert, Paul McAuley, Iain Banks and Ben Bova.
My goal for the end of 2010 is to post my 100th book review. I realize this is unrealistic but it is something to shoot for. To date I have posted 18 book reviews with 3 more appearing shortly. I am allowing more reading time per day to get back on track. It will be a fun journey.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice list. I can recommend Mike Resnick's recent Starship series. It is really good Space Opera and a quick read. Kay Kenyon's Bright of the Sky is also very good.

Carl V. Anderson said...

So great to see you back!

I want to read more Heinlein this year (off to a good start thus far). Definitely want to read more Asimov as well. Am currently making my way through short stories in the I, Robot collection. Would definitely like to read Dune this year. I read and loved my first Alastair Reynold's in late 09, so I am determined to read more of his work. I haven't read Poul Anderson but want to track down the short story people think Avatar was based on just because the story sounds interesting to me. Want to read more Cordwainer Smith this year. I'd love to get back into the John Carter of Mars series and the 007 books as well. Want to finish Deathworld 3 and possibly revisit some of my favorite Harry Harrison. I plan to revisit Tolkien this year, though not sure what I am going to read. This list could go on and on and on. I only hope we can all get to what we want this year and have a good time doing it.

adamosf said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
adamosf said...

A good list, with several of my favorite authors on it, such as Zelazny, Silverberg, Anderson and Reynolds. Some novels you might enjoy by them include LORD OF LIGHT, DYING INSIDE, TAU ZERO and THE REVELATION SPACE trilogy. My favorite Dick is MARS TIME SLIP. Good luck with all your reading