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I read... a lot. I particularly like speculative fiction (fantasy and science-fiction), but I have pretty eclectic tastes. In addition to bookcases full of the former, I also have shelves dedicated to gay short stories, computer books, home design, cosmology, papercraft, nature and gardening, religion and metaphysics, medieval and Celtic history, and more. I also like some mysteries (Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael stories are particular favorites), and a variety of other types of fiction.
| Cool Link: BookCrossing.com, a global book club that encourages people to free their books into the wild for others to find, read, and re-release; and keeps track of these books' journeys. Browse my virtual bookshelf to see the books I've read and registered (and sometimes released) since I signed up in August. |  |
Selected Recommended Speculative Fiction:
| Anything at all by Charles de Lint, an absolute master of contemporary urban fantasy |
| Douglas Adams, best known for his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, and who died too soon in 2001 |
| Gael Baudino (particularly her Land of Adria series about the relationship between elves and humans, beginning with Strands of Starlight. This series depicts elves that feel somehow "truer" to me than almost any others in fantasy fiction, and their goddess and creatrix, Elthia Calasiuve) |
| David Brin (particularly his Uplift novels) |
| Diane Duane (especially her Tales of the Five series about the Middle Kingdoms, beginning with The Door into Fire. The inhabitants of the Middle Kingdoms pretty much all are bisexual; all are required to have children, but then may spend their lives loving whom they choose. In addition, the goddess comes to everyone at least once in their lives, to make love to them and let them know they are cherished by Her. Diane's young adult wizardry series, beginning with So You Want To Be a Wizard also is extremely enjoyable, as are her tie-in feline wizardry books) |
| Neil Gaiman's stunningly beautiful Sandman comic book series, Stardust graphic novel, his darkly penetrating Neverwhere BBC series and novel, and his absolutely brilliant best-selling novel, American Gods, among his other terrific work |
| Tanya Huff |
| Katherine Kurtz (especially her Deryni and Adept series) |
| Julian May, author of the interrelated Saga of the Exiles series, Intervention series, and the Galactic Milieu trilogy |
| Terry Pratchett, British fantasist-humorist, creator of the very funny Discworld series |
| J.R.R. Tolkein, and The Lord of the Rings, of course |
| Terri Windling's Borderland shared world |
Selected Recommended Children's Literature:
| L. Frank Baum, creator of The Wizard of Oz and the first of its many sequels (Baum e-texts) |
| Lewis Carroll, best known for Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass (Carroll e-texts) |
| Diana Wynne Jones |
| Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories (a beautiful online edition of How the Leopard Got His Spots) and other works (Other Kipling e-texts) |
| Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels |
| J.P. Martin's impossibly wonderful and nigh-impossible-to-find six books (of which I've collected five first editions with dustjackets) about Uncle the Elephant, an interest I have in common with Diane Duane (see above) and Peter Morwood, whom I had the distinct pleasure of meeting at Gaylaxicon 1999, and whose web site, Homeward, and writing collective, the Owl Springs Partnership, both are named for locations in the Uncle books |
| A.A. Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh (my favorite character is Piglet) |
| E[dith]. Nesbit (Nesbit e-texts) |
| J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series |
| Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince (I own and have read versions in English, French, and Russian). There are dozens of online versions available in many different languages. |
Selected Recommended Cosmology and Cognitive Science:
| Timothy Ferris, author of Coming of Age in the Milky Way and The Whole Shebang: A State of the Universe(s) Report |
| Douglas Hofstadter, author of Goedel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul, and Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern. |
| Steven W. Hawking, author of A Brief History of Time |
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