April Booklist Update
Keeping track of my 12 books for 2008 goal.
Up to this date I’ve read nine books and all of them are science fictions:
- Childhood’s End by Arthur C Clarke (4/5)
- Robot Dreams by Isaac Asimov (3/5)
- The Braided World by Key Kenyon (2/5)
- The Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C Clarke (4/5)
- Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (4/5)
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (5/5)
- Speaker for The Dead by Orson Scott Card (4/5)
- Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (6/5)
- The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (5/5) – My Review
The numbers in parenthesis is roughly my rating for each of them. Yes, that’s a six out of five for Stranger in a Strange Land, it is that good, go read it!
I don’t think twelve is not a challenging goal anymore ;). Furthermore, I already have three books which I brought from Kinokuniya on queue.
A question to my readers, fellow Indonesians especially: What kind of novels do you read? And why do you like them? I’m just wondering since it seems that my fascination to (classical) sci-fi novels is not something I share with a lot of people around me (how many of you read 2001?).
solaris 
not interested to read novels.
do you have any recommendation for me?
The reason why there are not so many people enjoy SF is because there are too many garbage in SF genre. Finding good SF books is like finding a gem, isn’t it?
As for book that I like, I love literature. Why? Well, that’s just my taste ;-)
@indres:
Other genres also have their fair share of garbages. There here are the Hugo and Nebula awards to keep track of the exceptional sci-fi books. It’s a pretty good guide.
What kind of literature do you like? Any favorite themes or author?
I enjoy Indonesian Literature most. The reason is pretty obvios, since it is written in the language that I know by heart, it’s easy to spot its beauty. However, lately I read literature from UK, Commonwealth countries, and US since those are available in library. My favorite theme is family saga (for example: Para Priyayi). Once a while I also read SF, I like Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett ;-) .
Neil Gaiman FTW! Coba “Neverwhere” !
Gw juga baca…I “Philosophical Fictions” hahaha…try “Maya” ato the much lauded “Sophie’s World”
Coba juga “Time Traveller’s Wife”….i think genrenya simply a Science Fiction Romance
Belakangan ini rada totally bosen ama the Fantasy genre…tp Kushiel Trilogy is a good one. Sedikit rada ero…tp good nonetheless.
From the Literature side, coba “Pillowbook of Sei Shonagon” :D…ato “The Grand Inquisitor”. A dose of Haruki Murakami would also be good.
@Sakaw:
Neil Gaiman, baru baca Stardust doang. Belom coba yang laennya.
Time Traveller’s Wife gw dah baca dari taon kapan! Keren banget tuh emang. Totally recommended. Sophie’s World jg udah, agak boring, itu kayak buku pelajaran dijadiin novel. Haruki Murakami jg kayaknya menarik.
Kalo fantasy gw dah lama gak megang, dan emang gak gitu tertarik sih.
time traveller’s wife rocks!
“Maya” is less textbook and more Surrealism. If you like Murakami, “Maya” by Jostein Gardner would be right on your alley
If you want classical SFs that get you thinking and stays with you long after you finished reading them, you should read “The Mote in God’s Eyes” and “A Fire Upon the Deep”.
@sopjagung:
I haven’t read those two, but you’re the second person to suggest me A Fire Upon the Deep! I think I would have to add that title to my list :) I’ve seen a copy at PIM, I hope it’s still there the next time I visit.
Oh and if you don’t like reading books on your computer, I can lend you hard copies of both books.