Books, oh my

Robert J Sawyer's "Flashforward" has got to be the fastest book I have ever read. I started it on the train to Chicago on Wednesday and finished it Thursday evening. For me, that's a record (I think). That's also contrasted by "Metaplanetary", a book I've been trying to read for about three years now. Or four. And a couple others that I start, read a few pages (or chapters) and just can't go on.
Here's a break-down of the last few books I've read, all of which I recommend, though some more enthusiastically than others:

• For Us, The Living - Robert A. Heinlein
  This, being Heinlein's first novel, is a recipe for all of his later work. I covered it a bit (or a lot?) in a previous post, so I'll leave it to this: read it, think about it, think about the world around you, and vomit.
• Calculating God - Robert J. Sawyer
  A personal favorite, this book explores the question of "Is there a god?" from an Earthling's viewpoint. The book is set in Toronto, and starts off with a pleasant alien asking to see a paleontologist. The premise of the book is that there are aliens out there, they are from planets close to ours, they believe in God and they're on a quest to discover God's methods and purpose.
  Sawyer explores the question of God from a familiar stance, one of emergence and evolution of life. It helps to have a bit of a background in this, but it's by no means necessary, as his explanations are mostly accurate. He falters on the explanation of the Game of Life, but the conclusions are solid.
  The ending leaves something to be desired, not being a concrete answer and a bit of a let-down, though I have become accustomed to this from Heinlein. It's worth noting that Sawyer is an acclaimed Canadian author, so that may be an explanation: he is not drowing in the Hollywood-esque ideas of a good ending.
• Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein
  "Troopers" happens to be the first of the military-fiction genre, and a very good foundation for the rest. That being said, the book is good but not exceptional. The characters are under-develope and two-dimensional; the aliens are simply Bugs, with little to no descriptions given. In short, it is classic Heinlein. I happen to have acquired a taste for this sort of story, but not everyone will like it. It is a downer, certainly, but it is a very interesting book, philosophically and emotionally. It more than touches on the subject of "why we fight" and explores the mind of the soldier.
  As a side-note, read this book first and then watch the movie. Just for the laughs. The movie is nothing like the book, and while they may have the main character and a bit of the background in common, they are dogs of different breeds. Watch the movie to see what Hollywood does with great science fiction. Then you'll see why the genre fails to attract people. Star Wars and Star Trek don't count, they're not sci-fi, they're fan-fi.
• Flashforward - Robert J. Sawyer
  A book so breathtaking and excellent in delivery, I think I read it too fast. The premise is of a particle-accelerator accident (or was it?) that lets the entire world see two minutes of what the world becomes in 20 years. During these two minutes, everyone "zones out", so quite a few tragedies result from this accident, from people falling down stairs or collapsing in hallways to entire planes crashing into the ground as they were landing. Sawyer's exploration of the world post-Flashforward is exciting, intriguing and insightful (enough adjectives in there?). The characters are realistic and their experiences and emotions feel real. (Though I did crack up at the suicidal thoughts of one minor character. What does that say, I wonder?)
  I have to recommend this book as life-affirming and personally significant as Ken Grimwood's "Replay". About "Replay", I think it is a book that everyone should read and if I had the money, I'd hand a copy to every person I know. At one point I had three copies of the book in my house: the first was a paperback that I bought in college, which is now in Champaign (maybe, just maybe, Taty is reading it); the second is a first-edition hardcover in excellent condition that I got as a present for my dad; the third is a hardcover that I got for myself, part of my move to get my favorite and most read novels in hardcover, as some of them are quite literally falling apart.

I think that's about all. Just a sweet little ramble about books. Oh, and no, I don't just read Heinleing and Sawyer. It just so happened that I was reading Heinlein, bought and read a book by Sawyer, found a Heinlein book that I haven't read yet and then got another book by Sawyer, seeing as I liked his previous ones (I also read "Mindscan", which was quite interesting, but once again a bit of a let-down in the ending).

If you got this far, you're likely to read books for the hell of it. Or you're just really bored and reading this blog is something to do while you're waiting for the laundry.
Well, keep on reading. I can't tell you how sad I am by the countless number of people in this country that are illiterate by choice. And they are happy about it. I have met people that have told me, while proudly shining at me all of their 32 teeth, that they haven't read a book since junior high or high school. I am very sure that even those were not of their own volition, but required for class.