PS, Hec, you will notice that I did, in fact, post some of my brain droppings on Batcrap in the other thread. Just for you.

It's a gift!

Discussions I've had off thread have made me wonder, and this is a curiousity question more than anything: are you more prone to enjoy a book if you stumbled across it yourself, or if it was at some point assigned?

Definitely things I've stumbled across myself. Part of that is because I'm a moody, streaky sort of reader--I go through phases where I want nothing but a certain genre or style, or where I've overdosed on another and can't bear it for a year or two. Anything assigned has to be lucky to catch me in the right frame of mind.

In the library in my brain, Michael Chricton does not get shelved with the sci-fi, in spite of every one of his books (that I have read) having fictional science as a major part of the premise.

I think part of the disconnect is that his writing style is very much best-sellerese, which my brain does not parse as sci-fi no matter how much fictional science there is.

As tautological as it sounds, Michael Chricton writes Michael Chricton novels.

t bookmarking Jen's poetry post

BTW, for those of us who don't have huge book-buying budgets, college lit books are a great source of poetry, short stories, and other stuff. There is duplication, but surprisingly little, and the introductions are often amusing when they explain why they chose what. I just counted, and I have 7 books from lit courses, acquired in school when students were off-loading their books.

As tautological as it sounds, Michael Chricton writes Michael Chricton novels.

No, he writes Michael Crichton novels.

I saw you snickering with awful glee over that fox-porn romance thingie in Chicago. Unsurprised.

I think I may still have that, and it was lynx.

Not fox.

Ahem.

Get your beasties straight, boy-o.

BTW, for those of us who don't have huge book-buying budgets

Also, thrift stores and library discard sales. Score on a 10-fer day, and you're set for a while. Actually, thrift stores are great for finding old, cheap copies of a lot of things.

Get your beasties straight, boy-o.

Hey, brain scrubbing is a long and tedious process. I got rid of the specific beastie, but not the beastiality.

You'll appreciate this. I was watching my recently snagged Batman animated vids. In the episode "Torch Song" there was this exchange which made me snerk out loud.

Babs is on the phone with Bats, she's doing research on the computer. Bats wants her in on the evening's action.

Batman: "What are you doing tonight?"
Babs: "The same thing we do every night, Pinky."
Batman: "Wha?"
Babs: "Never mind."

I did find Singularity Sky, which I'd forgotten I was looking for, and Clouds End, which I picked up because people had been talking up Sean Stewart in this thread.

Eeee! If you hate Clouds End, I beg you to give Stewart another chance. He was trying to write McKillip plus Tolkien and ... it really didn't work. This is the only one of his books I just can't stand. The opening is beautiful, but after ...

I meant to check the mm pb section for Singularity Sky, now that it's out.

the Atwood you quoted is the Atwood I think of when I think of her poetry.

I always think of "a fishhook/an open eye."

I can't read poetry with my higher brain on -- I just let my eyes skim the pretty words until some of them catch on my heart.

And the oldest book I have is my grandmother's copy of Jane Eyre, which is from 1943 and has gorgeous woodcut illustrations.

Eeee! If you hate Clouds End, I beg you to give Stewart another chance. He was trying to write McKillip plus Tolkien and ... it really didn't work. This is the only one of his books I just can't stand. The opening is beautiful, but after ...

Heh. So, good thing I bought it used, then?

Which titles do you recommend?