I've been trying like hell every since leaving college to turn myself back into a "reader". Its been nearly 4 years, and I'm not quite there yet, but getting closer. As stated, I did finish "Time Enough For Love" which is quite long (and quite Long, as well), which is an accomplishment, but it took me over a month, which is pretty pitiful. I can remember a time of reading voraciously, but its just been very difficult to get back into the habit after college beat it out of me.
Finishing TEFL reaffirmed my love for (what I call) "classic sci-fi", which includes most things from the golden period from the 30s thru the 60s. (HG Wells and Verne, would go under pre-classic or original in my classification system). But mostly I'm referring to Asimov, Heinlein, Herbert and Clarke (all of whom wrote some outside this period). The real sci-fi from these folks is far more about exploring a universe of ideas and using the possibilities of science to explore questions of philosophy and nature and humanity. It seems like so much of whats out and around now is just a Robert Louis Stevenson adventure book in a different setting.
I've been told by my friends who enjoy the same things I do about Scifi that there are some current authors writing good books in the spirit of the classics. But I've still got a lot of catching up to do, so I'm going to stick with the big four for a while yet until I get through a fair amount of them. I've never been a huge scifi reader, so I've only gotten a few of them under my belt.
But back to TEFL; a book that can challenge the prevailing opinions on marriage, democracy, longevity, and incest, all while being witty, informative, and using a non-traditional format automatically gains my respect. Heinlein is always challenging, which I love.
Posted by ktismael at May 5, 2004 9:50 PM