I lurve his books so much! Anathema was so good!
Quicksilver was his hardest book for me to read. I felt like I was bashing my head against a brick wall of history, so many names/places/events that were all vaguely familiar… every time I read the cycle I think “Oh I’m going to enjoy this so much when I read it again!” LOL - read them three times now. But it took me over two years to read Quicksilver the first time. Its way way too dense. Book 2 & 3 are not nearly as dense (or imo overwritten).
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I’ve not read his stuff yet, my hubby is a fan, though, so we have much of his work. I think I like the historical aspect of the Baroque cycle, for sure. It’s basically about how we got the modern economic system. I also like the whole alchemy aspect of it… it kind of reminds me of that movie by Ben Wheatley, A Field in England.
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‘Cryptonomicon’ is (in my humble opinion) the best Stephenson to read first. It’s his best prose, and introduces a lot of themes/characters/and archetypes that develop further into the Baroque cycle. Your hubby has good taste in fiction 
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/hushed reverence
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LOL - now I wanna read them again!!
After I finish this new Guy Gavriel Kay.
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Ugh, I’m not reading anything right now because I can’t decide on what to read and that’s driving me to avoid serious reading.
SUGGEST ME SOME STUFF
My last read pile (from most recent backwards, star values from 0 to 5, more==better):
- Bujold, Lois McMaster, The Vor Game (Vorkosigan #6) –
- Lackey, Mercedes, et. al., Invasion (Secret World #1), –
- Rosenberg, Marshall B. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life –
- Butler, Octavia E. Dawn (Xenogenesis #1) –
- Horowitz, Mitch - Occult America –
- Reading, Amy, The Mark Inside –
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Starts amusing, and then goes on to become much, much deeper than that. Well-written to a “holy shit…” degree.
- Mary Gentle, Ash: A Secret History. Ash: A Secret History (Book of Ash, #1-4) by Mary Gentle | Goodreads
Alt-history/fantasy. Completely original, great characters. Best piece of fantasy writing since Tolkein, IMO.
- Ellen Kushner, Thomas the Rhymer. Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner | Goodreads
A gorgeously told version of the classic “kidnapped to fairyland” tale. Extraordinarily good use of a multiple-viewpoints storytelling style.
- Patrick O’Brian, Aubrey/Maturin series. Aubrey–Maturin series - Wikipedia
Napoleonic naval adventure, mixed with espionage and a dash of romance. Best example of historical fiction ever written. Wonderful but realistic characters along with spectacular action.
- Primo Levi, The Periodic Table. The Periodic Table by Primo Levi | Goodreads
Not light entertainment, but worth the time. It’s the sort of book that makes you feel like a better person for having read it. Primo was a mensch.
- George MacDonald Fraser, The Pyrates. The Pyrates by George MacDonald Fraser | Goodreads
Extraordinarily funny pisstake of every possible swashbuckling cliché.
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I just picked up The Long Utopia and The Long Cosmos at the library.
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My hubby is just finishing up that series… that’s next on my list, maybe after the Charlie Jane Anders… when I’m done with the Barque Cycle.
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If you liked The Pyrates and you like historical fiction, have you read George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman series? Highly recommended.
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Yup. 
His non-fiction (Quartered Safe Out Here) and semi-fiction (McAuslan in the Rough) is worth the read as well.
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Currently reading (yet) another Malazan book, Return of the Crimson Guard.
Read Ancillary Justice the other day after seeing it mentioned here again. I wouldn’t say I l loved it, but I’ll probably read the other books in the trilogy.
(speaking of trilogies, I still need to get around to reading KSR’s Blue Mars, and Scott Westerfeld’s Goliath)
Also, not sure if it counts as ‘reading’, but after almost backing it on Kickstarter ages ago, I finally treated myself to Tales From The Loop.
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Has anyone read anything by Chuck Klosterman? Is he any good… I heard him on the radio last weekend, talking about his new book and it sounded interesting (it’s about thinking about the present as the past). I know he does lots of pop culture stuff, which I also generally like to read about…
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I’m reading Firestarter (Stephen King) as a break from re-re-re-re-reading Harry Potter. Yes I know but it’s less stressful than Order of the Phoenix. Kind of a slow starting book (not a pun). I thought this was related to a movie (Carrie?) but I was mistaken.
I’m kind of interested in reading some classic Gothic books (not Turn of the Screw; Henry James can bite me; Turn of the Screw is the second worst book I’ve ever read all the way through). I’m not sure where to start.
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Hmm.
Gormenghast? Wilkie Collins? MR James? The Brontes? Stoker? du Maurier?
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I’ve read Wuthering Heights (which I love ^_^) and Stoker. *adds remainder to my list*
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I’m currently in the middle of re-reading the Chronicles of Amber (I think I’m about to start Book 9), but I took a break from that because I felt the need to re-read Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.
I still can’t get through the first meeting of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy without completely losing it.
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How had I never heard of this before now?!
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I only heard about it through O-Deck. (Spoiler Warning: This article is discussing a cliffhanger near the end of the book).
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Northanger Abbey and Nightmare Abbey are enjoyable Gothic classics, although they are spoofs.
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