The title says it all. Since I have a really large collection of unread books, I figure I could have some fun by letting the public pick one from my shelves. Below, you’ll see two pictures from one shelf (front level; there is another level of books behind these). You should be able to open the images to see the larger versions, which will make some of the titles and author names easier to read.
Here’s how this will work:
- You pick a book.
- You offer a reason for why I should read that book in the comments. Be creative, serious, or confusing. It doesn’t matter.
- I pick the answer that most pleases me based on utterly random and totally subjective criteria I won’t disclose (basically, it’ll depend on my mood)
- I’ll read and review the book in question.
Some of my shelves may include sequels and the like. If you pick a sequel to a book whose predecessor I have not read, I will read the previous book instead. These shelves used to be in order, but my cat has basically knocked half of the books from this shelf to the floor at some point, and I’ve yet to fix things.
If this whole feature is successful, I’ll do it again with another part of the shelf (or a tower of books from elsewhere).
So, have at it!
You should read Slant because I just found an abandoned copy of it in my apartment building, and I'm curious whether it's worth reading.
Peter Benchley's Beast (which I read lo these many years ago). Why? Because summer. More particularly, because squid. Really, I can't see how anything can rationally trump that.
As soon as I saw that on the shelf, I knew you'd pick it 😛
Some of these are out of series, or else I would pick them, Shaun.
So…Cities in Flight, by Blish. Since I might do it for MINING THE GENRE ASTEROID. You can actually read one of these books before I do a post on it 🙂
Jean M Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear. I read that when I was sixteen or so and have fond memories of it, but I suspect I'd have a very different reaction now. So I'm curious to see how you'd get on with it and whether you'd explode at it 😉
I'm tempted to choose Valley of Horses, because I'd love to see your take on what essentially amounts to incredibly well-researched Pleistocene erotica, but it's volume 2 in the series that starts with Clan of the Cave Bear, so that's out.
In which case… hmm. Weaveworld. Because Barker was still figuring out novels at this point, and it's kind of fascinating to see him applying everything he learned in crafting mindbending and terrifying short stories to the longer format.
Cities Flight by James Blish, because it's the only book pictured of which I've never heard of the title or the author.
The Martian Chronicles, because I say so! 🙂
You got some crap books there – Bova? And Vox Day? WTF? I notice you also have two copies of Slant. I suggest you read The Holy Machine.
Ink and Steel. That book's been on my Bookmooch list for a while, depending on what you think of it I might actively seek it out instead of passively waiting for it to show up.
Elfsorrow. It has the most attractive cover…at least from what I can see of the spine.