The Wily Filipino

OK, since you called me out...my reading habits in sci-fi/fantasy are VERY idiosyncratic, but if I were to make some suggestions on winter reading, I'd say read more (if not all) of Octavia Butler's oeuvre, especially her Parable and Xenogenesis series (the latter might still be available in a nifty omnibus called Lilith's Brood). I also love Pattern Master, which is the first book in the Patternist series.

I've heard Steven Barnes's Lion's Blood was great, an alternate-history take on slavery in the South, ruled not by white Americans but by Islamic Africans.

I really like women sci-fi/fantasy writers, and my faves are Sharon Shinn and Sheri Tepper. Tepper is very feminist while Shinn's works are often allegories about racial dynamics and religious conflict (at least I believe they are). My new fave is Marjorie Liu, but her work is heavy on romance.

I also love vampire fiction (I took an English class on it once!), so I'd (re)read the classics in those: Stoker, Polidori (The Vampyre), Le Fanu (Carmilla). New stuff that might be interesting would be Jewelle Gomez's Gilda Stories. And the more contemporary vampire-and-other-paranormal-creatures stuff that I love: Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series (but only books 1-8), Tanya Huff's Blood series, Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series, Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series, and Robin McKinley's one vampire novel ironically titled Sunshine (highly recommended).

Cryptonomicon sounds interesting--I might pick it up myself this break!

Shoot, I forgot to add Frank Herbert's Dune. Of course. How could I forget!

Thanks, Gladys! "Lilith's Brood" sounds great (reading the description on Amazon.com) -- I should check it out.

As much as I like vampire movies, the novels haven't really grabbed me (though Stoker was, of course, excellent). "Interview with the Vampire" was... okay, and I could only read the first few chapters of "Lost Souls" before I put it down.

Check out the excerpt from "Cryptonomicon" on www.cryptonomicon.com -- it's partly set in the Philippines, for starters... And I *loved* "Snow Crash," so this should be good. I may take it along with me now -- plus it's taking up so much space on my bookshelf!

But damn... "Lion's Blood" sounds amazing as well!

I second the Lilith's Brood recommendation. Amd Butler's PARABLE OF THE SOWER, which is an eerie tale of the US another ten years or so down the line: poor folks on the streets, middle-class folks burnt out of their walled communities, and the government starting useless wars. An African American teenager who rejects her parents myth of America as the greatest country in the world, finds a way to creat community.

Your vampirista friends should check out Butler's FLEDGLING, which is her latest, a vampire novel. (Given all her other seductive characters, the vampire's a natural) That and LION'S BLOOD are both sitting on my to-be-read shelf. Delaney's STARS IN MY POCKETS LIKE GRAINS OF SAND. I highly recommend it. (I highly recommend most of Delany's books! he boggles my mind!)

Let me know if you want to borrow any of these.

I gave Cryptonomicon to one of my brothers as a Xmas gift, but all along I just wanted to have a copy. That was around 4 years ago, and til recently, neither of us had actually read the damn thing! Finally started reading about 2 months ago, sneaking in bits of reading here and there on the train to/from work, or on my lunch break. The Philippines connection was kinda cool and all, especially in the beginning, but certain bits reminded me of George Lucas, and how Lucas sucks at directing scenes actually requiring human emotion. Stephenson kinda blows, in the few scenes where he's describing, uh, intimate relations between two characters. He writes stuff like "He fucked her." Holy shit! Hasn't this guy ever read Penthouse Forum? Hahahaha.... Really, at this stage, I'm about in the middle of the damn thing but struggling to maintain my interest. The nerdy bits suck me in at times, but maaan.. there's only so much nerdiness one can wallow in. I ain't feelin' him, boiee!

As for sci fi - long ago in a galaxy far away I remember enjoying this "cyberpunk" compilation called Mirrorshades.

Seriously need to catch up on my JK Rowling. :)

Why does this sound like a PERSONAL ad???

My recommendations--Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. And the Earthsea series by Ursula Le Guin. Some swear by the Pullman's Dark Materials series. I thought the Golden Compass was ok (a good read aloud book for Izzy!), but haven't read the whole set.