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May
29
2012
By
Raevyn

ThinkGeek's Summer Reading Recommendations!

Timmy reads to hone his skillz

If you can still see him, he needs to keep reading.

Have you been staring slackjawed at the walls wondering what to do with your summer?

Wonder no more! The monkeys at ThinkGeek are all voracious readers and are here to share their opinions with you! Get out your library card and fire up that internet browser, because after you see these lists, you're gonna need 'em!

Disclaimer: ThinkGeek is not responsible for any of the common side effects of voracious reading. Please contact your local librarian, physician or holistic theologian if you experience any of these symptoms: A sudden and rapid increase in imagination and daydreaming, inspiration, sleeplessness, photo sensitivity, myopia, drooling, fanfiction, increased typing speed and reading comprehension, a tendency to correct grammar, participation in online role playing, delusions of grandeur, pencil collecting, musing, philosophical debating, and increased empathy. Happy fun literacy is not for everyone. Do not taunt happy fun literacy.

ThinkGeek's Summer 2012 Reading Recommendations

Mike Kochis (Director of licensing and whiskey, son!) commands you to read:

Willy Yonkers (Mad Scientist, GeekLabs) offers these choice selections:

Mike Cummings (SysAdmin and BOFH) presents us with some detailed reviews:

Dorsai!, by Gordon R. Dickson - Starts with the best statement ever-- "He was an odd boy." A bit dated, and easily classified in a multitude of negative connotations by modern readers, it's a classic military Sci-Fi fiction. Plus, it totally sets the stage for Tactics of Mistake, The Chantry Guild, and The Final Encyclopedia, to name a few.

The Night Angel trilogy, by Brent Weeks - Recently re-released as an omnibus, let me just say: wowzer. This series never got the attention it deserved. Seriously, who wouldn't want want to read about an assassin and his magic ball?

Psalms of Isaak, by Ken Scholes - This series starts off as good fantasy, but by the time you get to the end of the latest book you realize you're reading a post-apocalyptic science fiction tale that's only pretending to be wrapped in a fantasy story. Or are you?

For a better source of what Mike is reading, read and has enjoyed, check out his GoodReads profile. Go ahead and ping him. He doesn't mind!

Tim Rosolino (Fixer of Broken Things) shares his brainmeats:

Boxing Stories, by Robert E Howard - This may take some setup but go with me. You like Conan? Right of course. You like bad guys getting their faces punched in? Who doesn't. Then bam, a book of stories by the creator of Conan about people all getting the concussions they deserve. With a surprising amount of humor and character you might not expect from Howard's other more serious works like Solomon Kane or Conan.

Tokyo Underworld: The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan, by Robert Whiting - This is one of the most fun history books I've read in a while. It follows the history of the yakuza from their modern start just after the end of ww2 through to near present day all through the eyes of an American who played at being a gangster in Japan while introducing pizza to the east.

The Best American Noir of the Century, by James Ellroy - This is more Black Dhalia and less Maltese Falcon. Everyone in this book is perfectly real they're all flawed, broken and has the worst of intentions.

Jamie Grove (Director of Evil Schemes and Nefarious Plans) uses his psychic powers to influence you:

My favorite stories are where the hero slays the dragon. The hero can be a heroine or even a hermit crab. The dragon can be scaly or made of silicon. The key ingredient is that justice be served, ideally with equal portions of humor and strangeness.

Raevyn Wallace (Social Media Ninjutsu Assistant and Word-Spewer) bids you to look at:

Edits! We have them.

Our Twitter fans chime in:

  • Evanskaufman - Apparently, Mike Kochis and I are on the exact same page, pun intended. Those are my three favorite series at the moment.
  • Streetlightout - Glad the Kingkiller Chronicle is there! Another good series is Dragoncrown War Cycle by Michael A Stackpole (4 books total).
  • LauraLeeSEO - I recommend the Age of Fire series by E. E. Knight!
  • PoisonFox - You forgot That Which Divides by Dayton Ward!
  • Zappdos - You know what's surprisingly good? The Last Wish, first book in the Witcher series. Sadly only 2 are in English so far.
  • BlasphemousFish - Favourite sci-fi trilogy to read: Peter F Hamilton's "Night's Dawn" is a brilliant technological utopian adventure!
  • Panda_bear430 - Dune and Hitchhikers Guide are always good reads!
  • Corintho - No Asimov's Foundation trilogy? "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K. Dick. "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman.
  • BookG33k - The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. It's an entertaining, well written supernatural thriller.

Did we leave anything out? Leave us a comment with your summer reading recommendations!

See you next time...

[ post a comment ]

Comments

meaningless icon! Personally, I'd have to recommend The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman, and possibly How To Live Safely In a Science Fictional Universe, by Charles Yu.
Mankoi said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! Hi highly recommend The Magicians and its sequel, The Magician King by Lev Grossman. A lot of people describe it as Harry Potter for grown-ups, but that's not quite right. It's like, if the Narnia stories were actually true, the Magicians would be an accurate account of the events. There would be sex, alcohol, anger, and death. It wouldn't be all warm and fuzzy. Super duper books.
superbetsy said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! Thanks for all the recommendations! I'm in the middle of listening to Wil Wheaton reading "Ready Player One" as an audiobook right now. It's fantastic - I definitely endorse that one.
Mirk47 said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! I HIGHLY recommend : The Warded Man & The Desert Spear by Peter V Brett & The Passage by Justin Cronin. Both are gripping epic stories (fantasy and sci-fi / post apocalyptic) that will have you wishing for the next book of each to-be-debuted series.
Meatballioso said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! I recommend: A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller, Jr.; The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell, and Bad Faith, by E.R. Paskey.
oracle4 said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! For light an fun (and who doesn't want light an fun for summer) Try "Wearing the Cape" and its sequel "Supervillains Inc." Surprisingly good, and well thought out moder superhero books - and I'm not even a fan of the genre! Just for the girls (cause no guy I know of can wade through this) try "Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs" and the rest of the trilogy. Complete snarkfests. Totally makes fun of the whole paranormal romance genre. And with a mud fight at the end of book 3!
dptalia said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! I'd go with anything by Rob Thurman. Her Cal Leandros and Trickster novels are full of snarky monster hunting goodness. And the Korsovo brothers series is great if perfer a more sci-fi thriller style. Quite frankly the woman is just an evil genius. :)
Psistriker said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! I suggest reading The Nightside series, by Simon R. Green.
L2S said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! I would add John Dies at the End by David Wong. Best Book Ever! I have read it 7 times already! It's about ths crazy drug called Soy Sauce. JUST READ IT!!! XD
Zipper91939 said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! I second The Nightside series by Simon R. Green. Excellent reads. I also love Dresden Files books (the TV series was pretty well done, too).
Selune13 said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! Try books by Charles Stross. Ultimate Geek Goodness.
Ob3r0n0ctag0n said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! Anything by China Mieville.
Daniel Roanoke said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! The Honor Harrington series by David Weber. Sci Fi at it's pinnacle.
theandywright said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! Packing for Mars is a great, easy science book for all us space needs. HUGE BONUS: It is written by the always hilarious Mary Roach of Stiff, Spook, and Boink fame.
ashleystew said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! Oh books, I can talk about books until your ears fall off, and then you'll be forced to read book, because that's what you do when you don't have ears. OK, fun geeky books: -The Five Fists Of Science, by Matt Fraction- Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain and Bertha von Suttner team up and use SCIENCE to fight JP Morgan and Thomas Edison, who are raising demons to do their evil bidding. - The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad, by Minister Faust- This is truly a book about geeks. Pretty much every character has his/her own area of geeky expertise. There is a gang called the Fan Boys. It's just full of amazing. - The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud- So much FUN. Yeah, it's technically YA, but all that means is that they don't cuss. Bartimaeus is a demon, Nathaniel is a young magician-in-training who summons him, shenanigans ensue. And also a lot of snark. - The Magicians and The Magician King, by Lev Grossman. Superbetsy sums it up pretty well above. If Narnia were real, it wouldn't be all fluff and fun, and life wouldn't magically be awesome forever. It's not exactly light, fun reading, but it IS really good. - The Machine of Death, a short story collection put together by Ryan North. What if there was a machine that would tell you not when, but how you would die? Of course, not in detail, just something vague, like "Vegetables". This is the premise, and the stories take it and run in all kinds of amazing directions. - Pretty much anything by Mary Roach. Non-fiction, but interesting and written with a sense of humor. Stiff is about how cadavers are used in science. Bonk is about the history of the scientific study of sex. I really want to read Packing For Mars next. - Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson- Suddenly, the moon, stars, and sun disappear from the sky. Turns out there's a shell around the Earth now, and the universe outside is ticking along waaayyyyy faster than time on Earth. DUN DUN DUNNNNNN. - The Parasol Protectorate series, by Gail Carriger- Vampires, werewolves, steampunk, parasols, manners, tea, and a main character who is a Soulless. Lots of fun. - Playing For Keeps, by Mur Lafferty- There are the superheros, licensed by the city, and there are the non-powered, living in the city, and there are the Third Wave people, who live in the city, and have superpowers, but their powers aren't "useful". Power over elevators, super strength (but only in 5-second bursts), healing power (one inch at a time), the inability to drop a bar tray, etc. Shenanigans ensue. - Actually, anything by Mur Lafferty. She's wonderful. - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke- Holy cannoli, I'm always blown away by this book. It's set in Victorian London, only magicians exist. - Mathematicians in Love by Rudy Rucker- Two mathematicians use the power of math to alter the universe, each trying to make it so that the girl they both love will love him, and not the other guy. Because that's what math is for. Secretly. - 7th Son trilogy by JC Hutchins- action/thriller, 7 clones named John Michael Smith, and John Alpha wants them dead. And possibly also to kill lots of people. The 7 John Betas have to stop him. DUN DUN DUNNNNNN. Okay, I'll stop there. Those are just the ones rated 5 or 4 stars. I'm syntheticjesso on Goodreads if you want to see a lot more. I love books. Books are delicious.
Jesso3.14 said this 357 days ago.
meaningless icon! I have to say you MUST reed the "Newsflesh Trilogy" if you're even a remote fan of the Zombie genre the third book just came out so it's a perfect time to start! Three books! No waiting! Feed is set in a post zombie apocalypse world where humans have learned to deal with and test for "amplification" it deals with vast political conspiracies and tells the story of how bloggers and internet geeks saved the world. So so good.
Lisin said this 356 days ago.
meaningless icon! Might I suggest the Callahan's saga, by Spider Robinson? Its about a bunch of barflies and their time-travelling barkeep. The first three books are collections of stories printed in a now-defunct sci-fi magazine, then it goes to full stories after that.
AnAutisticTeen said this 356 days ago.
meaningless icon! Waah I went to the library to find these books... but the library didn't have them :,( :,( ..so I got some Steven King instead :D
lfcp said this 350 days ago.

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