We haven't had a "what are you reading" thread in awhile, and to be honest I'm just a touched burned out on baseball today (blasphemy I know), so let's do something a little different for a Saturday and discuss what books we're reading.
I usually read non-fiction, but I decided to throw myself a couple of changeups and pick up some fiction recently, one a light read and the other somewhat heavy.
First, if you are a Star Trek fan, especially of the Original Series, you absolutely must read John Scalzi's novel Redshirts. This is not technically a Star Trek book, but it might as well be. It's funny as hell, and while it sags a little at the end, I really enjoyed it. It tears down many of the common tropes in Trek and heroic science fiction in general.
Secondly, a friend of mine kept recommending that I read Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt.
She recommended this book every time I talked to her for five years, so I finally took her advice and read it recently. I wish I had listened to her long ago, this is a great book.
This story takes place in a universe where the Black Death wiped out 99% of Europe in the 14th century, instead of 30% as in our universe. With Western and Central Europe a depopulated wasteland, Christianity is virtually eliminated from the world stage. The clash of Islamic and Chinese civilizations became the main motive force behind history. The story is told from the point of view of a group of souls as they journey through various incarnations.
What are you reading?
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