The greatest books I've ever read

That's right, I'm not one of those total computer geekazoids who sit in their room all day playing computer games. I don't sit in front of the almighty "Cathode" waiting for my brain to rot. I occasionally pick up a book and read. Below is a list of some of my favorite books. From this list you might glean a bit of my personal tastes. You'll note that there is not a single book written by "Stephen King". In addition I'd like to say that I felt betrayed and suckered after reading "Op Center". Which by the way was not written by "Tom Clancy", but did have his name on the cover. "Op center" Sucked! Both the book, and the made for T.V. Movie. I will never again read an "Op-Center" novel. I would also like to point out that the novel "Congo" was a hundred times better than the movie.

Praise for FRANK HERBERT, his son BRIAN HERBERT (and co-author Kevin J. Anderson), and the DUNE series: Not too long ago, I read the original six book series of 'Dune' novels by Frank Herbert. I had always wanted to read them, but never had the courage to read a six book sci-fi series. Well, someone (Thanks Brian) loaned me the entire series. I knew that it would be a good experience, based on the one Herbert novel that I had read earlier (White Plague). Little did I know that it would become a fantastic journey. Those six books constitute an experience like no other. An adventure beyond compare. Characters so rich, and so unique, that you find yourself examining their motives and desires, experiencing their fears and triumphs, believing their truths and lies. Settings so crisp, that you can feel the sting of sand against your face, as a storm moves in over the deserts of 'Rakis; and smell the salt air of Duke Leto's homeworld. A tapestry of cultures and technologies; woven so deeply that you begin to hate Harkonnen's, and think like a Fremen. A magnificent and epic saga, unlike anything else in the world of literature. I sure am glad I read the books. I'll definitely have to read them again some day. My selection in the 'Stranded on an island' book club.

On the stand: The book that I'm reading now(aside from D&D® rule books - Of which there seems to be a never ending supply).

Terry Brooks: Writes fantasy and fiction. One of the earliest fantasy authors I read.

Robert Anton Wilson: American author of 35 influential books, became, at various times, a novelist, philosopher, essayist, editor, playwright, futurist, libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic.

Michael Crichton: American author, producer, director, screenwriter, and medical school graduate, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres.

Tom Clancy: An American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War and his video games.

Richard Marcinko: A former United States Navy SEAL and author. A number of nicknames have been ascribed to Marcinko, including "Rogue Warrior", "Demo Dick", "Shark Man of the Delta" and "The Geek".

Douglas Adams: Was an English writer, dramatist, and musician. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television series, several stage plays, comics, a computer game, and in 2005 a feature film.

Robert A. Heinlein: Was an American science fiction writer. Often called "the dean of science fiction writers,] he was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of the genre. He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality.

Frank Herbert / Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson: Authors of the 'Dune' series/novels. An incredible series of novels which describe entire civilizations of people far in the future. The most amazing books I've ever read.

Joseph Finder: An American writer of several thrillers set in a business environment. His books include Paranoia, Company Man, Killer Instinct and Power Play. His novel High Crimes was made into a movie starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman.

Keith Laumer: Was an American science fiction author. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the United States Air Force and a U.S. diplomat.

Greg Bear: an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict (Forge of God books), artificial universes (The Way series), consciousness and cultural practices (Queen of Angels), and accelerated evolution (Blood Music, Darwin's Radio, and Darwin's Children).

Leo A. Frankowski: Was an American writer of science fiction novels. He lived in Russia for four years with his now ex-wife and adopted teenage daughter, but at the time of his death, he had moved back to the United States.

Robert Bloch: Was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over twenty novels, usually crime fiction, science fiction and, perhaps most influentially, horror fiction (Psycho). He was one of the youngest members of the Lovecraft Circle.

Frederick Pohl: An American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years. From about 1959 until 1969, Pohl edited Galaxy magazine and its sister magazine if, winning the Hugo for if three years in a row.

Bill Bryson: A best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on scientific subjects.

James Clavell: was a British (later naturalized American) novelist, screenwriter, director and World War II veteran and prisoner of war.

Joe Haldeman: An American science fiction author. Haldeman's most famous novel is The Forever War (1975), inspired by his Vietnam experiences, which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. He later turned it into a series. Haldeman also wrote two of the earliest original novels based on the 1960s Star Trek TV series universe, Planet of Judgment (August 1977) and World Without End (February 1979). In October 2008 it was announced that Ridley Scott will direct a feature film based on The Forever War for Fox.

James Rollins: James Rollins and James Clemens are two of the pen names of American veterinarian Jim Czajkowski (born 1961), author of bestselling fantasy and action-packed adventure-thrillers. He sold his veterinary practice in Sacramento, California, to concentrate full-time on writing.

Neal Stephenson: An American writer, known for his speculative fiction works, which have been variously categorized science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk. He has also written under the pseudonym of Stephen Bury.

Steven Pressfield: An American novelist and author of screenplays, principally of military historical fiction set in classical antiquity. His historical fiction is well-researched, but for the sake of dramatic flow, Pressfield may alter some details, like the sequence of events, or make use of jarring contemporary terms and place names, his stated aim being an attempt to capture the spirit of the times.

Dan Brown: American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories. His books have been translated into over 40 languages, and as of 2009, sold over 80 million copies.

Physics/Temporal Physics/Metaphysics/Theoretical Math/Books about time: A rather broad category. These books are non-fiction (for the most part), concern themselves primarily with my hobby of 'Akinetochronism' - The disbelief of time and motion.

Spy/Intelligence Military Historical/Espionage: Another broad category of subjects I'm interested in. Once again these books are primarily non-fiction, and they concern themselves with military intelligence topics.

On the shelf: Books that I own, and plan to read - eventually. Boy, that shelf is starting to bow under the weight of all these books.

Loaners: Books that I own, which I've loaned to people over the years.

The books linked from this page do not constitute a complete list of my favorite books. I've read many other books by the more notable authors listed above. These are simply some of my favorites. A couple of series I read (a long time ago) and enjoyed immensely were: Roger Zelazny's Amber series. The fantasy series by Piers Anthony with the whimsical titles like "Centaur Isle", and "Ogre Ogre". The "Stainless steel rat" series by Harry Harrison was another enjoyable read. As was the first Shannara series. One of the first series I read involved a character called 'Casca'. He's a combination of two figures from Christian lore: The wandering Jew; a man who taunted Christ on the way to the crucifixion, and Longinius; the Roman soldier who stuck a spear into Christ while he was on the cross. The series involved Casca as an immortal warrior. Cursed to live on as a soldier until the second coming of Christ. There were numerous books, and I read most of them (up to #14 or so). It was a really good series. Of course I read the first two 'Dragonlance' series but kind of gave up on TSR novels after reading something with the word 'Bimbo' in the title.

If you'd like to talk about one of these books, or suggest something you think I might like, please feel free to email me.