Book Recommendations for Singapore Trip: Non-Fiction & Fantasy

[recon]

I'll be heading over to Singapore soon, and I'm looking forward to buying books. :) I can't get good books from my country. Would anyone would like to help build up my list of purchase? I'm looking for non-fiction (science) and fantasy books.

 

[Gokul43201]

Why don't you pick from the book-review sub-forum ?

Last time I was at Singapore, it was Changi. I think that changed years back.

 

[recon]

The only GOOD bookstore in my country is a place that measures 30 X 10 feet. They don't carry many non-fiction books, and I cannot borrow books from the library because there isn't a good library near me. I'm going to Singapore to visit relatives too, not just to buy books. LOL

Gokul, there are SO MANY books being recommended in the sub-forum! I obviously can't buy them all so I need some help narrowing down the list. Also, I'm looking for good fiction books. I already have Dune...what else should I get?

 

[Evo]

Recon, for Fantasy I suggest Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. The first is "Eye of the World", it is the best I have read, this is the book that got me hooked on fantasy, you will not be disappointed.

Raymond E Feist's Riftwar Sagas & Serpent War Sagas are another good set.

David Eddings - The Belgariad is also good.

I think you would like Feist & Wurts book "Daughter of the Empire".

Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman's "The Dragonlance Chronicles" the first book is the "Dragons of Autumn Twilight". I love this series. jimmy p and I love the character Raistlin.

 

[Gokul43201]

If you are into Sci-Fi at all, Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series and Asimov's Foundation series are must haves.

For non-fiction (Popular Science) I'd suggest :

James Gleick's Chaos (mathemaical physics, chaos theory - beautiful pictures)
Paul Davies' The New Physics (modern physics - all fields covered)
Simon Singh's The Code Book (history and math of Cryptography - unputdownable)
Stephen Jay Gould's Bully for Brontosaurus - (evolution, and natural history - among Gould's best)
Ian Stewart's Concepts of Modern Mathematics (mostly modern algbraic math - very interesting read, very light)

If you are at all into the modern history of Physics, then Crease & Mann's "Second Creation" is a must !

There, that's a short list. I tried to make the areas be varied, and so avoided repetitious material.

 

[recon]

Evo, I've read The Belgariad and a little bit of the Riftwar series. I've heard that ONLY the first few books of "The Wheel of Time" series are worth reading. Do you agree?

Gokul, is it necessary to be thoroughly acquainted with Asimov's Robot and Empire novels before going into Foundation?

I thoroughly enjoyed Simon Singh's The Code Book (which I bought from Singapore in 2001). It was one of the best reading experiences of my life! Are there more mind-taxing books on codes?

 

[Gokul43201]

No, it's not necessary at all to have read Robot or Empire.

I haven't read any other non-fiction books dedicated to Cryptanalysis. Most of my related reading has been off the internet. If you have not read the DaVinci Code, buy it. It's fiction, though it's largely rooted in fact and the storyline revolves around breaking various codes. You will absolutely enjoy it !

You will also enjoy reading about (or working on) cracking the code of the "Kryptos" sculpture in the FBI HQ in Virginia. It is mostly a vigenere cipher, with some very interesting twists. Look it up online.

 

[Evo]

I've heard that ONLY the first few books of "The Wheel of Time" series are worth reading. Do you agree?

I think the first 6 were good, the story started changing too much in the 7th & 8th. I haven't read the 9th yet.

 

[Evo]

Recon, have you read "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson?

Here is a blurb from amazon.com, pretty accurate. I highly recommend it. As a matter of fact, I think I will read it again.

*****************

Only once in a great while does a writer come along who defies comparison--a writer so original he redefines the way we look at the world. Neal Stephenson is such a writer and Snow Crash is such a novel, weaving virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility to bring us the gigathriller of the information age.

In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo's CosaNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he's a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that's striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about Infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous...you'll recognize it immediately.

 

[recon]

Gokul, I've read The Da Vinci Code already. I think it was cool, but found it hard to believe that anyone would choose 1123581321 as a combination to a safe.

Evo, I think I'll find Snow Crash a thrilling read. Thanks for the recommendation! I like sci-fi books but have difficulty finding good books of this genre. My local bookstore (to my surprise) carries The Wheel of Time Series, and I'm now halfway into The Eye of the World. In fact, I'm so caught up with the story that I've to go now! I wonder who will eventually be the 'powerful' one: Rand, Mat or Perrin?

 

[Evo]

My local bookstore (to my surprise) carries The Wheel of Time Series, and I'm now halfway into The Eye of the World. In fact, I'm so caught up with the story that I've to go now! I wonder who will eventually be the 'powerful' one: Rand, Mat or Perrin?

I'm glad you're enjoying it. That is the book that started me on fantasy.