I never had the guts to read them. The idea just beat me down too much.

No, you were right the first time. Not that you were wrong the second.

kim stanley robinson
The last book I thought he did that lived up to the spirit of his best work (if not necessarily being at quite the same level as Three Californias or the Mars trilogy) was Antarctica. Though I may be alone on that. I'm not sure how other people feel about Antarctica (the book, not the continent).…

A Wizard of Earthsea is such a rich, beautiful book.

I recall the The Eternal Footman being pretty rough going. Just relentlessly grim, with none of the playfulness you expect from Morrow.

Baldy, yeah, I've read everything by Morrow, but I just don't find him on his game anymore. I thought he was at his peak from Only Begotten Daughter through the first half of the Godhead trilogy. Towing Jehovah and the first half of Blameless in Abaddon are amazing. Then in the second half of Blameless, he gets so…

Do Bettany's eyes look in two different directions, too? That photo is creeping me out.

But is The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress really lesser-read Heinlein? I was always under the impression it was one of his more popular novels. It won the Hugo, after all.

Holy crap, The Fifth Head of Cerberus would be phenomenal. Three interlocking stories, and the title one is among the greatest sf short stories of all time.

Not a big novel reader, Rowan?

I love Geoff Dyer. It irks me that you can't find several of his older titles very easily, so there are a couple of his novels I haven't read. But even then, I think I prefer his non-fiction to his fiction. Out of Sheer Rage is one of the best books I've read in the last 20 years, which I would've never expected from…

Seems like a lot of people are suggesting books too long for what the AV Club's requirements.

james morrow
How about Towing Jehovah by James Morrow? A philosophical black comedy in which God dies, and the archangels (before dying themselves) prepare a tomb in the Arctic and hire a disgraced oil tanker captain to tow the two-mile long corpse to its burial. Hilarity ensues. Such a great book. I've even made a…

Never read any Highsmith, actually.

sounds interesting
Don't know about anyone else, but ever since the AV Club's Best of the Decade list of short story collections, I've been on a ridiculous short story kick. Guess I'll have to add this to the pile.

huh
Phil and I share the same birthday. Speaking of low expectations, I'm absolutely certain no one will be getting me an iPad.

Commas. We must learn where commas go, especially for pointless firsties.

There's no such thing as a Star Trek series that doesn't deliver up stinkers. That being said, DS9 is still incredible. I've always thought it the best ST series (though I wouldn't go so far as calling TNG just a speed bump on the way).

another episode . . .
. . . where I'd like to punch Michael. I could have enjoyed the episode far more if it weren't about Michael being so utterly Mike-like. And I couldn't suspend my disbelief that six years into the show, we've never heard of Date Mike. That all said, I dug Dwight and Isabelle. Especially Isabelle…

Yes, but this. THIS was SUBTLE homoeroticism. Kind of. A little.