nekare

Neil Gaiman = <3. He's totally what I would recommend. Which books of his are you getting?

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon is all kinds of wonderful:

Christopher is an intelligent youth who lives in the functional hinterland of autism--every day is an investigation for him because of all the aspects of human life that he does not quite get. When the dog next door is killed with a garden fork, Christopher becomes quietly persistent in his desire to find out what has happened and tugs away at the world around him until a lot of secrets unravel messily.

Haddon makes an intelligent stab at how it feels to, for example, not know how to read the faces of the people around you, to be perpetually spooked by certain colours and certain levels of noise, to hate being touched to the point of violent reaction. Life is difficult for the difficult and prickly Christopher in ways that he only partly understands; this avoids most of the obvious pitfalls of novels about disability because it demands that we respect--perhaps admire--him rather than pity him. --Roz Kaveney

Alternatively, I rec anything by Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Saffran Foer or Nick Hornby.

I'll preach it once, and I'll preach it forever.

You want to read Philip K. Dick. All of you.
I'd start with short stories; but if you have to novel-length, there are some pearls such as "Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep?", which was made into Blade Runner and features a cop trying to find androids almost indistinguishable from human beings. Or, but this is rather dark and not very Sci-Fi, A Scanner Darkly. This book is about an undercover drug cop. He's so undercover that no one knows which of the men and women in this drug den is him. And he, of course, may not tell others about his identity. So, he's beginning to develop schizophrenia, separating himself in the drug dealer and the drug cop, going as far as neglecting the fact that these two personae inhabit the same body. It's a great book, it doesn't pull the punches, and it has some autobiographic traits. It could almost work as a contemporary novel; there is just one piece of sci-fi in it.

The we get Howard Philips Lovecraft. This guy has his personal flaws - he wrote in the 1920's, and that's reflected in his live and his works. He tends to be racist - not all that much; a good friend of mine didn't even notice it until I pointed it out. Still, he's one of the first writers of modern horror. His Cthulhu mythos has influenced countless works and authors. In the Mouth of Madness is a direct homage towards him. And his writing style is gripping, as are his ideas. Forget monsters the heroes can simply blow up; we're talking about unspeakable evil. A good start would be Cthulhu.

Another author is Terry Pratchett. He's a funny writer, but manages to pick up deep philosophical topics such as "What is life?" along the way and makes you think about it. Very good. I'd recommend Guards!Guards! of his Discworld series as a starting point.

Well, Gaiman. I've just read Good Omens (which was co-authored by Pratchett) and American Gods. Which, by the way, I can fully recommend.

I hope you have a good time in the US. You have my sympathy, considering the travel formalities. Come back safely, will you?

You should check out Kelly Armstrong's "Women of the Underworld" series. The first book is "Bitten" and it's very very good. :)

I would recommend anything by R A Heinlein. If I have to name a favorite author, he's it.

There's a collection of interwoven books in his "Future History" series, but I'll just give you a breakdown on the stand alones.

Stranger in a Strange Land Quick summary is - a human raised on Mars is brought back to Earth & has to adapt. Fantastically wonderful story about human nature and just...I can't find the words to describe it.

Number of the Beast Group of friends who end up traveling through different dimensions. Some of them end up being alternates of the reality they know, and in some of them, they end up in the lands of their favorite stories.

The Door Into SummerA time travel/inventor/love story.

I Will Fear No Evil A millionaire dies & gets transplanted into the body of his secretary (who had just been murdered) in an experimental process. It's a very interesting look @ overpopulation and male vs female views on a lot of things.

Overall, I'd rec anything by Heinlein.

Hi!

Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog is a really fab read. I can't possibly do justice to all the elements it contains, but here's a review that'll give you an idea: http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/susan/sf/books/w/willis.htm#8790

The Middle Passage by Charles Johnson - I love this book, ever read one of those books that you were so consumed in you felt like you were right there with the protagonist? This is that book. Horrific, painful, entertaining but amazing.

The Giver by Lois Lowry - In my opinion this book should be required for every person ever born to read. Seriously, they should hand them out while the mothers are being released from the hospital.

Blind Man with a Pistol by Chester Himes - The chaos of this book is phenomenal, you feel as though you were part of seedy Harlem.

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison - I know you love imagery, and no one is better than Morrison, honestly. Everyone should read at least one book by her. Also take a look at Beloved, that book is haunting and beautiful.

Haha, you probably have a lot of books on your list already, but seriously have a look at the Johnson and the Morrison books. And have fun on your trip !