New Iain M. Banks book, "Transition"!

Ooh, goodie! I enjoyed The Algebraist and Matter and can't wait to get started on this one!

It sounds like a bit of a departure from his Culture and far-future sci-fi, as this one is set on Earth in the (near?) future. It sounds like it may be more like some of Ken Macleod's books (or dare I say it, "The Diamond Age"). There's not really enough info on Amazon's page to know, though. So I guess I should be patient :)

It's available now for pre-order from Amazon (hardcover)... The softcover version will be out later in the year.

There is also an interesting article featuring Banks and other sci-fi authors on the BBC website here. The topic is "Can science fiction keep up with modern science?"

100 New Classics (a random book list)

By way of wolverine_nun, Entertainment Weekly have a list of 100 "new classic" books. ("The 100 best reads from 1983 to 2008") . I've not read most of them - a few of them have been made into films which I've seen, though... :P

There are a few odd choices ("The DaVinci Code"? - I guess it was popular...) and omissions: Not a single J.M. Coetzee book? (He won the Booker Award in '83 and '99, and the Nobel Prize in Literature in '03). Where is "The Historian"? (No awards, I just love it)

It's interesting to see two "YA" books on the list. I fully agree that Harry Potter and the Dark Materials series should be there (looks like they only liked one Harry Potter book though?)

I'm also really pleased to see "A Prayer for Owen Meany" on the list - this book made a huge impression on me when I read it more than a decade ago.

{W_N} says that Posession by A.S. Byatt is the best book she's read, so I'll have to check that out... For no particular reason (except perhaps to show that I watch movies more than I read), here are the ones I've read (or seen in movie form):

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)


• Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)


• Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)


• Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)


• Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)


• A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)


• Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)


• Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)


• Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)


• Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)


• Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)


• His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)


• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)


• A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)


• The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)


• The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)


• Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)


• High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)


• America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

New Iain Banks sci-fi in the pipeline

I've been a huge fan of Iain Banks' work since my friend Craig introduced me to them a little over a decade ago. I think I started with his first Culture book, Consider Phlebas.

While in Canada recently, I noticed a new novel by Iain Banks on sale, titled The Steep Approach to Gabardale. I balked a bit at the price (it seems books in Canada are more expensive than in the US), but as a result I have to wait for the book to be published in America in October...-

While looking around on Wikipedia today I saw there's a new science fiction novel due in 2008, apparently titled Matter.

I can't wait!

Skinner's Drift

I've just finished read Skinner's Drift, the debut novel by Lisa Fugard. Lisa is the daughter of the famous South African playwright Athol Fugard.

This is a wonderful book: It gives you a good view into typical life on a border farm towards the end of Apartheid, the tensions between English and Afrikaaners, as well as between black and white South Africans. I really liked her writing style too - she paints vivid images and her prose is lean and powerful.

More reviews on Amazon here.

A note from the culture desk

Here are some quick notes about books, movies and music that I've enjoyed recently:

Music: Rodrigo y Gabriela's eponymous album features some mind-blowing acoustic guitar work. If you like salsa, flamenco, or fast-paced fingerstyle guitar this is highly recommended! (YouTube videos of the lads here)

The new Decemberists CD is beautiful (and I was pleased to see the national attention they got via the Colbert Report green-screen challenge Guitarmageddon thing. Check out the video on Comedy Central if you know not of which I speak - it's worth it).

Books: A while back I finished reading The way we eat, which I'd recommend if you enjoyed The Omnivore's Dilemma and want to know more about what we eat and the impact our choices have on the world.

I really enjoyed John Moe's Conservatize Me - he has a light, fluid writing style and the book is chock-full of humour (I chuckled or laughed out aloud on almost every page).

Now I've moved on to something completely different: The Island of the Sequined Love Nun. Christopher Moore has a deliciously twisted mind (a cross between Douglas Adams and Kurt Vonnegut). So far I'm enjoying this - it's a bit pulpy and definitely an easy read, but the writing is decent and the plot is original (to say the least).

Movies: If you are an extremely patient moviegoer or have an unnatural fascination for the CIA, you'll like The Good Shepherd. It's directed by Robert de Niro (who also plays a small role in the film), and is an interesting look at the foundation of the CIA (and the Order of the Skull and Bones). A K pointed out, it would have been nice to see more of what the main character, Edward, does. Being the head of the counter-surveilance department at the CIA probably requires more than shuffling aound with a stoney expression all day, ignoring your wife, and making ships in bottles.

For some info on the real person that the movie is based on, see this Wikipedia page.