Lyanna Stark Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I have a laptop now so I can read digital text even in bed and lying on the sofa. I'll check these out. :D [quote name='Stego' post='1690810' date='Feb 18 2009, 14.56']I print out EJ. Yes, yes, I know.[/quote] :lol: I used to print Harry Potter fanfiction to read in the bath. True story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach H Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I used hate reading fiction on a computer screen, but over the past couple of years I've managed to adjust to it a bit. I still wouldn't read a novel on a computer, but short stories or novelettes I can handle. And thanks for the links. I think I'm going to read the Delany first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yagathai Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Can I just say that, while I share GoN's love of A Rose for Ecclesiastes, it freakin' [i]kills[/i] me that Zelazny wrote that when he was 25? When he was two years younger than me, he came up with that. ARGH. ENVY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balefont Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 [quote name='Stego' post='1690765' date='Feb 18 2009, 08.14']You[b] all [/b]need to read this shit. -[url="http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/HON114/Nightfall.htm"][b]Nightfall[/b][/url] by Isaac Asimov -[url="https://www.msu.edu/user/carterca/rose.htm"][b]A Rose For Ecclesiastes[/b][/url] by Roger Zelazny -[url="http://lucis.net/stuff/clarke/9billion_clarke.html"][b]The Nine Billion Names of God[/b][/url] by Arthur C. Clarke -[url="http://www.lasalle.edu/~didio/courses/hon462/hon462_assets/sound_of_thunder.htm"][b]A Sound of Thunder[/b][/url] by Ray Bradbury -[url="http://www.boingboing.net/2008/12/03/spider-robinson-read.html"][b]The Persistence of Vision[/b][/url] by John Varley (Audio) -[url="http://www.ottolejeune.com/index.php/downloads/041_a_gun_for_dinosaur/"][b]A Gun For Dinosaur[/b][/url] by L. Sprague DeCamp (Audio) -[url="http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/delany3/delany31.html"][b]Aye, and Gamorrah[/b][/url] by Samuel Delany -[url="http://www.faludi.com/classes/networkobjects/readings/Bradbury_Soft_Rains_1950.pdf"][b]There Will Come Soft Rains[/b][/url] by Ray Bradbury -[url="http://terror.snm-hgkz.ch/lovecraft/html/rats.htm"][b]The Rats In The Walls[/b][/url] by H.P. Lovecraft -[url="http://www.asimovs.com/Nebulas03/Lobsters.shtml"][b]Lobsters[/b][/url] by Charlie Stross If this becomes popular and you want me to continue, I'd be happy to.[/quote] :love: I'll start from the top and work my way down. Always looking for something to read while on my lunch break and reading a book while eating certain things can be quite impossible. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookWyrm Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 [quote name='Stego' post='1690788' date='Feb 18 2009, 08.32']I'm going to kidnap you and make you one of my wives.[/quote] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFwUY0CpkZY"]The real Stego.[/url] Anyways, thanks for posting these! I've already read the Lovecraft and Clarke stories, both of which I loved, and I'll make sure I read those others within the next few days. I personally don't mind reading from a computer screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yagathai Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Don't forget [url="http://faculty.uca.edu/rnovy/Leiber--SpaceTime%20for%20Springers.htm"]Space-Time for Springers[/url] by Fritz Leiber, which is quite possibly the best SF short of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoN Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Oh god, Yags- I've been trying to remember that story for years. It really, really bothered me for a long time. Thanks. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yagathai Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 [quote name='Ghost of Nymeria' post='1691081' date='Feb 18 2009, 13.36']Oh god, Yags- I've been trying to remember that story for years. It really, really bothered me for a long time. Thanks. :)[/quote] Anything for you, baby. ;) And yeah, it messed me up but good when I first read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcelo Rebelo Firqoralas Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 If you want more free reading material, [url="http://www.freesfonline.de/"]http://www.freesfonline.de/[/url] is a good place to look for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Thanks for the link, Yags. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacen Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 None of these stories feature time-traveling, horny Vikings slash Navy SEALS. fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubies & Jade Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 thank you so much for posting these--some I haven't read before. But these are some of the best short stories ever: -Nightfall by Isaac Asimov -A Rose For Ecclesiastes by Roger Zelazny I read both of these when I was in college and they re-kindled my interest in sci-fi. They are both really wonderful and amazing stories. Don't forget EM Forster's The Machine Stops: [url="http://brighton.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~prajlich/forster.html"]http://brighton.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~prajlich/forster.html[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 [quote name='needle' post='1690770' date='Feb 19 2009, 02.17']I just can't stand reading from a screen.[/quote] [quote name='Stego' post='1690799' date='Feb 19 2009, 02.40'](I can't read off the screen, either.)[/quote] [quote name='Ghost of Nymeria' post='1690806' date='Feb 19 2009, 02.51']I use to have a problem with it, but I think years of EJ has trained me to be able to read detail points on the screen. :P[/quote] [quote name='mashiara' post='1690811' date='Feb 19 2009, 02.56']Thanks, Stego. I have a hard time reading off the screen too[/quote] Tips for reading off a screen. 1. Font should be non-serif. Most of the stuff posted in the OP is serif (Courier/Times New Roman), much harder on the eyes on screen (but better for reading on paper). You'll note this entire board, and nearly every other website you come across, uses non-serif fonts (except for documents that are intended to be printed). Be nice if you could convert to something like Arial then re-post (saves each person having to change fonts before they start reading). 2. Font size (for Arial) should be about 10 or 11. 3. The reader should decrease screen brightness somewhat. There is a lot of light coming out of your screen and your brain needs to process it all before figuring out what is important. The fewer photons it needs to process the easier it will be for you. 3a. If possible use something to keep your eyes focussed on the words you are reading (good with books too, like running your hand down the page a few centimetres below the line you're reading). 4. Make sure there are no extraneous images on the screen. 5. Sit comfortably with the screen placed in a position that does not cause any neck or back strain. Reading off paper is definitely easier. People generally read ~25% slower on screen than from paper. You can't completely mitigate that reduction, but it can be improved a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Didn't [i]Nightfall[/i] win a one-off Best Award for Anything SF Published Ever in the History of Everything by the SFWA? Great story, solid SF premise intelligently handled. I actually quite liked the novel-length version by Asimov and Silverberg as well, which I know wasn't as well-received. [i]Nine Billion Names of God[/i]: one of the best endings to any story I've ever read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathis Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 [quote name='Stego' post='1690774' date='Feb 18 2009, 13.20']Wow, negativity. Most libraries suck for selection.[/quote] Maybe in your country. I've been really impressed with the local library serivce since they made the whole county catalogue and sometimes beyond available if you reserve online. Its one hell of a service. I've yet to search for a book that they cannot get delivered to my local library within a week. Edit: And it aint as though I live in a metropolitan area either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stego Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 Yay, my country sucks. And waiting a week and clicking a link are kinda.... different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathis Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 [quote name='Stego' post='1691648' date='Feb 19 2009, 03.17']Yay, my country sucks.[/quote] Did I say that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stego Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 I said it. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. X Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I am not a big fan of reading long works on a screen, but I am quite happy to read short stories on the computer. I think I may have to save a bunch of those for the flight home on Saturday. Hooray for stories! (and :love: for Zelazny) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vrana Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Read Zelazny's which was surpisingly good. Will continue on to read The Nine Billion Names of God; this was a great idea, the only sci-fi I've read thus far is the Hitchhiker's guide. If you don't count 1984 and A Handmaid's Tale which literary snobs consider too good to be called SF. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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