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These posts mostly relate to books I am reading or series I am collecting to read in order (I tend to collect the series and then read it in one block). You can see a see a list of the books I am currently seeking, as well as a list of all the books I've bothered to catalog if you're interested.
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Wed, 03 Sep 2008
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posted at: 13:07 | path: /book/Isaac_Asimov | permanent link to this entry
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Tue, 02 Sep 2008
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The Belgariad is a fantasy series by David Eddings. There are five books in the series, although there is also a follow series called the Mallorean, as well as three tie in books. The series follows a small farm boy as he grows up, discovering along the way that his relatives are famous, he's important to the history of the world, and that he has to defeat an ancient evil. The five books in the main series are:
Tags for this post: book( ) David_Eddings()
posted at: 19:36 | path: /book/David_Eddings | permanent link to this entry
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This is the final book in the Belgariad. Its a good one, although knowing there is another series involving these characters makes it feel a little less final to me. I enjoyed it though.
LibraryThing link for ISBN 0345338715
Tags for this post: book() David_Eddings()
posted at: 19:29 | path: /book/David_Eddings | permanent link to this entry
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Sun, 31 Aug 2008
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Tags for this post: book() read()
posted at: 11:38 | path: /book/read | permanent link to this entry
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Fri, 29 Aug 2008
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This is book four in the Belgariad, and was as good as the others. This one only took a day to read, but that was helped a lot by the two hours I spent commuting to and from San Francisco today. This book is a little different than the others because it starts just as the quest for the Orb ends. Yet it turns out that the overall prophecy that the Belgariad describes is still incomplete, so the story continues.
LibraryThing link for ISBN 0345300807
Tags for this post: book() David_Eddings()
posted at: 21:55 | path: /book/David_Eddings | permanent link to this entry
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Thu, 28 Aug 2008
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This is the third book in the Belgariad (Book 1 and Book 2). This book like the others was an enjoyable quick and easy read. I am starting to rethink my comments about these books being good for young readers -- it just occurred to me that a lot of people die in these books. They're all bad guys, and the violence isn't all that graphic, but I guess it might worry some parents.
LibraryThing link for ISBN 0345335457
Tags for this post: book() David_Eddings()
posted at: 16:40 | path: /book/David_Eddings | permanent link to this entry
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Tue, 26 Aug 2008
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posted at: 19:10 | path: /book/David_Eddings | permanent link to this entry
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Mon, 25 Aug 2008
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I finished this book on the bus into work this morning (I had a pretty distracted weekend, and didn't get much reading done). This is the second book in the Amtrak Wars series, and takes place immediately after Cloud Warrior. The book feels like it is only half a book -- there is plot development such as learning more about Roz, meeting the First Family, and the Iron Masters, but there isn't much action. Basically I look back on the book and wonder what happened in it -- it would have been better to combine this with the next book and have a complete story in one.
LibraryThing link for ISBN 0671655671
Tags for this post: book() Patrick_Tilley()
posted at: 09:59 | path: /book/Patrick_Tilley | permanent link to this entry
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Thu, 21 Aug 2008
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LibraryThing, of which I am a member runs a program where members are shipped early copies of books for free, with the preference for them writing a review when they're done reading the book. The books are shipped by the publisher directly to the reviewers. This isn't that uncommon in the publishing industry -- both of my books have experienced a similar process, although less formal.
(In fact, any very early review of a book on a site light amazon.com should be viewed with a little bit of caution I suppose. These people probably got their review copies for free from the publisher.)
LibraryThing's implementation is a little different though, mainly because of the scale at which they hand out books, and the fact that the publishers don't appear to get any direct say in who gets the books. That means that there is less incentive to write a positive review, and that more people get access to early copies of new books. You can see a list of the books LibraryThing is currently handing out here.
The Spy Within is the true story of a senior CIA agent who turned out to also be a Chinese spy. Its the first book I've received through the early review program, so I am still learning the ropes and have sat on this book for a few weeks before actually reading it.
As I said earlier, this is the "true story" a senior Chinese spy within the CIA. However, it should be noted that large portions of the book are pure speculation -- inserted simply to make the story more readable. In addition, as with all such works, the book is based on a limited number of interviews, and is subject to the biases of those who provide source material.
This kind of book isn't really my thing, and I would read less one one non-fiction contemporary history book a year. However, I found this to be an engaging read, especially because the books manuscript flows much like a novel. However, the story simply wasn't that gripping (so, Larry Chin was a dick, I get it). Its hard for non-fiction to compete with fantasy for story lines I suppose.
LibraryThing link for ISBN 1586421484
Tags for this post: book() Tod_Hoffman()
posted at: 21:43 | path: /book/Tod_Hoffman | permanent link to this entry
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Tue, 19 Aug 2008
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The Belgariad is a pretty formula fantasy epic, with striking similarities to things like stories of King Arthur. The series is written in a style which is very accessible to younger readers, which might explain why I loved these books as a kid. Its also a pretty "safe" story, in that nothing truly bad is allowed to happen to the main character, who is a child who grows up during the books. That might be why I loved these books so much as a child, and read them many times.
As an adult, this is a pretty easy read, and quite entertaining. I imagine its a lot like the Harry Potter series in its accessibility, although I haven't actually read Harry Potter as its not my kind of thing.
I quite like this book, and would recommend it to young readers interested in fantasy books.
LibraryThing link for ISBN 0552148075
Tags for this post: book() David_Eddings()
posted at: 17:34 | path: /book/David_Eddings | permanent link to this entry
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Mon, 18 Aug 2008
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I read this post-nuclear holocaust book as a kid and liked it, so I thought I'd give it a try again. Given most second hand science fiction books are $2, the barrier to entry is admittedly quite low as well. This book revolves around two groups -- the Amtrak Federation (a military society formed from survivors of those who crewed MX missile trains, a real system of roaming trains carrying nuclear missiles from the late 1980s and early 1990s -- the idea was that something which moved was harder for the Russians to find) and the "Mutes" (the civilan survivors of the holocaust, who are now mutated by radiation). Its a good book, although very different from the Asimov I've been reading recently. That's a good thing, because I think I need a bit of an Asimov break to be honest.
LibraryThing link for ISBN 0671559729
Tags for this post: book() Patrick_Tilley()
posted at: 17:47 | path: /book/Patrick_Tilley | permanent link to this entry
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Sat, 16 Aug 2008
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I'm getting really into reading second hand science fiction from the 1950s onwards. I read a few (but nowhere near all) of the Foundation series as a child, and I remember liking them a lot. Stolen from Wikipedia, here is a list of the books in The Foundation series in Asimov's suggested reading order:
| C | Year | Title | Notes |
| 1950 | I, Robot | Robot short stories. First collection, which were all included in The Complete Robot, though it also contains binding text (Mind and Iron), no longer in The Complete Robot. Purchased from Bookbuyer's |
| 1 | 1982 | The Complete Robot | Robot short stories. Collection of Asimov stories written between 1940 and 1976. Purchased from Galaxy Books
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| 1986 | Robot Dreams | Robot short stories. Anthologised in a book with the same title. Purchased from Canty's Bookstore (no website)
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| 1990 | Robot Visions | Robot short stories. Anthologised in a book with the same title. This collection contains Mirror Image, which is referenced in The Robots Of Dawn and occurs after The Naked Sun. Purchased from Leigh's Favorite Books
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| 1992 | The Positronic Man | Robot novel based on Asimov's short story The Bicentennial Man, co-written by Robert Silverberg Purchased from Canty's Bookstore (no website) |
| 2 | 1954 | The Caves of Steel | Robot novel. Purchased from Leigh's Favorite Books |
| 3 | 1957 | The Naked Sun | Robot novel. Purchased from Canty's Bookstore (no website) |
| 4 | 1983 | The Robots of Dawn | Robot novel. Purchased from Leigh's Favorite Books |
| 5 | 1985 | Robots and Empire | Robot novel. Purchased from Bookbuyer's |
| 1993 | Isaac Asimov's Caliban | Caliban trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen. Purchased from abebooks.com |
| 1994 | Isaac Asimov's Inferno | Caliban trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen. I have this one in large format, and still need it in paperback. Purchased from abebooks.com |
| 1996 | Isaac Asimov's Utopia | Caliban trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen. I have this one in hardcover, and still need it in paperback. Purchased from abebooks.com |
| 6 | 1951 | The Stars, Like Dust | Galactic Empire series. Purchased from Bookbuyer's |
| 7 | 1952 | The Currents of Space | Galactic Empire series. Purchased from Bookbuyer's |
| 8 | 1950 | Pebble in the Sky | Galactic Empire series. Purchased from Gaslight Books |
| 9 | 1988 | Prelude to Foundation | Foundation novel. Purchased from Bookbuyer's |
| 10 | 1993 | Forward the Foundation | Foundation novel. Purchased from Rasputin's Books |
| 11 | 1951 | Foundation | Foundation trilogy. |
| 12 | 1952 | Foundation and Empire | Foundation trilogy. Purchased from Rasputin's Books |
| 13 | 1953 | Second Foundation | Foundation trilogy. Purchased from Bookbuyer's |
| 1997 | Foundation's Fear | Second Foundation trilogy by Gregory Benford. Purchased from Bookbuyer's |
| 1998 | Foundation and Chaos | Second Foundation trilogy by Greg Bear. |
| 1999 | Foundation's Triumph | Second Foundation trilogy by David Brin. Purchased from Bookbuyer's |
| 14 | 1982 | Foundation's Edge | Final chronological Foundation books. Purchased from bookstore in a basement, Curtin |
| 15 | 1986 | Foundation and Earth | Final chronological Foundation books. Purchased from Elizabeth's Bookshop |
Next step, read them.
Update: this amazon list is also useful as it has a guide to the short story books and how they overlap, as well as a bunch more robot books written by other authors.
Tags for this post: book() Isaac_Asimov()
posted at: 22:21 | path: /book/Isaac_Asimov | permanent link to this entry
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I was getting quite confused about which robot short stories I had already read (many appear in more than one collection), so I built this table to help. Note that crosses indicate stories which aren't about robots, and are really stow aways.
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| Robbie |
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| Runaround |
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| Reason |
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| Catch That Rabbit |
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| Liar! |
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| Little Lost Robot |
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| Escape! |
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| Evidence |
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| The Evitable Conflict |
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| Robot AL-76 Goes Astray |
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| Victory Unintentional |
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| First Law |
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| Let's Get Together |
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| Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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| Risk |
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| Lenny |
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| Galley Slave |
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| A Boy's Best Friend |
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| Sally |
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| Someday |
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| Point of View |
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| Think! |
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| True Love |
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| Stranger in Paradise |
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| Light Verse |
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| Segregationist |
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| Mirror Image |
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| The Tercentenary Incident |
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| Feminine Intuition |
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| ... That Thou Art Mindful of Him |
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| The Bicentennial Man |
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| Robot Dreams |
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| Breeds There a Man |
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| Hostess |
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| Strikebreaker |
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| The Machine That Won the War |
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| Eyes Do More Than See |
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| The Martian Way |
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| Franchise |
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| Jokester |
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| The Last Question |
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| Does a Bee Care? |
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| The Feeling of Power |
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| Spell My Name With an S |
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| The Ugly Little Boy |
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| The Billiard Ball |
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| The Last Answer |
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| Lest We Remember |
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| Robot Visions |
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| Too Bad! |
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| Christmas Without Rodney |
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| +Essays |
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Tags for this post: book() Isaac_Asimov()
posted at: 22:18 | path: /book/Isaac_Asimov | permanent link to this entry
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Robot Dreams is another of the robot short story books from Asimov. It is a bit deceptive though and frankly quite annoying because only one of the stories in the book is a robot story, and its not very long.I am of course ignoring the robot stories that already appear in I, Robot and The Complete Robot. The rest are unrelated short stories by Asimov that aren't about robots, and aren't even consistent with the universe that the Foundation books exist in. That's what makes it so annoying for Asimov to recommend that you read the book as part of the extended Foundation series. Grumble.
Don't get me wrong, the other stories are fine, its just that they're not the robot stories that I was led to believe they would be. Wikipedia is a little more clear on the situation than I was:
Robot Dreams (1986) is a collection of Isaac Asimov's short stories, intended largely to show a series of Asimov robot-inspired drawings by Ralph McQuarrie. All the stories except the title one, written specifically for the volume, can be found in various other Asimov collections. The companion book, which also showcases McQuarrie's drawings (and includes Asimov essays in addition to short stories), is entitled Robot Visions.
This would explain why my reply to James Taylor's comment was so confused.
I'll update my summary of Asimov's robot short stories accordingly.
LibraryThing link for ISBN 1596431083
Tags for this post: book() Isaac_Asimov()
posted at: 21:33 | path: /book/Isaac_Asimov | permanent link to this entry
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Mon, 11 Aug 2008
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This is another of Asimov's robot short story collections, and many of the stories appear in earlier works. In fact, I would recommend getting I, Robot and this book, and avoiding The Rest of the Robots if you're not interested in owning a complete collection of books, but do want to have all of the stories. I say you should get a copy of I, Robot mainly because it has linking matter between the stories that this book lacks.
The Complete Robot is as good as Asimov's other short story books I have read, which means I thought it was fantastic.
LibraryThing link for ISBN 0586057242
Tags for this post: book() Isaac_Asimov()
posted at: 09:33 | path: /book/Isaac_Asimov | permanent link to this entry
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Utopia is the third and final Asimov universe book from Allen. It centers around an attempt to accellerate the terraforming of a planet by drastic measures which drive third law robots wild... The measures are so drastic that they endanger humans, whilst protecting a large number of humans. Unfortunately three law robots have trouble seeing the difference between the two.
I don't think this book is as well written as the earlier two Allen books (Caliban and Inferno) and therefore not as good as the Asimov books set in the universe. It was however reasonably engaging and I'm not offended that I spent time and money on it. An ok book, but nothing special basically.
LibraryThing link for ISBN 0441004717
Tags for this post: book() Roger_MacBride_Allen()
posted at: 09:31 | path: /book/Roger_MacBride_Allen | permanent link to this entry
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Sat, 09 Aug 2008
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I am increasingly becoming obsessed with science fiction from 1950s and 1960s. Again stolen from Wikipedia, here is a list of all the Stainless Steel Rat books:
Additionally, there is:
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1993 | Stainless Steel Visions | Contains one Stainless Steel Rat shortstory. Purchased from bookstore in a basement, Curtin |
| 1998 | You can be the Stainless Steel Rat | Choose your own adventure book |
Tags for this post: book() Harry_Harrison()
posted at: 22:36 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry
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I'm helping out with SciFoo for the third year running, which is a blast. Neal Stephenson is back again, which is fun. Anyway, there is always a bit of hurry up and wait at conferences, so I got a chance to finish off this book. Its an ok read, but suffers from the hard-to-believe time travel that The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The World suffered from as well. It was ok though. I'd say 3 out of 5 stars if I had a star rating system.
LibraryThing link for ISBN 0553253956
Tags for this post: book() Harry_Harrison()
posted at: 22:34 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry
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Fri, 08 Aug 2008
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Asimov published two books named Nightfall 1 and Nightfall 2 which are collections of short stories. I have both of these books in a single volume named "Nightfall', which is not to be confused with the novel of the same name by Asimov and Silverberg. I was getting quite confused about which robot short stories I had already read already (many appear in more than one collection), so I built this table to help:
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Nightfall
1969 |
The Complete Robot
1982 |
Robot Dreams
1986 |
Robot Visions
1990 |
| Nightfall |
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| Green Patches |
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| Hostess |
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| Breeds There a Man |
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| C-Chute |
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| In a Good Cause |
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| What If - |
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| Sally |
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| Flies |
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| Nobody Here But - |
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| It's Such a Beautiful Day |
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| Strikebreaker |
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| Insert Knob A in Hole B |
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| The Up-to-date Sorcerer |
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| Unto the Fourth Generation |
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| What is this Thing Called Love? |
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| The Machine That Won the War |
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| My Son, the Physicist |
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| Eyes Do More Than See |
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| Segregationist |
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Tags for this post: book() Isaac_Asimov()
posted at: 11:55 | path: /book/Isaac_Asimov | permanent link to this entry
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Wed, 06 Aug 2008
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posted at: 19:41 | path: /book/Isaac_Asimov | permanent link to this entry
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