One of Niven's solo authored books, Destiny's Road seems a bit odd in that the pace of writing very much matches the pace of life on Destiny, an Earth colony. The inhabitants are several generations past when part of the crew departed in a shuttlecraft but not before melting a road into the planet's surface with its' fusion drive. Oddly none of the inhabitants seem to have much sense of adventure with only merchant caravans moving around (I'll grant this is like as not because they're busy with survival!). Worth a read for any Niven fan although the style may not be to people's liking. The mixed reviews on Amazon seem to reflect this .... .

The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason (ISBN 0099451956) follows soon-to-be Princeton graduate Tom Sullivan in his research of the Hypnerotomachia Poliophili. This manuscript, written in several languages, simultaneously dismissed and praised by scholars, had been the major topic of research for his father. After re-opening research into the tome, a fellow enthusiast and scholar meets a violent end and Tom and a friend race to discover the books mysteries. Not your usual style of fiction but looks well put together ; I still find the shifts in tone odd but since I'm not yet thru the verdict is out. Still ... I haven't put it down yet ;-)

I read nearly everything!   So in my bookshelves you'll find such titles as: The Prince (Machiavelli), Four Against The Wilderness by Elmo Wortman (a true story of shipwreck in Alaska and well worth a read), Carnivorous Plants by Adrian Slack and the near-ubiquitous Harry Potter books!

If I had to narrow things down, I'd say my major literary interests are science-fiction & fantasy and books on the Roman military. All I can say is I've had a soft spot for Roman legions ever since we did Ancient Rome in school :-)

Being of a scientific persuasion I am also partial to magazines like Scientific American and National Geographic, on the IT side I'm subscribed to Linux Journal and freeX a German Linux/BSD/Unix magazin. I also have an interest in "ham" radio and get RadCom, the magazine of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSBG).

Baudolino from Italian author Umberto Eco of The Name of the Rose fame. The book revolves around Baudolino's life, we start the story as he witnesses the sacking of Constaninople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade. While he rides through the city he rescues the Court historian Niketas Choniates and recounts his own story as he and the historians family hide out with friends of Baudolino's. Baudolino's story is fantastic enough, born as a peasant in northern Italy he happens to meet the Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa. Amused and charmed by Baudolino's wit and linguistic ability, the emperor adopts him and from then on we learn of Baudolino's adventures throughout the Middle Ages. The ISBN is 0-436-27603-8, the (London) publishers are Secker & Warburg. Recommended reading for any Eco fan!