Answering Neil’s Tag. My tastes are a lot eclectic, so that will show in the list to follow, and I’ll keep it short, to just 5 books 🙂

1. The Spy Who Loved Me by Ian Fleming

   The James Bond novel by Fleming, and just about the best book I’ve read to date (it ties with 2 below). It’s wonderfully different from other books by Fleming, and tells a spy-story from a very different perspective.

2. The Adventures of Me and Martha Jane by S. J. R.

   Erotica, but so wildly different from the other ones found on the net that I’m ashamed to call it that. This e-novel is thought provoking, insightful, and the best first-person coming-of-age story I’ve read to date.

3. Temple of the Winds by Terry Goodkind

   The best novel in a series that later degenerated into utter trash, this one holds out as one of the best books I’ve read. I adore its thoughts on love and sex, and how different and same they are 🙂

4. Evolution by Stephen Baxter

   The mega-saga of evolution on earth. It starts from the most degenerate of life forms and envisions a post-human society. Wonderful, thought-provoking book.

5. Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold

   I’d rather recommend the whole series, with Miles Vorkosigan and the unique blend of action hero that he is, but Komarr and The Warrior’s Apprentice are especially amazing.

This was a hard list to make and is in no way representative of my reading. I’m so indiscriminate that I’ll have favorites in different genres… the first two or three books though should remain the same. After that, thousands of books vie for my attention 😉