Definitely *Atlas Shrugged. *If your train breaks down, you’ll know how to take charge . . . or die on the tracks, trying.
When you go into Amazon, click on one of the links that will let you read a little of the book. If the style of writing suits you, I think the story will hold your attention.
One feature of this book is that it has really long footnotes that are actually little stories in themselves, so that should either irritate or thrill you. 
I read *Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell * pretty much straight through. I really liked the premise and enjoyed how the author went about her exposition. It’s slow the way somebody like George Elliot can be slow–lots of description, lots of interpersonal pieces. It’s not action-packed. But I cared what happened next, and found it very satisfying. I imagine that anyone calling it “lightweight reading without real substance” read it a breakneck speed, hoping for it to be a different sort of narrative than it is. Try a few pages and see what you think.
**Dung Beetle, ** you and I have now posted twice about this book at the same time (your posts don’t show when I open the thread, but do by the time I post).
Yes, but I’m about to go back to work. No, really! 
Please read Lonesome Dove. Everyone should. 
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars Trilogy, or his Years of Rice and Salt,or his California Trilogy (Pacific Edge, Gold Coast, The Wild Shore). Or all the KSR you can get your hands on. Escape from Kahmandu is short, but fun!
Bruce Sterling’s Islands in the Net is one of my favorites. A bit short for your 10 hour ride, but
goooood
.
I read Barbara Tuchman’s The March of Folly on a long train ride. A great book that is again relevant. I also loved A Distant Mirror by her. She’s an historian, but don’t hold that against her. The introduction to The March of Folloy is worth the price by itself!
Maybe some longer, later, Heinlein if that’s to your taste.
I liked David Brin’s first Uplift trilogy (Sundiver, Startide Rising, the Uplift War). I didn’t like the second trilogy as much. The man needs an editor! Speaking of needing an editor, there’s his tome Earth. There are a number of paralell threads in the story. I skipped over several of the ones that weren’t interesting, or centered around unlikable characters. Much to my chagrin, one of these characters became crucial to the ending, and I was almost sorry I missed the background. Brin’s Earth will fill 10 hours - and there’s some GREAT stuff there, but I’d rather read The Practice Effect three of four times in a row.
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s The Mote in God’s Eye is a classic, and IMNSHO deservedly so. I read their Oath of Fealty on a long trip. Not bad, but not classic. Cardboard characters who are highly competant are still cardboard characters. An enjoyable read, none the less.
Yeah, Robinson, Brin–good stuff.
I’m reading Stroud’s *The Amulet of Samarkand, *which is quite good Young Adult fantasy and has the virtues of being well-written, the first of a trilogy (all of which is published), and 462 pages long.
Yeah, Robinson, Brin–good stuff.
I’m reading Stroud’s *The Amulet of Samarkand, *which is quite good Young Adult fantasy and has the virtues of being well-written, the first of a trilogy (all of which is published), and 462 pages long.
I was in a hurry and didn’t give my reasons. I know you said you like science fiction, but Lonesome Dove is good because it transcends genre. I would never characterize myself as someone who likes westerns; this simply is an excellent book. It’s full of humor, has a compelling plot, absorbing characters and details a life that is long past. It’s a book you’ll never forget!
Another good long book is The Stand, but I suspect you’ve already read it. If not, get the re-released, longer version.
Cryptonomicon is set in the modern day and also in WWII. The most “cyber” thing in the book is Randy’s laptop, which is an important prop in two or three scenes. Everything Randy does with his laptop is explained in detail, so even if you don’t know UNIX from EUNUCHS you’ll be fine. I’m reading it for the fifth time, and still finding cool new things Stephenson buried in the book.
If you absolutely have to, you can blast through the math bits. Generally, though, Stephenson works very hard to make sure that you understand what’s going on, and the math is not all that heavy or painful. Nowhere does the book just throw on the brakes and become a pure mathematical proof, except possibly the section about how the Enigma machine (a WWII cipher machine) is like a bicycle with a faulty chain and a bent spoke.
Of all of the protagonists in the book, only one of them is far far smarter than the folks you meet on The Dope regularly (Lawrence Waterhouse), and Stephenson does a great job of letting you live inside the head of someone who’s a staggeringly brilliant mathematician without feeling lost. Stephenson is much better at exposition than, say, Tom Clancy.
Pick up a copy in the bookstore and read the first chapter (Bobby Shaftoe in Shanghai) and see what you think.
The Cat in the Hat
But you may have to read it more than once.
Another vote for Cryptonomicon, in part because that was my on-the-train book when I was travelling in Europe a couple years ago. I’d hop on the train, find a seat, and fish it out of my backpack. I was doing a lot of two- or three-hour trips, though; don’t know if I could have plowed through the whole thing in one stretch.
I usually take very good care of my books, but my copy of Cryptonomicon has probably logged 1,000 miles and looks it.
The Pentagon by Allen Drury.
I just reread it again - it still is one of my favorite books.
Just wanted to add - the reviews I googled across weren’t good, but liking a book is subjective, right? Trust me on this one.
Prayers for the Assassin by Robert Ferrigno.
I guarantee you’ll sleep
I was going to suggest Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrell too! I’m actually about halfway through it, and I’m really enjoying it. If you can, though, buy the book in three parts…the full version is just HEAVY and therefore (for me, anyways) hard to read simply because it’s awkward to hold up. On a train you’ll have the little table to help you, but still…
If you think you’ll like that book, IMHO you should also look at Neil Gaiman books too, if you haven’t already. American Gods should last you a fair while to read.
Whenever I have a long time to kill with a book, I pick up the Harry Potter series. It’s good, a page turner (for me, anyway), you can put it down and stare out the window for a while without losing the plot, and the later ones are LONG. They never get boring. I pretty much exclusively read sci-fi and fantasy, too.
I didn’t like Jonathan Strange, it was too slow for me, especially in large doses. I gave up 2/3rds of the way through.
If you’re looking at Stephenson, go for Snow Crash. I loved it.
Also, consider audiobooks. Stephen King’s** Dark Tower **series is amazing, as is anything (including your local phonebook) read by George Guidell or Frank Muller. Dune is particularly amazing in audio format (read by Guidell) if you can find it.
The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan. It’s the epitome of light, fluffy fantasy packed into about 800 pages. The only real caveat is that it’s the first book in a series, which you may not want to get into. (Don’t listen to the people who tell you Jordan is evil. They lie!)
Alternately, Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge. It’s a fantastically well-written book that, while it can probably be considered “hard” science fiction, doesn’t throw a lot of math or explanations at you that takes you out of the story. The prologue is very hard to get through, but thankfully the rest of the book is much more straight-forward and entertaining.
First of all try ‘The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil’ by George Saunders, you can get through that while you’re settling in.
As for the rest of the trip I’d recomend ‘Midnights Children’ by Rushdie, which is hard to beat as a wonderful mystical story. Plus it set’s you up to become a blasphemer when you read "The Satanic Verses.’ 