Just finished
Glasshouse by Charles Stross based on Howard's recommendation
http://www.writingexcuses.com/2010/08/01/writing-excuses-4-30-worldbuilding-the-future/, and I have to say, I have very mixed feelings about it.
On the one hand, I see what Howard meant by the singularity concept, in which the future has changed so much that it is completely alien to our point of view, and I think that Stross manages that really well. The premise is very intriguing--enough so that I made my husband read it, too.
On the other hand, I think Stross could have done a much better job with the overall work. The characters felt really inconsistent. The main characters didn't seem like the same character at all, and we jokingly wondered if Stross had combined two different novellas without rewriting the characters to be consistent. It was, to be honest, frustrating.
I think it was worth the read, though--I feel like reading this book will help me be a stronger writer, and my husband and I stayed up talking about it until 4 am, which was really fun.