Chimera: I loved the Ordinary Princess too as a kid. My sister bought me a nice hardcover edition last Christmas.
Dan_Guidan: John Ford passed away recently, and I've been trying to find his Star Trek novels. I've heard a lot of people praise his work, not just Jordan.
What I am reading: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever, by James Tiptree Jr. - a collection of her short stories. I'm now on The Girl Who Was Plugged In, which has really hooked me. The Screwfly Solution was pretty riveting too, in the same sort of dark fascinating way I found Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. I'm trying to decide if the stories are too dark--I kinda like some optimism in my science fiction, so I have to be in the right mood to read these stories, but I still think they are well written.
Also just finished Maskerade by Terry Pratchett. He is as amusing as always, although this novel still won't be a favourite. Recommended if you are a Pratchett completist. (BTW, anybody hear about the Hogfather film?)
In the middle of Blindsight, by Peter Watts. Am liking it a lot. The characterisation is interesting to me, as well as the interwoven stories (the past on earth, the future in space). The character of Jukka the vampire is a nice riff on vampires without getting too cliche. Less romance, more predator.