I'm trying to read as many of his works as possible. There's no denying his talents or the fact that his works are influential.

Today might be a good day to start this book (that I've been saving for a rainy day):

Anyone read his works? Anyone have a view on them?

The first book I read will be a contemporary novel; the second book I read will be a classic novel; and the third book I read will be a novel written by someone in another country.

I haven't quite defined "classic" yet, perhaps anything over 50 years old and written by someone who has passed. As for the global novel, starting with Afghanistan, I've found an Afghan writer and will be starting with THE KITE RUNNER.

I am sure I'll factor some classic sci-fi, including the works of Arthur C. Clarke, into my reading cycle at some point. 

I love the RAMA series--read it three times over the past 30 years.  And also the 2001, 2010, 2061 and 3001 books.  I heard a rumour years ago that Tom Hanks bought the rights to make 3001 but I don't know how real that was (cool idea though if played Frank Poole--the guy who got shot/sucked into space in 2001 -- and wakes up 1,000 years later).

Probably my favorite stand-alone book is "Light of Other Days" -- I found the plot really interesting and had lots of science that bent my mind.

"Just as 2010: Odyssey Two was not a direct sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, so this book is not a linear sequel to 2010. They must all be

considered as variations on the same theme, involving many of the same characters and situations, but not necessarily happening in the same universe. Developments since 1964 make total consistency impossible, as the later stories incorporate discoveries and events that had not even taken place when the earlier books were written."

I like this idea and acknowledgement on the part of the author that storytelling is and ought to be allowed to stray beyond the narrow, unimaginative confines of strict continuity. For one thing, it allows Frank Poole to be dead in all of the works except 3001 which serves to posit the question, "What if he weren't...?"

It's also worth noting that Clarke's 2010 is a continuation of the story from Kubrick's film rather than his own novel 2001, which he produced independently at the same time the film was being made.

Got a lot of catching up to do.