Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

Have you ever wanted to read the entirety of an author's works? Whether it be Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, Clarke, etc? I remember the feeling I had after I finished Isaac Asimov's Robot series wishing the adventure kept going, or just wanting to read something else he wrote.

For 2023 let's put it to a vote. Which Sci-fi author would you like to nominate for the year?

I'll start us off with my nomination for Arthur C. Clarke. Post your nominations below :D

Clarke would be good. I’d nominate Octavia Butler but I’m not sure her works are old enough for this group. My second choice would be Jules Verne.

I nominate Asimov.

Annette wrote: "Clarke would be good. I’d nominate Octavia Butler but I’m not sure her works are old enough for this group. My second choice would be Jules Verne."

Ooooh, yes Octavia Butler *would* be great, but you're right: most of her work is too recent.

I admit to a fondness for Heinlein, but I have to admit that he has not, alas, aged well.

H.G. Wells is an obvious choice, and there's a lot to be said for Jules Verne.

I'll second Arthur C. Clarke.

This is hard, because I no longer care for Clarke or Heinlein (loved them as a kid), but so I'll second Asimov. I have no desire to read all of his works, though. I'm not sure if there are any classic scifi novelists I'd want to do that with now :(

That said, I'd have gone for another Robots book.

I'll second Arthur C. Clarke too.

I was about to put up the Roald Dahl thread. Should I put it here?

Annette wrote: "Clarke would be good. I’d nominate Octavia Butler but I’m not sure her works are old enough for this group. My second choice would be Jules Verne."
Yes, Octavia Butler isn't old enough but I loved the Xenogenesis trilogy so I'm reading the rest of her books this year. The good thing is there was only eleven more and she managed to write complex, deep stories without writing doorstops like many of today's writers.

@booknerd did Lesle or Rosemarie answer your question?

Pat the Book Goblin wrote: "@booknerd did Lesle or Rosemarie answer your question?"
Not yet.

The Dahl thread is in the right place, Book Nerd.

Almost all of Butler's books are outwith our date range, so she couldn't qualify for this challenge.

Ok, so far this is what I have if my calculations are correct, but you know...math. The reason I only taught 3rd Grade.

Arthur C Clarke 5
Isaac Asimov 3


Any other nominations??

I vote for Arthur C.

Bernard wrote: "I vote for Arthur C."

Added :D

How would you all like me to set this up? Should I write a list and post it and you pick and choose what you want to read? OR should I post a list we all follow together and discuss as we move along?

I think togetherness would be best.

I'm up for it! I'll post some thought provoking questions for good discussion too as we go. I'll just have to post how people can add a spoiler blocker to their messages.

Bernard wrote: "I think togetherness would be best."

me too.

Just seeing this thread. I’m interested. I’ve read a few by Clarke in the past few years and I have a few on standby. This should be fun.

I think I'll vote Verne. Also interested in Asimov. Is LeGuin old enough?

So we have 5 for Clarke, 3 for Asimov, and 1 for Jules Verne! I'll cut off voting at 10am EST (USA) January 1st.

I know this is really early, but I've just thought of an author to be considered in 2024-John Wyndham.

Alright, vote are added and looks like Clarke won it with 5 and Asimov got second place with 3. I put up some of Clarke’s works and thought we could start off with Rendezvous with Rama series and go from there? Any objections?

Pat the Book Goblin wrote: "Alright, vote are added and looks like Clarke won it with 5 and Asimov got second place with 3. I put up some of Clarke’s works and thought we could start off with Rendezvous with Rama series and g..."

I don't have that one.

I’ve read some of Clarke’s later works but not his early stuff. Will we try to read all of his works or just those published 50 or more years ago? Either way it’ll be quite an undertaking. And maybe a scavenger hunt as well.

Luís wrote: "Pat the Book Goblin wrote: "Alright, vote are added and looks like Clarke won it with 5 and Asimov got second place with 3. I put up some of Clarke’s works and thought we could start off with Rende..."

There are audiobooks online, and I'll try to find a pdf if that works for you?

Annette wrote: "I’ve read some of Clarke’s later works but not his early stuff. Will we try to read all of his works or just those published 50 or more years ago? Either way it’ll be quite an undertaking. And mayb..."

We will stay in the range but if a series falls too close it's ok. I'm not going to not finish the series just because the last book is off our boundary by two years.

Luís wrote: "Pat the Book Goblin wrote: "Alright, vote are added and looks like Clarke won it with 5 and Asimov got second place with 3. I put up some of Clarke’s works and thought we could start off with Rende..."

Do you have access to a library? I don't have a lot of these either lol.

Pat the Book Goblin wrote: "Luís wrote: "Pat the Book Goblin wrote: "Alright, vote are added and looks like Clarke won it with 5 and Asimov got second place with 3. I put up some of Clarke’s works and thought we could start o..."

No, thanks. I prefer a paperback version. Is this during the entire year?

I would like to participate but don’t have time to read all of his books! I did put Rendezvous with Rama on hold (ebook) and should have it in a few weeks. Our library doesn’t have a great SF print book collection despite the fact we have a SF book club. Usually, I find the older books on Libby, Hoopla, SimplyE, or the Serial App. I have some old box sets but the pages are all yellowed, which is not so appealing to me. I’m looking forward to Rendezvous! I’m currently reading The History of Science Fiction: A Graphic Novel Adventure by Xavier Dollo and finding lots of authors and books I’m not familiar with plus learning about more well-known authors like Clarke, Asimov, John W, Campbell, etc. It’s really interesting and a perfect topic for a graphic novel.

I could definitely read Rama again, since it's been a while since I read it.

he's not a classic, but I love Jeff Vandermeer's science fiction.

♥ wrote: "he's not a classic, but I love Jeff Vandermeer's science fiction."

I've read a few of his books, and been intrigued/impressed - but I'd hesitate to say that I loved them. It's been a few years - so maybe I should have another look. What's your favourite of his books?

*six pm wrote: "he's not a classic, but I love Jeff Vandermeer's science fiction."

Interesting--I read one and loathed it, but I'd probably have loved it when I was a teen.