SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Welcome, Jemina, I'm so glad you finally found the kick-off for reading! (and good to know how you are pronounced - I did this wrong in my head so far)

You'll feel good here. This is such a wonderful group.

Gabi wrote: "Welcome, Jemina, I'm so glad you finally found the kick-off for reading! (and good to know how you are pronounced - I did this wrong in my head so far)

You'll feel good here. This is such a wonder..."

I feel many do ^^ "Aunt Jemima" seems to be the number one association from across the pond at least.

And thank you. I'm sure I will - seems like a great group indeed.

Glad you decided to join us, Jemina! (or Ursula!! ^^)

I love that you're trying something new, and I hope you find a new hobby!

If some of the straight novels don't catch you (and maybe even if they do!), maybe with your graphic design and illustration background, graphic novels would speak to you. There are some brilliant ones, and a lot of enthusiasm for them here!

Well I've been active on GoodReads for about a year, I lurked here for quite a bit longer than that and I guess I should finally join a group that has similar interests of my own. Guess what, you're my first group. Here I am, I'm Dave and I too enjoy Sci-Fi and Fantasy as my two primary genres that I read. I do tend to stick more to the Sci-Fi elements than I do fantasy though. I never quite understood why the two genres were constantly intertwined wherever you go.

I live in the Washington DC area of the US. I don't read as voraciously as a lot of other people, in fact it usually takes me a long time to get through a single book. You see, I read to battle a usually crippling insomnia. I've been unable to regularly get to sleep since I was a young boy and have found that, since I really don't like pills, the only thing that can settle my mind down enough to allow me to get the rest I need is reading before bed. It's now a ritual with me where I grab my trusty Kindle Paperwhite and read a chapter or so (sometimes less) until my eyes are too heavy to focus on the words on the page. It's a simple and elegant solution that works for me and gives me the added benefit of digesting a lot of fun literature.

I'm currently reading the 2nd book in The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman. I'm on the fence on whether or not I'm a fan because at times the books seem to drag on horribly, but then they have just enough to keep me interested. The main character is insufferable, but I believe he's written that way on purpose. I'll probably end up reading the final book next, as I'm about 70% done with this one and then I have the classic book The Exorcist queued up afterwards. That movie did awful things to my childhood so my morbid curiosity is taking a stab at the classic literature to see if I can make it through.

Anyway, here I am, perusing this group, looking for recommendations of my favorite genres. Happy to "meet" you all.

Welcome, Dave!

Sorry to hear what brings you to reading, but glad you've found something that helps! Hope you find many more favorites with us :-)

Hello I'm Prabhjit, originally from the Netherlands but currently live in UK. I'm a maths masters student at the University of Warwick. As you can imagine it's very stressful.

Only really started reading books three years ago and since then I've been addicted to it. Mainly read sci-fi and fantasy books. One favourites being The Martian Chronicles.

Feel like reading books is a helpful way of unwinding after a long day and a fun way too. Would've liked more time to read more books but oh well.

Welcome, Prabhjit! Glad you found us! I agree, books are a lovely way to relax. We're reading a book now about a maths genius - The Calculating Stars. It's a fun read, maybe it'd be a good one to unwind with? :D

Hi my name is Kevin. I saw this group on the list of groups here on Goodreads and decided to see what it's all about. I am originally from the Philadelphia PA area and am now living in the Kuala Lumpur Malaysia area. I've always had an interest in SF since seeing Star Trek in reruns many years ago as a young boy. In the meantime, I've discovered that this is one of the most interesting genres of books there is.

Welcome, Kevin! I full-heartedly agree, SFF is one of the most interesting genres. :) Kuala Lumpur! That's a bit of a change! Although, maybe less so this week. Rain forever. At least it's good reading weather!

Glad you found us, hope that we can help you find some new favorite books!

Hello, all! I can't remember if I've introduced myself. My name is Kirsten, I'm 52, and I live in eastern Washington State (that's the brown part of the Evergreen State). I live with my mother and my elderly Australian Shepherd mix, Misty.

I used to read quite a lot of SF and fantasy when I was younger. Then I got more into mystery and historical fiction. Now, I want to see what I've missed. Hope to get plenty of ideas and feedback here.

Welcome, Kirsten! I love Australian Shepherds! If Misty ever reads "with" you, you should post a pic of her in our pets and books thread!!

I think you'll find lots of feedback and recommendations around here, I hope they work out for you ^^

Thank you!!

Thanks Allison.

I just noticed there is a self-intro post… Hello, I am Wen from Canada (originally from Taiwan). It’s nice to meet you guys and be a part of the book club.

It feels so different to read a book together with friends. I really enjoy reading the reviews and ahhh, I am sorry that I am not able to contribute beautiful reviews as the rest group…

I created this GR account in 2015 and haven’t been updated anything until now. Thank you for letting me join the BR group.

Wen wrote: "I just noticed there is a self-intro post… Hello, I am Wen from Canada (originally from Taiwan). It’s nice to meet you guys and be a part of the book club.

It feels so different to read a book to..."

Welcome, Wen. We enjoyed having you in the buddy read for Midnight Robber, and I hope you find more you want to discuss.

Yes, Wen, welcome!! Great to have you :D

Hi, my name's Christopher.

Born in 1992 and have, like many of us here, always read. I've always taken comfort in the idea one can escape with the power of reading words on a page. It really goes to show how complex our minds truly are doesn't it!

Most of my friends are not big readers, and because of this I've never really had anyone to discuss a book with. I'm so keen, though admittedly a little out of my depth, to get stuck into this new community environment.

I read many genres, though my favourite has always been fantasy and science fiction. What better way to express the ability to create something so entirely otherworldly! It's a huge reason I decided to eventually write my own novels.

My favourite series as a kid was The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, by Michelle Paver. Deemed a 'natural fantasy' because of nature themed magic behind the stories. There is nothing unbelievable about the fiction written in these books, as though you can really see yourself in Michelle's world without losing the suspension of belief.

I am admittedly a pretty slow reader. I try my best to get through one book per week, though even for me this is an endeavour, considering, though I loved reading, I used to get through three of four books per year.

I'm also an avid blogger, and strive to review each and every book I read. I'm also an optimist with books. You'll never see me give a one or two star review on anything. No piece of work deserves that in my opinion. Writers work their socks off to produce what they create, and I will always find something worthy to pick out and rave over.

Other than that, I'm a pretty open book myself. I'm always self-indulging with whatever nonsense I'm up to, though I try to focus on the books the most! I'm also a part time business student, work full time in sales (yawn), try to exercise regularly and of course, keep a book in my bag wherever I am.

I do hope to meet some cool like-minded people here. It will be exciting to see what recommendation everyone has.

-Christopher

Welcome, Christopher! Please allow us to weave you into too many wonderful book discussions! We have what feels like, conservatively, a billion things we're reading now (though only ever two "official" group reads!) We're nominating the last crowd-sourced fantasy book of the year, so I hope you'll pop on over and help us pick which "fantastical contract" books make it to the poll next month!!

Allison wrote: "Welcome, Christopher! Please allow us to weave you into too many wonderful book discussions! We have what feels like, conservatively, a billion things we're reading now (though only ever two "offic..."

Hello Allison. Thank you so much for the warm welcome. Yes please, bring it on! I can't wait to get discussing and reading something I can share my thought on with like-minded readers.

I'll do my best to contribute. Thanks again. :)

My name is Richard, but call me Rick. I'm a retired industrial electrician, now living in the "Lost Pines" near Austin. Science fiction was a big part of my life, from my pre-teen years and into my twenties. The demands of life, work, and family left me with scant time, and I gradually fell out of the habit of reading. But now that I have plenty of time, I want to get back into the habit.

My knowledge of SF is, as you might expect, confined primarily to the golden age/new wave era. I hope to acquaint myself with contemporary writers and have my mind blown!

Welcome, Rick! Hopefully you can find lots of new mind blowing books! It's sort of funny, but our group is reading Babel-17 next month, so perhaps starting off with a classic will be a good stepping stone. Hope to see what sorts of books you find and hear from you in discussion!

Hello, all! My name is Rose, I'm a uni student in Adelaide, Australia, majoring in History and German Studies, minoring in Classics. When I'm not at uni or at my job, I'm an artist. I mostly just do it for fun and to have my friends mash their keyboards at me when I do something cool. But who knows if that'll change - I have my eyes on maybe trying an animation and illustration course after I finish my bachelor degree.

I was an intense reader when I was younger, but thanks to some health problems in my mid-late teens, any fiction reading went waaaaay to the wayside. Most of the reading I've done in the last few years has been solely academic in nature. Which isn't too bad when I'm mostly reading about ancient mythology, perceptions of magic across the ages, and women throughout history. But academic writing, no matter how interesting the topic is, is incredibly draining and doesn't scratch the same itch that a good novel does.

I'm hoping that by joining this group, I'll be able to get back into the habit of reading fiction regularly. I've already made a good start - I've read more original fiction in the last few days than I have in what feels like years.

Fantasy has always been my one true love, but I've never read much sci-fi - usually any sci-fi that I consume comes in visual form. I want to change that. I'm currently reading N.K. Jemisin's 'The Broken Earth' trilogy and absolutely loving it. I'm also trying my best to read Harry Potter in German. It's so strange reading a story that I'm so familiar with, but only being able to understand maybe 3 out of every 10 words, tops. There's a lot of highlighting and desperate 'was ist das?????' happening.

This group is kinda overwhelming (there is s o m u c h), but I hope I can join in on some discussions once I get my bearings and finish what I'm currently reading!

Welcome Rose!! This post is so relatable!! Good for you for sticking with Harry Potter--I had the same experience in French.

Don't be overwhelmed!! It just looks like a lot because we're so freakin' chatty (don't stop everyone, I love that about us). Here's the tl;dr for the group:

-There's 2 official group reads a month (this month is The Calculating Stars and The Poppy War), one for each overarching genre.

-There's 2 group-rereads for those who want a discussion buddy and missed a book the first time around.

-If those don't appeal, or you want more, we have some challenges, some games, and constant unofficial "buddy reads" which, I actually think are a great place to start because you get a lot of instant feedback and aside from start dates, there's no real rush or timeline.

Nothing is mandatory, ignore everything that doesn't feel like something you want, and jump in wherever it is!

There's also voting and nominations and stuff, which I heartily encourage, but that's the break down of the reading you see happening at any given time.

If you want a more systematic guide, please allow me to direct you to everything you need to know and our Current Events

Hi everyone, I'm Rosie.

I've been a bit if a lurker here for a while, so thought I should finally get on with saying something. I used to read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy in my teens then veered off to more science fact writing and history.
I've reread a few things over the last couple of years and also seen the recs and reviews of the books on here which are getting me back into all the good fantasy and sci-fi out there I don't want to miss. I been a life long watcher of science fiction and fantasy TV and Film, so I've been keeping in the genre on that side of things.
Looking forward to getting into some great stories.

Hi Rosie!! There's room for all sorts of fans :) Right now we're discussing the Ms. Marvel trailer which I don't want to watch yet but apparently has broken the internet!

I hope you do find some stories that speak to you! Let us know if we can help :D

Thanks very much. I've just found the book list for 2018 so figure I'll dive in there and see what happens.

Lovely to hear there's film/tv discussion going on too. The trailer is pretty neat. :-)

Aw, this year started out with a bang! I hope something resonates for you!

Hi everyone

This is Karl from Tokyo, Japan. I really should have joined this group sooner but for some unknown reason, I keep forgetting to do so and today I was like, "You've got to click that [group] button RIGHT NOW" and here I am.

Big tech nerd and sci-fi lover. I've studied microbiology, aerophysics and biochemistry in my academic time, I read mostly sci-fi novels about space-time topics, weird and bizarre alien phenomena and cyberpunk. This year so far, I've read (in no particular order):

Annihilation
Authority
Acceptance
Altered Carbon
Luna: New Moon
Ready Player One
The Gone World <- my review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And I'm currently reading,
Autonomous

I'm open to discussing everything related to space, physics, biology, technology and humanity in general. Glad to be here and happy reading!

Hey Karl! Awesome! People keep telling me to read Luna, what did you think of it? Glad to have you, hope you find some great reads!

Allison wrote: "Hey Karl! Awesome! People keep telling me to read Luna, what did you think of it? Glad to have you, hope you find some great reads!"

Hi Allison!

It is a great story but I found the first few chapters insufferable. The names are confusing, the pacing is terrible and so many prepositions for the second book. But I forced myself to continue reading and the story got much better later on. It definitely is a unique take on the lunar colonisation, and it has a few lovable characters.

And glad to be here! Thank you very much

Hello,

I have been snooping around the various discussions on this group and reading the picks for a some time now, since I was introduced to it by Travis, and more so recently after Allison explained all the aspects of this group to me. (Hi Allison! Hi Travis!) So I suppose it’s high time I introduced myself.

I am Pujashree, Puja for short, if you prefer and have no other pre-existing Puja/Pooja-s in your life. I am currently an RF Engineer living and working in the Greater Philadelphia region for 10+ years. I was born in India and grew up in the great literary-obsessed city of Calcutta until I emigrated with the family to the US when I was 13. I have been a voracious reader in three languages (Bengali, Hindi and English) all my life, first to be an insufferable little know-it-all and then to hide from the lonely trauma of being a teenage immigrant in rural Maryland in the early 2000s. Needless to say, my first love in this continent was the public library system and the culture catchup escape it offered.

My affinity to Fantasy and Sci-fi oddly began with stories from Hindu mythology, the children’s editions that my grandmother used to get for me. I am not remotely religious but from that starting point it was a hop skip and jump to various retellings and re-imaginings of mythologies of various ancient religious pantheons, to epic fantasy to historical fiction with a parallel track of sci-fi. While in college, I drifted away from genre fiction for a few years, while mostly gravitating towards Classics and Philosophy texts. But in recent years, I have jumped back into Fantasy and Sci-fi as I began my baby steps to try to write in that genre myself. Not sure what brought it on. It may or may not have to do with my dad’s endless amusement at a story I made up during the long drive through the desert, about the internal monologue of a cow doing his daily rounds that I had just observed acting super self-aware while visiting the fortress city of Jaisalmer during one of our India trips.

The latest book I finished was The Calculating Stars with this group, and I LOVED it. I am fairly certain I will read everything in this universe shortly. I am also slowly making my way through The Way of Kings, after a LONG break from epic fantasy, because I have recently been getting series fatigue, but so far so good on this one. Having been a trilingual reader all my life, I also gravitate towards translated works, and have been super excited by the increasing number of them in genre fiction. Some of my standby favorite authors whose works I rush to read are Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell, Juliet Marillier, Victoria Schwab, and Brian K. Vaughan. I am sure I’ll think of more as soon as I hit Post.

Looking forward to being a lot more active on Goodreads and digging into SFF with you all!

Hello Sci Fi and Fantasy Book Club,
I've been reading science fiction since 1973. My first book was by E.E. Doc Smith, the Lensman series. I've been reading Sci Fi ever since.

I am married and have two kids in college. I retired from Intel and am now a Sci Fi author (don't hold it against me :-).

I've never really understood what Good Reads does, so I am here to figure it out and find some good books to read. I just finished Reality Dysfunction and The Naked God by Peter Hamilton. It was a really good. Lots of tech, broad scope, space warfare, good characters, and a good story.

I'm not really sure where to go next, so I guess I'll start by looking for the 2018 book list.

Thanks, Chris.

Yayyy! Welcome, Puja! LOL @ "pre-existing Puja." I hope you consider that for the name of something you do at some point!

We're reading The Fated Sky now if you want to come talk about it with us! And you already know I'm stalking your Way of Kings progress. Noooo pressure. ;-)

Hi Chris! Glad you stumbled on us! This group is definitely an education in all the ways to use Goodreads! Hopefully you find it to be useful and join in some discussion! Keep us posted on how your book hunt goes and don't be shy about asking for recommendations in the "Recommendations and Lost Books" folder :-)

Pujashree wrote: "Hello,

I have been snooping around the various discussions on this group and reading the picks for a some time now, since I was introduced to it by Travis, and more so recently after Allison expla..."

Hi, Puja!

Hello,

I am an award-winning author by the name of Brendon Bertram. I've written two books with plans for many more.

My tastes in literature are fairly vague, I enjoy Sci-fi and Fantasy in the most vaguest of genre (I like characters and plots more then any particular settings).

I'm always open to discovering new things or discussing ideas, so don't hesitate to send me a message anytime.

Hope to hear from you,

Brendon

Welcome, Brendon! We have eclectic tastes, too! Hope to see you in discussion :-)

hi :) my name's Ine, I'm 24, from Germany and new to Goodreads. Well Ive had the app for some time but didnt really use it...at all.... but my bookworm heart yearns for others of its kin! so here I am!

Im pretty starved for book related conversation because my nonfiction-only girlfriend tends to look at me weird whenever I sum up what my current book is about... And I mean, she does have a point, what would you make of "postapocalyptic brotherhood venerates random grocery lists as words of their holy prophet" (latest book Ive read, it's A Canticle for Leibowitz) if you dont have a clue about scifi?

Im not a native speaker and I can only use the app, so be gentle regarding my language please?

Welcome, Ine! You're in great company, both in terms of having found a chatty group happy to talk about speculative fiction all day, but also, many of us are either not native English speakers or have other languages, so we know how much work it takes!

LOL that's an amazing description of Canticle XD

Please have a look around and don't be intimidated. We're not as intense as it looks, we just have lots of people who want to do slightly different things at different times. I hope you find something that speaks to you, let me know if you get lost!!

Greetings, fellow sci-fi authors and readers!

I have been a science fiction enthusiast since discovering both the book "The Time Machine" and film at age 11. My favorite authors are H.G. Wells and Isaac Asimov, and favorite themes include advanced use of renewable energy and the temporal paradox.

I am here to learn about new books as well as share my sci-fi debut, "Apex Five". Please feel free to message me regarding any must-reads or to learn more about my book!

Looking forward to great discussions!

Hey there, Sarah! Welcome! Hope to see you in chat! We have a lot happening right now, and we're preparing for year end, so there's a lot of moving parts. I hope you'll help us pick next month's books!

Sarah wrote: "Greetings, fellow sci-fi authors and readers!

I have been a science fiction enthusiast since discovering both the book "The Time Machine" and film at age 11. My favorite authors are H.G. Wells and..."

Welcome, Sarah. I read the Time Machine when I was 11 too! I'm more of a fantasy fan, but that was the book that got me to branch out and read sci fi as well.

Hi all!

Name's Johan and I've been a sci-fi and fantasy fan since my brother brought home a boxed Warhammer set when I was six. I grew up on Pratchett and Gaiman.

I love sci-fi that deals with deep questions and gritty fantasy but like many of you (I'm guessing) I'll read just about anything. Looking forward to getting some great book recommendations from you guys!

Hey there Johan!

Glad to have you! We're voting on books right now, come help us pick one that sounds appealing to you so you'll join us for discussion!

Hey everyone--

Michael here. While I've been lurking in this group for a while, I decided it was finally time to introduce myself to you all.

In a previous life, I was an engineer (or, at least went to school to become one) but fell into fundraising and development while finishing up my Master's degree. Initially my job didn't require all that much writing, but each career move brought me one step closer to writing as a primary job function. Now, I'm a grant writer for a hospital network in New York City.

I was an avid reader in my early education, but rediscovered it in my late college years. I've gone through many genre phases, but have now settled pretty firmly in the fantasy and science fiction realm. Sweeping epics chock-full of world building and multi-dimensional characters are my absolute jam. (I also am a sucker for a great redemption arc). This has rekindled my lifetime dream to eventually write a novel (or, if I'm lucky, more than one) and I'm trying to restructure my day-to-day so that I can bake in more time to do so. I'd eventually love to transition from the 9-5 grind to something a little more customizable, with writing novels as the focal point.

I'm incredibly excited to engage more here. I've decided that it's finally time for me to read through The Wheel of Time series, and also started the Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson. Any recommendations for more obscure series would be greatly appreciated, as would any tips and suggestions from aspiring or established writers.

Welcome, Michael! The Eye of the World is one of our group re-read books currently, so you should have some discussion there still, if you want! Stormlight Archive has to be one of my favorite series so far. I absolutely adore it--I hope you'll share your thoughts! There was a buddy read of it, too, when Oathbringer came out, so if you felt like resurrecting that, I know I'd greedily follow along. We're also looking to start a buddy read of the Malazan series, starting with Gardens of the Moon in January and doing about a book a month (if we can survive that long!) so maybe you'd like to join in that, too!

Good luck with everything and hope to see you in discussion :)

Michael wrote: "Hey everyone--

Michael here. While I've been lurking in this group for a while, I decided it was finally time to introduce myself to you all.

In a previous life, I was an engineer (or, at least w..."

Hi Michael! I just introduced myself here so it's a funny coincidence that my school/career trajectory matches yours. I'm also an engineer (technically...) with a love for reading and writing who slid into grant applications.

Um, Hi everyone, I'm TJ

Still kind of wrapping my head around all this. Why is it as terrifying as it is? ^-^;; Not normally the type of person to put myself out in the open, and writing has definitely forced me to work on that. Slowly getting more comfortable with it. Emphasis on slowly.

The irony is I'm very comfortable with my art and illustration and I'm usually pretty eager to put that out, but for some reason my writing makes me feel vulnerable somehow lol. Strange.

Welcome, TJ! Glad you joined us!

Thanks,

Being social is definitely one of my weak points. Just starting out and trying to juggle a very busy life has made it nigh impossible to put in the amount of footwork I'd like to. But I like eating lol :-p