SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hi everyone. I've been a voracious reader as long as I can remember. My favorite of all the genre fiction is scifi/fantasy - which began as a young child with the Lloyd Alexander Chronicles of Prydain books and then Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series. Now I'll read just about anything you put in front of me, but I still love scifi/fantasy.

Currently I'm a stay-at-home mom, but I'm a librarian by trade and have degrees in English/Literature and Library Science. My hobbies include reading (duh!), drawing, research, and some online gaming (Lord of the Rings, CoH).

My favorite scifi/fantasy authors and books include: Asimov (Foundation series), Clarke's 2001 & 2010, Orson Scott Card (A few of the Enders series), Neil Stephenson (Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, as well as Baroque Cycle Books - I know they're not really scifi, but they're great), Neil Gaiman (everything - though one of your upcoming picks, Neverwhere, is my least favorite in terms of writing quality), Terry Pratchett (The Discworld books are some of the funniest I've ever read!), Heinlein, and of course Tolkien.

I look forward to reading with the group and hearing everyone's thoughts on the upcoming books.

Hi Rowena,

If you get a chance, pick up a copy of Robert Forward's Dragon's Egg or better yet, the 2-in-1 combo of Dragon's Egg and Starquake. It has nothing to do with dragons -- the dragon's egg is a neutron star being visited by humans who are suspending themselves in a stationary orbit by means of a propulsion laser.

The laser light falls to and illuminates a small portion of the surface of the star. As it happens, the surface of the star has a "crust" of highly degenerate nuclear material, at densities and pressures that enable exotic nucleochemistry to occur -- nuclei with extended shape and structure that are "weakly" bound, sources of free energy. Out of this nuclear soup, life has emerged.

Strange life, of course -- it is effectively 2-D, as the star's relentless gravitational field prevents structures more than a few millimeters thick from forming on the crust. Fast life -- nuclear reactions proceed at least five or six orders of magnitude faster than electronic ones, so a "year" of life on the surface is order of a minute of life to the human watchers.

The laser light acts as a source of free energy -- rich "food" for the primitive life forms -- and competition for that food spurs evolution and a series of social revolutions. Over the course of a day overhead, twenty or thirty lifetimes pass on the surface and civilization emerges from what was at best a stone-age culture.

Naturally, an abundance of plot, appealing characters, a truly novel premise (Forward was an astrophysicist and the quality of the science in his SF is matched only by Brin in the current generation and Asimov or perhaps Niven in the older one), alien sex.

A damn fine read. Indeed, one of the best "pure science fiction" stories ever!

rgb

I don't get to post to often, but welcome aboard!

Hi, Robert,

Thank you for the recommendation. It does indeed sound fascinating.

My To Be Read pile is starting to teeter. One of my resolves is to catch up on Heinlein, I haven't read the Deathly Hallows (which I bought last December), and I like "real" dragons, too.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

Rowena and Robert (Plus whoever else maybe interested):

Firstly, I'd like to say that I love your name Rowena. Its got my last name in it too. haha.. Anne McCaffry has a book about a girl named Rowena, but as its been about 6 years since I read it, I don't remember the exact title.

In the matter of "real" dragons, or any type of dragons for that matter, I'd of course suggest Anne McCaffry's Dragonrider's of Pern series. That's one of the more well known collections. But I'd also suggest Naomi Novvik's Temeraire series.

It's a historical fiction which takes place during the Napoleonic wars. It's fairly detailed in the description of the war, and it's historical accuracy is higher on the scale then some books I've read dealing with that time period. Imagine, if you can, the Napoleonic wars, with the use of dragons as weapons, transport vessels, and air ships.

Naomi Novik does a wonderful job at creating the world in which her characters live and breath, and I've pulled all nighter's with all four of the books in the series thus far. She's currently working on the fifth, due out this June. (That's right after I graduate!)

The books are:

His Majesty's Dragon
Throne of Jade
Black Powder War
Tower of Ivory
Victory of Eagles (Due out June of 2008)

I thought that I might suggest these, as they aren't very well known, and are wonderful books.

~Alex

Hi everybody,

My name is Ruth and while from an age standpoint I probably should consider myself a geezer (from the quick read of this thread I only found 2 people older than me), I just plain old refuse.

I've been reading science fiction and fantasy since my father introduced it to me when I was in third grade. I started off reading the sci fi magazines Analog and Fantasy & Science Fiction, as well as nearly every book I could get my hands on. I personally think that Science Fiction got me through grade school, into college, and has been responsible for my working on NASA grants and contracts at a variety of Universities ever since.

By nature I am a generalist (specialization is for insects!). This has generally been a problem since the world currently only respects specialists and I refuse to become one. I'd rather be second best at everything, than the best at only one thing.

I was very sad that Clarke died - truly a great man. I voted to read http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11... mostly because I was planning to do that anyway.

The books I've read most recently are:

* http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21...
* http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28...
* http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22...
* http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56...

and

* http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42...

OK, so the last one is neither Sci Fi nor Fantasy.

I usually don't have lots of time for reading - the books above were all read this last week because I was on vacation! I also have a huge pile of books (~200-300) to read as my sister is a used book dealer. I've got a deal with her that I help her find good books to sell and she lets me read the fantasy/sci fi before they go on sale (and yes the 5 books above were from that stash).

I'm joining the list in the hopes of finding recommendations for new authors that are worth reading. However, I probably won't post much to the list just due to time constraints. In fact, if I weren't still on vacation (for another day and a half) I wouldn't have written this intro!

I'll try and dig up a copy of Neverwhere for next month. I've read and liked a few other books/graphic novels that Gaiman wrote; but, don't remember reading that one.

- R.

I actually read the first three of them on a Sony e-book quite recently, and I did enjoy them. An "interesting" world -- a sort of distortion of our world in the late 1800's with a dragon air force.

rgb

Welcome Ruth (from one geezer/generalist to another:-). It's always nice to meet another Spinrad fan. The Last Hurrah of the Golden Horde, Bug Jack Barron, The Iron Dream.. what's not to love?

rgb

My name is Andy. I am a graphic designer and enjoy all kinds of books, but I consider SF & fantasy my "guilty pleasure" although I don't know why I would feel guilty.

My earliest encounter with speculative fiction was in middle school when some friends and I would read Anne McCaffrey's Dragon series and discuss them on the bus. Wow, we were such nerds!

The first SF novel that really blew me away was Dune. I read it in ninth grade.

So many favorite authors: Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge, Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Lethem just to name a few.

I see that April's book is Neverwhere. I haven't read that in a while and this book club will give me the inspiration to pick it up again.

Hi, I'm Brooke. I'm 24 and an attorney in Ohio (currently a legal temp waiting to hear back about a kick-ass job I really want - cross your fingers for me!). So far in 2008, I've read 32 books and I never feel like I have enough people to discuss them with. I found this site on the Groups main page and thought, "Perfect!" I've always loved fantasy and (some) sci-fi - some of my favorite genre authors are Guy Gavriel Kay, Neil Gaiman, Jaqueline Carey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley.

I'm always looking for new GoodReads friends who are active readers (IE - you update more than just your friends list!)

Hi, Alex,

I have enjoyed some of the Pern books. The world-building is very well done.

I believe that my mother was thinking of the Rowena in the ancient British story of Hengist and Horsa.

I'd make a skit of the scene, but might offend...

Best wishes,
and thanks for the recommendations.

Rowena Cherry

Welcome, Brooke!

:-)

Rowena

Hi, I'm AA (sometimes a2 or a squared :)

I love to read in general and after reviewing a lot of the books on my shelves realized that most of them are horror, sci fi, fantasy, and misc. I'm not a book snob and can enjoy a silly romance novel as much as classical literature. Books that include a bit of humour are usually the ones I enjoy the most. I'm not looking for laugh riots though, just enough to add some spice.

I'm joining this list to help refine my book spending. Browsing in used bookstores is too dangerous without a list. :) Luckily, on my last listless spree, I picked up Neverwhere. I'm finishing Good Omens and then plan to get on track with the group here.

I'm also hoping to find recommendations for good sci fi/fantasy. Picking at random can be hit or miss, so I'm hoping to go back and read some of the authors I've missed. The authors I've really enjoyed (not genre specific and not necessarily all their works):

Tanya Huff
Jenifer Roberson
Edward Rutherford
Niel Gaimen

I think I get to claim chief geezerhood (born in '51 in Wichita Falls, TX) and I, too, am both a nerd and a generalist. I have been a book addict since I learned what words were. I used to borrow my folk's cards to check more books from the library. By 5th grade I'd read over 5,000. I used to borrow my dad's books from the coffee table so I found Heinlein when I was 12. After that I was hooked on SF/F.

I'm married to another book geek and we have over 10,000 volumes in the house at any one time. (Other people do drugs, we do books). He is, if possible, more rabid about books than I am.

I currently am writing full time. I've been lucky enough to have published in gaming, comics, short stories and to have my first novel out. I'm currently finishing up about 4 books at once (writing, that is) --- an urban fantasy set in OKC, a YA dark fantasy set in Texas, a YA SF and a YA light/humorous fantasy. You can find out more about that at www.bevhale.com (you can even read the first 4 chapters of my first novel there).

I've been very lucky to meet many writers (Cherryh, Bova, de Lint, Asimov, Del Rey, Zimmer Bradley, Gaiman, Barrett, Sterling, Kimbriel, Nelson Douglas, Rachel Caine, Bull, Shetterly, Havens, Harris, Beagle, etc, etc.--this is why I go to SF/F conventions. I was lucky enough to learn writing from CJ Cherryh (I was Plan B in her corporation for 7 years. That means I managed the corp. office, reviewed contracts, set up appearances, worked with the accountants, worked with the editors and agent, was galley slave, etc. And chased the cats, ran errands, helped haul things, basically anything that kept her from writing). I've had workshops with Neal Barrett, Jr., Lilian Stewart Carl, Lois McMaster Bujold, Lynn Abbey and others (also at the cons). I only hope I have learned as well as they taught.

I still love to read and SF/F is my heart's joy. Just finished Robin McKinley's Dragonsong and before that Deerskin. Recently did the most recent in the Morganville vampire series. I read every moment I have available. Right now I need to cut that back as I have deadlines and need to finish some of my own writing.

I'm so glad I found this group. I've been reading the suggestions for books and I'm excited to find an entirely new group of authors to read- huzzah.

Have I mentioned Lisa Shearin's fantasy "Magic Lost and Trouble Found"?

Other romance/sf to check out might be Linnea Sinclair's "Games of Command" and also her "Down Home Zombie Blues".

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

Guess it's time for me to come out of lurk mode and support my fellow "geezer's" (Beverly, you still get to retain "chief geezer" status since I'm a year younger than you ;-) ). I'm Jeanne and have been reading Sci Fi and Fantasy ever since I discovered Robert Heinlein in 1972 when he lectured at my college. Several years later a fellow engineer at work handed me a copy of The Hobbit and told me it would change my life. I guess it did since reading it expanded my reading realm into fantasy.

Among my favorites, in addition to Tolkien and Henlein, are Neil Gaimon, Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, Jim Butcher, Charles de Lint and Jacqueline Carey. I have also been known to go on vampire "benders" reading everything from Anne Rice to Christine Feehan, Laurell Hamilton, Sherrilyn Kenyon and J.R. Ward. Sometimes a girl just needs a little romance, ya' know?

I'm currently reading book 2 of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series and am worried book 3 that I ordered won't arrive by the time I finish! Both of these books have found me staying up way too late on a work night because Phedre has gotten herself into some convoluted pickle and I feel the need to keep reading to see her safely out of it! Always a strong indicator that a story is terrific to me.

I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting authors to read and am looking forward to the discussions here!
Jeanne

Greetings,

I'm Cody. 21 years old. Reading hasn't been a big hobby of mine for all that long. School really spoiled the enjoyment of it by forcing me to read things I had absolutely no interest in. It wasn't until I came across the works of Robert A. Heinlein, (which really spoke to me due to my situation at the time), that I began to actually enjoy reading. I popped my sci-fi cherry with Heinlein. Fantasy novels came shortly after that. I started picking up anything in the bookstore that caught my eye and eventually came across such gems as Simon R. Green's Nightside series and Patricia Briggs' Mercedes Thompson series. I am joining this group to see if I can find good suggestions by people with similar tastes as my own, and hopefully make some useful suggestions myself.

This is responding to the request for intro's. I'm Carly. I was raised by books as much as humans. The first book that made a strong impression on me was Lord of the Flies, while not really sci-fi tells about my interest in psychology and skirting w/ the fear of the unknown in ourselves. Sort of sci-fi hybridized with Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock.

In the last several years the writers who have also left deep impressions on me include Octavia Butler and James Tiptree Jr. (Alice Sheldon). When not reading sci-fi, I also like to read about food, cook, and compose music.

My good reads include Octavia Butler's short story collection, Bloodchild and Other Stories. Also James Tiptree Jr.'s Her Smoke Rose Up Forever.

I was interested to find this site b/c I feared that people no longer made time to read. Also I'd like to learn about what people enjoy reading lately.

Jeanne

You are so lucky to hear Heinlein in person. I actually got to listen to Ray Bradbury recently (though only for about 5 minutes on the phone) while his official biographer gave a talk about the book he wrote at the university where I work. That was the only way Bradbury could address an audience as his travel is limited.

Tim

Hi. I'm Sandi and I'm going to steal Carly's line:

"I was raised by books as much as humans."

That's how I feel too. Books had such a big impact on how I grew to view life and humanity.

I'm 46 and live in Southern California. I've been a science fiction fan ever since I first read "A Wrinkle in Time". I was probably about eight at the time. Around the same time, the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" came out and my parents took us to see it at the drive-in. Those images are forever etched in my brain. And, of course, I had "Star Trek" repeats. Throughout my school years, I continued to read SF. I plowed through Ray Bradbury back in junior high. I loved H.G. Wells, Ursula K. LeGuin and Andre Norton. Now, my favorite books and authors are too numerous to name. I have a special fondness for time travel, alternate universes and post-apocalyptic fiction. I really enjoy short stories as well as novels. It takes so much skill to write a really powerful short story. I don't think they get enough credit.

I look forward to discussing books with all of you.

Hi everyone,
My name is Leslie Ann and I began reading sci-fi in middle school when my good friend Jon, who we all called 'Foon'-don't ask me why, I've forgotten-gave me a copy of 'Rendezvous With Rama'.

I cajoled my parents into letting me join the Science Fiction Book Club, and I proceeded to devour a steady diet of all the hard sci-fi classics--The Foundation Trilogy(when it was still a trilogy!)the Dune series, The Martian Chronicles, The Left Hand Of Darkness...my list can go on and on.

Then one day, another friend of mine told me about this little book she was reading. It had a strange little creature called a hobbit as it's main character, as well as 'gasp' elves and dwarves and a wizard! Well, this just sounded ridiculous to me, a hard sci-fi geek. What use would I have for such silly stuff?

My friend kept at me to read this little book, so to get her to leave me alone, I agreed to glance at it. That, as they say, was that. I was transformed from a techno-lovin' hard sci-fi girl into a rabid epic fantasy fan. I flew through the LOTR trilogy and dove headfirst into Terry Brook's Shannara series. I've read too many fantasy books to list here.

I've remained primarily a fantasy fan, but I do continue to read sci-fi still, along with horror.

Terry Brooks holds a special place in my heart, because it was his kind words to me back in 2001 that started me on the road to becoming a published author. I dedicated my first novel to him.

I'm very pleased to have found this community.

Ok... so, first things first, I suppose.

"Uh...Hello. My name is Jim, and I'm a bookoholic..."

I've been around plenty long enough to have seen a book or two, and yet only long enough to claim the status of "Assistant Geezer". Like a few others in this group, I was around before man started slinging stuff into orbit - 1956, to be exact. Beverly, Jeanne, and Alan have me by a couple years, and it's too close to call with a couple others.

Three books that I recall as having sucked me hoplessly into the abyss of SF&F were: (1) Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles", (2) Clarke's "Against the Fall of Night" (among others by him, Asimov, & Heinlein), and (3) Tolkien's "The Hobbit" (sorry, just never could struggle straight through LoTR without skipping parts and still can't figure out what it is that drives me to distraction with that trilogy).

I founded and continue to handle most of the management duties for an international, online writers group called "The Herscher Project" (though I have enlisted the aid of two wonderful co-owners who lighten my workload), and have even managed to scribble a couple of short pieces of my own that others tell me are worth more than a glance. I won't bore you with the tedious detail of my otherwise drab existence. If you're curious enough, you'll find out sooner or later, anyway.

Though I'm not over here in Goodreads very often, I do look forward to spending a little of my time here with this group!

Jim

Hi!

I'm Megan--27 years old (how did that happen? I was just 22, I swear...) I was a total bookaholic as a kid--right up through college and into grad school. Reading 7-8 books a week for classes during my grad school years burnt me out and I spent the next few years reading kiddie lit as it was the heaviest thing I could handle. Now I'm back in full swing and, as a stay at home mom, I find myself with tons of time to read!

As for book preferences, I've rarely met a book I didnt like but I do have a special love for sci-fi and really excellent children's books.

I reserved the current book a the library and I'm going to pick it up this afternoon!

Should I start a new thread? 85 comments! Wow!

Hi, I'm M.D.

One of the first books I read in English (mother tongue is French) was Lord Foul's Bane from the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. It just blew me away -- it was my first contact with an anti-hero and convinced me that SF wasn't simply about what it would be like if you lived on Mars or what would happen if you travelled near the speed of light. SF with real characters! Yay!

I've read many better books after that, although I still have a soft spot for the Covenant books.

I must admit I'm not a fan of the Fantasy genre, although the last one I read, Dave Duncan's The Alchemist's Apprentice, was excellent.

I hope I'll be able to hear about new and exciting authors, as well as share thoughts about the oldies.

Beverly, I grew up in Wichita Falls, TX. I feel for you!

Angie

Hello, everyone. I'm Justin, from Oregon. I was born in southern Mexico and since the age of 5 my mom has lived in Oregon while my dad stayed in Mexico. I spent the next 15 years traveling between the two places, always having to transfer airplanes and sometimes with a 4 or 5 hour stopover on the way. I read a lot during those trips.

Lately I don't read as much, but will never give books up. I developed strong interests in both history and science, which transfer easily into interest in both sci-fi and fantasy stories. Right now I'm living and working in Forest Grove. Not reading anything new now, just re-reading Revelation Space, which really impressed me when I first checked it out a few years ago.

I've never joined an online club before, but some of the books in this club looked pretty interesting. I'm a big fan of Ender's Game, which I noticed is coming up next month. I look forward to discussions on that book. I've also dabbled in writing a bit myself, and have posted some of it on my profile.

awesome!
i was also born in 77 and live in maplewood. :)

i was born in 1977 in a virginia suburb of washington, dc. i grew up reading fantasy and science fiction under the direction of my mom, who is awesome. i have a bachelor's degree in philosophy and history of math (ya want fries with that?) and a master's degree in theology. i currently live in the twin cities, minnesota area with my husband and cat.
i don't like science fiction that is formulaic or preachy. i do love: ursula leguinn, madeliene l'engel, frank herbert, orson scott card, isaac asimov, arthur c. clark, neil gaiman, terry pratchett, mary doria russell, roger zelazny, william gibson, carol berg, robin hobb/megan lindholm, george r.r. martin, china mieville, gene wolf, guy gavriel kay, glen cook, jaqueline carey, patrick rothfus, kelly eskridge, norah jamison, vernor vinge, syne mitchell, tad williams, tolkein (of course), stephen r. donaldson, emma bull, and dan simmons.
i used to like terry goodkind before he got all preachy and raymond feist til he got all formulaic.
also i may not have spelled all those names correctly.
i also like historical fiction, literary fiction, the occasional mystery or western, and social commentary.

R. Leigh - Don't know where you're at in WV, but Huntington has an Indian restaurant (and I think a Thai place somewhere) and two foreign/independent film festivals (at the Keith Albee through Marshall University - although this may have changed since I've been there a couple of years ago).

My name is Liz, and I have an unfortunate habit of buying every book that I get my hands on and looks interesting. To read pile (not including books marked as to-read on goodreads) is almost as tall as I am.

I've always loved TV and movie sci-fi and fantasy but for some reason only more recently have been reading on sci-fi side the genre.

Welcome Jim,Megan, R., M.D.Justin, Heather, and Liz! So nice to see so many interesting folks who share my love of speculative fiction!

Welcome all! Liz, welcome to Bookaholics semi-anonymous! I'm currently wrestling with the results of my own buy-every-book addiction as I get ready to move. Moving box after box after box of books starts to make you wonder what you were thinking there in the dusty shelves of the used bookstore and why you felt like every coupon Borders sends your way *has* to be used....

Actually, the books are the main reason we're contemplating hiring movers!

Good Morning All. I just recently found out about this site and thought I would join. I've loved reading as long as I can remember. In fact my dad would read Tolkien and the Chronicles of Narnia to my brothers and I when we were wee little ones. I was hoping to pick up some more good books to read and get a chance to chat with a few people that appreciate the genre and have some time to read.

John: That brings back memories. I once moved for my job and, while they paid for it, we had a 10,000 pound weight limit. Even with our small house we went way over our limit! The movers kept grumbling about "who needs this many books!" and "how can you actually read all these!"

I'll definitely have movers from now on!

John,

We're also moving and before we put the house up for sale, we decided to de-clutter. We soon realized that, even though I make heavy use of our public library, we had a phenomenal amount of books. We ended up giving away about 200 to a used bookstore that uses the profits to financially assist our public library. We've kept almost the same amount.

And yes, we are hiring movers.

Hi, I am Chris and my wife introduced me to this site last year, she is a librarian. It definitely helps me keep track of the books I read, especially the novels within a group that don't really rely on each other to tell a story, like discworld. I got so lost trying to remember which ones I read and she wasn't helpful because she doesn't like the books I read and couldn't give any feedback there. This site has been great and now I want to branch out and try being in some groups. I live in Florida with my wife and 2 children, fix rides for the mouse and am trying to put some stories together.

Hi my name is Jess and I turn 29 tomorrow. I just moved back to Springfield IL from the Twin Cities area. My husband myself and our 3 girls are currently living with my parents until our house in River Falls WI sells. Lets just say I am very glad to have SCI/FI and Fantasy books to offer me some escape in my current situation : )
I read a lot and lot of different genres. I have found it very difficult to find people who admit to reading Science Fiction and Epic Fantasy (especially other women) so I am very excited about this group. I have read a lot of books check out my list on my site I put the sci/fi fantasy stuff on the "Rouges do it from behind" shelf.

Nice meeting you all

Hi Jess, and welcome! How odd that you've had trouble finding other people, especially women who are willing to admit to reading sci-fi and epic fantasy, because where I live, it's not hard at all. Perhaps this is one of the many advantages to living in a very large West coast city--and please, folks, I'm not dissing the Midwest!
I notice you are a big Doug Adams fan. I, too, love the works of the late, great Mr. Adams. His death was so untimely, and I lament the loss of such a witty, intelligent, astute writer. I once listened to one of his novels as an audio book, read by him, and he did such a brilliant job, I'll never re-read any of his books again without hearing his voice in my head.
"Rogues do it from behind", eh? Are you an RP gamer by any chance?

Happy birthday, Jess!

Hey, I'm Matt. I did most of my growing up in the Seattle area. I now live near Salt Lake City with my wife and daughter, would love to move back to Seattle however. I graduated from BYU in Geography. I read a lot of fantasy when I was younger but then got away from it. A couple of years ago I decided to look into Sci-Fi and am now once again an avid reader in SFF. I also read in non-genre fiction and always have a bookmark in a non-fiction book. Nice to be here!

Hi all.

Thought I might introduce myself, so here goes. My name is Johnny, I'm living in Copenhagen Denmark and have reached the wonderful ripe age of 37 just a small week ago.

I've been an avid reader ever since I dunno when, long as I can remember I guess. That is, it comes in circles going full stop at times, refueling from different sparks, selfinduced or provoked by friends or outsiders. About 3-4 years ago I felt the urge to read some fiction having only read non-fiction for a good while (work / hobby related - mostly software development stuff). So I got my local bookseller to recommend a few fantasy novels. Among the volumes where Steven Eriksons Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I've always held a deep love for sci-fi and fantasy, but those books blew me away in manner I had not foreseen. The maturity and complexity was not something I had experienced in that genre before.

So for the last few years I've been reading hungrily from the explosion of talented authors and their work out there. I've found blogs written by people who seem to share interest and taste, and by one of those I've ended up here. I have never been part of a book club yet, so this will be a completely new experience for me, very exciting.

I have not yet read Ender's Game but it is on my list. A Game of Thrones I have though and will not reread it nor participate I think. Well, perhaps I will, we'll see.

Oh, the rules. Mind if I ask here? I will anyway, but please just redirect me to where the question would be more appropriate. I could not seem to find specifics. When May's book is Ender's game, does that mean it will be read during April and discussed during May? I would really like to be in on that, and if the rules are so, I guess I could hurry up and buy it and then participate as a latecomer.

Regards,
Johnny

We read the book and discuss it in the month listed, so right now people are reading and discussing Ender's Game. Don't feel bad if you come in a bit late into it as the discussions go pretty strong the entire month.

I guess I'll finally introduce myself after lurking for about two months now.

I'm Kristin. Or blue. Either one. I'm 25. I've been reading sci fi/fantasy stuff for a good majority of my life. I tend to lean more towards the sci-fi stuff. Recently, I've been reading a lot of Heinlein and I'm really getting into Asimov. I like Heinlein's juveniles as opposed to his more "adult" books with all the sex and the major politics. His juveniles are just a lot more fun to read. Maybe I'll stop lurking so much soon ;)

Hi everyone! I joined this forum in Jan but only recently started posting, and just discovered this group.

I haven't had time to read all 6 pages - it's late and I'm tired - but I will tomorrow. Since I've posted in 2 or 3 threads I figure I should introduce myself, because I have a feeling this is a place I'll be spending time at.

I was born in 56. Which makes me 51, I really don't know how that happened! So maybe I'm the old geezer here. I've always been a reader but it really all started for me at the age of 13 when my mother and brother decided I was reading too much girly stuff and presented me with Joseph Conrad. HELLO???? You really don't give a dreamy girl raging with hormones Heart of Darkness to read! So to prove to them I wasn't an idiot I decided to read the biggest, most respected book there was. Yes: War and Peace. And that's when my passion for reading started.

I read alot of sci fi around then - Childhood's End started it for me - Clarke, Heinlein, Asimov, etc. but then it seemed I read all the good stuff and got bored with what I called the shlock. I read Lord of the Rings when I was 14, and felt like I hallucinated thru that book, what an impact. I majored in Lit, and stayed away from sci fi for a long time. Then about 10 years ago I rediscovered it and realized some of the most well-written, intelligent, thought provocative work about people, politics, hopes and dreams, war, everything was being written in this genre. Robinson's Mars trilogy really set it off for me. And I discovered in the intervening 25 - 30 years I had dropped it, science fiction was just booming with brilliance. I had alot of catching up to do! And I did.

But not everything, and I love to find out what I've missed, and to discuss books I've read with others.

I have some favorites but numero uno is probably Roger Zelany. Others are Stephenson, Vernor Vinge, Dan Simmons, Tad Williams, Iain Banks, Alistair Reynolds, Bujold, Cherryh. Fantasy would be the usual suspects: George RR Martin, Robin Hobb, Katharine Kerr, yes Robert Jordan even tho I wanted to slap him for becoming such a cash cow.

I am a New Yowkuh, but have lived in Seattle for 17 years now. Married, 12 yo son, 1 dog, 3 cats. I've become such a yuppie. Oy.

Welcome Johnny, Kristin and Lori.

ohnny, I visited Copenhagen in the summer of 2005. Never have I felt so poor in my life! Your hometown has got to be one of the most expensive places on earth to live, especially for an American. Our dollar was not so weak back then, but weak enough. Now, I shudder to contemplate how much cash it would take for a visit!

Hi. I'm a geologist in MD.
I tend to read nonfiction these days, but I'm still interested in seeing what's going on in SF and fantasy.

I won't fill this space up with books, but I will point out that I really enjoyed reading Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom not that long ago. It's available in its entirety for free on the web, so feel free to check it out at
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

Hi, folks.

My name is Matt and I was born in 1958. I turned 50 a few months ago. I don't know how that happened. Just as important, my son recently turned 18 and older daughter turns 16 tomorrow. I live in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. Born in New York, also lived in New Jersey and Florida. After getting a B.S. degree in math, I went into the banking industry in New York City, then changed careers and got a master's degree in computer science. I'm now a stay at home dad. Our youngest daughter has mild cerebral palsy and needs extra time and support. (I got the short straw!)

I started reading SF in third grade when my father left a book called Rites of Passage on the coffee table. Over the next several years I went through most of his science fiction collection and started adding to it.

Over the years my tastes have changed from the likes of Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke and Zelazny, to authors like Dan Simmons, Stephen Baxter, and Neil Stephenson. When I find an author I like I go through as much of that person's material as I can find. I enjoy science fiction more than fantasy, although Lord of the Rings is my favorite book/trilogy. I also enjoy Harry Potter and had to fight my daughter to be the first to read the last few books. My kids are more in to fantasy and my daughters really enjoy stories with strong female leads. Like a lot of people here, I can go on for pages with the books/authors I have enjoyed.

I have been lurking for a little while but haven't really contributed. Been rather busy since my daughter had surgery a few months ago. I hope to start contributing soon.

Lori, I found myself go through a somewhat similar cycle, reading sf and fantasy as a kid, then going to college, majoring in literature and leaving them behind. I found myself coming back to them in my mid-20s though and realizing like you how much really brilliant stuff is being done in the genres.

I find enough overlap in our favorite authors that I feel like I have to check out the ones I don't know--anyone with your clear good taste (that is, agreeing with me!) must know something.

In any case, welcome!

Hey, I'm Allie, and found goodreads through one of those late-night procrastinatory trawls. I'm a 21 year old politics student for the next five weeks or so, after which time I will be a 21 year old person with a lot of time and an as yet unidentified source of income. I'm currently writing my Honours thesis, so have been reading books on political theory and Northern Ireland for what seems like forever, and am only now starting to read other things again.

I've been a bookworm to the very core of my being for as long as I can remember, but only read my first sci-fi book about a year ago, and first fantasy book about 18 months ago. Ender's Game and the A Song of Ice and Fire series were my forays into them, and I think will always remain favourits. I haven't really read the 'classics' or authors that everyone seems to have read, but am slowly getting around to it.

Anyway, look forward to getting to you all!