Kristin's comments

Kristin's comments from the SciFi and Fantasy Book Club group.

Note: Kristin is no longer a member of this group.

The Gunslinger intrigued me enough to continue reading. I'm halfway through the Waste Lands right now and I'm looking forward to reading book 4.

I'm fortunate though, a friend had the series and lent them to me.

I've also read all of Pratchett's works. Not surprising, some are better than others and people seem to react differently to each book depending on what they like/don't like.

I'm particularily fond of anything with the Watch in it, and so-so on anything with the Witches. Yet, I absolutely loved the Tiffany Aching books. I liked Small Gods, but my friend bounced off of it. His last couple of books have been so-so for me; Making Money came across as frantic and forced.

His latest book is Nation. But! It is NOT a Discworld book.

Excession by Banks has an interesting twist on pregnancy.

I don't know if this is quite what you are looking for, but Treason by Orsen Scott Card had some interesting views on genetic manipulation.

I remember that Ray Bradbury story as well! I can't remember the name either but I think I've got it at home.

I'm not a short story person, but there are a some that have struck a chord with me over the years:

"Repent Harlaquin! Said the TickTock Man" by Harlan Ellison

"Cask of Amontillado" by Poe

I've gotten better about reading the shorts, but it's still not my favorite style.

I also read this back in the late 80s and thought it was "not a very good story". Looking back, I know I didn't get most of what Heinlein was pontificating about so I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it again.

I found myself waffling on whether the "girls" were portrayed as being strong and equal to men or spruced up window dressings. I know I need to look at it from a 1950s/1960s mindset. I liked the concept of Anne being a Fair Witness, but otherwise everything was pretty stock - nurses, secrataries, etc. If he had wanted to push the envelope he should have made say, a female president. And Jill became as interesting as a wet dishcloth once she hit Jubals.

To be fair to the opposite sex, Ben, initially portrayed as a strong dominant alpha male who gets his own way, also turned out to be uninteresting once everyone met at Jubals.

I'm at the point that others have noted it goes downhill - when Jill and Mike leave Jubals.

As for eliciting tremendous commentary on the state of the US, it's not much different than his other works - merely a different story in which to wax poetically about how society *should* be if it were up to Heinlein.

Oh, last thought - I did find it amusing that in his book, the US has been to Mars and back and has a habitat on Mars, but yet, in 2008 the future of NASA and space exploration and actually *getting* a manned mission to Mars is about as real as, well, science fiction. IMO.

I've finished Call of the Cthulhu and other Weird Stories by Lovecraft for my book group later this month.

I'm still working on Stranger in a Strange Land.

I want to read Zelazny's book but I'm having a hard time getting my hands on a reasonably priced copy.

I just started the Bhagavad-Gita

And I'm trying not to buy any books until I work through my "too read" pile on my nightstand. So I might be reading:
Axis by RC Wilson
Polar Star by Martin Cruz Smith
or a Donna Andrews mystery.

I was able to attend Worldcon/Denvention this year and had great fun going to the Hugo Ceremony. Here's the order I had voted in (I think, that was back in July):

Halting State - enjoyed it and the concepts. I thought it was well written. Stross can be hit or miss and this was a hit.

Yiddish - enjoyed it throughly, but felt it calling it SF was a bit of a stretch even though it's alternate history.

Brasyl - bounced off of it about 1/3 way through. Maybe got better farther in?

Old Man's War - a fun read but didn't feel it was Hugo worthy; and it was book 3 in the series.

Rollback - Utterly despised it. Main character was a putz. I just don't care for Sawyer's books.

I must have the same copy.

I've always assumed it was just marketing hype. I see that statement or similar on other books. Its an interesting question though, is there a list maintained by a *credible* source on how many copies were sold in a given year and over the long run? I wonder where Dune stands on that list, if it exists?

Though didn't the Harry Potter books break nearly all printing records?

Lots of questions today... :)

As someone who's been to more writing panels than I can possibly count (14 years worth), and one writers workshop at Worldcon in 2000, I think I can offer some feedback to your questions. Don't know if it'll help. :)

You asked:
What do you think attracts a potential reader? IMHO, I think you would attract readers who are already reading something similar, so I think it would be important to know what other books are similar to yours - your target audience so to speak.

Would it be the front cover or is it more likely to be on the strength of the synopsis?? Again, in my humble opinion, it's really going to depend on the reader. I'm a cover person, my monthly scifi book group are cover people. YET a so-so cover with a good synopsis might intrigue us. I have a friend who's strickly a synopisis person.

Just how important is the cover art and what really determines our decision to invest the time to actually sit down and read a book?
I've heard from editors (from Tor, Eos, Del Ray, and others) and authors that cover art can make or break a book. Depending on the author, the editors may or may not have any input on who the cover artists are going to be, and they have seen some horrific cover art come out, which leaves the poor author weeping.

As to what makes me want to sit down and read a book, well, it is a topic I enjoy or may enjoy? Is it an author I've read in the past and thought, I want to try another book by them? Or it might be my book group selection.

Husband needs the computer so I have to close here. Hope this helps!

I'm working my way through Lovecrafts "Call of the Cthulhu and other Weird stories". I'm surprised at myself as I'm actually enjoying most of them. I read "The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories" last year and kinda bounced off of it.

And I've got 1984 on audio book in the car right now. Should have that finished by next week.

Then, I'm thinking maybe:
Axis by Robert Charles Wilson
SnowQueen by Joan D. Vinge
or
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch as it's a friends book and I'm sure she would like it back.

I guess it will depend on what I'm in the mood for when I'm done with Lovecraft!

Hello to Everyone! Nice to meet such a group of like minded folks.

I'm Kristin. Forester and Yoga teacher by trade. I'm a Scifi nut by nature and have been for waaayy to many years. I live and work in Duluth, MN, near the shores of Lake Superior where yes, the winter's are cold and long.

I attended my first two Scifi conventions when I was 16 (both Dr. Who) and have since been to 14 Minicons (Minneapolis scifi convention), 3 Worldcons (Chicago 2000, Boston 2004 and Denver 2008), 1 Icon (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and 1 4th St. Fantasy (St. Paul).

I've read way to much to post here, but I can link you over to my blog where I review stuff almost weekly: http://scifiwithpaprika.blogspot.com/

Tho now that I'm on Goodreads, I've been posting my reviews here too. See you around!