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Read On…Science Fiction: Reading Lists for Every Taste
Read On…Science Reading Lists for Every Taste offers excellent recommendations for everyone interested in the genre, from the newest explorers making their first forays to the most experienced and adventurous readers.
Read On…Science Reading Lists for Every Taste is for new science fiction readers looking for a place to start exploring the genre, as well as for long-time fans who want to delve in deeper. It is also for besieged librarians who need to recommend books to their demanding and deserving patrons, create displays or book lists for their web sites, or embark upon a genre study.
The guide covers a broad spectrum of science fiction titles, organizing books into lists designed to appeal to a variety of reading tastes. Whether a reader wants to explore the final frontier, experience life after a global apocalypse, or is in the mood for an old-school, rockets-and-rayguns adventure, Read On…Science Fiction can recommend just the right titles. The book spans the genre's time stream, including classics like Frankenstein as well as the latest bestsellers. From Golden Age authors to the sociopolitical titles of the New Wave and the latest in the Transhumanist science fiction subgenre, this enjoyable guide offers something for every reader.
Read On…Science Reading Lists for Every Taste is for new science fiction readers looking for a place to start exploring the genre, as well as for long-time fans who want to delve in deeper. It is also for besieged librarians who need to recommend books to their demanding and deserving patrons, create displays or book lists for their web sites, or embark upon a genre study.
The guide covers a broad spectrum of science fiction titles, organizing books into lists designed to appeal to a variety of reading tastes. Whether a reader wants to explore the final frontier, experience life after a global apocalypse, or is in the mood for an old-school, rockets-and-rayguns adventure, Read On…Science Fiction can recommend just the right titles. The book spans the genre's time stream, including classics like Frankenstein as well as the latest bestsellers. From Golden Age authors to the sociopolitical titles of the New Wave and the latest in the Transhumanist science fiction subgenre, this enjoyable guide offers something for every reader.
276 pages, Paperback
First published August 30, 2010
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 6, 2011
OK, full disclosure: I am the author of Read On... Fantasy Fiction, so not exactly a dispassionate observer. That said, I've been waiting the arrival of this book anxiously because in so many readers minds, science fiction and fantasy go together. So I've been hoping for a book that did the genre justice. I'm happy to report that I was not disappointed.
It's hard to find a good overview of science fiction as it is now. It's one of those genres that for many readers had its heyday in the past. This is the book, however, that captures the science fiction genre as it is in 2010, a flourishing construct with many different kinds of books for many different kinds of readers. In my mind, that's the point of this series, and of readers' advisory in libraries in general: every genre is composed of many different kinds of writing and almost any reader can enjoy any genre if they know what to look for. Steve Torres-Roman has provided the map for science fiction.
As with other titles in the series, the book is composed of many lists, each organized around an aspect, an "appeal factor," that might make the book desirable to a particular kind of reader. It might be a kind of character, a particular setting, a style of language employed by the author, a story element that figures prominently or a mood that the book might fill. For each of these appeal factors, the book gives an annotated list of five to ten titles that fit the category.
I am pleased to see that the annotations in this volume in the series are a tiny bit longer than in some other entries. I think the extra space is used well to give readers a completely adequate picture of the books in question. As an SF reader myself, I am impressed with how many authors and books there are here with which I was not familiar or only knew by name. The book sent me scurrying to do further research and I have added many titles to my to-read list.
As a librarian, I also love readers' advisory books as a tool for collection development. I've already begun a second pass through this book to identify good titles that might be missing from my collection. And this book is so contemporary, that it makes a great tool in that regard. Torres-Roman captures the full extent of this genre beautifully, locating series fiction, graphic novels, and young adult works as well as the usual contemporary award winners and evergreen classics. It's an impressive achievement, and many authors ought to thank him for helping to advertise their place on the SF map.
If you like SF a little, consider yourself an experienced reader, or have just always thought you might want to explore the genre more, this is a book you should try.
It's hard to find a good overview of science fiction as it is now. It's one of those genres that for many readers had its heyday in the past. This is the book, however, that captures the science fiction genre as it is in 2010, a flourishing construct with many different kinds of books for many different kinds of readers. In my mind, that's the point of this series, and of readers' advisory in libraries in general: every genre is composed of many different kinds of writing and almost any reader can enjoy any genre if they know what to look for. Steve Torres-Roman has provided the map for science fiction.
As with other titles in the series, the book is composed of many lists, each organized around an aspect, an "appeal factor," that might make the book desirable to a particular kind of reader. It might be a kind of character, a particular setting, a style of language employed by the author, a story element that figures prominently or a mood that the book might fill. For each of these appeal factors, the book gives an annotated list of five to ten titles that fit the category.
I am pleased to see that the annotations in this volume in the series are a tiny bit longer than in some other entries. I think the extra space is used well to give readers a completely adequate picture of the books in question. As an SF reader myself, I am impressed with how many authors and books there are here with which I was not familiar or only knew by name. The book sent me scurrying to do further research and I have added many titles to my to-read list.
As a librarian, I also love readers' advisory books as a tool for collection development. I've already begun a second pass through this book to identify good titles that might be missing from my collection. And this book is so contemporary, that it makes a great tool in that regard. Torres-Roman captures the full extent of this genre beautifully, locating series fiction, graphic novels, and young adult works as well as the usual contemporary award winners and evergreen classics. It's an impressive achievement, and many authors ought to thank him for helping to advertise their place on the SF map.
If you like SF a little, consider yourself an experienced reader, or have just always thought you might want to explore the genre more, this is a book you should try.
Displaying 1 of 1 review