Member introductions

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

Please take a moment to introduce yourself!

[Sandi]

Hi! I'm here. If you've been in the Yahoo group, you probably know me.

[Jade]

Hi! I'm here too, also a member of the yahoo groups (Barbara). I hope we meet some new members from Goodreads.

[Christine]

Hi. Memeber of the yahoo group.

[Nancy]

Hi, I am Chantal on the Yahoo group, but haven't been very active there for a while. Nice to meet you all!

[Kelly]

Sisi here from Yahoo Group!

[Garth]

Hi everyone, I'm Garth, 59, from Eugene, OR. I wasn't on Stefan's Yahoo group and although Goodreads has me as registered in 2007, I've only recently placed books in the library beginning March, 2009. Most of my reading is non-fiction and work related. However, when I do get a break in the action I enjoy reading SF/F books.

Thus far I've read only a limited amount of the usual suspects i.e. Tolkien, Orson Scott Card, Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan, Weiss and Hickman, Christopher Palini, Frank Herbert and Heinlein. I'm sure it will be helpful to see what others are reading and hopefully inspire me to carve out more time to read SF/F. Looking forward to reading your reviews and broadening my SF/F horizons.

I've just finished Robert Charles Wilson's "Spin" which I enjoyed and am now reading Christopher Palini's Eldest.

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

Garth wrote: "I've just finished Robert Charles Wilson's "Spin" which I enjoyed"

Welcome Garth! We actually had an excellent discussion about "Spin" when it was our Book of the Month a while back. The author was kind enough to join us and was very friendly and informative. The book is still one of highest rated SF books in our Hall of Fame (which I just posted in the General folder).

[Scott]

Hi, I'm Scott from the Yahoo Group. I haven't posted much over the years, but enjoy the selections - I read about 50% of them - I'd read more, but my personal reading list is huge...

I think that I am going to like the goodreads format better.

[Dan]

I'm Dan. Roger Zelazny and Philip Jose Farmer are my sf/fantasy authors of choice at the moment. I've also been into Glen Cook's Garrett PI books lately.

[Nancy]

Welcome, Dan! I need to read more Zelazny. Jack of Shadows was a very unusual and memorable story.

[Hannah Belle]

Hi everyone! I'm Betsy from the Yahoo group. :) Right now, I'm reading Infected by Scott Sigler.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Hi all, I'm Kathi from the Yahoo group. So far I'm loving this place (I'm new to GoodReads). Finishing up Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies.

[Allan]

Hi, I'm Allan. I'm from the Yahoo Group but pretty much just lurk and get some great reading recommendations from other group members. I'm 41 and live in Cranston, Rhode Island. Lately I don't have much time to read for pleasure because I'm finishing up my Bachelors degree in software engineering. I'll be done with that in November and am looking forward to contributing in earnest then.

I pretty much enjoy reading anything with an SF/F, Horror, or Mystery bent. Some of my favorite authors include Philip K. Dick, Robin Hobb, George R.R. Martin, Sax Rohmer, K.W. Jeter, Tolkien, and Dean Koontz, Brian Lumley and others.

I’m looking forward to great discussions.

Regards,
Allan

[[deleted user]]

Hi! I love this site! Glad we decided to start a move over here. Dawn

[Andy]

Hey! Andy here from the Yahoo group. I've been nosing around this site a bit and I think this is going to be a big improvement!

[Amanda]

Hi, I'm Morrolan from the yahoo group. I have to say I like this site much better than bibliophil.org.

[Jon]

Hello, I'm Jon Moss and I'm not from the Yahoo group. Although I'm starting to wish I had been. :)

I read mostly fantasy and stretch out into historical fiction and science fiction most frequently.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/cloud...

Thanks to Nancy for inviting me over. I love reading, reviewing and discussing books.

Ciao,

Jon

[Frank]

Hi, I'm FrankT from the yahoo group. I figured I'd come here and check it out.

[Brenda]

Hey all. I'm Brenda, I'm in the yahoo group, but I rarely post there. I'll try to be more active here. I definitely prefer fantasy over science fiction, but I think that's because I know which fantasy authors are good, and it's hit and miss for me with science fiction.

[Kelly]

I'm so happy that many of our friends from the yahoo group have joined us, in particular those who have identified themselves as lurkers. Its really nice to see that the messages and discussions are being read and the group has so much life in it. I think we're going to have a great time over here on Good Reads. I'd like to welcome our new members also!

[Charlie]

Greets. I've been enjoying Goodreads for a few months now. I'm a recent transplant to New York and have found several orders of magnitude more time to read since selling my car. Though I've been branching into contemporary fiction lately under the influence of my esteemed Goodreading friends, my bread has always been buttered by fantasy/sci-fi. My favorite author is China Mieville. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.

[Carolyn]

Hi! I'm Carolyn in VA from the Yahoo group. Haven't posted in a while over there, been lurking, but I have been active here on GR for a while now. I'm so glad that you decided to move over to GR - hopefully I can get active in the discussions again!

Funny!
Nancy on here is 'Chantal' on Yahoo - didn't realize that and we 'friended' on here a while ago! = ) (Nancy, have to say your latest avatar is setting off my one phobia! )

Hi Jon!

I'm 38 and live in Northern Virginia, right outside Washington DC. More info can be found on my profile - just doubleclick on my avatar pic to go to it.

Welcome to all the new GoodReaders - I think you're gonna like it here! = )

[Nancy]

Carolyn wrote: "Nancy on here is 'Chantal' on Yahoo - didn't realize that and we 'friended' on here a while ago! = ) (Nancy, have to say your latest avatar is setting off my one phobia! ) ..."

Too funny, Carolyn! I haven't posted on the Yahoo group for so long that I'm surprised anyone still remembers me. :)

[Sandi]

Jon wrote: "Hello, I'm Jon Moss and I'm not from the Yahoo group. Although I'm starting to wish I had been. :)

I read mostly fantasy and stretch out into historical fiction and science fiction most frequent..."

Hi Jon!!!!!!!!

[Jon]

Sandi wrote: "Hi Jon!!!!!!!!"

Hi Sandi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Linda]

Hi All,

I'm Linda from the yahoo group. I've been awfully quiet in there but I've been reading a lot of the books for the month, I'm just always a little bit behind :D

Hopefully I'll be able to keep up a bit better for next month

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Nancy wrote: "Too funny, Carolyn! I haven't posted on the Yahoo group for so long that I'm surprised anyone still remembers me. :)"

"Chantal" was moderator when I first joined the Yahoo group.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Linda wrote: "Hi All,

I'm Linda from the yahoo group. I've been awfully quiet in there but I've been reading a lot of the books for the month, I'm just always a little bit behind :D"

I often don't get to the books during the appropriate month, either. Lots of times I just follow the discussion and then decide if it's something I want to read in the future or not.

[Carolyn]

Nancy wrote: "Too funny, Carolyn! I haven't posted on the Yahoo group for so long that I'm surprised anyone still remembers me. :) "

= ) That's a pretty unique name, easy to remember! Besides, you were still posting when I joined...

[Sandi]

Nancy, you've been my friend here on GoodReads for a while. I had no idea that you were Chantal from the Yahoo group.

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

I guess I should have mentioned it, so everyone realized that the third mystery moderator here is Chantal, who was the list owner of the Yahoo group before I took over a few years ago.

[Staci]

Hi. I'm Staci. I was on the Yahoo group but never posted. I've discovered a lot of great books & authors through the group though and have been wanting to start posting so figured I'd do it here.

[Jim]

I'm Jim & wasn't on the Yahoo group, but am glad to see it on GR. I've been reading SF & Fantasy for a long time & love GR. Finally a bunch of people who like to read as much as I do & don't think I'm weird for my choice of reading material.

Roger Zelazny & L.E. Modesitt Jr.& a bunch of others are my favorite authors. Depends on what I'm reading.

Oh & thanks to Nancy for telling me about the group.

[Nancy]

Jim wrote: "Oh & thanks to Nancy for telling me about the group..."

Welcome, Jim! Glad you decided to join us. :)

[DivaDiane]

Hi there! I'm Diane and I was/am a member of the Yahoo group. I'm really liking the format of GR and it's much more pleasing to the eye!

I'm 39, am American, living in Germany. I read mostly SF/Fantasy, and love to discuss books. I'm a professional singer and singing teacher by trade and do some non-professional narration for a couple of podcasts.

[Barb]

Hi everyone. I’m Barb and I was not a member of the Yahoo group, but I’m so happy to have found you all now that you’ve moved to GoodReads. I read just about every genre, but have a special fondness for sci-fi. My background in fantasy is more limited, but I would love suggestions for where to begin.

[DivaDiane]

Barb wrote: " I read just about every genre, but have a special fondness for sci-fi. My background in fantasy is more limited, but I would love suggestions for where to begin"

Hi Barb, great that you found us!

My suggestion for getting started in Fantasy would be to join us in the monthly Fantasy read. Historically they've been good choices. You could also go through the past Books of the Month or the Hall of Fame (and Shame) and see if anything catches your eye.

Do you think you would be interested in Fairies, Wizards, Dragons, Vampires and the like or magic in general? If you can narrow it down it will be easier to give suggestions. That said, here are my recommendations:

A wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. LeGuin
THe Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin HObb
The Dragonriders of Pern, Anne McCaffrey
The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
The Clash of Kings, JRR Martin

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

All good suggestions, but make sure to read A Game of Thrones (by George R.R. Martin) before Clash of Kings!

Barb --- you can also find a bunch of good fantasy suggestions by checking our previous Books of the Month (on the group shelf at the bottom of the group page) and the Hall of Fame (in the General thread of this forum).

[Barb]

Diane and Stefan, thank you for the suggestions. To be honest, I don't inherently have that much interest in fantasy, and yet when I've given it a try I've enjoyed it. Of those listed above I have only read LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea. Beyond that I read Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay many, many years ago and the first couple of Elric books from Michael Moorcock. I'm intrigued by George R. R. Martin, though I'm intimidated by the size of his books. I guess fantasy works in general seem to run longer, yes?

I'm drifting off topic here in the member introductions post; I suspect this discussion would best be continued somewhere else. Thanks again for the suggestions. I'll definitely check out the past Books of the Month (it just so happens I’ve already read this month’s selections) and Hall of Fame lists as well.

[Ken]

Hello
Ken here, I was part of the Yahoo group for a long time, Think I joined September 2000. I tend to be a sporadic poster.
I am big in SF, Fantasy.

[Matt R.]

Hi, I just joined this group and look forward to reading some of the monthly selections. I have read a little sci-fi over the years but am looking to explore some more in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. I will be getting a copy of "Earth Abides" at my library which I plan to read in May. Look forward to the group discussions. I also enjoy reading mystery, thriller and horror books.

Cheers,

Matt

[Corby]

I am part of the Yahoo group. I have not commented on the books or whatnot, but I plan to be a bigger part of the group. I prefer this site better than the Yahoo group.

[[deleted user]]

Hi! I'm Margaret,
I like to read and discuss and even debate a bit. I enjoy being the nay say-er and devils advocate. I'll read just about anything including the mad Russians. But I never feel obligated to like them. I like to write stories. I like to express myself. I like to try new things and try to perfect old things. I like precision. I like clever and brave. I like to rant and ramble. I also enjoy reading other peoples stories, poetry, ramblings and rants. I look forward to sharing thoughts and ideas with you all.

[Sandi]

Margaret, it sounds like you and I will get along just fine.

[[deleted user]]

Hi Sandi! Thanks, I compared books and it looks like we have similar taste. I'm going to catch up on some of the conversations and then dig in.

[Anomander]

Hi, someone who reads a lot of SF and Fantasy. I discovered this group via Stefan who got me to come over to Goodreads, so far it's been much better than Shelfari :)

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

We are up to 66 members, I just noticed as I was browsing the "Members" list on the homepage. I hope the group will be active and lots of members will participate.

Being new to GoodReads, I just realized you can register to "win" pre-publication books... sounds like a fun way to expand one's library!

To Stefan & the other mods, thanks for making the move to this site. I really like it, for so many reasons--can keep track of what I've read, browse reviews and other information, and the discussion format is terrific! So, thanks again!!

[Sandi]

Kathi, I've already read and reviewed five books I've received through the giveaways. I'm awaiting one more. It's a great way to find reading material that you might not read otherwise. Some of the books are advanced readers copies and others are small press releases that the authors and publishers want to build word of mouth for. The giveaways are only partially random. A person who regularly writes reviews gets a little bit of an edge.

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

Kathi wrote: "To Stefan & the other mods, thanks for making the move to this site. I really like it, for so many reasons--can keep track of what I've read, browse reviews and other information, and the discussion format is terrific! So, thanks again!!"

Kathi, I'm so glad you like the new format! I would have made this move earlier if I'd known how advanced GoodReads' group options are and how well designed the site is. I just hope that the group here will be as busy as it was on Yahoo... so please make sure to invite any friends who are into SF&F discussion. The more the merrier!

Stefan