Member introductions

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Yay, another refugee from the old boards! Welcome, Spongebob. I was kamaha.

[Bob]

Kathi wrote: "Yay, another refugee from the old boards! Welcome, Spongebob. I was kamaha."

Ah, yes. I certainly remember you, Shel, and Shanshad. Anyone else here?

[Shel, Moderator]

A few of the other old regulars have accounts here, but haven't participated in the groups though I've tried to encourage them to join in the fun.

[Brian]

Hi, I just joined the group, primarily because of Shel's post and because I liked the old book-of-the-month thing. I read a lot of things I ordinarily wouldn't have, and even enjoyed some of them. I was on the old Delphi boards as Simply Brian.
I also noticed that y'all are planning to read Revelation Space, and since that's currently near the top of my TBR pile, I figured now's as good a time as any to join in.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Welcome.

[Shel, Moderator]

Woohoo!

[Kythe42]

Hi, I'm Kythe. I'm new to this group, but not new to GR and book sites in general. I've been a book worm my whole life and these days I prefer to read mostly sci-fi and fantasy.

I'm not really much one for monthly group reads as I prefer to read what I want to read when I want to read it, but I enjoy participating in general book discussions and I'm fairly active in several book groups on various sites.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Welcome.

[DoodlePanda]

Hey! I'm new!
Recently joined goodreads and got recommended this group by Nyssa, and it sounds perfect for me so here I go!
Short about me: I live in Norway, love to read (especially fantasy, scifi and horror). Had a couple of years not reading much (though i can't understand why now..), but buying a Kindle about a year ago and now joining goodreads has kick-started my joy of reading again! :)
I look forward to being a part of this group, it seems good so far!

[Nyssa]

DoodlePanda wrote: "Hey! I'm new!
Recently joined goodreads and got recommended this group by Nyssa, and it sounds perfect for me so here I go!
Short about me: I live in Norway, love to read (especially fantasy, scifi..."

:D Welcome!

[Mike (the Paladin)]

...I think we've met... Hi, welcome.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi Jonathan, welcome.

[DoodlePanda]

Welcome Jonathan! :)

[Jae]

Hey there!
I've been reading SFF since I confused my teacher with a Star Trek wannabe short story I wrote at the age of 9 or 10. I veer towards the fantasy end rather than hard SF. Looking forward to getting some new ideas of books to read.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Welcome.

[Juston]

Hi All,
Just joined this month and I'm looking forward to being exposed to new SF&F authors that I've not read before. I'm also looking forward to discussing the books of the month. I love to read, and SF&F is probably my preferred genre.

Cheers

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi, welcome.

[Damon]

Hi. I've been reading fantasy since 1981 when I was forced to read the Hobbit (thank you Donny). I read avidly throughout the 80s and early 90s until college and grad school handed me a new reading list. I just got back on the fantasy horse about three years ago. Recently I've read Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, Dan Simmons, Peter F. Hamilton and Steven Erikson and have been wowed by all. I just finished The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson, who is still my favorite but some of the new blood might be contenders. Minutes ago I just finished reading "Consider Phlebas" by Iain M. Banks R.I.P. I really enjoyed the action, scope, and eventual character development of it.

[Damon]

Killian wrote: "Damon wrote: "Hi. I've been reading fantasy since 1981 when I was forced to read the Hobbit (thank you Donny). I read avidly throughout the 80s and early 90s until college and grad school handed me..."

Not bad for the weakest book- I had planned on continuing the series anyway but most assuredly will now. Today, I start Brandon Sanderson's "Words of Radiance" in a continuation of my alternating fantasy/ science fiction approach. It seems to be the only fair way to feed both monsters.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi all, welcome.

[Laurel]

Hi everyone, I'm Laurel from north-east England. I'm a long time fantasy fan, although I do like sci-fi too I haven't read that much of it - something I need to rectify! Favourite authors include Tolkein, Erikson, Martin, Sanderson and Hobb and I've just discovered Ursula le Guin's Earthsea!
Apart from books, I love to bake, am very into music (allsorts), am a bit of a history geek and am happiest on the beach listening to the sea and looking for shells ;)

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Welcome Laurel...you can read at the beach to, you know between shells...

:)

[[deleted user]]

Hi, I just discovered this group and joined it. I'm both a writer and reader of Science Fiction, and I love to discuss it. My first favorite author was Arthur C. Clarke, and I also liked some of Harlan Ellison's writing, and became a fan of Larry Niven. Years ago I read Isaac Asimov's Foundation, but oddly enough I'd never read I, Robot. I just rectified that oversight and wrote a review.

I'm glad to be here, and I hope to participate in some of the future discussions.

[Brandon]

Hello All!

I'm new to the group and (relatively) new to Goodreads in general. I definitely have a tendency to lean more toward fantasy than sci-fi, though when I am able to afford myself more time to read (a full-time job and writing tend to leave little reading time) I'll make a point to amend that. As it stands, I'm in the midst of the audiobook version of The Rose and the Thorn, but I noticed the group just wrapped up Stardust, which I read a couple years back and loved, so I may need to jump on that thread and add my two cents. Looking forward in interacting with you all!

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi Brandon, welcome.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Maybe we need a self promotion thread?????

[Candiss]

Welcome to all the new members! I am so very bad at keeping up with this thread. Perhaps we need a Welcoming Committee or something. (?)

@Mike (and everyone in general) - Regarding self-promotion: It's been a long-time practice of Beyond Reality to not have a dedicated area for self-promotion and to discourage promotion in general. This is a legacy standard set up by Stefan, and we-the-mods are inclined to keep with the tradition. We let stuff slip through in some threads on occasion if they aren't offering something in exchange for money and they aren't offering the book up as a nomination for a group read. This is mostly because we want this to be a friendly, open, non-Draconian sort of space. But then again, we also don't want the forum to become filled up with promotional posts, so it's a slippery, rather gray sort of line upon which we tiptoe.

In light of that:


@C. J. - Welcome and much luck with your writerly endeavors! I have removed your recent promotional post largely due to its inclusion of large images that are problematic for many members, especially on slower connections or older devices. But I must also remind you that Beyond Reality has a policy of discouraging book promotion. You can read more about this and other policies in the group's comprehensive FAQ.

[David]

Hi, nice to be at the Beyond Reality group! I write and read science fiction. Looking forward to being a member of this group!

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

David wrote: "Hi, nice to be at the Beyond Reality group! I write and read science fiction. Looking forward to being a member of this group!"

Welcome, David!

[Candiss]

Hi, David! Nice to meet you.

[Rotuma]

I live in Australia ...

I love Peter F Hamilton, Asimov, Frank Herbert, Arthur C Clarke, Silverberg and many others.

[Alissa]

Hi all! Thank you for this group, I'm mainly a fantasy and historical fiction reader (I read both mainstream and indie authors) and I've seen many interesting books in the group's bookshelf. I've read the FAQ and I'm pleased to see this is a friendly place for readers to discuss their favorite books. I'm currently reading The Curse of the Mistwraith and I'm looking forward to follow and contribute to the related topic I've found here.

[Bob]

welcome!

[Alissa]

Hi all! Thank you for this group, I'm mainly a fantasy and historical fiction reader (I read both mainstream and indie authors) and I've seen many interesting books in the group's bookshelf. I've read the FAQ and I'm pleased to see this is a friendly place for readers to discuss their favorite books. I'm currently reading The Ships of Merior and I'm looking forward to follow and contribute to the related topic I've found here.

[Raavyn]

Hello, everyone. Just dropping a line to introduce myself and give a salutation.

[Marty]

Hi, welcome to all.

[Justine]

Hello, I'm Justine. Just introducing myself. I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy and joined because this looked like an interesting group and the upcoming books are already on my own upcoming to-read list (how convenient!). I'm looking forward to reading what others have to say and finding out about new reads as well.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Welcome, Justine!

[David]

I'm Dave from a small town in South Wales, U.K. I've read sf and fantasy for more than 40 years - in retirement now I read even more. Looking forward to reading some of the monthly read and joining in discussions as well as making new friends worldwide,

[Teanka]

Hello, my name is Anna and I'm from Poland but live in Sweden right now. I read a lot of sci-fi, fantasy and historical fiction. I'm also new to Goodreads and joined this group a few days ago because there seems to be a lot going on here and I'd like to read a lot of the books chosen for discussions including the Malazan series re-read.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Welcome Dave & Anna.
Anna, I'm glad you may be joining our Malazan series discussion.

[Rick]

Hi all, I'm Rick. Relatively new to Goodreads and looking to expand my circle of readers and writers. Particularly interested in this genre. Please feel free to add as a friend if we have books in common.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Rick wrote: "Hi all, I'm Rick. Relatively new to Goodreads and looking to expand my circle of readers and writers. Particularly interested in this genre. Please feel free to add as a friend if we have books ..."

Hi Rick, welcome!

[Rick]

Thank you, Kathi - appreciated! Looking forward to sharing mutual love of of stories :)

Rick

[Richard]

Hello all, I'm new here and am looking forward to joining in the discussions. Philip K. Dick is probably my favourite SF author, but I'm looking forward to discovering new writers!

[Rick]

Hi Richard, welcome - from one forum newbie to another :) I'm looking forward to getting to know others!

[Nick]

Welcome to all who have joined since January! It is good to see folks who like the classic writers Dick, Herbert, Silverberg, as well as being open to new writers, new novels, new vistas.

Our noms last month were full of new-to-me authors. I'm hoping one of those wins in the polls so we can continue to try out the latest and greatest.

[Richard]

Thank you, Rick. I see you're based in Canada. I'm from London originally, but I now live in Spain. It's great how the internet brings people together from all over the world!

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Let me add my welcome to our new members, too. Please feel free to jump into any of the discussion threads, including ones from past Books of the Month. The threads stay open and active so you can always read what others thought and add your thoughts, too.

[Rick]

Richard wrote: "Thank you, Rick. I see you're based in Canada. I'm from London originally, but I now live in Spain. It's great how the internet brings people together from all over the world!"
Hi Richard, for sure, that's one of the liberating aspects of the Internet. Especially as a new author, it allows me to connect with people from all over the world. If I ever have a setting in Spain, I know how to ask for authenticity related questions! :) lol

Rick