Introduction and welcome thread! Showing 551-600 of 4,412

[Officer_Friendly]

Hey there it's Officer Friendly, just got into the podcast, good to know there are like minded people out there. I'm tired of standing for hours in front of book store and library shelves, all these unknown books and authors.... Already picked up 'The Heroes' already agree it's a slog! Linguistically challenging, and the constant 'em-s is buggin' me! But I've found a new auther I like, and that makes it worthwhile.

[Heather]

Hi, I'm Heather. I'm a huge Scifi and Fantasy fan and I've been listening to the Sword and Laser Podcast for maybe 6 months now? I also can't stand spending hours trying to decide what to get at the bookstore or library. I finally joined Good Reads and wanted to join in the discussion fun. :)

[Mike]

Hey out there!

I'm Mike and I just found the podcast a couple months ago and have just got myself on to GoodReads in the last couple weeks.

I am a huge fan of Science Fiction and am really enjoying the podcast!

[Gantt]

Hi there I'm Gantt.
I got into fantasy several years ago in school but i've been trying to get more into the sci-fi area as well.
Reading as been a favorite thing to do in my alone time and after finding out about Sword and Laser, I was excited to expand my horizons into more good novels.

[A.J.]

Greetings, all. My name is A.J. Normally, my introduction would tell you about what I do for a living, but that's less important here than my literary preferences, I think.

My father convinced me to read The Hobbit when I was eight and I've been pretty much addicted to fantasy since then. Recently I've been trying to get more into science fiction, too. (Thanks, John Scalzi.)

My favorite authors include Tad Williams, Robert Jordan, Terry Pratchett, Neal Stephenson and John Scalzi.

[Michael]

Hi, my name is Mike and I'm a life long lover of both fantasy and sci-fi. Thanks to my mother I started with Dune, LOTR and Dragonriders of Pern when I was 8-9, and haven't looked back. I have 6 and 3 year old daughters who I am trying to get into the habit of reading, as well.

My favorite authors include Neal Stephenson, China Mieville and Stephen Erikson.

[Joseph]

Hello, everyone.

My name is Joe and I have been interested in the theme of fantasy since I was very young, as I often played computer games like 'Might and Magic' with my father. Oddly though, I didn't get into fantasy literature until a few years later when I was about 11 and my teacher insisted that I read 'The Hobbit'. At that point fantasy and occult studies was all I would read until my late teens.

I am pretty unfamiliar with sci-fi (besides H.P. Lovecraft if that counts) but have become very interested in it these past couple years, so I am hoping this group will enlighten me!

[Adam]

Looking forward to joining you all! I haven't had much time to read lately because of a new baby, but that doesn't mean I don't have about 5 books sitting around the house that I'm at various points in. Its just taking me longer to read than it used to. :-)

Used to be heavy into fantasy, but have found myself preferring more scifi recently, especially space opera (Reynolds in particular). Though, maybe being a physicist by trade biases me towards more hard sci-fi.

If I can throw one of my favorites in the ring, I don't see on here yet Stephen Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever.

Cheers!

[Daric]

Hey everyone! My name is Daric and I viciously attack(metaphorically of course) whatever book I'm reading. I am CONSTANTLY looking for new great authors and books to read. Most recently I've read The Dresden Files and the Codex Alera series both by Jim Butcher. Just before that I devoured The Kingkiller Chronicles Day 1 & 2 by Patrick Rothfuss. The Hunger Games series, ALL of Orson Scott Card's books are a few more. So anyways, I noticed this group has people who all share similar interests in my taste of books so here I am. So great to meet you all!

[Astatine]

Hi guys! I'm Ben. I found the Sword and Laser podcast in a Game Of Thrones/ASOIAF induced sci-fi/fantasy binge and liked it so much I decided to join this site. I've been a big fan of the genres for many years but it has fallen by the wayside in terms of actually reading anything. Although have been primarily interested in science fiction; (Frank Herbert, Philip K Dick and Douglas Adams and the awesome Alastair Reynolds), ASOIAF has perked my interest in Fantasy really for the first time (excl. LOTR). I hope this is the beginning of a productive and enlightening new relationship with the genres. Thanks Sword and Laser! :)

[York]

Hi, I'm York,
just started with goodrreads. Love both Sci Fi and fantasy but am usually switching between the two as to which I prefer. Read 1st three songs of Ice and Fire books(by GRRM) back to back recently and I am on an Iain M. Banks and Vernor Vinge binge. Thought the GRRM books are great so I am saving the next two as spread them out, since I hear it takes him years to write the next in the series.
That's all for now and look forward to chatting with those of like interests. Also love Sci Fi TV and movies, especially British ones.
Thanks,
York

[Kyle]

Hi, my name is Kyle and I cut stuff with water (that's actually my job... not a reference to swords and lasers).

I'm biased towards sci-fi, but like fantasy almost as much; however, some of my favorite books are historical fiction, so make of that what you will.

[Matt]

Hey this is Matt,

I am a huge nerd and fan of all things geek. I love books by J.R.R. Tolkien, Neal Stephenson, Michael Crichton, William Gibson.

I have been listening to the podcast for a couple of weeks and decided to join the group to help pick new books and explore new authors.

Thanks,

Matt

[Joshua]

Hello I'm Josh

I've been listening and lurking for several months now. Finally decided to introduce myself.

[Brandon]

Hello all - I'm Brandon.

I'm a huge sf/fantasy nerd, and have been since I stumbled across a copy of Joel Rosenberg's The Sleeping Dragon when I was 10 years old.

My favorite book of all time is Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, which hit all the right buttons for me - WWII, cryptography and Linux nerds.

[Lindsey]

Hi there, I'm Lindsey.

I've seen this group pop up in my feed a few times because I'm friends with two of your members. When Will told me you guys were reading Ready Player One, I figured I'd join and see what this group is all about. :)

[Rob]

Hi, I'm Rob.

The first book I remember picking out for myself as a child was A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony. While I will always have a fondness for Mr. Anthony, some of my current favorite authors are Alastair Reynolds, Neal Stephenson, Raymond Feist, Jim Butcher, and Christopher Moore.

I've been listening to S&L for about a year and figured I'd finally join in on the fun. Thanks for having me.

[Walter]

Hey guys, I'm Walter.

I've always been a fan of science fiction and fantasy (the Harry Potter books shaped my childhood). I just finished Pandora's Star and am getting into Peter F Hamilton's stuff.

[Simon]

Hey Everyone, I'm Simon.

I've been on a bit of a sci-fi binge over the last year (especially Peter F Hamilton). I also enjoy fantasy, horror and other styles of fiction. One of these days I'll probably have a go at writing a novel myself.

I've been catching up on old Sword and Laser podcasts, but have to keep skipping episodes covering books that I want to read. I'm looking forward to reading Ready Player One in sync with everyone else.

[Esther]

Hi I'm Esther.

I'm always been a fan of scifi on TV and film but only recently started to read it regularly. Military scifi is especially excellent.

I was a member on Ning (it was Ning, right?) but was always to busy chatting on GR to join in anywhere else.

[Joe]

Hi I'm Joe.

My reading kind of comes and goes in spurts, and right now I'm definitely spurting... I got really into the Dark Tower series and I just finished Ready Player One.

Hi!

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

The above post seems not to belong here, just saying.

[Brian]

Hello everyone. I'm Brian.

I am a geek/tech junkie you could say. I mainly grew up reading John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and Richard Preston. Since that time I have become a geek of fantasy/sci-fi stuff. Going to read Hunger Games (trilogy) and Ready Player One on my Kindle soon.

I've been following Tom & Veronica since the C-Net days. That lead me to www.swordandlaser.com. Really enjoy the laid back feeling I get when I listen to their podcast. Kinda hommy. Finally got around to signing up to the goodreads site this week and joining this group.

[Eve]

Hi,
I'm Duchess. I live in Seattle (for the moment). I read a lot, and watch movies a lot too.

I prefer Sci-fi to Fantasy most days, but authors like GRRM seem to change that.

Favorite authors, Asimov, Niven, Tolstoy, Chekhov, GRRM, McEwan, Gibson, Stephenson, and so on ....

I'm a writer myself. I'm obsessed with robots, A.I's, simulated worlds, Space Operas, and a lot of futuristic stuff.

I found this group through Joel's timeline.

[Adiel S]

Hola i am Adiel, all the way from central america, love reading i hope to get new books to read from you guys.

[Sophie]

Hi everyone,
my name is Sophie and I love reading. As you can imagine, my favorite books are fantasy and science fiction. I'm really into A Song of Ice and Fire, I'm a fangirl, you could say. Pratchett is a must. I love Shadowrun books and want to read way more of Star Wars. I like historic books also but much better if you can find a hint of fantasy in'em. My recommendation for Germans: try Kai Meyer, he is one of the best fantasy/historic authors. :)

[Joshua]

Hey there! My name is Josh. I work for roqbot.com on our Android app and like to unwind at the end of the day with some fiction. My favorites authors are Philip K. Dick, Daniel Suarez, and Gene Wolfe. I do enjoy GRRM as well despite a A Feast for Crows. Besides fiction, I like to read political and philosophical work in addition a steady intake of tech books.

[Daniel]

Hello, my name is Daniel. I am a long time listener and finally decided to join the club on here! I love pretty much all kinds of Fantasy/Sci-Fi and think that the club should read an Ian Banks Culture novel soon!

[Jim]

Hey, I'm Jim. Avid reader from back in the day and love me some Sci-Fi / Fantasy, with more Fantasy tendencies. Currently working my way through the Malazan Book of the Fallen series (wrapping book 4 at the moment). The scope and vastness of characters is daunting and exhilarating at the same time.

Anyway, long time listener of the Sword and Laser and finally joined up here on Goodreads. Glad to be here!

[Franck]

Hello everyone!

Name is Franck, I'm French but have been living in Japan for nearly 6 years now.

I've been a fantasy reader for about 15 years, and am always trying to discover new series and authors to love! My favorites include George R.R. Martin (now this is original, hm?), Guy Gavriel Kay, Jules Verne, Jack Vance, and errr lots of others.

I decided to join this group about 2 seconds after hearing the podcast where you were trying to say "sword and laser" in several languages... Now this is the kind of serious activity I enjoy!

Hope to be able to discover a lot of great new books with you all! Thanks for having me! :)

[Wes]

Hi everyone! My name is Wes. I've been an avid reader all my life, and first got into fantasy after reading Lord of the Rings in high school. I own more books than I have room for. I'm currently re-reading the Harry Potter books, the Wheel of Time books, and about a fourth of the way through A Storm of Swords. I'm excited to be discovering new books with you guys!

[Corey]

Hello,
I am Corey. I like to read Fantasy, Poker and Atheism books. I personally think that reading a book while smoking a good cigar is a perfect pairing. Maybe one of these days I will actually even try reading along with the book of the month. Nice podcast, BTW, it's an enjoyable listen.

[Garrett]

Hi all. I'm Garrett,
Always been a fan of scifi one way or another, So great to be here. Been reading Jm Butcher and most recently Warded man and Desert Spear both really good .
So let's keep this going. Long live the King

[Gordon]

Hi I'm Gordon,

Only managed to read a couple of the picks, but have got some great suggestions listening to the podcast.

Read more Sword than Laser, and masses of historical stuff.

Favourite authors?
Sword: Pratchett
Laser: Dan Abnett
Historical: Patrick O'Brian

I have a huge backlog that I'm trying to get though:
The Wise Man's Fear
World War Z
Under Enemy Colours (historical)
Lustrum

[Ramon]

Hey Fellow Book Lovers!
My name's Ramon, from New Zealand.
Hi to the Lovely Veronica and the Charming Tom(big Fan of the TWIT Network and TNT - being in the Tech industry myself.

I am enjoying getting back into reading (or should I say listening) to great Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Techno' novels (or any mixture or the above). Sadly, my days of having time to sit and read seem to have vanished with a busy family life, so it's Audiobooks for me!

Love Tad W, Ian Irvine, Rothfuss and so many others. I have been reading many of your book picks; just finished Flash Forward yesterday.
Hope I get time to make some posts.

Later!

[Anthony]

Good evening,

My name is Anthony and I'm from Tempe, Arizona. I am a student in Mathematics and Computer Systems Engineering at Arizona State. I first heard of the Sword and Laser on the TWIT Network and decided to check it out. I've wanted to get involved and start reading for a while, but my schedule doesn't lend itself nicely to free reading time. That said, I was able to pick up Ready Player One on Saturday night.

I am excited to explore science fiction and fantasy beyond the "canon" novels with which I am already familiar.

-a

[Dave]

Hello World\n
Dave here from "sunny" Glasgow, Scotland (occasionally masquerading as Philadelphia, PA). Actually been a member for over a year, but realised I hadn't posted an intro yet. Better late than never.

Been a fan of the genre since a youngster when growing up with Captain Scarlet and other Gerry Anderson shows, and gradually joined up with general fandom - co-wrote a fanzine back in the 80s which got a bit of a reputation - and was once told by a sci-fi author that he didn't recognise me because I didn't have a pint in my hand!

What do I like - totally eclectic, and always following up on what people suggest are good reads - In the past year I tackled The Dresden Files for the first time, all the way through to the latest book, and am currently almost through all the core Honor Harrington books (thank goodness for the side books whilst I wait for Book 13) - everything else is extra - and I'm going to revisit the Myth series again soon (had the great pleasure to meet Robert Asprin once) - strangely enough I can take or leave Terry Pratchett stuff

[David]

Hello everyone,

David from currently unusually warm Southampton UK. I've been listening to the S&L podcast for a while and decided I needed to get in on the discussion action!

Just recently got into Sci-Fi and I'm sure I'll be able to find some good recommendations here :)

Looking forward to at least following some interesting threads.

D.

[Louise]

Hello :-)

I was recommended this podcast by Ann from Books on the Nightstand, for those interested in sci-fi and fantasy, and I just listened to a few episodes of your podcast.

My name is Louise, I'm 34, live in Denmark (small European country), and love to read. although 2 kids, 2 dogs and a fulltime job means I read a lot less than I used to!

I read literary books, books based on roleplaying games I like, historical novels, chick lit, fantasy, urban fantasy, mystery novels and books on books.

I dislike depressing social realisme, cheesy romance and predictable (crime) fiction.

Favourite authors include Paul Auster, Jasper Fforde, A.S. Byatt, Diana Wynne Jones, Salman Rushdie, Pascal Mercier, Scott Fitzgerald, Garth Nix and Neil Gaiman.

[Mike]

Hey All!

My name's Mike, I'm a long-time listener, first-time poster. I've been a Goodreads member forever, but I've decided to start using it more, so I figured I'd better join the S&L group.

I'm very much into fantasy and currently reading A Song of Ice and Fire. My other favorite series include The Kingkiller Chronicles, Mistborn and The Dark Tower.

[Amir]

Hello folks!

My name is Amir and I have been listening to The Sword and Laser for a few months now. I've been following along with you all and your reading suggesting and I've been greatly enjoying myself. Many of the authors I've read here are those I had never read before like Neal Stephenson (what a discovery)!

I look forward to adding to the discussions here and enjoying the various opinions of the people here!

[Jason]

Hey there I'm Jason. Been listening to the podcast for a while now, since Veronica's first appearance on Podcast Beyond!, but just signed up for the forums today.

Mostly a Scifi guy but I can't put down the A Song of Ice and Fire books as of late.

[Benjamin]

Hi, I'm Ben. Just started listening to the podcast, love it! Favorite authors: Tolkien, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, C.S Lewis, ee cummings, Chuck Palahniuk, Michael J. Sullivan, Aliette De Bodard, Saladin Ahmed, J.D, Salinger, William Faulkner, Jack Kerouac...
I'm pretty new to the speculative fiction genre (read Tolkien and Lewis as a kid). I am now a literary fiction ex-patriot.

[Cappy]

Hi new S&L listener going back and catching up from your July shows (I wanted to hear about all your a song of ice and fire discussion) one of my favorite sagas was the Ender's Game series. Just finished a dance with dragons. My next reads will be going between the Dark Tower books and Honor Harrington. Love the show and can't wait to get up to date on the podcast.

[Rebecca]

Hi everyone my name is Rebecca and I am a new listener; just found sword and laser today via goodreads. I love to read just about everything, some favorites are Douglas Adams, Tolkein, Orson Scott Card, and Neil Gaimen.

[Gregory]

Hello, I'm Greg.
I've been reading both Sword and Laser books since Highschool. I just finished Ready Player One and am now reading Reamde.

I got to see both Tom & Veronica at Dragon*Con this year (my 1st con, counting down till next year!) at their live podcasts for Sword & Laser, Tech News Today, Frame Rate, & NSFW.

Looking forward to getting great recommendations on what to read next (and what forms:Audible, Kindle, etc) from this group.

[Casey]

Heya everyone! I'm Casey. I've been listening to the S&L podcast for about 6 months now. I'm in the middle of reading game of thrones for my first time. I just finished reading Ready player one. Absolutly loved the book. I'm also reading Reamde, which I just started.

[Amanda]

Hi I'm Amanda, and I love sci-fi and fantasy. I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I remember. A random sampling from my shelf: Otherland, the Sword of Truth, His Dark Materials, Ender's Game, Name of the Wind, A Wrinkle in Time, and a bunch more in boxes that I couldn't fit on my shelves.

I've read a TON of books in my short lifetime, so I sometimes find it hard to discover something new that I'll actually love instead of thinking it's just okay. I'm hoping to learn about some new, awesome fiction through this group!

[Michael]

Howdy Everyone! My name is Mike!
I'm a recent college grad with not much to do other than look for a job, listen to podcast, and read books, so this fills 2/3 requirements for my daily intake (yay!).
Of course I do other things like listen to music, play video games, and go see movies with friends and what not. I'm also an internet junkie so I'm totally addicted to Tumblr, twitter and +google.

Some of my favorite writers include: Stephen King, Piers Anthony, and J.K. Rowling (yeah liked HP). Some recent additions are Brent Weeks (newbie but a goodie) and George R.R. Martin (Thanks to the S&L podcast!).

Well, its great to meet all of you and look forward to more fantasy & sci-fi stories.

[Ian]

Hey everyone, new member here, my name is Ian, living in the UK.

I'm a long time Fantasy/Sci fi fan and gaming nerd (for about 30 years now!).

Apart from the usual Tolkein, Donaldson, Frank Herbert classics, more recent reads that I really like are the Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson, of course ASOIF,the Painted Man by Peter V Brett and any Sci Fi by Iain.M.Banks and Alistair Reynolds

To be honest I've got a bit jaded recently with the genre and trying to sort out the wheat from the chaff, so really looking forward to getting some great recommendations of things that are worth a read! Came across the podcast and seems like a great community, its already got me re-enthused so thanks!