Introduction and welcome thread! Showing 901-950 of 4,412

[Justin]

hello i'm justin
been listening for a while but am new to goodreads

[Shayne]

Hello

My name is Shayne from Saskatchewan, where it is currently -45C with the wind chill.

My favorite author right now is Guy Gavriel Kay. Also enjoy Robert A Heinlein and Tad Williams.

My first Fantasy book i ever read was Dragons of Autumn Twilight. After that I was hooked.

[Joel]

Hey Everyone my name is Joel and I am the owner of a video game website www.darkstation.com

When I am not playing video games I love listening to Audio Books on my way to and from my day job. Honestly I am not sure what I would do without audio books.

Currently I am finishing up A Dance With Dragons and have about 5 audio books that I have purchased but haven't been able to read yet. Looking forward to being apart of the group.

[Andrea]

Hi, Guys.

My name is Andrea, and I'm a young adult librarian, book reviewer, and podcaster (http://www.beabetterbooktalker.com).

I'm a big fan of several of the books you've discussed recently, including Ready Player One, The Hunger Games, and The Magicians.

I'm also a fan of Among Others by Jo Walton and Cinder by Marissa Meyer, as well as anything by Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman, and James Tiptree Jr.

[Ryan]

Andrea wrote: "iI'm also a fan of Among Others by Jo Walton..."
Jo Walton is going to be at Powell's books tonight at 7 for a discussion about Among Others and a book signing. I will be there with my copy and a compliment or two for this amazing author.

[Undeadgoat]

Hi, I'm Eleanor (and I didn't realize my username here didn't have to be unique, oops). I started listening to the podcast after Veronica was on Nerdist and the Instance in a fairly short timespan. I plan to try and actually read along with the book club as I haven't been reading as much fiction as I'd like!

Tolkein was formative to my youth, I'm a huge fan of Harry Potter, just finished the Wicked series, Hunger Games is amazing, waiting on tenterhooks for Song of Ice and Fire, this list could literally go on forever so I'm stopping now.

[Lindsay]

I'm Lindsay and enjoy many kinds of books. I've just started getting back into sci-fi/fantasy. Read all JRR Tolkien books years ago and remember enjoying them. Liked most of the Harry Potter series although last few were overwritten and seemed to get larger and larger and more redundant. I have a low tolerance for books over 300 pages and generally like shorter books. I hope I can find something interesting books to read from this group.

[Jessica]

Lindsay wrote: "I'm Lindsay and enjoy many kinds of books. I've just started getting back into sci-fi/fantasy. Read all JRR Tolkien books years ago and remember enjoying them. Liked most of the Harry Potter series..."

Then stay far away from Hickman and Weis, I love their books but holy crap are they long. Avg book length from them is like 600 pages.

[Katherine]

I'm Katherine. I'm a retired librarian now raising chickens & cats, knitting & making cheese on an island off the coast of Mass. I've been reading F/SF forever. My current favorite sub-genre is the comedy of manners - Gail Carriger, Walter Jon Williams' Maijstral, Ysabeau Wilce's Flora, Janet Kagen's Hellspark. I'm currently reading Honor's Paradox by P. G. Hodgell.

[Amanda]

Hi, I'm Amanda
Started listening to the podcast after hearing Veronica on The Nerdist, but just got around to checking out the forums.

[Mike]

Hi, I'm Mike. Listening to the Sword and Laser podcast as well as many Fantasy audiobooks saves my sanity while I;m at work.

[Larissa]

Hi, I'm Larissa, and I'm a huge scifi fan, as introduced to me by my dad. I found this group from the Tor forums. I'm a pretty picky reader and try to stick to books that others have recommended, but over the years I've also been a very voracious reader. I'm sort of a child of cyberpunk meets steampunk, and love authors like Gibson, Card, Elizabeth Moon, and Bujold, and my absolute favorite book is Neal Stephensen's 'the Diamond Age'. I might be unique in the group in that I absolutely hated fantasy until a few years ago, then a friend introduced me to Feist and R.R. Martin, and I really love Robin Hobb.
I'm excited to find S&L and have to echo previous writers - this seems like a great group for me!
I live in Stockholm and

[Micheal]

Hi I am Micheal, I have listen Sword and Laser for a while and decide to join Good Reads to see if it is as much fun as Veronica and Tom make it sound.

I have been reading SciFi and Fantasy since childhood, Have Spacesuit Will Travel hooked me for life.

[[deleted user]]

Hello,

I can't remember if I have posted in an Introduction thread here before or not. I blame my short memory on my age. It also causes me to ramble...

Anyway, I an a self published author with twelve titles to my name. I prefer science fiction and fantasy but also like to throw some romance in too. I like my fantasy with some basis in realism, and I like female leading characters in my books too.

Favourite authors are Asimov, Niven, Heinlein, McCaffrey, Moon, Norton and whoever else takes my fancy at the time (and a lot did!).

Favourite character, McCaffrey's Kilashandra of The Crystal Singer books.

Did I say I ramble?

[Rich]

Hi,
My name is Rich (no relation to Harlan or Ralph). I started with reading back in the 60's/70's when I was a young kid. Initially the Tom Swift Jr and Hardy Boys series. Then moving on to Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov, Tolkein, etc. Hard to say what my favorite books are, but I usually favor sci-fi or fantasy with lots of consistent technical details, and books that cross genres - mixing magic and science, sci-fi mysteries, etc.

[Cristian]

Hi everyone, names Cristian or you can call me Grizz, I just discovered The Sword and Laser podcast and joined the group on here, working my way through some past episodes, and currently reading Ready Player One :).

[Lindsay]

Jessica wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "I'm Lindsay and enjoy many kinds of books. I've just started getting back into sci-fi/fantasy. Read all JRR Tolkien books years ago and remember enjoying them. Liked most of the Har..."

Thanks for the tip, Jessica.

[Lindsay]

Rich wrote: "Hi,
My name is Rich (no relation to Harlan or Ralph). I started with reading back in the 60's/70's when I was a young kid. Initially the Tom Swift Jr and Hardy Boys series. Then moving on to Hei..."

Hi Rich, I like mixed genre as well.

[Mark]

Hi Everybody, my name is BilltheBloody, (gone by the same name on the net since I was 16 – no prizes for guessing the reference!), I'm an electronic engineer from Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK.

I've been a member of the group and a listener of the podcast for some time but haven't introduced myself until now, (well actually I have tried repeatedly but my Android phone has always found a way to lose my post at the last minute every time).

I've been a avid reader of sci-fi and fantasy ever since my grandparents bought me The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I was 12. Since then I read as much as could, admittedly much of has been licensed fiction such as the Star Wars novels, oft-derided but I think there's much to be recommended in a lot of licensed fiction, (yeah well, there's also a lot of crap too!).

One line of licensed fiction in particular has held me in sway since I was a teenager – Black Library's Warhammer 40,000 novels. Based on the Warhammer 40,000 (40K) tabletop miniature wargame, (to which I am also a devotee), they depict a violent, dystopian future with the armies of humanity clinging on to a dying empire against aliens, demons and worse. Extremely evocative and enthralling, (and not just dumb beat-em-up narratives – well for the most part), especially the books by Dan Abnett and Aaron Dembski-Bowden. My favourite series has to be Gaunt's Ghosts by Abnett, essentially Sharpe in space but better and with added sci-fi goodness.

Other authors I enjoy include (glances round bookshelves in the room); Joe Abercrombie, Niomi Novik, Alastair Reynolds (House of Suns is brilliant), Paul Kearney, George RR Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, Jim Butcher (the Dresden Files are so much fun and I'm just about to try out the first book in his Codex Aldera series), Paul Hoffman (The Left Hand of God and it's sequel are delightfully weird and dark), David Gemmell, Brandon Sanderson (just read Alloy of Law and enjoyed it immensely), Kevin J Anderson, Stephen Baxter, Peter F Hamilton (epic awesome-ness guaranteed) and of course Terry Pratchett. One author I have discovered recently and have been promoting to anyone who'll listen is Chris Wooding, his series Tales of the Ketty Jay, which starts with Redemption Falls, is just pure escapist fun and a must-read espically if you liked the Firefly TV series (the books have a very similar dynamic).

Outside of sci-fi and fantasy I enjoy historical fiction by Bernard Cornwell (I love the Sharpe series, the Saxon saga and the Warlord Chronicles Simon Scarrow, Conn Iggulden and others and also thrillers by Val McDermid and Simon Beckett.

[Leo]

Hello Everyone,
My name is Leo. I have been listening to the podcast for a few months now and finally decided to stop being a "lurker" join in. I mostly read sci-fi, fantasy and narrative history but I'll read just about anything.

I read a lot of fantasy growing up, mostly the Xanth and Drangonlance series. And yes I played Dungeons and Dragons, and no I am not ashamed of it (anymore!). Now that I have a 6 year old son I am revisiting the fantasy genre by reading Harry Potter and Percy Jackson for bedtime stories.

I have recently started reading some classic sci-fi that I had never gotten to. I recently finished the Foundation series by Asimov and am almost finished with "A Princess of Mars". With the John Carter movie coming out I thought it would be interesting to see how it gets changed for a modern telling of the tale.

[Matthew]

My name is Matthew. I am a software/hardware QA tester at NetApp in Wichita, Ks in the Array Products Group (well, technically a contractor but my foot is in the door!). I love sci-fi and need to keep up on the S&L podcast now that I can listen to podcasts while I am at work now!

[Dean]

Hi I'm Dean, I've been listening to The Sword and Laser for a few weeks after hearing about it on one of the Twit podcasts. I've recently read Daemon and Ready Player One (after it being part of the group read) and am looking forward to getting away from the modern day crime novels I've been reading for a while. Not too sure about the Fantasy side of things but maybe I should give that a go as well as the Sci-Fi!

[itrooper]

Hi, I'm Joe. I love Sci-Fi and came here to find like minded folks. Here is my Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/itrooper/shelf

Fav's: Tolkien, Sanderson, Jordan, Martin

[Phillip]

Hi, Everyone I'm Phillip, Long time listener of Tom and Veronica's various podcasts/projects. Been dabbling in the Sword and Laser for quite some time. I am a house cleaner/custodian which offers some prime podcast/audiobook listening time. I really like the sci-fi classics but lately i've been giving fantasy a try.

Favorite Authors: Douglas Adams, Robert Heinlein, George R. R. Martin

Just started The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

[Greg]

Hello everybody, I'm Greg. I read a lot, mostly while I'm commuting to and from school, as well as between classes. My favourite author is probably Roger Zelazny, and my favourite series is his Amber Chronicles.
That said, I'm typically a bit less sword, a bit more laser. I'm also really into ebooks, which are handy and portable.

[D.A.]

Hi all, my name is Andrew. I've just started listening to the podcasts and I'm looking forward to being a part of an sff community. I'm reading Polaris by Jack McDevitt right now. Thanks for a great podcasts,

Andrew

[Zackary]

Hello folks, I'm Zack and wandered in here after being led by the Sword & Laser podcast!

Looking forward to being part of this place!

[Steff]

Hi! I'm Steff, from Edinburgh - Scotland. Never been much of a big reader but since devouring a couple of fantasy books on my honeymoon and listening to Sword and Laser I'm hooked :)

[Aimee]

Hello everyone, I'm Aimee. My favorite kind of books are horror, mystery, history, and others. I got my love for reading from my Mother and Grandmother.

[James]

Hi I am a long time reader of sci-fi for a few decades. My current favourite is William Gibson. I've been an occasional listener to the podcast for the past couple of years.

[Gregg]

Hi all, I'm Gregg.
I've been a Sword and Laser (along with nano's and fireballs) reader for a couple of decades now. I have no idea who my favorite author is . . . mainly because it changes from year to year (Jim Butcher is still going strong though buy all of his books on release day). I will try to keep up with what people are currently reading (if I haven't already read it before, and honestly the way I buy books, that is a hard thing, I have a 5-7 book a week habit that needs to be fed).

[Brian]

Hi everyone, I'm Brian!
I've started listening to Sword and Laser only recently (Elantris was my first title with the podcast-club). I was extremely happy to hear how much you guys like Tad Williams and Robb Hobb...they have written some of my favorite books! The interview with Tad was stellar.

I'm a hospital pharmacist from Indianapolis, IN. I'm currently reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman!

[Dazerla]

Hello I'm Julia,

I'd call myself an overall scifi/fantasy geek for most of my life. Which expanded into becoming a science geek and gamer later in life.

I live in United States, Maine and am working toward getting into Grad School

[Luca]

Hi, my name is Luca and I just joined after following the podcast for a month or so. Currently on a reading pause, I mostly enjoy hard sf and the occasional realistic fantasy (à la game of thrones).

[Mike]

Hi, I'm Mike, long-time listener, first-time caller. I've been listening to the podcast for almost two years now. I'm primarily a sci-fi reader, with Norton, Stephenson, Stross, Vinge, Banks, and Walter Jon Williams as some of my favorites; however, I enjoy a lot of fantasy, as well, including Hodgell and Rothfuss.

Currently reading Empire State.

[Morgan]

Okay, been on here for a good couple months, but haven't actually posted in here to say hello....

Hello, names Morgan. I love reading in general, but sci-fi and fantasy have always been the base I started on (mostly toward the sci-fi side these days).

I hope it is okay if I don't always want to read the book(s) that you guys are, but I will join in when the right types of books are on.

[Lucas]

Hi I'm Lucas. I'm new to goodreads and love good scifi. My job tends to be stressful and like to read as an "escape," so I like to read books set in different worlds.

[Jason]

Hello everyone, I'm Jason.

Just wanted to poke my head in here and say hello. I've just started listening to the podcast recently in hopes of searching for some good new books and I think I found quite a nice little community. Look forward to reading with you.

[Patrick]

Hello everyone, I'm Patrick and I'm from Sheffield, in the UK. Yes, it's where the Full Monty was set and no, you don't want to see me do that. Trust me.

I confess that I veer more towards Lasers than Swords, but I'm open to reading anything imaginative and transporting, which I suspect is why many of us are here.

Favourite authors are William Gibson (when I want to think a little bit) and Dan Abnett (when things must be exploded, all purty-like) and I'm always looking for somebody new to read.

The best book that I read this year was "Ready Player One" - pure nerd joy of the highest order.

[TJ]

HI, I'm TJ. I just recently started listening to the S&L podcast and I love it. I'm currently reading Neal Asher's Gridlinked.

[John]

Hey, good to be here. You should all check out Necropolis by Michael Dempsey. I haven't heard any mention of it on the podcast.

[[deleted user]]

I'm Megan!

I've only just begun (within the last 4 years or so) to get back into reading. Prior to that I didn't have much of a reading list, and didn't read anything except my mom's old romance novels (gaaaaah) but I always loved to read, but didn't know where to start.

Over the last 4 1/2 years or so I was introduced to this genre through a friend and haven't looked back! I'm excited to catch up on all the amazing authors and fun people who love fantasy/sci fi as much as I do.

[Dan]

I've been reading a LONG time and still find it amazing how many I have yet to read ...

[Jordan]

Yo? I don't think anyone has started a post with that yet. My name is Jordan. I found Sword and Laser through the frogpants podcast network. I listened to the podcast once and was imediately drawn to come and sign up on Goodreads. I'm always looking for new things to read, watch, play and listen too and this is the perfect place to find things to read.

The first fantasy books that I read were the Narnia series back in elementry school. Since those first pages I haven't looked back. Fantasy has been some of the only reading that I do in my spare time, occationally I getting some mystery in there.

The best book I've read recently is Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and right now I am reading some of Brandon Sandersons other work before diving back into the Wheel of Time.

Looking forward to reading and sharing with all of you.

[Matt]

Hi there, I'm Matt.

I've been a voracious reader as long as I can remember, and it's almost always been sci-fi and fantasy.

I think my favorite author of all time is Terry Pratchett. I really enjoy, but can't claim encyclopedic knowledge of the classics from Tolkien and Asimov. Other current favorites are Alastair Reynolds, Branden Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, and I can't forget Lois McMaster Bujold.

I have Reamde on the shelf (although I think I need to get the Kindle version, it's sorta big :), but I'm trying to finish Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson at the moment.

To steal what someone above me said, I'm probably 50/50 sword and laser.

[Marcus]

Hello, my name is Marcus

i am 37 years old, live in Krefeld, Germany. I love Fantasy and Science Fiction from my youth, infected by german "pulp" science fiction series called Perry Rhodan and later began reading stuff like Stephen King, Isaac Asimov, Heinlein and Pratchett. Because i am a lazy german, those fabel creature exist!!!!, i didn´t put in all the books i read in my life time, but right now i am into dark fantasy from Steven Erikson and Georg R.R. Martin. But Jim Butcher and Patrick Rothfuss have also a special place in my heart. I like the sword and laser podcast because it give me a nice list for new books. I will try to participate in discussion but i have to warn you, i very judgemental about a story when it´s lacks logic or the characters act really stupid. But my goal is not to ruin a story for others who have different standards regarding what makes a book entertaining for them. I also have a tendency to write reaaaally long sentences which go on and on and on and on.

[Mick]

Hi! I'm Mick, a mid-twenty-something Clevelander who enjoys videos games and reading. Within the past year, I've started reading a lot more fiction in place of video games (both are good! i just prefer one to the other right now.)

Fave authors include the standards from Rothfuss to Rowling, Gibson to Goodkind (well, for a few books, anyway), and everything in between.

Absolute favorite fiction? Pattern Recognition by William Gibson.

I'm looking forward to jumping into the group's reading and participating in the board's discussions!

As of this writing, I've just finished The Hunger Games and am about to read the final installment of Sullivan's Riyria Revelations.

[Paul]

Hey Everyone,

I've been a fan of scifi/fantasy as long as I can remember. I grew up on Tolkien and Bradbury and Burroughs. These days some of my favorite authors are China Mieville, Neil Gaiman, and Charlie Huston. Some recent books I've read and enjoyed are; "Zoo City" by Laruen Beukes, "Empire State" by Adam Christopher, and "Lowtown" by Daniel Polansky.
I'm stay at home Dad and part-time photographer (mostly birds and nature but some weddings here and there) so I don't have a lot of time to read.
I'm looking forward to participating in some discussions here.
Paul

[[deleted user]]

Hi, I'm Craig, also known as eXcapiZm (pronounced escapism) in gaming circles.
I'm a librarian in Auckland and prodominently read fantasy. I do dip into sci-fi once in a while (philip k dick, frank herbert, any warhammer 40k books etc).

All my interests are pure geek; video games, painting miniatures, magic the gathering.

[Brad]

Hey everyone,
I'm Brad.

Some of my favorite authors include: Daniel Suarez, Malcolm Gladwell, Neil Gaiman, and Philip K. Dick.

It's difficult to find many fiction authors that pull me in to a story and keep me. From Sword & Laser, I hope to gain exposure to new authors that will keep my attention. For the past few months, I've been checking in to see what book(s) the club is reading. They've all looked interesting, but I just haven't had the time to read them with Doctoral research/other books I've been finishing up.

So here I am! :-). I've been a fan of Tom and Veronica since the Buzz Out Loud days.

Time to start on "Rule 34"! Happy lives to everyone!