Introduction and welcome thread! Showing 1,101-1,150 of 4,412

[Zach]

Hi All,

Happy to be here and look forward to the recommendations.

Big fan of epic fantasy.

[Jason]

Hi, everyone,

I'm a new member to Sword and Laser, but I've been a fan of the podcast for over a year now.

In terms of sword and laser I love the Rachel Morgan books by Kim Harrison. I'm still looking for a sci-fi author I can really get in to.

I'm a published author myself with two books under my belt. I'm still struggling with my third.

My first, Harbingers of the Apocalypse, is loosely sci-fi about the end of the world.

My second is, Knight's Blood: The Hope of Humanity, is urban fantasy centered around Greek Mythology in the modern world.

It's a pleasure to be a part of the group and I look forward to being a part of the discussions!

Jason

[Leesa]

Pleased to be here and excited to learn more about what people are reading.

My favorite genres are Arthuriana, sci fi (especially space opera), urban fantasy, and mysteries/thrillers.

My favorite author is Stephen King and I absolutely love the Dark Tower series.

[Ivy]

New member here! Heard about this club via the Vaginal Fantasy Hangout. I just finished Ready Player One.

I'm a fan of fantasy: LOTR and the Wheel of Time and Zombie books: World War Z and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Big fan of audiobooks so it would be good to here about any cool sci-fi books out there worth listening to.

[Tyson]

Hi, I'm Tyson.
I stumbled across this podcast a few weeks ago and have found it a great place to get new book ideas. Some of my favorite books have been those from Brent Weeks, Brandon Mull, GRRM, Glen Cook, Jim Butcher, Patrick Rothfuss, and Terry Pratchett.

[John]

Hi,

Writer and reader here. Been around goodreads for a few years but didn't see this group until today.

Saw John Carter last weekend and have been an ERB fan since zygote-hood. ;)

[Brandi]

Hello, I'm Brandi. I've come to this podcast and group through Victoria and the Vaginal Fantasy Hangout and I am so glad I did. I'm a librarian, gamer, knitter, and fan of sci-fi and fantasy any form. My favorite reads and authors are Harry Potter, Terry Pratchett, GRRM, Dresden Files, and so many more. I am a big lurker, with sporadic additions to forums, so I am looking forward to reading your posts and joining in the discussion!

[Seawood]

Hello! I'm Caroline and I'm from the UK. I've just seen the Geek & Sundry trailer and I can't quite believe I hadn't found this group yet!

Always looking for good recommendations. See you amongst the threads!

[Steven]

Hello, I'm Steven I've been a big fan of Felicia Day's and so heard about Sword and Laser through the trailer for her new youtube channel and after listening to a few of the podcasts figured I'd join in as I used to be a huge reader but seemed to have stopped reading for the most part and so figured joining a group like this might help get me back into reading more.

I tend to read mostly Fantasy when it is comes to fiction although I am interested in finding some good Sci-fi novels. In terms of non-fiction I tend to read mostly psychology and science books if the subject interests me.

[[deleted user]]

Hi everyone! I'm Lily from France!

New around here, but not new to Sci-Fi! Just discovered your podcast and can't wait to see how different or similar it is to our French ones. I actually like the anchors/creators' voices and energy. Should be a lot of fun!

See you soon in threads!
*Vulcan salute*

[Adam]

Hi there! I'm Adam, and is yet another person who found this via the Geek & Sundry trailer. Looking to read a lot more then I have previously. Big fan of John Le Carre, Neal Stephenson, and William Gibson. Definitely read more sci-fi, but every so often a good fantasy novel strikes my fancy. Recommendations always welcome!

[John]

Hello all. My name is John and I've just started to get back into reading heavily last year. I went through a stretch where all I would do was reread books that I read in high school. I've since diversified quite a bit, but I seem to mostly stay in the scifi and fantasy genres.

I'm just starting to listen to Sword and Laser and so far I'm really enjoying it.

[Craig]

Hi, my name is Craig and I am currently reading Empire State and The Lies of Locke Lamora and enjoying both books. I usually try to read or listen to books on my Kindle Fire during lunch.

[Chris]

Hello! My name is Chris and I just heard about you guys at the Geek & Sundry panel yesterday at Wondercon. Since Sci-fi and fantasy are the 2 genres that I read most I was very excited to learn about this group.

I look forward to jumping in with the group on the club's next book!

[Jamie]

Hello, I'm Jamie from England. I've been a fan of the podcast for quite a while. I used to struggle to break away from the same old authors I enjoyed when I was young, but now I'm saved by the picks!

[Maelia]

Hello, my name is Mae and I stumbled across this thread while looking for some good fantasy novel ratings and comparisons on this site. I read lots of fantasy as well as historical fiction and am currently devouring Pat Rothfuss' "Wise Man's Fear" while waiting for the next season of Game of Thrones to start. Looking forward to seeing what gets posted here!

[Alan]

Hi, my name is Alan, from Georgia. I mainly read history and historical fiction, but I am always on the lookout for suggestions in the sci-fi/fantasy genre.

In the fantasy realm, I've been reading a great deal of Guy Gavriel Kay and Stephen Lawhead. For sci-fi, I need to break out of the classics - I seem to keep re-reading Philip K. Dick.

[Robby]

Hello, I am Robby.
I am an Engineer and love to read when I can find the time. I heard about Sword and Laser from Tom on Tech News Today. I downloaded a few of the pod-casts and liked them. I read a little bit of everything from Sci-Fi to Autobiographies. Keep up the good work!!!

[Casey]

Hello everyone.
I'm on the path for good books to read.

[Brendan]

Hello! My name is Brendan. I found out about Sword and Laser at the Geek & Sundry panel at Wondercon. I love finding out about new SciFi and Fantasy books so this seemed like the place to go. My favorite authors are Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, Tolkien, Neil Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Corey Doctorow and many others. The last SciFi book I read was Corey Doctorow's The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow just a couple weeks ago and the last fantasy I read was Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, also a couple weeks ago.

[Jonathan]

Hi, I'm Jonathan.
I mainly read fantasy novels, but have dabbled in sci/fi as well, so thought this would be a good group to join/follow. I have far too many favorite authors, and am far too indecisive, to even begin listing them all. I'm currently reading through The Wheel of Time again.

[Paul]

Hi, I'm Paul. I am in the middle of reading the First Law trilogy (literally in the middle...). I plan on finishing that series and then following along with the books here.

[Courtany]

Greetings, I'm Courtany. I have been listening to the podcast for awhile but have neglected to actually join the group, but I thought I would finally just jump in and do it! So...here I am. I think i'm going to like it here.

[Michael]

I'm Mike, been reading SF&F since my parents let me get a membership in the Science Fiction Book Club back in the early 80s. That and a friend of my uncle's once secretly slipped me a copy of "The Beast That Shouted Love At The Heart of the World" by Harlan Ellison which is my earliest memory of a secret that I kept from my parents. (Who would have NEVER approved of Harlan's work.)

I'll read pretty much anything released by Terry Pratchett at this point, though I will maintain that Nation (a non-Discworld book) is by far his best work to date. I read but frankly was not a big fan of Perdido Street Station, but gave Mieville another chance with The City & The City which I thoroughly loved. Other books/series I've been latched onto of late include Chris Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay, Joe Abercrombie's First Law books, Scott Lynch's Locke Lamora books (so happy to see it selected here), Peter Brett's Painted/Warded Man, and I must confess I have most recently become mildly obsessed with Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate.

[J.R.]

Hey all,

I'm Josh -finally got my butt around to checking out this awesome group. I'm a YA fantasy author. I'm glad I can be a part of the group!

[Scott]

Hey there--

I'm Scott Lynch, author of -The Lies of Locke Lamora,- which some of you are reading at the moment. I listened to a few S&L podcasts last year, and I returned recently seeking stuff to keep me sane while weightlifting and walking. I am brand-new to Goodreads; I registered my account just before posting here.

Cheers,

SL
*****
scott@scottlynch.us
http://scottlynch.us

[Anne]

Hello there, Scott, glad you found your way here. We're still wrapping up "The Lies of Locke Lamora", so you might want to check out the discussion forums and join the discussion.

[Micha]

Hi, I'm Micha. I saw "Sword & Laser" at the "Geek & Sundry" panel at WonderCon and got VERY excited! What a fabulous group. I love living in the future, where I can have discussions and debates about things I love with people all over the world. Can't wait to jump in with "The Magicians."

I'm a sucker for Gaiman, Tolkien, Lewis, Card & Scalzi.

[Tyler]

Tyler here. I'm an assistant librarian at one of our public libraries here in San Antonio, TX. I have a sci-fi book club there called Escape the Earth! I very much enjoy China Mieville, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Alastair Reynolds, Harlan Ellison and Ted Chiang.

[b]

howdy :) i'm brooke, and i've been enjoying the podcasts for a couple months now, having been directed here from the vaginal fantasy group.

i'm a fairly recent convert to the happy/comic side of SF&F (after years of rolling around in the darker stuff like a dog in something smelly) and am loving all the great recs from this group.

excited to see what fun shenanigans y'all have in store for the upcoming geek & sundry show! :D

[Yento]

Hello!

I just found your podcast through Geek and Sundry, or rather through The Guild. I'm a big fantasy or "Sword" fan but I enjoy good SF too. I was instantly hooked when I saw that the book you are reading right now is The Lies of Locke Lamora. I finished Red Seas Under Red Skies just a day ago and TLOLL about 2 weeks ago so I'm itching to read through the discussions on it.

[G.]

Hi all,

I'm a Goodreads author (G. Willow Wilson), writer and reader of comic books, and practitioner of laziness. I read nothing but fantasy growing up (some sci fi too), and was particularly obsessed with Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books. These days I'm getting back into the genre and am looking for good recommendations. Song of Ice and Fire is the most recently written series I've read...I loved Game of Thrones but had trouble getting into the subsequent books.

[Brandon]

Hey, gang, I'm Brandon. I love everything sci-fi fantasy, I game, I read, I am obsessed with social networking. I'm an English major grad who is working towards a master's in library science, or as I like to call it, my Watcher degree. I just kinda stumbled across Sword and Laser this afternoon, and you've made my workday fly by. Thanks for the awesome literary entertainment.

[Carleen]

Hey all.

I found your podcast through the vaginal fantasy group and am excited to have even more recommendations on books to read and discuss. I read the lies of Locke Lamora with you guys, really enjoyed it, can't wait to read Red Seas Under Red Skies. I'm looking forward to reading/hearing the discussion on The Magician, just read it a couple months ago. I'm excited for the geek & sundry show too.

[Leland]

Hey there,
I'm Leslie in Seattle. Long time fan of epic fantasy books, science fiction TV & films, video games, comics, board games etc etc on and on and on.

I stumbled across the podcast and when they mentioned 'Goodreads group' my little ears went "OH?!" and within a few keystrokes I was a newly minted member of The Sword and Laser goodreads book club. Now I'm also looking forward to the 'Geeks & Sundry' premieres on YouTube. What fun!

[Amber]

Hi All! I'm glad Geek and Sundry pointed me toward this group. I read all the time and it's primarily sci-fi and fantasy, so I'm looking forward to hearing about great new books to read.

Thanks for having me!

[Kelly]

Hey everyone!

I am a recent Goodreads member, and I'm also in the Vaginal Fantasy book club here. I listen to many other Frogpants shows, and I've finally decided to give in, and start another book club! I don't know how I'll ever have the time, but I can't wait to expand my reading repertoire!

[Hagar]

Hi everyone. I'm Hagar. I've always been an avid reader, and had the chance to grow up in a house with lots of books. My parents are very eclectic in their tastes, and I inherited my varied interests from them. From Voltaire to Simenon, going by Homer and Vian, I read everything I could find. But I've always had a soft spot for sci-fi, especially Asimov (a favorite of my mother's). I also like Fantasy, which I discovered with "The hobbit". Since I'm francophone (from Quebec), I first read my classics in translation, but soon learned English (using "Choose your own Adventure" books). Even though there's plenty of excellent French sci-fi (and not just Jules Verne ;), I mostly read English books these days, although that changed back a bit recently because I read aloud to my kids in French. I discovered Sword and Lasers through the beguiling voice of Ms Belmont when she was a guest on Boing Boing's Gweek podcast.

[Vicki]

Hello, I'm Vicki. I'm 25 and live in England.

I've never really been much of a reader but I recently bought myself a Kindle and now I can't stop. I've always loved my sci fi films and tv shows but never extending the love to writing, hopefully you guys can help!

I've just finished reading A Brief History of Time because I love the physics despite the fact that I want to be an epidemiologist, and now I'm reading The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.

When not reading I'm usually gaming, watching re-runs on Challenge tv or trying to see something through my new telescope. I'm currently rubbish at the latter!

[Terry]

Hey all,

Terry aka D3 here. I live around Toronto Canada. I've been a lifelong reader of fantasy and sci-fi starting with the master JRRT and going from there.

Looking forward to some good reads.

[[deleted user]]

Hi everyone

Been on goodreads for a couple of years and I'm always on the lookout for interesting groups. I read all types of books except romance. My favorite would be the fantasy genre though.
Currently I'm reading the Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. (Book 2 in the Mistborn Trilogy)

[Dan]

Hi everyone.

I'm Dan. These days I mostly read crime books but I'm at the beginning of my yearly sf/fantasy binge. I'm currently reading and enjoying The Bookman. Also, I'm a huge copycat and do everything Dulac3 does.

[Terry]

Dan wrote: "Also, I'm a huge copycat and do everything Dulac3 does."

Don't worry Dan, that merely shows your excessive good taste.

[Josh]

Hey all,

I'm Josh. I've been a film geek for decades, but I read a ton as a kid. Last year was the first time I put a concerted effort into reading more and I've come to enjoy it again. I've only listened to the podcast for about a month and a half now, but science fiction is absolutely my genre, though I am digging more into fantasy as time goes on.

Currently, I'm re-reading "Fahrenheit 451" for the first time since high school, and loving it much more than I did then. My favorites list seems like it would be pretty standard with those around here, but I'll still say a few. I tend to stick with Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (not sci-fi or fantasy, but he's been a favorite since I was a kid).

As for what I'm looking to find here is some discussion on the books in these genres, and to find some that I haven't read or heard of before. It's always worth finding something good and new to read. I can't wait to start on "The Magicians" here in a few weeks, mostly because I've not read it before.

[Tarot]

Hi there! I'm Gally, 24, currently living in South Korea.

I found this comm via Felicia Day's blog, which had a link to Geek & Sundry, and that had a link to Sword and Laser. Finally, a place to geek out about books! I'm looking forward to meeting nice people here, so feel free to chat with me.

My favorite reads include Demian and other books by Hermann Hesse, His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larrson, The Passage by Justin Cronin, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, Battle Angel Alita original series by Yukito Kishiro, Claymore series by Norihiro Yagi, and the NANA series by Ai Yazawa.

My other favorite things to do when I’m procrastinating on my first novel is play video/card/board/tabletop games, watch movies, travel the world, ride sport motorcycles, get piercings/tattoos, go to Goth/Cyberpunk/Steampunk events, go Geocaching, cook/eat, and work out.

I update my blog regularly with travel photos of Korea and other things, so if you don't know much about this little exotic country, feel free to take a look.

http://lestismitethee.wordpress.com/

-- Gally

[Michael C.]

Hello,

I'm Mike (@ViNull on twitter).

In my youth I was a voracious reader of both Sword and Laser. Isaac Asimov, Piers Anthony, Robert Margroff, Robert Jordan, Larry Niven, J. E. Pournelle, Frank Herbert, Robert Asprin, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Stephen King (not S&L but I read about 20 of his books).

In my late 20s and early 30s I stopped reading fiction and switch to non-fiction. Now in my mid 30s (36 next week), I've picked up a few fiction books again, thanks to the S&L podcast.

I found the show after enjoying the Vaginal Fantasies podcast. No, I don't read any of them, but this podcast has to be one of the most entertaining shows on the web. After listening to a few shows, I read a few Kurt Vonnegut books (Slaughterhouse-Five, Mother Night, Cat's Cradle) and then Ender's Game - filling in some gaps in my coverage of the classics.

So I'm ready to dive back into fiction, though I still have non-fiction in my queue. I just finished Neil Tyson's Space Chronicles, which I highly enjoyed and may be of interest to some Laser fans. I'm new to GoodReads, so it may take me a while before I start posting regularly.

[Rachel]

Hi everyone!

I've been listening to the podcast for quite some time and have been reading the books when I have the time, but this is my first time in the Sword and Laser discussion group (after getting a new goodreads login, since it had been so long since I was last on here - I had forgotten everything related to my previous account! I really wish I would've joined this group the first time I was on here!).

I hope to take a more active part in these boards and look forward to getting to know all of you.

Take care!
Rachel (@RachelLaRee)

[Phil]

Hey everyone! I've been listening to the podcast for a while, and thought it was high time I get in here and introduce myself!

I've always been a fan of sci-fi and fantasy, but I haven't been reading as much as I'd like lately, mostly because I was never sure what to pick up. I've really benefited from getting some direction from the book club, and I've really enjoyed all the picks so far!

Among my favorites are Frank Herbert, Heinlein, Tolkien, Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin...oof, I could go on, but I won't. Looking forward to getting involved in the forums!

-Phil

[Interstella5555]

Hi folks

Dont know how or when I got here but I did, so I started with podcast 93 and I have to say I am very impressed with what I heard. Looking forward to listing to more and getting invloved with the forum.

My name is Cameron McCrorie, Im from the west of Scotland and I love Science Fiction & Fantasy (nuff said) If you want to give me a follow on twitter @mccroriebooks

live long and prosper and may the force be with you!!

[Ryan]

Hello, I'm Ryan,

I sometimes wonder if I belong in this group, because I'm pretty indiscriminate in terms of genres. I probably read more mysteries (and I wish I could find a podcast like S & L for that too) than SF & Fantasy, but I love getting recommendations. My "reading less SF & fantasy" probably means I only read one book in either genre in a given month.

I know Wheel of Time isn't the greatest fantasy series in the world, but it has a special place for me. It was recommended to me when I was a freshman in high school (a couple decades ago), and it was the first fantasy series I really got into (other than C.S. Lewis as a kid, which I still love, and The Hobbit - which I liked but needed another decade to get around to Lord of the Rings).

I'm a podcast addict with about 1000 episodes of various podcasts catch-up on, but S & L is on my weekly (listen to right away) list since discovering it a couple months ago.

In terms of career, etc. I'm trying to write a dissertation and finish a PhD. My area is primarily in the history and theology of Christian spirituality. I mostly study medieval monks, and my dissertation is on Bonaventure (13th C. Franciscan).

I'm doing the adjunct professor shuffle right now (3 colleges, full-time work for part-time pay), teaching a variety of courses in religion and philosophy. My favorite at the moment is a survey of the history of Christian spirituality (what did people believe and practice from 1st Century to now). My most unique course is one I created on reading as a religious practice, which covers everything from historical practices (how did monks read 1000 years ago) to inter-religious discussion(reading in Islam as different than reading in Buddhism, etc) to topics like education, changing technologies of reading, and fiction as they interact with religious ideas.

I'm reading Bitter Seeds right now, just finished Lies of Locke Lamora a week or two ago, and I'm thinking of starting Hyperion on audio.