Introduction and welcome thread! Showing 1,501-1,550 of 4,412

[Matt]

Yes Hello,
Im Matt

I used to be a hardcore book nut but fell off somewhere between mid high school till now (almost done with college) probably because I outgrew young adult literature and had no idea where to start or even find decent "adult" novels.

Im a big "old school" laser fan, Heinlein, Clark, Welles.
I also enjoy some fantasy

[Jim]

Hi

My name's Jim, and I discovered this place after watching the initial Sword and Laser youtube show. I didn't really become a big time reader until after high school, but that kind of trailed off after I started working for a few years.

Now I'm slowly getting back into reading book on a semi regular basis. I hoping I can get some ideas on what I might find interesting.

And if I get the terminology right I believe I'm more of a "laser" since I generally go for the sci-fi

[Rik]

Hello, I'm Rik.

I discovered Sword and Laser through the Geek and Sundry channel on youtube. Working my way through the ten available podcasts on Itunes right now.

I probably more sword than laser although my favorite book of all time is a laser, Hyperion by Dan Simmons. My current favorite authors are Brandon Sanderson, Dan Simmons (when he sticks to sci fi or horror), and a non sword / laser Harlan Coben (he is the epitome of a page turner author)

[Eanna]

Hello all,

My name's Éanna and I love sword and laser.
Haven't read alot of books lately and I'm cureently finishing off book 4 in the Wheel of Time series.

[Jack]

I'm Jack,I mostly read Sc-Fi and Fantasy but I won't pass up a good rock star biography either. I found out about Sword and Laser on the Geek and Sundry channel on YouTube.

[Drew]

Yo! My name is Drew! Saw Veronica on Up at Noon and I like to read, so it is only natural that I join this group. I do not have a preference between sword/laser, I really just enjoy a good book. Look forward to keeping up with the conversations.

[Shedrick]

My name is Shedrick. I caught S&L on the Geek & Sundry channel and thought it was great and as I was already on Goodreads decided to join the club. I read more fantasy than sci-fi, generally, but like both.

I'm a librarian, wannabe-writer, and reviewer. I write book reviews for my blog (http://serialdistractions.com) and for Shroud Magazine Book Reviews (http://shroudmagazinebookreviews.blog...).

[Adam]

Hi all, My name is Adam. I have been listening to the S&L podcast for a little over a year now, and for some reason I never joined the group. Well that oversight has now been seen to. I'm defiantly a sword kinda guy and hope to enjoy reading books on the list with the rest of you all.

[JD Booker]

Que pasa, y'all?
Started reading when Harry Truman was president, and I'm still using the same two eyeballs. When the peepers need a rest I break out the earbuds and have someone read me a story.

The last group I joined voluntarily was the Boy Scouts (or maybe it was Little League...I can't be certain), so guess it's time to unlimber whatever muscle groups we use for participation and membership and join the discussion.

Looking forward to the discourse and the snacks...we get snacks, right?
JDB

[Jason]

Hi there. My name's Jason. I'm currently catching up on the podcast (listening to the A Dance with Dragons wrap-up right now), and I have one burning question. Tom, in what order did you read the Dark Tower and tie-in books? I've read them all before, but I'd like to check them out from this perspective. Thanks, and keep up the good work!

[Hugo]

Hello everyone! I'm Hugo. I discovered The Sword and Laser through Geek and Sundry. I'm more of a Laser, but I like both. My favorite authors are Neil Gaiman, Kathy Reichs, Bernard Werber and Patrick Sénécal. I know they don't write sci-fi, but hey, that's what I like.

I joined because I want to read more sci-fi and fantasy books and talk about them. Since I'm pretty much the only one I know that reads more than 2 books per year (my friends mostly read mangas), I think it would be a good place to do just that.

[AlohaMyPikachu]

Hi everyone,

I found S&L by cruising goodreads. I've been reading a lot of fantasy lately and wanted to find other like-minded readers to talk about it with. Most of my RL friends either read things that are not to my taste or they dont' read at all.

I'm also an aspiring writer. I think I'd really like to start creating fantasy stories, but not having read a lot of fantasy up to now, I'm trying ot catch up. I'm currently reading a number of fantasy novels, all recommended by goodreads. One trilogy in there is the LOTR books, as I've never read them or seen the movies. Gasp, I know.

Anyway, look forward to this group. :)

[Matheus]

Hi, my name is Matheus and I'm from Brazil. I’m used to read a lot in English, but write not that much, so forgive me for my occasional typos. Or not that occasional. Anyways, I found the Sword and Laser trough IGN, when Veronica was in Up At Noon. I love the idea of a book club/podcast/youtube show about sci fi and fantasy, which are my favorites genres. I’m current reading the Dark Tower Series and The Fist Law trilogy.

[Erin]

Hey, all, nice to meet you! I'm Erin, and I'm a huge bibliophile. More on the fantasy than sci-fi side, but I get around. Heh.

Anyway, I look forward to geeking out about book with you guys! I'm a professional book nerd, so use your google-fu on me if you really want to know more.

[Dannah]

Hello! I'm Dannah. I have loved reading since I can remember. I've even authored several books that are on my shelf... in a binder... some on lined notebook paper... Yeah, one day, right? Some of my favorite authors are Robin Hobb, Robert Jordan, Victoria Laurie and Jim Butcher.

I found Sword and Laser by joining the Geek and Sundry channel. On a whim while waiting for my Diablo III beta to finish downloading, I watched the episode. I am glad I did! Most of my books currently come in the form of the free Amazon books, but I can tell already that the new purchased books will come from the Sword and Laser list. Thanks for this site!

[Lasse]

Hello, I'm Lasse. I just discovered the Podcast this year and I love the new show on youtube. I'm also relatively new to Goodreads, so I'm excited to get into discussions about the books you are reading and maybe get new recommendations.
I'm a big sc-fi fan, especially of authors like Asimov, Clarke, Dick and Lem (yes Stanislav Lem ;-) ) but I also like the occasional fantasy book. e.g. right now I'm reading the song of ice and fire novels.
greetings from Germany

[Maddie]

Hi Everyone, I'm Maddie. I will be starting college in the fall of 2012 and am so excited! Some of my favorite authors include John Green, Cassandra Clare, Jane Austen, and Suzanne Collins. I joined this because I saw them on Geek and Sundry and immediately fell in love with the idea!

[John]

Hi I'm John. My favorite author would most likely be John Connolly.
I tend to stick to fantasy and supernatural mysteries.

[Colin]

Hello, S & L, I'm Colin!

I've been listening to the podcast for about six months. I figured I'd love it since I've been a big fan of Veronica for a long time and all the shows on the Frogpants Network are great.

I honesty didn't get into sci-fi and fantasy until after college about six years ago, but I've been obsessed ever since. My favourite authors include William Gibson, Gene Wolfe, Albert Camus, and George R.R. Martin.

Had a lot of fun with the show thus far, looking forward to many more great episodes and participating more in the book club!

[Rivqa]

I'm Rivqa and am new to S & L, via Geek and Sundry. I'm yet to check out the podcast but I will eventually, and I enjoyed the Youtube show.

Over the years I have dipped in and out of reading sci-fi and fantasy, sometimes leaning more towards one or the other and sometimes reading other genres. I love CJ Cherryh and Jacqueline Carey and still read a lot of YA fiction despite no longer being young (JK Rowling, Tamora Pierce are a couple of favourites).

[Chantal]

Hi, I'm Chantal and I'm a graphic designer from Canada. I first discovered Sword and Laser when I found out Veronica wouldn't be doing Qore magazine for PS3 anymore. This book club was a delightful surprise and I'm excited it has made its way to YouTube.

I love to read, though, and my all-time favourite series is The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson—currently on my 4th re-read, getting ready for the final book. I'm also branching out a bit and will be trying to follow the S+L books this summer.

Obviously I'm more of a 'sword,' but I'm interested in checking out more 'laser' books through the recommendations of this book club.

[Will]

Hey, I'm Wil and I'm a university student in Australia. I discovered Sword and Laser through FrogPants, as I'm a huge Scott Johnson fan, and I also know Tom and Veronica through various other podcast sources.

Obviously I love reading, and focus a lot on fantasy and sci-fi but also read more contemporary stuff. I'm looking forward to participating in the Book of the Month - it'll be nice to have some motivation, as sometimes I just stall halfway through a book and thus stop reading entirely. (I can't just 'lem' it! Hope I'm spelling that right.)

Favorite authors? I'm not sure about that, but one of my favorite pieces of fantasy writing has been the Mistborn: The Final Empire series, and I recommend that to anyone who'll listen. As for sci-fi, Iain M. Banks' Look to Windward is one of my favorites, but pinning down a 'favorite' book is extremely difficult for me.

Hope that wasn't too verbose.

[Mat]

Hey, my name's Mat and i'm an IT Administrator from Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

I am a "casual" gamer and a Fantasy and Sci-Fi tv/movie fan. I would say I am definitely in the sword camp when it comes to reading though. My favorite author is Jim Butcher and his Dresden Files series. Can't wait for the thirteenth book later this year.

I am currently listening to most of the old Sword and Laser podcasts and am excited about the new show on Geek and Sundry.

[Michael]

Hello all. I'm Mike, and I'd heard of Sword & Laser, but joined as I was anticipating the first G&S show. I travel a lot for work (I'm a book publisher's representative, mostly non-fic but I also sell Night Shade Books, Prime Books, and ChiZine Publications), so I'm looking forward to going through the podcast backlog.

In the last few years, I've leaned more toward sword than laser, but I read both. More of my critical/academic background deals with SF, especially dystopian, post-apocalyptic, and sociological SF.

I'm also a writer, with my debut novel Geekomancy coming this summer.

In my quickly-diminishing free time, I study renaissance martial arts and Argentine Tango.

[Sarah]

Hello:) I'm Sarah and I got hooked onto Fantasy about six years ago. I've just started to pick up Sci-Fi books and am loving them too! I am also a newbie here at Sword and Laser:) I have so many favorite authors, here are a few I really enjoy: Patrick Rothfuss, Susanna Clarke, Paolo Bacigalupi and Jonathan Stroud.

[Veronica, Supreme Sword]

Rik wrote: "Hello, I'm Rik.

I discovered Sword and Laser through the Geek and Sundry channel on youtube. Working my way through the ten available podcasts on Itunes right now.

I probably more sword tha..."

Here's where you can find all the podcasts! MP3's are linked at the bottom of each post:

http://www.swordandlaser.com/home/cat...

[Dale]

Well hello everyone I'm Dale.
I mainly read fantasy but I'm currently looking for a good post apocalyptic novel.

[Jonathan Cate]

Dale, action or story driven PA?

[Thom]

Hi, my name is Thom. I have been putting off joining since I started listening to Sword and Laser last year. Finally decided to start interacting with the group rather than listening in.

I am gonna need some time to get the books I own/have read straight. Will probably forget a lot, but I assure you it's more than the one that is currently listed in my profile.

Look forward to meeting everyone and finding some good books in the process.

[Dale]

Thanks for responding Jonathan.
I'm looking for something along the lines of the Mad Max movies.

Jonathan wrote: "Dale, action or story driven PA?"

Dale wrote: "Well hello everyone I'm Dale.
I mainly read fantasy but I'm currently looking for a good post apocalyptic novel."

[Mark]

Hi

Heard you guys being interviewed on the SF signal podcast, liked what I heard; decided to check it out.

So I guess I'm more of the "laser" side of the sword and laser spectrum... favorites include Arthur C Clarke, Ben Bova, and Stephen Baxter.

Cheers!

[Becky]

Veronica wrote: "Rik wrote: "Hello, I'm Rik.

I discovered Sword and Laser through the Geek and Sundry channel on youtube. Working my way through the ten available podcasts on Itunes right now.

I probably mo..."

Thanks so much for posting this! I was wondering the same thing :)

[Dan]

Hello, I am Dan.

Big thanks to Greg Miller for having Veronica on Up at Noon so I could find out about the YouTube channel and subsequently the podcast and Goodreads site!

What a great and intelligent community this is! I look forward to the discussions I will be having here. I hope to get to know the community and the great people that make up it.

I love reading fiction, especially science fiction and fantasy. I recently finished The Electric Church by Jeff Somers, which was pretty good overall. Beyond!

[Ryan]

Hi, I'm Ryan

I'm glad Dan reminded me to watch Up at Noon. At any rate, I'd heard about The Sword and Laser quite some time ago, but just was in a lull in my reading, so the addition of a YouTube show really was the "push" I needed.

I'm actually going to try and juggle not one, but 2 reading groups (there's a bit of overlap, actually, but I'm sure it's not impossible), and something I've never done, multiple books at once being worked on.

I like both the sword and laser, portray a Jedi in choreographed lightsaber battles, and am currently trying to keep up with my Draw Something queue. Huzzah!

[George]

Hey, I'm George.
Love reading fantasy/sci-fi and anything good. I love playing video games (staticx2552 on xbl and psn) and riding around Miami on my fixie.

Currently getting through A Song of Fire and Ice series. Eventually want to read the Ender's game series and Tales of the Otori books.

[Jonathan Cate]

Dale wrote: "Thanks for responding Jonathan.
I'm looking for something along the lines of the Mad Max movies.

Jonathan wrote: "Dale, action or story driven PA?"

Dale wrote: "Well hello everyone I'm Dale.
I ma...", lots of different authors. Maybe you'll find a new auther you like.


Try
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse

[Jonathan Cate]

Jonathan wrote: "Dale wrote: "Thanks for responding Jonathan.
I'm looking for something along the lines of the Mad Max movies.

Jonathan wrote: "Dale, action or story driven PA?"

Dale wrote: "Well hello everyone I..."

Lots of different authors and you might find a new one you like.

[Beth]

Hi, I'm Beth.
Texan, college student, book addict.
I read mostly sci-fi and fantasy, so when I stumbled upon this group on GR, I thought "My people!" and promptly joined.
Some of my favorite authors are Tolkien, Frank Herbert, C.S. Lewis (His space trilogy is awesome!), Robert Heinlein, Charlesde Lint, R.A. Salvatore, and so many more...

See ya'll 'round the discussion boards!

[John]

Hey guys, I am John and I love fantasy and science fiction. I have been struggling to find others who enjoy this type of books and after having searched for the longest time i have finally happy to have found a place where i can make all of my nerdy references and actually have people understand.

Happy to be here everybody.

[Tren]

Greetings, all! I'm Trendane. SF Bay area guy who likes fantasy and sci-fi novels of all kinds. Among my most favorite authors are Kyell Gold, Alan Dean Foster, and Steve Vance.

[Neal_with_an_a]

Hi all! I'm Neal and have been reading in and out of genre for 40+ years now. Some all time favorite writers would be Gene Wolfe, Raymond Chandler, Jack Vance, Fritz Leiber, Vernor Vinge, Terry Pratchett, George MacDonald Fraser, and Patrick O'Brian. I'm really looking forward to finding new books and writers and maybe turning some younger folks onto great books from way back.

Should be fun . . .

[Bonnie]

Hi, I'm Bonnie Burton!

I'm an author of mainly YA and children's non-fiction & sci-fi books like "The Star Wars Craft Book," "You Can Draw Star Wars" and "Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Planets in Peril," to name a few.
http://www.goodreads.com/Bonniegrrl

I also am one of the hosts of the Sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal romance book club "Vaginal Fantasy Hangout" with Veronica Belmont, Felicia Day and Kiala Kazebee -- which you can read more about here:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/6...

I worked at Lucasfilm for 9 years as a Senior Editor and Social Media Strategist for StarWars.com.

I mostly read sci-fi romances, horror and humor fiction.
"Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is one of my favorite books.

You can find out more about me on my site:
http://www.grrl.com

and on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/bonniegrrl

[Deborah]

Hi,
I'm Deborah, reading fantasy (and some sci fi) for longer than I'm willing to admit. Glad to have found this group via Geek & Sundry.

[Ella]

Hi everyone!
I found this group by searching for fantasy threads where I can meet and greet with other fans of the genre.

I've read fantasy since childhood, and occasionally I cross over into sci-fi. I read Tolkein at age 12 and graduated to Eddings and Feist (Maybe that should have been the other way around, but hey...)

I have a huge dead tree book library, including all of the above-mentioned and a complete collection of Anne McCaffrey and Sheri S. Tepper. Add to that the many less prolific fantasy writers and you get some idea...

I also love historical fiction, especially ancient cultures and have an equally large collection of those.

I write fantasy with a hidden sci-fi twist. I am currently working on my first historical novel.

[Joe]

Hello everyone! My name is Joe, and I'm a sci-fi junkie. my parents showed me Star Wars as a small child and I never looked back. While most of my exposure to the genre experience comes from movies, TV and games, I've been trying to broaden my literary sci-fi library recently.

I discovered Sword and Laser through the Geek&Sundry website, and I love it! Can't wait to see more videos, and I'll have to add the audio show to my list of podcasts as well.

just a few sci-fi facts about me:
Favorite sci-fi movie: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Favorite sci-fi TV show: Battlestar Galactica
Favorite sci-fi video game: Starcraft
Last sci-fi book read: Ender's Game

Anyways, I'm excited to start the next book for the book club. I've had Hyperion on my Amazon wishlist for a while now, and I'm excited to buy it.

Sorry I prattled on a bit! :)

[Danny]

Hi I'm Danny .

I realised recently that I don't read any new books that aren't work related (Im child psychiatric nurse) and so hunted down this book club for new ideas. I love both scifi and fantasy and grow up with the works of Tolkien and Douglas Adams. My favourite au rather is Terry Pratchett.

Cheers

[Ágúst]

Hi, I'm Ágúst, a university student from Iceland.

I've been reading since I can remember, really, and reading fantasy and sci-fi almost that long. I (like a few others here, apparently) discovered this group through Geek & Sundry, and thought I'd give it a look.

My favorite fantasy book is Tigana, by Guy G. Kay. As for sci-fi... I think I'd have to go with Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card.

Anyway, it's nice to meet you all and I'm looking forward to getting started on Hyperion.

[Ryan]

Hi, my name is Ryan and I've been an avid sci-fi and fantasy reader for as long as I can remember. I can't seem to find as much time to read like I used to, but I still enjoy a good book. I'm currently reading the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams.

I'm Air Force and have been for almost 15 years. I can't say I enjoy my job, but at least I can work toward a different career thanks to the tuition assistance program.

I'm currently working on my own little fantasy world. I don't know if it will ever see print, but I am getting some hard lessons in world creation by using it for a D&D campaign. :-)

[Israel]

Hi! My name is Israel but you can call me Izzy. I'm a huge fan of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Crime Novels and thrillers. I'm currently reading (and I should finish any time soon) The Neuromancer and the Chronological Man: A Monster in the Mist.

[Kara]

Hello, my name is Kara. I'm an avid reader, work in a used bookstore and just can't get enough good books. I love the horror/thriller genre and joined this book club to try some new authors. I'm reading Jim Butcher, love Mistborn and learning that I really like fantasy books.
I heard about Sword and Laser through Falicia Day starting Geek and Sundry. I'm a big gamer so of course I love The Guild.
Anyway, I'm excited about this group and hope to find even more great books to enjoy.
By the way, Veronica your awesome! Like Falicia it's nice knowing there are strong, beautiful and geeky women out there. It makes me feel a little more normal. ;)