Introduction and welcome thread! Showing 1,801-1,850 of 4,412

[Rasnac]

Hello,everyone. I am an art historian from the old world, an amateur collector and a comic book enthusiast who occasionaly writes art-related articles and critics for art magazines. Like most new additions(I suspect), I am also a new convert from the S&L youtube show. H.P. Lovecraft, Alan Moore and Frank Herbert are three of my most favourite writers. I've been a fan of science fiction and fantasy genres since I was a little kid. Even though I find limitless possibilites of science fiction intriguing,I think I'm more sword than laser because history, whether it be real or fantastical, simply fascinates me. English is not my first language so I apologize in advance for my future mistakes in writing and spelling.

[John David]

hello, book people. i'm John David (david is my middle name). i started reading extracurricularly when i was in sixth grade, with michael crichton. i was elated when some of his older books finally came out (in ebook) and i was able to start reading them again for the first time in so freaking long.

the vast majority of what i read has been scifi and fantasy, as well as the not infrequent foray into physics and technology, but i've recently broken into other genres - like just within the last couple of years. incidentally, i just saw vaginal fantasy # 1 on youtube and it may have convinced me to try some (if you know what i mean). i'll have to check out felicia's vaginal bookshelves for recommendations.

i originally joined only because felicia endorsed it, but relationships are about compromise. i suppose i can read the scheduled book even if i don't feel interested, or, perhaps more precisely, even if i feel more interested in something else.

i used to keep two or three books going on at once, but, nowadays, if i'm more excited about one i tend to read it. gone are the days when it's more convenient to have one book by the bed, one in my backpack, one at my desk at work, et cetera; now they're all together in my phone! which, as we all here know, kind of takes some of the fun out of it, but, oh well, it is more than made up for.

anyway, so, um... i'm not exactly what you might call a hard core reader, although i have been known to read a book about every 36 hours or so for weeks at a time before realizing how much i've spent and freak out. so maybe you wouldn't call me a hard core reader, but i would. i don't think that reading only what i find on the bestseller list makes me a noob. it's too hard to find something good in the limited time i have to read. hopefully, this book club will help in that regard.

i don't like to name favorite authors - i'd rather stick to the books, but, because i like every single one of their books, there are a few exceptions that i feel comfortable naming: leonard mlodinow, richard feynman, michael crichton, john c. wright, frank herbert, jim butcher, brent weeks, and orson scott card pop instantly into my head. well, that's not true - those guys never leave my head. i can't get rid of them. i would ask them to leave, but i would get lonely. besides, who would feed the bird while they're gone.

viva la story.

[Steven]

Steve here, I have been lurking since the Magician was introduced, but decided to start participating :)

i am a fan of both SciFi and Fantasy, but have recently started reading more alternate history and historical fiction books.

Current favorite authors in the genre would be:
Orson Scott Carde, Isaac Asimov, John G Hemry / Jack Campbell.
Joe Abercrombie, Barndon Sanderson, JRR Tolkien, and Terry Goodkind.

My biggest pet-peeve is the book that doesn't have an ending. It seems the tradition in these two genres not only to have never-ending series, but to make sure no book has a satisfactory ending. All of the authors on my favorite list do it (except Abercrombie so far) and it is probably why I am looking at other genres now (you know, so I can get a book that ends).

[John David]

Steven wrote: "……(you know, so I can get a book that ends)."

why would you ever want a book to end??? my biggest frustration with reading is that books eventually end!

viva la story!

[Nathan]

I'm Nate. I have been lurking for a while and finally stepped up to the plate.

My favorites include HP Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Joe Abercrombie, R. Scott Bakker, Scott Lynch, Brent Weeks, . . . I am sure more will come to me soon :)

[Gareth]

Good evening all, my name is Gareth and I live out in the country near Exeter in the UK I'm 45 and a prolific reader from an early age courtesy of my parents and flash cards. That and my elder brothers love of sci-fi and fantasy. I do however stray into American crime fiction of Crais,Coben and Connelly. I feel very fortunate to find goodreads not only for the opportunity to store my reading record but mostly for its recommendations.
The only thing which I feel is missing much like Amazon is the ability to filter those recommendations into publishing dates.
I hope in time to be a good contributor but I feel my ability to take things in is far better than my output

[Gareth]

My output ability

[Yamil]

Hello all,
I'm Yamil. Just ran into the youtube show yesterday, I'm watching the old episodes to catch up. In terms of my favorites, I like the Foundation series, Dark Tower series, and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I'm constantly looking for things to read. I have hundreds of e-books and "dead tree editons". I even filled up a drawer with old 80s Fantasy and Science Fiction magazines and Asimov's sci-fi magazines that I picked up from used book stores. I look forward to the next episodes!
Cheers!

[AC]

Hi, I'm Ace!
I always loved sci-fi and fantasy storys. Up to last year, I only enjoyed sci-fi on the screen, but I started to catch up with the sci-fi classics.
I am a little more experienced in the fantasy genre. I also read other genres, but I'm always drawn back to fantasy and sci-fi. In books I'm looking for great world-building, great atmosphere, great ideas and very little romance.
I also have a little book blog that no one reads except my boyfriend.
I'm here to learn about good books to read and to maybe even give books a try that I wouldn't have picked up on my own.

[Cass]

I'm Cass. I've been reading sci-fi since I was 8 or 9. I was introduced to it by my grade 4 teacher reading us The Hobbit and somehow ended up in that part of the library ever since. Current fav authors include Michelle Sagara, Terry Pratchett, Sharon Lee/Steve Miller. Love the new videocast.

[Rachael]

Hi I'm Rachael, I've been into fantasy since I was a kid due to the Hobbit, Chronicles of Narnia, Magic Faraway Tree and probably hundreds more I have forgotten. I started reading Philip K Dick as a teenager and Terry Pratchett, and started getting into sci fi films wasn't really aware of what was available in sci fi then despite my Dad being a big Asimov fan, Harry potter came out when I was in my late teens so I gave it a go. At Uni was pretty much overwhelmed with the reading list as I did literature but fitted in some Alistair Reynolds, over the last few years I've loved Gaiman, Continuing love for Pratchett, Iain M Banks, then some steam punk which started off with films like Howl's moving castle and having read some H.G. Wells and Jules Verne then I got "The Difference Engine" and Spring heeled Jack which in turn lead onto Steampunk the Anthology. I'm now reading HP Lovecrafts Necronomicon between other things. Always open to new suggestions, am a really electic reader so not always reading sci fi and fantasy but it's warm and cosy place I like to go back to.

[Jake]

Hi I'm Jake! :) I've only been on Goodreads for about two weeks, and I've been looking for Fantasy groups that didn't have anything to do with erotica. (Oddly, there are a lot of Erotica groups listed under Fantasy. I honestly don't think LOTR is erotic, lol.)

Anyway, I like High, Epic, and Sword & Sorcery Fantasy. And once in awhile, I read Space Operas, or Soft Sci-fi(Bradbury. Orwell, Asimov, Collins, Crichton.)

I also write Fantasy and Blog. Currently, I'm reading the The Dark Thorn by Shawn Speakman.

[Kenia]

Hi I'm Kenia, I've always loved Fantasy, got myself started on Tolkein and Terry Pratchett early on, but now I read more SF (although I have just bought the first of Song and Fire and Ice books on kindle so that may change soon)
My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Philip K. Dick, Neil Gaiman, Kurt Vonnegut, Bill Willingham

[Janel]

Hi I am Janel. I just recently found the geeks and sundry channel on youtube, and happened upon S&L. I have been a fan of the sci-fi and fantasy genre for years, and am always looking for new authors to read. My favorite book is The Stand and my favorite series is The Dark Tower series. The first fantasy book I ever read was Eye of the Dragon by Stephen King, so I guess I would have to thank him for drawing me into the awesome realm of fantasy. As long is I find the story compelling I dont really care if it is futuristic in nature, or a fantasy realm.

[Jordan]

Hi, I'm Jordan.
I think I'm probably more of a Sword guy, but I do enjoy a good Laser as well. Although really, to be honest, I'll read just about anything as long as it's interesting. Fantasy is probably my true love as though as my wall of books clearly shows...

[Julio]

Hello.

My name is Julio, and I registered here a bit after the first S&L video in geekandsundry but I've been just reading the discusions.

I lean towards Laser books but I've enjoyed some great Sword pieces. My all time favorite is Herbert's Dune, but I enjoy a bit of everything, from short story's compilations to long series to funny things to deep dark stories. Anything goes as long as it has some original ideas.

I think I've read many of the classic works but most of them I've read in spanish and I'm taking advantage of new electronic distribution to re-read some books in their original language.

I look forward to learn from this community!

[Sam]

Hi, I'm Sam.

I'd say I lean towards the sword here lately, with Guy Gavriel Kay (why I decided to finally join the group) and Terry Pratchett probably being my favorite authors at the moment.

When I was younger, though, I absorbed my fair share of laser books, Frank Herbert's Dune (and the rest of that series) being a huge part of it.

I look forward to some good discussion!

[David(LA,CA)]

Hi. I'm Dave

I'm coming back to reading. Reading for fun dropped off during college, and I've only recently started reading before bed again.

I'm in the Laser camp. I also tend to read things set in universes created outside of literature. My library growing up included many a Star Wars and Star Trek novel. The occasional book I've read outside of an established universe have often been an attempt to try a writer that I was familiar with from something they did in a series.

I started watching the show on youtube. I figure I'd sign up as a way to explore outside of my literary safe zone. I don't know how active I'll be, but my intention is to keep up with the monthly book (as often as my e-reader will allow me).

[Rob]

Hello, I'm Rob!

I am not a big reader of fantasy and sci-fi books, I mean I read them but not a lot. But, just this year, there was a sudden urge to read books from this genre -- probably because of a collective influence of fantasy shows and other media showing how interesting this genre is. Another influence-r is the Sword and Laser, which I only found out because of Geek and Sundry channel. So yeah, my fantasy and sci-fi reading journey is there.


Favorite authors/must read/I want to read their work: Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, Guy Gavriel Kay, Tolkien and others (I think I need more sci-fi references Haha)

[John]

Hello everyone, I'm John. I would classify myself as a bibliophile. My favorite authors include, but are not limited to Koontz, King, F. Paul wilson, P. K. Dick. Asimov, Tolkien, McCammon, Bradbury, etc, etc, etc. I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, I love to read. I'm a husband, and a father of two awesome little girls.
My one true addiction is books. I'm always interested in something new to read, as long as it is good.

[Marina]

Hi everyone,

I've always loved reading, especially fantasy. I'm a biology student and a blogger. My favorite authors include Guy Gavriel Kay, George RR Martin (which makes this a good time to start being active in this group), Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, and more.

I first heard about this from Felicia Day's new channel.

[Rachael]

Kevin Grønberg wrote: "Hey I'm Kevin
And I just want to say i'm sorry for all the typos and bad grammar but English is my second language and i got dyslexia(but read English as good as my first language).

I learnt of s..."

Dude you write English better than a lot of English people I know, don't do yourself down ;)

[Kris]

Hi everyone.

I'm Kris, your average working student who's a hardcore gamer, and never has enough hours in the day. I've never had enough time to read as much as I want to. With classes (even summer courses like right now), working, or job hunting, and homework the few hours i have left in a day are typically spent in front of my computer. However, I've decided to start reading more again, starting with continuing to read more of Raymond E. Feist's Midkemia series with At the Gates of Darkness (I'm sad the series is almost over D:). I've always loved the fantasy genre, sci-fi creeping its way in every now and then.

I may not be able to keep up with every book here, but I'll do my best (whenever i can spend the money, haha).

[Kim]

Hi,

I'm Kim and I am a big fantasy/sci-fi fan. I loved the Sword of Shannara series. I can't remember the first book I ever read in the fantasy or sci-fi genre. I will have to put on my thinking cap and see if I can figure it out. I am almost finished with Stephen King's "11/22/63", which I have really liked. I haven't started the monthly book yet because I was reading SK's, but luckily I read fast.

[Adrian]

Hello,

My name is Adrian and I started listening to the podcast since Mists of Avalon and meant to join the discussions here much earlier but somehow never got around to it.

I'm in graduate school and I don't have time for much besides research. However, just last week I visited a building on campus that I hadn't been inside in years, ... the University Library, to pick up a copy of Tigana which I truly enjoyed.

My favorite series include GoT, WoT, and the LotR.

I would love to read someday, an epic adventure novel that could be classified as both a Sword and a Laser; however plots like those only seem to be in Japanese manga/anime and video games (ex. Final Fantasy XIII or Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha). Of course, those story lines are the reason why I like said anime/manga and video games :)

[KWinks]

Hi all. My name is Kristie. I'm a librarian and am trying to read more Sci-Fi and fantasy. I manage to read a goodly amount of books each year, and find that my genre tastes change with the seasons. We have many book clubs at my library, and they never read anything I would ever be remotely interested in reading, so I joined this group for me. I also love the show!!
My two fave books last year: Night Circus and Ready Player One.

[Nigel]

Hi,

My name is Nigel and I suppose I would say I dabble in online gaming, not serious enough to call myself a true gamer. I have just reread Lyndon Hardy's first book "Master of Five Magics." I have also started the second book and have bought the third book from Abe Books, second hand. I am kind of saddened that some many good books go out of print and are not available...you would think the electronic age would have fixed that. All books should be available in both electronic and paper medium especially when they go out of paper publication. There is my small rant...:)

[Tiffany]

Hi everyone, I'm Tiffany. I'm from the midwest, work at a bookstore, and love to game.

My favorite authors include (but are not limited to!): David Eddings, Terry Goodkind, Jacqueline Carey, Gail Carriger, and Jim Butcher.

[Todd]

Hello all I'm Todd, I've been a podcast listener for quite some time now and have just gotten round to signing up here. I am a mix of both Sword and Laser so as long as it's interesting i'm usually in. Big fan of both of our hosts and i look forward to the future discussions.

[Ernesto F.]

Hello world!

My name is Ernesto.
I'm addicted to books, movies and tabletop games.
Recently joined thanks to the Geek and Sundry show.
I've read most and love the works by Edgar Allan Poe, Richard Matheson, Stephen King, Isaac Asimov, Herbert (Dune), Adams, Gibson, J.R.R. Tolkien, Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher...
And I could continue on and on, and on. In brief, I love both sci-fi and fantasy, and horror. And all there is in the middle.

[FifthDream]

Hi. I go by FifthDream. I'm a gamer, have been called a goth and an otaku, and I dabble in writing/drawing/painting/collage. I like to read stuff by Neil Gaiman, Greg Bear, Douglas Adams, and Haruki Murakami, just to name very few. I'm currently in the middle of five books. I need to discipline myself to finish one book before starting another. Maybe.

[Ben]

Hello! I'm Ben, and I like awesome things. I don't mind so much how it's packaged, book, TV show, comic, game, movie, cartoon, just that it's awesome.

Also I'm old.

[Ty]

Hello, I'm Ty.

I've been a voracious reader since a wee lad. Between my dad giving me comic books and the bartender that turned me on to the Hobbit (a bit of a story) I've been devouring books ever since. I'm NEVER without reading material ( I read about 3-4 books at a time). I've joined since I got hooked on G33K & Sundry. I have a lot of friends who read but NEVER the same book at the same time. So I thought this would be interesting. I can also be a chatter box, I'm that rare IT guy who can socialize easily with anyone.

[Scott]

Hi, I'm Scott. I got hooked on Swords after reading Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles back in middle school. Star Wars was my gateway into Lasers. I also enjoy the occasional read outside the genres (currently reading The Jungle Book by Kipling; ok that's not too far outside the genres...). My favorite authors are Tolkien, Harlan Ellison, Dan Simmons, Neal Stephenson, Peter Straub, Roger Zelazny, Fred Saberhagen, Raymond E. Feist, Stephen R. Donaldson, and a slew of others. Really, I could go on all day. My favorite storyteller is Stephen King.

[Joshua]

Hi! I'm Joshua. One of my life goals is to get back to reading more like I did in years past ... especially now that I can share my reads with my 13-year-old son who has way more time to read than I do.

I've read most but not all of the past sword&laser books, and loved pretty much all of them, so it seems like this will be a great group for getting new recommendations as well as new insight into books I've already enjoyed. I have definitely gotten more insight into some elements of Tigana by reading the discussion here!

[Angie]

hello! angie here, just starting to dig into goodreads and this group looked like a great place to start. I am an omnivorous reader, though i mainly read fantasy and sci-fi :)

[Andy]

Hello, I'm Andy Channelle. I live in Geneva and work in my day job as a web guru for the Red Cross. I'm also a technical author and have just published my first novel (which you can find on Good Reads along with some thick tomes on open source software).

Currently 8% into A Dance with Dragons and a bit less into Wind Through the Keyhole. I read a lot. And write a lot. And travel a lot. Sometimes I combine these things.

[Katy]

hi, I'm Katy, I saw Felicia Day retweet a link about this group and asking GRRM questions and now I am really interested. I just finished DWD last week and I loved the whole series. I've read a few books the group has read and now I want to read them allll.

[Dobie]

I'm Dobie. I'm big on anything that involves text, be it fiction, non fiction, historical, whatever.

I got into fantasy and sci-fi through Dragonlance, Battletech, and Shadowrun novels, mainly because I was also playing those RPGs at the same time. Since those days I've discovered tons of other wonderful sci-fi/fantasy subgenres like steampunk and supernatural.

I still play RPGs and am always intrigued by the seemingly endless number of stories people are capable of crafting. I also play tabletop strategy games so that adds an element to my interest of fantasy fiction.

When I'm not reading or playing RPGs, I like video games, movies, exploring Los Angeles, and finding new places to eat.

I'm also fluent in Japanese. (^.^)
よろしく。

[Chris]

Hey all, I'm Chris. I stumbled across the podcast a few months ago and have been lurking on and off, finally getting around to reading (well, listening to) a selected book at the proper time.

I'm definitely lean to the laser side of things (Neal Stephenson, Iain M. Banks, Karl Schroeder), and love some good gritty fantasy as well (GRRM, Richard K. Morgan, Scott Lynch), but the nebulous in-between realm is what really gets me going (Gene Wolfe and China Mieville fall there for me). Basically, if its a good story with something to keep thinking about after I put it down, I'll tear through it.

[Alexis]

Hi I'm Alexis. I love to read and tend to have a book in my bag at all times. I liked the idea of an online book club, but the threads go pretty fast, so I"m sort of just doing it at my own pace. I'm still finishing "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman.

[Jared]

Hi, I'm Jared, avid bookreader, been working in the book industry for 4 years with my particular passion being Sci Fi/Fantasy (which makes Sword and Laser perfect for me)

I dabble in both the Sword and Laser aspects of things with Ender's Game being favorite Laser as it got me into the genre and In the Name of the Wind as Sword due to the utter fantasticness of Rothfuss' work

[Ash]

Hi friends :-) my names Ashley. I would definitely class my self as a sword user but I am interested in laser and hopefully you guys will be able to point me to the right books to read.

Ps love the show :-)

[Fall]

Hi Goodreaders, My name is Fall I am huge Laser reader and some Sword; I have recently retired and I have just loaded up my ereader with tons of books I just have to read. Nice to meet you all.

[Karl]

Greetings and salutations. I have been posting on Goodreads intermittently and checking out reviews for a couple of years now but never joined a group.

I am an old time science fiction fan not a fantasy fan though I have read and enjoyed some fantasies. I read my first SF novel in 1961, now it is public domain.

Star Surgeon by Alan E. Nourse
http://www.amazon.com/Star-Surgeon-Al...
http://librivox.org/star-surgeon-by-a...
http://www.sffaudio.com/?p=1299

That demonstrates the change right there.

Hundreds of millions of people around the world can access that in seconds. That was impossible the year that book was published and that technology is not portrayed in the book even though the setting is still centuries in the future. The technology has changed the sci-fi.

Many good SF stories address the question of what we should do with technology as individuals and society. Is anybody debating what to do with magic wands? There is the difference. We have to decide how to use computers in our schools or possible how to use computers to eliminate schools. The technology changes us.

[Tae]

Hello, I'm Tae.
Why I never found Sword & Laser before GeekandSundry is beyond me. Suffice it to say that I'm very happy to have found a group to not only suggest books, but to discuss their merits, flaws, and everything in between.

I am a rather prolific reader and I tend to read rather quickly as well, which means that I have torn through thousands of Sci-fi and Fantasy books in my years upon this earth. I've found it more difficult to find authors that I really enjoy more recently as my tastes have become more refined in terms of the quality of writing and story.

Look forward to continuing on with the group and getting suggestions and discussions on many books to come.

[Caedy]

Hey Tae!

I'm a rather prolific reader as well, and I tend to read kinda quickly too since I take public transportation I've plenty of time to read. 2 buses out and 3 buses home.

I tend to read just about everything I can get my hands on, and constantly am raiding the free books on Amazon, as well as getting ARC copies from Netgalley.

I'm in the same boat, I knew that Sword and Laser was coming, and yet I still kept forgetting to look it up, but I've seen every episode and I'm addicted to GeekandSundry.

[Delyan]

Hi, I'm Delyan and I'm addicted to sci-fi. (*chorus* Hi, Delyan!) Wait, wrong introduction.

In any case, I've been reading SF for what feels like most of my concious life and I'm glad I found this place (I've been using GR for a while and had no idea it had groups! Silly me..)

On that note, I'd imagine that coming from Eastern Europe, my SF list is quite different from the top lists here. Lots of Russian writers (how is it that Luykanenko is only known for Night Watch?! His other books are just as excellent! I mean, DOOM IN A FREAKING VIRTUAL REALITY - Лабиринт отражений!! Oh. It's not been translated. I see. That explains it, I guess. But I digress..), and lots (I mean LOTS) of Heinlein. I think I've read everything Heinlein ever published, including that abysmal For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs. That said, one of my first "serious" SF books was Time Enough for Love and it still has a special place in my heart. More recently, the Culture series by Iain M. Banks had my attention for a summer and a bit.

On the fantasy front, I've been, like the rest of the world, swept by the ASOIF tsunami. Eagerly waiting for GRRM to kill the little remaining joy in my life. As a kid, though, I used to read these unknown fantasy authors. I might try and find the books again sometime to check if you guys have heard of them.

Anyway, I think that's enough of a cover letter! I'm just glad to be here and hope to have a great time hanging around with you lot! :)

[Barry]

Has anyone used Google Adwords to promote their work?

[Joseph]

Delyan wrote: "...On that note, I'd imagine that coming from Eastern Europe, my SF list is quite different from the top lists here. Lots of Russian writers (how is it that Luykanenko is only known for Night Watch?! ..."

Welcome! Any thoughts about Alexey Pehov? How about Sergey Dyachenko? I've seen English translations of their books recently and been intrigued. I think the only translated-from-Russian novel I read was Metro 2033 -- I wish more books from that series were also available in English.