Introduction and welcome thread! Showing 351-400 of 4,412

[Matthew]

Spoiler Alert: My Intro
If you plan on watching the feature film on my life soon to come out on DVD and pay per view then you will not want to read this.

Matt
I like to read.
Lots of books.
Favorite Authors: too many and too lazy too type them.
Favorite Food: Nothing to do with this group.
favorite Movie: Ghostbusters and The Big Lebowski (singular movie; I watch them together at the same time, I hate them by themselves.)
I am so gald to be apart of another group on this wonderful invention called the "internet".

[Boots]

Matthew wrote: "Spoiler Alert: My Intro
If you plan on watching the feature film on my life soon to come out on DVD and pay per view then you will not want to read this.

Matt
I like to read.
Lots of books.
..."

Sheesh, you totally gave away the ending, I'm not even sure if I want to see the movie now.

[Rashaad]

Hello! My name is Rashaad Bell. Just joined goodreads today, so I'm still trying to navigate the site and all that good stuff.

Avid comic book reader. Favorite show is The Vampire Diaries, cause season 2 is just BANGING!

Currently playing crysis 2 on the ps3, just beat mass effect 2.

Favorite sci fi movie is aliens. "game over! Game over man, game over!"

Fav book is:Forgotten Future cause I wrote it. http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Futur...

Love twizzlers, just went camping with a bunch of friends and we kinda got asked not to come back cause we were to "loud" (we are camping in the woods, on an island, on a Saturday night and we are being to loud? It's only 11:30pm! Whatever)

...oh, and I like cheese

[Glenn]

Hello, My name is Glenn Pogue.

I read a lot more laser than sword but I am on a fantasy kick at the moment. A few of favorite authors are Philip k Dick, Peter Hamilton, William Gibson, Isaac Asimov and Patrick Rothfuss (thanks to Sword and Lazer).

Looking forward to talking books with everyone.

[Alejandro]

Hi, I´m Alex.

I live in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and am an attorney, currently working on his master´s degree. I´m basically looking for a break from the law books.

Long time fan of Tom and Veronica from the earliest BOL days, I´ve been a long time listener to The S&L Podcast, but hadn´t joined the fray, until now.

More into fantasy than sci-fi,favorite authors are, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Herbert.

[Matthew]

Hello, I'm Matt.

I have been a huge fan a fantasy since I was in high school and only recently started getting into Sci-Fi. I also enjoy espionage/military novels and historical fiction. Some of my favorite authors are R.A. Salvatorre, Margaret Weiss, Tracy Hickman, Richard Knaak, Edward Rutherford, Robert Ludlum, and David Stone.

[Bruce]

Greetings earthlings, I'm Bruce.

I've been reading sci-fi and fantasy since High School, several decades ago. I love to read; one of my favorite t-shirts says "Bibliovore" on the front (from Comic-con). I started using a Kindle about 8 months ago and love it.

Any suggestions on how to keep up with all of the information that comes out in the e-mails? It's a bit overwhelming. Thanks!

[Tim]

Hiyo!

have been listening to a few of the podcast episodes and figured I'd say hi! currently reading wise man's fear.

[Bruce]

Tim wrote: "Hiyo!

have been listening to a few of the podcast episodes and figured I'd say hi! currently reading wise man's fear."

Hi, Tim. Yes, I forgot to mention that I enjoy listening to the podcast as well. I am able to keep up with that in the car commuting. It's the long e-mail threads that come out at least daily that I have trouble keeping up on.

-b-

[Boots]

I shut the email notification off, that way it reduces any chance of having a spoiler get through, also too many emails start to feel like spam.

[Dan]

Hey, I'm Dan. I like soft sci-fi and have recently really been enjoying fantasy. My favorite authors are Stephen King, Charlie Huston, John Scalzi, Neil Gaiman and Chuck Pahlaniuk. Just finished Wise Man's Fear, I think I will soon be adding Patrick Rothfuss to my list of faves

[Dante]

Hi all, I haven't really read anything for about 10 years but I used to love it. I kept hearing Tom and Veronica talk about Sword and Laser so I decided to finally check it out. I just got an e-reader and I'm excited to start reading again. :D

[Keith]

Hello,

My names Keith and I found this site and group via the podcast, which I found via a mention on Tekzilla a while back. There isnt much about me, I work in IT and i Live in Philadelphia.

I'm currently reading Windup Girl and am not sure what I'll move to after that. Hopefully after I lurk more I'll have a few good ideas.

-K ^.^

[Raymond]

Hey all, Raymond here.

Got here through the Frogpants family. Big fan of epic fantasy and I like a little sci-fi once in a while. Favorites are Weis and Hickman and the Death Gate Cycle. Big fan of Robert Sawyer's stuff as well.

I've never joined a book club before, so I thought this might help me find some new books and people to talk to about them.

[Ken]

Hi Everybody,

Ken from South Florida. I've been listening to the podcasts for a few months and I enjoy them. It dawned on me that I've either read many of the books being discussed or would like to read them. That revelation finally prompted me to join goodreads. So here I am.

[David]

Hello, I'm David,

I've been a huge sci-fi/fantasy fan since grade school. My current favorite authors are George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss.

I really enjoy speculating about plots/story lines, so that's my goal for joining this discussion group.

Also, I have professional curiosity about what people think, because I'm working towards a Masters in Library and Information Science.

[James]

Hi All,

James here from California. Been enjoying the Sword and Laser podcast for the past few weeks. I love reading about sci-fi/fantasy, and also discussing them. I'm looking forward this forum.

[Kevin]

My name is Kevin. I started reading sf/f after picking up Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and exploring the early pulp authors last year. I am a longtime reader, but still unfamiliar with most sf/f classics. Some of my favorite fiction authors are Denis Johnson, Marilynne Robinson, Sherwood Anderson, Herman Melville and Mary Butts. My favorite sf/f authors are Ken Scholes, Stanislaw Lem and Edgar Rice Burroughs. I like that this group tries to balance the reading list with classic and contemporary books, but I'm mainly excited to read new fantasy titles.

[Seth]

Hello S&L gang!

My name's Seth. I've been listening to Tom and Veronica since their Buzz Out Loud days, and thus have been a Sword and Laser fan since the very beginning, but I'm just now getting around to joining the group. For shame!

I've been reading fantasy and, to a lesser extent science fiction, for as long as I can remember. At an age when most kids are cutting their teeth on books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, my father was reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Like Veronica, I tend to lean more towards the "sword", but I do make occasional forays into the "laser" to keep my mind sharp and my horizons broad.

Being legally blind, I consume most of my books in audible format. I run a humble and seldom-updated SFF audiobook review blog at http://www.azurescape.net. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SethHWilson.

Shameless plugs aside, I'm very excited to finally be joining the community! I look forward to many invigorating discussions and cordial arguments with you all.

~Seth~

[Eevjuhh]

Hi, I'm Eva.
I am from Holland, so please forgive any spelling or grammer mistakes I make!
I am 18 years old, and my favorite book is The name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
This group was mentioned on his blog, so I checked it out, and I really liked it!

[Scott]

Hi, my name is Scott

I only recently started listening to the podcast after hearing them mention it briefly on one of the other Frogpants Studio podcasts.

I primarily read sword, never been a big fan of the laser, but maybe I just haven't really found a good author yet. My favorite authors are; Jim Butcher, Robert Jordan (in all his epically long series goodness), and since listening to my first Sword and Laser podcast two weeks ago, George R.R. Martin, and when my brain needs a slight break Brandon Mulls Fablehaven series.

I'll be starting the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms tomorrow though to be honest I think my brain is going to explode soon. I'm currently rereading the Wheel of Time, partway through Game of Thrones, and passively reading a compilation of the Brothers Grimm Fairytale's. =)

I also am working on writing my own fantasy book, so hopefully I'll be good enough to be seen on here someday as an author and not only a fellow reader.

Scott

[Amanda]

Hello! I'm Amanda and I'm a major geek. I spend a lot of time reading and am always looking for recommendations as to what I should read next. I have been into sci-fi/fantasy for as long as I can remember. My favorite author would have to be Terry Goodkind. His Sword of Truth series is spectacular.

[Bigredmer]

Greetings! Add one more big geek to the list. ( And I say that proudly!. Big Fantasy fan, but I make sure I read a good helping of non-fiction stuff to broaden my reading horizons. Recently got into Urban Fantasy, starting with the obvious, Dresden Files. Finished all of them, and now am waiting for the next one. I am trying out some Other urban fantasy stuff like Anton Strout. Now I have to remember the hundreds of other books I read so I can add them to good reads. That alone is an adventure!

Big fan of Veronica and Tom of course is a deity himself!

Aaron

[Al]

Bruce wrote: "Any suggestions on how to keep up with all of the information that comes out in the e-mails? It's a bit overwhelming. Thanks!"

Skipping anything having to do with GOT is working for me.

[Barry]

Hello all, my name is Barry, I'm new to the group and the podcast and I'm already loving it. I'm a high school English teacher and I spend so much time discussing the same books that I'm glad to be reading and participating in reading these great sci-fi and fantasy books with this awesome group. I'm glad to be here.

[Kidsake]

Hi! My nom de plume on the 'netz is kidsake, but in the real worldz, it's Richard.

I am a machinimator, writer, geek, purveyor of fine, inexpensive wines, gamer, voracious reader of scifi/fantasy, spaghetti-western aficionado, podcaster (For the Love of Geek and The Ward) and finally, all-around-nice-guy.

I live in Louisiana and eat very well.

Can't wait to see what happens here!

[Michael]

Hello, I'm InTheCongo.
I've never been to the Congo, but I sure like to read books. I prefer Sci-Fi but have also read and re-read the Lord of the Rings about 20 times. And surprise! I work with computers.

[Dan]

Hi, I'm Dan. I work for a software company in San Francisco and am in the middle of catching up in the Song of Ice and Fire series. Been listening to the sword and laser podcast for a while, and am now interested in being a part of the forums. Yay!

[Nicketmaster]

Hi, I'm Nick. I read as much as I am able. Most of my reading is Fantasy/SF, as I assume is true for the majority of people here, but I also enjoy some speculative fiction and plain old suspense novels now and then.

[Pickle]

Hi All

Im Stuart, resident of Glasgow Scotland.

I generally read sci-fi but have started to read a few more fantasty books. My favourite authors are:

Arthur C Clarke
Philip K Dick
Frank Herbert
China Meiville

My favourite books are:

2001, 2010, 3001 Series - A C Clarke
The Rama Series - A C Clarke
Perdido Street Station - China Meiville
Magican - R E Feist

Thanks

[Martine]

Hello, I'm Martine

By day I am a library technician. I have been reading this genre since I picked up a copy of Dune during the school holidays when I was a teen and there was nothing else to read. That was a good thirty years ago and I am now enjoying watching my own children discover the books I love and having great discussions about them.

[Mary]

Hi. My name is Mary. I'm horrid at these introduction threads, which is why I've posted elsewhere before getting around to actually introducing myself.

I've been an avid reader as long as I can remember. In 4th grade, we were supposed to pick a book to read from a different genre than we'd ever read before, so my Dad introduced me to "The Rolling Stones" by Heinlein. Not long after, I started into "The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe" & I've been a sword & laser girl ever since, much to my Mother's chagrin.

I am much more sword than laser, to the point that I worked at the local RenFaire for a dozen years, but a good story will catch me regardless of genre. I'm even privileged to know an author or two, & I'm married to a Star Wars RPG writer. Imagine my surprise when he showed me a picture taken when he was 6, sitting on the lap of his 2nd cousin, Robert Heinlein!

My favorite authors include Misty Lackey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, & Raymond Feist. I look forward to meeting many of you in the forums! :)

[Jim]

Hi, <> I'm Jim and I often hang out in TWiT chat as kskryptonian, 36 male, grew up on the 60's SF with Lucky Starr and R. Daneel Olivaw. I joined because I kept hearing about Sword and Laser podcast on TNT and decided to come chime in.

[Tone]

Hey there,

I'm Tone Milazzo and discovered Sword and Laser when a friend joined the group on goodreads.
I've really enjoyed the podcast, it lacks that geek-snobbery that taints many speculative fiction podcasts.

Although I hope that one day it was become Sword, Laser and Esoteric Pseudo-Magic and Psychic Powered Genre Fusion. I'm sure that url is still available.

[Victoria]

Hello! I'm Victoria. I've just joined the group. I love reading and I love sci-fi and fantasy. I don't have too much experience with these books, but I've been wanting to combine my interests more, so this group is perfect for me. I live in Florida and I work as an office manager of the administration office of a graduate school. I have also started my own local photography business. So I'm up to a lot, but I enjoy reading in my free time. I look forward to chatting with more of you!

[♥ Unaeve]

Hey y'all, my name is Olga and i like reading (as well watching movies and playing pc games) everithing fantasy related.
As i love all the fantasy genre not only sf my favorite authors are those:
George R.R. Martin ,Anne McCaffrey,Robin Hobb,Robert Jordan,
Brandon Sanderson,Marion Zimmer Bradley,Tamora Pierce's,Gart Nix,
Guy Gavriel Kay,Ursula Leguin,Pratchett,Isac Asimov,Arthur Clark..and my favorite books(recent) are
The Dragonriders of Pern,Elantris,The Game of Thrones ,The Hunger games,The Host,The Farseer triology,
The Mists of Avalon and many more

[Daniel]

I have been listening to the podcast since I met Tom and Veronica as guests on This Week in Tech. I am a U.S. Marine and author. I have been reading Fantasy/Sci-Fi since I was 10 and have been writing since I was around 15. I hope to gain a forum for discussion on great ideas for my stories and for new books to read.

I have begun to add the books I have read but it will take some time. They are mostly full series fantasy books.

I am currently enjoying the Dark Tower series by Stephen King using Audible.

My favorite author's are Raymond E. Feist and, even though the Artemis Fowl stories seem geared more for teens, Eoin Colfer. I enjoy a great deal of the Star Wars fiction as well, but a favorite author within that group I couldn't honestly cite.

I am glad to be here and look forward to being introduced to great new authors and worlds to explore.

Keep up the hard work on the podcast and I will be downloading your app today.

Semper Fidelis
Daniel

[Joe]

Hey All, Joe here. Read lots of SFF and can't wait to catch myself up to the group. Hoping to expand the authors I read and reach for things I normally wouldn't.

[Pupsi]

Hi all,

My name is Pupsi and like most of the group a avid reader, and looking forward to good recommendations for future reads.

Favourite book is Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan. A truly cool book.

Just finished the wheel of time marathon which is also not bad.

Pupsi

[Alex]

Hello Swords and Lasers,

My name is Alex and I'm a somewhat casual reader I guess, 1 or 2 books a month. If I get into something particularly good I'll finish in under a week; but, video games, art and TV generally distract me from reading.
My favorite novels would be the first 3 Runelords books then ignoring that any more were ever thought of. I've read far too much Dragonlance and most of the Drizzt books. I have intense DnD fatigue at this point. Also, far too much of my brain is occupied with lore and minutia pertaining to Middle-Earth.
I decided recently that I needed to break out of my usual reading rut so I've read a few authors that are new to me. I am currently reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. So far I'm not blown away but its been reasonable entertaining.

Happy Reading,

Alex

[Matthew]

Hi, I'm Matthew. I caught the mentions on This Week in Tech and Tech News Today and was very excited to hear about a scifi/fantasy "book club" podcast. Wonderful!

My father introduced me to scifi/fantasy with Edgar Rice Burroughs's A Princess of Mars. Since then I've shifted back and forth between "sword" and "laser" a lot with a deep love for both. I think the only book I really couldn't find any enjoyment in was Quicksilver, by Neal Stephenson. I just couldn't connect with anything in the book and for the first time in my life, intentionally did not finish a book.

Favorite authors range from JRR Tolkien, Arthur C Clark, Frank Herbert, Orson Scott Card, and Jim Butcher. I'm also finding Kim Harrison and Stephen King (Dark Towers) great books.

I hope to discover a lot of new novels and authors through the Sword and Laser. Thanks for putting together something that will be so enjoyable for us book-lovers.

[Kimberly]

I'm an elementary teacher in Texas. We have several groups that exchange books on campus, but none of them enjoy science fiction/fantasy.

I look forward to exchanging ideas with you all.

[Bennim]

Hallo, i'm Benny from Aachen in Germany. I Love Podcasts and found Sword and Laser and loved it too.
I study Sociology, Political Science and History and always liked SciFi, but startet reading Fantasy a Year ago. And as you might have noticed i'm not used to wright english and fell little bit like a 5th grader right now…

[Forrest]

Allo everyone,
I'm Forrest better known as Fofo. I got involved in the Cannonball Read on Pajiba.com this year, a challenge to read a book a week for the whole year. And that led me to The Sword and Laser for a reliable source of new fantasy and Sci-Fi.

I'm mostly a Sci-Fi reader with Alastair Reynolds and Iain M. Banks topping my personal favorites list. Here's to another 7 months of good reading!

[Andreas]

Hi there,

i'm Sulu from Austria. I am a well seasoned fantasy-dweller. Since i stumbled over my first Audio-book two years ago i do spend a significant part of my time in this realm. Recently i just finished re-listening all of the Black Company which is good stuff as you might know allready. I have a tendency toward epic fantasy but someone here might poit me to another interesting direction.
Sword and Laser podcast is my first podcast and i really enjoy it. Good work!

[Wilde]

Hey guys, Wilde here.
I'm 20 years old (21 in 6 days, woot!). I found Sword and Laser after Veronica mentioned it on Tekzilla. I just bought a Kindle. I've always been an avid reader, but having a dedicated gadget with everything on it gives me kick in the pants to take the time off of all my various screens to read!

Lately I've been reading a bunch of science books (for a future career), but before that it was all just sci-fi all the time, with a little fantasy mixed in. I have a massive backlog, so I won't be participating in every book, but I'll definitely get in on those that pique my interest. I've also never been in a book club before, so I'm excited! :)

[Ryan]

Hi guys, my name is Ryan and I'm new to the S&L podcast. I fall towards the sword side and also enjoy a good mystery. But I'm equal-opportunity reader, so if a book sounds good, I'll check it out. I just finished Wise Man's Fear, so obviously I'm a fan of Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles. I also like George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice & Fire, Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus books, Peter Abraham's Echo Fall's Mysteries, and Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce's Myseries (to name a few). I'm also a long time comic fan. A few of my favs are Fables, Ex Machina, Y the Last Man, Wasteland, and Atomic Robo. Look forward to the discussions.

[Colin]

Hi all,

I've been part of Goodreads for a while, but only now stumbled across this group.

With GRRM's Dance of Dragons coming out next month, now seemed a good time to join up. Consequently, I'm more a sword guy than laser, but I have been known to read a bit of sci fi, too.

Recent reads have been Patrick Rothfuss and Terry Brooks. I'm also a sucker for alternate history, so do a bit of Turtledove and John Birmingham.

Looking forward to getting to know all of you!

[Seth]

Hey all,

Seth here. I just saw Veronica Tweet about the Hunger Games discussion, so I thought I would join in. I love Sci-fi and fantasy. Looking forward to some great discussions!

Seth

[Eric]

Hi everyone,

I'm a big sci-fi fan who tends to prefer hard sf & action packed space operas and occasionally dabbles in fantasy. I also can't wait for A Dance with Dragons to come out so I had to join.

My favorite books or series in these genres are (based on enjoyment rather than merit): the Old Man's War Series, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Ender's Game, 1632, Banks' Culture Series, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, the Honor Harrington series, a lot of Asimov & Clarke, the Night Watch series, Game of Thrones, The Princess Bride, Dune, early Crichton, His Dark Materials 1 & 2, The Dresden Files, and (last but not least) The Lord of the Rings.

FWIW, I am one of the few people who disliked Snow Crash (guess steam & cyberpunk do nothing for me), Stranger in a Strange Land, and The Amber Spyglass.

I tend to prefer a rapid pace, good dialog, and reading a discovery or revelation scene that blows my mind. Otherwise, lots of dialog by Falling Outside The Normal Moral Constraints would do it (for the Culture fans).

Looking forward to swapping recommendations and discussing good books with all of you!

-Eric