Fantasy Book Club discussion
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Introductions - tell us a little about yourself
Viktoria wrote: "Honestly, I don't like HUGE groups like the first fantasy group that popped up on my search. And this looked more solo fantasy as opposed to fantasy/sci fi..."I completely agree with you Viktoria. Its nice to have a group that you actually get to recognize everyone as the discussions progress. Also, I agree about the sci-fi; i love reading fantasy but sci-fi just isn't my cup of tea.
About dragonlance; I actually haven't read any dragonlance in about 8 years though it will always be a favorite of mine just because i read so much of it and really grew on it.
I read all of Weis & Tracy's dragonlance as I could get my hands on when I was younger. Now I can't seem to pick them up anymore, i don't know why.
Welcome to the group Sarah ! Your not the only slow reader in the group, so your not alone. I know i will never get to read all the books i wish i could so am very selective in what i do read.
Collin wrote: "Viktoria wrote: "Honestly, I don't like HUGE groups like the first fantasy group that popped up on my search. And this looked more solo fantasy as opposed to fantasy/sci fi..."I completely agree ..."
I dont read a lot of forgotten realms anymore as they all kinda went downhill. The new talent they have doesn't come close to the old talent I liked. But I think I first fell in love with fantasy because of AD&D books. I will always appreciate them :)
Hello fellow Fantasy lovers! I'm a wife/mother in her mid-40s who hales from Kansas, completely landlocked from either ocean and not a mountain in sight. In other words, there's nothing better to do than watch the wheat grow and read, read, read. :)Several of my friends joined this group when it commenced a few weeks ago. I've decided to take the plunge and give it a whirl.
I've read fantasy for more than thirty years, probably closer to thirty-five. It's the genre I return when I venture out. It's like coming home when I've been down murder mystery lane or a wild space adventure.
My all-time favorite author is Stephen R. Donaldson for all the Thomas Covenant series and for the Mordant's Need series. My current favorites are Patrick Rothfuss and Brandon Sanderson. A long-time favorite is L.E. Modesitt Jr. and his The Magic of Recluce series. For grittier darker fantasy female authors, I love Sara Douglass and Barbara Hambly.
I'm sure I'm leaving some out so check out my shelves for reviews and ratings of what I've read (or what I remember that I've read).
Hello all, My name is Barbara Martin, hailing from the ridiculously snowed-in state of Indiana. I am currently a copy editor at the local newspaper, but I write fiction in my "spare time". More importantly, I love books. All books, of every make, model and genre. JJ sent me a note, and I noticed a reading of Brandon Sanderson and had to join: he is my new all-time favorite writer, although that's always subject to change based on what book I am reading currently. I read somewhere between 300-400 novels a year, and the blurring line between fantasy and sf and assorted other genres gives me some wriggle room, so I guess my first fantasy book was "The Eyes of the Dragon" by Stephen King, back in 4th or 5th grade, although it's probably a close tie with Madeleine L'Engle's "Wrinkle in Time" or Lewis' "Narnia" books. I can't say for sure, but "Watership Down" was in there somewhere, too, as was "The Hobbit".
But then I kind of wandered away from fantasy until high school, where my friend Molly introduced me to Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragons of Autumn Twilight, and I was intrigued enough to follow her to Robert Jordan, but the obsession really didn't kick in until college.
so here are my favorites...
Robin Hobb, particularly the Farseer and Tawny Man Trilogies (oh, how I love my Fool and my Fitz)
Brandon Sanderson (talk about luck, my hubby picked it up because the cover was cool, and the book lived up to it)
Laurel K. Hamilton (but if she doesn't tone down the erotica and bring back the story line soon, I'm through)
Karen Miller's Kingmaker Kingbreaker series
Dune (the first three only, please)
Simon Green's Deathstalker series (although you can make a strong space opera case here, cuz it is)
The Dark Tower (which I loved and cherished so much, I named my 6-month-old son after Roland Deschain)
Ok, that's more than enough to go on, I think. I can't wait to get some interesting suggestions for more books. I'm always on the lookout for something new.
Welcome Barb! I have two words for you: YOU ROCK. I love the Dark Tower series, and I now think that you are probably the coolest mom ever. I hope your son grows up loving the books as much as you do, so that he will appreciate his name!
Hi, my name is Vicki, I am a 27 year old English Teacher from NJ. I have to admit that reading fantasy is a bit new for me, but I am looking to expand my horizons more and learn about new authors. I started with YA fantasy and recently started purchasing, reading more adult fantasy. [Book:The Crown Conspiracy] was my last book of 2008 and a great read, in my opinion. Anyway, I look forward to joining the group discussions and reading along with you.
Hello, I'm Bianca. I live in LA, was born in Germany, and I'm married to a Chinese-Russian Jewish man born in France. I'm a stay at home mom with 20 month old and expecting my second at the end of June. Time is pressed for me but I manage to steal a few minutes I can for "mommy time." I also love introducing my son to books by reading to him every day, and my little heart burst with pride the first time I saw him plop on the floor, a big book in front of him, babbling to himself as if reading, his fat finger following the words. That he prefers the books *without* pictures nearly sent me into a swoon. :) My mother is an avid fantasy and science fiction reader and has passed this love onto me. My first book I can remember that I was obsessed with was A Wrinkle in Time. For my 12th birthday I received The Lord of the Rings Series and between my birthday on December 29th and the major earthquake on the following January I'd read it a few times and went out to find the Hobbit which helped me cope with the aftermath of the Northridge quake.
I have no favorite author in particular, but I enjoy the works of Jane Austen, Neil Gaiman, Madeline L'Engle, Tolkein, and Herbert to name a few.
I love other genres in literature but I have a soft place for historical fiction, comedies akin to Good Omens, and the classic epic hero's journey. I've been reading again at night (the only time I can!) to help battle pregnancy induced insomnia.
I'm off to do a book run as I never managed to read the Earthsea series. But I know the depth of my base of read books is decidedly lacking and I hope to collect recs from this group and site to expand my library!
Welcome Bianca, Barb, Vicki, and Jon!Jon, glad to see you made the trip over from the Sci-fi/Fantasy group.
Leslie wrote: "Welcome Bianca, Barb, Vicki, and Jon!Jon, glad to see you made the trip over from the Sci-fi/Fantasy group.
"
I'm getting old and slow. But I eventually make it to where I need to be. :)
My name is Marian. Hello to all other fantasy book lovers. I have been reading everything off of the fantasy library shelves for 30+ years.I joined good reads about a year ago and am busy cataloging my past and current reads. I can't be bothered to review/rate the lousy stuff. If a book has many, many reviews, like LOTR, I didn't even bother to rate it and admit that I read it in '73 or so.
I read all kinds of books but fantasy, altered arts and cook books are my favorites. I am an avid late night reader. I read quickly, so my list changes all the time. I read over 40 books a month usually.
My first fantasy books when I was twelve years old were "The ship who Sang" by Anne McAffrey and "My Dread Companion" by Andre Norton. I went on over the next 30 years to read everything by these two fabulous women authors. There was more sci-fi to be had in the early years.
My additional current favorites are Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, Tamora Pierce, Sherri Tepper, Julie Czerneda and Elizabeth Moon (admittedly more sci-fi)
and a host of others! Because of friends on this list I am currently going through a spate of YA fantasy Literature. There are some great YA authors out there.
Welcome to the group Martyn ! I am sure you will find other new fantasy authors within our group that are suffering the same frustration Martyn, some maybe self publishing or with small independant book publishers. One thing i greatly admire about Goodreads is how readers and authors can mix together in a group.
Hi. I'm Lana. Annoyingly, boys spell my name backwards for my nickname.I usually will read some fantasy book and become obsessed with either the the main creature type, setting, author or combination of the three.
I like Carole Wilkison, Scott Westerfield, Angie Sage, J.K.Rowling, R.L.Stine, Helen Dunmore, Jennifer Cooke, Stephanie Meyer, Christopher Paolini and John Marsden, to name a few.
I usually read every night, and have done since I was five. I read regulary for the MS Read-a-thon, School, Premiers reading challenge and just for fun.
My friends think I'm insane, because I when a book hooks me, Iobsess about it. I read the first three Twilight books in three days, while squeezing in to 3-hour shopping sprees and seeing the movie. (And eating, sleeping, breathing too.)
Im quirky and when I can be bothered I go on for ages, as I have done with this post. If you could be bothered reading it, thank-you for your time. ;D
Hello I'm Kellie Aka Dame Primus. I joined Goods a year ago because I started a book club and well I needed ideas and to keep track of things. I have been a book lover forever, but found as I got older I found the need to not just read anything but to read something I could really sink my teeth into. I have always steered to the Fairytale side of life but hadn't read any hard fantasy. So now here I am finding myself heading up the best book club in the world and the majority of us want and love fantasy. Most of us are young mommies and so we find an escape in the tales of far far away, if you get my drift. So in joining this club I hope get fantastic reviews on the best fantasy out there and hopefully get new I ideas. Also I have to and need to change it up sometimes so if anyone has any other genres they're knowledgable in, i would love your feedback. Thanks
Hi, Michele again. I'm interested (and thrilled) by the way most of our self-introductions bring up the first fantasy book we ever read or the ones that we read as younger people. I (like most of us) remember so vividly the deep investment and wild thrill of reading those first fantasy novels. David Eddings is not my favorite writer now, but the belgariad was a wonderful place to start. And G.G. Kay-The Summer Tree, etc. Donaldson. Z is for Zachariah. And what about those books that weren't necessarily fantasy but were fantastic like A Chance Child by Jill Patton Walsh (is that right?) Spooky. I guess I'm saying I'd love to hear more about people's early experiences with reading/reading fantasy. My daughters are 6 and 8 and I'm watching to see what happens next in their reading lives...
Anyway, nice to meet you all.
Best wishes,
Michele
Oooh. Has anyone mentioned The New Policeman yet? I know it doesn't sound fantasy, but it's a fairie book set in modern day ireland. excellent.Michele
Hello and welcome - all the newbies to the group! Glad to see so many new faces coming on board
Welcome all new members!!Martyn--I can totally sympathize with you about how tough it is to get word out about one's work. I have the good fortune to have gotten a book deal with a traditional publisher, but it is a very small indie outfit; therefore, I've had to do the vast majority of the marketing for my books.
Goodreads has proven to be very useful for me, and not just for marketing. I'm just as much a reader and book lover as I am a professional writer, and I love discussing other people's books almost as much as I love discussing my own! Plus, I've made great new friends.
We all like you too, Leslie! Thanks for the great reviews and comments. Keep them coming. I am pretty rigorous about rating but rarely write reviews if I like the ones already posted. I sure have discovered authors I would never have found in my skimpy library.
Hi everyone,My name is pronounced "Sheila" and I'm originally from Lancashire, UK, although I lived in Scotland for twenty-six years and I now live in South Wales.
My first published novel, Mr. Planemaker's Flying Machine, was published in 2005. In January 2008, I set up Mandinam Press and published the book as an ebook on mobipocket followed by The Power of Persuasion, which is currently on the list for Wales Book of the Year.
The latest publication is an anthology of short stories and poems, Forever Friends.
I set up the Published Authors Network in 2007 and the Published Authors Forum in January 2008.
Michele wrote: "Good to know about Pamela Dean's other books. This reminds me. My all time favorite retelling of a fairy tale is Fire and Hemlock by Diane Wynne Jones. It was out of print for a while but is eas..."Hi Michelle,
I love Fire and Hemlock too.
And now for the introduction.
I'm Carmen. I was born in Spain and moved to the States (California) in my twenties. Now I live in PA.
I was always an avid reader and I love fantasy and Young Adult novels.
No surprise then that my first book Two Moon Princess (Tanglewood Press, 2007) is a YA fantasy novel. It is the story of a Spanish medieval princess caught between two worlds: medieval Spain and California.
Among my favorite fantasy books in no particular order:
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
The Shamers Chronicles (The Shamer's Daughter The Shamer's Signet The Serpent Gift The Shamer's War) by Lene Kaaberbol
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
On Fortune's Wheel and other books of the kingdom by Cynthia Voigt
Peeps / Parasite Positive by Scott Westerfeld
And a thousand more.
Robert wrote: "BLASPHEMY!!!! Lol!My Name is Robert, and I'm a Fantasy-holic (Hi Robert!), lol! I live in Columbus Ohio, where I live with my wife and program CNC machines.
Back when I was in the 4th grade,..."
Haha! Parents are terribly convenient that way! My mom hooked me on reading when I was all tiny and cute, but I never got the fantasy itch until my dad insisted on taking me to see The Fellowship when it came out, and, well, isn't this downward spiral great?
(also, CNC...? Chronically Neurotic Cleaning machines...?)
Hello,My name is Malcolm and I live north of Atlanta where I worked as a technical writer and corporate communications director for many years. I review books for a regional print magazine and for "POD Book Reviews and More" at http://podbram.blogspot.com/ If you're a writer at a mainstream or a self-published book, check out the submissions information on our site.
I grew up reading fantasy and science fiction, but stopped reading fantasy for a number of years while I was writing my new age fantasy adventure novel "The Sun Singer." (I didn't want to be influenced by what others were going, especially my favorite Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series.) But now I'm reading it again and am looking forward to our discussions here.
Malcolm
*waves hello*Hey everyone! My name is Caitrin and I'm 21 living in the state of Nevada! I am currently taking a couple classes in school and working at Old Navy.
I grew up reading the fantasy genre, as both of my parents read it almost exclusively. In fact my name was taken from a fantasy novel! I actually took Hooked On Phonics to learn to read because I tended to make up stories instead of actively earning to read. Once I could however, I was unstoppable! I started really though with Tom Clancy and John Grisham in the 4th-5th grade and then expanded. Another geeky fact is that I learned about sex by reading GRRM's first book in ASOIAF LOL!
Anyways it's great to be here! I can't wait till we discuss The Name of the Wind because I love it so much!
<3 Caitrin
A big welcome to all the newcomers, its great to see such a varied and interesting list of new members from so different backgrounds.
Caitrin i was trying to work out what novel your name came from, since you didnt mention the title. So tried to find it and can only guess it was from The King's Justice by Katherine Kurtz as that has the character Lady Caitrin Quinnell ? You seem like a child of fantasy, growing up with parents who read it almost exclusively, maybe one day you shall write yourself (now that would be interesting)!
Malcolm i think there maybe a few self publishing authors in our group, i know of one that is from Australia already with us, so having reviews done such as your 'POD Book Reviews & More' would surely give a greater opportunity to expand the readership to outside of Australia.
Carmen its always interesting to see how writers incorporate some self experience in theirs own works. Then readers can experience some of your own emotions that no one else can capture as well who has not experienced it first hand.
Caitrin i was trying to work out what novel your name came from, since you didnt mention the title. So tried to find it and can only guess it was from The King's Justice by Katherine Kurtz as that has the character Lady Caitrin Quinnell ? You seem like a child of fantasy, growing up with parents who read it almost exclusively, maybe one day you shall write yourself (now that would be interesting)!
Malcolm i think there maybe a few self publishing authors in our group, i know of one that is from Australia already with us, so having reviews done such as your 'POD Book Reviews & More' would surely give a greater opportunity to expand the readership to outside of Australia.
Carmen its always interesting to see how writers incorporate some self experience in theirs own works. Then readers can experience some of your own emotions that no one else can capture as well who has not experienced it first hand.
Oooh, J.J. I LOVE Katherine Kurtz's Deryni books!! In fact, Chronicles of the Deryni - 3 Vol. Set was one of the first fantasy series I can remember reading when I was a young'un. So many of our members got their introductions to fantasy (and sci-fi)literature from their parents. Not me. My dad didn't read much fiction as I recall, and my mom was strictly a spy/thriller/murder mystery gal. I can thank a middle school friend for introducing me to speculative fiction--hard sci-fi exclusively for awhile, and then fantasy after I read The Hobbit. To all you newbies, a big welcome!
Hi everyone!Browsing through goodreads I found this group, seems like a nice and diverse group of fantasy fans.
I'm 30-years-old, from the Netherlands, have lived in England last year, but returned to the Netherlands again. My first real fantasy must have been The Hobbit Or There and Back Again. During my teenage years my attention wasn't really on reading and unfortunately didn't notice more books in the fantasy genre. When I started art school, however, I picked up reading again and found my way to fantasy quickly. Have been an avid reader since, especially when I found my way to internet discussion groups! ;)
Some of my favourite authors are:
Robin Hobb
Neil Gaiman
George R.R. Martin
Lynn Flewelling
Guy Gavriel Kay
China Miéville
Jasper Fforde
Juliet Marillier
Tad Williams
Some authors I've only read one book of, but are impressed and definitely planning to read more of their books:
Patrick Rothfuss
Jacqueline Carey
Scott Lynch
Steven Erikson
Jeff VanderMeer
Joe Abercrombie
David Anthony Durham
Brent Weeks
The Bishop's Heir is actually the book I was talking about! (I didn't know you could add books like that!) I"m a pretender Queen >.> Though of course she's in more than one book, I think Bishop's Heir was just the first? I haven't actually read the series yet LOL.
I started a genre book club, every month we would offer three choices in a theme and they could choose to read one or all or bring their own in that theme, We had lots of fun with celebrity biographies reading about; Dr. Seuss, Priscilla Presley, Michael J. Fox, William Shatner, etc. It was fun and a group of books I would never normally pick! Also one month we all brought our favorite childhood picture books and read them to each other, Perfect for December when you are too crazy busy to read!It was surprising how varied the literature was. Sorry, This is aimed at answering Dame's Other book club suggestions question, I did not realize it went to the whole group! One month's theme was Nazi Germany and we read "The Book thief", "the Madonnas of Leningrad" and "My Enemy's Cradle".
Welcome all the new peeps!!Glad to have more faces and a deeper breath of fantasy lovers out there!
Hi, I'm Trish. I'm a s.a.h.m., wife, pet-parent, and graphic designer. I am a born and raised Pennsylvanian. It's a nice place to live and I like being close to family. I can't say that I have a favorite fantasy author. I do have a few series that I love/am following such as the Inheritance Series By Christopher Paolini
, Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs
, Alpha and Omega Series by Patricia Briggs
, Anita Blake Series by Laurell K. Hamilton, Meredith Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton and some that I love/reread often Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.
HI I'm anggi from Indonesia (Asia),, I'm now a college student in environmental engineering major. I think I have love read fantasy novel since my childhood. My favorite book are :
Inheritance trilogy (Paolini)
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (J.R.R Tolkien)
The Hobbit (Tolkien)
Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman)
The alchemyst (MIchael Scott)
Welcome to you all! It's amazing how fast this group has begun to grow.
Hey there, I'm Nick. For funds, I'm a professional computer geek. For hobbies, I train BJJ and (of course) read fantasy books. My favorite fantasy authors are:George R.R. Martin
Robin Hobb
J.V. Jones
Patrick Rothfuss
This would be my first post at this website, yeay!
Hi, my name is Shawna Kennedy and I'm from California. I am the mother of five beautiful, interesting, diverse children and a writer of fantasy. Although I'm not yet published, I'm working on it.
I've loved fantasy since before I knew it was a genre. As a child, when I wasn't writing love story scripts for my sister's barbies, I was reading Tolkien, Lewis and MacDonald. So it makes sense I'd write fantasy with a strong element of romance--which I hope one day you can read. : )
I've loved fantasy since before I knew it was a genre. As a child, when I wasn't writing love story scripts for my sister's barbies, I was reading Tolkien, Lewis and MacDonald. So it makes sense I'd write fantasy with a strong element of romance--which I hope one day you can read. : )
Waves Hi 2 All, Thanks for the invitation JJ. Wow, this is a huge group. It is rather overwhelming just playing catch-up with all the postings.
In way of introductions…my name is Dee Marie, I am the author of Sons of Avalon Merlin's Prophecy.
My favorite fantasy authors
Love any and all things Arthurian (as in King Arthur and Merlin).
Martin Millar (who also writes under Martin Scott) Lonely Werewolf Girl is amazing,
Michael Sullivan (loved The Crown Conspiracy)
Stephenie Meyer (yeah, I am a Twilight fan)
Nice to meet everyone :]
Welcome Trish, Anggia, Nick, Shawna, and of course Dee!! How you been GF ;-) Welcome to all of you!
Hi there. My name is Andrea. I am a S.A.H.M to 5 children. As a family we enjoy all types of literature... fantasy being one of them. I look forward to getting to know you all.
Hey Robin, Thanks for the warm welcome...I was overjoyed to see that you were one of the Mod-Squad to the group :)
Hey Andrea,Welcome, it is good to see you here as well...we can be new and confused together :)
Hey we group newbies have to stick together...does that make us groupies?
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Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Name of the Wind (other topics)The Fault in Our Stars (other topics)
Prince of Fools (other topics)
The Whitefire Crossing (other topics)
To Ride Hell’s Chasm (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Michael J. Sullivan (other topics)Robin Hobb (other topics)
Patrick Rothfuss (other topics)
Daniel Abraham (other topics)
George R.R. Martin (other topics)
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Honestly, I don't like HUGE groups like the first fantasy group that popped up on my search. And this looked more solo fantasy as opposed to fantasy/sci fi. Since I read vastly more fantasy than sci fi, and I don't like large groups with 500 people (at least not when I haven't been in it since it was little), this seemed like the place for me.