SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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Former Introduction Thread
As a girl I would read anything with horses or animals. Then, in junior high, I discovered fantasy. And you all know how it goes from there.
I try to read 50 books a year and I plan on going through the bookshelf here and seeing what I've read on it. I'm a huge fan of classic, heroic fantasy, urban fantasy, and cross over fantasy. I enjoy horror as well and those two often mix.
Going to the World Scif-fi Con this year and just voted for the Hugo awards. Have you voted? Anyone else going?
Looking forward to meeting some fantasy/scifi lovers here.
My name is Arley and I have been a reader of fantasy and scifi since forever. I am also an author. Most of my books have been in the western/historical fiction genre, but I recently released my first fantasy novel. Hopefully it will be the first of many. I am pleased to be here.
As far as I remember, I've always loved to read books!Especially Science Fiction books, and sometimes, good horror short stories (notably from Stephen King and Lovecraft).
My preferred Sci Fi authors are H. G. Wells, my compatriot Jules Verne, and more recent authors, like Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Ben Bova and Orson Scott Card.
I'm not against the idea of discovering new Sci Fi and Horror writers, especially of short stories and Novellas, that I love, not only for quick reads, but also because I write myself in those preferred formats, using the pseudonym Lawrence Herbert Tide.
When I'll be more confident as an author... and especially when I'll have more time (when I'll be retired?), I hope to be able to write at novel-length.
I hope people here will be able to give me advice, concerning my future reads.
I live along the French Mediterranean coast, not far from Toulon, and I'm glad to announce that this is the first Group I join on Goodreads.
Hi All, I'm an author and teacher who loves sci fi. Going to Roswell fest in 2 weeks.
Hi guys, I'm an Irish thriller author currently living in Medellin, Colombia. I'm not a hard core sci fi nut, but some of my favourite authors include Richard Matheson, Carlos Castaneda and books/movies that touch on the metaphysical/fantasy realm. I'm a voracious reader and currently working my way through the BBC Big Read Top 100 Greatest Books - slow going because I've hit a speedbump with 'Little Women'.
Don wrote: "Welcome LH"Thank you, Don. It's a great pleasure to join a Group of people as passionate as me about Science Fiction and Fantasy!
:-)
Dina wrote: "Hi All, I'm an author and teacher who loves sci fi. Going to Roswell fest in 2 weeks."Hi Dina,
I don't know a lot about the Roswell fest.
Could you please give me more details?
Bye,
Lawrence
Hi! I'm Mae, I'm 27 and from Norway. I have always loved reading, and felt the most comfortable when surrounded by books. I have also always found a certain calm in organising stuff. It took me 27 years to figure out that I wanted to be a librarian when I grow up.
Hi I am a human male that heralds from the planet Earth. I own my own hair, shoes and facial features. I enjoy the consumption of food, wine and kindling my soul with a good book or two, and a crackling hearth. I am 34 Earth years old, I am a teacher/ 21st century facilitator, and love visiting the realm of my mind's eye, to write the stories within my skull, that beg me to be told.
I bid thee well, and welcome thee to inhabit my space I dwell .... or just have a chat about scifi
oh ... and most other humans call me by the name David ... :)
Hi Lawrence-Roswell Fest is coming up over the beginning July weekend in Roswell, New Mexico. Never been there, but it's supposed to be a giant alien fest in honor of the spaceship that landed there in 1947. Really excited and got my tinfoil hat!
Aidan wrote: "Hi Guys,I've already introduced myself as an author, but this time I wanted to introduce an idea. This MIGHT already be done somewhere on Goodreads - forgive me if it has.
I created a group cal..."
Please place this in the Goodreads Authors Discussion Folder
Hi Everyone, My name is Mel and I am from Sydney, Australia. I have been a member of this group for ages but haven't introduced myself!
I don't generally read too much sci-fi or fantasy, but I have started reading more this year and am looking forward to getting some recommendations.
I enjoy most genres, and generally get through a few books a week. I also love audio books, and have found my favourite audio book genres are sci-fi and fantasy :-)
I also review everything I read and am a blogger.
See you around the forums!
Hello everyone!My name is Renée Arielle and I am student from Norway currently living in the U.S.
This is the first goodreads group I've joined but I found it appropriate considering that fantasy and sci-fi are my preferred go-to genres!
Looking forward to a lot of great discussions with you guys :)
Dina wrote: "Hi Lawrence-Roswell Fest is coming up over the beginning July weekend in Roswell, New Mexico. Never been there, but it's supposed to be a giant alien fest in honor of the spaceship that landed ther..."Thank you very much for these precisions, Dina.
I've heard about the great mystery surrounding that area, but a lot of info and intox circulate about that event.
It's a shame I won't be able to quit France to go to that fest in New Mexico...
Well, I'll compensate by continuing to escape my dull life by reading and writing about fully imaginary Extraterrestrials.
That's what Sci FI permits us to do!
Have a nice day,
Lawrence
Hi, I'm John Brage, a 48 year-old lawyer who lives in K.C., MO. I'm married, have 2 kids and (at last count) 3 cats. I'm also a science fiction writer. I've completed the first two books of my trilogy and am working on the third.I wish I had more time to read, but between kid activities and writing, that pretty much kills my spare time. When I do read, I read probably 70/30 non-fiction/fiction. I try to read indie authors if I can find something that interests me and I enjoy writing book reviews.
Hi, I'm Adrian, 30 and from the UK. I'm married and am currently a stay at home dad for my 2 year old daughter. I love science fiction and fantasy and find I am reading much more regularly since buying a Kindle. I am looking forward to reading alongside you all in July for the first time and having my genre expectations blown apart :).
Hopefully they will blow your genre expectations apart :) I enjoyed both. Welcome and have fun with us.
Yassin, live in a small village overlooking the Nile in southern Egypt.I love traveling and reading about folk tales from other places in the world.
And also writing about folk tales in my country, in particular the local heritage, fantasy and horror.
My Favorite actor in Hollywood is Matthew McConaughey.
In fact, I wish at once I could write the same way that the Makohny be able to play his films.
And.. I think that's everything
Hello all.I think my process of falling in love with these genres was pretty standard: Tolkien when I was twelve, Dune when I was maybe fifteen – although I technically read Frankenstein the year before, just without completely falling in love with it. (Don't look at me like that, I have since come to my senses.)
There's another book club I'm in whose recommendations I don't always follow, but I'm looking forward to keeping up with you and taking notes from the group shelf and finally discussing books with someone who knows what I'm talking about.
Hey everyone! My name is Lee Allison, I'm from outside of Chicago, and I'm 28 years old.I currently work in an emergency animal hospital and try to read in my spare time if I'm not watching a few of my favorite shows I'll be crocheting.
I'm currently reading the "Blue is for Nightmares" series by Laurie Faria Stolarz but I tend to find myself back in fantasy.
Feel free to friend me or even if you want to chat!
Oooh, my hubby would love to meet you! I like the pic of your fuzzy baby!
Hi! I am from the Netherlands. I'm 37 years old and I've been a sci fi fan ever since I read Dune. I think I was 15 or something. I read mostly older scifi. Currently I'm very much into Frederik Pohl and Philip Jose Farmer.
Hi everyone!I'm 25, living in Georgia (USA). Currently I'm in pharmacy school and when I am not drowning in school I love to read and write.
Mod
I'm from Philly area, a transplant for school. It's much warmer here than where I grew up, though, so I'm staying. I started reading '70's fantasy when I was eight or so, and started editing my dad's books (and then others!) when I was about ten, so I have an abiding fondness for Eddings and McCaffrey (and also giving my opinions on things, but I think everyone likes doing that...Right?) However, I tend to gravitate more towards more current writing styles.
I only recently finished All The School (mad props to all the students who still find time to read! You're way better at time management than I was) and am now catching up so, feel free to bombard me with things I've missed in the past...let's call it decade.
Been loving the discussions lately, here's to many more!
Hi. I'm J.Grey.
I'm a passionate writer of sci-fi and also have a keen interest in travel and motorcycles. I'm formerly of London but found it a bit dull after spending most of my life there so I combined my passions and rode from there to my new home of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Now I work as a high-school teacher, rent/buy/sell motorcycles and have time left over to write sci-fi. My first book was a dystopian story set in the near future. I won't go into the plot but it was about someone treated as less than nothing who must find a way to discover the truth about their identity. This has always been a strong interest of mine. My next was the travel book which is doing very well on Amazon. It's called 'Those Two Idiots' which is what everyone knew myself and my travel companion as. We did everything wrong. My latest is a comedy that I wrote out of sheer boredom. It's one of those things that just takes over and creates itself and that's exactly what happened.
I don't read much. There are very few book-shops here. I was lucky enough to find HHGTTG by my hero, Douglas Adams and a few Star Trek novels, most of which were pretty bad. At the moment I have two classes and we're reading a novel in each. It's actually a little embarrassing.
In one class we're studying Herman Hess's 'Sidhartha', a tale of seeking identity and enlightenment in ancient India under the Buddha. We're discussing Jungian principals of consciousness and the nature of perception. In my other class we're doing, 'The Duff.' A crass american piece of garbage about a mentally ill fat girl who shows an incredibly vast arrogance and disconnect with reality. It even includes product-placement, if you can actually believe that.
Still, life is good, compared to the tiny kids at the bottom of my road collecting bottle caps to make crack-pipes out of. Cambodia is not always a very nice place.
I'm working on a novel now. I wrote it in 1993 when I was young and utterly clueless and actually believed that people were essentially decent. I'm re-working it now into something more realistic.
Thanks very much
Jack
Hi Everyone,I'm Sharolyn and I'm a sci-fi and fantasy reader and writer. I've loved sci-fi my entire life. Favorite authors include Octavia Butler, Stephen King's pre-Blaze works (Lisey's Story was the last novel I read), and other various YA and Indie Authors.
Hello everyone! My name is C.D. John, I'm a book lover and author. Work [literary and otherwise], makes reading a bit challenging in adult life. I hope to discover some amazing books while on this site.A few of my favourite Fantasy writers are: C.S Lewis, Neil Gaiman, Roald Dahl, Tolkien, Daniel Handler and J.K. Rowling. I love Mythology, African Folk Tales, and the Fairy Tales of old in their original form [think Giambattista Basile, H.C Anderson etc].
Cheers.
Facebook website: Author CDJohn.
Hi! I'm Lila (sounds like Leela), and fantasy has been my favorite genre since I can remember. I like sci-fi too, but in smaller doses. For me fantasy novels often embody a code of ethics that I resonate with, that has probably helped structure my own sense of morality and shaped my life in many ways.
My overall favorite authors are Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, and William Gibson. Currently starting to read some Robin Hobbs and about to start China Melville (sp?). I also love mystery novels, Jane Austen, and plenty of YA stuff.
I'm always up for recommendations on new series, so please feel free to share your favorites!
Oh and Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett were geniuses!
David wrote: "Hi I am a human male that heralds from the planet Earth. I own my own hair, shoes and facial features. I enjoy the consumption of food, wine and kindling my soul with a good book or two, and a crac..."This all feels a bit suspicious...like something an alien, or robot posing as a human would say...
Hey everyone,I'm Brian Manning. I was born in 1974, and I've been a fan of fantasy since reading The Black Cauldron as a kid. It wasn't until high school when I got hooked on reading science fiction, though. My favorite authors include Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, Orson Scott Card, and of course J.R.R. Tolkien.
Although I started with fantasy, nowadays I tend to cycle through various scifi sub-genres. Mostly dystopian, cyberpunk, space opera, and post apocalyptic (gotta love the zombies).
I grew up reading comics, so I spent a lot of time drawing, but I've recently started writing as well (in 2013). Years of playing and running RPGs has taught me a lot about story telling. So of course I mixed comics and role-playing games, and started writing super hero stories.
Hello everyone, I'm Natalie. I just joined today, and I just have to applaud the moderators - I read the 'everything you need to know' post, and it is fantastic! I'm excited to join in with the monthly reads, as well as catch up on the backlist, which contains many, many books I probably should have already read at this point, but am still just excited to read! I am a scientist, and am about to apply for graduate school, so I'm taking the GRE in about a month. With that in mind, my reading, activity, and participation will likely be limited until then, but I hope to join in once that is all over.
I really like that the group reads one of each genre a month, and I look forward to participating!
Hi Everyone! I am Aristea and I joined some days ago so this introduction is overdue and I apologize about the delay!I have to confess I did not start reading fantasy until my mid twenties, primarily because my curricula did not include any of those; what I studied was mostly classic mythology (Greek and Roman, and I keep thinking those stories are one of the first attempts at fantasy!) and I loved all that pertained to the Arthurian cycle and Dante's Divine Comedy.
I started reading fantasy tout court only when "The Fellowship of the Ring" directed by Peter Jackson was about to hit the movies. And I said to myself: Why don't you read the book before watching the movie? It was love at first sight!
Since then, I could not stop reading fantasy and I have several new authors I love every year and I am looking forward to read more great stories!
Hence I am looking forward to see suggestions and start catching up as much as possible on reading (provided that life gets in the way and I cannot just only read books!). I cannot wait to interact with as many book lovers as possible - and this is what I love about this platform!
Aristea wrote: "I loved all that pertained to the Arthurian cycle..."And now you read Fantasy in general? If you don't already know it, try Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy in four parts, starting with The Crystal Cave.
5 stars isn't enough!
Alan wrote: "Aristea wrote: "I loved all that pertained to the Arthurian cycle..."And now you read Fantasy in general? If you don't already know it, try Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy in four parts, starting wi..."
Thank you Alan for the suggestion! I have added to book to my to-read pile (which is getting longer and longer by the minute!).
Hello all,I'm new to this group concept but liked the idea of monthly challenges. I have read Sci-Fi/Fantasy since I was a child and grew up on Pern and Dragonlance. Otherwise, I recently have been wanting to reader some of the older sci-fi especially. Also, trying to convince random people to read Hyperion is another fun game.
Aristea wrote: " I have added to book to my to-read pile (which is getting longer and longer by the minute!)..."Thank the Gods for e-readers - not so long ago that would have been a physical pile of books, with a bill for building shelves, and maybe reinforcing the floor!
Hello everybody.I came to introduce myself, but then got distracted by reading other people's intros. It was great that the first thing I saw was a mention of The Crystal Cave by Mary S. It really is a great book, and a great series. I'm also a fan of Bernard Cornwell's The Winter King and the others in the Warlord series. I would say that both of them lean more towards Historical Fiction rather than Fantasy, but the lines there are blurred.
Also nice to see Hyperion get a mention as well. Another one of my favourites. I see fans of Gibson, Pratchett and Adams, and China Melville (Just started reading Perdido Street Station myself.
I've also just addedThe Aeronaut's Windlass to my holiday reading list. I like Butcher's Dresden Files series, so having TAW as an upcoming bookclub read was a good prompt to check this one out.
Apart from reading Sci-fi and Fantasy, I also enjoy a good dose of Historical Fiction, and that pretty much reflects on the books I read. I like my fantasy to have a certain amount of realism, and my Sci-fi to be fantastical.
Actually, I should probably do a more formal intro, rather than the backwards one I've just done, so here goes.
I'm Matt, originally from the North of England, but currently living in Switzerland with my wife, kids, and cat. Currently enjoying the nice summer weather over here and getting ready for a two week camping trip next week; the tent and sleeping bags are half packed, and my Kindle fully loaded.
Time to relax and catch up on all that reading.
Hello newbies! Welcome to the group.
Hi, I'm a 19-year-old person and have literally always had a passion for reading. I will read any book that is under my nose when I have finished the last one and so have to be very careful when I'm on Amazon or in a bookstore.My passion for reading led me to a passion for writing, and I'm currently working on two completely separate projects that I intend to self-publish in the next few weeks.
Ones a typical fantasy novel, although with a few concepts I like a great deal.
And the other is serialised science fiction.
I can't wait to share both my books with Goodreads, and my input on any reviews my books get (when I do eventually release them).
Dylan wrote: "Hi, I'm a 19-year-old person and have literally always had a passion for reading. I will read any book that is under my nose when I have finished the last one and so have to be very careful when I'..."Now that sounds like a good place to start! Good luck in all your endeavors!
Hi I'm Ellen and old enough not to want to post my age but my oldest child is 27 and I have a grandchild so I'm seasoned.I love all kinds of books but always favored sci-fi and fantasy in my books and my tv and movies. I proudly have a couple of kids that are geeky like me.
Last year looking for book suggestions I found Flavorwire's "50 Best Sci-fi/Fantasy Novels that everyone Should Read". I've read 32 of them so far. Many of them are on your book shelf.
Hello fantasy lovers!!! My name is Bart and I have been reading Fantasy books since picking up The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in Fifth grade. Moved on to some Terry Brooks and still going strong today at age 34, I think I'm on my 26th Drizzt DoUrden book? Good stuff if you love the Forgotten Realms.Hope to meet some fun fantasy loving people here. Good reading!!
Matthew wrote: "Dylan wrote: "Hi, I'm a 19-year-old person and have literally always had a passion for reading. I will read any book that is under my nose when I have finished the last one and so have to be very c..."Thank you very much! One can only ever try their best!
Myriam welcome!! you're in the right place.
Welcome, Myriam! I recommend taking a look at the group bookshelf if you're looking for ideas. There's some really great stuff on there and I hadn't heard of a lot of it. I hope you enjoy the group :)
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SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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I enjoy long walks on the dunes of mars and releasing Krakens from captivity on the planets of Neptune. I'm also a delusional optimist who's out-of-the-box thinkin..."
LOL! If your stories are as funny as this post, they'll be great reads! I can be very wacky, but somehow I take an "author's tone." I hadn't thought about/noticed it until I was writing this reply, so thanks for that! I'm wait to sound superior until AFTER I've written a few NYT bestsellers.