SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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Former Introduction Thread
Hello!I just found the group thanks to SciFi/Fantasy challenge. It's super interesting, and an awesome mini-game idea!
Going with 5 books for the challenge, as I mostly listen to books, but not all are available in audio format :(
I'm someone who likes reading very much, but doesn't have much time to do so. Audiobooks to the rescue!
My reading goal for this year is 35, and I listened to 20 already :)
It goes fast when you're running, biking, commuting or in the gym.
I also like writing reviews. It's like my mini-game after the book is done.
My last review is a bit unusual, as it was an experiment. Don't hate me :)
It's for the book For We Are Many , book #2 in the Bobiverse series.
A Sci-Fi dystopian story and I'm upset because there's no more. It was published last week :)
If you like reading/writing reviews, feel free to friend me up :)
I like reading other people's thoughts but this, sadly, usually turns out to be a paragraph at most :(
Sinisa wrote: "I'm someone who likes reading very much, but doesn't have much time to do so. Audiobooks to the rescue!"Hi Sinisa- Do you have any trouble following some of the books on audio?
My name is Henry Gasko. I was born in 1950 in Yugoslavia (which makes it very difficult to fill in those online forms which have a drop-down list of countries). I was raised on a vegetable farm in Canada, got a Bachelor of Maths degree from the University of Waterloo, and have been living in Australia for the past 40 years (a long story which we won't go into now).I've read SF from my days as a pre-teen, going to the local library and working my way from one end of the SF shelves to the other over a period of several months, then cajoling my parents for a bit of pocket money to buy the latest 75 cent paperback. That was the late 50's and mid-60's. Heinlein, Herbert, Asimov, Clarke, Zelazny, then a whole summer struggling through Tolkien because I thought I ought to.
My SF reading was interrupted by life - work, travel, family. But I have retired recently (from medical research using stats and data mining) and most of that is behind me now. So back to my childhood - cycling a lot, playing bridge again, and reading SF (and a bit of writing, if truth be known).
I am doing my best to catch up on about 30 years of SF; my last serious reading ended about the time we had our first child. So any suggestions on what to read to fill in the gaps would be greatly appreciated.
Just one word of warning: I really don't like fantasy. In fact, I was hoping to find an SF-only group, not this weird hybrid where the most logical of people have to mix with the least logical. I mean, do we really need another story about a teenage boy who grows up to discover that he possesses the most powerful wand in the world? Freud must be laughing in his grave.
Having said that, I am also not a fan of the anything-goes, kitchen-sink variety of what often passes for "hard SF". By that I mean stories such as "SPIN" or the Xeelee series, where something so totally bizarre and ludicrous happens that it can only be judged as a metaphor, since it bears as little relation to reality as any elves-and-warlocks fantasy.
I look forward to some interesting reading and discussions.
Henry wrote: "My name is Henry Gasko. I was born in 1950 in Yugoslavia (which makes it very difficult to fill in those online forms which have a drop-down list of countries). I was raised on a vegetable farm in ..."Take my recommendations with a grain of salt because it looks like our tastes are not very correlated at all, but based on what you've said and the books you've rated, you might consider checking out:
The Martian
The Diamond Age: or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer
Seveneves
The Three-Body Problem and sequels
Children of Time
Bruce wrote: "Hi Sinisa- Do you have any trouble following some of the books on audio?"Hi Bruce! Not really, no. And there's a simple reason why.
Listening is a mental activity, just like reading. While it does allow you the freedom to walk around and do stuff, you have to remember it still requires your full attention. Otherwise it's both wasted time and ruined book experience.
You can listen while running or exercising in the gym, walking from A to B - whether it's work, grocery run or meeting with a friend, or doing anything else which requires exclusively physical effort.
All such situations, a.k.a. robotic ones, become fun as long as the book is fun. "Oh, I need to do the laundry or dishes! I have to cook!" No problem. Now doing dishes and cooking is fun. And plus you get to say "I did the dishes, so you do 'insert something else'" :-)
English isn't my native language, so listening to books helped greatly in the beginning. Just like podcasts did before. Now it helps shape my existing knowledge and teaches me new things every once in a while.
Of course, I will never be as good as the native speaker, but my vocabulary and grammar (however questionable in audiobook dialogues :) improved quite nicely.
As long as you anticipate the crossroad in front of you and prepare by stopping the book while you cross, you can keep the focus on the book and enjoy it fully.
It's a second nature to me now. I go to take out the trash and bring the phone with me. Yesterday I finished my 20th book this year! :-)
Some audiobook players can be configured to go back a couple of seconds on a button press, so you can easily re-listen what you missed.
I really see no reason not to enjoy audiobooks. Some people avoid them out of fear that their English isn't good enough. Well, I have a surprise for you - it's like a conversation with a very interesting person who has an awesome story to tell you!
Even if you don't understand every single word, you will still get the jist of it and get your mind blown.
Then you'll become an addict like me where 3 Audible credits per month just aren't enough :-)
Sorry for the long read. Sometimes I feel that a novel is in order for a reply >.<
Mod
Mmm yes, I do think I see what it is you're going for. While Spin was totally unlikely, I do recall my own birth, like various characters in Dune, and me and my nine moon husbands chat regularly with the charming Martian bloke and Mycroft the sentient computer about what it is we grok and whether or not to chuck rocks at Earth ;-)
Teasing aside, it sounds like you have more of an era preference than a content preference, and I am sure you will find sufficiently logical people to help you navigate the twists and turns of a genre known for its ability to be infinite. If you also felt like spending a bit of time, I am 100% certain there are scifi specific groups where you don't have to deal with us illogical readers :-)
David wrote: "Henry wrote: "My name is Henry Gasko. I was born in 1950 in Yugoslavia (which makes it very difficult to fill in those online forms which have a drop-down list of countries). I was raised on a vege..."Thanks David. Looking forward to the Three Body Problem and sequels. I have seen The Martian movie but I understand the book is better. I'll check out the other ones as well.
I am reading all the Ted Chiang stories that I can find - I am very impressed by the fact that he only writes when he feels he has something new and interesting to say. How refreshing in this age of multi-volume fantasy clones. Also looking at a number of Robert Sawyer books.
Allison wrote: "Henry wrote: "My name is Henry Gasko. I was born in 1950 in Yugoslavia (which makes it very difficult to fill in those online forms which have a drop-down list of countries). I was raised on a vege..."Yes, very good point. It's the same with the music you liked as a teenager - you are basically stuck with those tastes for the rest of your life, and you have to make a real effort to appreciate newer styles and artists (and avoid complaining about the new stuff, and therefore looking like an old fart.)
We are certainly unlikely to find a human raised on Mars who will teach us the meaning of life, so we'll have to take that one as an allegory or something. But most of the rest of Heinlein (especially the juveniles) are totally scientific in their outlook, despite FTL and similar SF devices. But he did go a bit strange in his dotage - the message became more important than the story.
But I think that even authors such as Larry Niven, who set many of his stories in the distant future and included lots of aliens, had what might be called a scientific mind-set which is lacking in stories such as SPIN. Obviously the same is true for Asimov and much of Clarke (though he certainly didn't mind getting mystical quite often). And others such as Zelazny were simply offering poetic rather than realistic visions.
In fact, SPIN has much more in common with what might be called "imposter SF" such as Stephen King's "The Dome" and "The Mist", which are really just fantasies with a bit of non-sensical SF explanation appended to them to pretend otherwise.
Many other non-SF authors who venture into the field fall into the same category. They are unaware of what has been done in the field and write a lot of cliches which tend to get noticed by the mainstream critics who have also not read much SF. I am thinking here of "The Handmaid's Tale" and McCarthy's "The Road".
But I am certainly trying to keep an open mind, and any suggestions would be more than welcome. I am currently reading all of Ted Chiang (and how refreshing to find someone who only writes when he feels he has something new and interesting to say). However I do wish that he would actually write STORIES rather than what often appear to be essays from future issues of Nature smuggled back to our own time.
I am also trying Robert Sawyer and a bit of Alistair Reynolds. I have tried a few Stephen Baxter but, despite the often interesting ideas, I have found the characters, and therefore the stories, pretty flat. Robert Charles Wilson is (so far) a disappointment (I have read Spin and Bios) but I am looking forward to "Julian Comstock".
Allison wrote: "Henry wrote: "My name is Henry Gasko. I was born in 1950 in Yugoslavia (which makes it very difficult to fill in those online forms which have a drop-down list of countries). I was raised on a vege..."By the way, I have no problems at all with the representation of Mycroft the computer or any other aspect of "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress". As a computer and AI expert myself, I can see this sort of development happening in the not too distant future.
And the story itself is a very successful presentation of Heinlein's libertarian views (both political and personal) in dramatic form. You don't have to agree with any of it to find it interesting. All without any jarring "nonsense science" to make the plot work. In fact, almost the definition of what I would call good hard SF.
Mod
Welcome, Alan! And Sinisa and Abi and everyone else who's joined recently. :-)
"Henry wrote: "Many other non-SF authors who venture into the field fall into the same category. They are unaware of what has been done in the field and write a lot of cliches which tend to get noticed by the mainstream critics who have also not read much SF. I am thinking here of "The Handmaid's Tale" and McCarthy's "The Road"..."
Hi Henry, I would agree that Spin is not in the same sub-genre as most of Heinlein's works, and while I liked it quite a bit, I am surprised to see it on a hard sci-fi list. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress is likely my favorite of the sci-fi genre (so far!) so I relate on appreciating its merits. I jest because in the world of speculative fiction (as I think I am paraphrasing Trike, who is paraphrasing someone else) the difference between fantasy and scifi is often whether or not something is believed to be scientifically feasible at the time it was written so Frankenstein can cozy up with The Martian and we (as a population) don't bat an eye. Even fantasy often has rules and consistencies that question matters of human knowledge--just not physics, very often :-)
It sounds like you've found a good list of more current authors largely considered harder science fiction, and if you haven't already, I encourage you to look up the lists of books here:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
And that I think you will find many people here in threads about the monthly reads and What Are You Reading who are extremely knowledgeable--and quite witty, too--about the more science-based side of speculative fiction :-)
I look forward to your thoughts!
Sinisa wrote: "Bruce wrote: "Hi Sinisa- Do you have any trouble following some of the books on audio?"Hi Bruce! Not really, no. And there's a simple reason why.
Listening is a mental activity, just like readin..."
Thanks Sinisa, that was really helpful!
Hi everyone! My name is Tyler, Only recently joined goodreads, found this group. I've always had a love for Fantasy and SciFi starting with reading a lot of Star Wars and Dragonlance when I was growing up. I've add a lot more to my library since, and currently I have been reading classics, thinking of starting Hitchhikers or Dune next. Besides playing games and running, I am also a writer who is nearing the end of my first novel, currently in the editing process.
Tyler wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Tyler, Only recently joined goodreads, found this group. I've always had a love for Fantasy and SciFi starting with reading a lot of Star Wars and Dragonlance when I was gro..."Dune is one of this group's bookshelf challenge picks for next month:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/18341797-2017-group-bookshelf-challenge-reading-calendar
Hello everyone!My name is Carina, but most call me Carra. I was born in 1965 and work at a university in the north of Sweden. Books and reading is my passion (no big surprise there :)). I read most genres, but favour fantasy and UF. I’m not so familiar with and tend to shy away from sci-fi; for some reasons I find the concept of aliens, spaceships and stuff not very enticing. But I know there’s more to sci-fi than that and would really like to read more sci-fi, so this seemed like a good place to hang out. :)
Some of my favourite writers are Neil Gaiman, Jo Walton, Terry Pratchett, Ursula K Le Guin, Ilona Andrews and Hugh Howey. Currently I am happily re-reading The Tombs of Atuan (#2 Earthsea Cycle). Together with a dear friend of mine, I am also reading the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, currently we’re on #4, Empire of Ivory. Temeraire the book loving and quite revolutionary minded dragon always cheer me up.
OK, enough from me for now (I tend to babble a lot – you have been warned). I am looking forward to join the discussions.
Mod
Hi there, I’m Arnaud, geoscientist, collection curator and since very recently speculative fiction writer. I left all social networks years ago to save every possible minute to read more (and now write). Goodreads will be the exception: Only after a few days following the group discussions, I discovered books I may have never come upon otherwise. I now plan to read: The Star Diaries by Lem, We by Zamyatin, and The Broken Sword by Anderson in the coming weeks (but right now, I’m reading a historical piece on Scarecrows, so I don’t only enjoy fiction, but history and science as well). So I’m definitively looking forward to interacting with you all and discovering new stories to read.
Allison wrote: "Welcome! There are some good "science fantasy" books if you're looking for a gentle lead up to more traditional sci fi. I also strongly prefer fantasy, but things like [author:Octavia E. Butler|295..."Thank you for the welcome and good reading advice. I have read N K Jemisin's The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate - Among the stringent and best read for me last year! Can't wait for the final installment! Also read Butler's Kindred, which was terrific and terrifyingly good. I will follow up on both writers' works.
Mod
*facepalm* I should have looked! Glad to hear you liked them though ^^
And hi Arnaud, welcome!
Allison wrote: "Carra wrote: "Allison wrote: "Welcome! There are some good "science fantasy" books if you're looking for a gentle lead up to more traditional sci fi. I also strongly prefer fantasy, but things like..."Oh, no worries. <3
Hi all, I'm Dave, I was born in 1979 here in the UK, I've been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, ever since my brother introduced me to David Gemmel what seems a lifetime ago. I don't exclusively read fantasy/sci fi, but those are definitely my favourite genres, and tend to be the genres I write in. I've got four books on amazon at the moment (and will totally get round to putting something in the authors folder) but I am taking a break from writing for a short while to catch up on some reading.I've just reread the Katherine Kerr "Deverry" series (an all time favourite) and am about to start on the Taltos the Assassin novels by Steven Brust again, but I also want to broaden my horizons and I thought this would be a good place to start. Looking forward to some good recommendations and to joining in with the discussions.
I worked for a good many years in sales and never really enjoyed it, I am now a full time Dad and author (and occasional guitarist), my six year old and eighteen month old sons are the absolute light in my life, and though parenthood can be challenging at times, it is also what gets me out of bed in the morning. Mainly because the six year old is jumping on my head...
I live on the Isle of Wight, and when I'm not writing, reading or changing nappies (diapers to my friends across the pond) I like to listen to contemporary country music (Kip Moore, Eric Church, Darius Rucker and Chris Stapleton being my current favourites), cook Thai-inspired food and make short films with my best friend. I am very definitely front of camera, he does all the tricky magic that makes it look good!
In spite of having lived through the technological advances which have seen us go from dial up modems to constant connection on smartphones, tablets and the like, I have always been a little wary of reaching out and making friends via the world wide web, but I am discovering now what an almost infinite world of possibilities there is out there at the end of my fingertips. I very much hope to make some friends here, and look forward to being part of the group.
Cheers all,
Dave.
Dave wrote: "Hi all, I'm Dave, I was born in 1979 here in the UK, I've been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, ever since my brother introduced me to David Gemmel what seems a lifetime ago. I don't e..."Welcome! I read a few of the Deverry books when I was a teenager. I read not too long ago that Katharine Kerr has fallen on hard times and is struggling to make ends meet, which says a thing or two about how hard it can be to make it as a writer.
One of the nice things about Goodreads is once you've entered all of the books you've read in the system, you can click "compare books" in somebody's profile and see what books you have in common and how your tastes overlap, and they can do the same to you, which helps make recommendations. I know it's a bunch of work to do so (especially for those with thousands of books, which a few people here have), but I think it's worth it.
Hi David, thanks for the welcome! I shall get cracking ASAP (or as soon as parenthood allows) on adding books and providing ratings (and reviews where time allows and I feel passionate about it), and I'm looking forward to making friends here.Unbelievably sad about Katherine Kerr, looks like life threw her and her family the most tragic of curve balls. I'm sending good thoughts her way, and hope she manages to get another novel out and back on track.
Thanks again for the welcome, much appreciated.
Hi I'm Mikhail. American living in London for almost two decades. I still drink tea with lemon instead of milk. :-)I love fantasy and science fiction books, films, games, art. As way of introduction, here are my top 5 favourite fantasy and sci-fi things across all media:
1. The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison (novel)
2. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart (novel)
3. Primer by Shane Carruth (film)
4. The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse (painting) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_L...
5. Paranoia (RPG)
Looking forward to being inspired by the Group!
Mikhail wrote: "Hi I'm Mikhail. American living in London for almost two decades. I still drink tea with lemon instead of milk. :-)I love fantasy and science fiction books, films, games, art. As way of introduct..."
Earth Abides
is a wonderful novel.
Hi. I like to read a lot and sci-fi fantasy is my favourite genre.
Hi! My name is Falan, and I am 31. I just recently made a job change I was a librarian which I loved and worked there for 9 years. Now I work at an auto museum/ antique store. Crazy I know! I still love to read and am always looking for good science fiction. I have read been reading The Expanse series by James Corey this year and those are a great read. As a librarian I tried to keep my reading list well rounded, but my true love is science fiction. So my goal is to catch up on my favorite genre, and read some hidden gems that I know this group will suggest!
Hi I'm Lars age 52 from Denmark, even though my native language is Danish i only read or listen to books in english. I mainly read Sci-FI & fantasy, mixed with some classics and the odd recommendation from a fellow GR.
I have read 72 of the books on this group's list so far. This year I have read the following sci-fi/Fantasy books:
Ted Chiang - Stories of your life... (and seen the film)
Rober Silverberg - Time of changes & the world inside
Kate Wilhelm - Where the late sweet birds sang
Alastair Reynolds - Pushing Ice
Keith Roberts - Pavanne
JRR Tolkien - Lord of the Rings (a revisit again - this time as audio book)
Arthur Gonzales - the photo traveller & The peace hunter
Connie Willis - Blackout & All Clear (this years highlight so far)
Scott Hawkings - The library at mount char
Neal Stephenson - Zodiac
Robert Heinlein - Double Star
Mark Cliftton - The forever machine
Fritz Leiber - The Big Time
Terry Pratrchett - Wintersmith
China Mieville - The Iron Council
Joe Haldeman - The forever War
Neil Gaiman - Fragile things
Neal Stepenson - Quicksilver,King of vagabonds (part of a reread of the baroque cycle)
Jack McDevitt - A talent for war
Octavia Butler- Fledgling
Liu Cixin - The three Body Problem
David Brin - The uplift war
Also read
Deborah Harkness - All Souls Trilogy (but that's probably more YA than fantasy)
Hi, Glad to meet you. I have always wanted to visit Denmark! Alan Zacher
Hi! I've been around since January but haven't introduced myself. I joined a few groups at the same time, and I felt stupid posting the same things everywhere, so I just didn't.I've been a speculative fiction reader for most of my life. I remember reading very adult scifi in elementary school and thinking I loved it although I most likely didn't understand anything. I had a long break from all reading a few years ago, I didn't read a single book for almost ten years due to life reasons. I got back into reading about three years ago and at first I just read loads of YA and none of "the real stuff". I didn't feel like I was up to reading the so-called better books, because I thought I had to be in the perfect mindset and make the most of every book. I think it was at some point last year when I finally decided that it's OK not to be the perfect reader and read whatever I really want to read, even if I don't feel like I'm in the perfect mood and state of mind. And now I'm back to actually enjoying reading again.
This group has been wonderful in a few ways. First of all having two books a month that I actually have a valid reason to pick up right now is so helpful. I tend to have a hard time choosing what to read next sometimes. I'm not going to read every group book, but especially if it's already on my TBR, then it's the perfect time to read it. Also the group challenges are fun, I really like the TBR cleanup challenge. I've looked at so many different reading challenges over the past few years, and none have seemed inspiring before this one. And the main reason I decided to join a few groups this year was to at least try and discuss some of the books I read even a little bit. I'm very bad at analyzing what I read and I wanted to get more out of the experience. My real life friends only read literary fiction, so we don't have much in common in the book world.
I'm currently reading Iraq + 100: stories from a century after the invasion, and I'm about to start The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate. After those it's going to be Who Fears Death in preparation for next month's group read of The Book of Phoenix.
And yes, I've wanted to read Who Fears Death for the longest time, but it's still on my TBR. Now that I have a good reason, I'm so happy to finally pick it up.
Anna wrote: "My real life friends only read literary fiction, so we don't have much in common in the book world."Yes, Anna, That's the wonderful thing about GR and book blogs in general for me. Much as I love my rl friends and enjoy every minute I spend with them, none of them really share my book tastes and so it's a big area of my life that I would otherwise not get to share and discuss.
I figure I should add myself to this thread since I'm finally active after joining Goodreads 5 years ago LOL.My name is Patrick and I've been reading Science Fiction since about 1977, I think the first book I read was brand new in the school library at the time and was called The Zero Stone by Andre Norton. I followed that up with Farmer in the Sky byRobert A. Heinlein and The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov and Time of the Great Freeze by Robert Silverberg.
So you can see I was inoculated by the Grand Masters very early. I worked my way through much of Heinlein and Asimov before I was out of Highschool, aslo reading Keith Laumer, James Blish, Alastair Reynolds, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip José Farmer, L. Ron Hubbard, Larry Niven, Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft and many others.
I'm a Gamer, both tabletop and video, have run a comics and game shop, a video game store, a gas station and a church/daycare kitchen, I was a co-director of a tabletop gaming convention in South Carolina called Storm-Con for the three years it existed, I'm a former Submariner in the US Navy where I was an MS2(SS). I once ran a board and a website called Tales From the Rat's Nest where I delivered what I called "The Nightly Nerdlinger News" a news aggregator for movies, books, games and other nerdy stuff. Currently I'm a metrologist and CMM programmer in South Carolina.
My favorite books of all time are (in basically the correct order)
1. Armor by John Steakley
2. Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
3. Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin
4. Vampire$ by John Steakley
5. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
6. Starship Troopers byRobert A. Heinlein
My Favorite Movies
1. Forbidden Planet
2. Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
3. Aliens
4. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
5. The House on Haunted Hill
My Favorite Bands
1. They Might Be Giants
2. Planet P Project
3. DEVO
4. Depeche Mode
Genres I read
1. Science Fiction (duh)
2. Fantasy
3. Horror
4. History (not historical, mind you)
5. Humour
I love cooking, eating and drinking beer and good alcohol. I love dogs, especially Great Danes, German Sheperds and Corgis. I currently have two Great Danes, both Fawn, a male named Atticus, 6, and his daughter, CoCo, 3. I also have a very large Green Eared Slider turtle named Fred.
Um, hi? I'm Claire. I am trying to get more active on Goodreads, so I've joined some groups, and don't really know what to do next! I figured this thread might be a good place to start... I like reading and read a lot (although I've only just started updating here, so it doesn't look like it from my profile!). I read most genres, my only stipulation is solid, well drawn characters, and if I don't find that, I will put the book down and not finish it!I'm hoping to be able to find places to discuss what I'm reading, there have to be other people who rage about poor film adaptations, right? It's not just me, right???
Anyway, I'm rambling. Feel free to say hello, or friend me if you like. I'm hoping I work this whole group thing out soon and be quite active.
Thanks for reading.
C.H. wrote: "Um, hi? I'm Claire. I am trying to get more active on Goodreads, so I've joined some groups, and don't really know what to do next! I figured this thread might be a good place to start... I like re..."Raging about poor film adaptations? Absolutely! Nice to meet you, Claire!
Hi all! My name is Sarah, I'm 30. I work as a recruiter/staffer in the US. I love a good Fantasy, (dark and gritty) and the occasional Sci-Fi. I'm excited to join here because I'm seeing a lot of books I've never read! Other genres I enjoy include: Horror, Historical Fiction and the occasional mystery/thriller.I'm trying to connect with some like-minded book buddies on GoodReads to swap recommendations and reviews so please feel free to add me!
Also- I love that this group has all these book challenges! Looking forward to joining a few.
Hi there - I looked at the current books which I've read both, plus the current series (I have convergence in my Tbr pile at the moment so I figure I probably belong here!I've recently read
The Stars are Legion
Infomacracy
Updraft
And am starting:
The Just City
The Collapsing Empire
WalkAway
Convergence (foreigner nth)
A closed and common orbit
Looks like I have lots of places to jump in!
I really like this group--much needed info. and thought. alan zacher
Hey everyone! I'm a wee college student, and have been reading fantasy since I was small. I don't often read science fiction, but since my dad is such a big fan of it, I'm doing my best to read more of it. Already this group is giving me loads of new books for my TBR stack!Books I'm slogging through at the moment:
Wheel of the Infinite (Martha Wells)
The Black Company (Glen Cook)
The Three-Body Problem (Liu Cixin)
Hi! My name is Isabel and I´m still on my last year of highschool, just turned 18 two weeks ago c: ever since I was little I had always loved to read. The first novel I ever read was called ''Ami, the Kid of the Stars'' such a beautiful book I did not fully understood as a child. On my first year of highschool I got very into greek mitology, I knew everything about it, I even had a notebook with evry single god and goddes I could find, written by me, I still treasure it. What really got me into reading was a series called 16 Moon/Beautiful Creatures, which was the first one I ever read so those books are really important to me even if they are not very known.My favorite books are the Shadowhunters Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, honestly they have helped me throughout my teenager years so much. I may or may not be a little obsessed over them...
I haven´t read so much lately, I just dont seem to find anything that catches my eye (I´m open to recommendations)
Books I´ve read recently are:
I´ll Give you the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Captive Prince trilogy by C. S. Pacat
The Lux Saga by Jennifer Armentrout
Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare (re-read bc Lord of Shadows)
Welcome Mikhail, Gorgonine, Falan, Lars, Anna, Patrick, Claire, Sarah, Rachel, L, Isabel and all those I missed earlier!
C.T. Phipps, Author of the Supervillainy Saga and a few other things.https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Glad to be here!
Recently read the Alexis Carew YA novels and am a substitute judge at the SPFBO.
Hi guys. I'm Sakura, a software developer from Germany. When I'm not reading I'm playing games (board games, computer games, RPGs), sewing or learning sign language.I love all kinds of fantasy and sci-fi.
I have a soft spot for the cornerstones of classic sci-fi, before it started to look like aliens and space travel, but I also like hard, near-future sci-fi and space operas.
I like my fantasy urban, magical and a little dark. I prefer unique magic systems or the inclusion of pantheons.
Recent reads
All you need is kill by Sakurazaka
Liar's Harvest by Langlois
The Martian by Andy Weir
Hi fella scifiers...I had been stationed near a gas giant, who turned out to be a black hole.
Now I have come out all new in here and curious about what you trekkies have been upto!
\\//
Hello I was born in 1992. i found your group randomlyThis year, I read lots of fantasy, go to profile page because there is a lot of book.
Currently I'm reading Shannara
Hi,I am Partha from India. I am avid reader of sci-fi and fantasy books. I recently joined the group in May 2017.
This year I plan to read 120 new books – I have finished 66 new books till date. Prefer to read series rather than standalone books.
Some of the authors I read this year include:
Evan Currie (13 books – Odyssey series, Scourwind series, On Silver Wings series & the Knight)
Tim Taylor / JR Handley (7 books – Human Legion)
SJA Turney (5 books - Tales of Empire)
Daniel Hylton (5 books – Kelven series)
Loren K Jones (4 books - Stavin Dragonblessed)
Steven Mackay (4 books –Robin hood series)
Will Wight (3 books – Unsouled series)
Daniel Hamilton (3 books – Society of the Sword trilogy + 2 Wolf of the North books)
Peter Morwood (4 books – Tales of Old Russia & the Clan Wars)
Mathew Harrfy (3 books – Bernicia Chronicles)
Others are books by Glynn Stewart (2), Brys O Connor (2), Brian Fuller, Ashok Banker, Simon Scarrow, Mark Lawrence, Richard Fox, Marko Kloos, BV Larson & Isaac Hooke.
Really looking forward to new releases this year from Peter Brett, Brandon Sanderson, Anthony Ryan, Taylor Anderson, Will Wight amongst others.
Ah, introductions, my old nemesis...I'd rather write a blurb, and knowing how tricksy those blighters can be, that's saying something, but at least they're not about me...Anyway, here goes:
I'm a happy book-devourer. The better I like the story, the faster I read (which isn't always a good thing, I mean that way you shoot through a great story and stay annoyed seemingly forever with a less appealing one - on the other hand, re-reading the ones you really like have a distinct appeal - anyway, I appear to be rambling...sorry).
While fantasy and science fiction is what I like best (especially with a little humour thrown in for good measure), I'll happily read mysteries, thrillers, spy novels, old fashioned adventure stories, classics, fairy tales, comics, mythologies, manga and goodness knows what else - just NOT romance.
With the above in mind, I suppose it should come as no surprise that I love the Discworld series :)
I wish I could write in all those other genres, but I just can't seem to avoid something magical popping up 'somewhere' in my stories (something which I thoroughly blame on a childhood filled with HC Andersen, Brothers Grimm and so forth and goodness knows how many years of writing dusty academic archaeology papers) so I guess I'll be an eternal fantasy and sci-fi author lol.
Found this group yesterday, so just joined. What to share... Name is Amber. I'm 35, live in WA state, single mother to five kiddos, work in the energy healing field, and have been on a mission to connect with folks for whom reading is more than just another skill...I am a pretty eclectic reader, but Sci-Fi/Fantasy is really my favorite. It's always what I keep coming back to. I started my reading year with Ender's Saga, and just finished Alastair Reynolds' House of Suns and Thousandth Night... with many many others in between ;) Pleased to find a group of similarly-minded readers!
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SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Rosewater (other topics)The Song of Achilles (other topics)
The Eye of the World (other topics)
Gardens of the Moon (other topics)
The Fated Sky (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Varun Sayal (other topics)Stanley Schmidt (other topics)
Margaret Atwood (other topics)
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (other topics)
Roald Dahl (other topics)
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Recently read:
Dubit Ergo Sum, P. Gordon Judge
Popco
The Possessions, Flannery Murphy
Hippopot..."
Richard K Morgan is pretty good - the Takeshi Kovacs series at least. Charles Stross and Alastair Reynolds are also worth a read.