Former Introduction Thread Showing 2,951-3,000 of 6,846

[Jenelle]

Hi all, I'm Jenelle. I originally hail from the western Chicago suburbs, though I currently reside in North Carolina... this 105 degree heat is KILLING ME! I've been a sci-fi/fantasy fan ever since my dad read "A Wrinkle in Time" and "The Hobbit" to me when I was little (probably around 6 years old). I find that it is very difficult to find other people my age who love these genres, so I look forward to hanging out in this group :)

[Michael]

Welcome Paul and Jenelle...I also started with The Hobbit and my wife with Wrinkle in Time.

[Kim]

So many people pouring in, it's good to see.

[Thomas]

Kim wrote: "So many people pouring in, it's good to see."

Yes, it certainly is!

[Stuart]

Welcome to all the new people

[Daniel]

Hi,

My name is Dan. I'm a soon to be 46 year old father of 3 beautiful daughters. I live and breathe in the Chicago area. I started with fantasy (Lewis, Tolkien, Brooks, MacDonald) moved on to Sci-fi (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Herbert) and now roam between the two. I suppose it depends on my frame of mind when searching for a new read. Philosophical or logical.

[Michael]

Welcome Daniel...I think you gave a great perspective between the two.

[[deleted user]]

Thanks Michael, everyone is so kind and welcoming here!

[Crystiannia]

Heilsa, all!
Was pulled into this site a few days ago, so just getting acclimated to it. I think I like it so far. Not many of my friends read and those that do are not into fantasy and sci-fi. I need an outlet!

I'm an avid reader and writer from the Central Jersey/NYC area. I'm into many different styles but fantasy and science fiction are my absolute loves. Began with Andersen's Fairy Tales and then made a mad dash for Tolkien and Eddings before on to Bradbury and Heinlein. It's been nothing but trouble since. :) Currently, it's been a toss up between reading Gaiman and some classics that I've missed or started to get foggy on.

On a more personal note, I'm a child of the 70s born in the wrong era several times over (trust me, that makes sense if you get to know me). I'm a bit of a Rennie, a total heathen, love Scandinavian metal and named my only child after a knight of Arthur's court. I have a website you can find on my profile page, but be kind; I made it myself with no tech skills. There's some writing stuff there, but nothing I'm proud of yet so maybe don't read that section! Looking forward to meeting some like minded souls 'round here.

~ Cheers!

[Harule]

Greetings!

I'm a stones-throw away from 40 this year, born and raised in Brooklyn NY way back in the 70's. I got into reading from comics. I was a very big fan of the X-Men which gave me a thirst for meaningful books that are chock full of metaphors. I didn't really start enjoying books until I read Flowers for Algernon, which really left an undullable mark on me as a young teen.

Now as a writer, I'm very much into sci-fi, but mostly stories where the author has something to say. Of course I don't mind fun stories, but I tend to enjoy and power sci-fi with meaningful themes more than any other genre. Right now I'm in the process of editting my manuscript where I'll probably self-publish the book in the coming months.

I look forward to being more involved with this board and meeting folks of like minds.

[Daniel]

Michael wrote: "Welcome Daniel...I think you gave a great perspective between the two."
Thanks for the greeting, Michael. I suppose as the father of three I could've said my two frames of mind are either Exhausted (Philosophical) or Not (Logical). ;)

[Sharon]

Welcome to all of the newcomers from someone who is also relatively new ... a matter of months anyway ... and will warn you that this site is hazardous to your to-be-read stack of books, virtual or otherwise.

[Thomas]

Sharon wrote: "Welcome to all of the newcomers from someone who is also relatively new ... a matter of months anyway ... and will warn you that this site is hazardous to your to-be-read stack of books, virtual or..."

NOW she tells me!

[Sharon]

Thomas wrote: "Sharon wrote: "NOW she tells me! "

I think it is more or less obligatory to introductions, as in "My name is Sharon. Before I had my Kindle and was introduced to Goodreads, I did not have unread books on my shelves. Now I have 71 books on my Kindle I have not read."

[Lynn]

Hello everyone,

My name is Lynn and I'm new to goodreads. I'm a senior in college and enjoy Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Dystopian novels.

Fav book is "The Martian Chronicles."

[Alex]

Hello Everyone,
my name is Alex Bobl, I'm a science fiction writer.

Live in Moscow with wife and two boys and is currently working on my new PA novel, The Continent Anomalous.
I like read Strugackie and Abercrombie, and many others SF & Fantasy writers. Like fishing, skate and ski, meet and talk with interesting people.

I will be glad if someone could be interested to have a look at Memoria, a science fiction dystopian thriller:

In the bombed-out streets of New York, the corrupt bosses of Memoria Corporation make billions by erasing people's traumatic memories. But their bubble bursts when a humble citizen Frank Shelby becomes a murder suspect on the run. Betrayed by his friends and hunted down by mysterious killers, Frank has to penetrate Memoria and find evidence of their real plans before it's too late for all of us.

Memoria is my first book available in English. At the momemt I wrote 11 novels, they all published, some of which have been translated into German and Spanish.

Thanks a lot in advance!

[Angelof]

Sharon wrote: "Welcome to all of the newcomers from someone who is also relatively new ... a matter of months anyway ... and will warn you that this site is hazardous to your to-be-read stack of books, virtual or..."

Exactly what is happening to me! I have 2 kinds of unread folders in my goodreads shelf. For me, to-be-read is something I already have but waiting to he read. I also have a wish list folder for those books I want to get. Both folders are getting bigger and bigger because of this site lol.

[Chad]

Walker by Chad Schimke FREE!
Walker
Walker is a new science fiction novelette (on Kindle as well as other formats) about human alien hybrids with an alternative vampire myth.
FREE!
smashwords.com/books/view/173826
A hidden alien race lives secretly alongside humans. A dancer frequents night hot spots as a young model’s career rises. They are released from their ties to humanity, aligned with a horrific monster.
PRICES REDUCED!
Read my new novels Picker and Pieces available on Amazon on Kindle and Paperback.
amazon.com/author/chadschimke
YOUTUBE
youtu.be/p7JuQWujZ40
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I post tons of content with updates several times per week.
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[Al "Tank"]

Chad wrote: "Walker by Chad Schimke FREE!
Walker
Walker is a new science fiction novelette (on Kindle as well as other formats) about human alien hybrids with an alternative vampire myth.
FREE!
smashwords.com..."

This is a place to introduce yourself, not sell your book. Take this to the author section and sell it there. C'mon, show some class. Get to know a site before you start spamming all over it.

[Brandon43]

Hi,
I'm 37, a former automotive tech, recently switched to IT. I'm a single father so I don't get near as much time to read as I like.

this year I've read (not in order)

The Goblin Corps
River Marked
Fair Game
A Game of Thrones - A Dance With Dragons
Bad Blood
Bite the Bullet
Through Wolf's Eyes
Wolf's Head Wolf's Heart
The Dragon of Despair
The Lost Hero and Son of Neptune (read the whole Percy Jackson series with my son so we could discuss. Not a bad series at all)

Currently reading The Orc King by R.A. Salvatore, having trouble getting into it and I'm about halfway through. Might swith to something else

[Stephen]

Hi all,

Just joined the group and saw this three, so thought I should say hi... I'm a sci fi and fantasy fan, work for couple of publishers in New Zealand as a digital editor and manager, and for the last year or so have been running a spec fic small press as well. Don't worry, I wasn't even going to tell you its name or what we've published :D

Just keen to stay up with the play, and I'm always on the lookout for the bestest books to read. I love China Mieville, barely managed to finish the first season of GoT, and think Alfred Bester is freaking awesome.

Cheers,

Stephen

[Jonathan]

Hey I'm Jonathan and from Australia and since I jump across many various groups and particularly sci-fi/fantasy I thought I'd join in on this one.

[OO--OO]

Hello,

I am from Berlin, Germany. I enjoyed reading scifi & fantasy in my teens. I lost this habit for many many years due to study, work, stress and watching movies instead and am trying to reignite it these days thanks to remakes, bad weather and other .... stuff. First I thought, reading through the list of Hugo or Nebula awards might be a good idea to „start“ , but that beast might be too long at first. Then I was reminded, that I joined Goodreads and this very club some time ago, but forgot due to workload. I am trying to keep up with the current reading list of this club (and a few others possibly) and I am looking forward to have a lot of fun again like I once had with Ijon Tichy, Arthur Dent, Frodo, Rimmer and Lister, Thomas Covenant, Alex and Margarethe, Lazarus Long etc. etc. . And I am looking forward to the activities in this club (thanks for creating it).


PS: Sorry for the username, but it needed to be unique. ^^

[[deleted user]]

Hi everyone.

I've just joined the group. I live in the UK. I read a fair amount of fantasy (and write it too - but I won't talk about that here!), also SF, and other stuff such as Arthuriana, Celtic myths, popular science, history, philosophy and humour.

I'm hoping to get involved in discussions about books and other stuff as well. One of my reasons for joining is to get recommendations for authors I haven't tried before. I've just ordered the S.M.Stirling that's scheduled for next month's group read, plus the first in the series so I can catch up with the rest of you. I haven't read this guy before, but he looks as if he's very much my kind of author.

My favourite authors are Tolkien (of course), Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt, C.S.Lewis, Susanna Clarke, John Crowley, Peter S.Beagle, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Robert Holdstock, Lord Dunsany, Arthur Machen, Poul Anderson, H.G.Wells... er, this list could go on for some time. Maybe I'll leave it there.

Anyway, it's great to be here and I look forward to being an active (and hopefully well-behaved) member of this group.

[J.]

Hi Chris, welcome to the group.

[Sharon]

Welcome, Chris. Stirling is one of my favorite authors, haven't read the group read book but his "Dies the Fire" trilogy is great.

[Tanya]

Greetings, Earthlings and Offworlders...

I'm Tanya. I've been reading SciFi since I can remember - grew up on Heinlein, Azimov, Donaldson and Bradbury. Used to sneak paperbacks out of my dad's collection of now vintage Vance, Howard, Burroughs and Harrison. Recently discovered Dan Simmons (Hyperion, Olympus, etc.) and would love some solid reco's for fantastic, new sci fi writers.

On the Fantasy side, I'm mostly Tolkein (of course), Gaiman (of course), and Fforde. Overall, I favour off-the-wall/topsy turvy fantasy over sword swinging and dragon singing, but I'd love to rediscover that pocket of the genre.

I just picked up Under Heaven, and am sad to see you've all just finished it. I'll try to catch up as quickly as I can!

Looking forward to exploring the universe with you all.

[Kim]

Welcome all new comers

Tanya wrote: "I just picked up Under Heaven, and am sad to see you've all just finished it. I'll try to catch up as quickly as I can!"

That's ok, there is no rush. Feel free to respond to older book discussions whenever you want, we keep them open as long as GR lets us.

[Warren]

Hey All,

I may or may not have posted on this thread before. However, since I haven't really participated in this group (although I've been a member for awhile) I wanted to reintroduce myself.

I am a 36 year old writer from Arizona. At the moment I mostly write web content for various websites. You may not know this, but many sites actually are ghost written. That is what I do - I'm an Internet Ghost Writer. Talk about jobs you never had a clue you'd have when you were younger...

That doesn't keep me from writing Science Fiction and Fantasy, though. I wrote both and am working on a couple of short story collections and a novel. I am going the independent author route, so I hope to have my first story collection up everywhere by the end of the year.

I kind of let my Goodreads account go fallow for a bit, but I am back and eager to start getting to know people. I have been using goodreads quite a bit recently, as I go through my book collection and catalog what I have. That is an epic task, let me tell you...

Anyway - Glad to be here and I will try to become more social :) *waves at everyone*

[Janalyn]

Hi, I'm from the Pacific Northwest, where we haven't had much of a summer this year. Besides being a novelist, I also sing, draw, write poetry and song lyrics, and enjoy photography.

Tolkien and Lewis are two of my favorite writers. Terry Brooks is another. Also Anne McCaffrey. That would make my reading preferences old-school, I suppose, but it really depends on the quality of the writing and my interest in the subject matter. Another novel I enjoyed was Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock.

I love Arthurian books and plan to read Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle and Marian Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon.

[Brett]

Janalyn wrote: "Hi, I'm from the Pacific Northwest, where we haven't had much of a summer this year. Besides being a novelist, I also sing, draw, write poetry and song lyrics, and enjoy photography.

Tolkien and ..."

Hey Janalyn. Don't know where you are, but here in Spokane it's either between 90 and 100 degrees or dry lightning.

MZB's Mists of Avalon is a classic fantasy novel. I have read it a few times and it's fresh each time.

I have been a huge Arthurian fan most my life. There are some series I consider 'must-reads'. Maybe you haven't read these?

Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy
TH White - The Once & Future King
Bernard Cornwell - The Arthur Books
Jack Whyte - The Camulod Chronicles (9 books)
Gillian Bradshaw (these can be hard to find)
-Hawk of May
-Kingdom of Summer
-In Winter's Shadow

[Michaela]

Hi everyone! I've been a member for awhile but I'm trying to become more actively involved with GoodReads in general and this forum in particular.

I'm addicted to good books and will read nearly anything if it's well written. (No, I haven't read 50 Shades of Grey. :-P) A few of my favorite authors are Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Guy Gavriel Kay, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

I live in the Texas hill country with my husband, our four kids, two cats and a horse. Somewhere in the midst of the chaos I occasionally find time to work on my own stories.

I'm looking forward to getting to know you all! :-)

[Stevie]

Hi everyone! I'm Steve, I'm 42 and have been reading SciFi/Fantasy most of my life.

Favorite SciFi: Herbert's Dune series; Stephen R. Donaldson's Gap Cycle; Asimov's Foundation cycle; anything by Heinlein; C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy; Harlon Ellison; Doc Smith's Lensman books; anything by Neal Stephenson or William Gibson.

Favorite Fantasy: Stephen R. Donaldson is my all-time favorite; Tolkien, of course; C.S. Lewis; I'm currently reading Terry Brooks' Shanarra series for the first time and enjoying it; Rowling's Harry Potter series; LeGuin's Earthsea books; more recently Pat Rothfuss' Kingkiller saga and also China Mieville's Kraken; Jordan's Wheel of Time saga.

I find that I lean more and more towards Fantasy in recent years and less towards SciFi, although I still re-read Dune every few years. Overall I like human stories, with well-realized characters, and not so much "hard science fiction" where the science is more detailed than the people. I'm not really into military scifi, which is ironic since I spent 20 years in the military. I also don't like most game- and movie-tie-in works like Star Wars, Star Trek, Dungeons & Dragons, etc., although there have been notable exceptions. Diane Duane, for example, has some excellent Star Trek novels.

In non-genre reading I enjoy Thomas Pynchon's works and the poetry of Billy Collins. I try to read something non-genre every now and then just to keep myself grounded. Currently I'm plodding through The Brothers Karamozov on my Kindle.

I'm married with 2 kids and live in Colorado where I do computer support work.

[Loopy]

Hello all! Since we are all admitting to being born, I too will add my proof, I was born in 64 (See The other John? You are not the only geezer!). My mother was anti-TV so instead of TVs and computers we got library cards. Needless to say once I found the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section I never strayed. I do have problems finding authors I like and have a tendency to stick to just a few, C.J. Cherryh, Julie Czerneda, etc.
I am so thrilled to be here! I have been making lists of authors and books and I hope to read them all! *rubs hands together in anticipation*

[Brett]

Who you calling geezer!?
I was born in 59 and was introduced to science fiction and fantasy by the librarian in my town.
She gave me the old copies of Fantasy & Science Fiction to start and then showed me Andre Norton and Edgar Rice Burroughs (NOT Tarzan). Needless to say, I was forever hooked and consider Andre Norton to be one of the best in the field.

[Sharon]

Brett wrote: "Who you calling geezer!?
I was born in 59 and was introduced to science fiction and fantasy by the librarian in my town."

Well, so far I think I'm ahead in the 'age game' whether I want to be or not ... I graduated high school in 1959!

My introduction to fantasy was my mother reading Greek and Roman mythology to me at bedtime and my introduction to science fiction was with Jules Verne.

[Brett]

J.A. wrote: "Hi Everyone! I'm pretty new to Goodreads but I'm enjoying it so far.

I write science fiction and non-fiction science curriculum and run my own small publishing company. When I'm not writing I als..."

Have you read Joe Haldemans' 'The Forever War" series? You might like it if you haven't.

[Shawn]

Hello, my name is Shawn Grimsley. I practiced law for nearly a decade and hated nearly every minute of it. Now I spend my days taking care of my kids, teaching an occasional class and reading and writing science fiction. Aside from finishing my first novel and a short story, I have started a free quarterly e-magazine of speculative fiction.

My reading interests are fairly diverse. I like reading most types of science fiction. I lean more towards social science fiction and dystopian fiction. I don’t mind hard SF, but probably would opt to read a non-fiction book on the same subject of exploration.

I have set a goal to read every Hugo and Nebula Award winning novel from the inception of the respective award to date and post a review of each on my blog. I figure it guarantees me a good read every time and will help me improve as an author. I’m not even close to completing the goal, and the list grows longer each year….

I do read some literary fiction but mainly the classics from the Epic of Gilgamesh onward. There’s a special place in my heart for Russian novelists such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. I’m trying to read more poetry. I also want to read some experimental fiction—especially experimental speculative fiction. Any suggests are appreciated.

I also enjoy reading non-fiction. I like reading philosophy, from Plato to Existentialism and beyond. I guess I am an existentialist but would rather not be. I also enjoy political theory and some history. I also have an interest in the interplay between economics, ecology, political theory and ecology. Finally, it probably isn’t too much of a surprise that I enjoy reading theoretical science texts. My math skills are horrible so I stick with conceptual books. I have a fascination with superstring theory, quantum mechanics, and chaos theory.

I look forward to having some great discussions here. I will try my best to offer some meaningful recommendations and thoughts.

[Rod]

Hi eveyone! My name is Terez Williamson and I was born in '69. I loved reading from early on in my childhood. My love of reading was fostered by my grandmother and mother, who would read to me almost every night. My introduction to fantasy was The Chronicles of Narnia, books I still hold dear to my heart. I am a writer who has written two nonfiction books - a beginner's guide to Pinterest and a book on relationships. I also am a relationship blogger. I look forward to many great discussions here!

[Alan]

Shawn wrote: "Hello, my name is Shawn Grimsley. [ . . .] I have started a free quarterly e-magazine of speculative fiction. "

Hi Shawn
More details on that magazine, please? Via Goodreads or send direct to alantheteacher@yahoo.co.uk?
Thanks

Alan

[Shawn]

Alan, I just sent you an email about the magazine.

Regards,

Shawn

[~Anita~]

Hi I'm Anita. I'm 27 and was born in 1985. I was reading fantasy first with things like the The Chronicles of Narnia. My dad first introduced me to sci-fi. Tamora Pierce was my favourite as a teen. Some of my favourites as an adult include Lois McMaster Bujold, Jim Butcher, Terry Pratchett and David Weber. Recently Ben Aaronovitch has rocked my world.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi, welcome.

[Fai]

Hi All,

I just started getting into reading this year. I'm currently increasing my drawing skills and was looking for a way to pound sci-fi and fantasy info into my brain. I came across an Episode of Feng Zhu's Design Cinema where he recommended Perdido Street Station and thought that it was a good place to start...it was EXCELLENT!

Anyhow, I researched and found PSS belongs to a sub genre called the New Weird, found that book list online, and made a commitment to read the most interesting (to me) on that list. I'll have to admit though, I'm getting pretty tired of "decadent urban fantasy".

For now, after being fully entertained by James Barclay's Dawnthief and Adrian Tchaikovsky's Empire in Black and Gold, I think i'm not interested in the New Weird anymore, and just want to read something fast paced and good, that also brings forth new sci fi / fantasy ideas.

I have stowed away Viriconium for when I run out of books to read. And have also packed away China Mieville's The Scar, only because Perdido Street was so excellent, i found it made subsequent books i read not seem as good. I don't want that to happen again after reading The Scar. I've seen online reviews that sometimes praise The Scar even higher than Perdido Street Station, so I will save it as my secret weapon for when i really run out of books. I did, though, read Mieville's Iron Council since it didn't get as high reviews as the other 2 books.

I look forward to reading the reviews from this groups memebers, thanks for having me here!

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Welcome.

[Al]

Shawn wrote: "Alan, I just sent you an email about the magazine.

Regards,

Shawn"
Never got it.

[Pete]

Hi I'm pete, 26 live in the uk. Love reading though go through stages reading loads and then not so much

[Ram]

Hello guys, My name is Ramkumar and I'm from India. I'm working for an Information Technology company in Coimbatore, which is located on the southern-part of India. Looking forward to take my part in the discussion on sci-fi novels.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi, welcome.

[Angela]

Hey everyone! My name is Angela. I live in Portland, OR. I keep coming up with blanks when I try to come up with something new to read so thought this would be a great way to get exposure to books I wouldn't read otherwise. Look forward to starting up with whatever September's selection may be!