SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

What got you started reading SF?

For me it was watching Star Trek (TOS, of course), with my dad. I still remember a couple of scenes quite vividly (like finding the body of the Tellarite Ambassador hanging out of the Jeffries tube access in Journey to Babel).

Some of the first books that I bought for myself were the James Blish adaptations and the three "making of" books that came out in the 1970s, which helpfully included lists of episodes and writers ... which lead me on an exciting hunt for books written by those scriptwriters! Let me tell yah, finding copies of Approaching Oblivion: Road Signs on the Treadmill Toward Tomorrow, Alone Against Tomorrow, and Paingod and Other Delusions does strange things to the head of a 12 year old.

SF has been my favorite genre ever since. And all because of Star Trek.

(Incidentally, I didn't start reading fantasy until much later, late high school, early college, and that was probably at the urging of friends I was playing AD&D with. I pretty much ignored the other half of the shelves in "my" section at the Waldenbooks.)

I'd read a few SF/F novels before, and Star Trek: TNG was my favorite television show, but I didn't get into the genre as a genre until my mom made me read The Dragonriders of Pern, by Anne McCaffrey, for returning a book to the library late when I was 11 or so. That one just hit exactly all the right notes to make me suddenly realize that rather than picking up books at random I could seek out books with more fantastical subjects by looking specifically in the SF/F section at the bookstore. . . and I haven't looked back since.

I haven't reread McCaffrey in a number of years, because a lot of things about her make me cringe now, but the Pern series definitely has a special place in my heart. :)

In my (high school) freshman english class, one of the required books was Stranger in a Strange Land.
I loved it, and read a lot of SciFi for years after that.

I also got hooked on Star Trek:TNG ... that was when I was in grade school. One of my classmates' mothers heard about this, and invited me to make free of her SF/F collection. That was how I got exposed to Anne McCaffrey, Andre Norton, and many others ... I also remember reading H. Beam Piper's Fuzzy books and Sylvia Engdahl's Enchantress from the Stars, plus The Sword of Shannara. Being able to bike over there and have access to all her books was awesome. Good times. :)

Let's see....
Like Maille, I remember reading most of the shelves of books in my elementary school library of folk tales, fairy tales, and mythology from around the world. I was introduced to the Arthurian legend at that time, and have always loved it since.

At about 10, I remember reading Dragonsong / Dragonsinger, which started me reading every Pern book out there, and at 11/12 I read The Mists of Avalon, which led me to MZB's Darkover series. Those two series/worlds are still my two favorites, ever.

Been pretty much reading SF or Fantasy non-stop since then.

stormhawk wrote: "What got you started reading SF?

For me it was watching Star Trek (TOS, of course), with my dad. I still remember a couple of scenes quite vividly (like finding the body of the Tellarite Ambass..."

Its been quite some time for me to remember well but I would say my first was also Start Trek: TOS. When I was around 3-4 I would be laying in bed and I would hear the theme song. I'd get up and go into the living room and tell my mom I couldn't sleep so she would rock me. It meant I could stay up and watch. I have a vague memory of having a crush on Kirk. At least I can blame the bad taste upon my very foolish youth. :D

After that its hard for me to say. My brothers were close to a decade older then me so I was exposed to a lot of things at an early age. Their AD&D books were a source of fascination to me. I would spend hours reading the monster manual and imagining all of these fascinating creatures and what they would be like.

Some of the earliest SF/F books I remember reading were Dune, LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy, the first three Pern books, and the first 5 books in Zelazny's Amber series.

By the time I hit middle school, my mom let me subscribe to the SF Book Club, where I spent almost every penny that came into my hands for the next 6 years or so. :)

Probably Star Wars, I was 6.

In primary school, I read just about anything, sf included. During high school and my first two years at varsity, I read very little sci fi, I have no idea why. I wasn't prejudiced against it, but it was only every now and then that I'd read something in the genre.

Then in third year I did a course on sci fi with a lecturer who was very passionate about it. She gave me a great appreciation for sf as a genre of ideas, and I've loved it ever since. It doesn't make up a massive proportion of my reading (about 30%), but it's one of my favourite genres nevertheless.

It was Star Trek TOS. I started reading the books that went with the series James Blish Alan Dean Foster. I had a paper route for my first job and all the money from my first paychecks went to buy Star Trek books.

Watching Star Trek with my dad got me into sci-fi tv/movies, but I didn't really read any sci-fi books until I joined goodreads and found this group. However, when I was 11 my cousin lent me Lightning by Dean Koontz and that got me into horror/supernatural suspense (my mom actually forbid me to read King and Koontz for a while because she was convinced it would warp me :)

I'm having fun now catching up on all the sci-fi reading I missed out on

My mind was opened as a child to sci-fi after seeing Star Wars in the cinema and watching programmes like Space 1999 and Star Trek but I didn't start reading sci-fi until adulthood and even then, only sporadically. I'm getting some good ideas on what sci-fi books to go for anyway from GoodReads! Fantasy-wise, an influential aunt announced to an impressionable 12 year old that her favourite book of all time was The Lord of the Rings...I read it and there was no turning back then! I blame her for too many hours sleep lost with my nose still in a big fat fantasy tome in the early hours of the morning!

Star Trek for me, too.

I grew up during the 1990's, and my sisters were always watching The Next Generation, and we would also watch the original movies and various other science fiction films. So, I started developing an interest for science fiction at an early age.

For me it was watching Dr Who in the sixties, which lead on to authors like Asimov and Arthur C Clarke.

My father's subscription to Astounding Science Fiction (the forerunner of Analog) went back to the late 30's, and I discovered the magazine and started reading it before he got to it in the 50's. Later read all his back issues. So I read a lot of the "classic" stories when they first appeared serialized in Astounding/Analog. (Did you know the first Pern novel appeared as two separate stories in Astounding/Analog?)

I initially started with the Harry Potter series and The Hobbit when I was in junior high, but what REALLY got me hooked was reading Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith in ninth grade. I then went on to devour Lord of the Rings, and have also gotten into a great deal of other authors in the Fantasy genre.

Sci-Fi I am still not as interested in, but I will read it if it catches my attention.

I did know that about Pern, Sue. That's really interesting.

Mine was the classic tale: voracious reader powers through children's section of the library, one day picks up a book with a rocket ship sticker on the spine.

Red Planet, by some guy called Heinlein.

I read through it and headed back to the H section to see if they had anything else by this guy. Then read just about everything else with that rocket ship sticker. Then moved on to the YA shelves, taking in the SF in a single six-month gulp. Then to the adult SF section, where by age 12 I was devouring Stranger in a Strange Land, Niven, Le Guin, Asimov, and everything on down to the crummiest Star Trek tie-in novel.

I used to babysit for a family where the dad was really into SF/F. As I was already really into reading he let me make free with his bookshelves. Which is where I came across David Eddings and that sent me into an interest in Star Trek as well as anything else in that section of the library. Not to mention getting me out of the babyish children's section.

After seeing Star Wars when I was 11, I starting burning through whatever Star Wars novels I could get my hands on. That continued for about 10 years, but I didn't begin to expand my horizons until I read The Lord of the Rings in college. The movies were just not enough for me and I had to read the novels as well. That really just set off the landslide.

From there, I jumped into the Shannara series, Harry Potter, and the Chronicles of Narnia and I didn't look back. I've continued reading mostly Fantasy novels since then, but I like to mix in a SF book here and there.

Seeing Star Wars when I was young got me into Sci-Fi movies and shows, didn't really pick up the sci-fi book habit until my early 20's.

Randomly picking up a copy of Narnia when I was in elementary school got me started on Fantasy reading.

I'm not hooked! Is that a terrible thing to say?

I loved fantasy as a kid ('since The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) but got out of the habit of reading for some years (though really enjoyed me some sci-fi/fantasy tv series and movies in that period). Now I'm back, but haven't really been able to get into any sci-fi/fantasy authors.

Every fantasy book I pick up seems to either be pandering to the paranormal romance crowd or the inexplicably-medieval slow and epic journey crowd. All the science fiction books are faring better, but many seem to be pandering to nerd daydreams or extolling some sort of radical ideology.

Kaion wrote: "many seem to be pandering to nerd daydreams or extolling some sort of radical ideology. "

You mean like The Time Machine or Ringworld or Starship Troopers or Stranger in a Strange Land?

(I have a hard time with a lot of recently published works, but there's plenty of backlist out there!)

Yes, I meant exactly like Starship Troopers, which I stopped reading in disgust, and will probably not repeat seek to repeat the experience with Stranger any time soon.

Admittedly I read The Time Machine ten years ago, but I enjoyed it.

Am of no opinion regarding Ringworld.

HI,
for me it was S.S.O Conan and Elric. But i have always loved all fantasy.All star treks,star wars,willow ect. comics also, marvel showed me Wolverine.
rob

Kaion wrote: "Yes, I meant exactly like Starship Troopers, which I stopped reading in disgust, and will probably not repeat seek to repeat the experience with Stranger any time soon.

Admittedly I read The Tim..."

What put you off the novel Starship Troopers? I must admit I did not like it myself.

Kaion wrote: "Yes, I meant exactly like Starship Troopers, which I stopped reading in disgust, and will probably not repeat seek to repeat the experience with Stranger any time soon...."

I read SST, but liked the movie better. I was put off by my perception of his politics in the book. But Stranger in a Strange Land is brilliant and a favorite.

Kernos wrote: "Kaion wrote: "Yes, I meant exactly like Starship Troopers, which I stopped reading in disgust, and will probably not repeat seek to repeat the experience with Stranger any time soon...."

I read SS..."

I liked Stranger In A Strange Land too. I liked the movie of SST also as it seemed to parody the book.

I liked Stranger. I thought it had a lot to say, or at least get you thinking, about rights and what is a right and what is not. I've never seen the movie though as I've been told it's nothing like the book and not worth watching. Of course, I'm not usually fond of movies based on books I like.

I've always read anything put in front of me, and when I was younger I was very into fantasy (L'Engle, etc) but then I ran out of "kid" books and ventured into my dad's shelves, which were an excellent collection of sci-fi. First one I read was The Martian Chronicles, and after that I was hooked. :)

I still haven't managed to find many authors today that can stand up to Heinlein and Asimov, but I'm still searching!

I keep telling people to try John Scalzi. He's wryly funny and writes a good yarn.

Jennifer wrote: "I've always read anything put in front of me, and when I was younger I was very into fantasy (L'Engle, etc) but then I ran out of "kid" books and ventured into my dad's shelves, which were an excel..."

I liked Martian Chronicles a lot it was very thoughtful.

I read all the Foundation novels when I was very young. When I married, my husband loved the "true" science books as he called them. Later, my oldest daughter began reading fantasy and I did, too. Love both fantasy and science fiction.

When I was young, I had a bit of a reading problem, Having then been taken to a reading specialist I soon over came my problem (whatever it was?) and before you know it I was reading everything I could get my hands on. Not sure what got me into fantasy as such, but once I started I haven't looked back! I'm really interested in history, medieval times etc, so that has definitely been once reason in my later years why I keep reading and enjoying fantasy novels so much.

Well I watched Star Trek TOS, reruns in the 70's then I saw Star Wars, I picked up the Novelisation and that was that. My Father used to take me to a pretty cool used book store and I located LOTR, Dune etc

I've always liked SFF movies/shows, but I didn't even consider reading books in the genre until I was fluent in English and started stumbling upon people who loved Neil Gaiman and other popular authors. One day I bought a bunch books that were praised everywhere and it was love at first reading. That was maybe 5 years ago, so I'm still kind of a n00b.

I watched Star Trek with my mother, brother and sister and was hooked forever. At 6 I had a huge crush on Spock, my mother likes to tell the story I was really angry of Kirk because he sent Spock once on a very risky mission. Later when I saw the same episode again I realized he wa voluntering. (need to tell I am Dutch and it was with subtitles which was read for me, so te finesses escaped me very often)
My love for fantasy started with a dutch musical series which ran for years about the children from Hameln who were lost in a fairytale world. Also my mothers doing.
And ofcourse we read a lot at home. Books from dutch authors as Tonke Dragt, Tais Teng and the pure science fiction of Euro 5 (a series of a european spaceship, working in secret for the Europian Union)
It was my brother who brought this books in our home and despite he is 4 years older I read most of them too.

I remember my first real 'hook' being the Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison.

it was reading "little lost robot" in English class aged about 12. It helped in school as it got me reading more and more in general.

My dad asked me to watch Star Trek: TNG with him one night - I was totally hooked. We started reading the books together (yes, so dorky but so enjoyable). It didn't occur to me that there was an entire genre waiting to be discovered. Star Wars re-ignited the flame the first time I saw it. I stopped reading TNG books in high school and moved on to travel memoirs and outdoor/nature stuff. My sister recommended Harry Potter (totally hooked again) and my mother LOTR (again, hooked but it didn't click there was more out there). It was on a kayaking trip in Baja that I found Asimov's 'Foundation' on a used bookshelf at the hotel the night we got back out of the field and had my epiphany.

Haven't stopped since. Just read Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness for the second time (the first, I had to stop because I just didn't get it) and loved it! For those who struggle, keep going. It's fantastic.

As an elementary school kid, reading the Narnia books in the 1950's, and watching Batman and the Wizard of Oz movie on TV. I discovered Heinlein in middle school, "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "I Will Fear No Evil", and also Le Guin. Luckily my parents encouraged the reading and never censored. I got completely hooked by the original Star Trek series, and occasionally also watched "My Favorite Martian". Anyone here remember that one?? Now my absolute favorites are John Varley, Robert J. Sawyer, John Scalzi, Lois McMaster Bujold...

stormhawk wrote: "I keep telling people to try John Scalzi. He's wryly funny and writes a good yarn."

I totally agree -- Scalzi is awesome. You can follow him on Twitter, he's pretty amusing.

Downhill? You make it sounds like drug addiction or something... :P

for sci-fi:
dr who and blake 7
madeleine l'engle a wrinkle in time; frank herbert dune; and robert heinlein stranger in a strange land as paperbacks

fantasy:
susan cooper a dark is rising; ruth manning-sanders a book of.... series; ursula le guin earthsea series; and tolkien the lord of the rings

i flirt with other genres but can't keep away from sci-fi/fantasy.

Can't remember my very first Science fiction book,it's been so many titles and so very many years ago. At a guess I'd have to say it was a brand new copy of the Hugo Winners for the year 1975 or 6 (or which ever had the short version of Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Flight. The James Blish readers (Star Trek) are close second, followed by Herbert's Dune (which were a challenge as I was still in remedial reading classes at 6th grade). Having an imagination made up for all the strange words like "Quizat Haderach".
Doctor Who (starting with the B & W season of the Doc with a granddaughter)was a most see and now a tradition that has endured each incarnation.
Lord of Rings is more Fantasy than SiFy but much loved. Add to it the books by Raymond Feist and the whole Dragonlance (Hickman and Weiss)saga's and you have almost my reading range. H. Rider Haggard's "She" adventure belongs in there somewhere too.
Needless to say, reading skills improved, and much joy is had.

I don't know how I got hooked on sci fi/ fantasy. I was just a voracious reader. I do remember those two in one books that you could buy, that I used to like curling up on the couch with when I was babysitting my brother back in the late '60's. The first fantasy series I bought book by book was Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series. I loved the covers, the adventures. Tha was probably in 70-71.