Decent Book Clubs for Sci-Fi Fans? 406
willyhill writes "I'm a Sci-Fi and Fantasy book nut, but in the last few years I've found it more and more difficult to find the time to read. Contrary to what most people would think, I actually have a hard time finding books, rather than cuddling up with them. In reality, I don't have time to mess around at my local Barnes & Noble and browse books, and I find it dicey and expensive to do the same at Amazon or other online retailers. I was looking at a magazine the other day and I found an advert for the Science Fiction Book Club. While my experience with CD clubs and the like in the past has not been entirely positive, I was prepared to give it a shot given the fact that it would be less expensive than Amazon in the long run. The problem was that their selection is not exactly grand. Having read the Simmons Hyperion Cantos, for example, I was ready to give Ilium a go, but I could only find its sequel. How do other readers get their hands on Sci-Fi books? I tried Googling for book clubs and the like, but there's too much static out there, mostly caused by Oprah. Any suggestions would be appreciated!"
The library. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The library. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The library. (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Sure, some are in horrible shape, but for $0.75 to $2.00 you can't really complain. I've found some remarkable (to me) treasures - old Time-Life publications like "Great Ages of Man" and su
Re:The library. (Score:5, Informative)
Or you could subscribe to a Science Fiction magazine. They usually have good review sections as well as some good short sci fi for the busy reader. My personal recommendation is Interzone magazine [ttapress.com]. It's pretty good, British but I think you can get it everywhere and it also has the best film reviews I've ever read (albeit always arriving long after I've seen the film). Definitely worth it for people who don't have the time to work their way through a bookshop looking for the occasional good sci fi.
Re:The library. (Score:4, Insightful)
Real SF Problem (Score:3, Insightful)
The real problem is finding quality authors and stories. Back in the early 70's, I was growing tired of cookie cutter Edgar Rice Burroughs stories; "modern man put in a savage environment, finds pretty girl, and becomes king of all he survey
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
For more recent SF writers, I quite like Vernor Vinge, John Varley, and Wil McCarthy. Currently, I think they would be my personal candidates for future grandmasters, although other people would probably argue in favour of Kim Stanley Robinson.
David R. Palmer has finally (after a 25 year hiatu
Re:The library. (Score:5, Insightful)
Your comment shouldn't be marked insightful, it should be marked ignorant.
Laziness is an inherent human attribute that has caused all kinds of great innovation. Have you ever used a microwave? Well gawlly! You're lazy! Everyone knows that anything worth eating is worth spending at least an hour to cook!
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Private Library Development...[and LibraryThing] (Score:5, Interesting)
Several of my favorite clients are on personal "book of the month club" programs, where I send them a random book within their interest area(s) each month. Thus far, I've never had anyone complain about a choice.
I strongly encourage you to find a good book dealer and have a chat. In the alternative, drop me a line *g*...my personal collecting is in hard spec. fiction and cryptography.
Good luck.
--
Ian J. Kahn
Lux Mentis, Booksellers
Antiquarian & Fine First Editions
211 Marginal Way, #777
Portland, ME, 04101
http://www.luxmentis.com/ [luxmentis.com]
Member ABAA/ILAB
p.s. You should also check out the SF comm. at www.librarything.com.
Re:Private Library Development...[and LibraryThing (Score:4, Informative)
I agree, of the many websites that organize/recommend content, I think the librarything.com does a great, great job! excellent use of tags, you can input several of your favourite titles and see who else picked them and what their OTHER favourite titles are. I personally am not into fantasy, more sci fi, but thelibrarything.com helped me discover asher, and also Ian Banks.
enjoy!
yahoo, orkut (Score:3, Informative)
Orkut has recently added some features related to reviews on books and you could find some leads.
BTW, FP?
If you don't mind Audio books (Score:5, Informative)
They have a decent selection of SF books (including some first rate cast based unabridged versions of the Dune books that I'm currently enjoying).
I've been using it for about eight months, and I like it.
Also, they let you convert the books to mp3. It's a bit long winded, you have to export to cd/virtual cd using a version of nero they supply, then convert them. I use mediamonkey to do that, then mp3 tag tools to sort out the tags/rename the files.
Or you can leave them as
Library (Score:5, Insightful)
Join a bloody library!
Most (free!) librarys have a decent SF section and will cary SF periodicals if you ask nicely.
Lots of fellow geeks will be hovering around the Fantesy/SF section also, so you can meet a few people.
It isn't rocket science dude.
Re: (Score:2)
The library I live near has something on the order of 10,000 SF books in their collection and is always adding them. Not to mention any book they don't have, but is located at some other library, I can request and get in under a week.
Also, the library system I use has a rating/commenting system that I've found very helpful. In general, you don't have to worry about astroturfing and the like.
Re:Library (Score:5, Informative)
Also, join forces with a fellow science fiction lover. Reviews and fancy cover art are no substitute for the impressions you can get from a trusted friend. A buddy and I used to trade books and it was so wonderful to discuss the stories, their strengths and weaknesses, the author's visions and values.
I think what the OP wants is something along the lines of the Quality Paperback Book Club, which I used to belong to many years ago. They attempted to live up to their name by vetting the books and providing sophisticated reviews, and the books were pretty good, but after a while it got tedious sending the stupid form back every two weeks. New bookstores that have decent sci-fi collections are pretty good, too; you can browse the books before buying.
One problem is that books are becoming a niche item in the U.S. (don't know about Europe). People read on the Web, or watch multimedia/video/TV, and the reading of old fashioned books is getting to be almost a lost art form. Bookstores are dropping away, and browsing at Amazon.com is just not the same. Anyway, I'm glad when someone asks this kind of question because occasionally you can get some useful information. Not that I have enough time to read...
Re: (Score:2)
I was introduced to sci-fi and fantasy through my local library.
If the library is at all big, ask the librarians if one of them is into sci-fi - most likely at least one is and will have read everything they have.
Hugo Awards (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I recognize that these are not hard sci-fi/tech driven stories, of course, so I think I want to restate the question: Where do you fin
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Kurt Vonnegut. [amazon.com] *
SF vs non-SF writers (Score:3, Interesting)
If M Atwood is Margaret Atwood, then many people wouldn't consider her to be a science fiction writer.
Of course, some people who write 'speculative fiction', like Atwood, don't want to be called SF writers because the public would reject them. Their books meet the criteria of SF, whether it be science fiction or speculative fiction, but they stay clear of the genre because of the 'taint'.
When you get down to it, there are a number of very popular writers, like Tom Clancy, that write SF involving technolo
Re:Hugo Awards ... and the Nebulas (Score:5, Informative)
Nebula awards too (Score:2)
Dozois's "Year's Best Science Fiction" (Score:5, Informative)
I've been a long-time science fiction fan and this has been THE book for me each year, in filtering out the diamonds from the shit.
Very vague terms (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
http://www.amazon.com/Ilium-Dan-Simmons/dp/0380817926/
Use a specialist bookstore (Score:3, Interesting)
Even if you're not in the area, that's fine; they have a newsletter, and do mail order. And I'm sure that you could call them up, give them a credit card number, and just ask them to ship you a good book every month. Or if you can find a bookstore in your area like that, try th
Quality on the decline (Score:2, Insightful)
I'd recommend going to a good used book store and looking for some older titles. Should be cheaper, and you'll probably find better quality too.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I know it's in the fantasy genre, but A Song of Ice and Fire has been holding my interests for a while.
Re: (Score:2)
You got old. (Score:2)
Cryptonomicron is a great book, until the last 10 pages or so. Is that cyberpunk?
Re:Quality on the decline (Score:5, Informative)
I think I'm going to have to disagree with you on this. The quality of some authors has declined as they got older. If I see one more Ender book I think I'll barf. I'll give you that the quality of Star Trek and Star Wars books has gone down in the last few years. There are some really good authors out there that don't have name recognition though. I just finished John Scalzi Old Man's War and found it to be great. Never heard of him before.
Now here is a strange place to find book recommendations but I Wikipedia. If you type in a few key words you can usually find a list of books and subjects that you are interested in. Then you can look them up on Amazon. Strange but it works for me.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, even though its heavier on elves (not the kind you're thinking of) than spaceships (although its had a couple of those too), the Discworld series by Pratchett is far closer to sci-fi than fanta
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Holy Shit! Someone feels almost the same way as I do about the same books. I read all the Dune books right up to God Emperor. I got halfway through it and put it down. I didn't hate it, I just didn't like it.
Rendezvous with Rama is on my all time favorite reading lists. Anything after Rama in that series I wouldn't give the honor of lining my bird cage with. The three squeals to have the honor of being the only books that I've ever went out of my way to destroy. Problem I see with some of these ol
Re: (Score:2)
As for "nothing good in the last twenty years" have you tried *any* of the following?
Peter F Hamilton
Alastair Reynolds
Charles Stross
Neal Stephenson (Partic. Snow Crash and Diamond Age)
Just to name four off the top of my head - I know there's plenty of others as well.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Peter Watts (Rifters Triology, dark, twisted, but quite good)
Scott Westerfeld (Risen Empire was a great space opera, but he seems to have abandoned it for his more lucrative juvenile line)
I've noticed that the preponderance of decent, new, SF is coming from British authors.
Perhaps growing up with the longest running SF serial on the planet [bbc.co.uk] helps inspire them.
Re: (Score:2)
google minus oprah (Score:5, Interesting)
http://www.google.com/search?q=book+club+-oprah [google.com]
Look to the british... (Score:4, Informative)
I can't tell you about SFBC as they don't do the rest of the world outside of the US...
Amazons recommendation system seems to work okay.
Looking at who wins the Hugo or Nebula, can work, but should be taken without a grain of salt.
Forums and news groups like rec.arts.sf.written can be a really good source of inspiration, but can consume so much time that you will not have time to read books.
But if you are ready for something different I'll recommend you the "new" wave of authors from Britain. People like Charles Stross (he has a few free e-books out), Peter F. Hamilton (Nights Dawns trilogy is not a good place to start), Ken MacLeod.
Read up on them on wikipedia.
Re: (Score:2)
Mindstar Rising is one of Hamiltons first books and is rather weak compared to his later books.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Actually, that's one of the main reasons I like Hamilton's stuff - he'll throw in so many ideas in a book that you end up going with it all and just having to accept them - then afterwards it comes back and you think "Actually, that's really pretty cool"
Re: (Score:2)
I mean, the guy has great writing style and imagination. I just can't swallow the substance. Just call it fantasy and I won't
Re: (Score:2)
I haven't tried looking for any book clubs. What I usually do is check Amazon for any new books by authors I like, then if I come up empty, I check its recommendations. There's almost always something there that interests me. Then I go hit up one of the local bookstores with the list I got from Amazon. Usually another cou
No Time? (Score:4, Insightful)
I suggest you re-prioritize your life if your life doesnt allow an hour or so spent in a bookstore, then worry about finding books.
Re:No Time? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I actually agree with the OP's feeling about B&N. No matter how gigantic the store is, the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section of the typical B&N consists of a half-dozen shelves off in a corner next to the Teen Readers section. The books are in order by author, rather than genre, which makes it difficult to find a particular type of book if you don't have an author in mind.
Unless, of course, you're looking for a vampire book or a generic medieval fantasy. Just throw a dart at the shelves and you're likely
Trade em' or visit a used book store (Score:2, Insightful)
I have had some luck increasing my fantasy library through used bookstores such as Half Price Books [halfpricebooks.com].
Locus Magazine (Score:4, Informative)
The Young Adult section of the library (don't sneer - the quality of the Science Fiction there is very high) shouldn't be forgotten. Cory's Little Brother [amazon.com] is a must-read, and is a YA novel.
Tor Books (Score:5, Informative)
kudos to another
Marc Andreessen (Score:5, Informative)
The ABC (Score:4, Interesting)
Online here: http://www.abc.nl/ [www.abc.nl]
And before you protest that travelling to the Netherlands might not be any easier or cheaper than joining an online club, you never mentioned what country you were in so I have no reason to assume you are an american
Amazon is expensive? (Score:2, Interesting)
When will it stop ? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Because they're pretty close to just being sub-genres of a bigger genre?
Call it "speculative fiction": fiction set within an reality that has in some small way been altered to be different from the one that we live in.
Consider also:
1) The "tech" in sci-fi generally isn't possible. It's essentially magic whose origin is the extrapolation of current technology given a different set of c
Re: (Score:2)
Science Fiction speculates about our world fast-forwarded in time. It (generally) takes our current world as a "seed" and time-lapses it. This also defines its focus, to a large extent - science fiction tends to focus a lot on technological and sociological trends, because they're the ones that can be examined over a long time. It focuses less on individuals because (again, generally) a
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I absolutely hate it that Science Fiction and Fantasy are lumped together
I do too, but we seem to be solidly in the minority here. I used to read more SciFi some years ago and I used to talk to co-workers who also were interested in it. I was quite surprised to find out that they saw no difference between SciFi and Fantasy and read both and that I was in the minority to only like SciFi. I have zero interest in Fantasy, but I could name some SciFi authors who I like who write both.
SFNovelists (Score:2)
(Disclaimer: I'm a member of the group, but firmly in the up-and-coming category. So to speak.)
Ask Shashdot! (Score:5, Insightful)
I am sure a LOT of people would find that useful. (hint: not a sarcasm)
Tapping large geek pool of shashdot should be enough to get good recommendations.
Other than that, geeky literature majoring friends are great source of recommendations, i suggest making one!
Got Friends? (Score:2)
Also, ask older readers, there are a lot of older books that are very good reads, and will turn up in used bookstores.
Mysterious Galaxy (Score:3, Informative)
They're great people, and I think F&SF specialty stores like that deserve our support.
Book sale at local libraries? (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Yep.. (Score:2)
Let me guess...Not married?
Its because you exhausted the pool of good books (Score:5, Insightful)
Imagine a pile of 100 best sci-fi books ever, and a new one is out once every 3 years or so. When you are just getting into sci-fi as a teenager, you can be assured to have a big pile of great sci-fi to read ahead of you.
As you finish it all, it becomes harder and harder to find new good ones, which gives the impression that "today sci-fi is not as good as the years past". Its only the impression, because you wen't thru 50 years best sci-fi in maybe 5-6 years.
Now you have to wait 2-3 years to discover another gem, while before you could have just went to any "best 100 list" and picked any one up.
My recent great finds: The bright of the sky: Entire and the Rose (can't even begin to describe it), Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space universe, Commonwealth Saga + Dreaming Void by Peter Hamilton.
My recent disappointments: Neal Asher. Tried to read Gridlinked, could not even finish.
Re: (Score:2)
Also check out each years' Nebula awards. every year I find a new artist to put on my read list.
Baen (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.baen.com/library/
http://www.webscription.net/
Okay for military SF (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Why Amazon? (Score:2, Informative)
How about decent SF? (Score:2)
Perhaps it is because the newer authors have run out of visions - in the last century science seemed to be roaring forward; new, mindblowing discoveries
Re: (Score:2)
But enough of that - maybe I am just getting too old. Is there any good science fiction out there?
I basically agree with what you said about how hard it is to find good SF and fantasy.
But occasionally I find something new and worthwile in the American Book Center in Amsterdam (already praised by someone else in this discussion).
Authors I recently read some books of which I particularly liked are:
Iain Banks (everything),
Charles Stross (The Atrocity Archives, The Jennifer Morgue) and
Jack McDevitt (Seeker, Polaris).
Tastes differ, of course. But if you're a programmer and like Terry Pratchett, it's unlikel
A way to navigate the SF Book Club (Score:2)
After a short time (a few months I believe), they were added to the "No Unsolicited Mailings" list (I don't really know what the SF book club calls it). Now they get the catalogs and offers on well-priced books along with the early releases and omnibus editions that may be unavailable elsewh
Re: (Score:2)
As I said, I don't know how the book club currently does business.
Use your library ! (Score:3, Insightful)
Although my library is very small (probably 1000 books), the staff are more than helpful and will be able to get the book you want from some other library.
I haven't bought a book for years. What's the point when a good quality, hardbacked version can be borrowed for free.
Have I said free enough
SF Masterworks series (Score:2, Informative)
Baen books & Webscriptions (Score:4, Informative)
Also, check out http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/ [thefifthimperium.com] which have all the CD's Baen has published. The CD's are free to copy for non-commercial use and contains alot of books in digital format.
None of the books you get in digital format from Baen is encumbered with DRM in any way.
Tor.com (Score:2)
Year's Best SF1 through SF12 (Score:2)
I recently discovered Alistair Reynolds very good work this way. Buy on Amazon if you don't have a good library. In my experience Barnes & Noble and Borders usually stock their SF and F sections with mostly dreck.
Obvious answer (Score:2)
but these small shops are run by voracious readers who are more than happy to share...
Used book stores. End of Story. (Score:2, Informative)
Again, it requires actual physical activity, so this may not work for you it seems.
Good Books Are Hard To FInd Anywere (Score:2)
However.
I have the same problem everywhere I go. It seems that most of what is out there is fantasy, rather than Science Fiction. I prefer the stuff with the nuts and bolts, thank you very much, even though I *do* enjoy the occasion
Just say no to the SFBC (Score:2)
Look for Authors (Score:2, Informative)
Shameless Plug... (Score:2)
My buddy and I read and review Sci-Fi books...Mostly older, but recently we reviewed "Old Man's War" by John Scalzi...
Yeah, we don't stay on-topic very well, but I think we're entertaining anyway, or we wouldn't keep doing it...
Library sales (Score:2)
Subscribe to a science fiction magazine. (Score:2)
Admittedly, the short stories are a mix. Some great, some good, some decent, and some mind-raping-awful ones. But its a great way to sample new/unknown to you talent. If you find a serial in the magazine you really enjoy, the author tends to also write books... And bingo - instant reading list.
And then, there is your local science fiction and fantasy bookstore (A dying breed, unfortun
No time? (Score:2)
http://escapepod.org/ [escapepod.org]
Go to Baen.com or Tor.com (Score:3, Informative)
Do some leg-work! As others have pointed out, go visit a local book-store, and not just one of the chains. Find a used book-store, or two.
Ebay! (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Yes, but if you find somebody whose taste overlaps yours well enough, this isn't an issue. The problem is finding that person.
That being said, I'd have to agree with bball99 - Tor has sent me about 10 books for free and so far I've read (and liked) the first 3.
From what I've read about the offer, I suspect those books are being picked by Patrick Nielsen Hayden [wikipedia.org]. Just so you know.
MOD PARENT UP (Score:2)
Seconded! (Score:3, Insightful)
tm