Books and stuff...

[fajrdrako]

I got this from kikibug13 and james_nicoll:

Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Theoretically I prefer fantasy, but there is so much bad fantasy that doesn't appeal to me (usually on the "Dungeons and Dragons" model) that I am a little paranoid about the genre. I love good fantasy: Tolkien, Megan Whalen Turner, Ellen Kushner, George R.R. Martin, Guy Gavriel Kay, Patricia McKillip, some of Lois McMaster Bujold's fantasies and some of Marion Zimmer Bradley's works.... I can't think of an equivalent number of Science Fiction authors I love so much, but there are a few: Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan novels trump most things, and Karin Lowachee's Warchild series, and Mary Doria Russell, and John Wyndham.... Yes, there tend to be more fantasy writers I like, but it isn't that I don't like SF.

Horror? I avoid it.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback? I really don't care. I tend to like hardcovers, but I don't choose a book by its form.

Heinlein or Asimov? Heinlein. No question about that.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar? Huh? What does that mean?

Barnes & Noble or Borders? We don't have them in my country.

Hitchhiker or Discworld? Diskworld.

Bookmark or Dogear? Bookmark. Usually postcards as bookmarks.

Magazine: Asimov's Science Fiction or Fantasy & Science Fiction? I don't read fiction magazines. They are full of short stories. I don't like short stories. Exception: short stories by John M. Ford or Neil Gaiman.

Alphabetize by author Alphabetize by title or random? Alphabetize by author.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell? Depends entirely on the book.

Year's Best Science Fiction series (edited by Gardner Dozois) or Years Best SF series (edited by David G. Hartwell)? There's a difference?

Keep dustjacket or toss it? Keep, of course. Unless it's torn or really, really ugly.

Read with dustjacket or remove it? Keep it on, but cover it with a paper cover.

Short story or novel? Novel. I only read short stories if they're fanfic. Or if they're by Neil Gaiman or John M. Ford.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry Potter.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? When overtired.

"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"? Both. Why should I have to choose?

Buy or Borrow? Borrow from library, unless it's one of two authors I buy immediately. (Guy Gavriel Kay and George R.R. Martin.)

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse? All of that. Recommendations preferred.

Lewis or Tolkien? Tolkien by a long shot. There's only one C.S. Lewis book I liked, Till We Have Faces.

Hard SF or Space Opera? Space opera, on the whole, not really because I prefer the genre but because I get bored with details of science.

Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)? Anthologies. I seldom read short stories, remember? And when I do... well, I read a collection of short stories by Megan Whalen Turner last year and loved it, but that was the first such book I've read in decades. The previous one was an Annie Proulx collection a few years ago, which I didn't like much. Occasionally I will get books out of the library that are short story anthologies, and I'll even read one or two of the stories in them if they're by authors I like, so there you have it.

Hugo or Nebula? Hugo.

Golden Age SF or New Wave SF? New Wave. I tend to hate SF classics.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger? Tidy ending. Except sometimes with series.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading? All of the above.

Series, or a really wrapped-up standalone. Irrelevant.

Urban fantasy or high fantasy? Depends on the writing quality. I am deeply suspicious of urban fantasy but I've read high fantasy that is pathetically bad so - it isn't the theme that counts, it's the style.

New or used? Library.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? Warchild by Karin Lowachee.

Top X favorite genre books read last year? (Where X is 5 or less) I take it by 'genre' the question doesn't mean 'romance', 'thrillers' or 'westerns'?

1. Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner


2. The Sharing Knife: Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold


3. The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Top X favorite genre books of all time? (Where X is 5 or less)

1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien


2. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham


3. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay


4. Winter Solstice, Camelot Station by John M. Ford


5. Shards of Honour by Lois McMaster Bujold

X favorite genre series? (Where X is 5 or less)

• A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
  
• The Vorkosigan novels by Lois McMaster Bujold


• The Macedon series by Karin Lowachee


• The series about Eugenides by Megan Whalen Turner

Top X favorite genre short stories? (Where X is 5 or less) Hard one. Can I cite comic book stories? No? Okay, then... the one Neil Gaiman wrote about the troll, and the one about St. George.

Comments

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Amazon or Brick and Mortar? Huh? What does that mean?

It means do you buy your books online/on the computer or do you go to an actual physical bookstore to purchase your books.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Oh. Right. Thanks for explaining. As so often, my answer is 'both' - I buy in the stores if they have what I want, but they so often don't, I buy online otherwise. Buying online is so convenient it's sometimes not worth my while to go into a store - but it's fun to browse!

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Golden Age SF or New Wave SF? New Wave. I tend to hate SF classics.

I think that is because most of the SF classics were written for a different demographic than the one we belong to: adolescent males were the target audience of those old classics. New Wave is when women started writing books for others like themselves. I still remember a review in Fantasy and Science Fiction that lauded James Tiptree Jr. as "head and shoulders above all of these new female SF writers." *snerk*

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think that is because most of the SF classics were written for a different demographic than the one we belong to: adolescent males were the target audience of those old classics.

Yes. I find also that most 'classic' SF concentrates on plot and idea, while I am more interested in reading for theme and style.

I still remember a review in Fantasy and Science Fiction that lauded James Tiptree Jr. as "head and shoulders above all of these new female SF writers." *snerk*

LOL!

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Actually, if I remember the sequence of events correctly, the New Wave predated the big influx of female writers into the field. New Wave kicked off in 1964 but it seems to me that the benchmark for female writers having arrived in SF (Analog deciding to do an all-girl issue, socially about as significant as the Republicans deciding to run a black lesbian for President) wasn't until 1977.

If you read books associated with the New Wave, it is not unheard of for female roles in them to be limited to providing sex and maid services.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I am embarrassed to ask, but what is the definition of 'New Wave'?

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Proof that Wikipedia can be occasionally useful, Stephen Colbert & Microsoft not withstanding!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Wave_%28science_fiction%29

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I worship at Wikipedia's feet.

I really haven't read many New Wave authors, I see, thought those I have read I have loved: Delaney, Herbert, Le Guin, and Russ. Never even knew they were "New Wave".

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Well, it was a quickly written entry speaking in generalizations in between working on about 200 expense reports; but "uh, huh" to whatever you said! ;)

Actually? My favorite SF writer might just be James H. Schmitz, he of the Classic SF era, who did his own thing and had very clear-eyed view of human beings, male or female, good or evil. He did his own thing and stood apart from the rest of the pack.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, Schmitz was good.

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Howdy again! I was dissatisfied with my quickie, scattered-sounding post earlier today; I was working on a very dull project and attempting to keep myself awake by nipping over to LJ every once in a while for a quick read & post. I don't think I realized how zoned-out I was getting, it would have been better to have picked myself up and gone for a walk around the building instead of posting w/o due consideration.

So here's some due consideration: it shouldn't surprise anyone that New Wave was around for a goodish bit before women started writing in it. I wouldn't have expected the gals to say, in 1964, "New Wave? You're telling me that SF's not that god-awful, adolescent-male, Golden Age clap trap anymore? Sign me up!"

New Wave was Science Fiction growing up, with a bit of back-sliding now and again into the usual adolescent nonsense to be sure, but slowly making itself into an adult genre that a woman could happily write in and make her own. In fact, Sheldon's decision to write under a masculine name for as long as she did says a lot, but in the end, she did 'come out' as a woman.

So when women are asked if they like "New Wave" vs. "Golden Age" SF, the reason the majority responds "New Wave!" isn't because of the irritatingly stupid sex-and-maid stories you are referring to, it's because by the time the genre hit its own golden age of New Wave, women authors were out in force, writing the kind of work that spoke to female readers.

And to be perfectly honest, in retrospect, I find myself a wee bit put out at your reply to my post... I think I used enough qualifiers in explaining in simple, general terms why I like one genre over another genre. I did say "most of the SF classics" and "New Wave is when women started writing books", which was, I think, more than enough qualifying remarks necessary while still getting my point across. So while the information you posted was welcome, the perceived correction of my opinion, not so much.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

the reason the majority responds "New Wave!" isn't because of the irritatingly stupid sex-and-maid stories you are referring to, it's because by the time the genre hit its own golden age of New Wave, women authors were out in force

Speaking for myself, and knowing less than I might of the history of the genre, I didn't choose 'new wave' as my answer because I thought it included women writers - though if I'd know Le Guin was counted as one of them, I'd've chosen that category for sure. It was more that I knew 'classic' SF bores me, and New Wave was more inclined to experimentation with style and form.