quote:

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Are they girls who like science? Are they trying to rebel from their cheerleader-type peers? Is it an offshoot of the "Girls Who Like Fantasy" who read all the Anne McCaffrey novels in the library and had to pick something to move on to? Or are they simply girls who started reading SciFi to impress boys, albeit dorky boys?

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Hmmmmm, I wouldn't fit into any of those categories. I just like sci-fi. I have yet to find the prevelance of rich ideas in science fiction in any other genre. I don't know what grouping that puts me in.
 

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Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
 
I definately am not into "science" but I love science fiction. To tell you the truth, I really don't know why I was attracted to it. I've always read pretty much anything I could get my hands on, and luckily one day I got my hands on "Stranger in a Strange Land." Though not the best book ever written, it definately motivated me to start seeking out books in the genre.

space opera
 

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Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
 
Dorky boys? Hey, I resent that.

I'm going to make some generalizations here. I don't think "science" is the problem here. Many science fiction novels are plot-driven thrillers. There is little character development or exploration of human relationships (see Asimov).

Girls are more interested in social dynamics, relationships, and dialogue. This is why books like Speaker for the Dead are such treasures.
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
Anne McCaffrey is a great ambassador, though. Kind of a chick recruiter.

And yes, Porter, I think you're right. The average GWLSF is more likely to have read Terry Goodkind than, um... <insert name of prominent hard scifi author here>
 

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Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
 
I like to read books. A lot. Sci fi, fantasy, doesn't matter to me. Though I'd consider Anne McCaffrey to be more Sci Fi than fantasy... Anyway. I just read what catches my fancy.
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
Don't resent it!

<----luvs the dorky boys
 

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Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
 
"How do you categorize Girls Who Like Sci-Fi?"

Hot?
 

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Posted by Erik Slaine (Member # 5583) on :
 
*feels dorky*
 

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Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
 
<=== is not into Anne McCaffery

<=== likes "hard" sci-fi as long as it isn't *too* boring

I like what I like.

And I think the issue here is "speculative fiction", stories that explore the "what if". Perhaps it is for those of us who are dissatisfied with the way things are around us or who just like exploring new possibilities.

[ August 10, 2004, 03:57 PM: Message edited by: beverly ]
 

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Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
Amancer, I think that puts you in my "cooler-than-the-average-person" category, wouldn't you say?

Pretty much all of my favorite SF is character driven, or at least has deeply drawn, very real characters as a an integral part of the book. There's actually plenty of it, if you know where to look.
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
<anecdote>
Once, one of my dear girlfriends (of the small-town 4-H buddy type) was at my house and we decided to watch a movie. I was shocked she had never seen Men in Black, and told her she must. About ten minutes into it, she said, "I didn't know this was one of those Star Track movies. What else do you have?"
Until this point, I was unaware that this sensibility among females existed. Apparently, though, it's quite prevalent.
It's OK, though, we watched Jane Austen and everything turned out fine.
</anecdote>
 

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Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
You should get her Galaxy Quest for her birthday.
 

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Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
 
*revels in his dorkiness*
 

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Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
 
ANNA: Yes... I mean... you never get anyone in 'Wings of a Dove' having the nerve
to say 'inform the Pentagon that we need black star over.'

WILLIAM: And I think the book is the poorer for it.

***

Don't know why, but felt this quote belonged here.
 

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Posted by Brinestone (Member # 5755) on :
 
When I was younger, I was adamant that I DID NOT like sf. Ender's Game changed that for me. Now I have read quite a bit of Asimov, some Clarke, lots of Card, many short stories by varios sf authors, and a few other sf novels. I have easily read more sf than fantasy, and I enjoy it much more.

I do like science, though it's not my passion. I tend to pick out the most psychological, though-provoking books I can find. Strange: I tend to go for harder sf. I wonder why.
 

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Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
 
Annie, is it ok if I start a thead asking how everybody started reading SF ? I know girls can tell their story here, so I don't want to compete or anything... Just to open it to anyone, regardless of sex, religion, color, etc.

Edit: Or you could change the title ? And derail your own thread... Now that would be something !

[ August 10, 2004, 04:32 PM: Message edited by: Corwin ]
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
I started because of my older brother. I read Ender's Game at around eleven and I was sold. I don't like most of it, though - I like the character-based, well-written stories.

I read bubble-gum books, but those are usually Agatha Christies or L.M. Montgomery. The science fiction is to think.

[ August 10, 2004, 04:30 PM: Message edited by: katharina ]
 

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Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
 
For me, my father read sci-fi (Asimov, to be exact), and I just started reading it cause it was around the house. It's just...what I read. I like science well enough, I suppose (though it isn't a passion and definitely isn't my career). Eh...I like the stories, I like the alternate realities, I like imagining the future...all sorts of reasons, but most having to do with the stories themselves.
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
Corwin, I believe we had one of those a while back, but by all means feel free to re-hash
 

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Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
 

quote:

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How do you categorize Girls Who Like Sci-Fi?

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Ahh, but the question is, "Why do YOU categorize Girls Who Like SciFi."

GWLSF are definately in the category of people who do not like to be categorized.

WWHHOH (Women Who Have a Home On Hatrack--pronounced, Whooa, as in Whoa Momma) fall into the category of people who do not like to be categorized.
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 

 

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Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
 
Annie, I could have sworn there was one too, but I was unable to find it... And thanks...

And, before I forget again, I'll answer this thread's question:

Besides Anna ::basks in fond memories from the wedding:: I have yet to meet a girl SF fan. A SF fan who likes girls - you're looking at... his writing... A girl who likes SF fans, yeap, found some. (though it usually has nothing to do actually with the guy liking SF) But girl AND SF fan...

So, how do I categorize them ? Inexisant in my little corner of the world...
 

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Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
 
I've liked SF books for a pretty long time. Perhaps the first one I read was one of my mom's books called The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet (I think). After that, I was pretty hooked. Mostly, I like my SF pretty hard--Asimov and Heinlein are some of my favorites. But a good character development book like many of Card's are also enjoyable for me.

I love science and math, so that's probably why I like science fiction.
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
Oh, Shigosei! I have such a little shrine in the corner of my heart for The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet! I recently found an old copy at a used book sale.

And what about the Wrinkle in Time books? Did that get anyone into SciFi? It would have been the kicker for me, but it was pre-empted by McCaffrey's The Rowan series when I was 11. I never did like her dragon books that much, though.

I guess it wasn't the boys that got me into SciFi... it was just the boys that got me into OSC.
 

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Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 

quote:

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Is it an offshoot of the "Girls Who Like Fantasy" who read all the Anne McCaffrey novels in the library and had to pick something to move on to?

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*ahem* I have to admit that there was a time when Anne McCaffrey made up a large chunk of my reading, and I'll swallow my pride and say this. I read a chunk of them. I read lots of fantasy as a child, but also a lot of science fiction (one of my favourite books for a long time was a under the ground city book (the best of the lot, in my opinion), called This Time of Darkness).

I just realised I don't know any science fiction-liking girls in real life other than myself. I never thought about it before. Hm.

Personally, I think it is a combination of girls who like science, girls who are fed up with girly fantasy (I'll pick up a book I read aged thirteen and my brain'll explode.) and girls who just like the idea of science fiction. I guess.

*shrug*
 

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Posted by screechowl (Member # 2651) on :
 
More years than I care to remember ago a young lady my age introduced me to the enjoyment of science fiction. She was a fan of Robert Heinlein. I have never forgotten this. She never knew just what that introduction to reading for enjoyment meant and now I can never tell her.

Girls and Science Fiction rock, IMHO.
 

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Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
 
Teshi- That's by H.M. Hoover. I think she's one of the best young adult authors out there. She's mostly out of print, so it's really cool you've read her!

Some of the first books I read were the OZ books, and from there I just naturally went into other fantasy and science fiction. H.M. Hoover, Grace Chetwin and Pamela Service were my first science fiction. I'm strange, I guess, I didn't read Ender's Game until I was sixteen and had been reading science fiction for a a while.
 

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Posted by screechowl (Member # 2651) on :
 
I probably should have said "Girls who like Science Fiction rock," but either one is ok.
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
* s at people dissing Anne McCaffrey again*

quote:

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And what about the Wrinkle in Time books? Did that get anyone into SciFi?

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quote:

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Are they girls who like science? Are they trying to rebel from their cheerleader-type peers?

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Not all cheerleaders hate science. I did, but it had nothing to do with being a cheerleader (and everything to do with frustration at a lack of aptitude and unreasonably high expectations that come from being the daughter of a renowned surgeon).

I don't know that I can say that I like sci-fi. I love OSC's works, Madeleine L'Engle's works, and the first couple of Dune books. Other than that, I really hate Star Trek and all of those types of books and movies and t.v. shows.
 

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Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
 
I will categorize them as uber-cool. A girl who likes sci-fi, and will admit to it, has already achieved half the requirements of being the woman I'm going to marry.
 

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Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
 
I think I like sci-fi because... hmmm.

My first thought was that the characters tend to be more 'real' then straight adult fiction but then I thought of the Patrick Gale book I just finished (Little Bits of Baby) which has some of the best character development I've seen in quite a while. And definately not sci-fi.

I do also like fantasy, and I did read Anne MacCaffrey and David Eddings when I was at school (and I still re-read them). I also loved Asimov at school though. And now I read everything from Sean Williams to Ian Banks to Kim Stanley Robinson and pretty much everything I get my hands on.

I think one of the reasons I find sci-fi attractive is that in my opinion it tends to be less pretentious then some adult fiction. There is, of course, pretentious sci-fi (which I don't tend to read) and there is amazing, non-pretentious adult fiction. But as a general rule if I pick up a sci-fi book, I know that I won't have to wade my way through self-conscious allusions and symbolism to find the story.

(Yep, I'm a lazy reader. Either that, or I like my symbolism gradually unfolding, not steam-rolled into me in the first paragraph.)

The other thing to consider is I just like reading. So most genres, if you ask do I read them, the answer will be yes. And I read different types of sci-fi/fantasy, like I do all genres, for different purposes - the 'easy-read', familiar type, the more intellectual sci-fi, the accessible but challenging and so on.

Actually, this thread is a good venue to ask - I need more sci-fi/fantasy authors. Hatrack's last recommendation on this front was Red Mars and the George RR Martin series, both of which I enjoyed. So, where to next?
 

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Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 

quote:

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That's by H.M. Hoover. I think she's one of the best young adult authors out there. She's mostly out of print, so it's really cool you've read her!

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quote:

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How do you categorize Girls Who Like Sci-Fi?

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Highly desirable. That's one of the few triggers (as a sign of geekdom) that will cause a woman to catch my interest.

I know similar has been said here already, but I thought I'd add my voice to the crowd.
 

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Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
 
Hmmm, girls who like sci-fi and guys who like girls who like sci-fi. Well, I know which one surprises me more. Javert and Bekenn, can I stalk you?
 

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Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
 
I'm glad to know that guys like Girls Who Like Sci-Fi.

 

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Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
 
This is a funny thread. I was just thinking to myself last night that I can't marry a guy that doesn't like Sci Fi. I mean, he's going to have to be a NERD.

I read the Wrinkle in Time series, but that didn't get me looking for more in the genre. They were just good books that I liked. I read girlier books growing up and a LOT of the classics. I still love those a lot. But, I was dating a really intelligent guy (Sci Fi nerd) and we were discussing books we'd read...he told me I needed to read Ender's Game. So I did. Case closed. I was 19 years old. (Yet, in my TV watching, I've always been a huge trek fan and I'm the first in line to see a movie like Men in Black or Star Wars....I definitely have a taste for the alternate universe.)

I think that reading OSC is what got me interested in reading other Sci Fi. I'm just now diving into Heinlein (I'm reading Starship Troopers) and Bradbury. I find that now that I'm a little older, I really love and appreciate it all a whole lot more.

What's even more unusual is that I didn't read fantasy either. Go figure! I think that the Princess Bride was the first fantasy book that I read before my OSC period. Now I'm slowly getting into fantasy (I read LotR a few years ago and I just finished Wicked), but sci fi seems to have the draw right now.

Anyway, because of all this, I don't think I fit the stereotype. I'm definitely a nerd, but I think what I am more than that is a reader. I find that I like sci fi because I love to read and it's part of the whole experience. Sometimes I'm an expert in it (depending on the phase), but I also am getting to be quite the expert in 19th century British lit. You know?

[ August 11, 2004, 01:26 PM: Message edited by: Narnia ]
 

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Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
 
Oh yeah. I guess Harry Potter counts as fantasy doesn't it?
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
And Narnia?
 

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Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
 
*laughs*

Ok. Yeah. SO I READ FANTASY TOO!!


 

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Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
 
Fiazko, if you can find me, be my guest.
 

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Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
 
There's gotta be a way that this "Girls Who Like Sci-Fi" thread can pair-up with the "Nice Guys' thread....

FG
 

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Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
 
*bump to keep it all together*
 

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Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
Narnia, what did you think of Wicked? I've been noticing it on the shelf for a few weeks now, and I remember my mom recommending it when it first came out, but it's never *quite* managed to be the book I take home.
 

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Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
 
I just read Wicked a few weeks ago after Kat posted something on here about the soundtrack. I would definately recommend it to anyone. I loved getting to see another side of the wicked witch. But I got so much more than that out of it and was very impressed. The political motivations of different characters fascinated me.

space opera
 

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Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
 
Science-fiction/fantasy of all sorts quite literally saved my life.

It was the safe haven when there was absolutely no other place to be safe.

I have, and always will, credit Herbert, McCaffery, Tolkien, Donaldson, Moorcock, Kurtz and Card with my life.

*shrugs*

I dunno if that maes me pathetic or cool. I just know it made me stay alive.
 

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Posted by Bekenn (Member # 6602) on :
 

quote:

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Javert and Bekenn, can I stalk you?

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Whoa... never had a stalker before.
 

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Posted by Jess N (Member # 6744) on :
 
I read Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles when I was 11 and couldn't stop. I also had a rather good background in classic fairy tales by then and it was like the next step for me. Of course, there was "Star Trek" (classic, of course) and my dad read SF and fantasy so the influence was always in the house.

Why do I read SF? Is it to be cool? No. I read it for enjoyment and to challenge myself. There's some really bad stuff out there, but there is some really amazing craft going on in the genre that keeps me reading. If I can't find something that moves me in the newly released stuff, I can always, always find one of my classic faves--Bradbury (the man who taught me how to craft my very first short stories in middle school), Pohl (I learned the beginnings of character craft from him), Asimov (where do I begin?)--and read them again, knowing I will learn something new and wonderful.

Now I'm raising my own daughter (she'll be 11 in January) to love and appreciate SF. She is treated by some of her classmates as daft, but I've taught her that geeks rule the world and one day she will be their boss. haha Incidentally, one of her gateways into SF has been A Wrinkle in Time .


 

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