So, how did you start reading SF ? Your parents read SF ? (how did they start ?) Your friends ? (I know a lot of people read Ender's Game and the sequels because of me...) Because of science ? Because of the movies ? (yeah, right*) Because you thought: "Hey, mainstream's too mainstream for me!" ?
Personally, I started because my father is a SF fan. Why ? I think it's the science that appealed to him in the first place - he's a high school physics teacher. He's kind of a slow reader though, and the fact that he doesn't have enough time doesn't help at all. So lately he relies on me and my brother to recommend him good books to read.
* Teacher: You cannot form a negative with two affirmatives ! Student: Yeah, right... Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Y'know, for me it happened early enough that I don't even remember it. All I can really remember is that I spent many a recess in grade school reading books in the library.
Actually, come to think of it, that's pretty much all I did during class, too.
Posts: 293 | Registered: Jun 2004
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My brother got me reading Card by giving me a copy of Ender's Game. I only realized later that I had already read A Planet Called Treason.
Anyway, I've always been a smart kid who reads a lot, and I've always been a big fan of Star Wars, Alien(s), etc., so I guess it just followed to read sci-fi.
Posts: 1090 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Hello, my name is Scott, and I read sci-fi.
:deep breath:
It all started when my brothers and I found an old copy of this magazine in the back of the house. It had this picture on the front-- of a creature, you know, kind of menacing this girl, and there was a guy with a laser gun in the background. You know? Really weak, cheesy stuff, I think it had some of John Joseph Adam's work in it. . .
We just couldn't stop reading it, even though our parents had told us to stay away from science fiction. We knew the dangers, we were good kids, but the . . . draw of science fiction, the allure I guess, was too much.
Too much for me, anyway. My older brother quit before he got too serious, started reading Mack Bolan the Executioner books-- he's a fan of Tom Clancy now, I hear, we don't talk much-- and my younger brother, well, he had a rough spot, but kinda fell back into buying Garfield books, you know, the comic book cat?
Me-- I just couldn't shake the SF, you know? Yeah, so, after reading that one magazine, I started checking out books from the library on the sly. I made an . . . arrangement with the librarian, every Tuesday during the summer I'd cut her yard, and she'd make sure that library didn't keep track of what I was reading, so my parents never knew. I read. . . uh, I think it was 'Girl with the Silver Eyes,' and that one series about the Logan House, and Alexander Keyes, 'The Magic Meadow,' and 'Escape to Witch Mountain'.
:sniff:
And then I found Madeleine L'engle, and it was all over for me. There was no going back. I was an addict.
Finally, I guess in 1991 or 1992, I tripped out on some really bad Terry Brooks-- yeah, I know, fantasy, but by then the draw of escapism was too much, I'd read anything. I think it was one of the later Landover series, like Magic Box, or something. No, you know what? It was his Knight of the Word series, AWFUL stuff, but like I said, I was too junked up to care.
I woke up, and saw Brook's book just laying there, and it was covered in my drool, 'cause I'd been reading all night. And I thought, Scott, man, what the fetch are you doing to yourself? You gotta get sober, graduate from high school, get a job as a . . .
That was the scariest moment of my life, because I knew what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a science fiction writer. That's what I wanted most of all in my life, and it was terrible, horrible, because. . . well, BECAUSE.
:sniff, sniff:
Sorry. I'm sorry, y'all. Can I have a tissue-- oh, thanks, there they are.
:sniff, sniff:
I still fight off the impulse to write. You know? Like, I'll be sitting at work, typing up a memo, and all of a sudden, I'll read what I've written, and it'll be all, "The United Earth's starships razed Melee's village to the dust, leaving her only her shembet, Nui, and her father's particle canon." It's so embarassing, I'm so ashamed, I don't want to be this way anymore.
Uh. . . okay, so, I've gone about two weeks without reading any sci-fi-- yeah, I had this bout with some Orson Scott Card, but some of it was his stuff from his church, like his articles in that LSD magazine. So um. . . yeah, thanks for listening.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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I started reading SF at an early age. To tell you the truth, I guess I was like...8 or 9. My teacher forgot a "Perry Rhodan" on her table. I took it home, intending to return it to her (yeah...she was one of those chicks who read SF) the next day.
The thing is...I have this craving for reading. So, I read it, although I didn't understand everything. It was enough to set up my downfall because, when I returned the book, some days later, the teacher was relieved (she thought she had lost the book. I should have at least warned her that I had it, but you know how children are. At least, naughty children) and let me read many other Sci-Fi books she had. Many of them were from the "Perry Rhodan" collection. Does anyone here knows them?
Posts: 1785 | Registered: Oct 2003
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I was really afraid of aliens as a child. A few unsupervised chats between me and Robert Stack instilled that in me. I was so afraid of aliens, that I'd hide in the bathroom because it was the only room in the house with no windows, only to terrify myself even more with the thought that a spaceship could probably cut right through the walls with a laser beam and suck me out.
I had always read a lot, but never much sci fi, because I was as prone to get near a book with a laser-wielding spaceman on the front as a rabid dog. A friend of mine in 7th grade gave me The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey, which was sort of a comfy girly introduction to sci fi. After that, I started reading more and more in a weird sort of masochistic sort of teenage rebellion. I got really into Star Trek, helping my mom sew a Counsellor Troi costume for a convention and being insanely jealous that she got to go. I still had latent issues with alien abduction, though, and watching Fire in the Sky was enough to make me revert to sucking my thumb at night.
In my high school sophomore health class, Jason Loofburrow, who I had an intense crush on, was reading Ender's Game, so I went and checked it out and read it in prominent places. He was kind of a dolt, it turns out, but luckily the high school library had plenty of OSC to keep me entertained, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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I was 12 years old and home with strep throat, and Mom bought some books to keep me entertained when she went to the grocery. One was Heinlein's Red Planet . My life hasn't been the same since.
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My father watched Star Trek before the divorce, when I was five or less. It's one of the few things I thank him for.
Posts: 1114 | Registered: Mar 2004
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I don't remember when I started reading sci-fi, but I know I was reading a lot of it in elementary school.
Some sci-fi books I remember reading when I was in elementary school:
Have Space Suit, Will Travel I, Robot, and other assorted Asimov robot books House of Stairs Chicken Music Fat Men from Outer Space A couple of short story books compiled by Asimov
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I was watching Sci-fi on TV long before I read any. My two older brothers, who I worshipped, watched such shows as Star Trek (original series), Buck Rogers, Dr. Who, Battlestar Galactica, etc. I watched it with them. And I liked it. I liked imagining different sorts of worlds than the ordinary one we lived in. I have loved speculative fiction ever since.
Posts: 7050 | Registered: Feb 2004
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I never really got into Sci-Fi. I was a fantasy kid through and through. Which is odd, I enjoyed the few sci fi books I've read. Ender's Game, Neuromancer, 1984, Dune, Snow Crash and... I think that's it. Oh, and some series by... Donaldson I think it was? The Gap series? It was a long time ago.
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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My parents did it. They didn't read much if any science fiction themselves, though.
Essentially, they were sick of shelling out money on comic books that I whipped through in less than five minutes (they were 12 cents apiece at the time - a quarter for the specials). So they attempted to redirect me to science fiction as an alternative - and one that could be satisfied with the use of a library card.
I want to be real clear - they were very upfront about everything. What their own motivations were, etc.
They were also right - as I dove into science fiction (Heinlein's works for young people, Clifford Simak, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke were early favorites.) my interest in comic books waned significantly.
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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The first book I ever hated was a sci-fi book. I don't recall what it was, but my scathing review convinced my father that I was ready for real stuff. He gave me Jack of Shadows. I loved it. Then he started me on Bradbury's short stories. And Asimov. And Dune. (I know I just went Book, Author, Author, Book and I don't care. make your own lists)
Eventually my mother moved to an apartment really close to a used book store and I devoured thier scifi/fantasy section. I didn't have a lot of spending money, so I always bought the old books that were $.50 originally and half off. Which explains my odds and ends collection of stuff that's older than I am. (people who've seen my library are now going, oooh) Man, used places don't seem to do that anymore, everything is at least a couple of bucks no matter what the cover says.
Hey, Corwin, I just got back to reading the Amber books. I'm wandering through the Merlin ones now.
Posts: 3956 | Registered: Jun 2001
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I don't really remember if I read much scifi as a kid...though I did watch star trek. I thought Kirk was awesome. I know my mom really liked the original star trek as well (she did not like next generation or any of the future trek TV shows)
As for fantasy, I read the Lord of the Rings when I was in fourth grade...my parents had the trilogy, so I picked it up when I did not have anything to read and loved it. My aunt also contributed to my fantasy reading since she is a big fantasy fan. To this day we tell eachother when we find a new author, or get new books when I go home for a visit. Heck, she actually has my copy of Crystal City right now. She introduced me to Jordan and Goodkind, and a few others. I introduced her to Card, Salvatore, and Feist. My mom actually introduced us both to the Harry Potter books.
Posts: 1901 | Registered: May 2004
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Mom had several jobs when I was eight. During the Summer, she would let my Second-Mom, Mary, take us into her herd of five boys. Mary also had things to do, so she dropped us off at the local library, where we became volunteers and spent hours at a time at the place.
I became bored with non-fiction, although I had the curiousity to fuel a non-stop search for information, and wandered into the Science-Fiction section of the small library.
I discovered some cool juveniles there. I began to read Lester Del Ray and Andre Norton.
And Scott--I didn't even have a chance. Once I picked up The Runaway Robot it was over. I have been hooked ever since.
But it's been a fun ride! Posts: 1843 | Registered: Aug 2003
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My blatant obsession with all things Sci-Fi began with LeVar Burton. I blame him personally.
Many moons ago, Reading Rainbow was airing new episodes. I was naturally entertained. I was also maybe 5. PBS was a godsend to my parents - they'd plop me down in front of safe programs with a picture book and my Blankie and go about their business in the kitchen or outside or whatever. Being the inquisitve little girl that I still am, I found the remote Flash to a typical Saturday early afternoon: cartoons aren't cutting the entertainment value for me, so I change the channel, after finding the right magic button. I see commercials and am intrigued. The show comes back on. 'Wait a second! That's the guy!' Sure enough, Geordi LaForge shows up and reminds me of the goodness that is Reading Rainbow. Then I watch the show instead of the guy (really, there weren't that many ST:TNG Geordi-centric episodes). And I get hooked.
So reading and Sci-Fi have always gone together for me. The [current] part of my life where I pretty much only read Sci-Fi (and Fantasy, let's be honest here) began in seventh grade with Ender's Game.
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
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My mom was a Trekkie, and I can't remember not watching it. So when I started reading I picked up sci-fi and would bring wagonloads home from the library every week.
*reminds self to pull out Heinlein youth books for the boy*
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What are some of these Heinlein youth books? The only one I know of is Have Space Suit, Will TravelPosts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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celia, I hope you like the Merlin series too. It's a different approach, but I enjoyed it almost as much as the first five books.
EDITED: 'cause I didn't see that mph was talking about Heinlein's YOUTH books.....
For all the Trekkies around here: the first day my parents got cable TV I was wandering through all the (18 or so) channels and guess what I found ? A movie, I thought, not Star Wars, but it had a very interesting SF look. It was on Sky One, without Romanian subtitles, but at the time I already knew enough English to understand most of it. In the end I found out it was an episode of Star Trek - The Next Generation. From then on I watched it every evening I could - it aired at 7 PM in Romania, from Monday to Friday, and I had basketball training up to three times a week, but all the free evenings me and my brother were in front of the TV, anxiously waiting for it to start. Oh, those were the days...
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I still think it's great... I've seen Deep Space 9, Voyager and some episodes of Enterprise and for me they're not even in the same class as TNG ! As for the original series, I've had the occasion to see a few episodes, but it was after seeing TNG and they just felt... old...
Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Well, Porteiro, there's Citizen of the Galaxy and Tunnel in the Sky. Starship Troopers is also sometimes considered a juvenile book. But Have Space Suit Will Travel was my very first Heinlein novel, and as such it will hold a special place in my heart.
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Oh, I've always loved strange stuff. I watched Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Star Wars and Star Trek compulsively when I was but a lad.
My earliest experiences actually reading sci-fi came from the Choose Your Own Adventure books, and then Jurassic Park.
Posts: 1515 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I guess I could say my Dad got me started. We used to watch Star Trek every friday night as a family. But I think the first sci-fi book I read (as far as I can remember) was Ender's Game. My Dad, my Brother, and even my Mom kept saying "What do you mean, you haven't read Ender's game yet?!" After I read it, I was hooked, and I was the first one in the family to read all the sequels.
I'm more into fantasy than sci-fi, though.
Posts: 4174 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I'm afraid I have to blame this one on my dad. He carelessly watched an episode of Star Trek in my presence, when I was still at a very young and vulnerable age. Soon, I was watching on my own. Then it progressed to reading Star Trek novels. By the time I was nine years old, I was already trying to write my own Star Trek stories (thankfully, they now exist only in my tortured memory ).
My habit soon began to push me towards other, more potent forms of SF. No loner was I only going with the "soft" SF of Star Trek. I started reading Asimov, Kim Stanley Robinson, and finally, Orson Scott Card. I started putting all my financial resources into acquiring more SF books. It was a burning hunger that could never be satisfied.
So could we safely conclude that Star Trek is a "gateway" drug? A soft, safe-seeming form of SF that inevitably will lead to harder, more addictive forms of SF? Of course, more research will have to be made. But the evidence is alarming...
Posts: 1996 | Registered: Feb 2004
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Dunno, I got into Star Trek several years after I started devouring SF books. (Although, just like Carrie, I blame LeVar Burton for sucking me in. Before that, I dismissed Star Trek and Star Wars together (wasn't really clear on the difference, and didn't care a whit) as "not real science fiction." Now I just do that with Star Wars . . . *runs*)
Within a couple episodes of ST:TNG, I was hooked. My mom wasn't real interested in watching with me, but mentioned that she had a book around somewhere or other. Turned out to be the novelization of STIII:TSfS. I nabbed it (I still have it, in fact), and soon began buying every ST book I could find. Even though I severely pruned my collection about 10 years ago, and have only bought a couple dozen ST books since then, I still have shelves and shelves and shelves of 'em. (Well, right now I have boxes and boxes and boxes of 'em, about to head into storage. I miss my books! )
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My mother got me on to reading the Tarzan novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs when I was about 12(she'd read them as a kid), and from there it was a natural jump to his Barsoom (Mars) stories, which were really exciting, escapist, but with a strong internal logic. (They'd fit more into a 'science fantasy' slot nowadays, all swordfights and princesses.) They kept me going for my youth. Then I read Dune, and loved it. Then "City" by Clifford D. Simak, then "A Canticle For Leibowitz" (can't remember the author, but a GREAT book). I'd also discovered the short stories of Arthur C. Clarke (I can't handle most of his full-length stuff), which I really enjoyed, and then along came "2001: a Space Odyssey", which blew me away. Good science fiction is a really worthwhile read. Don't like cyberpunk though. David Brin, Frank Herbert, and a few others are my favourites, along with OSC of course.
Posts: 867 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Scott! That was great!
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Flash to a typical Saturday early afternoon: cartoons aren't cutting the entertainment value for me, so I change the channel, after finding the right magic button. I see commercials and am intrigued. The show comes back on. 'Wait a second! That's the guy!' Sure enough, Geordi LaForge shows up and reminds me of the goodness that is Reading Rainbow. Then I watch the show instead of the guy (really, there weren't that many ST:TNG Geordi-centric episodes). And I get hooked.![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
I still think it's great... I've seen Deep Space 9, Voyager and some episodes of Enterprise and for me they're not even in the same class as TNG ! ![[Cry]](graemlins/cry.gif)
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