[Farawayupclose]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here. My name is Robert, I'm 32 and I work at a computer video game company in Southern California.

I got into sci-fi first with Fahrenheit-451 and Rendezvous with Rama when I was around 10, and later into fantasy with Sword of Shannara and the Hobbit in my early teens.

Right now I'm switching back to sci-fi after a long bout of reading non-fiction and although I still read fantasy, I'm almost completely exclusive to 1 book a year (whichever one Terry Brooks puts out). I'd like to read more fantasy but I'm really picky for some reason.

Anyhow, I'm here to lurk in the shadows and see what recommendations everyone has for new reading material :)

[Paks]

Hi folks, I've been lurking on and off here for a couple of years now and thought I should finally post and introduce myself. I'm currently living in Victoria, Australia. I have two young children and have been married for coming up 6 years now. I have been a fan of fantasy for about 12 years now and have been slowly building up my book collection.

I am a big fan of Australian authors, I particularly love Ian Irvine, Jennifer Fallon, Trudi Canavan and so many more.

Raymond E. Fiest originally sold me on fantasy with magician and I have continued to love his books.

Anyway, hope to participate in some threads very soon :)

[Loerwyn]

Seeing as though this thread is now raised from the dead twice, I might as well contribute.

I'm Mik (or Michael, not really bothered anymore), 19 from England. I suppose my job title would be something like stockroom assistant. Basically, what I do is I unpack boxes sent up to the store from the warehouse, and I prepare (i.e. remove all the protective packaging) the stock to go out onto the shelves so customers can buy it. It's only a temp position, so I need to start looking for another place of employ soon.

I have a strong Fantasy bias, although I do have a love for sci-fi. I'm currently reading Mass Effect: Revelation, and playing the odd game here and there (oddly, I'm playing GTA). Legend of the Seeker finished a few weeks ago, so I've not got anything to watch on TV anymore. Suppose my favourite fantasy series is... Um... Wow, I guess it'd be the Dark Tower and everything related, whereas my favourite Sci-Fi one is definitely the Mass Effect universe.

I have a habit of picking up book series in the wrong order (e.g. I got Dark Tower 1, 5 and 6 before 2, 3, 4 and eventually 6, and I have Absolution Gap but none of the others), and sometimes watching films in the wrong order. And playing games in the wrong order. Yeah, I'm not very organised :P

That's me in a slightly cracked nutshell.

[Seak]

That's me in a slightly cracked nutshell.

Sounds like you fit in well here. :)

[Loerwyn]

Sounds like you fit in well here. :)

Well, I hope I do/will :)

[Esmenet]

Interesting that I never noticed this thread.

I'm Beth, I'm 19 and I live in Michigan. I work at my boyfriend's 7-11 managing money and ordering product. I also buy and stock bananas. :P I had a second job up until recently of teaching youth and children art classes, and now I just paint and draw in my spare time.

I got into the genre because of the Legend of Zelda video game series, and I've been hooked on both video games and Fantasy fiction ever since. I used to aspire to becoming an author, but now I just write for fun, more poetry than anything else.

I recently moved out, and I'm enjoying life without parental oversight, but I do visit my parents twice a week for dinner.

I have a bad habit of skipping meals when I'm reading a good book, and I have my boyfriend to thank for forcing me to eat before I starve. Other than that, I enjoy reading and responding to the wonderful people here at sffworld, so thanks for that as well.

[psikeyhackr]

I'm Karl. I'm over 50. I read my first SF book before Star Trek went on the air. The Original Star Trek that is.

The book was: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18492/18492-h/18492-h.htm

I regard Sci-Fi and Fantasy as very different areas though some books mix the genres and can be hard to classify. People that regard Star Wars as science fiction cause me to grind my teeth. I broke down and read Lord of the Rings long before the movies came out and ever since I have asked myself, "Why the hell did I do that?"

I probably went into electrical engineering because of sci-fi. My grade school teachers didn't teach science at all so I taught myself a lot because of sci-fi books. I built my first computer in 1978. You had to solder them together back then. Just plugging components together is a bore but they are so much more powerful now. It's amazing.

I'll probably be buying a netbook in the next 6 months. These things will be an interesting demonstration of technology affecting culture which is one thing sci-fi is about. Windows may be dominant in the West but first time buyers looking for cheap computers may go with Linux all over the 3rd world.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2009/05/09/2003443156

psik

[pdurrant]

Hi Folks. I'm 46, a programmer in the UK.

I think the first SF/F I can remember reading was a book of short stories including Isaac Asimov's "Sally". I don't remember any of the other stories, but I remember that one.

Now I get through two or three books a week on my Kindle - with a two year+ "To Be Read" folder...

Oh - apart from programming, I also publish a few books that took my fancy.

[Lime]

I am a superficially "professional" photographer and college student with an Associates in Fine Arts working towards either a Bachelors in English or Cultural Studies, and eventually hope to obtain a Masters in Film. I intend to do a number of films with with strong surrealist and science fiction elements, and being a creature of delusions of grandeur I hope to publish some literature as well.

I prefer science fiction over fantasy because of the nature of its focus. The first science fiction novels I ever read were A Wrinkle in Time, I Robot and When Worlds Collide, though I forget much of them. My interest in science fiction had first been sparked by popular childhood favorites such as Back to the Future, Alien, and (the first film I'd ever seen) the original King Kong.

Currently my favorite science fiction films are Dr. Strangelove and Solaris (the 2002 version; the Russian one from the 70s is also good, but doesn't hold a candle, in my opinion). I would organize the best science fiction films of all time in this order.

1. Solaris
2. Bladerunner
3. 2001 A Space Odyssey

I omit Dr. Strangelove because its science fiction elements are light, though I'd say it's possibly the best film I've ever seen of any kind.

[Stephen Palmer]

I'm 48, and it was The Hobbit & LOTR for me too.