The 2016 Sci-fi Experience reading challenge

[calissa]

Art by Chris Goff. Used with permission.

I’ve always read more fantasy than sci-fi. My stats for the year so far tell me the number of fantasy books I’ve read outweighs the sci-fi by nearly three to one. So I thought I’d take the opportunity to even the odds a little bit.

Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings runs some fantastic reading challenges throughout the year. Among them is the Sci-fi Experience, which invites readers to:

a) Continue their love affair with science fiction
b) Return to science fiction after an absence, or
c) Experience for the first time just how exhilarating science fiction can be.

It’s less of a challenge than a chance for SF book geeks to share their reading experiences: something I am always delighted to do.

The challenge began on 1 December 2015 (yesterday!) and will run until 31 January 2016, perfectly timed for holiday reading. If you’d like to join in, it’s not too late! You can still sign up.

During the challenge, I hope to finally get around to reading Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. I also have a gorgeous copy of William Gibson’s Neuromancer which was given to me as a birthday gift. And there’s plenty more sci-fi languishing on the slopes of Mt TBR, as you can see:

After reading Letters to Tiptree, I’m also tempted to drag out the Ursula LeGuin collection I haven’t touched yet.

What sci-fi is on your Mt TBR?

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

Comments

Your TBR

[dialecticdreamer]

I haven't read the two Anne Leckie books. Which would come first?

Also, a suggestion only: I found Neuromancer needed SHORT reading chunks with lots of breaks. It's an entire universe sometimes badly-crammed in between the events of the story, like too much world in not enough image.

Re: Your TBR

[calissa]

Of the two Ann Leckie books, Ancillary Justice is first. It won just about every major sci-fi award the year it came out, so I'm curious to see if the fuss is justified. The third in the series also came out this year.

Thanks for the tip on Neuromancer. I might start reading that one sooner, so that I can take my time with it.

Re: Your TBR

[dialecticdreamer]

If you really take your time- every few pages you will see "That's Johnny Mnemonic!" or "That's the whole SHADOWRUN role-playing-game" or "that's Tek, Shatner's blegh version of --"

It's there, spiraled and curled in as tightly as ideas can FIT. The prose does get clunky sometimes, and I thought it 'read' as a very masculine writer, rather than world/protagonist (if the distinction is at all clear?) but it's practically a drinking game FOR the entire genre!

Enjoy it!

Re: Your TBR

[calissa]

Thank you! Sounds like it is going to be very interesting.

[onewhitecrow]

I have a great urge to try and drag Farenheit off the top of that pile and place the Martian Chronicles there instead, because I love Bradbury's works.

Heh, Neuromancer's single-handed invention of cyberpunk aside, two Phillip K. Dick books in a row may do something to your sanity...

[calissa]

Oh! You've just reminded me that I have Andy Weir's The Martian floating around. It's not technically part of my Mt TBR because Sahaquiel is actually the one who picked it up, but I've been intending to steal it from him.

I've not read any of Bradbury's work. Is Farenheit a decent place to start? I'd rather shrink Mt TBR instead of grow it.

I definitely won't be attempting the two Philip K. Dick books back-to-back, but it is nice to have possibilities.

[onewhitecrow]

I've not heard of that - is it the one they made into a film recently?

If you're interested in the history of sci-fi as social commentary, yes, as a standard text. If you're interested in Bradbury's works, then no (even Bradbury himself wasn't keen on it, saying he'd have done better later, with more nuance). He wrote more eerie magical realisim than sci-fi, though, so the Martian Chronicles (I believe an omnibus of them exists) would be the nearest thing to a compromise. The man did such things with language and similie...

I'd be curious to hear whether you find them dated when you read them, actually.

[calissa]

Yes, that's the one. I rather enjoyed the movie, though it had some problematic elements.

Eerie magical realism sounds wonderful! I'll be sure to track some of it down once I'm done with Farenheit.

[alee_grrl]

I highly recommend "The Illustrated Man," "Martian Chronicles," and "Something Wicked This Way Comes." "The Illustrated Man" and "Martian Chronicles" are more loosely tied together shorts than a comprehensive novel. But his prose is gorgeous and lyrical, and he definitely does magical realism quite well.

[calissa]

Thank you! I've added them to my wish list for chasing down later.

[forestofglory]

I'm quite found of Le Guin myself. Which collection do you have?

[calissa]

The Birthday of the World, I believe. I have no idea whether that's a good starting point for her short work.

[forestofglory]

That's a good one. A some of the stories in it are part of a larger universe but they all stand on their own.

[calissa]

That's a relief to hear! Thank you for letting me know.

[kaberett]

THAT IS A VERY EXCITING MUG (and I am seriously looking forward to your thoughts on the Imperial Radch).

[calissa]

Isn't it lovely? My dad brought it back as a souvenir for me.

I've saved a review slot for Ancillary Justice next week. Hopefully, I will have finished the book by then (I had to set it aside to read Sorcerer to the Crown which the library has allowed me to keep for only a week).

[clare_dragonfly]

I have a couple of Le Guin books on my TBR! Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other sci-fi, but maybe I'll return to this post when I'm at home (at work now).

Mostly I'm just commenting to say that I absolutely love your mug!

[calissa]

I'm guessing that you're like me and much more of a fantasy reader?

Thank you! The mug was a gift from my dad, who has an eye for ceramics.

[clare_dragonfly]

Yes, I guess I am! I also love post-apocalyptic stories, though--I wasn't thinking of those earlier. I have Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison and The Midwich Cuckoos, which I presume is science fiction, by John Wyndham. Oh, and Brave New World! I'm sure a bunch of the rest of the stuff on my TBR is science fiction, but I can't tell for sure just from skimming the titles...

[alee_grrl]

I really loved both "Neuromancer," "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," and "Fahrenheit 451." Phillip K. Dick can be a challenging read, but "Do Androids Dream..." was fairly accessible. The only other work of his I've read was "Ubik" which was interesting but didn't leave as strong an impression. I haven't yet read the others. I've heard really good things about the Ancillary series and it's on my radar.

I've only read LeGuin's fantasy stuff (the Earthsea books were among my all time favorite books in junior high and high school--I really should add them to my re-read list because I think I'd get way more out of them as an adult).

Right now I'm enjoying "The Martian." The movie was a lot of fun, and the book is just a tiny bit better (Science! for the win). Not sure what I'll read after that, though I inherited a bunch of classic sci-fi from my Dad so I might dive into that.

[calissa]

You're not wrong about Philip K. Dick being challenging sometimes. The only work of his I've read was VALIS for a uni thesis. Postmodern is a good description.

Like you, I loved LeGuin's the Earthsea Quartet in high school but haven't ever managed to read any of her other work--not even the later Earthsea stuff. I'm looking forward to meeting her again as an adult reader.

My sweetheart has a copy of The Martian that I think I shall snag at some point.

I'd love to hear how you go with the classic sci-fi.

[alee_grrl]

It may be a while before I get to tackle the classic stuff, but I'll try to remember to blog about it when I do. Could make for a fun series of blogs. :)

ETA: Definitely snag your sweetheart's copy of "The Martian" sometime. I'm finding it delightful to read, and the reading of it is going quite quickly.