SciFi Book Meme

Another meme taken from Carl :

Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror?
Science Fiction. I know you never would have guessed. Though I do love a lot of fantasy series as well.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?
Hardbacks, only if I plan on keeping the book or rereading it several times. Otherwise, I’d rather not spend the money. I usually go with mass market, cheaper and smaller (to fit in the purse).

Heinlein or Asimov?
Asimov. The one Heinlein novel I tried reading, didn’t go so well. But I’ve enjoyed the few works of Asimov that I’ve read.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?
Both. I love browsing Amazon online, or when I’m looking for something rare. I usually find what I want. But I love just hanging out at the bookstore too. It’s rare when I come away empty-handed.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Borders. Their frequent buyer program is FREE. I get coupons all the time. And I have a Borders VISA card, which means double points in the store. And more free books. But I do love B&N because they have Starbucks coffee. And there’s one just down the road from me. But there are several of both Borders and B&N within a short driving distance. I love living near a big city.

Hitchhiker or Discworld?
Hitchhiker. I love the Hitchhiker series. Douglas Adams was great!

Bookmark or Dogear?
Bookmark. The only thing I dogear are puzzle books, and I throw those away.

Magazine: Asimov’s Science Fiction or Fantasy & Science Fiction?
The only scifi magazine I really enjoy is SciFi Magazine, produced by the SciFi Channel.

Alphabetize by author Alphabetize by title or random?
I’m completely anal about alphabetizing. If one book gets out of order, I get frustrated. I do the same with my DVDs and CDs. I alphabetize by authour, except when it comes to series written by various authors (such as Star Trek, X-Men, Star Wars, etc.). Those, I have in their own book shelves alphabetized by title of the series, all in order.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?
Keep. Unless I didn’t enjoy the book, or know for sure I’d never read it again. Then, I’d sell it. The only time I’ve ever thrown a book away was when I found it so disgusting and offensive, that I knew I didn’t want anyone to ever put themselves through that either.

Keep dustjacket or toss it?
I never toss them unless it’s ripped and looks ugly.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
I usually take it off while reading.

Short story or novel?
Novel. I rarely find short stories worth reading. I come away feeling disappointed.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Harry Potter. I couldn’t get into Lemony Snicket. But I absolutely love Harry.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
I try to reach the end of a chapter, even when I’m tired.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
It was a dark and stormy night. Definitely.

Buy or Borrow?
Buy. Unfortunately. Right now I have several huge stacks on my floor waiting to be read. I should borrow from the library more. I still do occasionally.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?
All of the above. Book reviews are a major factor lately. But most of the time, when I’m in Borders, I find myself picking more books up just by browsing.

Lewis or Tolkien?
Lewis. I enjoyed the LOTR Trilogy well enough. But nothing compares to C.S. Lewis for me. His books are beyond powerful. His Space Trilogy was probably some of the first science fiction novels I ever read. And his Narnia series will always remain my favorite series. I’m sure that I cry every time I read them. I get so engrossed.

Hard SF or Space Opera?
Space Opera. Hard SF has it’s place. But Space Operas are so much more fun.

Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)?
As I’ve said before, I’m not big on short stories. But if I had to pick, it’d be an anthology. I’ve read a few I enjoyed.

Hugo or Nebula?
Couldn’t care less about either. I like what I like.

Golden Age SF or New Wave SF?
New Wave. While I enjoy a little Golden Age, I’m more of a new wave gal.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?
I need a tidy ending. Though if it’s a part of a series, there can be a FEW loose ends that can wait to be tied up till another book. I hate cliffhangers. They drive me nuts! Especially, waiting for a new season to start on tv. It’s torture.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?
Anytime… All the time.

Standalone or Series?
I prefer series. If it’s a book that I really enjoy, I don’t want it to end.

Urban fantasy or high fantasy?
I enjoy both. Though lately urban fantasy has been booming. And I’m really enjoying some of these new authors emerging!

New or used?
I prefer new, but budget-wise used is better.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Well, most of my friends haven’t heard of it, though some of you might…
The House of Dies Drear, by Virginia Hamilton. I’ll probably reread and review it next month, in honor of Black History Month.

Top 5 favorite genre books read last year?
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling

Eragon, by Christopher Paolini – my review

Traitor to the Blood, by Barb & JC Hendee – my review

Rogue Angel: Destiny, by “Alex Archer”

X-Men: Dark Mirror, by Marjorie M. Liu

Top 5 favorite genre books of all time?
Wow. This is going to be hard to narrow down…

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia), by C.S. Lewis
Star Trek: The Next Generation – Metamorphosis, by Jean Lorrah
Area 51, by Robert Doherty
The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
Eragon, by Christopher Paolini

5 favorite genre series?
Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Area 51, by Robert Doherty
The Noble Dead, by Barb and J.C. Hendee
Harry Potter, by JK Rowling


13 thoughts on “SciFi Book Meme”

  1. I can see some of the questions were changed a bit before I got my hands on this meme! Oops! Loved your answers. Yep, I’ve heard of The House of Dies Drear – the youngster read it at school, but I was already familiar with it, I thought. And, then he corrected me. 🙂

    I’ll have to look up Area 51 to see what that’s about. And, I really need to get around to reading Asimov. Do you have any particular favorites you can recommend?

    Ooh, need a Borders Visa!

  2. Nancy – Asimov’s I, Robot was different. It’s made up of short stories all dealing with artificial intelligence and how humans interact with them.

    You should definitely try the Area 51 series. That one sucks you in.

  3. The Hitchhiker series is hilarious. I read them even before my Dad. I love the bit with the whale and potted plant and the whale thinking that the planet will be it’s friend and the potted plant thinking, it figures. So when you read on the series you realize who the potted plant was. So funny and so warped.

    Right now my father (another of my sci fi gurus) is totally in to Terry Pratchett. He’s laughing his brains out. Have you any T.P’s books? Monstrous Regiment’s on my TBR

  4. “I rarely find short stories worth reading. I come away feeling disappointed.”

    Honestly, I truly believe that you just haven’t found the right short stories. There are some amazing science fiction and fantasy short stories out there.

    Fun answers!!!

  5. Amy – I haven’t gotten to any Pratchett books yet. But I’ve heard great things, so I’m sure I’d like them.

    Carl – Eh, I guess I’d just rather read full-length novels. I haven’t had the desire to even bother checking out different collections and anthologies. I’m sure there’s some great stuff out there though.

  6. I read Island of Dr. Moreau last year and thought it was fantastic. It was quite a surprise, I was sure I wasn’t going to like it. I’ll have to read Time Machine now 🙂

  7. Those are some good questions. I haven’t seen this one before. I have to agree with you too a lot of it. except for the Discworld one. I them both but discworld is my favorite! 🙂

    Great MeMe!

  8. I love Asimov, but prefer Bradburry. I read a lot of horror when I was a teenager, and only got into sci fi a bit later on. Then I read everything I could get my hands on. And I agree on a series. I love it when I can revisit a character I love.

  9. Great meme and interesting answers. Both Lewis and Tolkien’s books have made me cry but I’d have to go for the latter.

    Hitchhiker or Discworld? Um neither – I’ve tried two books from both series and they didn’t inspire me to continue reading. Sure, both have great characters, but just not my cup of tea.

    Tidy ending or Cliffhanger? It’s gotta be the cliffhanger, cos then I know that there’s another book to look forward to!

  10. Finally! I have found someone else who alphabetizes their books, CDs and DVDs! Praise the Lord!

    I agree: Hardback books are the way to go. There’s something almost mystical about them.

    I don’t necessarily agree with the C.S. Lewis v. Tolkien question, but I respect your answer! 😉 I feel that one could be debated until the cows came home…and went to bed…and woke up the next morning…etc.

  11. I don’t mind short stories, in fact there are two on this author’s site that are Star Trek related and they were pretty good. The author is AJ DiChiara. A friend of mine gave me his book, THE HUMAN FACTOR. I had never heard of it before, and it is not included in the sci-fi book club— but it was a really great read!It was a real page turner. He got it on Amazon, and said it had great reader reviews. I have to say, I couldn’t put it down. It reminded my of a good Rod Serling tale— one you’d expect to see on the Twilight Zone. If you’re a sci-fi fan and want a good weekend read, definately pick up “THE HUMAN FACTOR” by A.J. DiChiara.

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