Share your sci-fi knowledge with the library & help select classic sci-fi & fantasy books

[LibrarySue]

Hi all
Manchester Libraries buy regular 'touring' collections of books that
travel round all our libraries as reading promotions and the August/
September promotion/touring collection is going to be science fiction
and fantasy.

We'd really like the Manchester Science Fiction book club to select
the 35 titles that will make up this SF/Fantasy touring collection.

The library want to buy 35 classic sci-fi and fantasy titles from your
suggestions - books you think everyone should read. The collection
will travel round all Manchester's Libraries from August 2012 for one
year and there will be a bookplate in them to say the books were
chosen by the Manchester SF book club.

If you want to suggest a sci-fi or fantasy book for the touring
collection you can easily add your choice to this google document:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GHRnB_YsjWCqCCdg5S0lWlSQ11XzGZssMQXNuiqUe0w/edit

Unfortunately there's quite a short deadline and we need to get a list
together by the 1st May so we can buy the books. Please do share this
message with other sci-fi book club members if you think they might
not see it here!

Thanks
Sue Lawson
Service Development Coordinator
Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives
0161 234 1938
s.la...@manchester.gov.uk
@shedsue

[Alex Lambert]

I'm adding some there, but what are you defining as "classic"? Stuff that defined speculative fiction early on or introduced new concepts which are well regarded now, or are you including novels which form part of the modern discourse (i.e. China Mieville, Iain (M) Banks, Elizabeth Bear)

Alex

x x

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Alex Lambert
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[Sue Lawson]

Hi Alex

Thanks for your message and for taking the time to add all those book suggestions. I'm afraid I'm not sure about the definition of 'classic'. That was the only steer I had from the stock librarian! I think all your suggestions are valid. So maybe it's up to the book club members to decide? Personally I'd like to see  modern authors like Mieville and co included and I'd also like the collection to tempt readers who may not have tried sci-fi before. 

Perhaps if  we get more than the 35 title we need the librarians at Manchester can choose from the list...

Glad to see The Handmaid's Tale  :) and Phillip K Dick  - my favourite...

Sue

[LibrarySue]

Hi All
18 suggestion now... keep 'em coming!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GHRnB_YsjWCqCCdg5S0lWlSQ11XzGZssMQXNuiqUe0w/edit
Sue

On Apr 26, 4:42 pm, Sue Lawson <thno...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Alex
> Thanks for your message and for taking the time to add all those book
> suggestions. I'm afraid I'm not sure about the definition of 'classic'.
> That was the only steer I had from the stock librarian! I think all your
> suggestions are valid. So maybe it's up to the book club members to decide?
> Personally I'd like to see  modern authors like Mieville and co included
> and I'd also like the collection to tempt readers who may not have tried
> sci-fi before.
>
> Perhaps if  we get more than the 35 title we need the librarians at
> Manchester can choose from the list...
> Glad to see The Handmaid's Tale  :) and Phillip K Dick  - my favourite...
>
> Sue
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 4:16 PM, Alex Lambert <a...@penwing.me.uk> wrote:
> > I'm adding some there, but what are you defining as "classic"? Stuff that
> > defined speculative fiction early on or introduced new concepts which are
> > well regarded now, or are you including novels which form part of the
> > modern discourse (i.e. China Mieville, Iain (M) Banks, Elizabeth Bear)
>
> > Alex
> > x x
>

> > On Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 1:30 PM, LibrarySue <thno...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> Hi all
> >> Manchester Libraries buy regular 'touring' collections of books that
> >> travel round all our libraries as reading promotions and the August/
> >> September promotion/touring collection is going to be science fiction
> >> and fantasy.
>
> >> We'd really like the Manchester Science Fiction book club to select
> >> the 35 titles that will make up this SF/Fantasy touring collection.
>
> >> The library want to buy 35 classic sci-fi and fantasy titles from your
> >> suggestions - books you think everyone should read. The collection
> >> will travel round all Manchester's Libraries from August 2012 for one
> >> year and there will be a bookplate in them to say the books were
> >> chosen by the Manchester SF book club.
>
> >> If you want to suggest a sci-fi or fantasy book for the touring
> >> collection you can easily add your choice to this google document:
>

> >>https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GHRnB_YsjWCqCCdg5S0lWlSQ11XzGZssM...

>
> >> Unfortunately there's quite a short deadline and we need to get a list
> >> together by the 1st May so we can buy the books. Please do share this
> >> message with other sci-fi book club members if you think they might
> >> not see it here!
>
> >> Thanks
> >> Sue Lawson
> >> Service Development Coordinator
> >> Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives
> >> 0161 234 1938

> >> s.law...@manchester.gov.uk

> >> @shedsue
>
> >> --
> >> Stay Connected with Manchester Sci-Fi Book Club!
>
> >> Twitter:
> >> @mcrsf_madlabhttp://twitter.com/#!/mcrsf_madlab

> >> please use #mcrsfhttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mcrsf

>
> >> MadLab:
> >>http://madlab.org.uk/content/tag/mcrsf/
>
> >> You have received this message because you are a member of the Manchester
> >> Sci-Fi Book Club Google Group. If you do not wish to receive e-mails please
> >> sign into the the group page and select "no e-mail" in your preferences.
> >>https://groups.google.com/group/manchester-sci-fi?hl=en
>
> > --
> > Alex Lambert
> > Website:http://www.penwing.me.uk

> > Jabber/GTalk/MSN: penw...@gmail.com Twitter:

> >http://www.twitter.com/penwing
> > Support ORG:http://www.openrightsgroup.org.uk
>
> > --
> > Stay Connected with Manchester Sci-Fi Book Club!
>
> > Twitter:
> > @mcrsf_madlabhttp://twitter.com/#!/mcrsf_madlab

> > please use #mcrsfhttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mcrsf

[Tim Panton]

just added a couple.

> @mcrsf_madlab http://twitter.com/#!/mcrsf_madlab
> please use #mcrsf http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mcrsf

[Sue Lawson]

Thanks for taking the time to add some books. List is looking pretty good. This is a great way to select library books. I think we're going to do the same with graphic novels - not got all the details yet, but will share here...

Sue

[Trialia Xua]

Now I'm back online post-move, I'll send a few myself - honestly Central Library's SF&F section is painfully gender-weighted towards the male writers and there are so many good female SF&F writers out there, we need more of that. And I am so tired of putting in individual requests for books I already own so other people can read them, y'know? *g*

Tria

[Tom Jenkins]

Alex did such a thorough job it took a while for me to think of any!
Added a few classics though, along with some "children's" fantasy
(though we all know they're not just for kids :) and I'll add more as I
think of them.

Cheers
Tom

[Trialia Xua]

Well, then. Added quite a few - not all female authors either. Things I think are (or in some of the cases of the more recently-published ones, will be) classics of SF and fantasy, and I did check against the catalogue to make sure the library doesn't already have anything I suggested. Everything I've marked YA is suitable for young adults as well as the rest of us, but I haven't included anything I think wouldn't be mature enough for grown-ups too. :) I've tried not to put in absolutely everything I love because that wouldn't be fair to everyone else. If we run out of room please poke me and I'll re-evaluate what I'd like to keep most in that list! I also haven't added anything I haven't read at least twice.

I read far more weighted to fantasy over SF than I thought I did.

And...I'm done. I think. Happy hunting? :)

Tria

[penwing]

I'm glad others have included some more women; spurred on by discussions at Eastercon and more generally, I tried to make my additions gender-balanced. Even then I have a "secret" list of male writers I want to add but haven't got additional female writers that I know (I want to, but haven't yet read any Joanna Russ or Octavia Butler or C J Cherryh if anyone wants to add them... - I have read some Connie Willis but would not recommend her for this) - turns out my reading is horribly unbalanced...

In other diversification, I'd also like to suggest some Samuel R Delany... Neveryon series is great, Dhalgren is great, but Babel-17 is also great and maybe slightly more accessible 8-)

It would also be great for some non-western SF... I'm thinking of suggesting a Lem (running into problems of which again...) but something wider would be great...

Alex
x x

[Trialia Xua]

Alex,

The non-Western is another reason I specifically included Justine Larbalestier, who's Australian, and Michelle Sagara West, who's Japanese-Canadian. I wanted to include N.K. Jemisin, one of the few new black female fantasy authors I know, but the library catalogue already has her Inheritance Trilogy (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, the first, was what I planned to recommend).

I also thought of including Octavia Butler's Fledgling since I've heard very good things about it, but I haven't got around to reading it myself yet, so didn't feel right doing so.

We're over 35 now, just. Alex, you've included one more book than I did (11 to 10) though I seconded one of yours, which of the lot do you think we should drop? I include my choices in that comment because I know there are many, though it will be a very tough choice.

Tria

[Sue Lawson]

Thanks everyone for taking the time AND making the effort to create a balanced thoughtful list (and checking the catalogue!). I'm so grateful and even a bit moved! I suggest we leave the list up for a couple more days and  I'll ask on Monday if we can go up to 40 titles so you don't have to cut any...

Sue

--

[LibrarySue]

Hi again
Danny, the stock officer for libraries has said he has started
ordering the books on the list and he is happy to buy all of them so
we won't have to cut any.
Thanks everyone!
Sue

> > @mcrsf_madlabhttp://twitter.com/#!/mcrsf_madlab
> > please use #mcrsfhttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mcrsf

[mcrsf madlab]

Looks like I'm too late, but here's my suggestion anyway:

The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach

I would second:

Foundation Trilogy by Asimov
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

[Sue Lawson]

Hi

Add them to the list. There might be some books we can't source or buy - we are restricted to certain suppliers. If we can't buy it I'll transfer one of the ten 
we bought for the book club to the travelling collection so it will get there somehow!

Sue (from the library!)

--
Stay Connected with Manchester Sci-Fi Book Club!

Twitter:

@mcrsf_madlab http://twitter.com/#!/mcrsf_madlab
please use #mcrsf http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mcrsf