Happy fun project time.

[rivka]

Last night our young friend Sarah came over to babysit so that Michael and I could go out to dinner. While I was driving her home, she mentioned that "sci fi is all I feel like reading these days." She loves it. But the only SF she has actually encountered is the stuff her mother has passed along - meaning Asimov and Heinlein. I don't think she's read any SF published in her own lifetime.

Obviously this was a public service opportunity I couldn't pass up. I told her I'd pack up a bagful of books published in the last 20 or so years and bring them to church on Sunday.

The unfortunate part is being limited to books we actually own. We haven't bought that many new books in the last few years, except for continuations of series we collect; I do most of my reading from the library. That said, I've put together a good pile for her. Only three of the books were published before she was born in 1991 or 1992.

Lois McMaster Bujold, Shards of Honor and The Warrior's Apprentice.
Emma Bull, Bone Dance
Cory Doctorow, Little Brother
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, Good Omens (not SF, but I couldn't resist)
Elizabeth Moon, The Speed of Dark
Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife
Matt Ruff, Sewer, Gas, & Electric
Charlie Stross, The Family Trade
Michael Swanwick, The Iron Dragon's Daughter
Shari S. Tepper, The Family Tree
Joan D. Vinge, Psion
Connie Willis, The Doomsday Book

The two Bujolds and the Vinge are older than Sarah. But I had to get her started on Bujold, and the Vinge book is such an incredible example of Adolescent Emo that I couldn't resist giving it to a teen.

I really want to add Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash and Kage Baker's In the Garden of Iden, but I can't seem to find our copies anywhere.

Talking it over with lynsaurus and unodelman, we all agreed that Octavia Butler belongs in there, but I read those books from the library. I also realized when talking to them that there needs to be something about the Singularity and posthumans and so forth. I'm not a fan of that side of the genre, but I do have a couple of Ken MacLeod books - The Stone Canal and The Cassini Division - and I could throw in one of them. I'm not sure about whether there needs to be any cyberpunk in there. On the one hand, important subgenre. On the other hand, isn't it an important subgenre that's kind of over?

Michael reminded me that Scott Westerfeld should be represented. I totally agree, but we read it all from the library. I'd like to be able to put in Uglies or Peeps. He also suggested something by John Scalzi - I thought maybe Zoe's Tale - but we don't have a copy of that either. If she likes these books, we can give her a reading list with more. I also need to find out if she likes fantasy.

What would you put in the bag, from your shelves?

Comments

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Spider Robinson.

LeGuin's Earthsea -- the first three, anyway; dunno about the later ones.

You might look into Charlie Stross for Singularity stuff.

[lizzibabe.livejournal.com]

Seems to me, if you're going to encourage her to read Snowcrash, you really ought to include Neuromancer as an example of where the subgenre came from. Snowcrash has always seemed to me to have its roots in cyberpunk. And I'm not entirely sure that its over, really. I see elements of cyberpunk in some of Cory Doctorow and Charlie Stross' work.

I entirely agree that Scalzi should have a place, and Zoe's Tale is a good place to start. I also wouldn't hesitate to give her a little space opera in the form of With The Lightnings by David Drake (http://www.baen.com/series_list.asp#LL).

[moobabe.livejournal.com]

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. I would also warn her about Doomsday Book. It's a good book, but the first time I read it, I got so upset about what happened in the past that I threw the book across the room. I also enjoy Uncharted Territory by Connie Willis. It's really clever writing. Ooh, ooh! And the Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde. They're science fiction, but also British and funny and kind of "literary". (I need to read them again! But I don't have them!)

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is a classic (though likely older than Sarah) but the newer books in the series--well, it's less a series than a baobab--aren't so good. It's kind of like, "Oh, I haven't written anything in a while; let's write another book about Ender."

I love In the Garden of Iden, but I think that the second book in the series is more fun--Joseph is such an appealing character--and it stands alone really well.

I agree about Octavia Butler. Maybe Parable of the Sower?

If she likes Heinlein, she might enjoy the Phule's Company books by Robert Asprin. They're short, fluffy, funny, and the good guy always wins.

James Alan Gardener's series starting with Expendable is really good. He has entertaining aliens, and a pretty well-conceived world.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is urban fantasy, but she needs to read it anyway. ;) If she likes fantasy, I have more recommendations.

[moobabe.livejournal.com]

I realized that the Phule-books-as-compared-to-Heinlein doesn't exactly make sense. ("Short, fluffy, and the good guy always wins"? Not quite.) It's more the feel of the books: they sort of feel like Heinlein. It's a writing style sort of thing. They just remind me of each other.

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

But I had to get her started on Bujold,

You enabler, you :).

Just off the top of my head:
Arthur C. Clarke, Childhood's End
Octavia Butler, Kindred
China Mieville, Perdido Street Station

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

Wow, I feel in awe ofher being in a place with a whole (literary) world just waiting to be explored! I remember once, when I worked at Borders, having a mom ask me to recommend SF and Fantasy book for her teen daughter and son for Christmas. I loaded her up with books; several months later she brought them back to say thanks had me set them up with another pile.

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

For cyberpunk, maybe "Mirrorshades"?

[acceberskoorb.livejournal.com]

: ) How does one NOT offer advice on this?

I'll bring Parable of the Sower and Snow Crash on Sunday. I also have copies of James Morrow's Only Begotten Daughter and Mary Russell's The Sparrow that I think would be appropriate for Sarah so I'll bring those too. We'll need Snow Crash back eventually because it's Uri's, but the other three are actually double copies, so she (or you) can keep them if she likes them.

I might be wrong about this, but I'd be willing to bet that Sarah doesn't read as fast as you (an assumption I'm simply basing on my belief that NO ONE reads as fast as you.) You're prepared for her to hang on to these for a while, right?

[rivka.livejournal.com]

The Sparrow? Wow. You're mean. I loved that book, but it wrecked me.

Thanks! It will be fun to load Sarah up, won't it? I knew your family would be excellent partners in crime.

Also, yes, I am prepared for her to hold onto them for a while. After all, she has homework and a sweetie and nine zillion other things on her plate. None of these are books I'll need to be able to re-read imminently. I figure that as long as she gives them back before she leaves for college, it's all good.

[lissamc.livejournal.com]

Besides what you have, and keeping to science fiction as opposed to the fantasy I've been reading recently...Oh! I'd throw in 'On Basilisk Station' by David Weber, to see if she likes the military sci-fi genre. I really enjoyed the first portion of that series, when it was more character driven.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Arthur C. Clarke, Childhood's End

In her lifetime, remember? She's 16 or 17. :-)

I read Childhood's End when it was up for a Retro Hugo in, I think, 2004. It completely passed me by. (http://rivka.livejournal.com/193575.html) That could equally well be a fault in me, not a fault in the book, though.

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Oops :). It was one of my favorites when I was her age. It's terribly dated in the gender-role sense, but it haunted me for a long time. You're not the only person whose opinions I really respect who feels that way about it, though.

Did that sentence make sense? I was up at 4 this morning :).

[acceberskoorb.livejournal.com]

I am mean! Devastating, yes, and wacko dialogue for the first half, but incredible all the same. Maybe a warning is in order?

[wcg.livejournal.com]

If she's already read a lot of Heinlein, I'd lend her my copy of Saturn's Children by Charlie Stross.

[orangemike.livejournal.com]

Oh, lordy... some Cherryh, such as Pride of Chanur or Downbelow Station? 1632, China Mountain Zhang, Native Tongue, Left Hand of Darkness despite its flaws, a Pratchett... the possibilities are endless.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I thought about To Say Nothing of the Dog instead of Doomsday Book. Do you think I should sub out? I love it, it's in my "frequent re-read" pile, but I'm not sure how much fun it would be if you're not familiar with Victoriana and you haven't read Sayers.

Good thought about the Kage Baker - if I can't find Iden I'll throw in Sky Coyote.

I know that Ender's Game is a classic of the genre, and that lots of people I like really identify with it. And yet. I pretty much agree with every word of this essay (http://www4.ncsu.edu/~tenshi/Killer_000.htm).

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

If she likes fantasy (or doesn't know if she likes fantasy) give her LeGuin's Earthsea trilogy.

For SF, give her LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" or "The Dispossessed". Love those!

Butler's "Lilith's Brood" series.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Oh, China Mountain Zhang is a good idea, if I can find my copy. Although the people I've given it to haven't necessarily liked it as much as I did.

I've never read any Cherryh, and I know I should. I'm not sure where to start.

Left Hand of Darkness is older than I am. I figure her mother has the classics covered.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I really should put Neuromancer in there, shouldn't I?

[kate_nepveu]

I'm a little surprised you liked the conclusion of the Company series well enough to start someone else on it.

What about _The Fortunate Fall_ for cyberpunk-influenced?

_A Fire Upon the Deep_ or _A Deepness in the Sky_.

Rosemary Kirstein!

Tobias Buckell.

Doyle & Macdonald's Mageworlds.

[lizzibabe.livejournal.com]

I think so, if only as a sample of The Beginning Of A Genre type of book.

[ahforgetit.livejournal.com]

I agree with Neuromancer for two reasons - it was the state of the genre twenty (thirty!) years ago and it's a great book. And Charlie Stross, and Ken Macleod, but also Iain M Banks for that Scottish Space Opera goodness.

And -

Ian Macdonald - River of Gods and Brasyl (and everything else he's ever written)

Wil McCarthy - the Collapsium

John Meaney - To Hold Infinity, Context/Paradox/Resolution

Alastair Reynolds - everything the man has written. Start with Revelation Space and enjoy. House of Suns is strange and good.

Also - Liz Williams, Justina Robson, Walter Jon Williams, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Robert Reed, Ted Chiang, Gary Gibson, Joe Haldeman (yes, older author but I picked up The Forever War and didn't put it down until it was done)

Definitely Octavia Butler and early Orson Scott Card but not later (the Brain Eater got him early) and early Neal Stephenson (Try Zodiac, it's lots of fun if not exactly SF). And Bujold. Definitely Bujold.

And there's the New Wave that was old when we were kids but there's still good stuff to be found in it - Zelazny, Lord of Light, A Rose for Ecclesiastes, all that goodness as well as the first five Amber books (but not the later ones). Norman Spinrad. Michael Moorcock.

I honestly wouldn't bother with Zoe's Tale by Scalzi, the three books that came before that actually were stories and that one was a filler-in. Definitely Old Man's War, though.

[lizzibabe.livejournal.com]

Yes! I second James Alan Gardner!

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I'm a little surprised you liked the conclusion of the Company series well enough to start someone else on it.

I didn't, although at the time that I finished the series I told myself I should sit down and read through all the books again, in a row. I haven't done that yet. But I think the first two are excellent books.

[lizzibabe.livejournal.com]

My other mother has lent me Mary Russell's The Sparrow. I haven't started it yet because, well, i'm a little frightened of it. She mentioned how sad it is, and I'm not sure I'm in a position to enjoy a sad book.