Embarassing confession!

[Arkena]

Hi,

I have to admit I havent been reading novels in a while and just dont know how to find something I like...

I want to write fiction but clearly need to read more to help me.

Thats the embarassing bit...i havent read a novel in at least 3 years eeeek

How would I find books i really like amongst the myriad on offer ?

help this noob lol

 

[Jo Zebedee]

What sort of thing have you liked on the past?

 

[BAYLOR]

Books I would suggest

The High Crusade by Paul Anderson Its hilariously funny alien invasion story from a master story teller. and its classic.

Lest Darkness Falls by L Sprague De Camp A 20th historian Martin Padway gets hit by a bad of lightning and gets sent back in time to 6th century Rome . This too is hilariously funny an a classic.

Silverlock by John Myers Myers The man character Shadow Silverlock is selfish stuck up human being who basically things he great human being. He gets ship wrecked on an island called the Commonwealth which is populated by all the characters of myth and literature . Te first person has the misfortune of encountering is the witch Cerrci. And then things get really crazy as he stumbles from one misadventure after another.

 

[Brian G Turner]

One place that might be worth looking at are bestseller charts.

For example, here are the Science Fiction bestsellers on Amazon:
Amazon.co.uk Best Sellers: The most popular items in Science Fiction

New York Times: The New York Times Best Sellers

USA Today bestsellers (more inclusive than the NYT one): Book Reviews and Best Selling Lists - USATODAY.com

Often, though, it's just a case of taking a punt and trying a few - some will be interesting, some will not, but it's hard to tell the difference unless you try them out for yourself.

 

[Dennis E. Taylor]

Also keep in mind, on Amazon, you can download samples of many e-books. So download a dozen or so from either the best-seller list or the New Last 30 Days list, and start reading. If it interests you, buy. If not, delete.

 

[Vertigo]

I think we need to know a little more about your tastes to make recommendations. What are some of the book you have read and loved in the past.

On a general basis I pay a lot of attention to the monthly reading threads here. After a while you get to know the people who seem to share your tastes and seeing what they love and hate can provide good lead ins.

 

[hitmouse]

On a general basis I pay a lot of attention to the monthly reading threads here. After a while you get to know the people who seem to share your tastes and seeing what they love and hate can provide good lead ins.

This is very good advice. Aslo, just take some time and wander through the rich history of old threads and discussions on this forum. Takes a tiny bit of effort, but you are far more likely to find something personally useful than by simply asking a bland question upfront.

 

[Arkena]

Ty for recommending I check out the best sellers list, funny how that didnt even occur to me!

 

[Arkena]

I feel like I havent read a real novel in a long time, I quite enjoyed the Eisenhorn series published by games workshop.

Maybe I just dont know what I would enjoy outside of that lol


Aha! I remember liking a few Terry pratchett novels but would like to venture more into sci fi territory as thats what i would like to write

 

[Abernovo]

I'm not the greatest fan of Amazon, but it is useful for one thing in particular: suggestions.

You could search on Amazon for a book you enjoyed in the past, and then look at books recommended from that. 'People who bought this also bought this' etc. You can usually read the preview, as well, to see if it might be a match for you. And, of course, you can do the same for any recommendation.

Eisenhorn -- Dan Abnett? So, are there any other books or even sub-genres you've liked in the past?

 

[Arkena]

Not musch in science fiction I can remember apart from Dan abnett and other Games workshop books....I dont feel like ive had the widest exposure to the literary world. Your suggestion about using the amazon function seems interesting.

I defo need to broaden my horizons in regards to reading eh

 

[AlexH]

I enjoy reading short stories. It gets me through a lot more authors, styles, voices, worlds and experiences - and there are some who've written novels that are now on my to-read list (including this forum's Jo Zebedee, who posted above).

Recently I've especially enjoyed the following sci-fi:

Listen and You'll Hear Us Speak - Flash Fiction Online
And All Our Bones Were Dust by Steven Fischer | Flash Fiction Online
Pain-T-Bot - Kraxon Magazine
Unveiled - Kraxon Magazine

They're all flash actually - quick reads them all!

I've bought the Journeys anthology (edited by Teresa Edgerton) and Shimmer's 2017 anthology this month, and I'm enjoying them both.

 

[Abernovo]

They're all flash actually - quick reads them all!

Kraxon and Flash Fiction Online are great sites.
Daily Science Fiction is also good for flash fiction. Strange Horizons and Crossed Genres post a selection of short stories and articles from each edition. You can sneak them in during lunches, and get a range of styles, until you find a few you like. As AlexH points out, some writers produce both shorts and novels.

 

[BAYLOR]

I feel like I havent read a real novel in a long time, I quite enjoyed the Eisenhorn series published by games workshop.

Maybe I just dont know what I would enjoy outside of that lol


Aha! I remember liking a few Terry pratchett novels but would like to venture more into sci fi territory as thats what i would like to write

I would recommend Gaunt's Ghost series by. Abnett and the Caiphis Cain series by Sandy Mitchell .

 

[vanye]

More interesting questions to my mind are: Why do you want to write? And why SF? Is there a story that „wants out“ (i.e. you need to tell) - so you want to read SF to get insights into how to write? Or are you looking for story ideas?

 

[Arkena]

I have ideas for story worlds that just want out, so I need to read SF to get insights into how to write the genre. Is that a common reason for writing ?

Baylor! OMG i loved the gaunt's ghosts series...LOVED IT!!!

I will check out this flash fiction stuff, im so new to this, but i will put the time in

 

[BAYLOR]

I have ideas for story worlds that just want out, so I need to read SF to get insights into how to write the genre. Is that a common reason for writing ?

Baylor! OMG i loved the gaunt's ghosts series...LOVED IT!!!

I will check out this flash fiction stuff, im so new to this, but i will put the time in

Gaunts Ghosts is some of the best military science fiction ive ever read.

 

[BAYLOR]

RingWorld by Larry Niven I think you find the concept of this one appealing.
Ghost by Pier Anthony
The Killing Star by Charles Pellegrino. and George Zebrowski
The Gods Themselves by Issac Asimov by Fred Saberhagen
The Veils of Azlaroc by Fred Saberhagen
More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clark
Dune by Frank Herbert
Starship Troopers by Robert A Heinlein
The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen. Cook

Just a few suggestions here.

 

[Toby Frost]

I think after Warhammer 40,000 you’d probably like Dune, which is heavier and slower but seems to have partly inspired it. The Forever War is a good choice: it’s got action and interesting ideas about war. Death’s Head by David Gunn is very Warhammery (I think the same WW2 novels inspired both). You might enjoy the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie (fantasy rather than SF), which is action-packed and very cynical. I don’t like Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein but a lot of people love it. You might also find The Player of Games and Consider Phlebas by Iain M Banks interesting. They’re about espionage in a space empire and in that way remind me of some of the Inquisitor setting. (And Straken by, er, me).

I’m not sure whether to recommend the Sprawl trilogy by William Gibson: the second two books, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive, are really good, but the first one, Neuromancer, is pretty hard work.

 

[BAYLOR]

I second Straken by Toby Frost
Gathering Chronicles of Empire by Brian G Turner
Ranks of Bronze by David Drake