but the Foundation trilogy was so influential (including inspiring Paul Krugman to be an economist) that it's de rigueur for an overview of the genre.
Yeah, but do you enjoy reading him? Is it pleasurable?
And the thing is, I like my evil like I like my men: evil. You know, straight up, black hat, tied to the train tracks, soon my electro-ray will destroy metropolis BAD.
Buffy ,'Sleeper'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
DavidS - Dec 21, 2011 8:37:11 am PST #17113 of 28288
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Kathy A - Dec 21, 2011 8:38:18 am PST #17114 of 28288
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
And Joanna Russ, if you feel like having your brain fucked with.
I read The Female Man in my feminist lit class in college (where I was also introduced to Tiptree and CL Moore--the entire reading list was SF/F written by women), and remember it being quite good.
Typo Boy - Dec 21, 2011 8:42:47 am PST #17115 of 28288
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
When I was 11 I enjoyed the Foundation series. I have not tried the foundation as an adult, but I do think many of his short stories hold up. As I remember,the foundation novels were really collections of short stories and novellas in any case.
-t - Dec 21, 2011 8:43:18 am PST #17116 of 28288
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
I find Asimov uneven (he published SO MUCH some of it was bound to be awful), but I certainly have enjoyed reading him.
Kathy A - Dec 21, 2011 8:44:20 am PST #17117 of 28288
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
I don't think it qualifies as SF/F, but if you go with Gothic Horror as being somewhat in the general genre, that college class also included "The Yellow Wallpaper" in its reading list, which made a huge impact on me at the time.
Ginger - Dec 21, 2011 8:45:20 am PST #17118 of 28288
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
I'd include The Female Man in any list of important/influential SF.
I have reread the Foundation series as an adult, but not recently. There's a lot more tell than show, but there's also a grand sweep of ideas.
Toddson - Dec 21, 2011 8:57:34 am PST #17119 of 28288
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"
"The Yellow Wallpaper" is one of the scariest things I've ever read.
Strega - Dec 21, 2011 9:03:33 am PST #17120 of 28288
Yeah, I read some of Asimov's short stories; that was enough. The ideas are fun and I certainly understand his importance. But that's not enough to interest me in a novel, much less a series.
The Cold Equations always makes me think of Sheckley's The Cruel Equations. (Although it's actually about the Laws of Robotics.) Anyway, Sheckley's great and very funny.
erikaj - Dec 21, 2011 9:04:29 am PST #17121 of 28288
Always Anti-fascist!
I think because we know it happened to real women(including Gilman herself) I don't like Asimov either, but I'm not really an SF person.
Atropa - Dec 21, 2011 9:16:34 am PST #17122 of 28288
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
(Hell, I might as well say, "All Bradbury short stories."
YES. Especially "Homecoming". t obvious bias is obvious