SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Let's talk about the SFF that made us into the readers we are, or that are now inspiring new generations with their big ideas and pitch-perfect prose. Share YA, MG, and "all ages" books that you read or would love to have read as a kid. Let's try to pair books that would be good to compare so that we have a few angles of discussion. For example, The Giver and The Last Cuentista have some great points of similarity and dissimilarity to discuss!

We'll make a reading list, vote on what to read four months at a time, and discuss what we think in a Buddy Read thread!

As with prior years, our buddy reads will be scheduled to start on the 5th of the month so that we don't overlap too badly with any group reads in which you plan to participate.


January: The Giver - discussion
February: The Last Cuentista - discussion

March: Inkheart - discussion
April: Charlotte's Web - discussion

May: A Snake Falls to Earth - discussion
June: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - discussion

July: Lord of the Flies - discussion
August: The Wild Robot - discussion

September: The Blue Sword
October: The Golden Compass

November: The Phantom Tollbooth
December: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

if you're meaning books that nudged us towards SF&F, mine were

The Oz books
The Andrew Lang books of fairy tales
the Heinlein juveniles
early Andre Norton books
Zenna Henderson's books of the People

however, as I was reading adult books by the time I was 9yo (1960), I'd have to include Foundation, Lord of the Flies, Way Station, The Witches of Karres (I loved this one, so it might be a good one for this topic), and Dragonflight (ditto)

The books that really introduced me to SF when I was young were the Tripod Trilogy by John Christopher, starting with The White Mountains. I read them a few years ago and they held up pretty well.

Not sure in what sense we should pair books (SF with Fantasy?).

I wasn’t much of a Fantasy reader as a kid and I’m having a hard time coming up with an influential Fantasy I read.

Not entirely sure it'll be possible to match everything up, but I'd like to do a "classic" and a "current" to the best of our ability--sort of see how we discuss things for kids then and now, what is available now that wasn't an option when we were growing up (thinking here of accessibility, seeing children of other races, family types etc in books), etc.

So when we're talking "formative" I don't just mean what was formative for us, but also books we'd offer to kids today and/or wish we had when we were growing up.

One of my most important formative books was A Wrinkle in Time. Meg Murry was the first character that reminded me of myself, with a love of math and science and quite a bit of social awkwardness. I'll have to ponder a more recent MG/YA book about finding joy in your own fabulous weirdness.

This is a running tab of books we're considering. For now I'm using 1990 as that gives us ~30 years in either direction for growing up in. If we find that we need to change this cut off, we can!

THEN (pre-1990):

A Wrinkle in Time
The White Mountains
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Pilgrimage: The Book of the People
Lord of the Flies
The Witches of Karres
(Need specific Heinlein, Norton, Lang books!)

NOW (1990-present):

The Last Cuentista
Sandry's Book

I added a couple of mine. Also want to add

The Lightning Thief

older:
The Book of Three
Over Sea, Under Stone
The Wind in the Willows
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

It is a bit 'older' than perhaps you are intending but this trilogy was extremely formative for me. I pretty much spent all of my teens reading books set in this world. Dragons of Autumn Twilight

Modern Options:
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
second The Lightning Thief (great joy reading this series with my niece and still a discussion point with us)
The Dragonet Prophecy (I have had several students declare this a formative series for them.)

Can Winnie-the-Pooh count?

I was super hoping you'd jump in! I don't see why any of these wouldn't count!

Thanks for the deeper explanation of what we’re trying to do here.

In that case, I would like to recommend The Mirrorwood, and The Marvellers to our list of contemporary books.

The Mirrorwood looks at appearances and how they can be deceiving, and how help can come from unusual directions and solutions deceptively simple.

The Marvellers has a look at discrimination - a girl is subjected to discrimination and bullying for no good reason and finds friendship in a place she would not have expected.

The White Mountains is an SF where humans on Earth are enslaved and controlled by mysterious aliens who weird the Tripods. It’s about kids who evade the mind control and try to free humanity.

Excellent, thanks Diane! I'll add these in the next round :)

Also...

Does this sound interesting? It sounds fun and interesting to me, but I want this to be fun and interesting for all participants

I love everything about it. It may not appeal to everyone, but there are challenges aplenty through this group.

Hooray! Yeah, I don't need it to be universally enjoyed (see my motto: there's no wrong way to love SFF!) but I'm hopeful this appeals to some of us.

Also, I am excluding books on the shelf--it would be great if folks wanted to vote for Hobbit or other such that are already on the shelf for re-reads to add to our discussion, but this is for books the group has not yet experienced as a whole.

I really like the idea, Allison! But as you know I love a good Middle Grade/YA novel.

The Discord subset of parents, teachers and MG enthusiasts is what sparked the idea! So I'm glad it's resonating with that group :)

Oh I also want to add

Bug - a modern kid who is deaf and probably neurodivergent living in a nearish future discussing family dynamics, environmental collapse and colonialism

A Wrinkle in Time and the series with The White Mountains were also very influential for me. I would add By William Sleator Singularity by William Sleator (or others by him, actually - I read several as a pre-teen, but this one stuck with me because it was the most unsettling). Sadly, my son was not as interested in A Wrinkle in Time when we did it as a read-aloud - it was too weird for him - though reading it again as an adult (and mom) was a really different experience for me than reading it as a child.

For fantasy, along with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I would add Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien and The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. (I read The Neverending Story with my son several years ago, and it was also a favorite for him.)

I will give you Astrid Lindgren! My favorite was Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, but The Brothers Lionheart would probably be the one I’d recommend for first time adult readers.

SFFBC wrote: "This is a running tab of books we're considering. For now I'm using 1990 as that gives us ~30 years in either direction for growing up in. If we find that we need to change this cut off, we can!

(Need specific Heinlein, Norton, Lang books!)"

Lang books are fairy tales so they'd not qualify as they're more like a group of short stories

Andre Norton: The Beast Master
Heinlein: Podkayne of Mars which was the first SF I remember reading with a female main character

Um... Bunnicula also belongs on this list!!

second Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (My aunt read this to me as a pre-reader and I still remember it.)

add (old) The Phantom Tollbooth
Charlotte's Web it has talking animals so SFF??

Melanie wrote: "Um... Bunnicula also belongs on this list!!

second Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (My aunt read this to me as a pre-reader and I still remember it.)

add (old) [book:Th..."

Oooh - definitely second The Phantom Tollbooth! I can't believe I forgot that one.

The Black Cauldron, was mentioned on Discord. I read it as an adult so I can't speak to its then-ness.

Anna wrote: "I will give you Astrid Lindgren! My favorite was Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, but The Brothers Lionheart would probably be the one I’d recommend for first..."

I got called Pipi (in a mean way a lot as a kid because red-ish hair and freckles). I've never read the books because of that.

How about Coraline and Peter and the Starcatchers for a modern books?

My kids and I also LOVED The Search for WondLa, which is definitely a sci-fi coming-of-age story. I also have a penchant for The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making.

I recommend The Wild Robot by Peter Brown for a modern one. My son and I loved this, and there is a lot there for discussion.

One of the first SFF books I read that made an impression on me was Robert Silverberg's Lord Valentine's Castle. I'd like to nominate that.

Second Phantom Tollbooth! Add to list the fantasy The Princess and the Goblin. Both (along with The Secret Garden, which is in no way spec-fic) were extremely formative for me and I read them all to pieces. Oh, I also loved (and still appreciate) The Forgotten Door.

Not sure what modern books might be akin to them in any way. I will be glad to see the lists grow.

And btw, thanks to the person upthread who brought up William Sleator. His work, SF and horror, was, ah, fun, but I only read him as an adult so not formative.

My formative SF books were Sturgeon short stories, but I don't think they fit the topic here.

For my boys with whom I read aloud a lot of books I can certainly add Cornelia Funke's Inkheart series. For me it stood out from the usual MG books due to its wonderful prose (at least in the original version, I haven't read the English text)

Thanks to those who’ve mentioned The Phantom Tollbooth and the Rats of NIHM! I third or fourth those.

As far as books with talking, anthropomorphized animals, Charlottes Web is the best. But The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden is wonderful.

Melanie wrote: "I got called Pipi (in a mean way a lot as a kid because red-ish hair and freckles). I've never read the books because of that. "

The Pippi books are very different, I wouldn't recommend those :)

The Dark Is Rising was one I loved, in fantasy, along with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. But like others, I also loved Narnia, and A Wrinkle in Time.

But Andre Norton was my gateway to SF - Catseye, followed rapidly by Anne McCaffrey. Could not get enough of either.

There was also the foray into David Eddings for Fantasy, which I initially loved, but found a bit formulaic as I got older.

I did wander into Arthur C Clarke, but I have to say that The Stainless Steel Rat, which I haven't read for years, might wear quite well. Maybe I'll have to go and find out!

DivaDiane wrote: "As far as books with talking, anthropomorphized animals, Charlottes Web is the best. But The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden is wonderful."

And The Wind in the Willows
Mr. Badger, Mr. Toad, Mole and Rat!

great ideas folks! I shall add them as soon as I'm off work. Remember we're gonna want a list and are going to read 12 total together (additional buddy reads encouraged!) and I was planning on picking books 4 at a time so we have some flexibility.

Do you want me to add seconds now or gather info for another 10 ish days and then have a vote for the first 4. (my preference is for the latter, but if that's too prolonged, we can do it catch as catch can!)

I see one Timeline where group has three books per month: F, SF, Children/YA. Polls and every thing.

the latter for me

ETA: a lot of people were out of town for the Thanksgiving holidays and might not have visited the forum during that time

all of this is ya/children's, Bonnie! I can see sf/f pairings but I'm more interested in nostalgic vs modern, as I think it's likely we're all more versed in one or the other and I want to explore what sorts of things were and are important for kids :)

Agreed, Chessie, I definitely want folks to have time to jump in, especially once the December newsletter goes out

No, I mean for all of SFFBC! I see one timeline where we add a third book per month, the Children's/YA choice.
:)
I'm not proposing it... but I can imagine it.

And I would have nominations for it!
The Face in the Frost; that one you just read with The Last Cuentista; Redwall ...

Yeah yeah, get back to formative ones that I have actually read, OK!

oh! haha there'd be a mutiny!

oh redwall!!

Classic - Watership Down.
Modern - The Bees.

More literary, more for teens, but very likely to be 'impactful' if not quite 'formative.'

I was amazed I got all the way to the bottom of the thread before anyone mentioned Redwall... my favorite was probably Salamandastron because I loved the otters and badgers.

Tamora Pierce's books were one of the main reasons I got into fantasy - The Woman Who Rides Like a Man was actually my first, but I agree with Sandry's Book as a better choice for this challenge.

A list of others, avoiding books that have already been mentioned and books on the group shelf...

Dealing with Dragons
Gail Carson Levine, especially Ella Enchanted
For Anne McCaffrey, I think Dragonsong is the best fit for this challenge.
The Blue Sword
Diana Wynne Jones - Howl’s Moving Castle is the most popular, but I also have fond memories of Charmed Life

For newer books, I would have loved to have had the whole Rick Riordan Presents series as a kid. (Allison, if you want specific picks, I will go with The Storm Runner and Dragon Pearl.) I'm also intrigued by Dactyl Hill Squad and Zahrah the Windseeker (Nnedi Okorafor's debut, I think!). And a couple of recent MG/YA books that I've read and enjoyed are Raybearer and A Snake Falls to Earth.

This is very interesting! I read some fun fantasy growing up. So far everything I thought of and some I'd forgotten has been mentioned above. I didn't read much sci fi. I'll have to check my shelves to see if there's anything that seems to fit (older or more recent). I will definitely lurk around and see what folks are reading for this project, and probably join in on at least some of the reads.

Oh my gosh, I have thought of the Cricket in Times Square in ages! Thanks for that, Diane!

I used to spend hours in the library reading these growing up:
Passager: The Young Merlin Trilogy, Book One
A Wizard of Earthsea

Modern equivalent might be:
Spear -- just started this one so not sure
Tess of the Road -- on my tbr
The Girl Who Drank the Moon

This is a running tab of books we're considering. For now I'm using 1990 as that gives us ~30 years in either direction for growing up in. If we find that we need to change this cut off, we can!

THEN (pre-1990):

A Wrinkle in Time
The White Mountains
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Pilgrimage: The Book of the People
Lord of the Flies
The Witches of Karres
The Book of Three (Chronicles of Prydain/Black Cauldron)
Over Sea, Under Stone (Dark is Rising)
The Wind in the Willows
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Narnia)
Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Dragonlance)
Winnie-the-Pooh
Singularity
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
The Brothers Lionheart
The Beast Master
Podkayne of Mars
Bunnicula
The Phantom Tollbooth
Charlotte's Web
Lord Valentine's Castle
The Forgotten Door
The Cricket in Times Square
The Stainless Steel Rat
Redwall
The Face In The Frost
Alanna: The First Adventure
Dragonsong
The Blue Sword
Passenger: The Young Merlin Trilogy, Book One

NOW (1990-present):

The Last Cuentista
Sandry's Book (Circle of Magic)
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson)
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
The Dragonet Prophecy
The Mirrorwood
The Marvellers
Bug
Coraline
The Search for WondLa
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Tess of the Road
The Princess and the Goblin
The Wild Robot
Inkheart
The Bees
Dealing with Dragons
Ella Enchanted
The Storm Runner
Dragon Pearl
Dactyl Hill Squad
Zahrah the Windseeker
Raybearer
A Snake Falls to Earth

As of Message 47

I think I got all of them that I'm sure aren't on the shelf, and in the correct placement XD If you see something I've missed that is NOT on the shelf, something I've forgotten is ON the shelf, or put it in the wrong timeframe, please let me know

I think the last one from the THEN category should be Passager - Passager: The Young Merlin Trilogy, Book One