80's MOVIES & book nominations

[colls]

So.... our 80's movies that we'll discuss sometime mid-month are:
The Princess Bride & Labyrinth



Just a reminder, we have a free chatroom here which is open to anyone who wants to use it to coordinate watching at the same time or just to randomly chat.
thecoffeehouse
pw: ilovecoffee

Oh, and the goal of having more than one is to give you OPTIONS. You can pick one or the other or watch both -- it's all good.



Next up... BOOKS!
List up to four science-fiction books and I'll do the same (pick out the 2 or 3 most popular choices).

I know there are a lot of series out there. Everything seems to be a series lately. I don't know if that's good or bad - but if you're choosing something in a series, I think it's best to start with the first of a series?? What do you think?
Also, if it's widely published and available in various formats, that'd be useful for those who might have a harder time getting their hands on something.

Comments

[colls]

Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon (#1 in a series, but looks interesting)
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (would love to re-read this classic)
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (which is borderline scifi, I think?)

[ngakmafaery]

....I feel Jonathan et al. is not really like scifi, to me, but more a fictional-sort-of-steampunk-with-less-punk semi-gothic-novel book...I read it when it came out, since it turned out that I had lived in that area during the time it was written (I think it was Durham, offhand), but that's just my view...

...if people suggest series, it does make sense to read the first...sorry to be no help in suggesting actual books, but I have no idea if the ones I might suggest are available...I know the gutenberg press online has countless books, though, so that might make them more available to some...

[colls]

I was always kind of curious why it got lumped in the scifi category, but steampunk sort of applies so maybe that's it. I thought it might be alternative history, too or something. Obviously I haven't read it. LOL!

Yeah, it was hard to come up with some! So many seem to be parts of series now -- ugh. I tried to pick books that have been out for a while plus a classic that is available just about anywhere.

OH!! You mentioned gutenberg and I totally didn't think to check that or http://www.baen.com/ either. D'oh!!

[skieswideopen]

I wouldn't really call it science fiction, either. Although I must admit, I never did finish it.

I don't necessarily see anything wrong with nominating the first book in a series, as long as it's not a cliffhanger. But I'm happy to give you the names of more standalone SF books if you like... (3 or 4 is HARD.)

[spaceoperadiva]

Although I must admit, I never did finish it. Whew. I thought I was the only one. I really wanted to like it, but it just didn't click with me. Or I never got in its groove, or something.

[skieswideopen]

Totally. That's exactly how I felt. I heard so many good things about it and it seemed like it would be totally up my alley, and I really wanted to like it, and then I could not get into it. At all.

Maybe I'll try again one day. Or maybe not...there are so many good books out there!