I'm looking for sf/f book recommendations

[thewayne]

I have a friend who apparently wants to get more into SF/F, and possibly into conventions, and I'm going to build a reading list for her. Fortunately we have two great used bookstores here and one fair one, so getting ahold of older SF shouldn't be a prob.

Yes, there are numerous lists online, I wanted it from my friends. :-)

Some that I'm going to recommend are:
Asimov: I, Robot
Harrison: the Stainless Steel Rat trilogy
Heinlein: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Pratchett: the first Discworld trilogy
Zelazny: The Last Defender of Camelot
(Yes, I obviously have pretty old taste in books)

There was a Heinlein collection of short stories that I'm trying to remember, I know it had By His Bootstraps and The Man Who Traveled In Elephants, was that The Past Through Tomorrow? Did it have The Roads Must Roll?

Her main exposure is Star Wars/Star Trek/Battlestar Gallactica, so I'm trying to expand her horizons.

Come to think of it, Scalzi's Old Man's War would be a good addition.

Comments

[quasar273.livejournal.com]

Be careful about recommending too many of the old-school male chauvinists to a new female fan -- it can be a real turnoff if you haven't practiced looking beyond it yet. Sometimes it's a turnoff even then.

Bujold, Cherryh and Willis are all good suggestions. Also keep Ursula LeGuin, Andre Norton, Elizabeth Moon, and Melissa Scott in mind. For good "introductory" books by some of those authors, I suggest Falling Free by Bujold (standalone in case the list of books in the Vorkosigan series is too intimidating -- frankly I don't think that series has an ideal first book), Pride of Chanur or Downbelow Station by Cherryh, maybe Domesday Book by Willis (or To Say Nothing of the Dog if this friend has a weird sense of humor), Left Hand of Darkness or Lathe of Heaven by LeGuin. For Norton, Moon, and Scott I kinda prefer their fantasy and don't have a strong science fiction rec, but they do have some selections to choose from.