Oh mighty flist, I come to you for literary advice.

[tzikeh]

ETA: I don't want to recommend individual episodes of tv shows; I think finding them is too much work for newbies and would put them off.

I am currently in a Science Fiction Literature class (ENVY ME!), and many of my classmates have never read any scifi before. We're getting an interesting range of who likes what, and the conversations have been fascinating. Watching people discover the genre for the first time, seeing them realize that it's nothing like what they imagined, is as much fun as reading the assignments themselves, if not more so.


Novels and novellas:
Childhood's End
Downbelow Station
Earth Abides
Flowers for Algernon
Left Hand of Darkness
Snow Crash
Time Machine

Short stories:
And Then There Were None
Arena
Baby is Three
Brainwave
Cold Equations
Huddling Place
Marching Morons
Mars is Heaven!
Microcosmic God
Mimsy Were the Borogroves
Nightfall
Nine Million Names of God
Roads Must Roll
Surface Tension
There Will Come Soft Rains
Twilight
Universe
Vintage Season


The Prof and I have decided we're going to compile and hand out a list of other books and short stories the students might enjoy, as well as tv shows (only if they're available on DVD), movies, and graphic novels -- each with a quick summary of plot and why they might enjoy them. Probably along the lines of "If you liked X, you should check out Y".

Here's where you guys come in. I'm creating a list, which I'm going to email to the prof for his edits (additions and negations), and then we're going to print it up and hand it out. What I'm hoping to get from you guys is a) your thoughts on the list, and b) any additions you might make and WHY you're making them, keeping in mind, again, that this is a class where the majority of the students had *never* read any science fiction before. We want as wide a range of moods and themes and writing styles as possible.


Novels:
A Canticle for Liebowitz
American Gods
Catspaw
Cryptonomicon
The Diamond Age
Doomsday Book
Dune (only the first book)
Earthsea
Ender's Game
Gormenghast
The Handmaid's Tale
His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass)
House of Leaves
How Much for Just the Planet?
I, Robot
Johnny Mnemonic (NOT the movie)
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Lathe of Heaven
The Man in the High Castle
The Martian Chronicles
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Neverwhere
On the Beach
A Scanner Darkly
Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge
Slaughterhouse Five
The Snow Queen
Solaris
Something Wicked This Way Comes
The Sparrow
The Stainless-Steel Rat
The Stars My Destination
Stranger in a Strange Land
The Time Traveller's Wife
Young Miles (Vorkosigan universe)


Graphic Novels:
Powers
Preacher
Sandman
Transmetropolitan
V for Vendetta
Watchmen
Y, The Last Man

Short Stories:
All Summer in a Day
Harrison Bergeron
The Lottery
The Minority Report
The Monkey's Paw
Repent, Harlequin, Said the Tick-Tock Man
The Sound of Thunder
The Swimmer
Übermensch!
The Veldt
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale

Movies:
12 Monkeys
A.I.
Alien
Aliens
Blade Runner (NOT the Director's Cut)
Brazil (Director's Cut) (and, if you like backstory, the book "The Battle for Brazil")
Children of Men
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Dark City
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Donnie Darko
Far From Heaven (not scifi, but an important look at the fifties as background for many of the novels)
GATTACA
Galaxy Quest
Idiocracy
The Incredibles
The Matrix (no sequels)
Pi
Strange Days
Stranger Than Fiction
Terminator 1 & 2
Time After Time
Unbreakable

TV Shows You Can Get (now, or soon) on DVD:
American Gothic
Battlestar Galactica
Farscape
Firefly and Serenity
Heroes Season 1
Stand (miniseries)

Please say absolutely anything about this - thumbs up, thumbs down, additions (but please say why you think it's a good idea), etc. And please direct your friends over -- more ideas = better list!

Muchas gracias!

Comments

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

These lists are great!

I would say the Earthsea novels are fantasy, not SF. I recommend replacing them with The Dispossessed, which is definitely SF and one of LeGuin's best, IMO. Her short story collection The Birthday of the World is also particularly wonderful, and if anyone in the class likes The Left Hand of Darkness, the collection includes another story set on the same planet.

[yahtzee63.livejournal.com]

I know there's one Ursula K. LeGuin already on there, but I have to put in a vote for The Lathe of Heaven. And I highly, highly recommend The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, which convincingly answers the question "Who would first travel to an inhabited alien world?" with "the Jesuits." The sequel is interesting but not half so good as the first book, which should be on the syllabus for sure.

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

I would add Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy to the list.

Also, The Dazzle of Day by Molly Gloss -- my favorite recent piece of SF, hands down. Takes familiar tropes and runs with them in beautiful new directions. (The story posits a group of Friends -- Quakers, in other words -- who leave Earth in a toroid spacecraft knowing that if they're lucky, their grandchildren may be alive to see where it is they eventually land.)

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

Aiiiee! You're going to inflict Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and
Gormenghast on the unwary reader? How cruel!! (Those are the only two books/series in recent memory I haven't managed to finish.)

Can I suggest Elizabeth Bear's Carnival (http://www.amazon.com/Carnival-Elizabeth-Bear/dp/0553589040/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6729333-7390345?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182282729&sr=1-1) for the novels list? There's not much recent SF on the lists and not only is it recent, it deals with the disconnect between what some people imagine as a utopia and the reality of the same. (Though on first read a lot of folks won't realize that's what it's doing. It's subtle.) Also, the gender issues are fascinating, as the protagonists are a pair of gay men, and the society they are interacting with is a militant matriarchy.

Also, since Earthsea's on the list, I might also suggest Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising (http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Rising-Sequence-Silver-Greenwitch/dp/0020425651/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-6729333-7390345?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182282809&sr=1-2) series, which is another young adult fantasy series which is wonderfully written and infused with Celtic myth and legend.

For the movies list, I might suggest Galaxy Quest, because not only does it explore common SciFi cliches, but it also takes a good natured look at the culture of SciFi fandom, which is fairly integral to understanding the impact of Science Fiction in general.

[thefannishwaldo.livejournal.com]

I see that both "Flowers for Algernon" and "Harrison Burgeron" are on your list. I don't know if you plan to discuss them back to back, but just in case you don't, let me suggest it. Especially if anyone else in the class is an education major. It can be a fascinating way to look at how we treat kids in schools - some schools have done away with honor rolls and other awards, because kids who aren't winning them get their feelings hurt. Other schools do everything possible to boost kids into 'normal' classes and activities regardless of whether or not it's really appropriate for the child. FFA and HB are great fictional takes on both sides of that educational coin.

I'm curious to know why you haven't included any Trek or Star Wars. While arguably not Great Filmmaking, I think they're considered cornerstones of the genre. At least in a popular sense.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Star Wars is really fantasy, not science fiction, and Trek is just -- there's just too much of it, really. Same reason I didn't include X Files.

And yes, we're discussing Algernon and Bergeron together. Ooh, they rhyme! :)

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

DAMMIT! Of COURSE Lathe of Heaven. I have not read The Sparrow, so I'm uncertain about adding it, but I shall ask Dr. Hoberg if he's familiar with it.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Nearly everyone in the class is having *terrible* trouble with Left Hand, so I'm not sure more LeGuin is a good idea, but *I* may look into some of these. :D

Oh, and hey - perhaps we can talk in email so as not to spoil, but when I told you about Dr. Who guest stars earlier... so, what did you think?

[rhyana.livejournal.com]

A book some people may not have read, and may in fact be hard to find, is "The Witches of Karres" by James H. Schmitz. It's very good and very funny.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Oh yes - Dark is Rising and Galaxy Quest. Good calls!

[nestra.livejournal.com]

If you really wanted to, you could toss a couple good classic Trek novels in there. Most people will probably know who the characters are, even if they haven't seen the series, and the best novels don't require much canon knowledge. Either "The Wounded Sky" or "My Enemy, My Ally" by Diane Duane, "Yesterday's Son" by Ann Crispin, or...well, "How Much For Just the Planet?" might be a bit much.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Aiiiee! You're going to inflict Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and
Gormenghast on the unwary reader?

:D Well, we want to give a very broad scope. Each selection will have a summary and, if necessary, a warning such as "this is a more difficult read" or "You will either love this or hate this".

[amireal.livejournal.com]

I'd suggest some Heinlein or Harry Harrison in terms of very classic sci fi that's good and interesting (if occasionally pedantic or misogynistic) oh wait, you have heinlein, not sure if I'd have that really be his shining example, even it was awesome, but that's personal preference.

Stainless steel rat is good though (Harrison). Maybe throw in some Robert Sawyer, though he's very Hard Science sometimes.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Oooh Stainless Steel Rat. I haven't thought of that in AGES.

Which Heinlein would you recommend?

[amireal.livejournal.com]

Yes, if you want a list of the good trek (noteably from years ago) I can provide.

Nestra has a good start. Also, 3 minute universe, entropy effect, Ishmael, and Yesterday's Son's sequel, Time for Yesterday.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

"How Much For Just the Planet?" might be a bit much.

It might, but I'm also going to hand out Mike Ford's essay "Rules of Engagement", in which he makes several references to the novel, so it might not be a bad idea. And we've had some novels about humans going to other planets and the native inhabitants not getting along so well with them, so that's a nice comic turn on the whole thing. Hm.

[amireal.livejournal.com]

*G* Can't go wrong with the Rat.

I really like the Moon is a Harsh Mistress. That's me, but not everyone does. it's very-- libertarian. Or The Rolling Stones, which is really about one character generations later.

But really, Mistress I think is a very interesting example of science fiction and what it can say about politics.

[way2busymom.livejournal.com]

The Sparrow is fabulous. I recommend it highly!!!

[nestra.livejournal.com]

Plus, bonus filk. And pies.

I also rather like "The IDIC Epidemic", which explores a science community composed of many different species and various problems that would arise.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Also, The Dazzle of Day by Molly Gloss -- my favorite recent piece of SF, hands down.

Wow. Sounds fascinating -- I'll have to read it for myself!

[greywingnut.livejournal.com]

Graphic Novels:
If you don't mind more Moore, how about his Swamp Thing run? In that same vein, maybe also John Constantine Hellblazer.

Novels:
Stranger in a Strange Land - be sure to specify the original version, not the expanded edition. I love both, but the original is tighter and better for the audience.

Movies:
Big thumbs up for Time After Time, an often overlooked gem!

TV Shows:
Doctor Who (current series)

Cross-media:
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - radio, TV, books, movie, the whole kit and kaboodle. Excellent follow-up after they've been introduced to the genre.

More if/when it comes to me...

[roga.livejournal.com]

I think it's a very cool idea! But I do think it's very important you specify, like you said, what genres the books are and what other books they're similar too. Ender's Game, for instance, is a book I think almost everyone will enjoy; I, Robot, on the other hand, can scare people away. (Also, I don't know if I'd call Heroes scifi, any more than I would Superman.)

But on the whole - thumbs up. And then post the expanded list here, too, for us :-)

[way2busymom.livejournal.com]

C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet,Perelandra, That Hideous Strength).

[the-shoshanna.livejournal.com]

Ooh, fascinating and yummy!

I know LeGuin has already been much discussed in comments,but I would prioritize The Word for World Is Forest over several of the other LeGuin works proposed; not that they aren't fantastic (I love LeGuin), but much of what you have on the lists atm seems very hard-mechanical-science sf, and TWFWIF in particular is a wonderful alternative.

[ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com]

If you're handing out John M. Ford shorts, I highly recommend "Scrabble With God."