Booking Through Thursday: Fantasy and Sci-Fi

This week BTT asks about the fantasy and science fiction genres. Sci-fi author Sharon Lee has declared June 23rd Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Day:

"A day of celebration and wonder! A day for all of us readers of science fiction and fantasy to reach out and say thank you to our favorite writers. A day, perhaps, to blog about our favorite sf/f writers. A day to reflect upon how written science fiction and fantasy has changed your life."

Thus, we have this week's topic: What might you do on the 23rd to celebrate? Do you even read fantasy/sci-fi? Why? Why not?

I do read sci-fi and fantasy, although I'm not going to get into "why." I just like it – OK? And although reading SF/F has helped me through some rough patches of existence, I'm pretty sure it hasn't changed my life in any significant way. Well, nothing that springs to mind anyway – I'd have to think about that a while.

These days I don't read sci-fi or fantasy as much as I did in the past. There was a time when I was a real science fiction fanatic, and read almost nothing but. I once had a huge collection of SF/F books and magazines. No more, though – most of it got left behind when we moved from Louisiana to Virginia a couple of decades ago. Still wish I'd held onto those original editions of the James Blish Star Trek adaptations, published by Bantam in the late '60s and early '70s – they're a little hard to find these days, in really good condition.

Moving on.

I'm still something of a sci-fi devotee, although I do more watching than reading – I love sci-fi movies and TV shows. But I do still read science fiction (in the last year I've read Solaris and 2010: Odyssey Two), even though I might be a little more discriminating about it. And I have to admit that I stay mainly with the older authors that I loved in my youth – Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Clifford D. Simak, Theodore Sturgeon, John Wyndham. As for fantasy – well, that's a little different. I read fantasy, but it's mostly the kid lit type – like the book I just finished reading, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. I've never really been very interested in sword-and-sorcery tales or Lord of the Ring clones.

And as for celebrating the genre on June 23rd, well I guess that's an OK idea. I might do a blog post about a favorite author or book. Traditionally, June 23rd is Midsummer's Eve – so it might be a good opportunity to re-read A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of my favorite fantasies. In fact, that's part of one of the challenges I'm involved in this year, Carl V's Once Upon a Time Challenge. And if you're looking for some intriguing ideas about fantasies to read, the challenge website here is a good place to start.