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0th Fandom
Apr. 10th, 2007 10:27 amDecided my schedule presently doesn't allow for me to read full-length novels but I would like to be reading something. So I went and browsed the used bookstore a couple weeks ago for anthologies. The boxes piled with back issues of Analog and Galaxy were indeed tempting but I suspect I can buy collections off eBay for less than buying them individually at the bookstore.
Anyhow... There's a question of where to start. So much to read. No way of knowing upfront if it will be good or terrible. Then, spying a book, I realized the answer was obvious. Start at the beginning.
The book I selected was Before the Golden Age of Science Fiction: Anthology of the 1930s edited by Isaac Asimov. As an added bonus, Asimov talks in-depth about his early childhood. I envy that the school system back then would let students move at their own pace. What a boon that must have been. On the other hand, his parents were as contemptuous of sci-fi and fantasy as mine were. Of course, he was also a bit of a cocky prick, but we already knew that. Still. It's neat having the stories put in the context of where he was in his life and what was going on in the world around him at that time.
The book itself is pretty bad. Early 70's hardcover. Very cheap paper with ragged edges and the binding is coming apart but it was cheap and for a fun read, worth the price.
One final point of interest: I went over to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimov to see what it had to say about Asimov and see if their biography compared well with the autobiography in this book (regrettably, their version is nowhere near as good) and I saw this:
Asimov died on April 6, 1992. He was survived by his second wife, Janet, and his children from his first marriage. Ten years after his death, Janet Asimov's edition of Asimov's autobiography, It's Been a Good Life, revealed that his death was caused by AIDS
... That makes me angry and sad in a number of ways. I don't think he was the sort of person who would have chosen to hide that but his wife and doctor kept it a secret for ten years.
Anyhow. All in all, I still miss Dr. Asimov, even if he was rather full of himself at times.
Anyhow... There's a question of where to start. So much to read. No way of knowing upfront if it will be good or terrible. Then, spying a book, I realized the answer was obvious. Start at the beginning.
The book I selected was Before the Golden Age of Science Fiction: Anthology of the 1930s edited by Isaac Asimov. As an added bonus, Asimov talks in-depth about his early childhood. I envy that the school system back then would let students move at their own pace. What a boon that must have been. On the other hand, his parents were as contemptuous of sci-fi and fantasy as mine were. Of course, he was also a bit of a cocky prick, but we already knew that. Still. It's neat having the stories put in the context of where he was in his life and what was going on in the world around him at that time.
The book itself is pretty bad. Early 70's hardcover. Very cheap paper with ragged edges and the binding is coming apart but it was cheap and for a fun read, worth the price.
One final point of interest: I went over to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimov to see what it had to say about Asimov and see if their biography compared well with the autobiography in this book (regrettably, their version is nowhere near as good) and I saw this:
Asimov died on April 6, 1992. He was survived by his second wife, Janet, and his children from his first marriage. Ten years after his death, Janet Asimov's edition of Asimov's autobiography, It's Been a Good Life, revealed that his death was caused by AIDS
... That makes me angry and sad in a number of ways. I don't think he was the sort of person who would have chosen to hide that but his wife and doctor kept it a secret for ten years.
Anyhow. All in all, I still miss Dr. Asimov, even if he was rather full of himself at times.
