Thursday, March 22, 2012

Kick It Old School

As I mentioned in my review of Jo Walton's Among Others, the book is in one part, a love letter to the sci-fi and fantasy from the 50's to early 80's.  Since I wasn't born until the early 80's and didn't start reading sf/f until the early to mid 90's, I missed out on a bunch of these authors and books.  My reading in the genre has been primarily contemporary authors and their works, so I've only just barely scratched the surface of what could be considered "classic" authors.

Over at SFF World, in the Fantasy Book of the Month discussion thread, we've talked about whether or not having read those books makes Among Others more enjoyable.  The verdict on that matter is mixed, but regardless, the book has led a few folks, myself included, to hit up the used bookstores in search of some old-school sf/f.  Here's what I've dug up:


In the same SFF World thread, I wished for a complete list of all the old school sf/f books mentioned in Among Others and boy, was my wish ever granted.  Jo Walton herself stopped by and provided a couple of really cool links that list all the books read or mentioned by Mori in Among Others.  A veritable treasure trove of authors and their works.  Here's an alphabetical list by author from Walton's Live Journal page.  For those of you who are more visual and/or into Pinterest, there's also a link to someone's Pinterest wall that has all the covers.  Gotta love the old school cover art!

I've been spending my spare time researching the titles on the list and updating my list of books I want to read.  I can't wait to get reading on some of these.  Expect to see some reviews here in the coming months!


2 comments:

redhead said...

you are in for some great adventures with the vintage stuff and the classics!

While I was reading Among Others I too was hoping for a listing of everything she mentioned. I'd heard of most of the books, and read a few of them. Last January I went on a vintage SF kick and had a blast with it.

Ryan said...

Redhead- Thanks! Yeah, I'm pretty excited.