Special Topic Summary

Special Topic: How to Recommend Science Fiction as a non-science fiction reader

            Science Fiction has been described as the number one most feared genre. The reason most librarians cite they fear the most when recommending a book to a science fiction enthusiast is that most of the time librarians do not read science fiction. This is an obstacle that is difficult to get around in science fiction, but is easier for a librarian to recommend books from other genres that they aren’t familiar with. Most genres can be defined by tropes, like mystery has a crime to solve and people dying, or romance where the reader knows two people will find each other and fall in love. Science fiction can’t easily be defined by tropes because the science fiction genre typically can have other genre tropes interwoven into the story depending on the author. (Jo Walton) Because science fiction can intersect other genre’s this can generally lead to difficulties recommending new books to science fiction fans, who more than likely have been reading science fiction for years. With this information how do librarians, that have no previous knowledge about science fiction, successfully recommend books to science fiction fans? There are two certain ways to achieve this, one being becoming a science fiction fan yourself or learning about the subgenres of science fiction to be more equipped when recommending sci-fi books.

            A familiar subgenre is the space opera, the one most people that don’t read science fiction believe all sci-fi typically is. This is the subgenre that takes the reader on cross planetary adventure with the character, they can encounter strange new worlds across multiple solar systems on a quest to save the day. Think Star Wars in book form, there will be colorful and unique species or places these books will take the reader and their space bound friends. The trends of the space opera can be either high or low brow and touch on philosophy and can be action packed.  Some related works are Ringworld by Larry Niven, Natural History by Justina Robson, Queng Ho by Vernor Vinge, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikowsky.

            Another subgenre that is starting to make a comeback is planetary romance. This is a subgenre that focus on an unknown world that is discovered by the main characters, they will have to interact with the unfamiliar. Encountering aliens and learning about their ways is a major theme throughout this subgenre. (Best Science Fiction Books) Most of the adventures will take place in a well-defined planet, which will usually have an important role to play in the story, either it being through the ecology or culture, the characters will have some misunderstandings that will move the plot forward. (Hollands, page 39) Some related works are The Entire and the Rose by Kay Kenyon, Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley, A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, Pern by Anne McCaffrey.

            Hard science fiction subgenre tries to relate stories using a correct scientific perspective. (Best Science Fiction Books) This is the subgenre of science fiction where the reader really is interested in reading about well researched arguments. The stories use speculative elements of sciences. The author speculates on the impact of developments that could happen. This subgenre can be called a more scientific approach to the space opera subgenre. (Best Science Fiction Books) Related works are Dragon’s Egg by Kim Stanley Robinson, Contact by Arthur C. Clarke, Down below Station by Carl Sagan, Baggers in Spain by Nancy Kress, and Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan.

            Time travel/Alternate History subgenre focus on themes that deal with events in history being altered from a different decision being made or different outcome of a war or event. The main character either goes back in time or in the future to change certain events from happening. (Hollands, page 41) Related works are Kindred by Octavia Butler, In War Times by Kathleen Ann Goonan, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline C. Engle, Anubis Gates by Time Powers.

Special Topic: How to Recommend Science Fiction as a non-science fiction reader

            Science Fiction has been described as the number one most feared genre. The reason most librarians cite they fear the most when recommending a book to a science fiction enthusiast is that most of the time librarians do not read science fiction. This is an obstacle that is difficult to get around in science fiction, but is easier for a librarian to recommend books from other genres that they aren’t familiar with. Most genres can be defined by tropes, like mystery has a crime to solve and people dying, or romance where the reader knows two people will find each other and fall in love. Science fiction can’t easily be defined by tropes because the science fiction genre typically can have other genre tropes interwoven into the story depending on the author. (Jo Walton) Because science fiction can intersect other genre’s this can generally lead to difficulties recommending new books to science fiction fans, who more than likely have been reading science fiction for years. With this information how do librarians, that have no previous knowledge about science fiction, successfully recommend books to science fiction fans? There are two certain ways to achieve this, one being becoming a science fiction fan yourself or learning about the subgenres of science fiction to be more equipped when recommending sci-fi books.

            A familiar subgenre is the space opera, the one most people that don’t read science fiction believe all sci-fi typically is. This is the subgenre that takes the reader on cross planetary adventure with the character, they can encounter strange new worlds across multiple solar systems on a quest to save the day. Think Star Wars in book form, there will be colorful and unique species or places these books will take the reader and their space bound friends. The trends of the space opera can be either high or low brow and touch on philosophy and can be action packed.  Some related works are Ringworld by Larry Niven, Natural History by Justina Robson, Queng Ho by Vernor Vinge, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikowsky.

            Another subgenre that is starting to make a comeback is planetary romance. This is a subgenre that focus on an unknown world that is discovered by the main characters, they will have to interact with the unfamiliar. Encountering aliens and learning about their ways is a major theme throughout this subgenre. (Best Science Fiction Books) Most of the adventures will take place in a well-defined planet, which will usually have an important role to play in the story, either it being through the ecology or culture, the characters will have some misunderstandings that will move the plot forward. (Hollands, page 39) Some related works are The Entire and the Rose by Kay Kenyon, Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley, A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, Pern by Anne McCaffrey.

            Hard science fiction subgenre tries to relate stories using a correct scientific perspective. (Best Science Fiction Books) This is the subgenre of science fiction where the reader really is interested in reading about well researched arguments. The stories use speculative elements of sciences. The author speculates on the impact of developments that could happen. This subgenre can be called a more scientific approach to the space opera subgenre. (Best Science Fiction Books) Related works are Dragon’s Egg by Kim Stanley Robinson, Contact by Arthur C. Clarke, Down below Station by Carl Sagan, Baggers in Spain by Nancy Kress, and Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan.

            Time travel/Alternate History subgenre focus on themes that deal with events in history being altered from a different decision being made or different outcome of a war or event. The main character either goes back in time or in the future to change certain events from happening. (Hollands, page 41) Related works are Kindred by Octavia Butler, In War Times by Kathleen Ann Goonan, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline C. Engle, Anubis Gates by Time Powers.

Special Topic: How to Recommend Science Fiction as a non-science fiction reader

            Science Fiction has been described as the number one most feared genre. The reason most librarians cite they fear the most when recommending a book to a science fiction enthusiast is that most of the time librarians do not read science fiction. This is an obstacle that is difficult to get around in science fiction, but is easier for a librarian to recommend books from other genres that they aren’t familiar with. Most genres can be defined by tropes, like mystery has a crime to solve and people dying, or romance where the reader knows two people will find each other and fall in love. Science fiction can’t easily be defined by tropes because the science fiction genre typically can have other genre tropes interwoven into the story depending on the author. (Jo Walton) Because science fiction can intersect other genre’s this can generally lead to difficulties recommending new books to science fiction fans, who more than likely have been reading science fiction for years. With this information how do librarians, that have no previous knowledge about science fiction, successfully recommend books to science fiction fans? There are two certain ways to achieve this, one being becoming a science fiction fan yourself or learning about the subgenres of science fiction to be more equipped when recommending sci-fi books.

            A familiar subgenre is the space opera, the one most people that don’t read science fiction believe all sci-fi typically is. This is the subgenre that takes the reader on cross planetary adventure with the character, they can encounter strange new worlds across multiple solar systems on a quest to save the day. Think Star Wars in book form, there will be colorful and unique species or places these books will take the reader and their space bound friends. The trends of the space opera can be either high or low brow and touch on philosophy and can be action packed.  Some related works are Ringworld by Larry Niven, Natural History by Justina Robson, Queng Ho by Vernor Vinge, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikowsky.

            Another subgenre that is starting to make a comeback is planetary romance. This is a subgenre that focus on an unknown world that is discovered by the main characters, they will have to interact with the unfamiliar. Encountering aliens and learning about their ways is a major theme throughout this subgenre. (Best Science Fiction Books) Most of the adventures will take place in a well-defined planet, which will usually have an important role to play in the story, either it being through the ecology or culture, the characters will have some misunderstandings that will move the plot forward. (Hollands, page 39) Some related works are The Entire and the Rose by Kay Kenyon, Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley, A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, Pern by Anne McCaffrey.

            Hard science fiction subgenre tries to relate stories using a correct scientific perspective. (Best Science Fiction Books) This is the subgenre of science fiction where the reader really is interested in reading about well researched arguments. The stories use speculative elements of sciences. The author speculates on the impact of developments that could happen. This subgenre can be called a more scientific approach to the space opera subgenre. (Best Science Fiction Books) Related works are Dragon’s Egg by Kim Stanley Robinson, Contact by Arthur C. Clarke, Down below Station by Carl Sagan, Baggers in Spain by Nancy Kress, and Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan.

            Time travel/Alternate History subgenre focus on themes that deal with events in history being altered from a different decision being made or different outcome of a war or event. The main character either goes back in time or in the future to change certain events from happening. (Hollands, page 41) Related works are Kindred by Octavia Butler, In War Times by Kathleen Ann Goonan, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline C. Engle, Anubis Gates by Time Powers.

When trying to use subgenres to recommend a new science fiction book to a reader, remember that most of these subgenres can intersect, like Future History and Utopia/Dystopia/Political science fiction frequently do. The amount of subgenres in Science Fiction is intimidating for librarians that don’t read sci-fi, so learning about what makes science fiction books different or unique from the next is crucial when trying to give advice on what book a patron should read next. Another important step to having a successful reader’s advisory interview with a science fiction fan is understanding that most of the time they know exactly what types of sci-fi they like and authors they prefer, so it can make it difficult to recommend a book they might not be sure about. (The Readers Advisory Guide, page 255)

            A reader advisory interview for a science fiction fan can be different from other reader advisory interviews and it’s because they tend to be among the most knowledgeable and opinionated readers to encounter. First find out what the readers enjoy about science fiction books, do they focus on the characters or the ideas and moods of the book? Knowing what the reader likes about a book can be helpful in suggesting a book using the subgenres listed above. Another way to be helpful in suggesting a sci-fi book is to ask about sci-fi related movies or shows that the reader has enjoyed, there are usually book tie-ins to popular sci-fi films. (The Readers Advisory Guide, page 256)

Another piece of information to remember when suggesting a new book to a sci-fi fan is that most fans have been reading this genre for years, which makes it difficult to make suggestions to fan. To overcome this, it is best to get as much information about the favorite authors and subjects they read about and search read-a-likes or similar authors in a library database to find something new. (The Readers Advisory Guide, page 256) There are plenty of science fiction subgenres to help a librarian narrow a book search for a science fiction fan and make informed suggestions to complete a successful reader’s advisory interview without being a hardcore fan of science fiction themselves.

Works Cited

“Best Science Fiction Books.” Best Science Fiction Books | BestScienceFictionBooks.Com, bestsciencefictionbooks.com/.

Hollands, N. (2010). Understanding the genres. In Fellowship in a Ring, Denver:  Libraries Unlimited, pp. 31-54.

Walton, Jo. “SF reading protocols.” Tor.com, 2 June 2015, www.tor.com/2010/01/18/sf-reading-protocols/.

Saricks, J. G. (2009). The readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction. Chicago: ALA.