[Do you have an idea for a future Mind Meld? Let us know!]

This week, we asked our panelists the following:

Here’s what they said…

I’ve been reading science fiction and to a lesser extent fantasy for so long that it’s hard to say how it’s changed my life. I don’t recall a moment of waking up to a sense of wonder or to radical possibilities, because I’ve been reading this stuff since I was a kid. I think it’s more that SFF has shaped my life and my outlook.

Good science fiction tells a gripping story but it’s also a thought experiment that lets us imagine other worlds, or this world, changed. So it offers answers to the question of “How would things be if…?” Ideally, that’s an exercise that should lead to a more flexible, less dogmatic outlook. I don’t know who I would have been otherwise, but I do think I’ve benefitted from being immersed in fictional worlds that are so very different from the real world. I think it’s made me more open minded, more adaptable, and less averse to change—and that’s what I’ve come to think of as the science fictional mindset.

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We’ve already covered first science fiction books, now it’s time to flip the coin with this week’s panelists. So we asked them:

Check below to see their responses. And tell us what book got you hooked!

The first fantasy I was ever given was Tolkien. For many, perhaps, that would be the end of the story. But I wasn’t a terribly good reader at the time, and though I read and enjoyed the The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings was like a big brick wall. I slammed right into it and couldn’t get past the barrow scene.

And so, I figured fantasy was boring stuff and went back to video games. (Atari 2600–state of the art.)

The real breakthrough came when I hit 8th grade. A teacher assigned me to do a book report, and I tried with all my conniving little heart to get her to let me do mine on one of the Three Investigators novels (which I’d enjoyed reading in second or third grade.) The result of this little power struggle was me, sullenly slinking to the back of the room where she kept her cart of books, bearing the instructions that I HAD to pick one of those to read.

And there, sitting in full Michael-Whelan-Covered-Glory, was Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly. I think angels might have sung (though it was probably the school choir class next door.) Anyway, that was beginning of the end for me. I LOVED that book; and right next to it in the card catalogue at school was a listing for Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey.

Eddings, Melanie Rawn, and Williams came next. I was thoroughly a fantasy super-geek by the time 1990 rolled around, and Eye of The World was published.

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• Adventures in SciFi Publishing podcast-interviews Ken Scholes, author of Lamentation and the upcoming Canticle.
• Sci-Fi Talk has a chat with Director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Shorts).
• Letter Never Sent looks at Fantasy vs. Science-fiction: “…fantasy is typically regressive and nostalgic. It represents a longing for the child’s world and an escape from reality…Science-fiction is prophetic where fantasy is sentimental. Science-fiction, since it encourages a more broad perspective, is more creative and interesting.”
• Scalzi on Worldbuilding: “…I try to build my worlds at least two questions deep — that is, you make your creations robust enough to stand up to a general question and then a more specific followup question.”
• Greenpunk.net is now live. [via Enter the Octopus]
• Author2Author asks: Do book trailers sell books? [via Enter the Octopus]
• Steampunk Tales #2, emulating the style of the pulp adventure magazines of the 1920s and ’30s, is now available for download on multiple formats.
• I’m really enjoying Scott Edelman’s video posting of the 2000 Nebula Award ceremony. The latest snippet is the Best Novella Category.
• Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo unite against Google Books “…to act as the collective mouthpiece for all those opposed to Google’s recent $125 million settlement deal with book publishers and authors.”
• MSNBC says Science fiction’s robotics laws need reality check. [via Locus Online]
• AMC explains How a Shot of Bruce Wayne Could Help Calm Your End-of-Summer Jitters
• List:
  • @Brain Plucker: 10 Sensational Sense of Wonder Covers from Vintage Science Magazines.
  • Topless Robot lists The 10 Most Memorable Monsters Encountered by the Red Dwarf Crew.
  • At AMC, Mary Robinette Kowal lists Fantasy’s Top 10 MacGuffins.