November is Sci-Fi Month!

In case you didn't know, November is Sci-fi month! I'm a huge fan of science fiction, and it makes me sad that a lot of people don't even give the genre a try because they're put off by the stereotypes. I promise you it's not all spaceships and aliens, and that there are some really interesting and amazing worlds and ideas worth exploring.

This month, I'll be joining other bloggers during this month in posting about all sorts of sci-fi related things. Thanks to Rinn at Rinn Reads for setting this all up!

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I'm a bioengineering student, so I have a passion for science, but I'm a bookworm at heart. Books are my escape from the often stressful real world, and I really like reading about other worlds and other times - basically anything that isn't set in this day and age!

2. How long have you been a fan of sci-fi?

The first truly science-fiction book I read was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I was 8, and as you can imagine, I didn't understand much of it (nonlinear time? tesseracts? autonomous evil brains?). The book that really got me into sci-fi was Ender's Game, which I read five years later. I've been a fan of sci-fi ever since!

3. Why do you like sci-fi and what is your favourite thing about it?

I really like how science fiction has the slightest touch with reality but branches off into the unknown and the speculative. It's so exhilarating to see how other people envision new worlds and imagine new creatures and technologies. I also like how thought-provoking science fiction usually is. Visions of the future or an alternate reality or even a parallel civilization in space all contrast with out own world and often draw attention to little things that we don't question or don't think about. Sometimes it's frightening to see what might happen if we let a few things blow out of proportion, but I think that fear is really important because it shows you so much about your values and beliefs and your society's priorities.

4. favourite books/games/films/TV shows etc in the genre?

My favorite books are the Ender series (the Ender's Game quartet and the Ender's Shadow quartet), the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness, The Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L'Engle, the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman, the Oryx and Crake series by Margaret Atwood, and The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. I recently read Jaran by Kate Elliott and Parasite by Mira Grant, and they was really good too.

I think I am drawn more to the biological and ethical sides of sci-fi more than the usual spaceships and aliens. There are a lot of character-driven books and series, which people don't usually expect from the genre, and those are the ones I enjoy best.

I'm also a fan of Doctor Who and Lost!

5. what are your plans for Sci-Fi Month?

I'm planning on having a post comparing science fiction with science fact and an author interview with award-winning author Chris Beckett! There are a few other posts along the way as well :)