In no particular order: 1) A Wrinkle in Time - L'Engle 2) The Forgotten Door/Escape to Witch Mountain - Key 3) Dangerous Visions - Ellison 4) Childhood's End - Clarke 5) Parable of the Sower/Parable of the Talents - Butler
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I wonder how different my intellectual and political life would be if I'd read the Parable novels at a younger age; I didn't find them until about 40 (!). The same goes for Le Guin. In retrospect, the dominant and very male early SF (Asimov, Clarke, etc) were too narrow a diet for a growing brain.
jul 23, 2025, 9:57 am • 3 1 • view
I was lucky that I followed UKLG from Earthsea to her other novels & randomly found Butler and Delany to widen my view before getting out of high school. The SF I first fully imprinted on was Known Space and Dune, but those others were right behind em. I found Heinlein creepy & Asimov boring
jul 23, 2025, 3:26 pm • 0 1 • view
I know the younger me wasn't ready for Butler when I first discovered her. I was torn on a purchase of a new paperback, Kindred, or Niven's Ringworld Engineers. Larry won out that day. I cut my teeth on Asimov and Clarke, but also Silverberg and Andre Norton.
jul 23, 2025, 3:02 pm • 1 1 • view
Probably what made the way for me was pursuing a Degree in Literature, and finding CJ Cherryh and Margaret Atwood while in college.
jul 23, 2025, 3:05 pm • 2 1 • view