Decent Book Clubs for Sci-Fi Fans?

willyhill writes "I'm a Sci-Fi and Fantasy book nut, but in the last few years I've found it more and more difficult to find the time to read. Contrary to what most people would think, I actually have a hard time finding books, rather than cuddling up with them. In reality, I don't have time to mess around at my local Barnes & Noble and browse books, and I find it dicey and expensive to do the same at Amazon or other online retailers. I was looking at a magazine the other day and I found an advert for the Science Fiction Book Club. While my experience with CD clubs and the like in the past has not been entirely positive, I was prepared to give it a shot given the fact that it would be less expensive than Amazon in the long run. The problem was that their selection is not exactly grand. Having read the Simmons Hyperion Cantos, for example, I was ready to give Ilium a go, but I could only find its sequel. How do other readers get their hands on Sci-Fi books? I tried Googling for book clubs and the like, but there's too much static out there, mostly caused by Oprah. Any suggestions would be appreciated!"

Comments

google minus oprah

[sonamchauhan]

> too much static out there, mostly caused by Oprah.

http://www.google.com/search?q=book+club+-oprah

The ABC

[johannesg]

I visit the American Book Centre in either The Hague or Amsterdam. Either one is a comfortable half hour by train from my house, and it has the widest selection of F&SF books you will encounter anywhere in the world - including the large bookshops in the US.

Online here: http://www.abc.nl/

And before you protest that travelling to the Netherlands might not be any easier or cheaper than joining an online club, you never mentioned what country you were in so I have no reason to assume you are an american ;-)

Private Library Development...[and LibraryThing]

[rootrot]

One alternative is to work with a good book dealer to build whatever sort of collection you might be interested in creating. Most of my business is in collection/library development, most often for people in the situation you describe...people who love books, want to read what comes into their collection, but lack the time to properly track down material.

Several of my favorite clients are on personal "book of the month club" programs, where I send them a random book within their interest area(s) each month. Thus far, I've never had anyone complain about a choice.

I strongly encourage you to find a good book dealer and have a chat. In the alternative, drop me a line *g*...my personal collecting is in hard spec. fiction and cryptography.

Good luck. .ijk
--
Ian J. Kahn
Lux Mentis, Booksellers
Antiquarian & Fine First Editions
211 Marginal Way, #777
Portland, ME, 04101
http://www.luxmentis.com/
Member ABAA/ILAB

p.s. You should also check out the SF comm. at www.librarything.com.

Re:The library.

[NarcolepticPenguin]

Not always - I don't know about your local library, but here they have a monthly book sale at the main city library. They sell off surplus copies of titles they already have at ridiculously cheap prices - I picked up Asimov's collected Foundation Series for something like $1.50 - hardback, dust jacket and everything.

Sure, some are in horrible shape, but for $0.75 to $2.00 you can't really complain. I've found some remarkable (to me) treasures - old Time-Life publications like "Great Ages of Man" and such that I'd never be able to find at most traditional book stores.

I highly recommend checking it out if your local library has a sale like this. There can be some serious crowds there but in general it's a great way to get some good literature, as well as support your library system.