November has sneaked up on us, a brutal reminder that the year is speeding to an end leaving far too few reading days to finish yearly challenges. It also means that Sci-Fi Month hosted by Rinn Reads is in full swing. The aim of Sci-fi month is to celebrate all things science fiction and to get people who might otherwise dismiss the genre interested in what it has to offer.
The default setting for my blog is set to science fiction (sorry, bad Star Trek joke), which means that you won’t really see a big difference in the content I post. I do have some surprises planned, but they are works in progress. So be patient my young Padawans, all will be revealed in due time.
On to the big question...
Why do I love science fiction?
This is a really tough question to answer; you might as well ask me why I love breathing or why I have a fondness for the colour blue (cerulean blue to be precise). I’ve always gravitated to science fiction and I can’t really pinpoint a reason why. Perhaps it’s due to my fascination with the stars. My fondest childhood memories are about spending summer nights just staring up at a sky festooned with billions of twinkling stars. I was awestruck and humbled by their vastness. Once you know the stars you can never again fear the night. The dark becomes a place filled with marvels and mysteries. I couldn’t help but wonder what adventures and amazing discoveries waited amongst those stars. If only we could reach them...
I never lost that sense of wonder and science fiction was just a completely natural fit for me. With the turn of a page SF brings the stars within our reach and explores the big questions. The same questions I had spinning through my head during those summer nights so long ago: Are we alone in the universe? What would other planets look like? How would humanity survive out there in vastness of space? In science fiction I found a home, a place filled with authors who could teleport me to unknown worlds populated by the marvels and mysteries I longed for.
Contrary to popular belief science fiction is not just about aliens and spaceships (admittedly that’s the part I’m most interested it) but it explores the entire spectrum of subjects. Chances are that you’ll find something that fits your interests. To me science fiction is all about the ideas; to imagine what is out there, to push the boundaries of what is possible today and to imagine what might be possible tomorrow. More importantly science fiction is for everybody. If you are fascinated by interesting ideas then SF is the genre for you.
As clichéd as it sounds the reason I love science fiction is for the sense of wonder. Each novel offers the opportunity to discover something new; to see ourselves, our universe and our place in it from new perspectives and to explore the endless possibilities of the unknown. Science fiction doesn’t predict the future it inspires it!
And on that note here are some words of wisdom to guide you in your exploration of science fiction: Don't panic, they can never take the sky from you, the enemy’s gate is down, ALWAYS carry a towel and, most importantly, never forget that the truth is out there!
Well the bad Star Trek joke made me laugh ;D As did the Star Wars reference.
ReplyDeleteWe all seem to have a very similar reason for loving the genre, but I love the way you explained it. So many unanswered questions and ideas - and even if we can't answer them right now, it's fun to attempt it.
Definitely true about sf inspiring the future - although some images of the future (like those of the 1950s, where we all had hovercars) are laughable, some are eerily accurate.
Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for this month =)
Glad someone got the references.
DeleteYes, some views of the future miss the mark completely and others are scarily accurate in hindsight. We might not have hovercars, but at least a flying car is being developed and we've got jetpacks now.
I love that you got into SciFi from watching the stars when you were a kid. It reminded me that astronomy was a gateway for me too, to get into science fiction. Where I grew up there was lots of light pollution, but we had an incredible kid's science museum. and they had a telescope! A few saturdays each year, us kids could look through the telescope. I couldn't have been much older than nine when i saw Saturn's rings. through the telescope i could almost touch them. through books, I can.
ReplyDeleteFor us scifi junkies, every month is scifi month! :D
Also, Cerulean Blue? X-Files reference? I only remember that episode because it was the same creepy actor from Lynch's Dune.
ReplyDeleteIt might have been a subconscious reference although I can't honestly say that I remember that specific episode. Had to look it up. Perhaps X-Files wormed its way into my brain so completely that I don't even know it.
DeleteHallo KJ,
ReplyDeleteA fellow SFN blogger stopping by to visit your blog! :) My blog is a smorgasbord of all genres and works of literature at large, as I am forever exploring new branches of literature at each ending of the current book in hand, and therefore, you'll find a little bit of everything on my blog! One of my favourite fantasy books I read earlier this year is "The Golem and the Jinni" however, the most sci-fi & epic high fantasy I read in over a decade of taking an interval of exploring the genre would have to be the blessings I've had by being a tour host with Tomorrow Comes Media, which is why you will see quite a heap of sci-fi & fantasy reviews on my blog! :)
As the month progresses I'll have to dig around your blog and see if we like to read the same types of books! I like to balance my readings in this genre arm between the grandfathers/grandmothers & the modern pioneers!
I had to smile when you reflected upon what your 'favourite colour is' as that is similar to how I answered one of my early teachers when I responded with 'burnt sienna' and being told that that wasn't an answer I could give! Oy! She finally conceded though because all my other answers were even more complicated! Laughs. She had issues with "crimson red" because I told her it was closer to blood rose red rather than fire engine red which was a bit garish! I was in kindergarten!
I think you will appreciate reading my first Feature (Seventeen to Seven) due to how I came to appreciate science fiction as an extension and circling through my explorations of science & specifically of the stars and constellations! To this day, I light up with joy whenever I spy my favourites in the ink black of night! Sweet reminders!
I ask a lot of the same questions myself and I think when your a seeker of knowledge and understanding you tend to take root in the branches of literature that explore what your heart desires most to understand. Ooh without a sense of wonder in our lives what do we have!? We always should remember not to lose that rapt sense of awe that hitches in our chest, grasps our throat and makes us stand in pure admiration for what gave us that initial sense of wonder!
I love what you said about the spectrum of sci-fi! So true!
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