Ray Bradbury: The Illustrated Man - Groups

Overview: Groups

Science Fiction 858 books / 3097 members / 1869 posts Sci-fi group for those who grok - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok

Recommend some stuff, let people know about new authors, help people find some good books to read.

I want to try to help people (including myself) find some lesser known, obscure, new, or under appreciated authors. I have nothing against Heinlein, Dick, Asimov, Gibson, etc... but let's take Grandmasters and Best-Sellers as a given. You could fill 20 pages full of the big names and that wouldn't point the way to new books. Let's do what SciFi is meant to do and explore some new frontiers... oh man, that makes me sound like I should own a closet full one piece jumpsuits.

SHORT Stories 326 books / 396 members / 193 posts I love short stories! While a great novel can move me into different worlds, times, places, I find that I can have these same compelling and entrancing experiences with short stories. And short stories cover all the genres of literature - what a tasty buffet from which to sample!

I have found that sometimes it is difficult to discover or even find short stories however. Sometimes disdained and so often misunderstood... Rarely cataloged as such, often not shelved in their own neighborhood, what's a person to do to find them! I am generally left with that old pal serendipity to lead to me new authors.

Some of my favorite authors: Edward P. Jones, Carol Shields, Alice Munro, Charles Baxter, Dan Chaon, Antonya Nelson, Tim Gatreaux, James Lee Burke, Jhumpa Lahiri, Richard Russo, Ellen Gilchrist, Robert Boswell, Ursala Hegi, Margaret Atwood, and many others.
And as you probably already noticed, many of these names, along with a wealth of other authors, are often perceived as "novelists" and we don't ever think to see if they too, are writers of short stories! Look at the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Orange Prize, Giller Prize, Booker Prize (and other) winners and you will notice that many of them are wonderful tellers of tales of a shorter nature:-)

So if you are a short story kindred spirit please join us and share your favorites, what makes it a favorite, and anything else you want to say about these gems.

California State of Mind 22 books / 5 members / 3 posts Often times when American Literature is discussed it begins with the likes of all those funny looking bearded folks from the East Coast. This group is not about that! This group is about discussing California's own born-and-bred (and maybe adopted) authors. There is a rich tradition of literature in the Golden State, so let's start reading it...

A Novel of Short Stories 26 books / 45 members / 13 posts There are Novels and there are Collections of Short Stories and then there is that fascinating hybrid...The Novel of Short Stories.

These are usually a collection of short stories similar in theme & tone and/or woven through a larger story, like fruit cocktail floating in a Jello mold.

Some that come to mind:
The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
I Robot by Isaak Asimov
Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers

If you know of any such books, this is the place to reveal your secrets and discuss.

Shelfari: The Site for Books & Readers

The Illustrated Man

by Ray Bradbury

Overview: Groups