Science fiction is often called the “literature of ideas.” It tells the story of humanity with unparalleled imagination and often stimulates powerful insight into the human condition by exploring grand “what if” scenarios.
Books like 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World and Animal Farm introduced science fiction broadly to American audiences and it quickly became a popular literary genre. Since then, interest in science fiction has grown immensely, as readers of all ages are drawn to the genre that allows us to explore other worlds from the comfort of home.
Now you can make the top sci-fi titles – all Hugo and/or Nebula Award winners or NYT bestsellers — accessible to the broadest cross-section of readers by providing them in large print, which improves comprehension for readers of all kinds. If shelf space is a concern, no worries. The books are the same size or smaller than the original print versions.
Consider these titles available from Thorndike Press:
- 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson – In the year 2312, scientific and technological advances have opened gateways to an extraordinary future. Earth is no longer humanity’s only home; people live throughout the solar system. Now a sequence of events will force humanity to confront its past, present, and future.
- Among Others by Jo Walton — As a child growing up in Wales, Morwenna played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins. But her mind found freedom and promise in science fiction novels. When her mother tries to bend the spirits to dark ends, Mori is forced to confront her in a magical battle that leaves her crippled–and her twin sister dead.
- Downbelow Station: or The Company Wars by C.J. Cherryh – Twenty years after original publication, this masterwork still attracts new fans with its compelling look at a future history spanning 5,000 years of human civilization caught up in a rebellion between Earth and its far-flung colonies.
- Dune by Frank Herbert – A classic triumph of imagination, this is the story of a boy who would avenge a traitorous plot against his noble family on the desert planet Arrakis – and bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.
- Redshirts by John Scalzi – In the year 2456, Ensign Andrew Dahl stumbles onto information that transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what their starship really is and offers them a high-risk chance to save themselves.
- To Say Nothing of the Dog: or How We Found the Bishop’s Bird by Connie Willis — Ned Henry has been shuttling between the 21st century and the 1940s searching for a Victorian atrocity called the bishop’s bird stump, part of a project to restore the famed Coventry Cathedral, destroyed in a Nazi air raid. But when a fellow time traveler inadvertently brings back something from the past, Ned must help put things right to prevent altering history itself.
Uneasy about developing a large print collection? Check out these mythbusters to better understand the value and need for a collection in your library. NOTE: These titles will also be easier to read if you happen to break your glasses following an apocalypse.*
Visit www.thorndike.gale.com to order today or contact your Large Print Sales Consultant to discuss pricing options for these hot titles today.
*See the classic “Time Enough at Last” episode of The Twilight Zone. 😉
Why Science Fiction matters for your Large Print customers
Wendy Bartlett, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Collection Development and Acquisitions Manager
In case you haven’t noticed, science fiction is undergoing a huge resurgence. Books like The Martian by Andy Weir and Red Rising by Pierce Brown were huge last year, as was The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber. Not to mention Gravity, Interstellar, and the umpteenth resurgence of the popularity of the Dr. Who franchise.
Why sci fi, and why now? I think it’s because as the millennials overtake the boomers (and it’s about time), society is slowly but surely turning outward. What can we do for one another? How can we help? We grew up with recycling and fewer resources. This is not news to us. Cooperation and teamwork are both our nature and our nurture. And unlike the counter culture movement of the ‘60s, we’re not reacting to a rigid social system. Instead, we’re trying to build a better world. And world building is what science fiction (and fantasy) is all about.
Science fiction allows us to contemplate a new reality within the framework of our existing moral and social limits; gently “nudging” and reforming it in story to test it out, try it on, and dream it up. And your customers are trying to tell you something by taking out all this new sci fi in regular print. Don’t leave your Large Print customers behind; Thorndike’s collection is one that covers all the bases and brings an excellent cross section of classics and newer science fiction. We were thrilled to see it; your customers will be too!