Science fiction does weird things to peoples’ faces. If you’re not on my side of the book shelf, chances are when you hear I love sci-fi your eyebrows try to hide in your hair line, your smile has cracked into a mosaic of pained surprise and you are trying to disengage from the conversation as quickly as humanly possible.

No, I don’t wear Star Trek uniforms. No Star Trek or Star Wars pyjamas either. No, I am not a teenage boy. No, I don’t want to meet your neighbour’s unemployed son who lives in their basement playing Halo “because he likes spaceships too.” I am a thirty-six year old, forklift driving, dessert loving, make-up wearing mother of two who adores science fiction – it’s my favourite genre.

I love science fiction because it takes big themes and ideas (like identity, race, friendship, family, responsibility and courage), strips all the familiar atmosphere away (like houses, and cute suburbs, the 21^st century, gardens, denim jeans, shopping centres and Christmas parties – even oxygen) and says “Well, what would you do?” It then asks, “Why? And why do you think they are doing that over there/to us?” and demands a solution. Science fiction is all about change of thinking, living, circumstances, head-butting stereotypes and cultural expectations, and even shooting things that may or may not deserve it.

In John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War, the only way to get off Earth is to leave as a colonist (but only if you are from a poor third world nation) or – when you are 75 years old – by joining the Army. That’s right: the Army wants YOU… and your arthritis, your prostate cancer, your faded eyesight and other indignities of age. The only catch if you enlist: you won’t be coming back. Ever. We follow John up the beanstalk (literally), and through the upheavals, ethical pains and friends he makes along the way. It is one funny, brilliant and clever ride through the unknown universe, and will leave you wanting a BrainPal of your own.

Even in sci-fi, some things never change. Windows still get dirty, and still need to be cleaned. But what if you live in apartments 35 kilometres (21.7 miles ) above the earth? Mitsu lives in the Saturn Apartments and has just graduated from Junior High. But his Dad recently died during his window-washing job, and oxygen doesn’t pay for itself… Saturn Apartments 1 (by Hisae Iwaoka) is a visual treat: a comic/manga styled story, with the added fun of being read (and page turned) from right to left (i.e. opposite to how Western books are read). The illustration style will be slightly familiar to anyone who has seen Pokémon, Avatar: The Last Airbender or One Piece cartoons and you quickly get used to reading in a different direction. The detailing of the Earth, the station,  its inhabitants and life told and shown from Mitsu’s point of view is mind-stretching and heart wrenching, and art in and of itself.

The Humans by Matt Haig isn’t hard-core (or even soft-core) sci-fi – it is 100% a study and examination of what it means to be human. Sure, the main character happens to be an alien who has taken over the body of a professor in England. Not just a lecturer, either: a married man, a father, who has recently made a mathematical theory breakthrough of such magnitude and consequence that the observing universe’s citizens believe the human race is too stupid to deal with. But The Humans is about the struggle to understand the human condition (like breathing air), social customs (why no public nudity?), atmospheric anomalies (rain) and the unfathomable, baffling use and importance of walking a dog, being part of a family, and peanut butter.  The Humans was my favourite book of 2013, absolutely, hands/tentacles down and no contest. The “Advice For A Human” chapter is made for discussion, either with other humans, aliens, and/or yourself.

Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi (Note: first in a series)

Recommended to:   People with a dry to snarky sense of humour, who are prepared to laugh

Anyone who wonders what aliens would really be like ‘out there’

Those who like a story that hurtles along and still shoots you in the feels

Not recommended for:   Children

Those who don’t appreciate or like moral complexities

Anyone who doesn’t like sarcasm

Rated: PG 15+ (Swearing, inferred sex, themes of death, ageing, friendship, bravery, sacrifice)

Saturn Apartments 1, by Hisae Iwaoka (Note: first in a series)

Recommended to:   Comic, cartoon or manga fans

Humans over the age of 10

Adventurous types

Anyone looking for unusual jobs to dream/nightmare about

Not recommended for:   Readers in a hurry

Anyone who doesn’t like pictures in a book

Rated: PG (high-school dynamics, parental death, self-determination)

 The Humans, by Matt Haig

Recommended to:   Anyone with a pulse

If you’ve ever felt alienated*, socially inept, or surrounded by weirdos

Appreciators of wit, beautiful imagery and the squishy beauty of humanity

Not recommended for:   Dogs (only because they generally can’t read – they’d really enjoy it if you read to them)

Cats, bed lice, shower scum (this “not recommended” list is really difficult for this book)

Invading aliens

Rated: PG 15+ (themes of adult relationships, dignity, sacrifice, parenting, social norms and autonomy)

*Couldn’t resist. It comes with the genre-love.

What science-fiction have you read? Are you a sci-fi friend or foe? What science-fiction book do you want more people to read/talk about? What futuristic/outer-space thing would you love to see happen?