A Very Barbara Goss Interview

I had the privilege of interviewing the Shelby campus librarian, Barbara Goss, and these are all the fascinating things I discovered:

Hubbard: How did you get into sci-fi?

Goss: My parents owned a used bookstore, and they’d let me get “first pick” always. I brought home the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a collection of Lester Del Rey’s short stories, and a smattering of Frank Herbert and have been hooked ever since. It’s probably why I’m a librarian.

Hubbard: Who are your favorite sci-fi authors and why?

Goss: To clarify, I am more a reader of fantasy than science fiction, but I do love sci-fi as well. Some of my favorites are Frank Herbert, William Gibson, Iain M. Banks, and Ray Bradbury. This is the short list. There’s not enough room here otherwise. All of these guys are great at storytelling and providing different perspectives on just about everything … from race relations to economics to war … consciousness, artificial intelligence, and what it means to be “human” ... the list goes on.

Hubbard: What are you reading right now and what do you think of it?

Goss: Right now I am re-reading [for the umpteenth time] Tad Williams’ The Dragonbone Chair [book one of the series Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn] … I did purchase Iain M. Banks last novel, but I can’t bring myself to read it. He is dead now [died in 2013]; and in my mind, I will always have a “new” book by this genius.

Hubbard: What are some recommendations for students of great books to read?

Goss: Go get William Gibson’s Neuromancer [set in the future] then follow that with his Pattern Recognition [set in the present]. He introduced us all to cyberspace in Neuromancer … and in Pattern Recognition, he made us all re-think the internet and our data. Then pick up all his books in between because you’ll want to. This is the short list. Go read all of Iain M. Banks’ Culture novels …except that last one, so you’ll always have it. And for Pete’s sake, you MUST read Frank Herbert’s novels exploring artificial intelligence and human cloning [Destination: Void, The Jesus Incident, and The Lazarus Effect.] It wouldn’t hurt to get Patrick Rothfuss’ Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear … and then sit and wait like me and the rest of the planet on the THIRD BOOK. Yeah, never ask a librarian what she’s reading.

Hubbard: What do you think of the idea of Pioneer Con? Is it a good idea? Why or why not?

Goss: Anything that helps students feel involved in the life of the college is awesome. Anything that gets a variety of students and faculty together is good for the students and the faculty.

Hubbard: Do you have any ideas for next year’s Pioneer Con?

Goss: Maybe the next iteration of Pioneer Con can be on fantasy.