CJ’s
Comments
(group member since Oct 08, 2024)
CJ’s
comments
from the Beyond Reality group.
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My question: Reading in the early day or late day?I'm retired, so I tend to read whenever I have the time and energy throughout the day, but I generally prefer the morning time, especially reading with my breakfast and lunch. It's nice and leisurely feeling, but also my brain is usually sharper and my concentration and retention are better.
Buy a book or borrow from the library?
Well, I have stage IV cancer, so I avoid collecting things and spending money on thing I don't really need/will get much use out of. I already have more books than I can manage, so now I prefer borrowing from the library as much as I can these days.
Book or TV/Movie first?
In most cases I would prefer having read the book first. I generally feel I get more out of books, usually because books allow me to use my imagination more or they cover more ground, story and character-wise. Speaking of Murderbot, I haven't seen the show yet, but am very glad I've read the books (multiple times each) already.
Bonus points: Do you have any exceptions to this rule?
The Expanse. I have tried to read the first book, after how they fudged the TV series ending, but between my personal dislike of one of the authors after being exposed to him on Twitter and my generally dislike for the duo's writing, it was pass. Similar with GRRM and Game of Thrones. I don't like his writing and couldn't get through even the first book.
Would you rather read in an uncomfortable but quiet location, or a comfortable location that is noisy?
It depends. I'm autistic and very sensitive to noise (and I have hyperacusis), so generally I'd prefer quiet. But do I have my noise-cancelling headphones/earplugs, or my bluetooth headphones to listen to the audiobook with me? If so I can manage most noisy locations. I spend a lot of time in waiting rooms at the hospital/clinics I go to for treatment, so I tend to read in those places when I can. But often other people there are talking on their phones or scrolling through media with the volume up, or there's a TV there that has the volume up more loudly that necessary. It's so annoying and all that noise can trigger my anxiety, so I come prepared.
My first book by Tchaikovsky was Service Model and I did not care for it. But everything else I've read by him since I've really enjoyed a lot. He puts out books like a fiend, so I am sure not everything he writes will appeal to me. I haven't read Cage of Souls yet, but good to know it's on the depressing side so I can be mentally prepared for it when I do get to it. When I joined this group, you all were well into the Shadows of the Apt series so I didn't try to join in, but I hope to get to that series now that my library has gotten all the books.
I'm apparently a full-fledged Tchaikovsky enjoyer now. Recently read Saturation Point and finished Children of Time and loved both. Now reading City of Last Chances. I am not a grimdark fantasy fan, honestly, but I guess this qualifies as grimdark? It doesn't feel tiring like other grimdark novels I've tried before. I appreciate Tchaikovsky using dashes of light humorous and clever prose to make it feel not so heavy, and for the most parts, seems to avoid the more annoying character tropes of the grimdark subgenre. It's not a fast read, being dense in worldbuilding and characters, but it's very interesting and seems very well thought-out.
Cheryl wrote: "Shout out to book darts! https://www.bookdarts.com"
In my period of studying languages, I used book darts a lot. Still have a couple of tins of them around. I like them aesthetically and they are good for marking places in books you need to return to over and over, so you don't have to move them, but I find them too fussy to remove and move for leisure reading.
Most physical books that I read these days are either library books or second hand used books. So my bookmarks tend to the receipt from the library telling me when the book is due or the receipt from the used bookstore. Or in the case of a long read where I might need to go back to reread or flip to the back appendices, multiple post-it notes, like I'm doing with Anna Karenina. I sadly am one of those people who cannot keep track of nice, fancy bookmarks.
I loved We Have Always Lived in a Castle. From my perspective as a disabled reader, it really is a fascinating exploration of how social norms give way to license of arbitrary violence toward and oppression of more vulnerable people like those with disabilities and how the rage this causes vulnerable people is perceived (Jackson herself was disabled, and living in the time that she did, no doubt had plenty to feel rageful about). I have a personal theory about Merricat, that (view spoiler)
For the past year I've been largely a mix of both, but I think I tend to lean toward more contemporary. I always like finding new authors to enjoy. Like Dawn, I lean more toward classic SF than classic fantasy, if reading classics.
I'm cursing at my decision to read the Nebula novel shortlist. A Sorceress Comes to Call was OK, typical kingfisher fare, but not Nebula-worthy in my opinion (which means it'll probably win). If you're not already a Kingfisher lover, it likely won't win you over. But it was The Book of Love by Kelly Link that just made me want to scream. There's six books on this shortlist, and The Book of Love is my 3rd DNF out of those six. It struck me as shallow, derivative and tropey from the start and it just did not get better by 100 pages in. It's 640 pages long. I ain't reading all that. Like with Asunder that's also on this shortlist but which struck me as amateurish and lazy, I'm utterly baffled by all the praise from notable authors these books have gotten and why they're on the Nebula shortlist.
I meant to start The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino and The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins today, but was so put off by The Book of Love that I just spent the evening rereading recent chapters of Anna Karenina for my year-long slow read of it. I'll be starting those other two tomorrow.
Tonight I continue my umpteenth reread of Network Effect by Martha Wells, because I've been needing some comfort reading lately and this does it for me.
This will be my first read of this particular novel by Tchaikovsky, but I loved Alien Clay and Shards of Earth. Hoping I'll like this too.
I'm looking forward to reading Children of Time this month with this group. Right now I'm reading Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. First time I've read this author. I was itching to read some SF with more real world science in it but not sure if I like this that much. It feels pretty dated in certain ways and there's a lot of politics and interpersonal drama stuff that leaves me flat.
I'm trying to read A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher, as it's on the Nebula shortlist. But I'm not a Kingfisher fan, I'm not feeling the vibe of it so far, and I've already DNF'd two of the other books on the shortlist so far, so I'm not terribly hopeful.
For another group that's observing Autism Awareness and Acceptance month, I'm reading the short story "Geometries of Belonging" by RB Lemberg.
April is National Poetry Month and I am planning on reading some poetry. I have list of poets I want to check out the next time I go to the library.
"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. And then the dragons came."Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (my year-long slow read)
"When the murderer Gary Cobalt trotted into the Bitter Blossom, he nearly gave himself away as half-unicorn within thirty seconds. And then the dragons came."
Space Unicorn Blues by TJ Berry (current buddy read and actually that kind of fits the tone of this book)
Funny that this is this group's QotW because...I hate Hyperion. I was so disappointed in it. I love SF, I've read SF all my life, and I see that book on top of people's lists so I'd thought there'd be something about that book I would like but nope. It's lightweight. It plays to certain readers' biases in very hackish ways. It's accessible but it's not good. It's everything about 1980s SF that made me sour on the genre for some time. And as someone who studied the Canterbury Tales and loves that work, I resent its association with it. Parts of it tell me far more about the author's mind than I want to know and I will never read anything by him again, which is fine because the things I've heard about several of his other works from other readers, including people who like Hyperion, are not very complimentary.
Random wrote: "Second would be The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet"
I have only read A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Chambers and I wanted to like it, but it's another case of a book that's bad, actually. My main grievance with it is the MC doesn't really develop or show empathy or reciprocity but instead just goes through the motions like being a good person is just a performance for them. I wasn't very impressed with Chambers from that book and have had no desire to read anything else by her.
I've been wanting to read The Bone Ships! I was a weird kid so I read Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad for extra credit in my high school English class and just loved it. I really need to reread as it's been ages but I remember it being incredibly dramatic and how Conrad really, really liked writing about the sea.
A book I read last year and absolutely loved is the YA fantasy/historical fiction novel, The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novia that tells the story of a young transmasc protagonist who has to come to terms with their gift of magia that resulted in a personal tragedy. It's set in the Caribbean around the end of the pirate "golden era" and the author really did his research and brings a very insightful Latine perspective to that setting.
My main issue with this novel is that its narrative felt very loose and all over the place, like the author was pantsing it the whole way through. It could have been my head space when I was reading it (I'm currently on chemo, so brain fog is a real thing for me, some days more than others). In the end, I just didn't feel I walked away with much to think about, which is something I look for in any SF, "hard" or not. I did find it charming for what it is, though--I just wished the writing was tighter. 3 1/2 stars rounded up.
Chris wrote: "Fantasy: City of Dancing Gargoyles by Tara Campbell. Honestly, it's just the name that grabs me ..."I just finished this. It's shortlisted for the 2025 Philip K Dick Award (I'm reading through the shortlist). I would say it's SF/spec fic with fantasy elements myself, as it's primarily a post-apocalyptic story. But that's just me. It's an interesting book, quite creative and quirky. I think it has a chance at winning the PKD award, even if it's up against Tchaikovsky.
Yeah, I wasn't terribly impressed by this one either. I enjoyed the first part, but the second part failed to keep me very engaged. The ending was way too wish-fulfillment for me to find it satisfying. Overall, the novel was just mediocre and I don't feel it brought anything expansive or interesting to the time travel subgenre.
Recently finished:The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
Circe by Madeline Miller
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
The first two I thought were OK, a bit disappointing but OK. I enjoyed Never Let Me Go more, but I personally like Ishiguro's writing style.
Currently reading:
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
City of Dancing Gargoyles by Tara Campbell
Just started The Tainted Cup so I don't have much to say besides it is interesting so far. The Fowler book is intriguing, since I have some layperson's experience with the science the book is based on. I'm reading City of Dancing Gargoyles as part of my read-through of the 2025 Philip K Dick award shortlist, and I'm really enjoying it, it might end up being one of my favorites from the shortlist.
Hopefully my library hold will be in by mid-month!Forrest wrote: "I listened to the free 5-minute sample on Audible and found the narrator’s raspy voice a bit sleep-inducing. Since I have the hardcover edition, I think I'll stick with that for now."
I had to check to see who it was, and yeah, Cindy Kay's not to everyone's taste. I don't mind her voice if she talks a normal register, but she drives me batty with her tendency to drop into a whisper-voice for no apparent reason.
Feb 04, 2025 08:38AM
I waited for about 2 months on my library waitlist for this only to DNF it about 25% in. Like, I get what Jimenez is trying to do with the whole frame story structure (he's not the first), but it just felt tedious and pretentious. I'm generally a patient reader but I've had to learn to be less patient with fantasy books that feel like a chore for me. Happy reading to you all who feel differently about this one.
I think P. Djèlí Clark is my favorite Black author at the moment. I only started reading his work last year, but everything I've read so far by him has been great to phenomenal. I think Ring Shout is a masterpiece an his Dead Djinn Universe books have gotten me past my chronic dislike of steampunk. Some other great finds I came across last year by Black authors:
Tananarive Due's The Reformatory, Victor LaValle's We Travels the Spaceways and Rebecca Roanhorse's Between Earth and Sky series.
I really love Octavia Butler too. She's in my top SFF writers.
I have tried to like NK Jemisin but I find her fantasy writing simply unenjoyable and her treatment of disability in the works I've read alienating.
