Lea’s Comments (group member since Jan 04, 2017)

Lea’s comments from the 2022 ONTD Reading Challenge group.

The "100 memoirs by women" post on ONTD fits this challenge:

https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com...

World War II/Holocaust memoirs:

Night
Survival in Auschwitz
The Pianist: The Extraordinary Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939–45
The Diary of a Young Girl
In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer
The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust
Behind Enemy Lines: The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany
All But My Life: A Memoir
Motherland: Growing Up With the Holocaust
Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany

For anyone looking for biographies of European royalty, try the following authors: Antonia Fraser, Alison Weir, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Helen Rappaport, Nancy Mitford, Robert K. Massie

Between them, they've covered a lot of interesting people!

Some North Korean memoirs:

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story
Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West

Other "human rights" memoirs:
How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

Here are some "medical memoirs":

Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks - Sacks was a neurologist, he's famous for his books on brain disorders like The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and he was known for writing with a lot of humanity. This is the first of his memoirs, he led a fascinating life
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi - a memoir by a neurosurgeon who had cancer. It's very sad but very very beautifully written.
This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay - this is currently a best-seller in the UK. It's by a NHS doctor who ended up quitting and became a comedian
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh - another memoir by a neurosurgeon (there are so many). This is really about the nitty-gritty of brain surgery
The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story by Christie Watson - also currently a bestseller in the UK. Watson was a nurse for 20 years

IDK Tejal, I think it fits?

Rivers of London is written by a man. Not eligible for the challenge.

I think Carry On would probably count, it's Harry Potter fanfiction so it at least ought to have some fantasy elements to it, though I never read it.

Other than that, I'm not entirely sure of the kind of recs you're looking for, Errlee, maybe you can be more specific? Is it fantasy books that are set on Earth, like a parallel reality? Or fantasy books set on contemporary Earth? Because technically, Harry Potter does have its own vocabulary and set of rules, even though it's set in contemporary UK. So does Jonathan Strange, and that story takes place in the Regency period (or whereabouts, haven't read it).

So in the lists posted above you can find books that are set "on Earth" but are sort of "historical" like Jonathan Strange, like The Ghost Bride, Uprooted, The Bear and the Nightingale, The Golem and the Djinni...

If you want fantasy set "on Earth" with a contemporary setting, maybe try the Raven Boys series by Maggie Stiefvater? There's Akata Witch, Vicious by VE Schwab, many vampire books like Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series, The Mediator series by Meg Cabot...

Oh I say don't keep going if you're bored, Jamie. If you don't like it, you don't like it. Perhaps you can find another book for the challenge that'll interest you more!

The post is up!

https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com...

Hey everyone, I just found this list of speculative fiction with non-white protagonists. It includes male authors but there are a lot of titles which would apply for this challenge, all helpfully organized by genre, with a few lines about the book itself.

https://theillustratedpage.wordpress....

So I read The Dinner by Herman Koch and greatly enjoyed my pick. I love books with unreliable narrators and this was probably my favourite challenge of the year yet.

I would recommend this book to people who liked Gone Girl. Read the blurb on Goodreads but don't spoil yourself!

I was thinking about how so many fantasy books are part of a series, something not everyone would like to commit to, so I decided to make a list of standalone books that would fit this challenge:

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (apparently the author is going to release a sequel, but this was considered standalone for a long time and can be read as such)
Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier
Sunshine by Robin McKinley (she has a lot of standalones)
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip (also Ombria in Shadow is standalone)
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones (also Castle in the Air)

No problem guys. Hopefully these themed lists will make it easier for people who aren't usually into fantasy to pick something.

For African inspired fantasy:

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor - YA about an albino girl in Nigeria. It got GREAT reviews, and Okorafor also has other famous books including Who Fears Death which is going to be made into an HBO tv series by George RR Martin. While I'm not entirely sure Who Fears Death would qualify here (apparently some people consider it sci-fi) it IS post-apocalyptic, so you could always save it for our post-apocalyptic challenge.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi - this is the YA book that's everywhere right now, it's based on the Orishas. The author, who is Nigerian-American, studied West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil.

Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord - based on a Senegalese folk tale.

A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar - this was a Nebula nominee. It was critically acclaimed. I haven't read it, but reviewers mention African, Middle-Eastern, South Asian and South-East Asian influences in the setting.

The Killing Moon by NK Jemisin - Jemisin is one of the most acclaimed fantasy writers today, having won the Hugo Award for Best Novel twice (in a row). This book (first of a duology) is based on Egyptian mythology.

For Asian inspired fantasy:

The Ghost Bride by Yangzse Choo. Set in colonial Malaya (but the characters are ethnically Chinese), this is a gorgeously written book based on the mythology of the Chinese afterlife. Very unique. I'm a big fan. Standalone

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao. This is a new YA release, very popular right now (I'm afraid it's going to be difficult to get a library hold). It's an East Asian fantasy retelling of the Evil Queen legend. YA

Jade City by Fonda Lee. It has been described as a gangster fantasy saga and got great reviews, besides being nominated for a Nebula Award (a very big deal).

Huntress by Malinda Lo. Lesbian YA fantasy with Chinese influences and details inspired by the I Ching.

Serpentine by Cindy Pon. Inspired by Chinese mythology. YA

Castle in the Air by Dianna Wynne Jones. A fun and cute Aladdin-like story. A sequel of sorts to Howl's Moving Castle, but can be read as standalone.

Black Wolves by Kate Elliott. I haven't read this, but the author is an established fantasy writer. It's epic fantasy with an East Asian setting.

Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear. Mongolian setting. The author is an established fantasy writer.

OBS.: I noticed that L. mentioned JY Yang but I don't think they would qualify because they don't identify as a woman. In their website they specifically say they are "non-binary" and only use they/them pronouns.

OBS. 2: If anyone is thinking of picking up The City of Brass (set in 18th century Egypt) by S.A. Chakraborty because they want to read a book by a WOC, she is white. Chakraborty is her married name. However the book did get good reviews.

If anyone is interested in trying Eastern European/Slavic inspired fantasy:

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente mixes traditional folklore with the Russian Revolution. The result is stunning. Standalone

Uprooted by Naomi Novik is set in a fantasy Poland. The author is Polish-American. One of my absolute faves, it starts as a Beauty and the Beast retelling but turns into its own thing. Standalone

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden is set in a fantasy medieval Russia. It's gorgeous and fairytale-like, also includes lots of local folklore. First of a series, but can be read as standalone

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. I haven't read this, but it's popular with the youths. It's YA and the first of a series

Eve wrote: "So far, I have these possibilities:"

Ok, so, the first 4 you listed are definitely fantasy. There is apparently some debate about whether Star Wars is fantasy or sci-fi, but I'm calling it sci-fi. The Giver is sci-fi. And Dread Nation is more on the horror side of speculative fiction.

I had a pretty stressful month, so I ended up going for titles that were lighter. I did a Georgette Heyer marathon, 4 back-to-back titles: Bath Tangle (amazing, hilarious and fiery), Sprig Muslin (didn't like it, actually the first time I dislike one of Heyer's books), Friday's Child (loved it), The Talisman Ring (fun but not one of my faves). It was a much needed pick-me-up.

So for those who don't know, Heyer invented the "Regency historical romance" genre, which is huge today with Romance readers - although she also wrote Georgian historical romances, non-romantic historical novels and even mysteries. She influenced every historical romance writer who came after her, including Barbara Cartland, who once straight up plagiarised one of her novels.

For anyone who is thinking about picking The Dinner by Herman Koch, there's a BBC World Book Club episode where he discusses that book.

Here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p029...

There is also an episode where Kazuo Ishiguro discusses The Remains of the Day.

Here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02r...

That's sci-fi!!