Announcing the June Tag: Share Your Reading Plans and Suggestions

[Denizen]

JoLene wrote: "Blueberry wrote: Awesome idea. How do I do it without changing my 'read'shelf? I want it set by last read..."

Blueberry, I'm not sure how you set up your shelves. I have an "exclusive" shelf that ..."

Whoa! You are the shelf master! I'll have to try some of that and then, even more important, remember how to do it when I need it.

[JoLene]

@Denizen, I've been using GR for tracking my library for a while :-D

[Karin]

Megalion wrote: "I've been having a mental debate about I Will Fear No Evil. To me it's fantasy because the bits that make it sci-fi are superfluous to what make..."

Ah, many scifi fans would have a huge debate on this one. Usually Heinlein is considered hard core scifi. This one would be voted scifi due to the brain transplant, I think, especially given when it was written. I read this when I was far too young to be reading that kind of a novel (menage a trois, etc, n)especially 40 plus years ago for a teen and I was not an older teen!)

[Nicole D.]

who knows if I'll get to anything, I'm reading at a snail's pace, and I really really miss Shelfari. A lot.

I will try to listen to A Darker Shade of Magic

I may attempt to read The Lions of Al-Rassan

Just started a massive book, so we'll have to see if I can even get through that.

[Mary]

Im going to read The Heart goes Last by Margaret Atwood.

[Jgrace]

Nicole - Lions of Al-Rassan was was a good audio. Long, though. Great if you are on a long road trip.

[Anita]

Megalion wrote: "Anita strongly dislikes magical realism?

That's a challenge if ever I heard one.

First title that comes to mind: Kindred
About a black woman in 1976 who i..."

I loved Kindred, lol. Sometimes with me it is definitely "try it, you'll like it." But really just don't make me ever read Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez ever again.

[Anita]

Jgrace wrote: "Nicole - Lions of Al-Rassan was was a good audio. Long, though. Great if you are on a long road trip."

If I have time I may try The Lions of Al-Rassan too. PBT 100 and all that. We'll see how it goes.

[Marti]

I have absolutely no idea.

[Nicole]

Marti, you may want to try some classic children's books if fantasy doesn't fall within your comfort zone. Personally, I'll be picking up Peter Pan, Marry Poppins and The Princess and the Goblin this month. All books I never got to as a child but old stories I still adore for their nostalgia. Just a though! Hope you find something.

[Anita]

Marti wrote: "I have absolutely no idea."

Ha ha, not in my comfort zone either, Marti! Read Neverwhere with me. I just read the prologue an hour ago, and it totally sucked me in - - so that's a good sign I figure!

[Booknblues]

I'm not much of a fantasy reader, but I would like to recommend a book written by a friend which I really enjoyed Last Song Before Night it is really good and as I said not my genre.

Imagine a heroine who is a poet and is fighting for her life and her civilization.

I've no idea what I will read.

[Marti]

I've read some fantasy that I really liked, especially The Golem and the Jinni, but I'm going to have to search for something this month. Anita, I'll check out Neverwhere and let you know!

[Jen]

Marti wrote: "I've read some fantasy that I really liked, especially The Golem and the Jinni, but I'm going to have to search for something this month. Anita, I'll check out Neverwhere and let you know!"

Want to try the audio of Neverwhere? I am able to share one free audio (from this new audible promotion). It's one of my favorites. If you do audios and would like it, PM me your email address and I'll send it to you

[Amy]

Neverwhere for the fantasy challenged? What the heck is that? I will have to look that up since I haven't started anything. Ladies, Neverwhere or Lon's of Al Rassan? Your votes seriously count!

[Karin]

Amy wrote: "Neverwhere for the fantasy challenged? What the heck is that? I will have to look that up since I haven't started anything. Ladies, Neverwhere or Lon's of Al Rassan? Your votes seriously count!"

While I personally didn't care much for Neverwhere, I agree that it could work for the fantasy challenged. I haven't read the other one.

[JoLene]

I haven't read Neverwhere, but The Lions of Al-Rassan is awesome and very light on the fantasy elements. It is loosely based on the story of El Cid and part of an ongoing series by Kay in an alternate medieval world.

[Nicole]

For me, Neverwhere is heavily within the fantasy genre. It's also one of my absolute favorites.

[annapi]

Personally Neverwhere was only good for me, not great. There is just something about Gaiman that does not click with me although I think he is a good writer. I liked Lions of Al-Rassan better, but that is a bit of a slog if you're not into epic fantasy. I have so many other suggestions but I would have to know your tastes better in order to make a good recommendation.

I loved Golem and the Jinni, that is not as heavy as Lions of Al-Rassan, but it's not light either. I think I prefer Tigana to Lions, but that is about as long too.

I have favorites that are lighter, favorites that are more YA, some that are traditional fantasy, others more esoteric - fantasy was my first love in reading and it continues to be a favorite genre.

The underrated fantasy authors that come to mind are Sharon Shinn, Elizabeth Moon, and Juliet Marillier.

[Book Concierge]

Have to say ... I just LOVE the new banner!

You were smart to keep the logo static (easier for people to find us), but change the banner for the monthly tag.

[Nicole R]

Thank you!! We are glad you like the new strategy! And picking out pictures each month is fun :)

[annapi]

Cool picture for the banner! Is this a picture of a particular fantasy world? If so, what is it?

[Nicole R]

I have no idea! Lol. I just googled fantasy pictures. :)

[JoLene]

Love the pic as well

[Kristel]

It's a great picture.

[Karin]

Something totally related to this happened today. I went to pick up a hold I made some time ago (I no longer even remember why I put a hold on this book, to be honest) and it fits the fantasy tag! It's called Klickitat. I have NO idea why only one person has tagged it fantasy when it says, and I am not making this up, right on the jacket that it is fantasy. Okay, I am guilty of hyperbole, used with literary license. Here is the quote:

"Taking place in the twilight boundary lands between reality and fantasy, between madness and sanity, where a lot of us live as teenagers..."

Get this, writing appears out of the blue and so on, so I am totally going to add this to my fantasy reads for this month. I also have The Princess Bride at home as well.

[Sunday]

I recommend "The Neverending Story" Divergent Series Complete Box Set and of course since I am a Harry Potter fanatic, those books as well.

I have the following on my to-read list
The Maze Runner
Outlander
The Lord of the Rings
and a bunch of Star Wars books.

[Nicole R]

Sunday wrote: "I recommend "The Neverending Story" Divergent Series Complete Box Set and of course since I am a Harry Potter fanatic, those books as well.

I have the following on my ..."

Welcome Sunday! If you are a fan of historical romance, then I definitely recommend Outlander. The first book was great, the second book was actually not great, and then the series picked back up. Many people in this group have read them all and eagerly await the next release!

[annapi]

Sunday, I second the recommendation of Outlander. And of course, LOTR is a must-read classic that was one of my earliest introductions to fantasy at 9 years old, so highly recommended.

Unfortunately I'm not a fan of Divergent or Maze Runner.

[Megalion]

I'm so behind in reviewing my may reads for which at least half a dozen belong to the tag.

The 31st came and went before I finished #3 of trilogy: but luckily. .. it's fantasy.

I'm re-reading right now to refresh memory on where Temeraire's story left off so I can read the finale:

So there's my first three june tag reads

[Megalion]

Karin wrote: "Something totally related to this happened today. I went to pick up a hold I made some time ago (I no longer even remember why I put a hold on this book, to be honest) and it fits the fantasy tag! ..."

Interesting synopsis. Put it on my TBR for now though I'll wait till your review before giving any thought to trying to find.

[Ghost of a Rose]

This is a bit OT, but . . . what a gorgeous profile pic for this month!

[Anita]

Ghost of a Rose wrote: "This is a bit OT, but . . . what a gorgeous profile pic for this month!"

Nicole found it! I love it too . . .great to see you :)

[Nicole R]

Ghost of a Rose wrote: "This is a bit OT, but . . . what a gorgeous profile pic for this month!"

Ghost!! **waves enthusiastically**

[Karin]

GREAT PHOTO, NICOLE!!

I bet you heard that all the way at your place.

[Karin]

Sunday, although I was not a fan of it since I am not a big romance novel reader (although I'm quite enjoying some very fluffy romance right now, my rare dip into Avalon romances with the forced marriage/marriage of convenience type plot), if you do and if you also like fantasy, then Outlander may well be a series you would enjoy.

[KateNZ]

I've made a start on The Lies of Locke Lamora, which I'm really enjoying so far. For economy, I got the three-novel omnibus The Gentleman Bastard Sequence #1-3 - the reviews were generally good enough for me to be confident that I'd like them enough to want to read the next two :) Will let you know ...

An all-time fave of mine that I don't think anyone's mentioned yet is Janny Wurts' The Curse of the Mistwraith series. She takes as long as GRRM to write, though (about 5 years per book) - book 10 of the series isn't due out until October 2017 and the final book, presumably, another umpteen years after that. So there's built-in frustration right there. The first book is almost a stand-aloner though, and has the fastest paced action and least complicated politics. A great intro to the world, without too much of the moping about and angst that populates the later books (not that I'm complaining, mind - I adore them, but they're quite heavy!)

[Amy]

So I now see how difficult is joining good reads and two groups to keep up with ones reading. It feels a little bit like escape pleasure to read, but also like a part time job. Like for instance, I have the Beautiful Possible out of the library, so I need (and want) to read it. Just finished Fates and Furies for my local book group that I run. So.. Lilac Girls is next, because it's the June read for historical fictionistas. But it might be mostly through June before I can then start a fantasy novel. And I have three out from the library. What's a girl to do... By the way, the Beautiful Possible, by Amy Gottlieb, entranced me from page one. I can't put it down. It's going to be a rave. Stay posted for my review of Fates and Furies, later tonight....

[KateNZ]

Amy wrote: "So I now see how difficult is joining good reads and two groups to keep up with ones reading. It feels a little bit like escape pleasure to read, but also like a part time job..."

I think you just do whatever you feel most like doing, Amy. Reading should never feel like a chore or a job.

The lovely thing about PBT is that there aren't any rules about what to read or how many things to read. If you don't have time to read something for the tag (or if you don't like the tag), nobody will mind. But you'll still get plenty of ideas about great things to read in the future when you have a spare moment or two :)

[Nicole R]

Kate is absolutely right! If you can't read for a monthly tag (or just plain don't want to) that is a-ok! But we do hope you still review your books in the non-monthly tag folder. :)

[KateNZ]

Damn. I walked into a bookshop today and came out with An Ember in the Ashes, Station Eleven and Oath of Fealty.

It is all your fault.

This book group is doing terrible things to my budget.

[Sunday]

I haven't went into a bookshop in forever. I always have to force myself out. At least I have Kindle Unlimited. So I can read all the free books I want lol. But most of the books I want to read are not free on there :( I need to hit the lotto lol

[KateNZ]

Sunday wrote: "I haven't went into a bookshop in forever. I always have to force myself out. ... I need to hit the lotto lol ..."

Maybe we should share a Lotto ticket. Not sure I have enough in the bank now for a solo one!!!

[Nicole R]

Kate, lol! I love bookstores as well but this group pushed me to use my library a lot more!

[annapi]

Kate wrote: "Damn. I walked into a bookshop today and came out with An Ember in the Ashes, Station Eleven and Oath of Fealty."

Have you read The Deed of Paksenarrion? IMO you should read that before starting Oath of Fealty, which is the first of a series of 5. It all started with DoP, which is a trilogy and introduces most if not all of the characters in this series. (I also happen to think the original trilogy is better.) I can give you a copy if you want, just PM me your email address.

[KateNZ]

annapi wrote: "Have you read The Deed of Paksenarrion? IMO you should read that before starting Oath of Fealty, which is the first of a series of 5..."

Great tip, thanks! I haven't read it yet, but I will - have picked the trilogy up super-cheap as a single volume on i-Books. I've never read any Elizabeth Moon at all, and she comes so highly recommended.

My husband is now on notice that he won't be getting any attention for the rest of the month.

[Elise]

I used to be a huge fan of fantasy when I was younger, then I read The Castings Trilogy by Pamela Freeman and it killed the genre for me because I can't find anything as good now :D I've never found anyone who know about it so I'd like to recommend it for this tag. I find it very different from typical fantasy, in that there are no "quests", very little magic, and the characters are normal people.

[Anita]

Ellie wrote: "I used to be a huge fan of fantasy when I was younger, then I read The Castings Trilogy by Pamela Freeman and it killed the genre for me because I can't find anything as good now :D ..."

Thanks, Ellie! I wish I had seen this suggestion sooner because I was just complaining how it seems like so much of fantasy involves quests . . .which is not my thing apparently.

[Karin]

Anita wrote: "Ellie wrote: "I used to be a huge fan of fantasy when I was younger, then I read The Castings Trilogy by Pamela Freeman and it killed the genre for me because I can't find anything a..."

Either quests, or war, it seems. There are a few exceptions, though, but I don't read much fantasy.

[Elise]

True. There is a war in that one, but contrary to most of the time, we see both sides equally and it's up to us to choose who's evil and who's not. I found it very different from the usual fantasy we come across.