SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading in 2018?
Esther wrote: "Karen wrote: "Now that I've seen the trailer for A Discovery of Witches I'm bumping that series to the front of the line. Must read before watching! ."I found that the other day in the train stat..."
Is that the light-rail system I keep hearing about? Far out!
ALLEN wrote: "Is that the light-rail system I keep hearing about? Far out! ..."I am not sure which light-railways you are referring to. I am in Israel. We have the light rail in Jerusalem which I have only used a couple of times but it is pretty cool.
And the light-rail being constructed in Tel Aviv which with any luck maybe completed in my lifetime.
However I commute on the ordinary train. At the entrance to most stations and on some platforms there is a blue bookcase run by volunteers.
https://www.yediot.co.il/articles/0,7...
People donate unwanted books for others to read on their journey.
Obviously most are in Hebrew but there are quite a few in English and also a sprinkling of other languages like French and German. Considering how fond Russians are of books I see surprisingly few with Cyrillic script.
Esther wrote: "ALLEN wrote: "Is that the light-rail system I keep hearing about? Far out! ..."I am not sure which light-railways you are referring to. I am in Israel. We have the light rail in Jerusalem which I..."
Thank you for your informative and courteous reply, Esther.
I knew that Israel was upgrading its rail network but I didn't realize how advanced passenger or commuter rail had gotten recently. Other countries have left the USA far behind, I'm afraid.
Book-exchange kiosks are a wonderful idea. Some American commuter stations have them, but usually not on a systemwide basis.
ALLEN wrote: "Esther wrote: "ALLEN wrote: "Is that the light-rail system I keep hearing about? Far out! ..."I am not sure which light-railways you are referring to. I am in Israel. We have the light rail in Je..."
Of course I live and work near Haifa but totally forgot the Carmelit.
It is not a light-rail but an underground funicular railway.
I have never travelled on it but it is on my bucket list.
ALLEN wrote: "This is history/race relations, not sci-fi, but my order of Zora Neale Hurston's BARRACOON showed up at the local Wally World the other day, and my partner was kind enough to go pick it up for me. ..."I loved this book! The audio version is particularly well done.
Finished Anne Leckie’s “Provenance” this morning on a cross country red-eye. I wasn’t expecting to travel this week, but hey - a good set of noise cancelling headphones and a nice selection of audiobooks, and I am good to go!I have been working on reading all six of this years best novel Hugo nominees, and I am down to one left.
Unfortunately I don’t have “Six Wakes” on audio, but I will be reading it in kindle form in the next few days.
So, though I am not a Hugo voter, here is how I would vote, so far:
The Stone Sky - NK Jemisin
New York 2140 - Kim Stanley Robinson
Raven Strategem - Yoon Ha Lee
Provenance - Anne Leckie
The Collapsing Empire - John Scalzi
We shall just have to see how Six Wakes changes this list...
I decided to take a break from A Plague of Giants to quick read a book I have had on my shelf for a long time. The Giver, was given it (punny) as a Christmas gift years ago and never read it.
Time wrote: "Finished The Golem and the Jinni, felt almost like a hybrid between book one and part one but it was still alright.Autonomous by Annalee Newitz Liked it a lot, I feel more at home in sci-fi, love..."
I mean to read Autonomous. Glad you liked it.
I started reading Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple yesterday.
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Oh, man! That's one of the books that's stayed with me the most throughout my life. I hope it holds up!
Just finished Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Really good.
Jim wrote: "I decided to take a break from A Plague of Giants to quick read a book I have had on my shelf for a long time. The Giver, was given it (punny) as a Christmas gift years ago and never read it."Sometimes those are the best "finds," aren't they?
I've been known to come back from the bookstore, glance at the bookcase, and see a book on my to-be-read that I picked up and loved. Doesn't happen to me often, but it's fun when it does.
Jacqueline wrote: "Just finished Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Really good."I loved that trilogy, it was pretty awesome. Glad you enjoyed it. :)
Yeah I really did Alondra. I want to start the second one but the last few I’ve read are about pretty girls and Magic things so I think I better have a read of something else. They’ve all started to run into each other. Which would be great if they were all the same series but they’re not.
I just read the Hugo nominated novella And Then There Were N-One . This story is basically Sarah Pinsker's self-indulgent fan fiction of herself as Rick Sanchez. She has to investigate a murder at interdimensional Sarahcon. If that sounds worth an hour or two, read it on the Uncanny Magazine website.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jacqueline wrote: "Yeah I really did Alondra. I want to start the second one but the last few I’ve read are about pretty girls and Magic things so I think I better have a read of something else. They’ve all started t..."ONe thing I like about this book, even though there is this romantic angle; there is so much more. The action, the action and more action. The history, Prague locations, new worlds. I never felt like gagging because of the romance, because I hate romance novels.
Started One of Us Is Lying last night - part of my TBR challenge. It's interesting so far - and I have a guess as to who the killer is, but it's a random shot in the dark at this point.
I just started The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress which is the current official bookshelf reread. I looked at the threads and I’m amazed at how many people are no longer participating in this group who were participating as recently as a few years ago. Is anyone else planning on reading this at the moment?
I finished The Farthest Shore and have to say that out of those three Earthsea novels "The Tombs of Atuan" is my fav. The setting of pace there felt the best for me.I'm a bit reluctant to start Ammonite now, I guess I'll wait for the others in the BR. So it will be more Theodore Sturgeon short stories for the moment.
Re: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - I had a look at the eBook price and keeping in mind that Heinlein was one of the authors I could never connect with in my avid SF-reader days I'll skip this re-read.
ALLEN wrote: "In 1966 the highly perceptive grasped that THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS could be read as a critique of the Vietnam War and the thinking that got us there; now most of us understand that implicitly."I am rereading it now. It's been a long time, but Heinlein as a critic of the Vietnam War doesn't sound quite right. I'll keep my eyes open for relevant bits, in favor or against.
[I misunderstood the rules here; sorry[]When you've finished THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS, and if the theme had not already arisen, consider the plight of a mother planet at constant war with an outlying moon.
@Allen — not a major thing, but it’s a bit of a spoiler to have stated what the acronym TNSTAAFL stands for.
Heinlein signed pubic statements in favor of US intervention in Vietnam. (A 1968 statement said: "We the undersigned believe the United States must remain in Vietnam to fulfill its responsibilities to the people of that country.") Sometimes fiction can diverge from an author's personal views, but I see the opposite for Heinlein, who often used characters to speak his own thoughts.I suggest that discussion of details of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress be posted in the spoiler thread for that book, not here.
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Actually, if the comments on war could all be copied over entirely, that would be swell! Thanks friends!
I was thinking of getting One of Us is Lying the other day when I was in the big town getting my nails done (240km round trip for nails. Sooo worth it). What’s it like?
I finished the first book of my personal complete short stories of Theodore Sturgeon challenge. I started with Volume 6 (early 50ies) The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, Volume VI: Baby Is Three, cause therein is the story "The stars are the styx", which was my very first encounter with serious SF when I was 14 or 15. I was a bit afraid to read it again, cause sometimes nostalgia tinges the memory. But I'm as fascinated now as I was then, which made me quite happy. Sturgeon's stories about the misfits, the outsiders, the loners, are among the most human I've ever read. And the message that nearly each of them contains - Love one another - still touches me deeply.
Anthony wrote: "@Allen — not a major thing, but it’s a bit of a spoiler to have stated what the acronym TNSTAAFL stands for."Consider it gone, Anthony!
I don't have the book to hand, so don't know if Heinlein used the
initialism TNSTAAFL or the acronym TANSTAAFL. Libertarians seem to like the acronym with it's 'ain't' infixed.
Perhaps a bit OT, but I've just seen that The Left Hand of Darkness is a later part of a series. Do I have to read the books in order?
Gabi, not at all! They're not really a series, just in the same universe. There might be a comment about another planet that's familiar from another book, but each stands on its own.
Thank you so much, Anna. That's perfect.
Jacqueline wrote: "I was thinking of getting One of Us is Lying the other day when I was in the big town getting my nails done (240km round trip for nails. Sooo worth it). What’s it like?"It's pretty much what you expect from the tin - 4 high school students are suspects in the death of a classmate who everyone had reason to hate.
I like it because it's told from the suspects perspectives, and, in alternating perspectives, you learn a little bit more about their lives as the books progresses, keeping you guessing as to who the killer is. It's not super obvious, though I have my guess.
Thanks Mate 😀 Might give it a go.
I made it! I finished Six Wakes on the plane today, completing my read of all six Hugo-nominated novels *before* the awards were actually announced!I rather liked Six Wakes. It really was a good mashup of thriller and science fiction.
Having completed all six book I think I would rank them with the winner being The Stone Sky, and runners up, in order (for me) of New York 2041, tie: Six Wakes and raven strategem, provenance, then collapsing empire.
To be honest, while I like scalzi, the collapsing empire just doesn’t live up to the rest of the nominees.
That’s a really great accomplishment. I’m a huge fan of The Stone Sky so it’s cool to hear that it stands up above the others. I haven’t read any of the others yet.
I'm glad you liked Six Wakes. I loved it but it didn't seem to get a lot of praise here.
Just finished Josiah Bancroft's fantastic debut novel "Senlin Ascends" and have turned into a gushing fanboy. Really impressive work.
I’ve been wanting to read Senlin Ascends. Mark Lawrence has been saying how great it is on my other SFF group. I have it on my iPad. I’m currently reading All Systems Red by Martha Wells. When I’m not cooking tea that is (translation-making dinner).
Udayan wrote: "Just finished Josiah Bancroft's fantastic debut novel "Senlin Ascends" and have turned into a gushing fanboy. Really impressive work."Your enthusiasm makes me curious. I have to look this up.
I only read THE STONE SKY, THE COLLAPSING EMPIRE and SIX WAKES. I don’t get the Raven Stratagem hype at all. I couldn’t bring myself to spend the time to try NEW YORK 2140 or PROVENANCE even though I have liked their previous works.I thought SIX WAKES was decent but nowhere in the league of THE STONE SKY and T.C.E is a non-starter for me.
I really hope THE STONE SKY gets it. But Scalzi
(shockingly IMHO) win the Locus award for T.C.E so who knows.
Finished One of Us Is Lying. I was pretty good. Not sure about the need for the romantic subplot, though the sap in me did enjoy it. I felt like the story started focusing more or it than the mystery towards the end, though. 3-3.5 stars.***
Started Going Postal in a continuation of my Discworld-a-thon.
@colleen: in which order do you read your Discworld-a-thon? I'm reading Going Postal as well at the moment, cause my eldest wanted to know more about the semaphore towers after we read The Fifth Elephant.
Gabi wrote: "@colleen: in which order do you read your Discworld-a-thon? I'm reading Going Postal as well at the moment, cause my eldest wanted to know more about the semaphore towers after we read The Fifth El..."I'm going mostly chronologically, by publication date - with the exception that last year I swapped Hogfather out so I could read it in December when it was originally scheduled for August.
I just finished The Power by Naomi Alderman, which I really liked.I have Lock In by John Scalzi out from the library.
I am also currently reading slowly Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis.
Lately I've read-- or reread The Native Star by M.K. Hobson, Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents both by Octavia E. Butler.
I read Saturn's Children as an IRL buddy read. To put it bluntly, I did not like it. The plot is disjointed and the main character has no consistent personality. I found out later that it is a parody of Friday, and it seems like a bad parody.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
But Neptune’s Brood is surprisingly good.
Just finished "Spinning Silver". I enjoyed it, hated it, enjoyed it. Naomi Novik is an amazing story teller. Some of the brutality was hard to read. Not generally my type of book but the author is magic.
I think "Senlin Ascents" is the next book in the Q, thanks to some gushing reviews.
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SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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I found that the other day in the train station library. I must get to it.