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?
Nightrunner! <3 Anytime someone mentions it I melt into a puddle. The last two books weren't nearly as good as the earlier ones, but it was fine since I was spending time with my all time favorite literary couple <3edit: Hmm, they're in the top 3, it's possible others have since moved into the top spot.
Anna wrote: "Nightrunner! <3 Anytime someone mentions it I melt into a puddle. The last two books weren't nearly as good as the earlier ones, but it was fine since I was spending time with my all time favorite ..."That's exactly it. I seldom fall for book characters, but Seregil and Alec are the best! To see them working and loving together is so deeply satisfying. That "Stalking Darkness" has a terrific plot is even better (but as you said, I would go for a meager plot as well just to be with them)
Yay for <3 for Nightrunner series! =) That's my fav by that author.
Aaagh. This is so making me want to read these, but I really can't afford time to get distracted by another couple crush right now! Perhaps come next year. Though even then I suspect that one other couple will likely occupy most of my waking hours *deep sigh of mixed emotions**promptly downloads the book* What? I'm just going to take a peek. I doubt there'll be anything to sweep me off my feet right at the beginning, right? Should be safe...
...nope! Very first sentence mentions both. I need to put this aside now. Goddangit!
*lalalalaa* I'm not hearing any of this until January 18th earliest.
Allison wrote: "hahaha!"Laughing at my predicament, are you? ;D I'm finding myself in the agonizing position of having to avoid any potentially inspiring reads for the time being, hoping nothing will stir me enough to deter my inspiration from the intended course. So frustrating! It'll be an anticlimactic literary year...
...hopefully?
Mod
Allison wrote: "I hope you get to read what you intend! But as I also just totally bought another book myself, I think we may be constitutionally incapable of staying on course."Actual conversation I had yesterday:
Me: I need to stop at the library. Are you coming in?
Her: I have a stack of books to read already. You do, too.
Me: So?
I have piles of books I want to read before the new year. Having 5 book clubs does not help.
Mod
Actual conversati..."
Yeah. "You're already reading three books" is something my spouse likes to say. I still don't know what it means. I've decided it must be a term of endearment.
after over 40 years, mine knows I read multiples at the same time and live in fear of "running out" of reading material
Started Heart-shaped Box by Joe Hill
Kirsten wrote: "Started Heart-shaped Box by Joe Hill"every time I see that book title, I keep thinking of the Nirvana song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6P0S...
of the same title
CBRetriever wrote: "after over 40 years, mine knows I read multiples at the same time and live in fear of "running out" of reading material"I'm still fascinated by this ability. Since I have one audio and one reading parallel, I already got confused several times. I do need to stay with one story from beginning to end without breaks.
Kirsten wrote: "Started Heart-shaped Box by Joe Hill"We recently did a Buddy Read of this one. Never too late to add to the discussion: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
ah, but if the genres and stories are very different it works. Currently I'm readingThe Mad Ship = Robin Hobb fantasy
and
The Firemaker = Peter May mystery set in China with a Chinese detective and an Anglo pathologist
and
William Styron, The Collected Novels: Lie Down in Darkness, Set This House on Fire, The Confessions of Nat Turner, and Sophie's Choice = 4 novels by William Styron and I'm currently reading The Confessions of Nat Turner from the set
and
Ten Women = Marcela Serrano's book about 9 Chilean women and their story and their therapist
so there's no overlap at all in plot, characters, etc. between the 4 books. I can't do an Urban Fantasy and a mystery because those do become mixed up, but an Urban Fantasy and a book set in the far past will work together
Yeah I looked at Nightrunner the other day and it totally looks like something I’d enjoy too so it’s on my to-read pile XD
You should set up a BR for Nightrunner, you'll need somewhere to squeal! :D
Mod
every time I see that book title, I keep thinking of the Nirvana song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6P0S...
of the same title"
Me too!
I've read quite a bit since my last post:The House of Shattered Wings and The House of Binding Thorns - fantastic dark fantasy with fallen angels, set in alt-universe Paris. Both are good, but I especially loved House of Binding Thorns.
Friday Black - A great short story collection. Several very powerful stories, some really interesting concepts, and only a few that didn't work for me.
Trouble and Her Friends - I didn't love this as much as I was hoping I would. I liked the characters, and I loved the feeling of queer family and queer history, but the ending was pretty disappointing.
Several free P. Djèlí Clark short stories - especially enjoyed A Tale of Woe and Shattering the Spear. Clark is definitely becoming a favorite author, and I'd loooove to see a full book from him.
Future Home of the Living God - A Handmaid's Tale-esqe dystopia. This wasn't an easy book for me, but I liked and appreciated it at lot. The last sentence is going to stick with me for a while.
Every River Runs to Salt - Another that I wanted to like more than I did. Not sure why, but I just didn't connect with this story.
Currently reading:
Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories - I don't think I'm going to finish this before it's due back to the library, but I'm loving these imaginative stories.
To Shape the Dark - A book of sci-fi stories about female scientists. Some really interesting concepts so far.
An Unkindness of Ghosts - Dark and really engrossing.
@Dawn: Nightrunner is on my list to read in the next couple months, so I'd be up for a BR!
Mod
Kaa wrote: "@Dawn: Nightrunner is on my list to read in the next couple months, so I'd be up for a BR!"Yes, please!
Allison wrote: "Kaa, great list of books! I will be curious to hear what you think of Unkindness. I recently read that with Gabi and we both, I think, found it compelling."Definitely! It moved me.
Kaa wrote: "Friday Black - A great short story collection. Several very powerful stories, some really interesting concepts, and only a few that didn't work for me."This was one of the books I got at the library yesterday, along with The Consuming Fire by Scalzi. I was surprised to find that someone named Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was not a grandmotherly 60-something woman.
I've read all the Nightrunner books except for this one:Glimpses: A Collection of Nightrunner Short Stories
and I'm trying to finish more TBR books before the end of the year before starting that one (it'll be a reward)
Here's my latest batch of reviews:The Singularity Trap - ★★★½☆ - (My Review)
To Pixar and Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History - ★★★½☆ - (My Review)
Zeroes - ★★★½☆ - (My Review)
Karen wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "My review of Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts 
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
It's out??"
Nearly - December 4th is the publication date
Finished Cards of Grief by Jane Yolan - my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2603217174.
I wanted to pop in and say I'm quite happy reading Den of Wolves. It has multiple 1st POVs and it's done well! See? There are books in 1st POV that I like. I just get annoyed by all the others that are done poorly.
@Allison & Gabi: Yes, I think compelling is a good descriptor for Unkindness. It was sometimes a lot to take in, but I zoomed through it in a single day.
CBRetriever wrote: "I've read all the Nightrunner books except for this one:Glimpses: A Collection of Nightrunner Short Stories
and I'm trying to finish more TBR books before the end of the year befo..."
Read this just the other day. I'm delighted that so many fan illustrations are included, and some really beautiful ones at that. Yet the short stories were a bit on the average side. And strangely enough I had problems with the erotic descriptions, which I usually don't have.
I almost hated Glimpses, it was nothing like I expected. I think I still gave it three stars, because how could I give Alec and Seregil anything less than 'I liked it'?!
Anna wrote: "I almost hated Glimpses, it was nothing like I expected. I think I still gave it three stars, because how could I give Alec and Seregil anything less than 'I liked it'?!"I liked the tale of Alec's father and the meeting of Seregil and Micum. Yet I'd say the illustrations alone are worth 3 stars. I just so love the fact that she worked with her fans. So I go for 3.5 stars, but I haven't decided yet which direction to round.
I haven't read Glimpses. I may have to get it. =D
Soo wrote: "I haven't read Glimpses. I may have to get it. =D"The stories are not worth it, tbh.
I couldn't help it. I got the book and started reading it. Is it bad if I just needed to see just how awful the sex scenes are going to be? Bwahahaha - I'll get back to it and read the book though. I do miss Seregil & Alex.
I still need to get through a couple of novellas this month, but other than that, I think I'm done with this year's reading obligations. There are some things I kind of want to read in 2018, but if I don't, it's no big deal. I don't know what to do with this state of being, I feel weird not knowing what I'm reading next, and it's very strange to just hang out and not read at all! But I'm free! I can pick up something that speaks to me, I don't need to choose from a list or try to fulfill a challenge prompt. Maybe I'll finally jump into a longer series, I always feel like I can't, because it'll take weeks to get through. Maybe I won't read at all! Who knows, I don't! Yay!
Mod
Soo wrote: "...I just needed to see just how awful the sex scenes are going to be?...."Honestly, this exact thing is making me ever more curious! (also wondering would this be worthy of an experiment: if the fault is in knowing the characters and they'd otherwise read just fine, just not for these two. Tempted to read these now, then get to know the couple, then come back to these.. problem is, I'd be spoiled for the initial 'courtship').
Anna wrote: "I still need to get through a couple of novellas this month, but other than that, I think I'm done with this year's reading obligations...."
Yay! Congrats!
@Jemppu - I think the only reason to get Glimpses is if you are die hard fan of the Nightrunner series. From what I've seen, the writing for the shorts are not as good as what's in the books. I'm not sure if they should have been published? I'm more curious to see the drawings more than anything else. None of them are exactly what I envisioned in my head but that's part of the allure and disconnect. I mean, I totally cracked up from reading one phrase in Misfits (the first short) and spent 2 minutes wondering why she would write that scene with it. It was funny! Sometimes, I gotta wonder at my own sense of humor. Bwahahaha
Soo wrote: "I think the only reason to get Glimpses is if you are die hard fan of the Nightrunner series...."Exactly what's causing this curiosity! If it's a disappointment due to expectations and/or loving the characters, or just bad writing altogether.
...and as I suspect I very well might become a fan later on, this could proof a unique opportunity, before getting there.
@Jemppu - The stories vary in where they take place but I don't think it will mean as much without reading the series before reading the shorts. It doesn't look like it was written to introduce people to the characters & world. It's more of an add-on. You won't have context to draw on and I think that will make a negative impression of the series as a whole. Ha! But if you go ahead and do it, share your thoughts. =) I'll be interested to see what you think about it!
Den of Wolves was great! I loved it. Awesome wrap up and ending for Blackthorn & Grim series.
I tried Dawn and I called it quits at 45%. If there's an anime of the story, I'd be all over it but the book came off as a fairly dry recitation vs a story unfolding. If I get back to working on my Japanese, I'd rather give the original a try vs reading the translation.
I wouldn't read Glimpses first, there's no point! Not because of spoilers, but because it's not worth it unless you're desperate for more in this world and with these characters.
I just read Not a Drop to Drink on a whim, because it was available on my book subscription app, and it was interesting, though kinda simple. I've always enjoyed stories and games about harsh survival and tough post-apocalyptic living, so I *really* did enjoy reading a story in this genre with a female protagonist. But sexual assault played an infuriatingly prominent role in the story. Like, I know intellectually that the author wanted to reflect the harsh realities of society for women in her book, but man, sometimes you just wanna indulge in escapism and not read about the fears you feel every day, y'know? (view spoiler)
Despite that, though, I am going to read the second one in the series. Quick and easy reads that don't require a lot of brain power.
Just finished "Sourdough" by Robin Sloan. Throughly enjoyed it. A fiction set in the present sprinkled with some pixie dust and work life balance. Goodreads rating at near'bouts 4 is in accordance with my feelings on the matter. Mr. Sloan keep up the good work and give another book when you are ready
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SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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I read Luck in the Shadows and Stalking Darkness back to back those last days and I'm in love (again). I'd say that I appreciate the series even more than back then. And to my utter delight I learned that there are several sequels that I don't even know.