Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2019 Challenge Prompts - Regular
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20 - a book set in space
The Fates DivideI'm going to go with The Fates Divide, which is the sequel to Carve the Mark.I'm sure this will work!
Tabitha wrote: "Binti (and the subsequent books in the series)."I've read Binti but not the sequels. Do the 2nd and 3rd books take place in space?
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I've read Binti but not the sequels. Do the 2nd and 3rd books take place in space?"
They are mostly on earth, there is a little bit of space travel in that shrimp-fish-ship, maybe 5% of the story.
Nadine wrote: "Shelley wrote: "Tabitha wrote: "Binti (and the subsequent books in the series)."I've read Binti but not the sequels. Do the 2nd and 3rd books take place in space?"
They are mostl..."
Thank you! From the descriptions I was thinking the 2nd and 3rd books were about being back on Earth.
I just remembered that I got Zero G from Audible last month, so I think I'll count that one for this prompt!
I'm planning on reading
for this challenge.
, was an easy read and I really enjoyed the sarcastic tone of the narrator.Some other recommendations:
I loved Honor Among Thieves and I'm looking forward to the the next installment. This would also work for several of the other prompts: Honor Bound is coming out next month, both books are written by 2 women, and one of them is Ann Aguirre, which fits the same first and last initial.
Another one I can't recommend highly enough, though I recognize it might be a little weird for a lot of people is
. I really wish this was the start of the series. It took a while to understand the world, but once immersed I didn't want to leave.
Janet wrote: "I am going to read for this one, but I would like to quote my daughter on this one: "Aren't we already in space because the Earth is a planet." Therefore, I would argue..."I mean, if you want to count books set on Earth, then sure, go for it. But it also kind of makes the prompt meaningless because every book ever written could be presumed to be on or in a planet/object set in space...
Raquel wrote: "Janet wrote: "I am going to read for this one, but I would like to quote my daughter on this one: "Aren't we already in space because the Earth is a planet." Therefore,..."Its obvious, that you take your challenge very serious and literal, Raquel.
But not all of us do and some might just want to bend the prompts and take it a bit lighter to fit in some books we actually like to read too.
We are all doing that for ourselves, not to fulfill a quota.
And if anybody wants to read a book set on planet earth for this promt and liking their choice, I don't think they'll do it because they don't understand the promt.
An explanation about why they are wrong is not really necessary.
The book Janet posted about is set on moon btw.
Nicole wrote: "Raquel wrote: "Janet wrote: "I am going to read for this one, but I would like to quote my daughter on this one: "Aren't we already in space because the Earth is a plan..."Oh, dear, am I *that* person on the thread now? I think I must not have worded my original post very well if it came across that way...
Thanks to those of you who recommended The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet for this prompt. I recently finished it for the challenge and loved it! I was fascinated by the complexity of the characters and their relationships, and it was so broadly representational in its explorations of gender fluidity, family structure, and sexuality. I described it to a friend as "Firefly" meets Douglas Adams and his response was "You don't have to convince me any further!"
Laura wrote: "Thanks to those of you who recommended The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet for this prompt. I recently finished it for the challenge and loved it! I was fascinated by the complexi..."That just made me add it to my TBR...
Raquel wrote: "...Oh, dear, am I *that* person on the thread now? I think I must not have worded my original post very well if it came across that way ..."Well, to me you are that person who wrote what I was thinking :)
But of course everyone can bend their challenge how they like (and I know you agree with that too, having hung out here for a year).
Johanne wrote: "Raquel wrote: "...Oh, dear, am I *that* person on the thread now? I think I must not have worded my original post very well if it came across that way ..."Well, to me you are that person who wrot..."
Thank you! I even meant for 'everyone can bend the challenge to their liking' to be part of my post, but obviously it didn't come across that way. It's nice to know that I didn't offend everyone. :-)
Anne wrote: "Anne McCaffery has a series set it space. I can't remember the name of the series, but it starts with the book The Rowen (which I can't get to link for some reason)."It's the Tower and the Hive series, which begins with The Rowan, followed by Damia (and several other books.) They are related to the Talents series, the third book of which also takes place (partly) in space: Pegasus in Space.
I recommend The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal. It's the second book in The Lady Astronaut series, and over half of it takes place en route to Mars. And it's really, really good. (The first book in the series, The Calculating Stars, would work for the zodiac/astrological terms prompt, since stars feature so prominently in astrology. Personally, I also think it would work well for "a book you think should be turned into a movie," but that's a very subjective prompt.)
Raquel wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Raquel wrote: "Janet wrote: "I am going to read for this one, but I would like to quote my daughter on this one: "Aren't we already in space because the ..."I'm sorry, if I misunderstood you.
I might have posted a bit rash, since I already kinda felt that way on the wedding promt thread.
Maybe I try to read your posts a bit more objective next time ;)
Nicole wrote: "Raquel wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Raquel wrote: "Janet wrote: "I am going to read for this one, but I would like to quote my daughter on this one: "Aren't we already in spa..."I appreciate that, and I apologize for any stress I caused with my posts. I will try to be clear in what I mean when I post as well. :-)
If it helps at all, for me there's often a difference between 'what the prompt says/means' and 'what people use to fill a prompt'. If you use super loose interpretations on your own challenge, it's totally your choice, but if we're discussing what the prompt is meant to say, that's a separate conversation.
I just finished DEFY THE STARS. Fun, fast moving cli-sci-fi set in a futuristic world where Earth has diminished capacity to support itself and is warring for control of the healthy green planet Genesis. Standing it it’s way, Noemi, a 17 year old Genesis soldier, and Abel, the most intelligent “mech” ever created.
Anne wrote: "Anne McCaffery has a series set it space. I can't remember the name of the series, but it starts with the book The Rowen (which I can't get to link for some reason)."It's The Tower and the Hive series.
Not sure if it's been mentioned here but I'm thinking of doing Scott Kelly's, EnduranceEndurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery. It's about his year in Space.
Carrie wrote: "Not sure if it's been mentioned here but I'm thinking of doing Scott Kelly's, EnduranceEndurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery. It's about his year in Space."I would like to read this also. My husband recommends it.
I have plenty of sci-fi on my TBR, but I am going to go with something that actually is set in space for at least part of the novel, not just another planet. Not sure what yet. Maybe The Disasters by M.K. England if I don't use it for a debut novel. Or Children of the Mind (last book in Ender's Game quartet).Some I'd recommend:
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - also its sequels
Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card
The Martian by Andy Weir
Carve the Mark and its sequel The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth
Acorna: The Unicorn Girl by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball
Cinder by Marissa Meyer - also its sequels
Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
It looks like this has already been mentioned on this thread, but I figured I'd repeat it: Dawn by Octavia E. Butler is entirely on a ship. It also a has a black woman as the main character and written by a black woman if you're doing a diversity challenge. I read it for Bookriot's challenge "by an AOC and set in space".I really enjoyed it, and it was definitely a different look at a benevolent savior sci-fi angle. It got a little bogged down on a certain topic, but I also understand that it was supposed to be The Topic that everyone was supposed to be concerned about.
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Just in case you are still looking for a book for this prompt: I've just seen on my Amazon watch list Flat Space
is free today (at least in the German shop: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07J6F24JJ) usually most of the deals find their way to the other shops within 24 hours: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J6F24JJ
Does The Little Prince work for this prompt? I know it also fits into "1 million ratings on goodreads."
Laura wrote: "Thanks to those of you who recommended The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet for this prompt. I recently finished it for the challenge and loved it! I was fascinated by the complexi..."I read that one for this prompt and really enjoyed it as well. It helped that I had seen Firefly/Serenity, as it gave me an idea of what to visualize in my head.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Excellent sci-fi read.
Kelly wrote: "Does The Little Prince work for this prompt? I know it also fits into "1 million ratings on goodreads.""If you're counting 'set on other planets' then yes, most of the book counts. None of it that I recall is literally set in space.
I read Star Wars: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn, which was amazing. It's the origin story for Grand Admiral Thrawn, and at least 50% is set in space as he's in the Imperial Navy. The rest is on other planets, obviously in a galaxy far far away ;-).
Taking Sara's recommendations and reading Brightly BurningI saw this and all I could think was ugh Star Wars. Lol. I'm not a sci-fi girl at all! I hope I enjoy this one.
If you want to try some Star Wars that is very character-focused, any of the three by Claudia Gray is worth checking out.
Accidentaly I read a (very) short story set in space today The Cowboy's Wish by Ruth Ann Nordin - at least that't the way I understand the expression ...men on Atrius... and the only indication about the setting of this free 8 page story (iTunes).
Artemis by Andy WeirSo much science in these but enjoy how he writes his characters.
The Martian by Andy Weir. I read this with a book club for January. A little too scientific for me, but I still enjoyed it.
Captain Marvel, Volume 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More and Captain Marvel, Volume 2: Stay Fly fits this prompt. I'll be reading The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
I’m thinking of eitherArtemis orRed Rising. Sci-fi set in space is usually not my thing even though I did enjoy The Martian. Any thoughts on which one (Artemis or Red Rising) is better?
Tara wrote: "I don't typically like sci-fi because I don't prefer world building. Can someone recommend some options that focus more on characters and the human story vs. the world building? TIA"I would highly recommend Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I read it in December and loved it. It absolutely focuses on the human story of the characters and more of a caste system than world building. I’m reading the second in the series Golden Son for this prompt.
Lisa wrote: "I’m thinking of eitherArtemis orRed Rising. Sci-fi set in space is usually not my thing even though I did enjoy The Martian. Any thoughts on which on..."Red Rising is awesome! I’m reading the second in this series,Golden Son, for this prompt.
I read The Stark Divide by J. Scott Coatsworth. It was enjoyable. It's LGBT and an Own Voices read. Scott writes a lot of SF if you wanted a little LGBT SF stuff for this one.
I just finished The Book Of Strange New Things by Michael Faber, which I think fits the bill.It is a beautiful book about love. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Michael Faber is an amazing writer.
For anyone who doesn't love Sci-Fi - this will probably work for you.
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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (other topics)Do You Dream of Terra-Two? (other topics)
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (other topics)
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Becky Chambers (other topics)Becky Chambers (other topics)
Mary Robinette Kowal (other topics)
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No, that's set entirely on earth.
The second book in the series, Broken Angels (which I did not think was nearly as good, but that's just me) was set in a spaceship for at least half the book.