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 2019?
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Axel
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Mar 15, 2019 11:05AM

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Started The Girl in the Tower this morning - sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale.

Followed that up with Another Way to Fall: Two Short Novels, which could not have been more different: very dark and depressing.
Working my way through How Long 'til Black Future Month?. The stories are so good I want to go slowly and savor them :)
You give me hope for Library, Michele! It's my "intimidating" book for the challenge this year.
I must get to How Long, too!
I must get to How Long, too!

I enjoyed that one recently! I just finished her The Dreamblood Duology and am now starting her The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

I actually had to start it twice. The first time I got about 50pp in and said, This is just weird. But it kept nagging at me, so a few weeks later I tackled it again and this time (knowing more what I was in for) I could not put it down!


Ha! Well said. I have had love affairs with a few books too :)

I enjoyed it a lot. Entertainment-wise it was 5 stars for me because I was engrossed from beginning to end but there is quite a bit to nitpick about it, so I gave it 4.5 stars and rounded down to 4 on Goodreads. I would warn that this isn’t at all a feel-good book, despite having quite a bit of humor. I think I kind of made the story more engrossing for myself because I was imagining the plot to be more complex than it was. I had all these theories about things that ultimately proved to be irrelevant. Also, I was a bit annoyed that we never found out (view spoiler) ! Here’s my longer review.
I’ve moved straight on to the next book in the series, To Say Nothing of the Dog. I’m not very far into it yet, but enjoying it so far.

I loved that book. I read it twice, and I might have to read it again now that you've rem..."
Yes I've read it twice now. Have yet to read the rest but managed to get them all recently.




https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Also, I have started The Spy Who Came In from the Cold.

Next up, The Librarian of Auschwitz.

White Tears: very good, turns into a ghost story and then into horror with quite a few things to say about race relations and racism. 4 stars
Harvest: historical fiction, beautiful writing. 4 stars
The Gone-Away World: enjoyable but a bit all over the place. 3 stars
My Name Is Lucy Barton: bit too loose and unstructured for my taste. 3 stars
Dissolution: historic crime fiction. entertaining but felt a bit too light weight. 3 stars
Empty Space: A Haunting. I love Harrison's writing. This almost lost me but he pulled it together in the end. Nothing quite compares to Harrison. 4 stars
The Rift: fantastic writing but you will be disappointed if you expect a conventional SF story. 4 stars
Currently reading The Likeness

Time willing, I should have Leviathan Wakes done by the weekend since I'm both reading and listening to it. I just discovered I can watch The Expanse on Amazon so I'm trying my best to finish the book ASAP. Funny thing about this book, I hadn't picked it up due to it's size and wanting to make sure I keep up with my reading challenge but it's got such great pacing, characters, etc that I want to walk around with my nose in my book. I've even been reading it during work; thank goodness I work at a small town library and have those quiet opportunities.
I've had to put aside, temporarily, A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe because I was actually meshing this book with Leviathan Wakes. Note to self...do not read two big ol' space operas at the same time.

Oh definitely. If I try to read two books at once (usually a b&w and an audio), they have to be very different from each other.
We Are All Completely Fine: this was the first Daryl Gregory I'd read, and it's excellent. It's a combination of horror, character study and reflection on trauma. A minor warning: this novella has some body horror in it. It never lingered on that content long enough for this fairly squeamish/sensitive reader to put it down or skim, so as such things goes, it's probably mild. (short review)



Well done! Les Mis is no joke.

And, if bulk is a factor, this is a YA that's less than 200 pages long, so should be a really quick read.

And I needed something comforting to read today, so I gave in and started All Systems Red. I'm about a third of the way through, and am loving it - it's exactly what I was hoping for.


I love that whole series. Gwydion Prince of Don was one of my first fictional crushes (!), and the whole arc is such a great coming-of-age tale for Taran.

I enjoyed the humor, and I mostly enjoyed the story although it was kind of silly and I thought it had some tedious bits. The author pays homage to a lot of literature such as Three Men in a Boat, The Princess Bride, Shakespeare, and various classic mystery novels. To say nothing of the many references to historical events. All the references got a little tiresome to me. I enjoyed the main characters and the humor, though. My longer review.
I’ve started on the next book in the series, Blackout.

Is this why the Oxford Comma is a thing?
Michele wrote: "Allison wrote: "The only book I have on my already-read list besides Dune from 1965 is The Black Cauldron which I remember liking immensely and have been contemplating a re-read!"
I l..."
I remember it being very good! It's been over 20 years since I've read it though so that's almost all I remember. I flew through the books as a kid though.
I l..."
I remember it being very good! It's been over 20 years since I've read it though so that's almost all I remember. I flew through the books as a kid though.


I read that book in one sitting, it was that good.

Yes. It’s all the because of the cat, to say nothing of the dog.

In the meantime I've started Snuff for my continuing Discworld-a-thon and will most likely be starting Fire Sea after.

My library was speedier than yours and I just finished the third book in the trilogy The Winter of the Witch. It was just as beautiful as the first two:)
My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I am reading and l.o.v.i.n.g Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. It's hit my mood just perfectly--I love how eerie and dreamy it is.
I am also reading and tolerating A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe. I'm finding it sort of the antithesis of JS&MN and as my mood is very JS&MN right now, it's not suiting me very well.
I am also reading and tolerating A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe. I'm finding it sort of the antithesis of JS&MN and as my mood is very JS&MN right now, it's not suiting me very well.

My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... "
I'll read your review after. I want to go in with as clean a slate as possible, so I'm avoiding reviews and blurbs and everything!
Allison wrote: "I am reading and l.o.v.i.n.g Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. It's hit my mood just perfectly--I love how eerie and dreamy it is."
Yay! :)

I'd been hesitating, but, now: Convinced!

Really interesting. I completely loved the BBC series and didn't realize/remember it was based on a book.
Have you seen the show? If so, does the show follow the book closely, or is there a lot that's expanded or different in the book? (Either way, I might need to read that.)
I haven't seen the show but I think Colleen has? I'll let her speak for herself though :) I plan on trying it eventually. This is not a high-octane thriller by any stretch but when you're in the mood for something atmospheric, wry, and twisty, it's really working for me at least :)

Really interesting. I completely loved..."
The show is very close to the book from what I recall, but I didn’t like either of them, so there’s that.


Really interesting. I completely loved..."
I loved the BBC show! I think the biggest difference between the book and the show was the fairy gentleman's personality (and therefore some of his interactions with (view spoiler) ). Other than that from what I remember it followed the book pretty closely. Of course it may be that the gentleman is the only thing that I liked more in the book than in the show so it might have left a bigger impact on my memory.

Actually, I'm not sure I'll have time to squeeze in a reread for the BR, so I might rewatch the series instead...

Congrats, CBR, that's an achievement! (achievement ping plays) This might come across as strange, but you saying that it talks extensively about the sewer systems makes it sound even more interesting to me (over and above it being a classic I haven't yet tried). I love reading about fantasy and/or historical infrastructure.
~ Giulia ~ wrote: "I have The Book of Three in my 2019 TBR Challenge. It's good to see all the love for this series, makes me more eager to read it :)"
I read the whole series in jr. high, but not since. The Prydain Chronicles were a major, or the major, series that got me interested in the fantasy genre to begin with. My copies are our old tatty Dell paperback editions from the late '70s. And now it's tempting to see what I think of them 40 years out...






Started The Alice Network for my bedtime read. So far, so good but I'm only to chapter 3 or 4.
Just picked up the latest Flavia de Luce The Golden Tresses of the Dead. Hope to start it this weekend.

Gonna have to return Black Leopard, Red Wolf to the library, as my cataracts have progressed to the point where I can’t read printed type. I can only see the iPad by zooming in until seven words are on a line. Stupid eyes.
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