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?
Travis wrote: "Now I'm reading The Dispossessed as part of the yearlong Le Guin challenge. One chapter in and WOW!I am skipping this one (I have read it before and don't want to reread it), but I will be checking the thread if you have any comments.
I am waiting for Kaa to get started on The Left Hand of Darkness, which was supposed to be scheduled for April 8. I have to finish it before the 28th when my library checkout expires.
Are you reading The Left Hand of Darkness as well?
Beth wrote: "Are you reading The Left Hand of Darkness as well?I read that last year, so I won't be rereading, but I plan to keep up with the comments. It's such a remarkable book.
I finally finished
it took me forever. I am sure if I would recommend it or not.
Nanu wrote: "I finally finishedit took me forever. I am sure if I would recommend it or not."
Oh dear. That doesn't encourage me to start my copy:) Still if I never read it it will make a great door stop.
I got the audiobook with my Audible trial. The narration was great, specially in the middle parts of the book. However, the more I think about the actual story, the more I think it's meh. I don't consider it epic, but the inbetweens before the "big battle" between good and eveil were interesting.
I agree completely Nanu. A book that long needs to be great not meh. Just not worth the time investment.
@Beth and Travis: My plan is to read both Left Hand and the Dispossessed this week! I'll get started as soon as I finish Ruin of Angels, which hopefully should be tonight or tomorrow morning.I have been feeling really uninspired by everything else I've been reading recently, so I'm looking forward to going back to Le Guin. I didn't love The Mere Wife as much as Allison and Travis, was a bit let down by the plot and ending of Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, and also somehow didn't love the queer fantasy sequel to the Tempest (Miranda in Milan). At this point, I'm not sure if it's me or the books that's the problem!
I've been in a kind of book funk, myself. I haven't finished anything for a couple of weeks and have bounced 1/4 of the way through several books. The Onion Girl was getting me down--while I think that dealing with real, harsh human issues in a UF is a perfectly valid way of approaching the genre, I wasn't up for something that heavy, so set it aside (temporarily?) for a couple of lighter things. Life, the Universe and Everything is first, then m/m romance A Fashionable Indulgence.
I have just been completely pulled into Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere, and it won't seem to let me go! I was reading through Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection in a kind of non-linear fashion, and decided I really ought to read Elantris - which I did, and loved - then when I finished Arcanum I decided I just had to start Warbreaker as it was the only one left I hadn't read! (Apart from White Sand - which I have now got on my kindle by signing up to the newsletter...) So that's me for the moment!
I've started The Red Fox Clan, which is either Ranger's Apprentice Book #13 or the Royal Ranger Book #2, or both... I always enjoy re-immersing myself in this world, but I miss following Will and Halt since the focus is more on Maddie in this series off-shoot, and right now I feel like the more interesting story is happening off-page. :-/
Beth wrote: "I've been in a kind of book funk, myself. I haven't finished anything for a couple of weeks and have bounced 1/4 of the way through several books. The Onion Girl was getting me down..."
The Onion Girl actually caused me to stop reading De Lint. I had a good run until that one.
I just came back from London during the Blitz. I read the two Connie Willis books Blackout and All Clear back to back (over 1200 pages, resp. 44 hours audiobook, since I was listening to it) and I loved them! My respect for Willis deepened even more with this timetravel-gone-wrong story. The amount of research that must have gone into those books is admirable.
Beth wrote: "I've been in a kind of book funk, myself. I haven't finished anything for a couple of weeks and have bounced 1/4 of the way through several books. The Onion Girl was getting me down..."
Sorry to hear that, Beth! I love KJ Charles, so I hope you enjoy A Fashionable Indulgence, but I will say that the series is more political than a lot of her other books, and sometimes a bit heavier as a result. But the first book in particular is often quite funny as well.
I just finished
and I think it is a masterpiece, 5 stars, due to being so original and well written.
I’m wondering if anyone else has read/is reading Bannerless (the April mod curated sci fi runner up)? I found that I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would and I’m partial to both post-apocalyptic stories and murder mysteries. For me, the combination of the two didn’t work that well. As a murder mystery, it was good, but the world setting didn’t do much for me. The part that didn’t work for me was mostly (view spoiler)
Kaa wrote: "I love KJ Charles, so I hope you enjoy A Fashionable Indulgence, but I will say that the series is more political than a lot of her other books, and sometimes a bit heavier as a result."There's heavy and then there's heavy. A little politickin' along with the romancin' shouldn't be too bad. (I also have a mild head start on KJ Charles' stuff since I've semi-recently read Charm of Magpies. I liked it!)
To whoever recommended "Arcadia" by Iain Pears. Thank You, it was excellent. Keep doing that!
Beth wrote: "I've been in a kind of book funk, myself. I haven't finished anything for a couple of weeks and have bounced 1/4 of the way through several books. The Onion Girl was getting me down..."
A book has to be filled with deep emotional content but fun and page turning, when I say fun, have a personality. Like people, dull, or not, that simple. For me the DNA of the book is the thing.
I just finished N. K. Jemisin’s Inheritance trilogy, plus the novella, starting with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Aside from the novella which I had mixed feelings on, I liked them a lot and thought each one was slightly better than the previous one. I think her later work is better, but there’s a lot to like about this earlier work too. Each book tells a complete story. There are some characters who feature in all of them, and there are references to previous events, but the story each book tells is self-contained. It’s a world populated with an arrogant and cruel ruling class, subjugated peoples, and gods and godlings who interact with mortals. There’s some humor sprinkled throughout; I think the second book probably had the most humor.
Here are my longer reviews of the individual books:
Book 1 – The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Book 2 – The Broken Kingdoms
Book 3 – The Kingdom of Gods
Novella – The Awakened Kingdom
I try to fit in at least one classic each quarter, not counting SF&F classics on our group shelf that I would be reading anyway. My next couple reads are a part of that goal. First, I’m going to read Three Men in a Boat. That selection was inspired by my recent read of Connie Willis’ To Say Nothing of the Dog. After that, I plan to read Othello.
I've been kind of brain dead lately because my life is chaos right now so I've been reading mostly graphic novels and MG graphic novels. Lots of stuff like The Stonekeeper, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Star Wars: Jedi Academy, The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel, West Coast Avengers, Vol. 1: Best Coast, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Vol. 1: Aphra. Things that I can finish pretty quickly.I did just manage to finish An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good, which was a short story collection that I devoured in one day. I'm also slowly making my way through The Psychology of Time Travel, The Afterward, Detective Inspector Huss, and A Beautiful Work In Progress.
Jordan wrote: "...I did just manage to finish An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good, which was a short story collection that I devoured in one day...."OMG my spouse & I really enjoyed that 1 too, then we recommended it to my (view spoiler) 86-year-old mother-in-law, who also loved it. :-D
Don wrote: "To whoever recommended "Arcadia" by Iain Pears. Thank You, it was excellent. Keep doing that!"LOVE that book. So original, and such lovely writing. His The Dream of Scipio and An Instance of the Fingerpost are equally stellar. Though very different from Arcadia and from one another in topic, theme, setting, etc. they are all excellent in execution.
Just finished The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller
. Intriguing magic system and a well done piece of reverse sexism. Very entertaining. My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
I just borrowed audiobooks for:
Rocannon's World
Leviathan
Dreamsnake
Penric's Demon
and
The Invisible Man
because they all look quick and I think I can read them before my Hoopla renews next month.
What should I start with? Should I sack any of them before I get started?
Allison wrote: "I just borrowed audiobooks for..."Ooh, Dreamsnake. Good one.
Allison wrote: "Okay, friends.I just borrowed audiobooks for:
Rocannon's World
Leviathan
Dreamsnake
Penric's Demon
and
The Invisible Man
b..."
Ha! I have, at different times, done The Invisible Man, Leviathan, and Rocannon's World on audio. I'm blanking, literally, on The Invisible Man, so no help there.
Leviathan is a YA romp but my 12-year old liked it on a car trip. You can enjoy it for what it is, but I remember we also played Spot the Plot Hole near the end.
There is some good commentary on Rocannon's World on Kaa's Le-Guin-in-a-year "challenge" pages.
:-)
Mod
I just borrowed audiobooks for:
Rocannon's World
Leviathan
Dreamsnake
Penric's Demon
and
[book:The Invisib..."
Wow, sounds like the invisible man took invisibility too far if your memory can't find it either!
Allison wrote: "Penric's Demon"I'm impressed that you're still giving Bujold a chance! The fact that I love those novellas probably isn't helpful, but I can't think of any reason you'd dislike Penric at least :)
David wrote: "Allison wrote: "Penric's Demon"I'm impressed that you're still giving Bujold a chance! The fact that I love those novellas probably isn't helpful, but I can't think of any reason ..."
I don't remember anything particularly objectionable in Penric's Demon, but I could be remembering my read of it (last year) wrong... hmmm.
Allison wrote: "Okay, friends.I just borrowed audiobooks for:
Rocannon's World
Leviathan
Dreamsnake
Penric's Demon
and
The Invisible Man
b..."
I recently listened to Leviathan and liked it so much I immediately listened to the sequel, which was not quite as good but still enjoyable.
I read Dreamsnake when it came out (1978-ish) and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think you’ll really like that one a lot.
Mod
I'm impressed that you're still giving Bujold a chance! The fact that I love those novellas probably isn't helpful, but I can't think of any reason ..."
Haha! I'm trying to be fair and was maybe told by a co-moderator who shall remain nameless that I had to read Penric before I gave up. So here I go!
Thanks, everyone, for your feedback! I will start with Rocannon's World because, as Mike reminds me, there's already a discussion about that. Then I'm gonna move on to Dreamsnake, which I'm more excited for that I was previously!
I was at Heliosphere recently, and picked up a number of books to go on my shelves as Author Guy the bookseller. I also picked up a book to read for myself as 'research'. I have a story I'm working on featuring a character who has both male and female selves. Ryk Spoor has a novel called Princess Holy Aura, in which a 30ish male takes in the role of a teen-age anime princess to save the world.I also bought some of his other fiction, as well as a novel by Darrell Schweitzer called The Shattered Goddess, which portrays the dusk of man and the dawn of the next world after ours. Very dark.
Life, the Universe and Everything: I'd have hoped that this one would be "brilliant, but in a different way" as the first two books in the "trilogy" were from each other. Instead, the flashes of brilliance are wedged in between an unnecessary, tedious (imo) plot. It gets a rating nudge for nostalgia. (ongoing review of the omnibus here.)Next: a few manga volumes, and then A Fashionable Indulgence. A gay Pygmalion story! This ought to be fun. :D And then Neuromancer to catch up with the BR for that one.
I'm starting The Winter of the Witch. I really liked the second book in the series, and I'm looking forward to the conclusion!
Yesterday I finished Theodora Goss' collection Snow White Learns Witchcraft: Stories and Poems. It contains both poems and short stories. I really liked the short stories. There were interesting takes on fairy tales and folklore, and they featured interesting heroines. I'm not that much of a fan of poetry, but I did find some of the poems intriguing as well. Well worth picking up.
Allison wrote: "I will start with Rocannon's World ..."Also, if your hoopla matches mine, I found it to a particularly Ugly Cover.
Mod
Robert, that looks very interesting, and I've been meaning to try her works.
Mike, omg, the cover is heinous!
Allison wrote: "Okay, friends.I just borrowed audiobooks for:
Rocannon's World
Leviathan
Dreamsnake
Penric's Demon
and
The Invisible Man
because they all look quick and I think I can read them before my Hoopla renews next month.
What should I start with? Should I sack any of them before I get started?
reply | flag *"
I was going to suggest Penric's Demon so I'm glad you're already reading it. ;)
Regarding Leviathan, do you know that the book has awesome illustrations? With an audio book, you'll kind of be missing out on the full experience. Personally, I loved it and thought it was a refreshing change from the usual YA stuff. The sequels don't live up to the first book however.
As a parent, I also end up reading a lot of children’s books. My younger daughter is of an age where picture books are very appealing to her. With the older one, I didn’t have a huge library of picture books or the means to get them, and I find that I am also a stickler for quality.Luckily, Costco usually has a small selection of pretty darn good ones, so I browse them every week on my shopping trip.
Last week, I picked up a book called Georgia’s Terrific Colorific Experiment, this week was The Bear, the Piano, the Dog, and the Fiddle, and the week before was Giraffes Can’t Dance. I don’t want to add these to my yearly to reading challenge, but I think they deserve good ratings here.
Also, I have a lot of RPG Material that I read through, but haven’t figured out how to deal with rating it on GR.. or if I even should.
Lowell, you could rate the picture books without adding a read date? If you just want to keep them out of your yearly count.
Allison wrote: "Okay, friends.I just borrowed audiobooks for:
Rocannon's World
Leviathan
Dreamsnake
Penric's Demon
and
The Invisible Man
b..."
I'll go with either Penric or Dreamsnake since both are in my to read shelf and I wanna know your thoughts :D
Anna wrote: "Lowell, you could rate the picture books without adding a read date? If you just want to keep them out of your yearly count."I think that's the solution. Thanks Ana!
Mod
I just borrowed audiobooks for:
Rocannon's World
Leviathan
Dreamsnake
Penric's Demon
and
[book:The Invisib..."
Haha! Expect thoughts next week!
Lowell, that seems like a good suggestion. I too have a hard time with things like short stories and essays and the like...yes, technically I read it, and sure, I have feelings about it, but do I want it to show up in my ratings and such? Idk.
Read The Cat in Magic, Mythology, and Religion by M Oldfield Howey and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2787372230.
I’ve finished my second-quarter classic selections, Three Men in a Boat and Othello. Three Men in a Boat was full of amusing anecdotes, but it really didn’t have much of a plot aside from three men and a dog taking a trip up the Thames river in a boat. I think there were more pages spent on anecdotes from the characters’ previous experiences than were spent on the current trip. So it wasn’t exactly riveting, but I did like it. There are a lot of amusing observations about human nature that are still relevant today. My longer review.
Othello was full of typical Shakespeare-y tropes, but it was easy to follow and held my interest. I had some complaints about it, but I watched a movie adaptation directly after finishing it and found that the actors’ portrayal was much more believable to me than the way I had read it. It was kind of the opposite of my experience with Hamlet, where I preferred my own reading to the way it was portrayed in the adaptations I watched. My longer review.
Later today, I plan to start Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill. My first impression, just from flipping past the table of contents to queue myself up to chapter 1, is geeky amusement that the chapter numbers are in binary.
Which Hamlets have you watched? Some are better than others. Kenneth Branagh's Othello and Hamlet were fairly good
CBRetriever wrote: "Which Hamlets have you watched?"I watched Branagh’s Hamlet. I liked it quite a bit; I just liked the version in my head better. There was less melodrama in my head. I also watched the 1948 Laurence Olivier version.
Branagh’s version was also the version of Othello I watched.
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and enjoyed it. Naturally, I had to immediately begin the sequel