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?
Catseye does pick up after a bit. The one I'm reading that's not doing much for me is The Lies of Locke Lamora. The convoluted main scam is just not interesting and I'm 85% through the book
Allison wrote: "And then I just started listening to The City of Brass which comes highly recommended to me but I think I'm just YAed out."Ummm... Yeah. I didn't want to say anything before you started it, since l know a lot of people love City of Brass, and I loved a lot of things about it, but man, the YA-ness almost killed me.
I'm also feeling allergic to YA also these days, even though I know there's plenty of books that get lumped in with that genre that don't have the same kind of tropes that annoy me, but I don't feel like I have a way to screen for them.
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Ummm... Yeah. I didn't want to say anything before you s..."
Yeah. I'll wait til I want to revel in something a bit over the top. For now I got the Whispersync of Gardens of the Moon to help me keep up with it while I eye-read Skyward. Soo said the narrator was good for Gardens, maybe it'll make the dialogue sound more approachable.
I finished The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. It's got all the elements of a Gothic novel with magical realism thrown in for good measure. The ending was a tad rushed, but the novel was full of suspense. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Setterfield writes really well and takes obvious delight in the power of words.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
MadProfessah wrote: "@Conal just finished THIN AIR. If you like THIRTEEN or the Takeshi Kovacs books you will almost certainly enjoy it!"I just finished as well and it was certainly enjoyable. This was my first Richard K Morgan book though Takeshi Kovacs has been on my TBR for awhile.
CBRetriever wrote: "Trike, you scare me - I hope you're not living anywhere near me."I’m just down the street from you. I think. Can’t read the signs.😆
Just back from the ophthalmologist. The diagnosis is cataracts, likely caused by the steroid injections. So at least it’s fixable. And, for the first time in 40-some years, I likely won’t have to wear glasses once the surgery is done. That will be weird.
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I’m just down the street from you. I think. Can’t read the signs.😆
Just back from the ophthalmologist. The di..."
I'm so glad to hear it's something with a solution!! I just got Lasik last year after a lifetime of glasses. I think you'll love your "new eyes." :)
Trike wrote: "CBRetriever wrote: "Trike, you scare me - I hope you're not living anywhere near me."I’m just down the street from you. I think. Can’t read the signs.😆
Just back from the ophthalmologist. The di..."
ah, glad to know it's something fixable
Currently reading Skyward. Honestly I'm trying to start the year strong with a few books I know I'll zip through. After this I'm probably looking at:Medusa Uploaded
Space Opera
Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach
I hate planning too far ahead, because I'm pretty impulsive and change my mind a lot, but this year I'm going to try and set myself assignments. Otherwise I get buried under indecision and can easily end up reading nothing. So I've assigned myself the above books for January. I'll see how that goes. None are very long so it should be quite doable.
Also eager to return to Leigh Bardugo's books; I'm not going to read them all in a row so I figure one a month should work. So I'll start February with Siege and Storm
Feel free to start a BR topic for Medusa Uploaded - I think a few of us plan on reading it in the next month or so!
Rachel wrote: "Feel free to start a BR topic for Medusa Uploaded - I think a few of us plan on reading it in the next month or so!"Will do. Think it'll probably be my last January book so in a couple weeks.
Yeah I have a few books I plan to read before Medusa as well - timing might work out well
Just started and reading a lot more of it this weekend: I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara - Her book abour the Golden State killer. It was being written until she passed away. Her researcher got it finished and released posthumously.
Been a while since I've read non-fiction that isn't a biography. Probably even longer since reading a true crime book.
Tamara wrote: "I finished The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. It's got all the elements of a Gothic novel with magical realism thrown in for good measure. The ending was a tad ..."
I read that back when it first came out, and really enjoyed it. It's been a while, but I remember wanting to live in that bookstore world.
Yesterday I finished The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. I quite enjoyed it. It was lyrical and well-written, and I was caught up with the heroine and the story. I'm happy I finally got to this book.
I just finished
It's a futuristic Science-Fiction about an outbreak that changes human DNA. I loved it, although it scared the hell out of me, at times.
I think I probably finished 12 books since I posted last. I don't want to post all of those now or even the few 5 stars. Woohoo! I read books that I gave 5 stars to and it's only January! This is very exciting. Right now, I'm reading two big epic series:
- Malazan is one. I finished the audio and plan to read the book soon and make notes to share.
- Night's Dawn is the other. I listened to Reality Dysfunction in like two days. While it took just as much work to get engaged into the story as Gardens of the Moon, it was easier because you actually get to know some of the characters/places.
1st Side Project: Listening & Reading 3 translations of Iliad. Currently on Alexander Pope's translation and I love the narrator, Michael Page.
2nd Side Project: It just kind of happened and I'm rolling with it! I've been dipping into & trying out LitRPG books for a while now but never made a concentrated effort. Well, I feel like half the books I read this month are LitRPG and they've been pretty good! Nice little breaks between the Epic & Buddy Read books. So I made it official, went and asked for recommendations at a LitRPG group and made a TBR list for me to ransack this year. =)
I think I rated most of the ones I read this month 4 stars. Pretty good run quality & entertainment wise.
Last month, a few of us were talking about how cute Conlan was in Kate Daniels series. That lead to how fun it was reading about shapeshifter babies. Well, one of the LitRPG books I'm reading has a baby dragon and it has been hilarious and groan worthy good times reading about Hector & his dragon, Karalti. She is not a shapeshifter but she is a baby dragon that's growing. It's like accelerated growing pains.
Archemi Online series: the first book is Dragon Seed but Karalti antics are in book 2, Trial by Fire. The only thing I don't like about this series is that the nickname Hector. I'm like, why did he give himself that nickname? Background has him being a Korean American, blah blah. The author wrote his name in the Asian fashion in the book. Park Jeong Ho. Which also did not make sense to me because he's American. So why would he say his last name first? I try to ignore this part. Which is easy because the story is in a Virtual Realty MMORPG. =P
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It's a HyperSpeed growing moments. Book starts off with her being really small. Like less than a foot long. She's curious & a baby. Hector is trying to keep her safe & hidden in his cloak but she keeps sticking her nose (followed by her whole head) out to smell & see. Smells yummy!
Look it's pretty!
Then there's the talk to get Karalti to train her strength by carrying things. The back & forth was funny & pretty much how a talk could go with a kid.
Later, Karalti goes from being small enough to ride on Hector & go everywhere with him to getting so big that she can't get in the doorway to a place. Ends up having a tantrum and flies off to roar out fire in the sky.
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hahaha
CBRetriever wrote: "Catseye does pick up after a bit. The one I'm reading that's not doing much for me is The Lies of Locke Lamora. The convoluted main scam is just not interesting and I'm 85% through ..."I had something of the same issue with the book when I read it. The Characters are very well developed, but it was something of a slog to get to the end.
I just finished Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve and/or Ruin Everything
A very good, if lightly covered, look at the technology that could be developed in the near future. A fun ready and educational at the same time. Much more fun than most works on the Tech Industry and Research.
I'm even having trouble with the second Locke Lamora book. On the other hand, I'm also currently reading Girls of Yellow and the extreme version of Islam that the author postulates rules Europe at the alternative history point in time where the book is set is a bit much too. If the author has more books in that series, I don't think I'll get them. I really liked his mystery series, but this one's a real let down.
Just finished Old Man's War and gave it 4 Stars. I really enjoyed that one. I also read a bunch of graphic novels that have been sitting on the sideline, least of which is The Gunslinger series, which is awesome.
Alondra wrote: "Just finished Old Man's War and gave it 4 Stars. I really enjoyed that one. I also read a bunch of graphic novels that have been sitting on the sideline, least of which is The Guns..."
Well, I hope that it gives me as much joy to read Old Man's War as it did you. I have started it and so far I am enjoying it, but it hasn't moved into the heavy part of my reading rotation yet.
@Soo, what is "LitRPG" ? I know "lit" and I know "RPG" but I'm having trouble conceptualizing the two together lol
Michele wrote: "@Soo, what is "LitRPG" ? I know "lit" and I know "RPG" but I'm having trouble conceptualizing the two together lol"Books about and/or inspired by games.
Dj wrote: "Well, I hope that it gives me as much joy to read Old Man's War as it did you. I have started it and so far I am enjoying it, but it hasn't moved into the heavy part of my reading rotation yet. ..."I hope you enjoy it, as well. I was giggling at work and everyone just stared. I showed them the book and they just rolled their eyes.... LOL
LitRPG are books that have game mechanics as part of the story. Most of them take place in some sort of Virtual Reality and has full immersion experiences. Ready Player One is considered Gamelit. A book with a game base but not the full mechanics like stat updates, etc. I call RPO LitRPG light. There are other stories where the story is basically a RPG but do not go into details with game notifications & stat updates.
Ah. So Tad Williams' Otherland series (e.g. City of Golden Shadow) would be LitRPG. How interesting!I suppose the old "Choose your own adventure" books were the forerunners :)
Talking about "choose your own adventure"....did you see where they're suing Netflix about Bandersnatch being a "choose your own adventure".
Jacqueline wrote: "Talking about "choose your own adventure"....did you see where they're suing Netflix about Bandersnatch being a "choose your own adventure"."No! Really? I didn't even know CYOA was still around to do an suing!
But yes, here it is: this article, for those who are interested. I like their grounds ("...claiming that the episode is so dark it will tarnish the books’ reputation..." lol)
Goosebumps had choose your own adventures as well and I’m pretty sure they were pretty damned scary (my now nearly 30 year old son was obsessed with Goosebumps back in the day and we still have what seems like millions of them in the shed) but I don’t think they sued them. Probably wouldn’t have got enough money out of them. Netflix on the other hand....
Alondra wrote: "Dj wrote: "Well, I hope that it gives me as much joy to read Old Man's War as it did you. I have started it and so far I am enjoying it, but it hasn't moved into the heavy part of my reading rotati..."Oh well, they wouldn't worry if I was giggling at work. I take my Kindle to work and read between calls. So they are kind of used to it. LOL.
Dj wrote: "Oh well, they wouldn't worry if I was giggling at work. I take my Kindle to work and read between calls. So they are kind of used to it. LOL. .."hehehehhe…. :)
I am working my way through The Wheel of Time series, including all the shorts that likely didn't exist 25 years ago. On Book 4. I will likely reread a bunch that I had read way back in the day before trying out new authors, but I saw that list of titles! Wow.
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I finished Oathbringer, which didn't thrill me exactly like the first two Stormlight Archive books did, but since the GR rating system allows for so little nuances, it still was 5 stars - otherwise I would have to downrate several 4-star Fantasy reads I did. The mix of complexity of story / worldbuilding and character depth is incredible in this series.With the BR I read How Long 'til Black Future Month?. I loved the diversity of the stories therein and Jemisin's narration skills. A high level anthology.
Another good BR was for The Way To The Stars, a cute coming-of-age novel, that can best described with Douglas Adams' words "mostly harmless". I guess it would even work for younger readers without any Star Trek background.
All the Birds in the Sky was a surprise for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the crazy writing and structure, the last third even was terrific.
Just finished The Rook, and want to say a heartfelt thank you to Sarah, who recommended the novel to me when I was looking for humorous writing. When I realised that it was a kind of X-Men story, I wasn't sure, I would like it. But the author's style is exactly what I was looking for. In parts it reminded my of Connie Willis' screwball style (which I adore), I found myself giggling the whole time through. Plus it has a heroine I adore and wonderful friendship between two women. Totally worth reading.
Just finished Skyward (SO GOOD) and have started in on Blackfish City. Already forgot what I had planned to read the rest of this month. Honestly, I kind of see myself just going on a whim based on what books are popping up on buddy reads.
Kirsten wrote: "I'm reading King's Dragon by Kate ElliottOMG!! So good!! So glad I discovered this book."
I love to see someone else reading this! I think it's really under appreciated, but I loved it when I first read it.
I read the first 3 or 4 books in the series and then couldn't find the rest for a long time. Now my library has them all, but I haven't gotten around to re-reading (it's been over 10 years since I read them last) and getting to the ones I haven't read yet.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: I had no idea that Kondo was going to have a Netflix series when I read this a week or two ago. To make a very long story short, it's already had a positive effect on my attitude toward my living space and my "stuff." Also, please read the book rather than taking social media's word for what it's actually about. A perfect example of social media being toxic waste that no one should touch with a ten-foot pole. (review)
Pride and Prejudice: (audio) A wonderful performance of a favorite book. (review)
Currently reading: Cast In Courtlight, Orange Is the New Black (audio)
Up next: Sorcerer to the Crown, finishing up Gardens of the Moon
Don wrote: "Marie, you are discovering Sanderson in the right place, "The Mistborn Trilogy" is his Magnum Opus."Thank you, Don. He is now one of my favorite autbors!
I only heard about this series from comments on here so thanks everyone! My review of Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Beth wrote: "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: I had no idea that Kondo was going to have a Netflix series when I read this a week or two ago. To make a very long story short, it's already ..."Marie Kodo: “You should have no more than 30 books.”
Trike: “GTFO.”
she must not be a reader, but then a Kindle could count as one book and I only have 10 Kindles/Fires in my house so that would work
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https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainm...
I’m sure she meant 30 books per shelf.....it’s OK Trike...
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I finished it last night. I think I'm just not her audience.
I'm halfway through Gardens of the Moon and keep going back and forth between looooving it and getting frustrated. I'm told it picks up soon and I should therefore love it more than I am frustrated.
But I might need to take a small break because my hold on Skyward came in and I need to read that before it goes back. It's a 500 page YA book!! WTF Sanderson! How do you do it? Hoping to find another series of his I like as much as Stormlight Archive. We'll see.
And then I just started listening to The City of Brass which comes highly recommended to me but I think I'm just YAed out. I am not even sure this is YA, but it sounds like Graceling and Six of Crows and Ember in the Ashes...that "school of hard knocks, not pretty but still gorgeous, gritty but in a romantic way" tone. I like the concept, wondering if I should pause listening to it until that sounds more interesting again. I'm already at 2x speed and I'm not yet an hour in, so that might be best.