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?
Gabi, what about N.K. Jemisin, Emma Newman, Claire G. Coleman, Karin Tidbeck, Emmi Itäranta, I know you liked their stuff? And I'm sure there are plenty more new-to-you-women out there you just haven't crossed paths with yet :)
Anna wrote: "Gabi, what about N.K. Jemisin, Emma Newman, Claire G. Coleman, Karin Tidbeck, Emmi Itäranta, I know you liked t..."Yes, these are pearls I dearly loved, but with the exception of Jemisin (who is mainly shelved as Fantasy) I would have found none of them if it hadn't been for you (THANK YOU!).
Do you have a hint for me how to look for such non-raved-about treasures? (other than going through your book shelves ;D )
Hmm, I don't even know if I remember where I first hear about books, but I used to find a lot of good stuff through Booktube. For translated, less talked about SF, try Rachel (Kalanadi). She's also on Goodreads: Rachel's GR profile. She's read all the major award winners btw and has a series of videos on the topic :)Other than that, I've found many things lately by doing research for a theme we're thinking of doing. As I try to find something for a theme, I usually find several interesting sounding books that *don't* fit the theme, but I add them to my TBR, and sometimes I actually get around to reading them (like Terra Nullius).
But the main point is that I very rarely find these things on Goodreads, it's always somewhere else, while looking for something else! So my advice is, do weirdo searches on the internets and add "scifi book"? :D
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Don't we all do that? Isn't that what they're there for?
I also need to add that clearly the problem isn't that you don't enjoy scifi books by women, it's that scifi books by women aren't talked about enough for you to hear about them? What a surprise *eyeroll*
Yeah, I guess GR isn't the best base to find what I'm looking for - this much even I figured out over the last year ;D. Thank you for your ideas/links, Anna.(and I will definitely still stalk Anna's shelves, Allison, this is just such a treasure trove)
Anna wrote: "Hmm, I don't even know if I remember where I first hear about books, but I used to find a lot of good stuff through Booktube. For translated, less talked about SF, try Rachel (Kalanadi). She's also..."Kalanadi is one of my favorite Booktubers too.
Finished all 4 books in Murderbot Diaries. Short but an immensely fun read! Loved it.
Gabi wrote: "Do you have a hint for me how to look for such non-raved-about treasures? (other than going through your book shelves ;D )"I would start a thread to ask.
In the meantime, some recommendations I would add:
The Red: First Light and sequels by Linda Nagata. Military SF with cool ideas that feel all-too-plausible.
Velocity Weapon by Megan O’Keefe which, right up to its non-ending, was a 5-star read for me. It feels like classic Niven or Haldeman. I think once that series is complete it will be terrific. The waiting is the hard part.
The Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. I listened to all of the books earlier this year and really enjoyed the binge. Some are better than others, but the totality of the series is terrific.
You already have Murderbot by Martha Wells and Lady Astronaut by Mary Robinette Kowal on your shelf, but I would include those, too, for anyone else on a similar search.
Edit: Also Kage Baker’s series about The Company, which features time-traveling cyborgs. In the Garden of Iden is the first one, but I accidentally read the second one first, Sky Coyote, which I actually liked better.
Gabi wrote: " I will definitely still stalk Anna's shelves"I hope you like old school YA fantasy and MG historical mysteries, because that's what I'm apparently reading this week :D
Oh yes! Kate Baker’s series is great! I can’t give you any suggestions for good new SFF, but check out my shelf entitle FemSFFU or something similar for older gems. I’ll have a look for specific recommendations.
@Trike: in general, yes to your idea about a thread. But in this case it was really about how Anna finds her books. She has a knack for finding the kind of books that appeal to me cause of their weirdness, their beauty, their whatever. It is often in the moderated polls that I can already spot by the cover and a few words that this one is one for me. (Of course they never win, but they have enriched my TBR)And I definitely prefer standalones.
@Diane: I've enclosed the formerly-known-as-Tiptree-award in my read-through-all-the-award-winners challenge, I hope to find there something fitting (since I never even heard about half of the books listed there)
Sarah wrote: "I've just started The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. I've been looking forward to this for a while."I just finished that trilogy. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Lots of undercurrents about human behavior lurk in those three books.
After the news the other day that Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was set in November 2019 I decided to read it. As many of us have. I picked up my iPad this morning and had a little look at the first chapter and it’s not set in November 2019. Actually there are a lot of years it’s set in. The film Bladerunner is set in November 2019. The original book was 1992 (I suppose that seemed a long way away from the late 60s when it was written) and the revised edition is January 2021. I have the revised edition. Still reading Rosewater by Tade Thompson. It’s good. Not mind blowing but good. Only a quarter of the way through though. Still can’t focus. It’s probably me not the book. My mind isn’t working well enough to be blown.
Gabi : I came across Tidbeck and Newman And some others via old school methods like NYTimes/waPost book review sections; also stalking the starred reviews in the Kirkus reviews SFF section and the Barnes and Noble SFF blog.
@Jacqueline: Thanks for the clarification of the "Do Androids dream of electric sheep" setting. I was wondering what folks where talking about, since I read it last week and it was set in 1992.
@Rachel: thank you. With my "Rheinische Post" I'm of course hopeless in terms of book recs.
I’d love to hear more people give their impressions of Kage Baker’s work. I tried reading the first in The Company series and bounced off of it very hard (DNF).
Love the fact that there's old sci-fi novels set in a future time that is now the present. I wonder how many authors we've disappointed with our mundane advancements.
I just finished reading an ARC of Tentacles and Teeth, by Ariele Sieling. It was OK. I gave it 3 stars because it was entertaining and in a weird sense compelling, but it wasn’t terribly well written. Lots of inconsistencies and illogical things and too little background info for my taste. It’s a middle grade/YA post-apocalyptic SF with lots of good ideas, but not so great execution. Not for everyone I’m sure.
Somebody mentioned that "Women authors aren't talked about enough" Somebody's talking about them because Women practically swept the major sci-fi and fantasy awards this year and I think they took most of them last year.
That's true, Don, but give it time. My cynicism tells me that we'll be having the "where did all these women in SFF come from, and where have they been all this time" conversation again. And again. New readers will think that Ann Leckie and NK Jemisin were the only women SFF authors who existed in the 2010s. (admittedly better than Le Guin being the "there can be only one woman" from the 1970s.)On the topic! Speaking of NK Jemisin. :D After a failed attempt at the 7th book in the First Law world, A Little Hatred* I've started The Shadowed Sun. I read the first Dreamblood book seven years ago (!) and decided it was time to finally, actually finish one of Jemisin's series. I didn't remember much or any of the politics of this world so it's taken a little time to get into it, but I'm already intrigued by the characters.
*depending on how things go, I may join the group for the first book mid-November.
Also: I saw a spam! My first time. And it was gone very shortly after I saw it. Cheers to the mods who make sure our threads aren't billboards.
Beth wrote: "(admittedly better than Le Guin being the "there can be only one woman" from the 1970s.)"I’ve never heard anyone say this.
Nor have I. It's more of a pattern I've seen over the decades, and sure, selective memory and subjectivity come into it. Take your gotcha.
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Did it come with spam and eggs?
Yes, there was a VERY BRIEF AND UNUSUAL window of time today where the castle was undefended. But Anna's spidey-sense kicked in. I was stuck in a meeting and couldn't get to a phonebooth in time to act, but our friendly neighborhood webmistress was on the job!
I do understand what you're saying about the cyclic nature of people re-wrting history, Beth, and especially the use of exceptional examples to demonstrate whatever point they're trying to make. It is tedious. Cut it however you want, there is work to do.
And now to bring myself back into compliance with my own strictures, Midnight's Children seems to have taken a left turn that I don't know I enjoy. Trying to power through it so I can move on to my next audio, but it is a lot to hear about snot and incestuous desire over and over.
After some rather underwhelming reading experiences I am glad I had three wins in a row.Too Like the Lightning gets a special place for my first ever DNF'd novel. (and after feeling the almost physical relief of this action I will probably allow myself more dnfing in the future). The author might have had good ideas, but they were completely ruined for me by the use of an (unnecessarily) forced artificial prose that felt more like an attempt in trying to impress than entertain.
Our BotM Gods of Jade and Shadow was the exact opposite prose-wise. I found myself not being able to connect to the story because of its simplicity.
Yeah, I know, there seems to be no pleasing me.
But then I read:
A Fire Upon the Deep in my read-award-winners challenge. And was positively surprised by the mindboggling ideas of the physics of the worldbuilding in one plotline and the social structure in the other plotline. From hard SF to medieval, almost Fantasy feeling.
Cloud Atlas was a beautiful book! An experiment in structure that worked so well. Six stories from six eras (1850ies till far future) interrupted by each other and interwoven with tiny recurring details.
The author managed to give each story its own style and the narrators of the audiobook underlined this even more. I highly recommend the audio here.
Finally this morning I finished our Earthsea read with The Other Wind. I read the whole series aloud with my boys and it was such a delight to witness their interest in it. Now there are only four short stories left in the collection (I was already told in no uncertain terms that I have to read the essays on my own :D).
It was exciting to see how Le Guin's style and take on characters changed with the years (the series spans over 30 years of her career). Personally I like the second three better than the first trilogy.
Beth, I will admit to "consciously having to adjust for gender bias regarding authors in Sci-fi-Fantasy". Let's hope the positive trend for women continues.Currently reading Mo Rocca's "Mobituaries"... which is phenomenal, informative and funny. The book dropped a nugget I can barely believe and I'm too tired to work it out right now... One of Rocca's unfavorite past presidents Tyler I think, was born in 1790 and currently has a living Grandson! this book just came out! I don't use the word gobsmacked but that's what I was.
Mary Stewart was kind of a big deal in the 70's in SF/Fantasy
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I am trying not to take Swords and Deviltry personally, but so far I think Fafhrd is a dbag and I am so confused by the writing.
Listening to Scott Lynch's The Republic of Thieves and feeling much safer in Camorr, which is...telling lol
Midnight's Children was educational and I think the ideas and writing were excellent, but as a book it was hard for me to connect with.
is also reading "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang and it's pretty good so far. mindbender short stories.
Gabi wrote: "After some rather underwhelming reading experiences I am glad I had three wins in a row.Too Like the Lightning gets a special place for my first ever DNF'd novel. (and after feeli..."
It’s nice to be able to let go like that, isn’t it? Welcome to the next phase of your reading life.
I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but one rule of thumb professional book reviewers use to determine whether they will continue with a book is “100 pages minus your age.” So for me that’s 46 pages a book has to grab me. I also use the “random sample from halfway” just to see if the book maintains that level.
As for Too Like, you made the right call. That’s a garbage book. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Not quite on the longevity scale of Tyler, but Oscar Wilde was born in the 1850’s and his grandson is also alive and an author. Wilde’s son was born in the late 1880’s, I believe, and the grandson was born in the 1940’s. I remember reading that about Tyler, and I believe both him and his son each had kids in their 70’s or somewhere around there.
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I agree and this is the second time a Neil Gaiman recommended book has failed me. {Yes, I mean you Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell!}
Bruce wrote: "Not quite on the longevity scale of Tyler, but Oscar Wilde was born in the 1850’s and his grandson is also alive and an author. Wilde’s son was born in the late 1880’s, I believe, and the grandson ..."Horny old men, amirite?
My family is the same way. I’ll have to ask my dad about exact dates, but I’m fairly positive his grandfather was born at least 150 years ago.
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I agree and this is the second time a..."
I liked JS&MN haha but it's almost as far from S&D as you can get--very opposite poles, with, I guess the midpoint at "women are useless jewels that must be protected and feared for some reason."
I've just finished Sanctuary by V.V. James and I can definitely recommend it. I think it might be a good fit for this group, as there is of course the fantasy element of witchcraft, and also lots of themes surrounding tolerance, diversity, and consent. And it's a real page-turner, too!
Allison wrote: "Whoa! That's some impressive longevity! I am trying not to take Swords and Deviltry personally, but so far I think Fafhrd is a dbag and I am so confused by the writing.
"
I haven't read this but truly Fafhrd must be the silliest name ever. How do you pronounce it?
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I am trying not to take Swords and Deviltry personally, but so far I think Fafhrd is a dbag and I am so confused by the writin..."
haha! I've been saying Fafferd and meanly whispering a crude nickname.
Okay, I got curious enough to g**gle it.In a comment section:"One of the funniest instances I've ever seen is from Fritz Lieber's long series of "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser" tales. Out of the blue, in a later story, the Mouser is walking along when he turns to Fafhrd and asks him, "So, how *do* you pronounce your name, anyway?" Which allows his barbarian buddy to explain." Great, that clears things up.
The first search result: "something like "Faf-erd" but with a throaty aspirate associated with the second syllable".
A couple years ago I talked with an author I know irl and pronounced one of her characters' name in what was probably a terrible mangled way. Me, sheepishly: "not sure if I got that right." She, confidently: "Yep, that is exactly right." In other words, any reader's pronunciation is right. So, there you go. tldr: Fafhrd is pronounced however you think it is.
Beth wrote: "tldr: Fafhrd is pronounced however you think it is."“Gary.”
Haha. That reminds me of your list of Snow Queen pronunciations in the S&L thread. :D
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It is indeed in the book itself, Swords and Deviltry, chapter "Ill Met in Lankhmar":“Name's Fafhrd. Ef ay ef aitch ar dee."....
“Excuse me, but how exactly do you pronounce that? Faf-hrud?"
“Just Faf-erd."
But, but, Fafhrd says his own name as the second word in that quote, so why would the second character ask how it is pronounced? My brain!
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(I am joking because I keep having stumbling blocks like that. Stayed up til 1 am trying to figure out how you do a backhanded uppercut. A friend said "magic" and I was finally able to go to sleep.)
I was in search for some more female authors and chose the The Night Tiger on a whim. What a nice surprise - it hit exactly that sweet spot!Now I try to continue the run with the next female author: The Ninth Rain So far so good, plus it features a 40ish female protagonist!
Allison wrote: "....Stayed up til 1 am trying to figure out how you do a backhanded uppercut. A friend said "magic" and I was finally able to go to sleep...."Hah :D Glad that didn't keep you up all night.
Beth wrote: "But, but, Fafhrd says his own name as the second word in that quote, so why would the second character ask how it is pronounced? My brain!"
Dang good point 🤔 makes no sense. (I wonder if it's in the audiobook; if anyone noticed whilst recording.)
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