Your TBRs

[[deleted user]]

I mean, Prime Meridian is about space travel and going to Mars, so I mean...I would count it.
But I admit, I'm a complete Space Opera newbie.

[Phileas]

ONYX wrote: "2. SEEKING RECOMMENDATION for a space opera novella written by an African-descended author. I'm aware of the Binti trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor. But not sure of anything else off the top of my head."

By its description The Ballad of Beta 2 by Delany sounds like a space opera. It was nominated for the Nebula as best novella.

[CAP]

My TBR! The only books I don't own are Artificial Condition and Ancestral Night. I'm excited to get through some books on my shelf!

Novella(+2A): Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

2A: Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear

2B: Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

Before I was born: Solaris by Stanisław Lem

500+ pages: Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

[ReadBecca]

ONYX wrote: "Still working on my TBR and need some help:

1. Would you consider Prime Meridian by Silvia Moreno Garcia a space opera. I think the answer is no, but I want it to be yes. So, if there's a chance, ..."

I think Empire Star by Delaney would count. You might also check the Novella long list from the NOMMO awards, and AfroSF collections as they have some novella length works.

[Paula]

I know better than to commit to a complete TBR since I'm a mood reader, but I'm starting out with:

1. The Ghost Fleet -for my novella
2. Fortune's Pawn- Rachel Bach-Space Opera by a female author

I'm considering Dune for my 500+page/written before you were born prompts. It was first published in '66 and I was born at the end of The Summer of Love in '67.


Other options pulled off the shelves are Ancillary Sword, The Ship Who Sang, Red Mars, Dark Run, Ninefox Gambit and A Fire Upon the Deep. Any objections or squeals of delight for any of those? Some of these look like serious commitments. Thank God for audiobooks. I'd also really like to read User of Weapons by Iain M. Banks. I read Player of Games for my N.E.W.T.S. last month.

[Maija]

Reija wrote: "I mean, Prime Meridian is about space travel and going to Mars, so I mean...I would count it.
But I admit, I'm a complete Space Opera newbie."

Njeri and Reija, I've read Prime Meridian, it's set in Mexico City. It's mostly about Mars as a dream: the way Mars is used in movies and other fiction, and how humanity (and the MC, Amelia) focuses a lot of dreams of possibility on Mars.

[Bruna]

A little late, but here is my tentative and subject to change TBR:

The entire Murderbot series by Martha Wells (what has been released so far), but only counting one for the novella challenge.

A Close and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers, counting for the diversity and the female author challenges.

Might read Dune for over 500 pages and before I was born challenges, but I am not sure.

I also want to read:

Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray
The Caphenon by Fletcher DeLancey (this one has diversity and it is over 500 pages)

[Llyren]

Paula wrote: "I know better than to commit to a complete TBR since I'm a mood reader, ...
Other options pulled off the shelves are Ancillary Sword, The Ship Who Sang, Red Mars, Dark Run, Ninefox Gambit and A Fire Upon the Deep. Any objections or squeals of delight for any of those?"

I'd squeal for "The Ship Who Sang" because of nostalgic reasons - it's one of the books I read and loved in my youth (haven't read it for a while though). It's certainly a fast read.
I love Ninefox Gambit (and the complete trilogy) so I'd definitely recommend it but it's not that easy to get into. And although I really like the audio book speaker, I'm not sure how well I'd do listening to it for the first time.
Ancillary Sword would be my third pick - definitely fits Space Opera and you could continue a series...
Just my two cents ;-)

[Natalie]

Hi Everyone! Later to the challenge, but excited for this month.
My TBR:
1: The Tea Master and the Detective - Aliette de Bodard
2A: An Ancient Peace - Tanya Huff
2B: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers
3: 2001: A Space Odyssey (need to finally read this classic!)
4: The Dreaming Void - Peter F. Hamilton

[algirlithm]

Hello! I am late to post and late on some of my sci-fi. I figure this will be a fun way to catch up. Here are some of my TBR considerations:


1. Artificial Condition (not sure if this counts) or The Tea Master and the Detective
2a. A Memory Called Empire and Ancestral Night
2b. Babel-17 or Ninefox Gambit
3. Dune (or Babel-17)
4. Seveneves (or Ancestral Night)

I am not certain which track I will be on as I will see how the reading goes and let my reading tastes of the moment dictate my choices. :)

[Erin]

My TBR!

The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard: My friend Anna, who is also doing this readathon, shared this novella in their announcement video and it looked great, so I picked it up. This is my first time reading de Bodard. This meets: a novella, written by a woman, a diverse author with diverse characters.

Dune by Frank Herbert: I have never read this! It is very long! Also never saw the movie. I've had this on my Kindle for a while, so it's finally time to tackle it. This meets: over 500 pages (LOL) and published before I was born.

Star Trek: The Gold Key Archives Vol 1 and 2: TOS is my favorite Trek, and I've read the first volume before, but wanted to start over again. I'm basically reading this so I can get four books in :) This also meets the published before I was born challenge.

Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers #3) by Becky Chambers: I just read the first two books, and absolutely loved them. So it's time to read the last one! This meets: written by a woman.

Even though I am going the pirate route, I very much want to stay in the Federation please :)

[Doug]

Here's my TBR:

Tiamat's Wrath - James S.A. Corey (C4 - 534 pages)
Binti - Nnedi Okorafor (C1 & C2A/C2B)
A Closed and Common Orbit - Becky Chambers (C2A and C2B)
Foundation - Isaac Asimov (C3 - 1951, I was born in 1975)

Let me know if I'm off on any of these.

[Julián]

Doug Metoyer wrote: "Here's my TBR:

Tiamat's Wrath - James S.A. Corey (C4 - 534 pages)
Binti - Nnedi Okorafor (C1 & C2A/C2B)
A Closed and Common Orbit - Becky Chambers (C2A and C2B)
Foundation - Isaac Asimov (C3 - 195..."

I am new to all the books I am reading now. May I know why Binti is part of the Challenge 2B?

[Adam]

I'm new to these kinds of challenges, but I'm excited to join in the fun.

I do have one minor quirk to my list, that I hope isn't a problem, I had just started reading my over 500 page novel at the very end of August. I was 2 chapters in, so I still had over 500 pages to go, but if that's against the rules, please let me know.

Challenge 1, 2A (space opera novella, two space operas by women) - All Systems Red or Binti, Ancillary Justice
Challenge 2B, 3 (space opera by a diverse author, space opera before I was born) - Nova
Challenge 4 (space opera over 500 pgs) - Revelation Space

[Jordan]

I'm going to read the following:

This book is a really good overview of how space opera as a genre developed. I'm going to read the novella "Enchantress of Venus" by Leigh Brackett. It's copyright 1949, and originally appeared in the pulp magazine Planet Stories. I was born in 1983, so this checks off the following challenge criteria:

* Read a space opera novella
* Read two space operas by women
* Read a space opera published before you were born

This one has been on my TBR for a long time. I was actually planning to read it this year no matter what, so this challenge just effectively bumped it up in the queue. Aside from being a space opera novel, I'm not aware if this truly hits any of the objectives. But that's ok. Gotta have a free square, right?

I'm going to read this as an e-book, but the hardcover of this book is just over 500 pages. So, again, another TBR book to clear off, this time a behemoth. I wish there was an audible version of this one so I could switch between reading and listening.

* Read a space opera 500 pages or longer

I picked this one up as an e-book discount, and was intrigued by the premise. I'm really looking forward to Solomon's collaboration with clipping. (The Deep), so this will be an interesting style exploration.

* Read two space operas by women
* Read a space opera by a diverse author featuring a diverse protagonist and/or major characters

[Shannon (That's So Poe)]

Julián, in response to your question above about Binti, it counts for 2B, the diverse author with diverse protagonist, because it's written by an author of color about a protagonist of color. I think the 2B category is pretty vague ("diverse") on purpose to allow people to interpret however they see fit, but generally it would include authors from non-dominant social categories (non-white, non-western, non-English speaking, neurodiverse, disabled, etc.).

Julián wrote: "Doug Metoyer wrote: "Here's my TBR:

Tiamat's Wrath - James S.A. Corey (C4 - 534 pages)
Binti - Nnedi Okorafor (C1 & C2A/C2B)
A Closed and Common Orbit - Becky Chambers (C2A and C2B)
Foundation - I..."

[Stephanie]

Still working on my TBR, thinking I'll update this post as I go :)

Falcon by Emma Bull (finished)
Dune by Frank Herbert (finished)
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon (finished)

Next up:
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

others TBD. excited!

[Julián]

That's So Poe wrote: "Julián, in response to your question above about Binti, it counts for 2B, the diverse author with diverse protagonist, because it's written by an author of color about a protagonist of color. I thi..."

Oh i see now, thanks for the information! Yes the term diverse is kind of vague, but now I understand the idea.

[Winx]

I've only got three books on my TBR for Space Opera Sept, but we'll see if I end up adding another later in the month. :P

For now, my TBR includes:

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Ancillary Sword by Ann Lecke
Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

My entire TBR for the month is on my channel: https://youtu.be/oxjcM7ml0sc

Happy reading, everyone! :)

[Lucie]

My potential TBR (I'm very prone to changing my mind...):

1 and 2A: A novella: All Systems Red, by Martha Wells
2B: A diverse author with diverse characters: An Unkindness of Ghosts, by Rivers Solomon
3: Published before I was born: Consider Phlebas, by Iain M. Banks
4: More than 500 pages: Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

[Doug]

Julián wrote: "Doug Metoyer wrote: "Here's my TBR:

Tiamat's Wrath - James S.A. Corey (C4 - 534 pages)
Binti - Nnedi Okorafor (C1 & C2A/C2B)
A Closed and Common Orbit - Becky Chambers (C2A and C2B)
Foundation - I..."

The author is black in America, she also has scoliosis (disability diversity). I think both qualify. Protagonist is African and the first of her community to do what she's doing as well as being of the 5% of humans that attend the University. Hope this answers you well enough :

[Kaa]

Just a general FYI, I don't think Rivers Solomon identifies as a woman.

[Jordan]

Looking at Rivers Solomon’s website for work as a sensitivity reader, they list themselves as a “... a non-binary/agender woman whose primary relationships have only been with women.” I’m unsure if they’ve revised that self-description, but that could be interpreted as describing themselves as a woman.

Source: https://www.riverssolomon.com/hireme

[Kaa]

I'd missed that page, thanks! I knew they were non-binary/agender, but couldn't find anything about whether they described themselves as a woman.

[Jordan]

No problem! It’s proper to not presume. It can be hard sometimes to be aware of these things, especially for a public figure like an author.

[Asa]

A bit late to the party with my tbr, but here goes

1. The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
2. Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany
3. 2001 A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
4. Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky

I might switch out 2001 A Space Odyssey for a book written by a female author (to fulfill all the reading goals) because technically book 2 on my list already completes the third challenge (read a book that was published before you were born), or if I feel like reading more, I might try to add an extra book to the list.

Other booksthat I might consider:
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
Noumenon by Marina J. Lostetter
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (beeen wanting to read this for years)
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente (tried to read this before and kinda just gave up... but I still want to read it)

[Jurrica]

I just bought Black Leopard Red Wolf and The Traitor Baru Cormorant, so i'll only be reading two books for this challenge so I can hurry and devour these two.

Books for the challenge : The Mirror Empire and Dune.
I'm very excited about this since I have (shamefully) never read a space opera before.

[Szymon]

Here's my TBR, which (if I manage to finish) should cover all the challenges:

[Julián]

Szymon wrote: "Here's my TBR, which (if I manage to finish) should cover all the challenges:

[bookcover:Artificial Condi..."

Just for curiousity, how do you add the image of the the cover so it has the link to the page of the book?

[Szymon]

I clicked "add book/author" and in the search window switched to the "cover" option. The link after inserting looks like this: "bookcover:Nova|85863" (but in brackets). Does that help?

[Julián]

Szymon wrote: "I clicked "add book/author" and in the search window switched to the "cover" option. The link after inserting looks like this: "bookcover:Nova|85863" (but in brackets). Does that help?"

Sure. I learnt sth new, Thanks!

[Maija]

Trust me to forget to link to my TBR video here! A bit late, but here it is:

https://youtu.be/NrYVNCoX64c

[Thomas]

Jurrica wrote: "I just bought Black Leopard Red Wolf and The Traitor Baru Cormorant, so i'll only be reading two books for this challenge so I can hurry and devour these two.

Books for the challenge : The Mirror..."

Hey Jurrica! Sorry to be a party pooper, but The Mirror Empire is fantasy, and so it won't really work for this readathon, I'm sorry! :-( I hope you enjoy Dune, though!

[BookNerdTV]

This is my first read-a-thon! Sci Fi is my jam so naturally I am excited to participate!

My books:
1 Space Opera Novella - All Systems Red by Martha Wells

2a Space Opera by a Woman - Eggheads by Emily Devenport

3 Space Opera published before I was born - Foundation by Isaac Asimov

4 Space Opera over 500 pages - ???

I’m having a great time reading these books! Thanks Thomas!

[Kerry]

A question for Thomas, if he sees this.

I'm currently reading An Earthly Crown for my book >500 pages. I'm really enjoying it, but while it has space empires in it (something my personal old-person definition of space opera needs), it's looking like it will be all planet bound. Kate Elliott and the first book in this series, Jaran, were on the author's list, but I'm not really sure if I can call his space opera and have it count.

Could I get a ruling on that, please?

If I need to start another >500 page book, I need to know sooner rather than later. If I do, I'll probably go with Tiamat's Wrath by James S. A. Corey.

Thanks.

[Hanna]

I was a bit late on the ball, started my reading about a week in to September, and never thought to post my TBR here. I did however spend a gleeful day and a half pouring over all ya'lls posts and hunting down suitable books for the different challenges. Such fun!

What I ended up with in the end was this:

Babel-17 by Samuel R Delaney
To Be Taught If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
The Outside by Ada Hoffman
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

I'm a slow reader, we'll see if I manage to finish all of them. Still, I'm enjoying the heck out of both my books and following along with everyone else's reading. :)

[Thomas]

Kerry wrote: "A question for Thomas, if he sees this.

I'm currently reading An Earthly Crown for my book >500 pages. I'm really enjoying it, but while it has space empires in it (something my pers..."

I'm willing to let An Earthly Crown count, since the overall series I think is well qualified as space opera. But if you're still unsure, nothing wrong with Tiamat's Wrath.

[Crusader]

1: Read a space opera novella — Unlocks SHUTTLECRAFT : Walking to Aldebaran ✔
2A: Read two space operas by women — Unlocks FIGHTER: All Systems Red ✔ + Hunting Party ✔
3: Read a space opera published before you were born — Unlocks EXPLORER: Sundiver ✔
4: Read a space opera 500 pages or longer — Unlocks DREADNAUGHT - Skyward ✔

[Kerry]

Thank you, Thomas. I will stick with An Earthly Crown as I'm enjoying it and can't really face starting another long book this week. The events on planet are moving on tge plot for when characters go back into space, so the overall story is progressing.

[Darlene]

Late to the TBR game as I am getting the books all from the library. Here's the list from which to choose:
All Systems Red by Martha Wells (done!)
The Stars My Destination by A. Bester
Hunting Party (Original whole book-- Henris Serrano series) Elizabeth Moon
Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
Old Man's War by J. Scalzi
Terminal Uprising by Jim C. Hines
Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

[Strange Weather]

1. All Systems Red - Martha Wells

2. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - Becky Chambers
Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie

3. Dune - Frank Herbert

4. Leviathan Wakes - James S.A. Corey