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2020 TBR Cleanup Challenge
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Mareike
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Dec 08, 2020 06:12AM
That sounds like a solid plan!
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Coming down the pike, I can see that I will probably only manage one more book for this challenge (maybe 2). So, 12/20.✔3. Small press (Copper Canyon Press) Wild Angels by UK Le Guin
✔5. Recommended by Ursula K. Le Guin: ✔ Embassytown
✔6. Steal from someone else: killing 2 birds with 1 stone - Lavinia, by UKL
✔7. Makes you wonder: A Stitch In Time I wondered a lot when the time travel would actually begin (it was sold to me as a time travel novel). And at a few points I thought, oh here we go, but then at the end it seemed like everything could be explained away as an over-active imagination.
✔8. Fits a nomination theme (Grand Master SF): Cards of Grief
✔9. #ownvoices (LGBT): The Cybernetic Tea Shop
✔10. Small Award (Elgin Award for Poetry Chapbook): The Book of Fly and other poems
✔✔15. Dialect, slang, pidgin: (In hindsight) Forty Thousand in Gehenna. The abandoned azi ended up speaking a sort of pidgin mixed with hand signals and the caliban language of Pattern.
Also, Polar City Blues, where the far future humans speak an extrapolation of English calle "Merrkan".
✔16. Pushing the boundaries (totally stealing from someone who rightly said that even dead Butler is pushing boundaries - this is the next book in the series, read the first already) Kindred
✔19. Seen in an ad or on social media (so so much): The Fifth Season Of course I've heard a ton about this book since before it won the Hugo award 4 years ago. I don't live under a rock. I've just been resisting for some inexplicaple reason.
✔20. Hindsight 20/20: Lavinia (A retelling of the Aeneid by Virgil - totally stole the idea to use this book for this prompt from another challenger - Kari?)
I have prompt no. 12 in progress:
12. Published in a memorable year (2009 - the year my son was born): 1Q84 (published in Japan in 2009) In progress!
Once I finish 1Q84, I'll try to listen to this one:
2. 2+ awards no win: Lock In
Calling this one at 16/20Finished:
1. Inspired by a meme - Redshirts
4. Relationship between humans/animals - His Majesty's Dragon
5. Recommended by a public figure - The Name of the Wind
6. Steal from someone else - The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme - I'm a Gay Wizard
9. #ownvoices - Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
10. Won a smaller or regional award - The Song of Achilles
11. What a title?! - A Natural History of Dragons
12. Published in a memorable year - Downbelow Station
13. #relatable - Record of a Spaceborn Few
14. Seven or Twenty - Rosewater
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages - The Black God's Drums
16. Pushing the boundaries - Gideon the Ninth
18. LOLed IRL - It Devours!
20. Hindsight is 20/20 - Seven Surrenders
DNF'd:
3. Small publisher - The Rage of Dragons
(this counts since I did succeed in getting it off my tbr list)
Didn't read:
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win) - Empire of Sand
7. Makes you wonder - Consider Phlebas
17. The next [insert popular series here] - Tinker
19. Seen in an ad or on social media - There Will Come a Darkness
Woohoo!! That's a whole bunch of books off the tbr-shelf!
Mod
personal goal-owned books only
[9] 7/13 Inspired by a meme- Ack-Ack Macaque (Harambe)
[2] 3/7 Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win)- The Goblin Emperor
[] Small publisher-
[6] 5/30 Relationship between humans/animals- Age of Swords
[10] 7/31 Recommended by a public figure- Parable of the Sower (John Green)
[] Steal from someone else-
[3] 4/2 Makes you wonder- The Mere Wife
[7] 6/14 Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme- A Memory Called Empire
[5] 5/20 #ownvoices- Internment
[] Won a smaller or regional award-
[4] 4/17 What a title?!- The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
[11] 8/5 Published in a memorable year- Green Rider (year I began college)
[14] 8/29 #relatable- Solo
[1] 1/18 Seven or Twenty- Seven Ways We Lie
[] Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages-
[13] 8/12 Pushing the boundaries- Neuromancer
[] The next [insert popular series here]-
[15] 8/30 LOLed IRL- Rip-Off!
[] Seen in an ad or on social media-
[] Hindsight is 20/20-
Melanie wrote: "Pretty sure I'm done with this Challenge for the year..personal goal-owned books only
[9] 7/13 Inspired by a meme- Ack-Ack Macaque (Harambe)
[2] 3/7 Nominated for 2+ awards (did..."
Nice list.
Mod
Melanie wrote: "Thanks. They were all books I already owned and none were disappointments which is always good :)"True that and sometimes a virtual impossibility it would seem. Glad you struck gold.
That’s awesome, Melanie! I am also generally very pleased with the books I actually bought, lo, those many years ago. I had good taste. Lol. Seems you did too!
And I'm done. Switched one out late as I thought there was a good chance that I wouldn't get through SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome in time.1. Inspired by a meme - The Prosperity Gospel: How Scott Morrison won and Bill Shorten lost.
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win) - Terra Nullius.
3. Small publisher - A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy.
4. Relationship between humans/animals - Dogs of War.
5. Recommended by a public figure - The World As It Is: Inside the Obama White House.
6. Steal from someone else - All the Birds in the Sky.
7. Makes you wonder - Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War.
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme - Exilium - From the 2019 TBR Challenge number 20, a graphic or illustrated novel.
9. #ownvoices - Dark Emu - Indigenous Australian.
10. Won a smaller or regional award - The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King—the Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea.
11. What a title?! - I Hate Fairyland, Vol. 1: Madly Ever After.
12. Published in a memorable year - 2312.
13. #relatable - Man's Search for Meaning.
14. Seven or Twenty - A Canticle for Leibowitz - The 7th Hugo Award winner.
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages - Saga, Vol. 1. Arguably reaching a bit here, but there is some unique slang in this series.
16. Pushing the boundaries - Genghis Khan.
17. The next True Blood (ie, the next series that I will not bother to continue on with unless it improves with this book) - Devil Said Bang.
18. LOLed IRL - Witches Abroad.
19. Seen in an ad or on social media - We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy.
20. Hindsight is 20/20 - Time and Time Again.
And done!! This is the first time since I joined this group two years ago that I managed to finish a TBR Challenge and I'm a little proud of myself.
Well done, Mareike! You definitely can be proud of yourself!
Final Results: ( the books I didn't read will remain in my TBR)✔️1. Inspired by a meme
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win)
by Steven Erikson__Nominated for Locus Award and World Fantasy Award and didn't win any major award
3. Small publisher
4. Relationship between humans/animals
✔️5. Recommended by a public figure
A Booktuber, called Emily Fox.
✔️6. Steal from someone else
- because it is a Retelling ✔️7. Makes you wonder
✔️8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme
October 2019 Mod Curated Sci-Fi -
✔️9. #ownvoices
New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color
✔️10. Won a smaller or regional award
- Kalbacher Klapperschlange Winners
11. What a title?!
12. Published in a memorable year
- published in 201113. #relatable
✔️14. Seven or Twenty
- Published in July15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages
✔️16. Pushing the boundaries
17. The next GOT!
read in an article of books like GOT (https://qz.com/quartzy/1690491/books-...)✔️18. LOLed IRL
✔️19. Seen in an ad or on social media
- a Booktuber recommended this.✔️20. Hindsight is 20/20 -
- I think this is one of the books I most heard about in the last 20 years, so I have to read it.
Woot! Yay, Mareike!! I’m very impressed and you read a lot of interesting books, too. I’m disappointed that Terrorists of Irustan was such a dud. I remember hearing about it ages ago and it got praise. The 80s were a different time, huh?
Thanks, Diane! Yeah, that book was....disappointing. A lot of unexamined biases that have plagued white Western feminism for a while.
With just a few days left I've finally finished this challenge. Since the last post I've read:✔︎ 5. Recommended by a public figure: The Murderbot Diaries: Books 1-4 ("I love Murderbot" - Ann Leckie; "We are all a little bit Murderbot.” – Jason Sheehan, NPR)
✔︎ 10. Won a smaller or regional award: Bridge of Birds (1986 Mythopoeic Award - Best Fantasy)
✔︎ 16. Pushing the boundaries: The Core of the Sun (... of chile pepper addiction)
✔︎ 17. The next Wheel of Time: Green Rider (for readers with less epic attention spans)
Progress: 20/20
The full list for the year can be found at: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Raucous! 😄 How did you like Sinisalo? I like her ideas but don’t personally enjoy her writing. I liked the media excerpts in Core.
Thank you!I found The Core of the Sun a captivating read. I can see some of what you mean about her writing from a stylistic standpoint ("workmanlike" came to mind) but it worked for me in this book. The media excerpts were... frightening. That was especially true for the ones that I recognized from other contexts. They were all too, too plausible. Unfortunately.
I was a bit bemused by the chile pepper theme. Here in North America there's a very strong negative correlation between spicy foods and increasing latitude. Looking for chile peppers in the northern United States or especially in Canada outside of a major city? Good luck in your search (I've tried). We can't even grow them here. I get mine shipped in by the case. So it did weird things to my geographic culinary expectations to read a book set in Finland with lovingly described chile peppers. She clearly did her research there.
Hmm, I know chili grows fine here in the summer, but maybe not all varieties? I know that there are freaky chili enthusiasts here who grow all kinds of super hot chilis, but they probably have some special setup I know nothing about. I don't mean freaky like in the book, just normal freaky :DWorkmanlike describes her style well. It's easy and quick to read, but I don't connect to it emotionally. Of course I've never read her in English, so I'm not sure if it's different.
I made a lot of substitutions, and finally finished the challenge by subbing in Gideon the Ninth for the 20/20 Hindsight category. It felt appropriate for the book itself, as well as my initial hesitance about it, which I'm glad I overcame.Here's my final list:
1. Inspired by a meme: The Murders of Molly Southbourne
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win): On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
3. Small publisher: Seven of Infinities
4. Relationship between humans/animals: Dogs of War
5. Recommended by a public figure: Don't Call Us Dead
6. Steal from someone else: Network Effect
7. Makes you wonder: A Night in the Lonesome October
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme: The Prey of Gods
9. #ownvoices: Moon of the Crusted Snow
10. Won a smaller or regional award: Her Body and Other Parties
11. What a title?!: The Trans Space Octopus Congregation: Stories
12. Published in a memorable year: Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders
13. #relatable: After Atlas
14. Seven or Twenty: The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages: Lagoon
16. Pushing the boundaries: For colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
17. The next [insert popular series here]: David Mogo, Godhunter
18. LOLed IRL: The Affair of the Mysterious Letter
19. Seen in an ad or on social media: The City We Became
20. Hindsight is 20/20: Gideon the Ninth
Reasons for my picks:
(view spoiler)
Chile peppers and tomatoes are the two things that we've repeatedly failed to grow here. Leafy greens are another story. If it's kale you're yearning for we have what you need. Apples grow well here too.We're in an area with tall trees and are at a higher latitude so it takes a while in the spring for the sun to start hitting the yard. We've also got a strong breeze off the ocean in the summer so it's rarely warmer than the mid-60s F during the day and nearly always below 55 F at night. That last is, I'm told, the killer for tomatoes. They won't set if it's that cold at night. It's a problem for chile peppers too. It's true that we rarely saw either peppers or tomatoes on the plants. The ones that did appear were dwarfed and never ripened.
People who aren't on the water and in a more open location get better results than we do. A greenhouse would help too. There's a good farmers market here so we've just been letting those with better conditions take care of growing those two instead.
I did get pretty attached to the main character in The Core of the Sun but that could have also been because of the whole chile head thing.
Congratulations Kaa!Who will be last to finish? The tension builds...
My mom grows both tomatoes and kale in her garden, both do very well :) But I really am not the gardening type, so I don’t know if she’s unusually lucky or lying. I can’t keep houseplants alive, I only excel at eating plants!Kaa, so much stealing! :D
01 Jan 2021: Finished the 2020 TBR Cleanup Challenge================================================================
1. Inspired by a meme: David Crockett: The Lion of the West (Written to refute the Disneyfication of "♪ ♫♪ Da-a-avy, Davy Crockett...♪ ♫"
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win): The Blade Itself was Locus Award Nominee for Best First Novel (2007), Compton Crook Award Nominee (2008), Tähtifantasia Award Nominee (2010)
3. Small publisher: William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Quark Press
4. Relationship between humans/animals: Flowers for Algernon
5. Recommended by a public figure: Andrew Luck , Leviathan Wakes
6. Steal from someone else: Black Science, Vol. 9 (view spoiler)
7. Makes you wonder -- haha, any Seven Wonders RATB (The Native Star)
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme: The Goblin Emperor (November 2015 Debut)
9. #ownvoices: How Long 'til Black Future Month?
10. Won a smaller or regional award -- The Guns of the South
11. What a title?!: John Dies at the End
12. Published in a memorable year: Changewar, 1983
13. #relatable: Old Man's War
14. Seven or Twenty -- the seventh Tarzan book, Tarzan the Untamed
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages: Brown Girl in the Ring
16. Pushing the boundaries The Calculating Stars
17. The next [insert popular series here]...Thomas Covenant: The Summer Tree
18. LOLed IRL Midnight Riot -- the funny parts were a riot.
19. Seen in an ad or on social media -- The Collapsing Empire
20. Hindsight is 20/20 -- Ursula K. Le Guin, Lavinia
Mod
You finished a challenge within a day of the end of the year!!!! I am giving you a GOLD STAR!! 🥇
Allison wrote: "Michael!!!!!You finished a challenge within a day of the end of the year!!!! I am giving you a GOLD STAR!! 🥇"
YAY!
To all the early completionists, the last minute finishers and to all those who didn't quite make their goals, great job one and all! And thanks to our awesome moderators for always challenging us to be better readers.
I Almoooost finished:1. Inspired by a meme
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win) -----Broken Monsters
3. Small publisher
4. Relationship between humans/animals ----Storm Cursed
5. Recommended by a public figure---- The Consuming Fire
6. Steal from someone else----- The sandman
7. Makes you wonder-----Deathless
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme----- Moon of the Crusted Snow
9. #ownvoices----- Rosewater
10. Won a smaller or regional award------ Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
11. What a title?!, ------Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
12. Published in a memorable year----Clay's Ark
13. #relatable ------The Invisible Library
14. Seven or Twenty ------ The Sisters Brothers
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages -----Spells for the Dead
16. Pushing the boundaries---- The Calculating Stars
17. The next [Wheel of Time] ---The Shadow of What Was Lost
18. LOLed IRL ---You Suck
19. Seen in an ad or on social media ----Station Eleven
20. Hindsight is 20/20------- Paradox Bound
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