2020 TBR Cleanup Challenge

[Atlanta]

@mareik options would work as in its open to interpretation?

[Gabi]

Atl, I think, whatever works with this prompt is okay, no matter how you interpret it. For myself I will wait and see what other folks read for this prompt and will steal one of those including their reason for choosing it since I can't wrap my mind around the concept of memes.

[Mareike]

Atl wrote: "@mareik options would work as in its open to interpretation?"

Yes, exactly.

[Atlanta]

@gab ok :)

[Pandora]

Dj wrote: "Pandora wrote: "◇ Inspired by a meme: The Raven and the Reindeer..."

Okay, I found the book to steal. A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet..."

Happy to help!
Aw it's so nice to be stolen from ^-^

[Anna]

Yes, all prompts are open to interpretation! :)

[Atlanta]

So steal means off someone else’s listv

[Pandora]

Atl wrote: "So steal means off someone else’s listv"

It means whatever you want it to mean. I chose a book that has the word "steal" in the title and a character that steals something, but I also considered literally stealing (temporarily) a book from my sister's library. You are free to take the words of the prompts and interpret them as you like! It's part of the fun! :D

[Atlanta]

Pandor oh boy

[CBRetriever]

.
.
2020 TBR Cleanup Challenge

Time to go through your TBR and find books to read in 2020! As in previous years, we are supplying prompts, you supply the books that fit them. Please feel free to interpret each prompt however you see fit, and do tell us why you chose each book!

1. Inspired by a meme
__Wild Cards I by George R.R. Martin et al
__http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3v8bu8
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win)
__Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
__Nominated for Locus Award and World Fantasy Award and didn't win any major award
3. Small publisher
__Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk
__JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc
4. Relationship between humans/animals
__The Book of Jhereg by Steven Brust
__The jhereg is a companion animal with a snarky tone - https://dragaera.fandom.com/wiki/Jher...
5. Recommended by a public figure
__Conan the Barbarian from The Works of Robert E. Howard
__recommended by George R.R. Martin here https://grrm.livejournal.com/316785.html
6. Steal from someone else
__The Dragonback Series Books 1–3: Dragon and Thief, Dragon and Soldier, and Dragon and Slave by Timothy Zahn
__Main character is a thief
7. Makes you wonder
__Pride and PrejudicePride and Prejudice from Jane Austen: The Complete Works
__I've always wondered why this book is so popular
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme
__Artemis by Andy Weir
__February 2018 Sci Fi poll
9. #ownvoices
__Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Russian Science Fiction and Fantasy
__A collection of Russian Science Fiction by Russians
10. Won a smaller or regional award
__The Little Country by Charles De Lint
__The Aurora Awards for Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy
11. What a title?!
__Dinner at Deviant's Palace by Tim Powers
__especially because of the blood-sucking hemogoblins
12. Published in a memorable year
__The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells
__published in 2011 and we know why that year's important
13. #relatable
__Petroleum by Albert Lidgett
__[the industry I worked in for most of my life and it's time to know something of the ancient history of it.
14. Seven or Twenty
__[book:Sword-Bound: A Novel of Tiger and Del|18210699] by Jennifer Roberson - Sword-Bound: A Novel of Tiger and Del
__7th book in the series which means I'll have to read the whole series for the first time in Kindle format
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages
__The Red Badge of Courage from Complete Works of Stephen Crane
__Dialect used in conversations
16. Pushing the boundaries
__All Flesh is Grass by Clifford Simak
__One of the first novels about communal captivity
17. The next [insert popular series here]
__The Crown Tower
__The next [Fafhyrd & the Grey Mouser]
18. LOLed IRL
__Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible by David Plotz
__I read a bunch of the blogs that turned into this book and I LOL'd and I've had this on my TBR pile for quite a while
19. Seen in an ad or on social media
__Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
__mentioned on boingboing.net
20. Hindsight is 20/20
__The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam by Barbara Tuchman
__makes me wonder about the human propensity towards war

[Gabi]

I love you, CBRetriever! You're the one I'll nick the meme prompt off, since I got this story collection from tor as well and that's perfect.

[CBRetriever]

yeah, I'd been boycotting that series because of the non-completion of the GoT books until Tor offered it for free. It might also work for the Short stoies content?

[Gabi]

@CBRetriever: definitely a good candidate for the short stories challenge!

[Bobby]

1. Inspired by a meme - Catseye
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win) - A Closed and Common Orbit
3. Small publisher - Unsouled
4. Relationship between humans/animals - The Emperor's Blades
5. Recommended by a public figure - Annihilation
6. Steal from someone else - The Rage of Dragons
7. Makes you wonder - Sleeping Giants
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme - Strange the Dreamer
9. #ownvoices - Gideon the Ninth
10. Won a smaller or regional award - Promise of Blood
11. What a title?! - The Grey Bastards
12. Published in a memorable year - Retribution Falls
13. #relatable - I Am the Messenger
14. Seven or Twenty - The Reluctant Swordsman
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages - Leviathan Wakes
16. Pushing the boundaries - Beyond Redemption
17. The next [insert popular series here] - Hounded
18. LOLed IRL - Fuzzy Nation
19. Seen in an ad or on social media - Limited Wish
20. Hindsight is 20/20 - The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

Explanations:
(view spoiler)[1. Reminds me of the Woman yelling at a cat meme.
2. Nominated for 3 awards and didn't win.
3. Hidden Gnome Publishing only publishes Will Wight's books
4. I believe one of the characters rides a giant bird.
5. Recommended by Stephen King
6. Several other people mentioned it and I couldn't find anywhere else to put it so I'll use it for this one.
7. I'm really wondering what is going on from the blurb, so I think it fits.
8. Works for the Lost Civilizations poll a few months back
9. I just found out that the author is lesbian, as is the main character, and this one was already very high on my TBR list.
10. Won the David Gemmell Morningstar award
11. That title definitely stands out.
12. Published the year I graduated college
13. The blurb says he's utterly devoted to his dog, so definitely this one.
14. The series is the Seventh Sword.
15. From other people using Expanse novels, it sounds like this one will work.
16. This book is apparently very dark so I'm sure it will push some boundaries for me.
17. The next Dresden Files? I always see it recommended as the next Urban Fantasy to read after Dresden Files, so I think it should work here.
18. The title had me intrigued, and then I saw the cover and laughed, thinking a small fuzzy person was pointing a gun at this serious looking spaceship pilot. When I zoomed in I realized there wasn't a gun, but it still got a laugh out of me either way.
19. I'll admit I couldn't think of anything so I went to Mark Lawrence's Twitter just to see if he had anything, and it looks like he retweets anytime someone mentions his books so I found this pretty quick.
20. Someone who has had multiple lives probably makes some good use of hindsight.
(hide spoiler)]

[Atlanta]

This will be my place holder

1. Inspired by a meme Old Man's War by John Scalzi
As I was reading it I thought of the whole "ok, boomer" meme trend. This book is about soldiers who would otherwise be dismissed because of their age.

2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win)
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
It was nominated for both the Hugo and the Locus award and got neither.

3. Small publisher
The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction by Ellen Datlow
I don’t know how small the publisher is, but it’s small to me.
4. Relationship between humans/animals
5. Recommended by a public figure
6. Steal from someone else
7. Makes you wonder
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme
9. #ownvoices
10. Won a smaller or regional award
11. What a title?!
12. Published in a memorable year
13. #relatable
14. Seven or Twenty
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages
16. Pushing the boundaries
17. The next [insert popular series here]
18. LOLed IRL
19. Seen in an ad or on social media
20. Hindsight is 20/20

[Dj]

Diane wrote: "I’m a sucker. I gave up on the TBR challenge for 2019 but I’m not discouraged! Here’s what I was able to fill from my dead-tree shelf:


1.
2.
3. Invocabulary, Gemma Files - Small Press: Aqueduct P..."

Oh I like your next series. Very classic.

[Dj]

Pandora wrote: "Dj wrote: "Pandora wrote: "◇ Inspired by a meme: The Raven and the Reindeer..."

Okay, I found the book to steal. A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet..."

Happy to help!
Aw it's so n..."

So happy to oblige My Lady.

[Dj]

CBRetriever wrote: ".
.
2020 TBR Cleanup Challenge

Time to go through your TBR and find books to read in 2020! As in previous years, we are supplying prompts, you supply the books that fit them. Please feel free to ..."


Jherg, I am going to have to break down and read that series again. It has been long enough that I have vague memories.

March of Folly was a book I really enjoyed. I hope you find it enjoyable as well.

[Dj]

Bobby wrote: "1. Inspired by a meme - Catseye
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win) - A Closed and Common Orbit
3. Small publisher - Unsouled
4. Relationship betwe..."

Leviathan Awakes caught me up so much I am already reading the sequel and have the first season in my DVD queue on Netflix. I am looking forward to seeing the Snarky Grandmother in the live.

[CBRetriever]

Dj wrote: "Jherg, I am going to have to break down and read that series again. It has been long enough that I have vague memories."

I haven't read it in Kindle format so it qualifies as a TBR for me. Actually my list requires

Jhereg = the start of 15 books
Dragonback Series = 3 books
Cloud Roads = start 5 books
Sword Bound is book 7 of a 8 book series

so that's an additional 30 books to read to complete the list

[Dj]

CBRetriever wrote: "Dj wrote: "Jherg, I am going to have to break down and read that series again. It has been long enough that I have vague memories."

I haven't read it in Kindle format so it qualifies as a TBR for ..."

Well, that should keep you out of trouble for a bit. LOL.

[Marie]

1. Inspired by a meme
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win): Trail of Lightning Was nominated for Hugo and Nebula but lost
3. Small publisher
4. Relationship between humans/animals: Skinwalker
5. Recommended by a public figure: Middlesex Oprah
6. Steal from someone else: The Sword of Shannara I stole this idea from another person
7. Makes you wonder: The Sociopath Next Door I often wonder about my neighbors
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme: Doomsday Book Time travel was a theme
9. #ownvoices
10. Won a smaller or regional award: The Sense of an Ending Booker Prize Winner
11. What a title?!: My Life as a White Trash Zombie
12. Published in a memorable year
13. #relatable: It Can't Happen Here Fascism is spreading now
14. Seven or Twenty: Seveneves
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages: English in America: A Linguistic History
16. Pushing the boundaries: Bloody Jack Girl pretends to be a boy to work on a pirate ship
17. The next [insert popular series here]
18. LOLed IRL
19. Seen in an ad or on social media: If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood This book was advertised on various book sites
20. Hindsight is 20/20

[Nicol]

Allison wrote: "1. Inspired by a meme - Demonspawn (based on the necropost meme)
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win) - Everfair (Nebula, Campbell/Astounding, Tiptree/Otherwise)
3..."

Thank you Allison, I am stealing your number 2 and 10 as they are my tbr list already and I had no idea how to figure out what was nominated but didn't win!

[Jemppu]

Nicol wrote: "... I had no idea how to figure out what was nominated but didn't win!"

Just realized, with trying to figure out this challenge, that the nominations and awards are listed on the books' pages (never needed that info before ^^'). But where does one find the group's past nomination themes again?

[Nicol]

Jemppu wrote: "Nicol wrote: "... I had no idea how to figure out what was nominated but didn't win!"

Just realized, with trying to figure out this challenge, that the nominations and awards are listed on the boo..."

When I look at book I just see what they won not what they were nominated for, maybe I was looking at books with no nominations? Lol

There is a hyper link in the first post but Eggyp had this in the spoiler section which really helped me:
08. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme [

We Are Sci-Fi Family (Nov 2019)
Mental Health in Fantasy (Oct 2019)
Space Pirates (Sep 2019)
Lost Civilizations Fantasy (Aug 2019)
Translated Sci-Fi (Jul 2019)
Pride in Fantasy (Jun 2019)
Life Science Fiction (May 2019)
Death Magic (Apr 2019)
All the SciFi Ladies (Mar 2019)
Afrocentric Fantasy (Feb 2019)
You Tell Us: Norse Fantasy (Jan 2019)
You Tell Us: SFWA Grand Master Sci-Fi (Jan 2019)
Fantastical Contracts (Nov 2018)
Language Sci-Fi (Oct 2018)
Own Voices Fantasy (Sep 2018)
Climate Fiction Sci-Fi (Aug 2018)
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Sequel (Jun/Jul 2018)
Graphics Fantasy (May 2018)
Gen Ship, First Landings, Colonial Sci-Fi (Apr 2018)
Steampunk Fantasy (Mar 2018)
Moon Sci-Fi (Feb 2018)
The Wrong Side of the Law Fantasy (Nov 2017)
Detective Sci-Fi (Oct 2017)
New Weird/Slipstream Fantasy (Sep 2017)
Cyberpunk Sci-Fi (Aug 2017)
Underrated Sci-Fi/Fantasy (Jun/Jul 2017)
Contemporary Fantasy (May 2017)
First Contact Sci-Fi (Apr 2017)
World Fantasy Awards (Mar 2017)
Robots, Androids, & Cyborgs Sci-Fi (Feb 2017)

[Jemppu]

Ah, missed that, then. Thank you, Nicol (and Eggyp) ^^

[Helena]

Allison wrote: "16. Pushing the boundaries - The Left Hand of Darkness - I've heard this really is something special and I hope my mind expands for it.."

I am so keen to hear what you think of this one Alison. It's one of my favourite sci fi!

[Kaa]

This hasn't even started and I've already made a swap - for a very positive reason, though! I was able to add Dogs of War for #4 because I finally got my library to order it from ILL for me! I have been trying to find it from a library for almost a year now. (It replaces Spiderlight, another Tchaikovsky...)

[Mareike]

Here's to libraries coming through for us!

[Atlanta]

I just thought of the first one, old mans war for the ok boomer meme ;)

[Raucous]

Atl wrote: "I just thought of the first one, old mans war for the ok boomer meme ;)"

Ohh... Nice one! Kind of mean but very appropriate.

[Dj]

Helena wrote: "Allison wrote: "16. Pushing the boundaries - The Left Hand of Darkness - I've heard this really is something special and I hope my mind expands for it.."

I am so keen to hear what you think of thi..."

The Left Hand of Darkness is one of the books that I keep in a physical copy because it is one of the books that I feel the need to have always.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I'm sure I will love Left Hand of Darkness! Quite eager to get to it, I've been saving it for a rainy day, so to speak :)

[Anna]

Kaa wrote: "14. Seven or Twenty: The Tiger Flu"

I'm going to steal this, even though that means I'll have two books by Larissa Lai on my TBRC list.

[Brittany]

2020 TBR Cleanup
Challenge Start: January 1, 2020
Challenge End: December 31, 2020
19/20


1. Inspired by a meme 1/14
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win) 1/19
3. Small publisher 3/13
4. Relationship between humans/animals 1/1/20
5. Recommended by a public figure 3/28
6. Steal from someone else 4/30
7. Makes you wonder 1/9
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme
9. #ownvoices 1/3
10. Won a smaller or regional award 1/16
11. What a title?! 2/21
12. Published in a memorable year 5/3
13. #relatable 2/17
14. Seven or Twenty 3/17
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages 1/9
16. Pushing the boundaries 3/8
17. The next Little Mermaid: 1/6
18. LOLed IRL: 2/16
19. Seen in an ad or on social media 1/2
20. Hindsight is 20/20 1/4

[Kaa]

@Atl: Hahaha, love it! I feel like John Scalzi would also find that pretty hilarious.

@Anna: Yay! I know we've both been looking for excuses to read that.

[Atlanta]

Can we put one book in two categories or no?

[Atlanta]

Raucous wrote: "Atl wrote: "I just thought of the first one, old mans war for the ok boomer meme ;)"

Ohh... Nice one! Kind of mean but very appropriate."

lol, I didn't come up with the ok boomer thing, I learned about it from a millenial former colleague. I'm a Gen X ;)

[Atlanta]

Kaa wrote: "@Atl: Hahaha, love it! I feel like John Scalzi would also find that pretty hilarious.

@Anna: Yay! I know we've both been looking for excuses to read that."

@Kaa good! :)

[Anna]

Atl wrote: "Can we put one book in two categories or no?"

One prompt per book!

[Leticia]

TBR Cleanup 2020 - February Update

4/15

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


✔️10. Won a smaller or regional award
-
Kalbacher Klapperschlange Winners


11. What a title?!

12. Published in a memorable year
- published in 2011

13. #relatable


14. Seven or Twenty
- Published in July

15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages


✔️16. Pushing the boundaries


17. The next GOT!
OR
- read in an article of books like GOT (https://qz.com/quartzy/1690491/books-...)

18. LOLed IRL
- I heard this is really funny!

✔️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.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

10) Won a smaller or regional award


So, um... does Australia count as a region, or are we talking smaller?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hahaha! With no offense meant to our Australian friends, I would say that you can count it.

[Petar]

Allison wrote: "Hahaha! With no offense meant to our Australian friends, I would say that you can count it."

None taken.

I guess, technically, you could refer to anything that isn't global as regional ;-)

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Petar wrote: "I guess, technically, you could refer to anything that isn't global as regional ;-) "


I think that's fair. :)

(As a side note, the "awards" challenges are always my least favorite.)

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "Petar wrote: "I guess, technically, you could refer to anything that isn't global as regional ;-) "


I think that's fair. :)

(As a side note, the "awards" challenges are always my least favorite.)"

Yikes, this year must be tough for you then, sorry!

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Allison wrote: "Yikes, this year must be tough for you then, sorry!"


It's cool. Every book I read I'll just check their awards status and hope I find one that was nominated twice but didn't win. Once I get that one knocked out I'll start focusing on the other stuff. ;)

[Bobby]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "Allison wrote: "Yikes, this year must be tough for you then, sorry!"


It's cool. Every book I read I'll just check their awards status and hope I find one that was nominated twice but didn't win. ..."
There's always the tried and true method of going through this thread and finding one on somebody else's list that you already had on your TBR.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Bobby wrote: "There's always the tried and true method of going through this thread and finding one on somebody else's list that you already had on your TBR. "


True. I hadn't thought of that, tbh, but mostly because I seem to read stuff different from everyone else... but I'm gonna try and see what I can find. Thanks. ^_^

[Anna]

I didn't look at any awards lists, I just looked at my TBR, at books I wanted to read, and tried to think of prompts they'd match. It's easy to look at the awards section to see how many nominations/wins they have.