2020 TBR Cleanup Challenge

[Dj]

I have finished the first of my 2020 TBR challenge.
Caliban's War


I found this book to be a very good sequel to the first. And it added my new favorite profane character. There is something about a tiny Indian Grandmother searing like a drunken sailor to just make any situation a tad funnier.

I haven't seen the show yet, but I hear that she shows up in the first season there, watching some of the clips of her I can tell the show is different from the books, but no surprise there, she is still quite the hoot.

Now onward and upward to Abbadon's Gate.

[Stephanie]

1. Inspired by a meme
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win) An Accident of Stars
3. Small publisher - Time of Daughters I
4. Relationship between humans/animals The Raven and the Reindeer
5. Recommended by a public figure What Is the What
6. Steal from someone else Lhind the Spy
7. Makes you wonder Lion of Senet
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme Embassytown
9. #ownvoices A Very Large Expanse of Sea
10. Won a smaller or regional award Wizard of the Crow
11. What a title?! Five-Twelfths of Heaven
12. Published in a memorable year - Everfair
13. #relatable The Ugly Stepsister
14. Seven or Twenty Tigana
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages
16. Pushing the boundaries The Dispossessed
17. The next [insert popular series here]
18. LOLed IRL
19. Seen in an ad or on social media The Queen of Nothing
20. Hindsight is 20/20

Explanations: (view spoiler)[
1. ??? this is really difficult
2. Nominated for 3 awards but didn't win
3. Book View Cafe
4. I hear there's a raven
5. Recommended by Barack Obama
6. Main character is a thief
7. I have spent several hours wondering how to make this book fit some criteria on this list
8. Fits the language scifi criteria
9. Muslim author / Muslim MC
10. Tähtifantasia Award (2008)
11. 5/12 is such a random fraction, and how is it related to heaven?
12. Published in 2016 -shudder-
13. Seems likely that I would be an ugly stepsister if I randomly ended up in a fairy tale
14. 7 reviews from friends
15. Skipping this one, I don't like reading in dialects.
16. Le Guin, anarchy, 3 major awards
17. The blurb says it's for fans of "
18. ?? for now
19. ???? ??? ?????
20. I'm not sure that I have anything on my TBR that fits this? I was thinking sci-fi written about a year that's already passed. I suppose I could do general time travel though.
(hide spoiler)]

Completed:
Time of Daughters
Lhind the Spy
Embassytown
Five-Twelfths of Heaven
Tigana

[Lost Planet Airman]

Dj wrote: "I have finished the first of my 2020 TBR challenge.
Caliban's War


I found this book to be a very good sequel to the first. And it added my new f..."

I like your idea of the Belter language fitting the prompt for this -- since I haven't started Leviathan Wakes, can you tell me if it also will fit here?

[CBRetriever]

Does this actually fit?

9. #ownvoices
__Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Russian Science Fiction and Fantasy
__A collection of Russian Science Fiction by Russians

if not, I'll switch to Salsa Nocturna: Stories by Daniel José Older

[Dj]

Mike wrote: "Dj wrote: "I have finished the first of my 2020 TBR challenge.
Caliban's War


I found this book to be a very good sequel to the first. And it add..."


Actually that one might fit more than Caliban's War did. There was very little pidgin in Caliban and more in Leviathan. Of course that might be due to the profane Grandmother in the second taking up so much space. LOL.

[Anna]

CBRetriever wrote: "Does this actually fit?

9. #ownvoices"

Corinne Duyvis, who started #ownvoices, puts it very simply:

As long as the protagonist and the author share a marginalized identity.

She uses the definition found in the mission statement on We Need Diverse Books, which says:

We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities*, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities.

*We subscribe to a broad definition of disability, which includes but is not limited to physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, chronic conditions, and mental illnesses (this may also include addiction). Furthermore, we subscribe to a social model of disability, which presents disability as created by barriers in the social environment, due to lack of equal access, stereotyping, and other forms of marginalization.

[CBRetriever]

so I guess Russian SF authors (a definite minority amongst SFF authors) don't meet that criteria. And they and authors from other underrepresented countries who are white will be even less likely to get publishing contract.

so, on to Salsa Nocturna: Stories by Daniel José Older since he is a Latino

[Dj]

So in reading D is for Dahl: A gloriumptious A-Z guide to the world of Roald Dahl

I have found it to be not as funny as I had hoped but much more informative than I could have dreamed. It seems that Mr. Dahl was friends with Ian Fleming. So much so that Dahl helped write the screenplay for two of his movies. The first was a bit of a surprise since I would never have imagined that Fleming would be the writer of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang The other was surprising because I would never have thought of Dahl as the Screen Writer of You Only Live Twice Maybe not funny, but certainly eye-opening.

[Dj]

So I have finished up the second of my TBR challenge. This one is Pushing the Boundaries. While I originally stated it was pushing the ability to suspend disbelief, I suppose we could add the author pushing the boundaries of his comfort zone.

Monsieur Pamplemousse

So having not had anything like a normal reading path as a child, it turns out I missed the books that this author is generally known for. Things like Paddington Bear and Olga de Polga. To date, I have never read either of these book series nor have I watched any movies in regards to them.

While Monsieur Pamplemousse is on the adult reading level. In some cases, the very adult level, although in this case more for the outrageous humor of it all than anything else it is still a wildly funny look at a Mystery. Monsieur Pamplemousse once of the Surete, now working as an investigative reporter for a French (maybe the world) renowned food magazine. With his trusty bloodhound he is inadvertently shoved into a mystery and the occasional threat to life all the while having to write up a review of the restaurant for the hotel he is staying at. The hijinks he gets into are enough to stretch the boundaries of suspending disbelief but it is a fun ride.

[Raucous]

My wife has a great fondness for mysteries with canine protagonists. I'm betting that the Monsieur Pamplemousse series is one that she hasn't seen yet. Thanks for the writeup!

[Dj]

Raucous wrote: "My wife has a great fondness for mysteries with canine protagonists. I'm betting that the Monsieur Pamplemousse series is one that she hasn't seen yet. Thanks for the writeup!"

No problem. The canine in said book is more sidekick that protagonists, but they do give him sections where he does his own thinking and he has his own personality.

I hope she enjoys the book. I had fun with it.

[Lost Planet Airman]

Question about "2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win)":

Does this mean that it cant have won anything? cf. The Goblin Emperor, which had Hugo, Nebula and WFA nods, but then was top of the Locus list for fantasy novels, a win. I'd like to use it, but I'll accept formal or informal vetoes.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

You know our policy, Mike! When in doubt, do what achieves the goal of getting a book off your TBR!

[Pandora]

𝟑/𝟐𝟎 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱.
𝟓 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟔ᵗʰ.
Not bad for the first week. Admitedly, none of them were long. But still!

I had to add another book for "LOLed IRL" because the first two that I tried were light enough but didn't really make me laugh. Third time's a charm, though.

◇ Inspired by a meme: The Raven and the Reindeer
◇ Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win): Gideon the Ninth
◇ Small publisher: Zero Hour
◆ Relationship between humans/animals: Coraline
◇ Recommended by a public figure: Circe
◇ Steal from someone else: Stealing Life
◆ Makes you wonder: Starlight
◇ Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme: Witchmark
◇ #ownvoices: Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time
◇ Won a smaller or regional award: Otherbound
◇ What a title?!: Ruby Red Booty Shorts & A Louisville Slugger
◇ Published in a memorable year: The Errant Prince
◇ #relatable: 5 to 1
◇ Seven or Twenty: The First Twenty
◇ Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages: Prosperity
◇ Pushing the boundaries: The Complete Stories and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
◇ The next [insert popular series here]: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
◆ LOLed IRL:
  ✘ The Ghost on My Couch
  ✘ The Adventures of Charls, the Veretian Cloth Merchant
  ✔ Spirit
◇ Seen in an ad or on social media: Time for Destiny
◇ Hindsight is 20/20: Tin Man

[DivaDiane]

Hank wrote: "8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme - almost won
Cards of Grief."

I have this on my list (same category too!). I'm pretty sure we could find others to join us in a Buddy Read. Wanna?

[DivaDiane]

I updated my list of book choices (found in message 20) and discovered that I have already finished one of them! Yay!

Glimmerglass Girl the winner of the Elgin Award for best speculative poetry chapbook (small award).

I'm having a really hard time finding a book I already own that fits the dialect/pidgin languages prompt. I've already read Brown Girl in the Ring, so if anyone has any other suggestions, I'd be grateful. Hoping some of them are actually on my owned bookshelf

[Gabi]

Diane, do you have Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor per chance in your possession? This one qualifies for the language prompt.

[DivaDiane]

Thanks @Gabi, but I’m afraid not. I’m using only books I own already for this challenge.

Anyone else have a suggest for the language prompt? Oh, wait! I just figured it out! I haven’t read the 2nd book of the Native Tongue series by Suzette Haden Elgin can’t think of the title just now (on the app), The Judas Rose? Something like that. Anyway, it seems so obvious now! In Native Tongue the situation is similar (but predates) The Handmaid’s Tale. Women create their own language and are empowered. I don’t know how prominently the language features, but Elgin (a linguist) actually created a entire language for the books, which she called Laadàn.

[Hank]

Diane wrote: "Hank wrote: "8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme - almost won
Cards of Grief."

I have this on my list (same category too!). I'm pretty sure we could find others to join us in a Buddy Read. Wanna?"

Yes! Name your date, I will make room.

[CBRetriever]

Completed these:

4. Relationship between humans/animals
__ Jhereg by Steven Brust
__The jhereg is a companion animal with a snarky tone - https://dragaera.fandom.com/wiki/Jher...

totally enjoyed this one and the two other books that make up The Book of Jhereg: Yendi and Teckla and am now reading The Book of Taltos which includes Taltos and Phoenix. One of my favorites series and I've never read some of these including my TBR one in Kindle format.

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.

this one was quite a let down as most of the book was not devoted to exploration (the group I worked in), but to describing various methods of refining, explaining the internal combustion engine, and other post refining uses of petroleum products. I twas entertaining looking back on it as in 1918-19, the main oil producing regions were the US, Mexico and Russia. Saudi Arabia wasn't even mentioned. Gas lighting was the pinnacle of modernity and cars were on the verge of being common. One of the practices they mentioned, was horrific: if the tanker is riding a little uneven on the ocean, just pour some oil out into the ocean (gack!!!). And the author (British) kept slamming Russian workers as unmotivated.

16. Pushing the boundaries
__[book:All Flesh is Grass|876268] by Clifford Simak
__One of the first novels about communal captivity

I really liked this book. It had worlds "next" to each other. Simak used the town under a dome theme decades before Stephen King put it in one of his books (Under the Dome). And he does an excellent depiction of small town life complete with bullies, mobs, etc

[Kaa]

Hank wrote: "Diane wrote: "Hank wrote: "8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme - almost won
Cards of Grief."

I have this on my list (same category too!). I'm pretty sure we could find others to join us in a Bud..."

I'm in for Cards of Grief as well!

[Dj]

I finished my third book of the challenge. This was the one for a small publisher. I generally don't mind self-published books, although they are a tad uneven in quality and entertainmentBlack Annis: Demon Hunter.


A book that started with more promise than it ended with. To often the action seemed to be too fast-paced, having the main character start out as a black-hearted evil Witch was daring, but then through most of the book, she is wondering about redeeming herself. I would have been more pleased with just letting her be her, instead of making changes like that. All in all not bad, but not enough to make me want to go and start the next book in the series.

[Leticia]

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 ..."

I'm reading two of you your books for my prompts, Gardens of the Moon and The Cloud Roads.
I hope you don't mind :-)

[Leticia]

I finished my "Pushing the boundaries" prompt with Meet Me in the Future: Stories. I think this science fiction anthology did push the boundaries from sci-fi into new ideas.

[CBRetriever]

Leticia wrote: "I'm reading two of you your books for my prompts, Gardens of the Moon and The Cloud Roads.
I hope you don't mind :-)"

No problem. I was waiting for someone (still am) to post something I could "steal" from them

[Leticia]

I decided to choose a Retelling for "6. Steal from someone else" because a retelling it's a bit like "stealing" in the good sense.

[Meredith]

Leticia wrote: "I decided to choose a Retelling for "6. Steal from someone else" because a retelling it's a bit like "stealing" in the good sense."

That's a cool way to interpret the prompt!

[KelB]

Books Read: 20/20 ✔

✔1. Inspired by a meme - The Girl with the Louding Voice - 5/13/20

✔2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win) - The Chain - 1/19/20
(Goodreads & Irish Book of the Year 2019 Crime/Mystery nominee)
✔3. Small publisher - You Saw Too Much - 3/1/20
(Independently published)
✔4. Relationship between humans/animals - Shiver - 1/20/20
(I think werewolves count)
✔5. Recommended by a public figure - The Water Dancer - 1/28/20
(T-H-E OPRAH 😁)
✔6. Steal from someone else - Absolute Power - 1/9/20
(Major character is a thief)
✔7. Makes you wonder - The Ten Thousand Doors of January - 3/30/20
✔8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme - The Kishi - 7/23/20
✔9. #ownvoices - I Am a Bacha Posh: My Life as a Woman Living as a Man in Afghanistan - 1/13/20
✔10. Won a smaller or regional award - Skin Folk: Stories - 5/22/20
✔11. What a title?! - The Last Black Unicorn - 4/6/20
✔12. Published in a memorable year - Deacon King Kong -- 6/12/20 (2020...whew!)
✔13. #relatable - Boaz Brown - 4/29/20
✔14. Seven or Twenty - Rhyme & Reason - 1/22/20
(7 or 20...the number of times the main characters in this story -a romantic couple!!!- failed to communicate the most basic of thoughts and emotions...utterly exhausting. I lost count)
✔15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages - The Color of Distance - 2/15/20
✔16. Pushing the boundaries - On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - 1/31/20
✔17. The next [Buffy the Vampire Slayer] - A Dream So Dark - 3/23/20
✔18. LOLed IRL - The Nickel Boys - 3/6/20
✔19. Seen in an ad or on social media - Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately - 3/17/20
✔20. Hindsight is 20/20 - Kingdom of Souls - 2/23/20

[CBRetriever]

Finished:

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

Well, now I know, it was quite entertaining, so I went on to Sense and Sensibility and this must have been where I got hung up before and didn't read any more Austen. It's not as interesting, I'm getting the sisters confused and I'll soldier on through the rest of it.

Which of the other Austen works do you recommend if I continue on with the Complete works. I do plan on skipping these volumes with the exception of maybe one biography:

The Criticism
JANE AUSTEN by Sir Walter Scott
ARCHBISHOP WHATELY ON JANE AUSTEN by Richard Whately
TO JANE AUSTEN by Andrew Lang
REALISM: JANE AUSTEN by Richard Burton
ON JANE AUSTEN IN THE GENERAL ELECTION by G. K. Chesterton
JANE AUSTEN’S JUVENILIA by G. K. Chesterton
JANE AUSTEN: NATURAL HISTORIAN by Robert Lynd
THREE ESSAYS ON JANE AUSTEN by Virginia Woolf

The Biographies
A MEMOIR OF JANE AUSTEN by James Edward Austen-Leigh
JANE AUSTEN, HER LIFE AND LETTERS by William Austen-Leigh and Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh

[CBRetriever]

It'll be a while before I add another one to the done list, as I will finish the entire Vlad Taltos series plus the Austen one (hopefully) before starting on another one from the list

[DivaDiane]

I’d highly recommend Emma, by Austen.

[Meredith]

I recommend Austen’s Persuasion.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Emma follows a super rich girl learning humility
Mansfield Park feels a lot to me like P&P in that there are weighty matters as well as levity.
Northanger Abbey is fun because it's really a gothic romance about the melodrama of the gothic romance
Persuasion is a much different format and I think feels a bit more serious.
Lady Susan is a sassy look at society dames

I think P&P, S&S, Mansfield and Northanger are my faves, but Persuasion is cited pretty frequently by Austenites.

[Meredith]

I like a lot about Mansfield Park, but the ending kinda chaps my hide. I fully admit my liking of Persuasion is influenced by the Amanda Root/Ciaran Hinds movie. *sighs dreamily*

[CBRetriever]

Thanks for giving me hope. I'll continue on with Sense and Sensibility then move on to the other ones since y'all say they're better.

[Dj]

So I finished:
City

A series of short stories that have been linked together to tell an overriding story of Man, Robots, and Dogs. Their relationships with each other and how their goals diverge.

In general, I am not a big fan of the short story series. Any single story could be really good, but in a group, they tend to be uneven. This set of stories overcomes that in large part due to all of the stories being written by the same author. It is a very impressive piece of work.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

First 2 reads of the year - though I reserve the right to change around the numbers/prompts (since I think Trials of Morrigan Crow could potentially fit a few).

10. Won a smaller or regional award - The Trials of Morrigan Crow
11. What a title?! - Finn Fancy Necromancy

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Look at y'all, starting strong! Duly noted, Colleen haha We won't lock in until you give the go ahead ;-)

[Andy]

updated Jan 14th - adding a few possibles, lots of blanks

1. Inspired by a meme
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win) - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (National Book Award Nominee for Translated Literature (2019), Man Booker International Prize Nominee (2019))
3. Small publisher - Two Trees Make a Forest: A Story of Memory, Migration, and Taiwan (Virago?)
4. Relationship between humans/animals - Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves
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?! - Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death
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 Imperial Radch - Ancillary Mercy
18. LOLed IRL
19. Seen in an ad or on social media
20. Hindsight i s 20/20

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Andy, my spouse just finished Mama's Last Hug and loved it! I hadn't realized I was a fan of Dr. De Waal until Jon told me that he was the man who had investigated the monkey fairness perception and the play culture of dogs, two of my favorite animal studies.

[Anna]

I've read Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal, but I'm not sure I'm mentally strong enough to read Mama!

(Currently reading The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion: Surprising Observations of a Hidden World by Peter Wohlleben aka. the tree guy.)

[Andy]

thanks Allison, Anna
enjoyed Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, and looking forward to Mama's Last Hug
and the rest of this year's challenge

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Jon says it was moving, but not sad--it didn't try to overcome the research with human emotion.

[Anna]

Good to know! I added it to my TBR.

[Beth]

CBRetriever wrote: "Well, now I know, it was quite entertaining, so I went on to Sense and Sensibility and this must have been where I got hung up before and didn't read any more Austen. It's not as interesting, I'm getting the sisters confused and I'll soldier on through the rest of it."

I'm most of the way through a read-through of Austen's major novels, all in audio except for Northanger Abbey. I haven't read Persuasion yet. (It's next!) After P&P I'd recommend S&S and NA the most because they're fun. Emma and MP were draggy for me, for different reasons.

[CBRetriever]

The Mansfield Park heroine reminds me of the one in Barbara Cartland books

[Beth]

She's so very correct! I like the messier Austen heroines. :D

[David]

Tough challenges this year...here goes nothing:

1. Inspired by a meme - Baptism of Fire
Wouldn't really say the meme inspired me to want to continue reading the series, honestly the Netflix show triggered that, but it was the only meme I could tie to something I wanted to read:
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/toss-a...

2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win) - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

3. Small publisher - Regarding Ducks and Universes
Published by 47North, which is technically Amazon but I think its still relatively small.

4. Relationship between humans/animals - The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, from Samurai to Supermarket
The relationship is obviously humans eating fish

5. Recommended by a public figure - Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
Bill Gates recommends this on his site

6. Steal from someone else - The Lies of Locke Lamora
From what I understand, its a book about a heist, so its about stealing.

7. Makes you wonder - The Body: A Guide for Occupants
I can always count on Bill Bryson to make me wonder

8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme - Semiosis
Was nominated for best Life Science Fiction

9. #ownvoices - The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America
Another Bryson book, told from his perspective so I thought it fit the hashtag nicely.

10. Won a smaller or regional award - In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

11. What a title?! - Paper: Paging Through History
Not a weird title, but it had a clever pun in it so I thought it fit.

12. Published in a memorable year - The Three-Body Problem
Published in 2008 which was a memorable year for me since I met my wife then.

13. #relatable - Measure What Matters
OKRs are a big focus in my office, so I'm assuming I can relate.

14. Seven or Twenty - The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World
"Seven" is in the title!

15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages - Bagels, Bumf, and Buses: A Day in the Life of the English Language
A book about the English language, close enough.

16. Pushing the boundaries - The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality and Our Destiny Beyond Earth
Literally about pushing boundaries

17. The next [insert popular series here] - All Systems Red
From what I've read in reviews so far, its the next...something

18. LOLed IRL - Equal Rites
I'm just getting into Discworld, I sure hope I laugh!

19. Seen in an ad or on social media - How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
Technically any book I find through this site counts! This one though I'm sure I've seen an ad for.

20. Hindsight is 20/20 - An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943
Aren't all history books hindsight?

[Kaa]

Two down!
10. Her Body and Other Parties, which won a Bisexual Book Award, was fantastic, and several of the stories were indeed excellently bisexual.
18. The Affair of the Mysterious Letter successfully made me laugh out loud at its mash-up of Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraftian horrors, narrated by a prim but mostly non-judgemental Watson stand-in.

[Dj]

David wrote: "Tough challenges this year...here goes nothing:

1. Inspired by a meme - Baptism of Fire
Wouldn't really say the meme inspired me to want to continue reading the series, honestly th..."

Some good choices there, I just finished the series that starts with An Army at Dawn. I hope you like it as much as I did.