SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
SciFi and Fantasy Book Challenge
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2020 TBR Cleanup Challenge
Update: Managed to finally reach the halfway point. I'm determined to finish this challenge this year, but we'll see if I'll actually manage.7. Makes you wonder - The Birthday Problem (Both an intriguing title and a problem in probability theory)
12. Published in a memorable year - The Steerswoman (1989 - fall of the Berlin Wall)
14. Seven or Twenty - Queen & Commander (the 20th unread book on my e-reader)
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages - Brown Girl in the Ring (From what I remember of peoples' comments, this has dialect/pidgin. Also, I'm still annoyed I didn't get to this when it was a group read.)
Mod
5. Recommended by a public figure - Blackfish City Loved it so much I asked for it (and got it) as a gift!
13. #relatable - Circe - well...no, actually it wasn't quite as relatable as I had hoped, but that's okay.
16. Pushing the boundaries - The Left Hand of Darkness - Yep yep yep
20. Hindsight is 20/20 - How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk - I got a lot out of this. Mostly about active listening and the difference between support and advice.
Still to go:
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. Small publisher - Crossover (Pyr)
4. Relationship between humans/animals - Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance (wolves and Merlin the pig?)
6. Steal from someone else
7. Makes you wonder - Fever Dream (sounds like it will be one or the other!)
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme - Amatka - this poor book keeps getting nominated. I see you, book.
9. #ownvoices - The Way of Thorn and Thunder (own voices Native person)
10. Won a smaller or regional award - The Bone People (okay, sure, it won a Booker, but it also won a New Zealand Book Award)
11. What a title?! - The Blind Owl (I am compelled. I sympathize, owl.)
12. Published in a memorable year - The Rook (year I joined GR and got married, aw)
14. Seven or Twenty - Scarlet, Book 1 - 7th book on my TBR
15. Dialect, slang, or pidgin languages - Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard - he's a linguist and the founder of the Klingon language society, so it should fit the bill.
17. The next [insert popular series here] - The Rage of Dragons (this is supposed to be a new Game of Thrones, I think. I hope not though.)
18. LOLed IRL - The Mane Event - I was recommended this during a hilarious conversation.
19. Seen in an ad or on social media - The Wood Wife. The cover got me.
Allison wrote: "Finished:5. Recommended by a public figure - Blackfish City Loved it so much I asked for it (and got it) as a gift!
13. #relatable - Circe - well...no, actually it..."
Yay Allison!
Mod
So catching up on reviews that I should have written in June. At least work has slowed down somewhat so I can do these kinds of things again. This is my Saw it in an ad or on Social Media book from the read. I am not sure which one this was in the order of completion, but I only have one left at this point. So I am sure a few more will pop between now and the end. Dragon and Thief
Admittedly I had never really thought of reading this series of books before. I enjoyed Zahn's Star Wars series but never much thought about reading anything else by him. I am glad that I changed my mind and gave this series a go. While it wasn't eyepopping it was a solid read. Some new concepts, and enough world-building to hold it together. Still, there is something intriguing that keeps interested held enough to make you want to know what happens next. I will be interested to see how this series turns out.
Another of my late reviews. This is for the next.....Junkyard Druid
So this book or series of books was touted as the next Iron Druid series. Well other than the fact that the main character is Druid trained, not an actual Druid, there the similarity ends. The Junkyard Druid is a good book, with a solid character and good world creation, but it is of a more limited scope than the series it is being compared to. It stands alone on its own merit but it doesn't reach the heights that the Iron Druid series, it lacks in humor and doesn't have as wide scope in its world-building. I will be giving the second book in the series a good to see if I will be continuing with this series.
I'm up to 11/16, most recently read5. Recommended by a public figure: Terminal Alliance, Seanan McGuire recommended this on Twitter.
12. Published in a memorable year: The Bear and the Nightingale, my parent's 50th wedding anniversary year.
Currenly reading 8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme: I changed my pick to City of Bones (desert fantasy), from Borderline (mental health).
I hit Doc: Read 52 novellas or short fiction collections/anthologies yesterday. I'm also two out from Grumpy: Read 365 pieces of short fiction (no poems or flash fiction) which doesn't include the novellas. I wanta be Grumpy. I feel Grumpy especially with this pandemic isolation stuff.
CBR, I feel you! I also want to be Grumpy, and I'm pretty sure I will be. But you probably meant to be Grumpy here! I know that sometimes I'm just so Grumpy I can't even concentrate on where I'm going! :D
I also want to be Grumpy but it looks like I might just make sneezy by the end of the year which I guess also fits with the pandemic lol
Anna wrote: "CBR, I feel you! I also want to be Grumpy, and I'm pretty sure I will be. But you probably meant to be Grumpy here! I know that sometimes I'm just so Grumpy I can't even concentrate on where I'm go..."correct - I'll copy past it over there. I haven't finished any more on the list as I'm deep in the Malazon books
Meredith wrote: "I'm up to 11/16, most recently read5. Recommended by a public figure: Terminal Alliance, Seanan McGuire recommended this on Twitter.
12. Published in a memorable year: [book:The ..."
That would be a memorable year.
CBRetriever wrote: "I hit Doc: Read 52 novellas or short fiction collections/anthologies yesterday. I'm also two out from Grumpy: Read 365 pieces of short fiction (no poems or flash fiction) which doesn't include the ..."I feel no need to justify my grumpiness, I am 57 I figure that is justification enough. LOL.
This was my #relatiable bookFads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
So this book was more fun than I would have expected. This is basically a book that debunks various things that are on the fringe or are pseudoscience. The fun part of this book is that it was written in the late fifties or early sixties (I know I could look it up, but I am being lazy.). The number of things that are brought up that are still relevant in the modern-day sixty years later is amazing. The other wild thing about this book is it doesn't dance around saying it is full of it just coming out and saying things about how wrong it is and why. Much less politeness than the modern books on the topic.
To start with it has the best explanation I have ever seen as to why a weather balloon might be thought to be an alien craft. If the book had done nothing else than that I would have been thankful to have been able to read it.
It also goes over Homeopathy letting you have an idea just how old this 'alternative' medicine has been floating around. The verdict is the same as most of the modern works. If you dilute the ingredient that many times, there is no ingredient in the cure.
Chiropractic Medicine is brought up and one of the most interesting experiments in regards to testing the veracity of an 'alternate' medicine is brought up. Although it would be expensive. It was suggested you go to a practitioner and get a diagnosis and then go to another and so on until you get two that match. For me, the chapter had another reason for interest, since it mentioned Palmer Chiropractic Jr. College, which happens to be in Davenport Ia. The place I just happened to be born. The school had a pretty good garden and Palmer gave a number of the exhibits for the cities museum.
The best one that came up as far as I was concerned was Dianetics/Church of Scientology. It also had the worst prediction of the entire book. The author went into a review of L. Ron Hubbard's life and career as a Sci-Fi writer, without a great deal of buttering up. Then at the end of the chapter, he said that he thought that this fad had run its course. As anyone around now can say, that doesn't seem to be the case. It seems to be a bit bigger than ever.
A great book and somewhat of an eye-opener.
I've only finished one book from my original list since the beginning of July (I really liked Lagoon, Hank - it was weird in such a good way) and I have not been feeling very inspired to read based on any sort of plan recently. I'm going to switch to trying to fit the books that I do read into the categories, as long as they were on my TBR before I started reading them. Changes I have already made:
1. Inspired by a meme: The Murders of Molly Southbourne - I was already reading 16 books when I started this, so picking it up instead made me feel like the guy from the distracted boyfriend meme.
12. Published in a memorable year: Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders - well, it was published this year.
I liked Lagoon as well and agree the weird was good.
Picked up “The Sheep look up” by John Brunner from today’s Bookbub for $1.99.Always meant to read this.
This is the 19th book in my TBR challenge, leaving me only The Eye of the World to finish to actually finish a TBR challenge for the first time. (yes I am excited about that)This is for the Hindsight is 20/20 read and the book is:
A Drop Too Many: A Paratrooper at Arnhem
Just an FYI, for those of you who may be familiar with the movie a Bridge Too Far, John Frost was the Col holding the bridge against all and sundry.
This book written by a man famous for holding the North end of Arnhem bridge of practically no reason at all is much more informative than many first-person accounts of a Battle, or for that matter the war itself.
Frost starts this book all the way back with his presence in the middle east at the start of the war. He includes the raid on a Radar Station in France, Actions in North Africa and Italy before getting to the heart of the Matter with operation Market/Garden.
He is quite scathing of the planning although one of his points on why it was so fouled up was that the HQs involved were spread so far apart. It didn't lend itself well to any changes being made or even heard quickly. He is critical of almost every part of the action and doesn't really mind saying so. His major complaint during the section where he is writing about the battle is the split days for drops and being dropped on the wrong side of the river when it should have been both sides.
Later on in the book when he is released from captivity by Patton's Third Army, he is told by the solders of the Third that they wouldn't have left the British 1st Airbone to die at Arnhem. Interestingly enough he agrees with that saying that Patton's Army always moved on time, and with force, never hesitating or stopping for Tea. Which is the most damning comment he makes about Thirty Corps in the whole book.
He sums up the lessons in the last chapter and that alone is well worth the read. A thoughtful and insightful work that should be high on the list of anyone interested in the Arnhem Battle.
Mod
Edwin wrote: "Finished!!https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..."
Hey Ed!! Great and interesting range of books here!! Well done and as usual, I'll be following you on a couple of books again (Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood and Borne) next year...
Finished #55. Recommended by a public figure
__
__
couldn't find a novel thee so I switched to
__
__recommended by Barack Obama here https://www.tor.com/2017/01/17/barack...
Good book and now I'm working on Walkaway by Cory Doctorow for a social media source
Three to go after that
Mod
So cake for me. I finished by Challenge today with: The Eye of the World
This was my seven or twenty read, since that was where it fell on the TBR list
So I read this book a handful of years ago when I thought that the series was complete. (It wasn't) I have forgotten a great deal of it, but I was pretty sure that it didn't read like the Lord of the Rings. Even so time and I again I have heard/read comments saying that it was a clear rip off of Lord of the Rings.
Well I have just finished reading it for the second time, quite probably the last time, and I can say that it isn't a rip off of Lord of the Rings, some of the creatures bare similarities, but that can be said of almost any fantasy book nowadays. Tolkien didn't invent Trolls so every book that has some derivation of them isn't really a rip off for that reason alone.
The Story is one long chase with a Wizard (well Aes Sadei pretty much the same thing) and a Ranger (well Warder but again) but unlike Lord of the Rings, these two are there start to finish. So similarities but not wholesale following of the other book down the line.
The biggest similarity I see between the two is the very large attempt at world-building by both authors. This isn't the beginning of the story of the world it is the middle. Maybe the end. All things considered, I think that Tolkien is more subtle and has a more thorough depth to his world-building but both have a grand feel of time and age. While I enjoyed reading Eye of the World again, I don't feel a real vested interest to continue through all the rest of the book to get to the end, which when it comes right down to it might be the biggest difference for me with the Wheel of Time Series and Lord of the Rings.
Dj wrote: "So cake for me. I finished by Challenge today with: The Eye of the World
..."Congratulations! You deserve a huge piece of cake for finishing on a Wheel of Time book.
Raucous wrote: "Dj wrote: "So cake for me. I finished by Challenge today with: The Eye of the World
..."Congratulations! You deserve a huge piece of cak..."
Thanks, I think I will get some at lunch. LOL
starting this one next (includes substitution):6. Steal from someone else
__
__
__Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky
__stolen from someone else's list
Dogs of War starts out with a bit of a Murderbot vibe.
CBRetriever wrote: "starting this one next (includes substitution):6. Steal from someone else
__The Dragonback Series Books 1–3: Dragon and Thief, Dragon and Soldier, and Dragon and Slave by Timothy ..."
Moving right along.
Halfway through with 10/20 so a bit behind, but recently completed the following two prompts: 8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme 8/15
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
July 2018 theme: sequel fantasy
6. Steal from someone else 8/12
Widow's Point by Richard Chizmar
Bought this for my partner, and he loved it, so now I'm going to have to steal it from his bookshelf. :)
Need to get moving!
Dogs of War is excellent - I stayed up really late last night reading it. I thank Kaa for adding it to their TBR list so I could steal it
After a long short fiction side trip I'm back to working on my TBR challenge. Since the last post I've read:✔︎ 6. Steal from someone else: City (Stolen from Dj. What ever happened to our flying cars?)
✔︎ 7. Makes you wonder: Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams (A lot of useful information wrapped in a 400 page guilt trip)
✔︎ 14. Seven or Twenty: The Seventh Bride (I'm so far behind)
✔︎ 18. LOLed IRL: T'Ai-Chi for Geniuses: A Practice Companion for the Genius in Everyone (Finally an alternative to the "For Dummies" empire)
Overall progress: 13/20
finished:3. Small publisher
__Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk
__
This book wasn't very good. Too many cliches and not much character development with fairly flat characters.
now for my last book: The Crown Tower for The next [Fafhyrd & the Grey Mouser] series. I'll go on to read the rest of this series and the following one (actually written before this one) before the end of the year, I hope.
Finished the challenge:1. Inspired by a meme
__
__http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3v8bu8
2. Nominated for 2+ awards (didn't win)
__
__Nominated for Locus Award and World Fantasy Award and didn't win any major award
3. Small publisher
__Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk
__
4. Relationship between humans/animals
__
__The jhereg is a companion animal with a snarky tone - https://dragaera.fandom.com/wiki/Jher...
5. Recommended by a public figure
__
__recommended by Barack Obama here https://www.tor.com/2017/01/17/barack...
6. Steal from someone else
__Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky
__stolen from someone else's list
7. Makes you wonder
__
__I've always wondered why this book is so popular
8. Fits a past SFFBC nomination theme
__
__February 2018 Sci Fi poll
9. #ownvoices
__
__Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories as rewritten by "new and established writers of color from around the world to take the Just So Stories back; giving voices to cultures that were long deprived them."
10. Won a smaller or regional award
__
__The Aurora Awards for Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy
11. What a title?!
__
__especially because of the blood-sucking hemogoblins
12. Published in a memorable year
__
__published in 2011 and we know why that year's important
13. #relatable
__
__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
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__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
__
__Dialect used in conversations
16. Pushing the boundaries
__
__One of the first novels about community captivity
17. The next [insert popular series here]
__
__The next [Fafhyrd & the Grey Mouser]
18. LOLed IRL
__
__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
__
__makes me wonder about the human propensity towards war
CBRetriever wrote: "Finished the challenge: ..."Congratulations!
I'm going to have to take a look at Dinner at Deviant's Palace. I don't understand why I've never been exposed to blood-sucking hemogoblins before. Of course they would.
CBRetriever wrote: "Finished the challenge: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)
__[book:Gard..."
Congrats.
CBRetriever wrote: "finished:3. Small publisher
__Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk
__JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc
This book wasn't very good. Too many cliches and not much character development with fa..."
@CB, do you own your copy of Shadow's Son? My library doesn't carry it, and I'd rather borrow from a friend in these uncertain times. Happy to send you the postage back when I return it, too!
CBRetriever wrote: "Finished the challenge:"
Congrats CB!
Mike wrote: "@CB, do you own your copy of Shadow's Son? My library doesn't carry it, and I'd rather borrow from a friend in these uncertain times. Happy to send you the postage back when I return it, too! Unfortunately, I bought it as part of a Humble Bundle (digital books) back in July 2019 along with 25 other books from JABberwocky for a bit over $15. It's not a physical book.
CBRetriever wrote: "Mike wrote: "@CB, do you own your copy of Shadow's Son? My library doesn't carry it, and I'd rather borrow from a friend in these uncertain times. Happy to send you the postage back when I return i..."Curses! Foiled again!
(Congrats!)
they have it on Amazon for 2.99 US you might want to check there.
John wrote: "they have it on Amazon for 2.99 US you might want to check there."Thanks! I also just found that Maryland's inter-library loan program has re-opened, and the state has one copy. Get in line, friends!
Any time. Might Have to read that one myself
I'm looking forward to the 2021 TBR Cleanup Challenge!
So am I to be honest with you there. Of course not in a hurry to bring in 2021 as that puts me another year closer to 60
Mod
Yeah, new chance for me then. I did so poorly this year.
I'm still dragging my way through Poe. I have high hopes to complete the challenge this year. Well, medium hopes, at least.
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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#relatable was At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson because of depressingly obvious reasons. I highly recommend the book, though.
Seven or Twenty--I chose a book published in 2007, The Year of Eating Dangerously: A Global Adventure in Search of Culinary Extremes by Tom Parker Bowles, who is Prince Charles' stepson and obviously got the book deal for that reason alone. I don't recommend it as much.