2020 Read All the Books: Seven Wonders

[Hank]

42, the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Well done.

[lanlynk]

Mike, great job. Not many to go now. :)
Hank, LOL. Nice reference!

[Lost Planet Airman]

Allison wrote: "Nice Job, Mike!! You've already prioritized your challenges for 2021?? Most haven't even be posted yet on GR!"

This is the center for science fiction and fantasy, is it not? An army of AIs in my secret basement lair has fed the data to the otherwordly Prognosticarae in my tower Sanctum to show me That Which May Befall.

Or, you know, my first three goals may just be personal, the fouth the predicted Read All The Books, and the rest TBD.

Because I lost the key to the Sanctum and couldn't afford the AI's power bill.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Haha! I'm just impressed you've chosen three goals already!

[Alex]

Allison wrote: "Haha! I'm just impressed you've chosen three goals already!"

I've also started looking at my 2021 goals recently and have been making notes in my OneNote for these goals. And I've slowly started picking out books as well.

One of my 2021 goals is to be caught up on Sanderson's Cosmere and to read the full Wheel of Time (which is 6 re-reads and 8 new reads). I'm also looking at setting a published in 2021 goal, as I feel like I'm always playing catch-up reading books from the past.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

You two are #goals about setting goals! Great ideas

[DivaDiane]

I admit to being tempted to think about 2021 goals (Squirrel!), but at the same time I'm getting worked up about all my overwhelmingly unfinished challenges (except for this one!) from 2020.

[Lost Planet Airman]

Allison wrote: "Haha! I'm just impressed you've chosen three goals already!"

Well, since 2008-ish* (it might have been earlier) I have been trying to meet a vague goal of "catch up on all the really goood SF&F that I missed". But adulting is hard, adulting takes time; studying, working, spousing, and parenting ate into my reading time. I had missed a ton of good stuff.

My goal has become more concrete over the years, but my frustration level has risen, too, both from the vagueness and the number of works to read. My frustration peaked in 2020 (whose hasn't!)

So I took 2020's version of "Catch Up All The Great Sci-Fi And Fantasy", and (as a famous Singing Monk might say), made it as "buffed and polished as a royal jewel" for 2021.

Part A is about Authors -- reading the works of folks who have won "lifetime achievement" recognition; in 2021, from '66, '71, '91, '11, & '21.
Part B is about Books & Stories -- award-winning works & top 3/top 10% of lists.
Part C is about Classics of Science Fiction -- the best of the best of the best, with extra Verne.

I'll try to get the details set up in our Personal Challenge pages if anyone wants to see what I'm up to.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Look at you, making SMART reading challenges! Way to take that frustration and make it actionable!

[Alex]

I know what you mean Diane, I think I might have overburdened myself somewhat when I joined some book clubs in October and added to my already hefty 2020 challenge.

[Lost Planet Airman]

Allison wrote: "Look at you, making SMART reading challenges! Way to take that frustration and make it actionable!"

The "Achievable" portion of SMART may be somewhat debatable.

[Meredith]

I have also started sketching out some 2021 reading goals. For Read All the Books, I want to hit 150 next year. I'm at 127 right now.

[lanlynk]

I just updated my 2020 goal from 10 (which I'd completed) to 12 because I wanted to read Deathless by Catherynne M Valente. I finished that book tonight, so now I have 1 more to go before the end of the year.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Oooh!! I hope you'll pop in to tell us what you thought of Deathless, Ianlynk!

[lanlynk]

Allison, I enjoyed DEATHLESS. The book made me feel uncomfortable at times. Definitely a dark story. But I also thought it was creative, well crafted and researched. Good characterizations. I ended up giving it a 5/5 for its complexity. DEATHLESS inspired my imagination and challenged me to reflect on multiple themes.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Well said, I felt very similarly after reading it!

[John]

Turns out that challenges can be the boss of me. Am overly grumpy and several factors of Bashful, Happy, Sneezy. But the short fiction and a foray into Horror put me behind on RATB.

Rats. So my plan of getting up to speed on Stormlight Archive so I can read/participate in Rhythm of War swerved to finishing Seven Wonders.

Caught up to on-track with:
Babel-17
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Planetfall
Gun, With Occasional Music
Seveneves

with 5 more to go and choosing author/books not that familiar to me cause this group leads me to some of the best
The Suicide Collectors
The Sword-Edged Blonde
White Cat
Early Riser
All You Need Is Kill

And then the mistake of doing some math. Goal of 26 minus the 24 the group relentlessly adds every year divided into what's left, carrry the one. I'll be done with RATB in 2200.

Completed 3 of 5 and reading All You Need is Kill next based on Alexander's comment.

[Alex]

I loved All you need is Kill, thought it was much better than the movie with Tom Cruise, even though I really enjoyed the movie. Curious to see what you think of it.

[Kaa]

I made it to my goal of 15 books read this year! I am still reading The Last Wish and will probably read Gideon the Ninth next month, but I don't think I'll make it all the way to my stretch goal of 18. (That's okay, though - my main reason for picking that number was to get to 40% of the bookshelf read, and with the books that were added this year that I'd read previously, I'm already there.)

Regarding Ducks and Universes
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
The Book of Phoenix
Elysium
The Sword of Kaigen
Catfishing on CatNet
The Three-Body Problem
The Ghost Bride
The City We Became
The Vanished Birds
Moon of the Crusted Snow
A Night in the Lonesome October
The Dawnhounds
Six of Crows
The Bone Shard Daughter

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

awesome work!

[lanlynk]

Kaa, great list. Congrats! I've only read THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY (this year) and THE GHOST BRIDE (back in 2014). I enjoyed both.

[Stephanie]

I've read 5 of 8 planned so far.
1. The Martian Chronicles
2. I Am Legend
3. Red Rising - didn't finish. Didn't like it.
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
5. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

Just got The Eye of the World from the library last week, so hoping to read it over the long weekend. I waited 14 months for it the last time and it showed up several days before Christmas, so could never read it. This time, I've waited 10 months and it shows up right after I have started a medication that makes reading difficult (makes me dizzy with focus problems). This is why I buy books instead of using the library. However, I'm iffy on fantasy - A lot of it I don't like and I wanted to see if I liked the first book of this series first. Yes, and I don't know what's up with me and Red Rising. I must be one of 4 people who didn't like it.

Anyway, still possible to finish my 8 yet. I've been focused on finishing series this year and currently working Shannara. I have a trilogy to finish yet this month and then the final 4 book quadrilogy for December, so that doesn't really leave me a lot of time for anything left on my other goals.

[lanlynk]

Stephanie, hope you enjoy THE EYE OF THE WORLD after those library wait periods. It looks like it's a long read too. Around 800 pages?

[Alex]

lanlynk wrote: "Stephanie, hope you enjoy THE EYE OF THE WORLD after those library wait periods. It looks like it's a long read too. Around 800 pages?"

Eye of the World is great, but it can be a tough one to get in to. Once you make it past the first 100 or 150 pages, I felt like the pace starting picking up and it becomes a epic read.

But it can be a tough nut to crack for people. There's this one person on Goodreads I follow for reviews, which I often find very enlightening, but she read 10 pages and then DNF and gave it a 2 star review. That is crazy to me, I mean, I think you can rate and review DNF, and though it's hard to say where to draw the line, I think 10 pages is not enough to judge an 800 page book. Especially since that is merely the prelude, which is purposely written in a slightly different writing style than the rest of the book.

[lanlynk]

Alexander wrote: "I think 10 pages is not enough to judge an 800 page book."

I agree. That definitely seems unfair.

I've read a few longer books. They take commitment--both time and resolve--but more often than not, I've found the effort rewarding. As long as the author isn't just rambling, a longer book can provide depth that shorter works just can't match.

Stephanie, EYE OF THE WORLD sounds like a great road trip. Enjoy the journey. :)

[Alex]

Just finished number 4:



I feel like maybe between joining this group and the SpecFic Buddyreads group I may have been a tad overconfident in setting my goals for the 2,25 months I had left, but I'm not giving up!

I have started Moon of the Crusted Snow and I intend to read Sword of Kaigen before reading the last two books of the month: Gideon the Ninth and The Humans. That should wrap up both challenges I signed up for in October. Then I just gotta find 2 or 3 days to read Ready Player Two and A Sky beyond the Storm in between.

[Christopher]

Good luck and happy reading!

[lanlynk]

Alexander, I'm on an OverDrive waiting list for Ready Player Two. Looking forward to it. I also saw Armada by Ernest Cline. (It's on the SciFi/F bookshelf too.) Not as well-received as his Ready Player books, but I might give it a chance while I wait for Two.

Best wishes on your end of the year reading!

[Alex]

I will probably simultaneously read Sword of Kaigen and Ready Player Two. I’m currently waiting for my wife to finish her Anita Blake book, so we can jump into Ready Player Two. However I expect to finish Moon of the Crusted Snow today or tomorrow.

[Stephen]

I’ve read a couple more: Old Man's War and Witchmark. So I’m at 6/12 with a little over a month to go.

[Stephen]

Oops, I was counting Wells’s The Invisible Man, which isn’t on the shelf. I don’t know why I thought it was. However I just finished The Island of Doctor Moreau, a true classic which is on the shelf. So I’m still at 6/12.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

for a book not on the shelf, the group sure talks about it a lot! I keep meaning to get to Island. glad you liked it, sounds like you're on quite the project!

[CBRetriever]

The Invisible Man is pretty good and funny too

[Stephen]

I agree that The Invisible Man is entertaining and interesting. I liked the whole conception of the story, this character among the country folk and other ordinary people. The Island of Doctor Moreau engages with a real science fiction subject and is a much darker book, horror as well as well as sf, it seems to me. I think it’s a more substantial novel.

I’ve just started The Anubis Gates which I’m enjoying so far. what I’m doing is trying to use this challenge to read a number of books I have on hand that I haven’t read, which happen to be on the group shelf. I’ll be continuing to read other things as well. I don’t know whether I’ll complete the challenge, but I expect to enjoy the books I do read. I also started Snow Crash the other day but I’m less pleased with it and may not continue.

[Amanda]

I went back through my 'read' shelf for this year and was able to add a couple more to this list that I had missed. Between that and being able to add Gideon I may actually finish this one.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

nice!

[John]

John wrote: "Turns out that challenges can be the boss of me. Am overly grumpy and several factors of Bashful, Happy, Sneezy. But the short fiction and a foray into Horror put me behind on RATB.

Rats. So my pl..."

choosing author/books not that familiar to me cause this group leads me to some of the best
The Suicide Collectors
The Sword-Edged Blonde
White Cat
Early Riser
All You Need Is Kill

And then the mistake of doing some math. Goal of 26 minus the 24 the group relentlessly adds every year divided into what's left, carrry the one. I'll be done with RATB in 2200.

Completed 3 of 5 and reading All You Need is Kill next based on Alexander's comment.

[Sarah]

Ugh. I had a bad reading year this year- weirdly though I have nothing else to do I simply couldn't concentrate enough to get through many books.

I've only read two from the shelves this year. I think this is the single most disappointing number I've seen so far. I usually try to read 20 or so. I don't always make it but I usually come close.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

This year took some strange twists, I don't blame you for your distraction!

[Stephen]

I just finished The Anubis Gates. To make it easier on myself I’m also going to count Gideon the Ninth which I read back in January. So I’m at 8/12.

[Leticia]

My Final Results:
READ ALL THE BOOKS: THE SEVEN WONDERS

12/12

Six Wakes
- 5 stars!

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
- 5 stars!

The Ten Thousand Doors of January
- 5 stars!

The Eyre Affair
- 5 stars!

Elantris
-5 stars!

The Invisible Library
- 4 stars!

Recursion
- 2 stars.

Uprooted
- 4 stars.

Gods of Jade and Shadow
- 4 stars

*********************************
DNFs:
at page 80
at chapter 15 of Audiobook.
at page 97.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Chugging along, Stephen! I fully support being kind to yourself in any way possible!

Leticia, woohoo!! Looks like a pretty good year overall!

[lanlynk]

Congrats Leticia! I've read 4 of the books you've listed. Enjoyed them. A couple of others also look interesting. Thanks for sharing your list. :)

Everyone seems to making good progress too. Any progress this year is good!

So, I guess I officially completed my revised goal for 2020 by the end of November. I'd increased the goal numbers a couple of times, but I'm ready to call it: 12/12 titles finished. Fun challenge!

1. THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman
2. NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaiman
3. HOUNDED by Kevin Hearne
4. GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
5. THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY by Alix E Harrow
6. THE GODS OF JADE AND SHADOW by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
7. THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN'S UNION by Michael Chabon (reread)
8. THE COLOR OF MAGIC by Terry Pratchett
9. GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
10. FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
11. DEATHLESS by Catherynne M Valente
12. THE TIME MACHINE by H G Wells

[Banshee]

I think it's time for me to call defeat... I read 24 books from the group's shelf completely by chance last year, so I though that if I actually focus on the goal, I can do better. So I set a 2020 goal for 30 books. Aaand because I'm a mood reader, it was a mistake.

I finished 23 books so far, and I'm currently reading 2 more (The Dispossessed and Leviathan Wakes). It seems I'll finish the year with 25, maybe 26 books from the group shelf.

[Anna]

I think finishing even one book from a planned TBR list in 2020 is a win!

[Anna]

I'm going to finish this challenge today, and with that all my 2020 challenges are done. I finished with a meh, which feels fitting for 2020. Hoping to feel more enthusiastic about everything in 2021.

32/32 = 200 total group books

[Gabi]

Oh damn ... I had forgotten that this was a challenge, too. I'm 2 books off my goal, so perhaps this one could be the only challenge I actually manage to finish this year - have to re-schedule my books to make it happen.

[Anna]

You can definitely fit 2 books into the rest of 2020!

[Gabi]

^^' Or I can update my shelves correctly - and wonder upon wonder - I'm already done! ^^'

50/50 (180 books altogether from the group shelf)

[Anna]

Yay! I both love and hate when that happens! I'm still annoyed that I read 53/52 by accident a couple of years ago :P