Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion
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House of Jaghuts 2020!
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We'll catch up, don't exhaust yourself. Only one week has passed, we have 9 months and three weeks. :D
Yeah, don't fret about it. I would say to ignore the pages and points entirely and just read for the experience, but I feel like that would be a futile suggestion in your case, and even perhaps taking away half your fun. :P
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We're only 8 days in the new year, so everything can change. I've added my first book and haven't looked at the sheet yet, so I can fret myself about it. I've failed my resolution for now: I'm reading 4 books at the moment :p Not good! Normally finishing one or two these week. I came to understand finally that I can't concentrate when doing that.
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In 2019, I had a wide range of months...
January -- 455 pgs/day -- initial BR push, 2x speed
February -- 417 pgs/day -- First slump
March -- 528 pgs/day -- Beginning of (cozy) mysteries
April -- 526 pgs/day --
May -- 479 pgs/day --
June -- 345 pgs/day -- Work moved to days mid-month
July -- 364 pgs/day --
August -- 493 pgs/day -- Moved back to night work, more BRs
September -- 472 pgs/day -- Moved back to days, found 3x speed audio app at the end of the month...
October -- 929 pgs/day -- went hogwild with the app & competition
November -- 708 pgs/day -- kept momentum on TBR
December -- 548 pgs/day -- lost momentum
January 2020 --945 pgs/day so far -- regained momentum, tons of BRs, bunch of new series, still pushing TBR...
The stats on my own page push me more than the other pages, but they're nice, too...
I made the post about helping me, cause of the push on Day 3 to keep up with Soo & Julia :D
My first vacation of the year, this Monday thru Thursday, also helps... I've fluctuated alot, even this past week... first couple days, I read 700-900 pages and alot of BRs... then BRs trailed off... then I only managed 600-700 pages while fretting over my Windows 10 upgrade... then my vacation started, and I made up for it by reading 1000-1400 pages/day and a bunch of BRs
Anyone else not getting notifications? The last one I got was for something over eight hours ago yet there have been lots of comments on multiple threads in that time.
Yup, am not getting notifications either.
My reading will go up and down like always. It's great right now because I'm listening while doing other stuff but there will be days when I'll be completely immersed in other activities & not touch a book. Besides, I threw like 7 different series/books as BR ideas at ya and you're currently busy doing other stuff. I'm off to explore snow covered parks today. Woo!
Virginie wrote: "Yup, am not getting notifications either."I went onto the help page and someone who had put in the complaint got this response:
GR email notifications have been lagging up to a day or more for weeks. This is not actually uncommon.
As for the system wide problems, this also happens every year during GR end of year maintenance which happens Dec/Jan. Various glitches come and go but they are a direct result of work being done on the site. It's either deal with a glitchy website that's up and mostly usable or deal with a website that gets taken offline completely while maintenance is done. I tend to believe most users prefer having GR up with some stuff not working as opposed to down for days and completely inaccessible.
At least we know it is a known issue. Hopefully it'll catch up with itself soon.
Yeah... Got a similar response when I made a post about not receiving notifications when people comment on my reviews/activity (but I do for likes) a year ago. (Still not working, but I don't write reviews so it's not a big deal).
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Same... took me a couple hours to realize it was bugged and start checking threads (right now)... my ast notification was 12hrs ago, now...
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Yea... I've been immersed in all the BRs I already signed up for, and side-reads in between, at the moment... I have barely looked at the recommendations...
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I feel like the bugs are piling up and not getting fully resolved... this end of year stuff is just a convenient deflection... when it happens in February/July, too, sometimes...
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You can access a similar list for any group from the discussion button next to the notification button, or a multi-group overview...
Timelord Iain wrote: "Using this link now to track discussions: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/unrea...You can access a similar list ..."
That's a useful link. Thanks Iain
Timelord Iain wrote: "Using this link now to track discussions: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/unrea...You can access a similar list ..."
Oh, that's great, thank you! The broken notifications make it so hard to see what's been posted...
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You can ..."
best way to use it is to click the red (new) button/word... otherwise you go to page 1 (I keep doing this wrong, myself)
Okay, glad to know it wasn't just me not getting notifications. Thanks for the link Iain. I've done this myself when I've been away for a while and looking to see what's new, but it comes in handy in times like these as well.
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I'm really curious how fast I'll be able to listen to Malazan this year, once I start reading it again (with Yanique)...
Also wasted 2-3hrs trading gear in Path of Exile, and chatting... had to gear up my necromancer so I could start playing the endgame with my minion army ;)
Timelord Iain wrote: "looks like it's FIXED"Yep for me to
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Yep for me to"
It's kinda of annoying how long it's taking GR to catch up... every time I refresh, there's 20-30 more notifications I've already responded to...
Timelord Iain wrote: "Virginie wrote: "Yeah... Got a similar response when I made a post about not receiving notifications when people comment on my reviews/activity (but I do for likes) a year ago. (Still not working, ..."I feel like if there was a better-working alternative to GR then people would slowly but surely switch, but as far as I know there isn't one, is there? And even if there is, GR still has the bigger community, which is of course more attractive, too.
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People have earned a total of 31.6 BR points on the spreadsheet so far... and I'm 14 of them... everyone else is 0.6-3.0 points... I think I've earned that title, for now... I'm 5th place by %
Been on the spreadsheet a bunch, the past couple hours, adding tracking for my 2020 TBR list at the bottom, and copying ratings/reviews to GR... still need to go back and do November/December 2019...
Found some interesting stats, doing this... Anne Perry, Hercule Poirot, and Malazan account for 75 books on my TBR... the next 7 series account for 90 books... and the next 25 series account for 56... those are the 25 series I'm most interested in catching up on... I've also got about 10 series with no audio, or delayed releases, that I'm on the fence about...
My 4 day weekend is over... I return to work tomorrow, for a 4 day work week...
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The hassle of moving is another thing... also, other places are shutting down... Amazon was hardline about their ToS, to get FictFact shutdown last year...
It's one of those things where being the first really successful site is the key to success... like Facebook or Instagram or Twitter... after a certain point, you're almost too big to fail... unless you shoot yourself in the foot...
Wow Iain you're on fire! Good job!I've had a truly terrible start to my reading year; had 3 leftover books from 2019 (none of which I have finished yet – yikes – but working on it!) and between starting up one part-time job and searching for another, along with a grandma who's not doing so well and me being sick and also discovering the wonder that is The Witcher universe and crawling down a 8-hour-Netflix-and-35-hour-playthrough-video rabbit-hole, it's just... it's been a lot xD
But I did manage to finish my second official read for the competition! The White Dragon which means I'm done with the original trilogy of the Dragonriders of Pern. I enjoyed all three books but also had some issues with them so they all ended up being 3-star reads. I'm not sure I want to continue with the series, except for maybe the Harper Hall-trilogy which I've heard good things about. Has anyone read them?
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I just had Virginie help me repurpose the audio column to track audiobook lengths, since you guys know me and audiobooks...
I can now say I've already listened to 276.73hrs of audio this year... and we're only 233hrs into the year... I had to guesstimate a bit on the Text-To-Speech books (2 so far)...
at my reading speed, it's more like 100hrs listening, or 10hrs/day... with my vacation compensating for occasional low-read workdays...
I guess this means my 2020 reading goal is 8784hrs?... that's 24hrs times 366 days :D
It would/will be a lot of work to see how close I came in 2019... I might fiddle around, sometime... 2020 was easier to add, since I haven't moved any books to external storage, yet...
Lol. That's insane man. I would love to see you manage 8784 hours for the year.Any chance I can get audiobook hours added to my sheet?
Kathrine wrote: "I'm not sure I want to continue with the series, except for maybe the Harper Hall-trilogy which I've heard good things about. Has anyone read them?"Yes, I know what you mean about the Dragonriders trilogy having... issues. Although I still have fond memories of the series, going back to them as an adult I saw them through more critical eyes.
That said, please do try Harper Hall! Dragonsong was my introduction to Pern, and Menolly's story, which continues in Dragonsinger is my favorite. Basically any appearance of her or the Masterharper Robinton in related books would always have me perk up.
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Any chance I can get audiobook hours added to my sheet?"
I'll pass the request along to Virginie... she did it for me, and I always trust her more with big changes... also, I can't just copy my formula, since my formula has removed the GN section...
Kathrine wrote: "Wow Iain you're on fire! Good job!I've had a truly terrible start to my reading year; had 3 leftover books from 2019 (none of which I have finished yet – yikes – but working on it!) and between s..."
Definitely give the Harper Hall books a chance, I love them! They don't have the same issues that the Pern books do.
Kathrine wrote: "Wow Iain you're on fire! Good job!I've had a truly terrible start to my reading year; had 3 leftover books from 2019 (none of which I have finished yet – yikes – but working on it!) and between s..."
Ah I'm sorry to hear your 2020 isn't great so far... I hope you and your grandma get well soon!
And don't beat yourself up, you're still doing great with your challenge! :)
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Thank you <3 My gran is very old so unfortunately it's just the way these things work :( But she's had a long and good life, and hopefully we'll be able to enjoy her company for a bit more time – it's just so awful being witness to someone you've known for your entire life slowly slip away into dementia...
Melissa wrote: "Yes, I know what you mean about the Dragonriders trilogy having... issues. Although I still have fond memories of the series, going back to them as an adult I saw them through..."Jessica wrote: "Definitely give the Harper Hall books a chance, I love them! They don't have the same issues that the Pern books do."
Thanks, will do! :D
Kathrine wrote: "Thank you <3 My gran is very old so unfortunately it's just the way these things work :( But she's had a long and good life, and hopefully we'll be able to enjoy her company for a bit more time –..."
Sorry to hear that, Kathrine. Its always hard to watch a loved one go downhill like that. Hope you and your family can support one another through this. And we're always here for you too! ❤️
Kathrine wrote: "Thank you <3 My gran is very old so unfortunately it's just the way these things work :( But she's had a long and good life, and hopefully we'll be able to enjoy her company for a bit more time –..."
Seeing a loved one struggle with dementia must be so hard...
My grandpa died last summer after having been very ill for months and it was so emotionally stressful for everybody involved. It helps to know he had a long life and in the end was allowed to go in peace surrounded by his family but it was still a trying time.
All the best for you and your family! <3
Has anybody here read the Ryiria books by Michael Sullivan?I've been kind of avoiding these books because I feel like they're often described as "fun fantasy for beginners". I have read quite a few books that are often mentioned on "beginner lists" together with Ryiria and that I didn't really enjoy that much (Kings of the Wyld, Greatcoats, Black Prism, Faithful and the Fallen, Warbreaker...).
On the other hand I'd need some fantasy that's not too challenging right now.
Any opinions on how Sullivan compares to the other books I've mentioned?
Bea wrote: "Has anybody here read the Ryiria books by Michael Sullivan?I've been kind of avoiding these books because I feel like they're often described as "fun fantasy for beginners". I have read quite a fe..."
Much more light-hearted. I personally don't think that Black Prism and TFatF fits the beginner list, Riyria however truly belongs in it. I honestly don't know whether you'll love it or not, Bea, but Riyria isn't similar to any of the series you mentioned that you disliked imo, so maybe it could work for you?
I disliked the first omnibus (book 1 & 2) of Riyria Revelations but I grew to love the series with each installments. The last omnibus (book 5 & 6) were super damn good imo.
What Petrik said. Michael's writing improved tremendously between the first omnibus (book 1 & 2 of Riyria Revelations) and his Legends of the First Empire series.I'd say read it if you want light, easy-to-read fantasy, fun rogues with hearts of gold and a good bromance. The banter between Hadrian & Royce is hilarious. If you want original setting & plot... Nah. It follows most of the tropes of the genre.
Virginie wrote: "What Petrik said. Michael's writing improved tremendously between the first omnibus (book 1 & 2 of Riyria Revelations) and his Legends of the First Empire series.I'd say read it if you want light..."
Agreed with everything you said!
Also, I'll consider this a reminder that I have to continue with Legends of the First Empire! xD
Bea, I agree with Virginie & Petrik about Michael Sullivan. The writing gets better over time as it matures and the characters are great. Other books you may look at are Mage Errant: Publisher's Pack, Book 1-2, Second Hand Curses, The Blacksmith Queen
Blacksmith Queen is a little gritty but has a lot of humor & fun characters.
Second Hand Curses is fun twists on fairy tales & solid entertaining adventure story.
Mage Errant (1-2) is a YA, magic training series. The first book felt overly simple to me but I liked how the story wrapped up. 2nd book is much better and you get a lot more of the world/training/adventure.
Siobhan wrote: "Kathrine wrote: "Thank you <3 My gran is very old so unfortunately it's just the way these things work :( But she's had a long and good life, and hopefully we'll be able to enjoy her company for ..."
Thank you so much for your support <3 You're all so kind, I'm so grateful I decided to explore Goodreads beyond the individual reading pages, otherwise I'd never have found this group. It's been an amazing change to my reading life to join this community
Bea wrote: "Seeing a loved one struggle with dementia must be so hard...
My grandpa died last summer after having been very ill for months and it was so emotionally stressful for everybody involved..."
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Thank you <3 It's so hard with elderly family members, because you know that the clock is ticking and when you can actually see them getting worse every month.. It's really difficult to deal with, especially when you're older and can actually comprehend what is happening :(
Bea wrote: "Has anybody here read the Ryiria books by Michael Sullivan?I've been kind of avoiding these books because I feel like they're often described as "fun fantasy for beginners". I have read quite a fe..."
I've heard some of the same qualms with this series as you so I've been on the fence as well... But I heard some of the same about the Witcher-series and now I've become totally engrossed in that world, so maybe there's hope! I'd say go for it :D
I also agree with Virginie and Petrik, it's definitely more light hearted and far less complex than other fantasy books, but I really, really enjoyed the banter and the friendship between Hadrian and Royce, it reminded me of Locke Lamora and Jean's friendship (with less swearing tho 😂)I plan to read The Crown Tower next month (because I got it as a present with smaller presents I can open while reading and I don't want my friend to wait any longer for me to finally open them 😅) and then do a re-read of the Riyria Revelations books before continue with the rest of the other series, in case you would like to join me :)
Sir Anni wrote: "I also agree with Virginie and Petrik, it's definitely more light hearted and far less complex than other fantasy books, but I really, really enjoyed the banter and the friendship between Hadrian a..."I would like to join you for The Crown Tower if that's OK, Anni. I might not continue on though because I don't have the rest of the books yet.
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