Carmichael Library Sci-Fi (Virtual) Book Club discussion
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What else are you reading?
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Jennifer, Goodreads Admin
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Apr 02, 2020 05:07PM
My last read was Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction. This was a good survey on female writers in SFF/horror/gothic/weird fiction with short bios and reading recommendations. (It also has some fun graphics!) While there is a wait list at the moment, you can check it out via SPL's Overdrive.
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Reading (listening to) second book in the Seven Kennings series by Kevin Hearne. Plague of Giants #1, Blight of Blackwings #2. Tremendous listen. Epic fantasy.
Sandi wrote: "Reading (listening to) second book in the Seven Kennings series by Kevin Hearne. Plague of Giants #1, Blight of Blackwings #2. Tremendous listen. Epic fantasy."Have you read any of his Iron Druid (Hounded, et al) books? If so, how would you compare them?
A wrote: "Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, read by a delightful Martin Jarvis: In an desperate effort to lighten the COVID-19 mood, I decided to listen to a hilarious tale of the end times.Also..."
Welcome, A! Once Sacramento Public Library is open again and in-person events can happen, you can join us in person at the Carmichael branch on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 6pm.
Your choice of book is timely, in a lot of ways. While I don't know what impact COVID-19 may have on this, Sacramento was selected to be the host of the 2020 Arbuthnot Lecture and this year's speaker is Neil Gaiman. Many of the branches were hosting events tied to Gaiman's upcoming appearance, including Stardust as what was supposed to be our April read. While we can't get to them right now, Carmichael is supposed to have a supply of the books for checkout once they are open again.
Right now, I'm reading Endangered Species on my Kindle. I'm listening to Snow Falling on Bluegrass.
I'm reading the physical books: The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest, Wizards: Magical Tales From the Masters of Modern Fantasy and the classic anthology Robots vs. Fairies
Jennifer wrote: "Sandi wrote: "Reading (listening to) second book in the Seven Kennings series by Kevin Hearne. Plague of Giants #1, Blight of Blackwings #2. Tremendous listen. Epic fantasy."Have you read any of ..."
Jennifer wrote: "Sandi wrote: "Reading (listening to) second book in the Seven Kennings series by Kevin Hearne. Plague of Giants #1, Blight of Blackwings #2. Tremendous listen. Epic fantasy."
Have you read any of ..."
Have only read first one and don’t really remember much about it. Kevin was one of the authors of Kill the Farm Boy which I loved. Plague of giants is told by a bard taking on various characters in the story which is a unique way of telling the story. The narrator does a great job with the different voices.
Welcome A. Neil Gaiman was supposed to be here the beginning of May. The website says date to be announced so hopefully we will be able to read Stardust (great book) and see him. He is one of my favorite authors. We will get back to our list of books when we start meeting again.
Sandi wrote: "Kevin was one of the authors of Kill the Farm Boy which I loved. Plague of giants is told by a bard taking on various characters in the story which is a unique way of telling the story. The narrator does a great job with the different voices."Did you also listen to Kill The Farm Boy on audio? If not, I think you'd really like it. I don't know if it's the same narrator as the series you are currently reading, but that reader also does unique voices for each character. I have been s-l-o-w-l-y listening to The Princess Beard.
Carolyn F. wrote: "I'm reading the physical books: The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest, Wizards: Magical Tales From the Masters of Modern Fantasy and the classic anthology Robots vs. Fairies"I read Green Man a while ago. (I'm in for pretty much any Windling/Datlow anthology.) The other two titles are on my TBR.
Sandi wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Sandi wrote: "Reading (listening to) second book in the Seven Kennings series by Kevin Hearne. Plague of Giants #1, Blight of Blackwings #2. Tremendous listen. Epic fantasy."Have..."
Yes I listened to Kill the farm boy, etc on audio. I think they are better in audio because of the great reader. Finished Blight of the Blackwings. Great story but now I have to wait impatiently for number three.
I'm now reading Underground and listening to This Alien Shore plus trying to finish the three anthologies I started.
What anthologies, Carolyn?A sci fi adjacent title I have been reading is Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons. It is a biography about Jack Parsons, co-founder of Aerojet and JPL. (The CBS All Access show "Strange Angel" is a semi-fictionalized television series adaptation of the book.) He was into rocketry as a serious science when most of the world saw it as mere science fiction. He was a SF reader during the pulp era, which birthed his passion for the idea of rockets helping us reach space. He sometimes attended meetings of the Los Angeles Science Fiction League, at a time when a young Ray Bradbury may have been present or author Jack Williamson would read from his latest piece. Oh, and then there's that little thing that has caused him to seemingly have been erased from NASA history: his interest in the occult! I am amazed at the number of people he was contemporaneous with in the Los Angeles of that time, through Cal Tech, LASFL, and so on.
Later, I may go on to read another biographer's take on this unusual individual, Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons.
I read the novella The Beauty recently. I think "new weird" is probably the best way to describe the genre of the story as I definitely got Jeff VanderMeer vibes from it - though more like Annihilation than Borne, which was a book club read. The Barnes & Noble blog referred to the story as being about "fungus, sex, biological evolution, and gender stereotypes." Not a read for everyone, that's for sure!The ebook version I read also included a short story called "Peace, Pipe," a tale about language and alien contact.
Jennifer wrote: "What anthologies, Carolyn?"I just finished Wizards: Magical Tales From the Masters of Modern Fantasy. I'm almost done with The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest and I just started Robots vs. Fairies
Wizards is on my TBR list. I read Green Man a while ago as I have been working my through all of the Windling/Datlow anthologies. (Speaking of which, I have borrowed ebooks of Lethal Kisses: 19 Stories of Sex, Horror and Revenge and Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers: Magical Tales of Love and Seduction on my tablet. Lately, I have been trying to read one short story every day.) I also want to read Robots vs. Fairies because how can you not with a title like that? :D
I know the title is hysterical. It was stupid of me to pick up 3 anthologies at the same time and it is taking forever to get through them. I finished The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest and am now getting through Robots vs. Fairies. I'm also reading Undead Ultra, which is a fun read for me. I'm learning way too much though about ultramarathoners and their horrible bathroom practices. And shouldn't you rub the stuff under your breasts then your feet not the reverse? I'm constantly going "Gross!" as I'm reading it and it's not from the zombies.
I'm not sure that I want to know about ultramarathoners now. ; ) (Actually, did I want to know about ultramarathoners in the first place?)Much of my reading life has always been a bunch of things all at the same time, whether it be borrowing stacks of titles or reading several books simultaneously. Yeah, that means sometimes I take a really long time to get through one book, but I've also had where I end up finishing up multiple books in succession pretty quickly.
I'm reading Synners by Par Cadigan. I just finished a "fan fiction" book Terminator 1+: The Future's Not Set by Mark Sondrini. I also read Valis by Philip K. Dick last month. I am also rereading Childhoods End by Arthur C. Clarke. (I watched the miniseries and wanted to reread the book.)
I read about 3 at a time. It depends on my mood and brain function at times.
Just finished The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. Great audio book. Magical realism at its finest. I can see why this book won many awards. SPL Quarantainment bookclub next Tuesday at 5 is reading "The Lost Book of Adana Moreau" by Michael Zapata available through Hoopla. Looks interesting and I am going to read it.
I have also decided to read some of Jayne Castle’s books. Light paranormal romance. Just right for summer
Just yesterday I checked out the publisher buzz session for Bookcon and one of the titles being promoted was Harrow's upcoming The Once and Future Witches. I don't think I'd heard of Harrow before, but the description interested me enough to jot the title down for future reference.I am planning to read The Lost Book of Adana Moreau, too. I've been checking out the Quarantainment meetings as well as the BYOB ones.
My last spec fic read was Nightmares And Geezenstacks by Fredric Brown. I see why there are people who try to mimic his short story style. Most of the tales are super short, just a few pages or so, but punch you at the end, like a classic Twilight Zone twist. I don't know if any of his stories were actually adapted for TZ, but I do remember seeing an episode of Tales from the Darkside based on "The Geezenstacks." Fun collection to dip in and out of or "binge" several stories at once.
My last SFF read was the anthology Obsession: Tales of Irresistible Desire. While I like reading collections edited by Paula Guran, I felt like not all of the stories fit the theme very well. I also had already read a couple of the stories, but that's bound to eventually happen when you're dealing with an editor that collects previously published stories and not just commissions new ones. (What's kind of funny is just how recently I came across the same story a second time!)I am now reading Kim Harrison's American Demon, the long awaited return of the Hollows series. I would say Rachel Morgan has definitely earned her place as one of the favorite protagonists in the urban fantasy genre.
Ready to start Network Effect (murderbot series). I reread the previous four books. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed them.
Sandi wrote: "Ready to start Network Effect (murderbot series). I reread the previous four books. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed them."I read that Sandi, it was so good!
If you missed it when it was live, C'moninfluence (where Martha Wells was the author guest of honor) has been updating their YouTube with videos from the con.Since it's Halloween time, I've been reading a lot of suspenseful titles. I know some people think that counts as spec fic anyway since a lot of horror novels have sci fi or fantasy elements, too.
I am making my way through an ARC of Sarah Gailey's The Echo Wife. I am really liking it. It's about a woman who works with cloning technology who finds out her estranged husband secretly made a clone of her and has been living with the clone.
I recently finished a Jeff VanderMeer novella, This World is Full of Monsters. It definitely has the odd shape shifting stuff that he's known for. It was beautiful and dark, all at the same time. There is something happening, but that doesn't seem to matter as much as his descriptions of the strange takeover of the main character.
Jennifer wrote: "If you missed it when it was live, C'moninfluence (where Martha Wells was the author guest of honor) has been updating their YouTube with videos from the con.Since it's Halloween time, I've been ..."
I'm going to go there right now :)
Ready Player Two is out. I am excited to listen to my audio copy read by Will Wheaton. He did a great job on the first book
Over the weekend, I finished Spin the Dawn. It's a YA fantasy about a girl who poses as her brother in order to compete for the title of imperial tailor. Along the way, she is learning how magic operates in her world. It also is the February book of the "Forever Young Adult" Book Club. Sacramento's chapter is run through SPL and will have its discussion February 27. I also read a couple of Amazon Original Stories from the "Forward" collection (free with Prime.)
The first was Summer Frost by Blake Crouch. If you liked Dark Matter when we read it in book club, I think you'll like this novella. It definitely falls within the tech/theoretical science/etc. he seems to be writing lately. In this, the AI for what was to be a non-playable character in a video game gains sentience.
The second was Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin. This is a quick sf read about about someone sent on a mission to travel to what is believed to be a mostly destroyed Earth in order to collect a biological specimen to help continue the line of their species. Even though I want to eventually read her short story collection, I don't think I'd actually read any of Jemisin's short fiction before. It was interesting to read her take on sf because I think of her novels as being fantasy.
Carolyn F. wrote: "I just finished Navigating the Stars. It was good but it felt like I was reading it forever."Have you read any of her fantasy stuff? I've been meaning to read some of it eventually but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Jennifer wrote: "Carolyn F. wrote: "I just finished Navigating the Stars. It was good but it felt like I was reading it forever."Have you read any of her fantasy stuff? I've been meaning to read s..."
I read the Poison Study and Magic Study and really liked them.
So all my requested books came during the same week! So I'm reading From Blood and Ash, Local Custom and I just got The Cloud Roads today!
Got an ARC from NetGalley of Andy Weir’s new book, Hail Mary.
Sandi wrote: "Got an ARC from NetGalley of Andy Weir’s new book, Hail Mary."Nice!
Sandi wrote: "Got an ARC from NetGalley of Andy Weir’s new book, Hail Mary."I'll be curious as to how it compares to his other books.
I may have finally broken through when it comes to being considered for review copies through NetGalley because they approved me for Skyward Inn. (I was interested in this after having read The Beauty last year.)
I finished both of the Del Rey NetGalley freebies, Malice and The Future Is Yours. I really enjoyed Malice. It's a good read if you're the type to enjoy revisionist fairy tales. The Future Is Yours is a mixed bag. It has an interesting premise and is a twist on the epistolary novel (in this case, it's texts, emails, and transcripts rather than letters), but the style choice led to characters that felt kind of flat as people.
Jennifer wrote: "Sandi wrote: "Got an ARC from NetGalley of Andy Weir’s new book, Hail Mary."I'll be curious as to how it compares to his other books.
I may have finally broken through when it comes to being con..."
So far it is great. More like the Martian, lots of science, very suspenseful.
I am reading From Blood and Ash, which my daughter loved. I'm on the fence about it.I'm also listening to Stardust
I finished Humanity's Endgame, if you like a lot of sex with your dystopian world then this is the book for you!I've started The Book of Koli. I'm liking it so far.
I'm reading City of Ruins. I've caught up on most of the short stories so I'm reading for this book. I can't link a request to the ebook for some reason so I'm reading a physical book, which feels strange now. I put a book cover on it to help keep the cooties at a minimum.I'm also reading The Dragon Conspiracy which is just okay so far. I keep grabbing another book after reading a page or two.
I have Fugitive Telemetry from the library to start as soon as we add it as a buddy read. Although I keep wanting to read it now. Willpower! I read a review that it's a novella which bums me out.
Finally finished The Book of Koli. I also read the first two books in the Shadow and Bone trilogy in advance of the new Netflix series. I'm currently reading The House in the Cerulean Sea. I think a lot of people have talked about as being like the literary equivalent of a warm hug and I can see why.
I really enjoyed The House in the Cerulean Sea. Not sure why I had requested it but it was a very good read.
Just finished Devastation Class by Glen Zipper. Great space adventure. I stayed up too late reading it. Cliff hanger ending but no 2nd book yet. Now I’m looking for another read that is just as good and having trouble getting into any thing else.
I'm reading Kristine Kathryn Rusch Diving Universe series. I really like them. There are a bunch of short stories between the full-length novels.
After having seen Seanan McGuire at multiple virtual cons this spring/summer, I decided I need to pick up the InCryptid books again. I finished Chaos Choreography earlier this month. I like how the series shifts between the books featuring different family members as the narrator. I also only recently found out that another of her series (the one that starts with Sparrow Hill Road ties into it. The most recent genre-ish title I read was Brain Child. It's typical 1980s horror/mystery/thriller John Saul, but it had what I thought was a peculiar dash of sci fi thrown in late in the story.
Just discovered Kali Wallace. I am reading Dead Space, a science fiction murder mystery set on an asteroid!
Ooh, I'm going to check her out Sandi
Jennifer wrote: "After having seen Seanan McGuire at multiple virtual cons this spring/summer, I decided I need to pick up the InCryptid books again. I finished Chaos Choreography earlier this month..."I just finished Seanan's latest October Daye book!
Looking forward to eventually getting into that book.A lot of what I have read recently has been dark fantasy/horror due to "spooky season," as some people like to call it. I think the favorite has been The Dead Hours of Night by Lisa Tuttle. (She also writes straight up fantasy, including having collaborated with once romantic partner George R.R. Martin.) The authors of Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction (which I have mentioned before) are now doing a series of books that feature authors they have written about and The Dead Hours of Night is one of those entries.
Carmichael Library Sci-Fi (Virtual) Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Dead Hours of Night (other topics)Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction (other topics)
Chaos Choreography (other topics)
Sparrow Hill Road (other topics)
Brain Child (other topics)
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