Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion
Archive [Retired Book Clubs]
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RETIRED THREAD: Vagabond Treehouse Book Club
Soo wrote: "Zero Sum Game #1 - It looks promising and the author seems like a fun kind of crazy. lolLooked up the audiobook and I'm hesitant because I equate Lauren Fortgang with squeaky YA. ..."
Maybe listen to the sample and see if her voice will annoy you?
I listened to it and put it in the Wish list. That way if it goes on sale with Audible, I'll give it a go then. A friend was reading Legend (Drenai Saga) by David Gemmell and posting lots of great snippets. I haven't read that one yet, so I got the first audiobook. I expect it'll be a great fantasy-adventure series. =)
Did ya'll notice that Graphic Audiobooks are now available on Audible? Except they are sold as the GA volumes and not as a whole book. So it's still expensive to buy them. If the volumes go on sale for $5, it would be kinda worth it. Probably better to wait for GA sales and buy directly from them. Only reason to buy GA on Audible is to have them in the same app/company purchase.
I didn't notice. I've never listened to a graphic audio. How does that work?
Mod
I don't like them... they tend to be abridged versions of the story, like a screenplay... large cast of narrators for all the voices and tons of music/sound effects overlayed... it's branded as "A Movie In Your Mind"... but the theatrics tend to ruin my retention of the stories, so I just avoid them...
Graphic Audio is a company that makes full audio adaptations of books. Pretty sure it's all fiction. Their tagline: A movie in your mind.The audiobooks have a full cast of narrators, sound effects & soundtrack. They make audio dramas out of books.
GA audiobooks are a hit and miss for me. I tried listening to the Way of Kings because I wanted to re-read it by audiobook. It was either Graphic Audio version or the Kate Reading + Michael Kramer version. I tried both and didn't like either one for different reasons.
I'm starting to have a list of series that I can read only in print. lol
With Graphic Audio, shorter books are done as one book, but larger books are separated into Volumes/Parts.
Example Riyria Revelations Trilogy:
Audible: 3 Books - $29.39 or 1 Credit per book (Usually 9.99 or less for Credit)
Graphic Audio: 6 Parts - Range of 17.99 to 20.99 per part or 127.94 base cost + additional costs for download audio format/CD
Concept wise, I think it's great that there's a company doing full drama productions for books. It's pretty great. They cost WAY more than other dramatizations and that's the part I don't like. I think the most you can save with Graphic Audio is maybe 60% off the regular price. Usually, it's 40-50% off for a book or series.
Wandering Inn, Vol7Bwahahahah! Okay, in the series. There's an orphan Gnoll girl named Mrsha. I can't remember how old she is but I think of her as being like 7-9 range? Gnolls are like werewolf looking people. Mrsha saw her whole tribe get killed and that turned her fur white. Gnolls consider white fur to be bad luck, etc. Like tragedy/doom will always follow those whose fur have gone white. She's also mute. Hasn't talked since she lost her tribe.
Here's a fanart of Mrsha, plushie style. lol
Mrsha's basically a hyper kid and I imagine her to be a cross between a husky/koala that can run on all four limbs or walk on her back legs.
Lyonette is a Princess in hiding and she's taken Mrsha under her wing. Basically becomes her mom.
In Ch7.50, Mrsha is forced to take lessons about clothes. ALL sorts of stuff about clothes. Not cool armor and stuff that's useful. Girly dresses, skirts, etc.
Mrsha's Thoughts: 'Wow. Look at all the words for clothing you're never going to get me to wear.' Mrsha's face was that of a prisoner being herded towards the torture room.
Lyonette: 'You need to wear something today, Mrsha. Just so you can see it's not a burden. No, it is not painful! Stop signing that!'
The Gnoll child scowled and folded her arms, but Lyonette was blocking the door and she could veto dessert, which was cake. The tyrant would have her due.
30 minutes later.
Mrsha is wearing a shirt and kilt. The least lady like combo.
Guys, she's all about being fur happy & clothes free. lol
Mod
Graphic audio sounds like an interesting idea. Sound effects are hit or miss for me though. Seems like it could be great for a play or something you expect to be dramatic. Maybe I'll try one if they start to hit the Audible Plus catalog. Thanks for the info.
I think the editing for Wandering Inn Vol3 just wrapped up or getting wrapped up now. I'm going to guess that Vol3 audiobook will come out later in 2021. Graphic Audio on Audible. There are some selections on there now. One of us can pipe up if GA on Audible goes on sale. The few I looked at was priced at $14.95/1 credit per part.
I'm waiting to see if GA on Audible will go on sale.
Anne Bishop posted on her Facebook page that her next project is another Others book that will be a sequel of sorts to Lake Silence, expected release in 2022. Guess I know what else to work into my reading cycle next year :)
I watched American Assassin again on Netflix. It makes me want to re-read Mitch Rapp series. =DThat's a good thriller series. The author died and another guy took over but his representation of Mitch and the series politics is a bit off. I tried reading some of the new books and didn't care for it.
I agree. The books written by Vince Flynn were amazing. He’s one of my favorite authors. The new ones just don’t have the same feel.
*grins* It's great to have another buddy that loves thrillers! =D
Audible has a member's sale going on. It looks pretty good. 3 more days. I used to get emails about them but I don't get them now. They used to have a post on the main page about them too but that's also not happening. A little annoyed about that. I'll have to dig around and see if I want to buy some. After sleeping. Sleeping is good.
Link to Audible Member Sale: End of 2020
I Did NOT Give That Spider Superhuman Intelligence! #0.5 - My library has this whole series. I came across it by accident via weird recs of books I've read. lol Apparently, this is a prequel story that was written after the first book was written. Reviews say that it's not as good as the other books. I liked it! I say it's closer to Middle School age range but it's a fun, superhero story. It's not dumbed down or etc. Great adventure story about young teens learning how to use their superhero powers. Emily Woo Zeller did the narration and it's great. =)
Audible Member Sale
Lots of goodies in the Mystery/Thriller & SF/Fantasy. Some of these books are cheaper if you go the KU and audio buy option. Like, $1.99 vs $5.00.
I recommend looking at the $5.00 audiobooks. Most of the others will go on sale for $5 or less again.
I want to check the other categories before I make my buy. =)
I wonder why Audible isn't announcing their sales. Thanks for the link.
It is weird right? Audible Member Sale
1st: Be sure to check out the Fiction & YA sections because there are books in there that you may want or had on the Wish list. There's a smattering of Mystery/Thriller/UF/etc in those sections.
2nd: WHEW! I had too many books in my cart and cut it down to 13. The ONLY book that cost $7 is Broken by Don Winslow. It's still cheaper than a credit. =)
My Audiobook Haul:
Mix of Thriller/Mystery/Historical Fiction (Action)/SF/Fantasy/UF
Mod
Audible Member Sale
1st: Be sure to check out the Fiction & YA sections because there are books in there that you may want or had on the Wish list. There's a smattering of Mys..."
It's kinda amazing how many of the eyecatching titles/covers that AREN'T just well known oldies, have a top review on hover that says the book is a waste of money/credits...
"Don't waste your credit"
"No substance"
"What kind of neckbeard fantasy was that?"
I saw a bunch more like that... most of the good stuff is stuff I've read, I think, altho a couple caught my eye... I'm just not in the mood to try alot of new things at the moment, while at the same time getting tired of re-reads... leaves me at a bit of loose ends, and picky...
I want to try Steamforged and Harley Merlin... altho I worry that Harley Merlin is one of those churn-out writers... the series has like 20 books in 3 years...
Yeah. I think half the time, the problem is with the narration. Some recordings are old or not well done and they don't bother to update. Course, it takes money to update. Ever notice the bookcover changes? Most of the ones used on Audible are terrible! I guess the rights did not transfer or expired to use on the audiobook vs print/ebook.
Mod
Ever notice the bookcov..."
That reminds me... one top review said the book was ruined by mouth noises from the narrator...
Mod
Ever notice the bookcov..."
I prefer regular book covers... even when audible uses the same cover, they tend to switch to a square "cd-case" cover...
There were a couple of books I ended up putting on the Wish List for later because the narration wasn't one I liked in the sample. There's a couple where the narration is like a snake trying to talk with all the 's' drawn out or emphasized. Ugh, who can listen to that? lol I threw back 3 romances because I didn't care for the narration. Bummed because they were cheap and some of them haven't gone on sale before.
I'm so torn! My current library haul is pretty good and I sorta want to read them all except the listening speed is maxed at 2x. So, sometimes it feels like it's slow even when I know it's not. Torn because I do want to take a good whack at hitting 1000 by the end of the year. It's kinda doable? Eh, probably not. But it'll be fun to try! Bwahaha~
I think I can make it to 975 or a cool # like 963.
Then there's that huge pile of books I bought on the Member sale. Wee~~~
I guess the thing that's making me curious is to see if either of the LitRPG books I got from the library are any good. It turns out that they have 5 of the Good Guys series books too. So maybe the rest of the series will end up at the library! Very exciting news.
I tried searching for "LitRPG" in the library catalog and got Ready Player One. Now there are actual LitRPG books on there.
Isn't it awesome to have choices?
Soo wrote: "It is weird right? Audible Member Sale
1st: Be sure to check out the Fiction & YA sections because there are books in there that you may want or had on the Wish list. There's a smattering of Mys..."
Nice haul!
I too don't like the changed book covers. At least a cropped version of the original looks OK. Most of the alternate covers I've seen are just ugly.@Iain. That's rough. Maybe its time for a short book break?
Mod
Iain, you gotta check out the Please Don't Tell My Parents series. I bet your library has it. Steamborn Trilogy was ok but it didn't stand out. In comparison, I thought the writing for Vesik was better. You know how much I enjoyed that one until the author decided to release novellas & different POVs as part of the main series. If I stayed in tune with the newsletters, I probably would have known more but I was happy to wait on releases that happened at a steady rate. Even when he goes to work on a new series/etc. Now, I think I'll wait for the series to be finished and probably read on KU vs buying all the audios like I did.
has audio bundle pack. That's what I got on sale a while back. Are you looking at that or individual?
Mod
Re: Don't Tell My Parents: I was vaguely in the market for a new supervillain series... looks fun... think I'll start with book 1 and go back to 0, from what I saw you comment earlier...
I liked Book #0. If you start with #1, I don't think you'll want to go back. lol#0 was fun. I figure I'll have more fun with the rest of the series.
Library had Constance Verity Saves the World #2 and it wasn't as fun as the first book. Too much rehashing of stuff that I thought was dealt with in #1. Mainly, Constance trying to have a regular life, etc.
It's good right? It's more about politics than military. I'm waiting on #3 to come out.
Ooh! An Audible App update that I can appreciate! =DIt now says how much time the audiobook will take at the speed I'm listening to at the time. Cool!
Mod
Timelord Iain wrote: "much easier to overpay, that way..."I think you just answered your own question.
The State of the Sanderson is out https://www.brandonsanderson.com/stat...He's planning Wax & Wayne 4 for next year!!!!!! SQUEEEEEEE!!!
Which means, I'm turning 2021 into a Mistborn year. I'm already rereading the original trilogy starting this month which means I'll likely want to start Wax & Wayne directly after. It will be my first time through those books. Doing one a month, I'm estimating starting in March. Soo/Iain, are either of you interested in a buddy read?
Mod
He's planning Wax & Wayne 4 for next year!!!!!! SQUEEEEEEE!!!
Which means, I'm turning 2021 into a ..."
Mainframe, Sanderson's audiobook company, sounds really cool... and his eventual plans to have a film production company... Sanderson is building a multimedia empire... I've kinda felt like that for years, actually, the way he has a whole company helping him edit and maintain continuity within the Cosmere and beyond... but this just shows his grander plans... haven't even read the rest of the State of Sanderson, yet...
Mod
Stormlight Archive 5 in 2023... Mistborn Era 3 from 2023-2025
This probably means Stormlight 6-10 from 2026-2039...
Dragonsteel from 2040-2042...
Mistborn Era 4 from 2043-2045...
The End
There's still a number of sequels unmentioned, and a lot of room for side material during Stormlight 6-10, there...
Still a great update :D Yeah, we'll see how Mainframe turns out. Exciting stuff.
Mod
I vaguely worry... Sanderson better live until he's 70... and I better, too... to read everything...
It's weird having multi-decade reading plans...
I'm on The Bands of Mourning #6 for Mistborn series. I'll probably join you for a re-read and catch up for the new release. This would be a reading one for me because I do not LIKE Michael Kramer's fake voices! He has an okay speaking voice. If he just narrated with that, I would be alright listening to him. But he gets NASALLY when he does accents/etc. UGH. Totally made listening to Wheel of Time a chore. Yes to BR-ing Wax & Wayne/catch up/read new release/etc.
Sorry for ranting. Kramer!!! He's the reason why I'm not reading/listening to a bunch of epic fantasy that I had planned on doing this year. PFFFTS
The State of Sanderson sounds cool. I'm going to go read that.
Oooh I'm very excited about more Legion novellas. That will be fun. Woah. I don't know how he can do all of that and still have time to write. Teach, have a family, take vacation, etc. Heh
With Stormlight 5 in 2023 I'll probably start on those in 2022. That'll be a fun progress bar to watch. It's amazing how fast Skyward 3's bar has progressed.I've never tried Michael Kramer as a narrator. These ones I've been reading the old fashioned way and apparently I just haven't picked anything else he's narrated so far. The only Sanderson I have audio for is Warbreaker which was narrated by a woman whose name I'd have to go look up.
Family life? Vacations?? Crazy talk ;)
Did you see the part where he rented out a whole movie theater room so he could watch a movie with his family? I'm not sure if I'd do that either if I have the money to do it.
Yeah, that must have been fun to do if odd to not have any other audience reaction with you.
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Looked up the audiobook and I'm hesitant because I equate Lauren Fortgang with squeaky YA. She's usually narrating stories with somewhat whiny YA characters. I like her work more when she's in a full cast mix.
So, not sure if I should go the audiobook route for ZSG because I don't want it to be toned down or weird by the narration.