2021 Read All the Books: Around the Shelf in Eight(y) Years

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Yay for OaFK! I will give you a muffin for that alone

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hot damn! You've tripled your percentage in a month! That's bananas! ;-)

[CBRetriever]

they get banana bread?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

CBRetriever wrote: "they get banana bread?"

An excellent suggestion, this is now adopted!

[Liane]

I think this might be the first time I'm posting on this 2021 Read All the Books thread, but I've been tracking since January.

Unlike Bonnie, March was far from my peak for my SFF reading effort. I got in 3 more for a total of 15. (January 5; February 7). That said, I may have peaked way early this year - if I get ~1 more group read a month in, I'll have met my goal of 25 for this challenge & have broken 100 and then some (I'm at 97)!

I was consciously trying to get some other genres in & I keep having to return library books before I finish them. Argh. But, I LOVE MY LIBRARY!

Also, want to say, I LOVED the April Fools post! SFF has been my link to sanity, shaking me out of brain atrophy this last year. Thank you!

[Suraj]

Late joiner. But I will try to finish at least 12 books this year from the shelf.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Wow Liane! super impressive start and a great path to meeting you goal! Glad you enjoyed the letter, and that you're finding some escape or joy in our shared hobby :)

Suraj, great goal and welcome to the challenge!

[Amanda]

I've read 5 so far but should be at 8 by the end of the month, since I'm planning to read both of this month's group reads and one of the rereads. So that'll put me back on track.

[Lowell]

There's a light, shining in the deep
adding another book and it's gonna get read this month...


Hmm. I'll need to really channel my inner Adele to get the rest of that one to scan right....

Anyhow, adding this month's group read Deeplightas a "currently reading."

Additionally, I picked up The Girl with All the Gifts on a sale or as filler to pad out one of those "spend $25" deals or.. something I don't remember why, but it's now going into the "On Deck" List, which is my "I own a copy of this group read, but haven't read it yet" list. also I missed a couple of "I own these but haven't read them, so threw those into my on-deck selections.

Currently Reading


On Deck


Finished!


DNF

[Bonnie]

CBRetriever wrote: "they get banana bread?"

I did make banana bread last night, and when asked by my spouse, could not think of why/what made me think of it. HERE IS THE SEED!

Here is the recipe I tried, with delicious result:
www.allrecipes.com/recipe/219967/chef-johns-banana-bread/

For GR-SFFBC books, i am hacking away at Neuromancer. Next the monthly picks. After that it will get interesting, what to put On Deck then?

Maybe,
- move some Mars books from DNF to Read: The Martian, Red Mars.
- some titles I got on sale (thanks Mindy et al over in Book Sales thread!). When Gravity Fails, The City We Became, The Outside.
- hit the rest of the group's first year, 2008: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Storm Front, The Color of Magic, His Majesty's Dragon...

[HeyT]

My shelf reads goal this month is to read Island in the Sea of Time, Seveneves, and Jade City as they were my RNG picks for the month. I also borrowed Doomsday Book, Wizard's First Rule, and Artemis from the library if I finish those first three off.

If I stay on track of reading 6 shelf books per month I will catch up with the shelf in four years. I don't see me keeping up with that realistically though.

[Maarit]

I'm currently off to a good start as I've already read five books for this challenge. For reference, last year I hit the five books read mark sometime during autumn and only managed to read eight books in total for whole year from the bookshelf.

I've currently pledged to read eight books in total for this year (as I did poorly last year), but I think I'll raise it up to 15 or so.

Currently reading
Genevieve Cogman: The Invisible Library (physical book, owned)
Vernor Vinge: Linnunradan ääret (A Fire Upon the Deep) (physical book, owned)
Kira Jane Buxton: Hollow Kingdom (library loan)
Daniel José Older: Shadowshaper (library e-book)

Read
Hiroshi Sakurazaka: All You Need Is Kill (physical book, owned, 3 stars)
Richard Matheson: Olen legenda (I am Legend, physical book, owned, 3 stars)
Karen Lord: The Best of all Possible Worlds (library e-book, 2 stars)
Waubgeshig Rice: Moon of the Crusted Snow (library book, 3 stars)
Ben H. Winters: The Last Policeman (library e-book, 3 stars)

So far haven't DNFd anything, but we shall see.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

awesome start Maarit! hopefully you find a couple you enjoy more :)

[Dj]

Maarit wrote: "I'm currently off to a good start as I've already read five books for this challenge. For reference, last year I hit the five books read mark sometime during autumn and only managed to read eight b..."

I am reading A Fire Upon the Deep at the moment and I have to say it is hard for me to get into, but I am intrigued by the fact that it is so different from what I have normally been reading so I won't be setting it aside any time soon.

[Maarit]

Allison wrote: "awesome start Maarit! hopefully you find a couple you enjoy more :)"

Actually the only book I really didn’t like that much so far is The Best of all Possible Worlds. Somehow the e-book format did not do it any favors and the story was mediocre at it’s best. Others were ok and entertaining enough, but not something I would re-read.

I’m not sure though what to do with Hollow Kingdom as I hate zombies, but the way the story is told still interests me enough to keep going, even if some things have bothered me a little (not the cussing, tho).

Dj: I tried to read A Fire upon the Deep in English, but it didn’t work for me that well, so I switched out to a version translated to my own language. Much easier to follow the story now.

[Jessica]

Maarit wrote: "I’m not sure though what to do with Hollow Kingdom as I hate zombies, but the way the story is told still interests me enough to keep going, even if some things have bothered me a little (not the cussing, tho)."

Hollow Kingdom was one of my top 3 books of last year, I loved is so much. I felt like it got better and better as it went along - at first I thought it would be a bit silly, then it became so heartfelt. I was crying through the last third or so haha.

[Dj]

Maarit wrote: "Allison wrote: "awesome start Maarit! hopefully you find a couple you enjoy more :)"

Actually the only book I really didn’t like that much so far is The Best of all Possible Worlds. Somehow the e-..."

That wouldn't work for me. English is my native language. Well, Merikhan English at any rate. LOL. I am enjoying the complexity of it.

[Dj]

So I finally finished the 8th book of the challenge, the funny thing is that only two of them have been from the original 12 I picked out. Kind of an interesting twist

The Last Unicorn

Some comic books are just so much more. This might better be called a graphic novel. The story is rich and the artwork merely adds to the level of enjoyment that comes along with it. Having watched the movie I was interested to see how the book compared and I was well satisfied with the results. I am glad that I finally took the opportunity to read this book.

[Lowell]

Not really feeling a song lyric for this update, but yay, got another one done - I really need to knuckle down ad start knocking these out if i'm going to hit my goal. But hey, a book done is a book done, and i'll take it!

going to read another non-group shelf book now, for the amazin 8's challenge

Currently Reading


On Deck


Finished!


DNF

[CBRetriever]

I'm working on Seed to Harvest: The Complete Patternist Series which has Wild Seed as the first book in the compilation which will give me 5 out of 10 and halfway done with my pledge before the year's half done

[Maarit]

After the last post I've finished two more books, both e-books. I'm on a roll it seems. Physical books seem to be little bit harder to finish, but I should read Hollow Kingdom soon, as it's library due date is approaching and someone has reserved it, so I can't renew the loan anymore.

Currently reading
Genevieve Cogman: The Invisible Library (physical book, owned)
Vernor Vinge: Linnunradan ääret (A Fire Upon the Deep) (physical book, owned)
Kira Jane Buxton: Hollow Kingdom (library loan)
Daniel O'Malley: The Rook (library e-book)

Read
Hiroshi Sakurazaka: All You Need Is Kill (physical book, owned, 3 stars)
Richard Matheson: Olen legenda (I am Legend, physical book, owned, 3 stars)
Karen Lord: The Best of all Possible Worlds (library e-book, 2 stars)
Waubgeshig Rice: Moon of the Crusted Snow (library book, 3 stars)
Ben H. Winters: The Last Policeman (library e-book, 3 stars)
Daniel José Older: Shadowshaper (library e-book, 3 stars)
Octavia E. Butler: Parable of the Sower (library e-book, 4 stars)

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Good work, all!! I'm so impressed with your consistent results!

[CBRetriever]

OK finished Wild Seed for the 5th out of 10 books in my pledge. It doesn't show up in my total because I'm reading Seed to Harvest: Wild Seed, Mind of My Mind, Clay's Ark, Patternmaster which contains that plus three other books in the series.

[DivaDiane]

You can add the single of Wild Seed for your total and “fix” it at the end of the year.

[CBRetriever]

DivaDiane wrote: "You can add the single of Wild Seed for your total and “fix” it at the end of the year."

I'll just wait until I finish all 4 of the books (it's part of my Series Challenge for SciFi

[Lowell]

So I started reading Three Parts Dead, and I liked the prologue and the first chapter... even if I kept falling asleep during them. This is probably in no way the fault of the author, but really just my crazy schedule and overall lack of sleep.

Currently Reading


On Deck


Finished!


DNF

[Beth]

Goal: 7
Read: 3

Currently reading:

Finished:


On deck (subject to change!):


DNF (<50%)*:
* unfinished books at >=50% will be reviewed and rated and counted as read

[Richard]

Since my last update in February I’ve been going great guns.

8 Read



On deck

Too many to mention.

Currently reading

.

It does help that my daughter has wanted to read along with a few from the bookshelf, made me pull my finger out and get on with it.

[Dj]

Richard wrote: "Since my last update in February I’ve been going great guns.

8 Read

[bookco..."

It is always good to get some inspiration no matter where it comes from. LOL.

[Beth]

Oh, Song of Achilles is on the list? That one'll have to be on deck, too. :)

[Dj]

I finished number nine of my 12 still not reading many on the list I started with, but ah well. LOL.
This is: Assassin's Apprentice

A book that was never quite what I expected it to be but in a good way. While the story doesn't race along at a rapid pace it does pull you along and keep you interested. It is a very interesting writing style and I am looking forward to seeing how the next books do in that regard.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

yay for good surprises!

[Bonnie]

I had a good April knocking seven from bookshelf!

monthly group reads and an official re-read:



time-travel kick:

+ second half

and after decades I made it through seminal cyberpunk that's been "Unfinished" for decades!

This online study guide really helped me. Every chapter I went and read the correlating summary w/ analysis. Plus themes, symbols, context. Got me through what to me was a slippery, hard-to-picture text.
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/neuromancer/
_________________

Here they are in the order I liked them. (I know Connie Willis is nice in real life, and most people like her writing, but I find her humor and characters don't work for me.)

Parable of the Sower
Deeplight
Everfair
The Time Machine
Neuromancer
The Accidental Time Machine
Blackout/All Clear

[Bonnie]

Like trip research, anticipating and choosing next books to read is almost more fun than the reading itself! ON DECK >

The Sheep Look Up - crossover with my IRL group

Here and Now and Then - finish off the time travel kick.
Are there any more SFFBC time travel books besides S.M. Stirling ?

And I have two on hold at the library,
going backwards to last one i haven't read,
The Bone Shard Daughter
going forward from 2008 the first one I haven't read,
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

[Dj]

Allison wrote: "yay for good surprises!"

Absolutely. So much better than bad ones.

[Juulna]

Do we need to leave reviews for this challenge to count, or just mark them as read? Sometimes I just reeeeeally don't want to leave a review, for a multitude of reasons. :P

OH! And a question that's been bugging me:
I see you have 'Midnight Riot' by Ben Aaronovitch on your bookshelf.... but is that the same as 'Rivers of London,' just a different title? I can't seem to figure that bit out. If they are the same and I read 'Rivers of London', should I just mark 'Midnight Riot' as read so it counts?

And my update is that I've currently read 9/12 of my pledged books already!! :D <3

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hi Juulna! No review necessary! And yes, Rivers of London is the same as Midnight Riot. You can count it as read whatever you call it--it doesn't check anything against our bookshelf, it's 100% user-validated :)

Good job! You're really on a roll!

[Midiain]

The title of the book was originally Rivers of London but, for some reason, US publishers changed it to Midnight Riot. I think it's been changed back now to reduce the confusion but both titles are still out there.

They did some other pointless things like changing the spelling of some words and at least one name. (Leslie/Lesley) I'm pretty that US readers won't be too unsettled by seeing words like "colour" instead of "color". lol

[Juulna]

Caillen wrote: "The title of the book was originally Rivers of London but, for some reason, US publishers changed it to Midnight Riot. I think it's been changed back now to reduce the confusion but both titles are..."

Being a Canadian, I see this so often and it KILLS me, my goodness.

Thank you for the answers, both of you!

[CBRetriever]

Finished 6 out of the 10 books I pledged: City of Bones and am starting on The Calculating Stars

[HeyT]

Today I finished my 20th shelf book of the year and am now up to a grand total of 169 from the shelf total. I pledged 15 to keep my challenge symmetrical with years past but I'm aiming for 36 by the end of the year.

[Dj]

HeyT wrote: "Today I finished my 20th shelf book of the year and am now up to a grand total of 169 from the shelf total. I pledged 15 to keep my challenge symmetrical with years past but I'm aiming for 36 by th..."

nice

[Juulna]

CBRetriever wrote: "Finished 6 out of the 10 books I pledged: City of Bones and am starting on The Calculating Stars"

Ooooh I hope you like the latter! I ADORED it. Can't wait for more from that series....

[Anna]

"At your current pace, you're 6 books (25%) behind schedule."

Ugh :S

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Yes, just set aside 2 days at the end of the year, and you'll be fine =P

[Anna]

That's true XD but also idontwanna.

[John]

This is my first year entering the challenge. I set a goal of 25 not knowing if that was realistic or not. I'm ahead of goal so far. Question for this group: What's your favorite book so far this year?

[Bonnie]

John wrote: "Question for this group: What's your favorite book so far this year?"

Of GRSFFBC's "bookshelf" back catalog, monthly reads, or any book?

[John]

Bonnie wrote: "John wrote: "Question for this group: What's your favorite book so far this year?"

Of GRSFFBC's "bookshelf" back catalog, monthly reads, or any book?"

I've read 16 so far and 4 are truly standouts. If I had to pick one of the four for this group, it would be 'All Systems Red' by Martha Wells. It's told in the first person by a hybrid human robot whose job is to protect humans exploring other planets. Far from being an obedient robot, he is more like a working class guy trying to get by on the least he can do to fulfill his job responsibilities. An unlikely but engaging hero. JC

[CBRetriever]

out of the ones I've read so far, I enjoyed City of Bones for it's entertainment value but for depth of experience/sticking with me, I'd pick either Wild Seed or Parable of the Sower

Butler, Octavia E. - Wild Seed
Feist, Raymond E. - Magician (Riftwar Saga)
Wells, Martha - City of Bones
Butler, Octavia E. - Parable of the Sower
Kowal, Mary Robinette - Calculating Stars
Friedman, C.S. - This Alien Shore
Muir, Tamsyn - Gideon the Ninth