Christopher's 2021 Year of Reading (comments/questions are ok)

[Christopher]

Assuming I end up reading 2.5 books/month, that would get me to 30 books total.

Of these, I'll plan the following breakdown:
-15 SFFBC BoTM reads
-6 Books from my TBR pile
-6 Library/New books
-3 Wild cards (not the GRR Martin series, just whatever I want to read)

Also thinking I'll try to read 52 issues of comic books (probably contained within trade paperback collections rather than buying individual issues).

Making this thread to keep myself on pace and to see how close to this I end up adhering. I also reserve the right to totally ignore this challenge if I feel like it, but it's good to set goals.

[Christopher]

So, this was my January reading:

- 95% of Fate of the Fallen and ended up DNF'ing it at that point as I decided I wasn't going to be continuing on with the series. That last 5% would have likely taken me 30 minutes to an hour to read and I didn't want to give up that amount of time.
- 30% of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City which is a bit grimmer than I've been in the mood for so I haven't been reading this every day. The MC keeps punching people out of the blue which I don't like. Reads a bit like a grimdark version of the Martian where instead of having to survive on Mars he has to coordinate a city's defense in the Middle Ages.
- 12% of The Book of Koli and it's enjoyable so far, feels slightly YA. I only gave 2 stars to my other read of this author, The Girl With All the Gifts (I really thought the ending was bad and overall more bleak than I'm up for) so I'm hoping this one goes better (although it's already starting out a bit bleak with humanity struggling).
- 100% of the novella Trinity by Nancy Kress which was in Gardner Dozois' Best of the Best anthology. Creepy and weird, but also engaging and interesting.
- 60% of The Ministry Of The Future which addresses an important topic of climate change, but dry enough that at times it has felt like a chore to read and no particularly strong characters. There was a paragraph that was just a list of mountains.
- 100% of the short story “Mighty Are the Meek and the Myriad” by Cassandra Khaw which was just okay, had basically one take away about robot intelligence that also was used as a bit of a joke.
- DNF'ed another short story -- it was only 10 pages long but I got to page four and was forcing myself through it with no enjoyment so I didn't want to waste any more time.

I feel like this all adds up to be ~ 2.5 books or at least in that ballpark. I haven't felt like reading any comics so no progress there. In general, I feel like I'm only reading about 20-30 minutes a day and also skipping some days.

[Christopher]

-DNF'ed Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City at 30%.
-finished The Book of Koli (88% of a book)
-finished The Ministry for the Future (40%)
-DNF'ed We Are Legion (We Are Bob) at 42%
-finished The Red Magician
-read a short story from The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction (6/36) - slowly trying to get through this one.

So 2.7 books, 1 of which was a club read.

[Christopher]

- finished The Trials of Koli which I thought was a decent follow-up to the first one, (maybe even better?) will plan to read book 3 when it comes out
- read 51% of Retribution Falls which has been a relatively fun read thus far, a roguish crew somewhat akin to Firefly, sometimes more anti-hero than my taste, but hasn't gone overboard (so to speak) yet
- read Global Frequency, Vol. 1: Planet Ablaze and Global Frequency, Vol. 2: Detonation Radio which I thought were really good comics (some ups and downs, very episodic, but overall enjoyed) about an international team of 1,0001 experts who are called in to deal with various technological and supernatural threats

So 1.5 books, behind my 2.5 goal, but still okay, at least mostly caught on my comics goal having read 12 this month

I have a ton of books on TBR, but slowly plodding along, started Deeplight but only a few pages in and will continue working on RF.

[DivaDiane]

Slowly plodding along wins the race!! Sounds good Christopher!

[Christopher]

Thanks Diane!

[Michelle]

Isn't Retribution Falls fun? I enjoyed the entire series.

[Christopher]

Yes, only halfway through, but agree it's fun so far & hoping I enjoy the rest enough to continue on with the series -- for some reason I keep picturing it as a TV show, but that might just be it's surface level Firefly similarities

[Christopher]

So to recap April:

- Read Deeplight, but ended up giving it only 1 star, had to force myself to speed read the last 20% as I just didn't care anymore.
- DNF'ed Retribution Falls somewhere at 76%, it started out fun enough with a cast of rogues, but they kept mistreating/killing people and using derogatory language and I just wasn't into that. I don't think I like pirates all that much. I do like pirate jokes, however, for example I think the film adaptation of this would definitely be rated "Arrrrr".
- the short story Snow which I found to be only okay, not incredibly memorable (ironic given its premise of recording memories) or innovative, at least it was short! I do think the concept is interesting, but I just think it's been done better elsewhere. That one Black Mirror episode, "The Entire History of You" for example.
- the graphic novel (or trade paperback, not sure the correct term, it collects several issues of a comic) Colonel Weird: Cosmagog. I enjoyed this, but you can't start here, would need to read Black Hammer, Vol. 1: Secret Origins first. A bit of Slaughterhouse-Five's concept of being unstuck in time.
- started Cage of Souls and am 33% through it. So far, so good.

For other media I watched the entire series of "For All Mankind" on Apple+ which is an alternate history of NASA that I'd recommend, but maybe only slightly SFF. Prestige drama type.

So 1.85 books, a short story and (the equivalent of) 4 comic books. So 0.65 books behind my reading goal, but I kept up with the comics one and once I complete CoS that would be my 3rd BotM for 2021. Behind pace there to get to 15, but can hopefully catch up sometime.

Also signed up for supporting Hugo membership for DisCon so at some point should read the nominees (although I think I already DNFed a few -- oh no!)

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Really good recovery game, and I'm glad for the pun ^^

[Christopher]

May recap:

- DNF'ed Cage of Souls at 58%, I just found that it was meandering too much and I wasn't enjoying it enough to continue, felt like a collection of weird sci-fi ideas more than a cohesive single plot
- started The Physicians of Vilnoc and am at 30%, the subject matter of a pandemic is slightly rough, also semi-burned out on this series, but I'm sure I'll finish it, maybe in June
- DNF'ed Project Hail Mary at 58% -- funny I didn't realize it was at the same % as CoS. I think I also started to lose interest in the The Martian at around that point where it started to feel like a list of tasks and not a story as much. I think this one had that issue, plus the fact that it felt less plausible (a few scientist characters rang untrue) and the character of Rocky was getting on my nerves.
- DNF'ed More Than Human after about 5 pages, just really wasn't feeling it.
- read Fugitive Telemetry which was fine (3 stars), but this series is starting to feel like watching re-runs of Law & Order rather than something transcendent, just the case of the week type thing with not much other interesting content, ideas, or character progression.
- started Necessity, the conclusion to the Thessaly trilogy and am 15% through it. I loved the first book and thought the second was very solid, lots of interesting, original ideas, curious to see how this one stacks up, it certainly takes it in a very new direction so far
- continuing to make my way through The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction, reading another 5% of it this month to get up to 25%, have generally been really enjoying these stories, here are my star ratings for the ones I've read so far:

Blood Music 5 (sci-fi biotech horror)
A Cabin on the Coast 5 (fantasy horror)
Salvador 3 (sci-fi military, PTSD)
Trinity 4 (sci-fi religion genetics horror, bonus future NYC)
Flying Saucer Rock & Roll 2 (bit too silly)
Dinner in Audoghast 3 (interesting idea, but felt a bit dated)
Roadside Rescue 3 (interesting idea, just not much to it)
Snow 3 (interesting idea, but done better elsewhere)
The Winter Market 4 (set a good mood, had an idea I hadn't considered about a common concept in sci-fi)
The Pure Product 4 (not sure why I liked this one, but also set a definite mood, sort of a Lord of the Flies type thing)
Stable Strategies for Middle Management 3 (very silly, but enjoyable enough and short)
- read one issue from Middlewest, Book Three

So overall:

Novels: 25% + 58% + 2% + 15% = 1
Novellas: 100% + 30% = 1.3
Anthologies: .05
Comics: 1 issue

Using purely arbitrary multipliers of 50% to Novellas and 200% to anthologies, I'll say that I read 1.75 books this month, about a book below target and 1 comic which is 3 below target.

[DivaDiane]

Sorry, your reading has been such a bummer lately. Hard to find something that satisfies, huh. You are much more ruthless than I am when it comes to DNFing. I almost never do.

I am a bit underwhelmed by Cage of Souls, but entertained enough by the audiobook to stick with it. At this point I have to find out what happens!!

[Beth]

I've read the first three Murderbot novellas and am starting to feel similarly about them, Christopher. Decent reads that have an extra spark if you like the character--and many readers do!--but after the first they haven't gripped me very hard. They seem to be avoiding conclusive developments like TV series do, as well...

[Eva]

Yes, I expected book 3 or 4 to be the last, giving me a satisfying conclusion, but nooo: we have to make more money!! I love them, but I wish Wells hadn't signed a deal sentencing her to writing nothing else for the next few years. I love her creativity and want to see new things!

[Christopher]

Yes, this one felt like a filler episode

[Christopher]

Another month, another update, they just keep on coming!

- Finished final 85% of Necessity, 2 stars, this one really didn't work for me, finished it out of a sense of obligation to complete the Thessaly series. I loved The Just City, the thought experiment was interesting to me and it was great to see how much of a superstar Socrates was in that environment. Many YA books had indirectly used these concepts (Hunger Games, Divergent, Red Rising, etc.), but was great to see the original work/mythos invoked. I also read Plato's Republic back in college so I had a sense for the source material. The Philosopher Kings was a step down for me, by that point the novel concept was old hat, but it kicked into gear towards the end and I was eager to pick up book three after such an exciting ending. Necessity, however, just didn't live up to its predecessors (I won't say any more b/c spoilers) - mostly though it was slow, with less of an interesting plot, and fewer interesting ideas.
- Read another 5% of The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction which was just one novelette, Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick. I'd rate that one a 4.
-Got back to some comic book reading, finishing two collected editions, Wolverine: Weapon X and Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky Vol. 1: Know Fear (Daredevil. I rated both 4 stars although if they were head to head I'd say the Daredevil was more enjoyable. Weapon X was an origin series for Wolverine that was very much a mad scientist type story with Logan being the unwilling subject. The art was good and the writing unique to the genre, veering on horror. I do think the "twist" in the last issue was pretty unbelievable and maybe would even drag this down to 3 stars, but I won't overthink it. Wolverine was a favorite character of mine growing up, had a few posters of him on my childhood bedroom so it was good to revisit his start. Snikt. Chip Zdarsky has impressed me as a comic book writer and this Daredevil series continues that trend. Maybe a bit cliche by now to have a beaten down, self destructive MC, but for some reason this one didn't bother me, I do think superheroes would be likely to fall into this pattern and I have the next volume sitting on my bedside table and plan to read it soon.
- read the first short story in The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, "Ghost Stories", 7%. I picked this one up after seeing that it won the Locus award for best collection for 2020. This story was a decent one, think I'd rate it 4 stars. Ranged over a wide span of time. Have not found the hidden girl yet although maybe this is not a Where's Waldo type thing and rather just a straightforward collection of SFF stories.
- got about halfway through The Day of the Triffids (52%) and so far it's been enjoyable enough. It might feel a bit unoriginal, but then I have to remind myself that it's old enough that it likely inspired many copycat type stories over the years that I'd already read or seen. I looked it up and at least one genre work I'd enjoyed, the film "28 Days Later" (5 star film for me, would recommend, but I only saw it the once back when it came out close to 20 years ago, so might not hold up?) took direct inspiration from this (not to be confused with the romantic comedy "28 Days" starring Sandra Bullock). Triffids is a "zombie" story before that was as much of a thing.

So to recap:
Novels: 85% + 52% = 1.37
Novellas: 0
Anthologies/Collections: 5% + 7% = 0.12
Comics: 10 issues

Using my weighting scale from last month this is 1.61 books, about a book below target (seems to be a trend there, maybe should up my prioritization of reading time or set my goals lower for next year) and 10 comics which is well above target.

[Christopher]

Short recap this month:

Read all of The Fall of Koli and 50% of Neuromancer. Koli was great, a 5 star read for me, really closed out the Rampart Trilogy well. Neuromancer was a book I thought I'd read as I'd definitely read book 3 of the Sprawl, Mona Lisa Overdrive, but thinking more on it I think that one was a Christmas present so probably just given to me as a standalone. Anyway I'm enjoying it so far and a lot of it still seems relevant almost 40 years later.

Comics game still going strong with 10 more issues collected in Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky, Vol. 2: No Devils, Only God and The Department of Truth, Vol 1: The End of the World. Daredevil continues the series I'd started in June and I'm still liking it which is somewhat unusual for me in that I usually like the bigger brands (Marvel/DC) less, but this one is well written and more self contained (part of my issue with the big two are the large amount of crossovers so its tough to keep up with it all). Department was a quick read and definitely not boring, but not sure I liked it yet, plays on the rash of conspiracy rumors the internet has fostered, but also gives them more credence than I might be comfortable with and veers more horror than is usually to my taste.

So 1.5 books, a bit behind pace and getting really behind on club books, but c'est la vie.

[Christopher]

I gave up on updating this, I think I achieved what I had intended for it, but didn't want to spend the time keeping it up to date.

Maybe next year I'll start it up again.

[Ryan, Your favourite moderators favourite moderator]

I tried reading The Philosopher Kings and have up after two chapters. Told myself I just wasn't in the mood but in all truth I couldn't be bothered to spend more time in that idea without the characters that I cared for originally.

[MadProfessah]

Did you make it to 30 books for the year!?

I think we have somewhat different taste. I can’t imagine DNF “We Are Legion” and I also loved “The girl with all the gifts”—I have the “Koli” trilogy on my TBR.

[Christopher]

Not exactly -- I've read 42 works, but some of them were below novel length or were graphic novels. I've only read 24 books that I'd consider long enough to really count. The year isn't over yet though! Also I've started but DNF'ed a large number of books this year, if I added up all the fractional books I think I might have gotten there.

Yeah, it's funny how much tastes vary from person to person, even among people who enjoy the same genre. Girl with all the Gifts I mostly liked as I was reading it, but the ending ruined it for me as I recall. Also I think it was maybe more grim than my usual cup of tea.