SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading in 2021?
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YouKneeK
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May 14, 2021 02:49PM
Oh, that’s a good idea Rachel!
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I just finished The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs. It is YA fantasy which is probably not to everyone's taste but I reckon it is worth it if only for the amazing authentic photos and the way the author uses them in the story.My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
YouKneeK, Audible gives a small sample of the narrator with every book and it is well using. Also the adjustable speed is useful because some folks read too fast and some too slow.
Thanks Don, I do usually listen to at least a part of the audio sample to get an idea of what I’m in for, but some issues don’t show up in the sample because it comes from a section of text that doesn’t show the narrator’s weaknesses as badly. Even if I can tell I won’t like the narrator, I’ll usually listen to it anyway since I’m choosing specific books that I otherwise wouldn’t read in print anytime soon.Happily, I’ve gotten a lot better at pushing through an audiobook with a narrator that doesn’t work for me. I may rant about all my complaints in my reviews, but I’ve found that after listening for several hours, the issues are no longer as grating because I’ve gotten used to them.
I haven’t yet felt the urge to try changing the speed, although I have thought about it. I probably ought to just try it, but my ears listen slower than my eyes read, so the normal speed seems to work ok for me. Especially since my brain is at least a little bit occupied with following my cross-stitch pattern. I may try speeding it up the next time I’m listening to one I’m not really enjoying. Three Parts Dead would have been a good candidate, but the narrator was already kind of fast compared to other audiobooks I’d listened to so I left it alone.
I just wanted to grumble about this somewhere, and contemplated starting a "Whinge* about your reading slump" thread, but decided against it as too negative, so I'm going to complain here.Number of things read in 2021 (including short fic, these aren't all novels):
39 January
35 February
29 March
13 April
5 May
The trend :(
The good news is that I've read a couple of things this week, and not hated them! So maybe I'll be dragged kicking and screaming back into the world of actually reading a book?
* Doesn't whinging just sound so much more dramatic than basic whining?
Anna it’s a good place for it - I also wanted to make a reading comment so here goes - I seem to be doing quite well on finding books I really enjoy this year - I think I’ve already given 4-5 books 5 stars. That’s like 1 a month! Much better than my usual I think.
Anna wrote: "Doesn't whinging just sound so much more dramatic than basic whining?."I love the word whinging
I like "whinging," too. It might just be "exoticism" speaking though!
That’s not a slump Anna. That’s a hiccup. I’ve read 6 all year. I think I read more when I wasn’t reading. Last year wasn’t much better. I read a lot (80 in the year) when I was settled and bored. I’m doing lots of running around and stressing at the moment. I always have a book with me though. It’s actually very comforting to have one beside me even if I’m not reading it. Now to get back to packing up my childhood home. It sold within a couple of weeks of going on the market at full asking. 4 generations...64 years....one person....less than 2 weeks to do it.
Jacqueline, that's prime audiobooking time! I feel for you, moving is never fun, and I can't imagine having lived somewhere for that long!
This is kind of dry but, Stephen King's "On Writing".
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I'm reading The Assassins of Thasalon, but I'm thinking of setting it aside for a bit. For whatever reason I haven't been feeling the love. (I feel like I'm in a bad relationship: "it's not you, it's me!"). Normally I devour all things Pen & Des, but I'm in chapter 7 and I am still not engrossed. I'm going to shelve it for now, and go back to it later on. So on that note, onward! I will finish out my Stiger series and begin The Tiger’s Imperium.
You’d think it would be prime audiobooking time Anna but I keep getting lost in old letters and things and I’d lose track of the book. What I need to do is put all the letters and things I find in a box together as soon as I find them and read them when I’m finally back at the farm. Yeah it’s a long time and the intention was to never sell it but things change and it’s time to move on. By selling it I get to keep the farm which is really the first time I’ve picked where I want to live. Every other house we’ve owned either my parents picked it or Hubby wanted it. I was the one who stood under the trees near the front gate looking down the driveway thinking “this is it” just like Dad did when he stood on the front verandah looking out into the dark and the rain way back in 1957 when they inspected this place on a cold wet night after they finished work for the day. After my parents bought it in 1957 Mums parents pretty much lived here on and off as well. They had their own house in Sydney but my Uncle and his wives (one at a time btw) used to live there as well until he and his second wife bought their own house in the late 60s. I came along in 63. Dad died in 97 and Mum in 01 so I’ve owned it ever since. Anyway it’s now full of my grandparents stuff, my parents stuff, my stuff and my kids stuff. We’re buying a shipping container to store it all in on the farm. Then my kids can sort through it and probably throw it all out when I die.
Just finished #5 of the Murderbot series: Network Effect. The first full novel in the series.Just starting Liberte by Kaitlyn Greenridge. an unforgettable story about one young Black girl’s attempt to find a place where she can be fully, and only, herself. Takes place just after Reconstruction in Brooklyn.
Jacqueline, I feel for you! It sounds so overwhelming!
Thank you. It is overwhelming. Very. Especially when I only have until the 8th to get it done even though it settles on the 21st. I have a gastric sleeve op scheduled for the 9th. I’m pretty sure cutting out 80% of your stomach qualifies as major surgery and packing and carrying boxes would be frowned upon or nigh on impossible. Anyhoo...maybe I can listen to more audiobooks when I’m supposed to be walking after the op. That would be nice.
I finished Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others. I liked some of the stories, but the ones based on mathematics and physics didn't do much for me.
I've been turning to "light novels" (Japanese YA in translation) recently, because they're just what they say on the tin: low vocabulary, quick-reading fluff. I've never given one more than 3 stars, and Pretty Boy Detective Club: The Dark Star that Shines for You Alone is no exception. At some point I'd like to find one that I could confidently recommend to others, but clunky translations and/or cringeworthy content wreck their chances every time. This one came close to surpassing my admittedly low expectations. Nice try! (review)
I also going to whinge about my reading slump which seems to have taken over this entire year. A Spring Slump is somewhat par for course, but RL has made this year particularly bad, going over a month not reading anything at all, and so I've been rather quiet on GR lately.That said, I recently finished Fugitive Telemetry, as Murderbot is the perfect slump-buster, as well as The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, which was exactly the comfort read I needed. Currently on The Witch's Heart, and going to continue to prioritize comfortfluff and hope things pick up this summer.
@BethI wish I could make light novel recommendations, but I haven't read a ton myself. I really enjoy キノの旅 I for its androgynous lead character, and its tour of eu/dystopian lands. Some stories land a bit on the nose, but as a compilation I've enjoyed them. Just not sure if I can recommend the English, as you said, the translations can be pretty clunky. :/
Manga perhaps? There's the Aria: The Masterpiece Volume 1 series, which is light slice-of-life, Albeit (soft) SF and with a trace of magic.
I am currently on the Heroes of Olympus : The Mark of Athena , the series has been really good , as well as the Percy Jackson series , its great .
I've only read the first Percy Jackson book with my friend who was 12 at the time. She really loved it, and I loved talking about it with her.
I've read them all and loved especially the Heroes of Olympus series! Such awesome characters and fun plots. :-)
Beth wrote: "I've been turning to "light novels" (Japanese YA in translation) recently, because they're just what they say on the tin: low vocabulary, quick-reading fluff. I've never given one more than 3 stars..."I haven't read the light novels behind it, but I've seen the anime adaptation of My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! (Manga) Vol. 1 which was adorable, heart-warming and funny.
YouKneeK wrote: "I haven’t yet felt the urge to try changing the speed, although I have thought about it. I probably ought to just try it, but my ears listen slower than my eyes read, so the normal speed seems to work ok for me."When I first started with audiobooks, I didn't veer from 1.0 speed at all, ever, but as a couple of years has gone by I've relented a little. Some narrators are excessively slow even for my slow brain. In one case, a narrator was grating until I sped it up to 1.15 and it became a spritely, cheerful voice. Many people can listen at 2x or even faster, and that just seems impossible to me. Everybody's different!
At least with digital technology, it isn't like speeding up a LP and the pitch of the narration stays the same even if it's going much, much faster.
Eva wrote: "I haven't read the light novels behind it, but I've seen the anime adaptation of My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! (Manga) Vol. 1 which was adorable, heart-warming and funny."I've seen the anime, and read the first light novel that covers about half the story that the anime does. The LN has an iffy translation but conveys "Bakarina's" sweet cluelessness better, imo. The anime does some course correction from the book by eliminating some of its repetition, and agreed, it's funny, super cute and wholesome. :) It might be a good starting point for an anime newbie.
Beth wrote: "YouKneeK wrote: "I haven’t yet felt the urge to try changing the speed, although I have thought about it. I probably ought to just try it, but my ears listen slower than my eyes read, so the normal..."I usually listen at 1.5 because most narrators read very sedately. However I have just had to turn Hamnet back to 1. The narrator sounds as though she is in race and losing at the faster speed.
I read the first Percy Jackson book, but it gave out reluctant-reader vibes that turned me off. Great for my students, just not for me.I may have to check out My Next Life as a Villainess in one form or another. :)
I started upping the speed of audiobooks very slowly, just a little bit and over the course of a few books I found that my sweet spot is 1.3x or 1.4x. If a narrator is exceptionally slow I might even bump it up to 1.5x. It’s only with singing or music that it become weird for it to be faster. Then I usually stop, go back and listen at original speed.
I'm gearing up for a Michener Novel: Poland.
Please let us know how that goes! I've never read his books, but have eyed them for years.
For me, when reading a Michener I skip over the first part of the book where he talks about, geography, migratory patterns, plate tectonics, continental drift and so forth. I start his stories where the people start and when finished there I go back for the beginning. Michener is amazing and can take you to places you've never been to. Rosalind's revenge from Chesapeake is a particular favorite. There's some women you don't want to piss off, even if you're a pirate.
Read most of the Percy Jackson books. I really enjoy reading them. Currently on Magnus Chase. He’s a Norse Demi god who died and was taken to Valhalla. He’s the cousin of Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson. Haven’t read the Egyptian god ones yet though. Haven’t read the Apollo ones either. Better get a wriggle on eh I read the first Percy Jackson years ago around the time the first movie came out. I needed something to read waiting for a plane and on the plane when I was coming home from visiting my eldest while he was at uni. The trailer for the movie was out and it looked good so I picked up the book in the airport bookshop. Loved it. It was finished by the time Hubby picked me up from the airport on the other end. Read the next ones in the series before I saw the movie. They were great, the movie....not so much.
Eva wrote: "Beth wrote: "I've been turning to "light novels" (Japanese YA in translation) recently, because they're just what they say on the tin: low vocabulary, quick-reading fluff. I've never given one more..."I have read My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Volume 1 and was not overly impressed. The plot holes kept bothering me.
I'm currently reading The Ghost Pirates, by William Hope Hodgson. Apparently, a ship is being taken over, or harried, by supernatural pirates. One dead so far. Back in the day, I guess it would have been suspenseful, but pretty tame by modern standards. Still, it's fun enough.
Melissa wrote: "@BethI wish I could make light novel recommendations, but I haven't read a ton myself. I really enjoy キノの旅 I for its androgynous lead character, and its tour of eu/dystopian lands. ..."
I've had the anime of that on disk for ages, but never got around to it. I'll consider this, though I'm not a big fan of short stories or vignettes. Usually I "get it" after the first one, and after that I'm bored.
Mary wrote: "Manga perhaps? There's the Aria: The Masterpiece Volume 1 series, which is light slice-of-life, Albeit (soft) SF and with a trace of magic."
I enjoyed the Aria anime. It's almost too slice of life leisurely at times--it can make grass growing look like an action flick. Gorgeously produced though! If you like the idea of a pristine Venice on terraformed Mars, with cute teenagers piloting gondolas as the main characters, then this is the show for you.
In any case, I've read plenty of manga. What I'm really longing for is a light novel that never once makes me cringe, whether due to careless translation or sexism.
Mary wrote: "I have read My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Volume 1 and was not overly impressed. The plot holes kept bothering me."
Many light novels that are professionally published in Japan were first published online on amateur writers' sites (kind of like the original fiction portions of AO3), and at times they feel like they were lightly edited between their net and pro publications, if at all. So I wouldn't doubt that this particular one had a plot hole here and there...
Anyhow, I don't intend for this thread to become a light novel thread. It's a niche interest even among people who are also anime fans so wouldn't be of interest to most.
Life beat me with a baseball bat and then when that one broke it went and got a new one, so reading has been a struggle lately, but I finally finished some stuff I'd been reading for months! Started on a new batch of books recently:The Galaxy, and the Ground Within. This is very much a comfort read for me. I love these books so much. I'm very tempted to go reread the rest after I finish this one.
Shadow and Bone. I started this because I was watching the tv show. Which means I know have the two versions inextricably mixed up in my head at this point. Oops.
Project Hail Mary. Even though I hated Artemis, I'm giving this one a try. It's much more along the lines of The Martian so far, which I did enjoy. I'm just worried that it'll end up being a Martian copy completely though.
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Just started Poland by James Michener, And they're fighting all the time so far.
Don wrote: "Just started Poland by James Michener, And they're fighting all the time so far."I tired of him with Texas but I must have missed Poland. Texas was a definite DNF for me and I had just moved to Texas so I was interested in the topic.
I just read through the Tordotcom Publishing 2021 Debut Sampler sampler and couldn't find one I wanted to read. Sadness - I must be getting picky again.
I'm still working on The Tiger and the Wolf by Adrian Tchaikovsky and enjoying it plus I'm reading Live Free or Die by John Ringo which is a bit too much isolationist (think posse comitus types) , right wing, conservative for me. It's part of my TBR challenge, so I'll soldier on
CBR- With Michener I understand a DNF he is not for everybody. I think that Michener is a taste not everybody's going to go for. I walked away from "The Covenant" 3 times.
Don wrote: "CBR- With Michener I understand a DNF he is not for everybody. I think that Michener is a taste not everybody's going to go for. I walked away from "The Covenant" 3 times."I missed The Covenant too. I think the last one I really liked was Chesapeake and that's because it basically had my family history in it (Quakers, slave owners, rebels, loyalists, fighters on both sides of the Civil War. The imaginary town it was set in was about 10 miles from where my father's family had been living since before the American Revolution.
Have either of you, Chessie or Don, or anyone else for that matter read Michener’s Space? Is it any good?
not me but I did see the TV miniseries and it was pretty good
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