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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Jen
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May 23, 2021 05:41AM
I really liked Space.
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DivaDiane wrote: "Have either of you, Chessie or Don, or anyone else for that matter read Michener’s Space? Is it any good?"Thirty-five or forty years ago, yes. My younger self found it a bit of a slog, but an okay book.
Ines wrote: "I have a lot of crafting, organizing and cleaning to do at the moment and since all books I was reading were on paper or display, I was searching for an audiobook to get me out of my audiobook-slum..."I read Daisy Jones as an e-book and really liked it. Great read. The author is releasing a new book any day now too. Malibu Rising
Ended up abandoning Project Hail Mary around 65% mark, just felt too much like a chore to work through it. I see 1 and 2 star reviews don't even amount to 1% of the reviews so I'm clearly the odd one out here. 2 stars.Finished Fugitive Telemetry, felt a bit better than the novel, but maybe the weakest one after that. Rather than much further development it felt very much like the case of the week. 2.5 stars.
Going to try Necessity next to finish out the (so far) excellent Thessaly series by Jo Walton.
Also reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to my 5yo, been fun to read that in short installments, we are up to the train station, platform 9.75.
Christopher wrote: "Ended up abandoning Project Hail Mary around 65% mark, just felt too much like a chore to work through it. I see 1 and 2 star reviews don't even amount to 1% of the reviews so I'm c..."Yup, I guess you are in the minority here, Christopher - had the same experience (the other way round) with "Cage of Souls". Lets keep on to our special tastes :D.
I've read somewhat cross country, trying to tick off some challenges and other lists.
Annihilation Aria by Michael R. Underwood was a Buddy Read. It had some good ideas that made it stand out from the crowd (archeological crew, married mcs, 'Space Opera' taken literally with a species with songs as communication), but in the end it wanted too much and that made the story rather unconvincing. One of those books where the concentration on one topic would have been better.
Starlings by Jo Walton - finally finished her short stories/poems collection. As much as I adore Jo Walton, I have to concur with her on the insight that she simply isn't much of a short story author. Some good ideas, but I never got the feeling she managed the structure a good short story needed.
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin. This one I've read with my non-fiction group. I picked it up on a whim, cause it was available on storytel for me. I've never read anything by this author. But now I'm quite excited to give her novels and short stories a try. The biography was a bit try on the edges, but I got really fascinated by Jackson herself, who was such a dedicated mother and family person as well as a bohemian artist. It was great to read this combination that I not often see. Of course some of her novels were spoiled in the going, but with my Swiss Cheese memory I guess I can just let some weeks pass and then tackle her work. It will be brand new for me :D.
Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese I've read for the popsugar challenge. Another one of those slow burning, deep meaning, calm and unmercifully blunt novels I just love reading. Here a son who hasn't seen his father in ages has to accompany said father on his last journey to die.
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, another one for the ps challenge. And another one of those harsh tales that grip me and don't let go. A story about Biafra's struggle for an idependent republic in Nigeria and all the inhumane atrocities that came with it.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was more on a whim, cause I needed something short and storytel-available. It was my first Steinbeck and once I got my brain around the fact that it was written kind of like a screenplay I was deeply fascinated by the rich understanding of human underdogs. Several times I was reminded of Sturgeon's style - which, as those who know me know, is my SF 'mentor'.
Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky I've read for the third time cause of being this groups BotM. Yet when I saw how little love there was for this book in our group, I sneaked away from the discussions and enjoyed this masterpiece on my own :).
Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell: this one comes up frequently in my Twitter TL, so I gave it a try. On the positive side it actually had me invested in the story and I didn't phase out once (which really is something to say for me and space operas), I also liked it a lot that most of the major players where female characters. The setup of characters and worldbuilding was convincing, but the character development felt flat (so far, there are more books in the series, and perhaps it gets better), and the plot leaned towards silly in the end. But I definitely will go on with the series, cause I really enjoy the choice of the cast.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir was a Buddy Read and I am one of those readers who liked the book. I never read something by this author, so I can't tell how similar it is to his Mars book, but I quite enjoyed the combination of hard SF (up to the point, where it turned into hard SF porn ... :D a bit too enthusiastic in the flashbacks imho) and cuteness. A bit like a Becky Chamber story, but with a plot.
Because one of those day I want to finish the story collection Arcanum Unbounded I started the Mistborn series (which I have to have read for a non-spoilery read of some of the short stories in said collection). I've read Mistborn: The Final Empire and The Well of Ascension so far (have to wait for my next audible credit to go on, unfortunately it is not available on storytel and for eye read of such long novels I need ages atm) - and I instantly was in love with the Cosmere again. The character setup and development isn't yet as good as in the Stormlight Archive, but the story has the same drive and the wonderful storytelling quality of Sanderson. Just a pleasure to read.
Truckers by Terry Pratchett I've read aloud with my boys and we had a blast! There was one scene where my eldest and I had to laugh so loud and so hard that we nearly couldn't go on, cause we started giggling at every other word. It's been a long time since one of us laughed that heartily. For this alone the book has my gratitude. Furthermore even though it is a book for children it has the wonderful Pratchett quality to tackle serious topics in understandable examples. While reading we had conversations about some philosphers, leadership and the four-sides model of communication. The perfect combination of entertainment and education.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi I've read with the group SF in translation. A play turned novel about a Japanese café where there is one seat in which one can time jump, yet most of the time it is occupied by a ghost. A very slow going, melancholic piece.
Just reading:
Creative Surgery by Clelia Farris also a book from the translation group, is a short story collection of an Italian SF author. Weird, wonderful and it must have been a heck of a work to translate, because it is quite complicated to read. I adore it so far.
Terminal Boredom: Stories by Izumi Suzuki, another translated short story collection, over 30 years old, but not the least dated. I can see why her writing was ground breaking. Like Farris it is weird, surrealistic and not an easy read.
finished Live Free or Die by John Ringo and absolutely did not like it. All women are "stacked' unless they're the main character's daughters.
The main character is very smug.
The lack of concern about the deaths of people caused by his actions is off-putting
The author seems to be an extreme right wing conservative and pushes that political viewpoint constantly
And the racism displayed in this book - way too much
Christopher wrote: "Ended up abandoning Project Hail Mary around 65% mark, just felt too much like a chore to work through it. I see 1 and 2 star reviews don't even amount to 1% of the reviews so I'm c..."I did get through Project Hail Mary but it dragged a bit in places, and yeah, I skimmed a few pages here and there where the sciencey descriptions got a little tedious. In the end I did enjoy it - 3.5 - 4 stars. I have read The Martian and found it a better book.
They Both Die at the End, an amazing story about 2 teens spending their last day together after finding out they only have one day left to live and meeting on the Last Friend app.
That sounded like it had potential Chessie reading the blurb thingo on GR. Don’t want to read it then. Bought Project Hail Mary for Hubby a few weeks ago. He enjoyed The Martian so I thought he might like this one. We shall see I suppose.
Finished listening to The Humans by Matt Haig this afternoon. I went out to get lunch and by the time I got back there was 20 minutes left so I took the thumb drive out of the car and listened to the end on my laptop while I was eating my sausage rolls. I really loved it and every time I stopped the car I'd sit for just a little bit longer listening to some more. I couldn't wait any longer to finish it.
Jan wrote: "I read Daisy Jones as an e-book and really liked it. Great read. The author is releasing a new book any day now too. Malibu Rising"I listened to the audiobook and it was a great performance. I almost felt like they could have been a real Fleetwood Mac-esque band a few decades ago.
Beth wrote: "Jan wrote: "I read Daisy Jones as an e-book and really liked it. Great read. The author is releasing a new book any day now too. Malibu Rising"I listened to the audiobook and it was a great perfo..."
Yeah I think its the kind of book that would lend itself particularly well to an audiobook. I'm glad it was done well.
Jan wrote: "Beth wrote: "Jan wrote: "I read Daisy Jones as an e-book and really liked it. Great read. The author is releasing a new book any day now too. Malibu Rising"I listened to the audiobook and it was ..."
Ooh, this has been on my "want to read" list and now I'm transferring to my "want to listen" list. My library has the audio available.
Mod
HHMMMMMM!!!
Asimov’s 35th Annual Readers Award FinalistsNovellas
Maelstrom by Kristine Rusch 3*
Semper Augustus by Nancy Kress 3*
Tool Use by the Humans of Danzhai County
by Derek Kunsken 4*
2 to read
Novelettes
The Beast Adjoins by Ted Kosmatka 4*
The Long Iapetan Night by Julie Novakova 4*
Tunnels by Eleanor Arnason 3*
2 to read
Short Stories
Rena in the Desert by Lia Swope 3*
The Conceptual Shark by Rich Larson 3*
GO. NOW. FIX. by Timons Esaias 4*
3 to read
I'm going to start Equal Rites from Terry Pratchett. It's the 3rd book. I'll hope I'll enjoy it, because I've started the first one, but didn't finish. For some reason it's better to start with the 3rd, I've heard.
Mod
I finished
The Aeronaut's Windlass, which was interesting Steampunk. However, I didn't note that the "series" contains only this one of three books. According to the authors website, he has not started writing book two. I gave it four stars, though probably should have given it three in that it is an uncompleted series. Be warned.
The Emperor's Wolves: this is the first book of a prequel series to the long-running (16 books as of today) Chronicles of Elantra. So far, Elantra's been a consistently three-star series for me. I've become very fond of it, but it has a number of persistent flaws that make it hard to recommend. This particular book wouldn't be a good entry point into the series, and interested readers should absolutely start with Cast in Shadow intead. (review)
I just want to quickly say that I eye-read a book yesterday and another one today and is this what my life could be if I wasn’t glued to my laptop?! It’s in repair, and yes I have two other ones but I’ve resisted taking them out of the Closet of Death.Now I get to decide what I want to read next! 😊
Recently finished Rendezvous with Rama it was pretty good throwback Sci Fi. Now reading The Cumberland Killers: A Kentucky Mystery really good so far.
Reading and always reading because I love the language and the world, The Golden Cat by Gabriel King.And this cover, this car! Reading A Gambling Man, David Baldacci - hardcover just bought.
Eric wrote: "I finished The Aeronaut's Windlass, which was interesting Steampunk. However, I didn't note that the "series" contains only this one of ..."I am a little miffed that it is taking him so long to start the second book as well. I wish he would take some time off from his Magician series to work on it.
Anna wrote: "I just want to quickly say that I eye-read a book yesterday and another one today and is this what my life could be if I wasn’t glued to my laptop?! It’s in repair, and yes I have two other ones bu..."LOL
Anna wrote: "I just want to quickly say that I eye-read a book yesterday and another one today and is this what my life could be if I wasn’t glued to my laptop?! It’s in repair, and yes I have two other ones bu..."LOL! Welcome to a screen-free life! This will hopefully be me once I finally finished my portrait series.
@Anna: I've started limiting my online hours, disconnecting from the internet completely for most of the day, and I'm getting a lot more done (and have much more peace of mind) thanks to that. Probably not an option for mods, though! I have been reading Beloved, which has beautiful prose but is harrowing to read, and discovered that I'd actually read it before maybe 20 years ago. I wish my memory was better, then I wouldn't have said "no" every time someone asked me if I'd read it!
Also rereading Dragons of Winter Night which is just such a joy, just pure magic and sense-of-wonder. Dragonlance was definitely the Harry Potter of my generation of geeky kids, and I still love it so much! This second book is also much better written than the first. @Gabi: I think your boys would love this whole series. And don't worry if the women seem a bit weak in the beginning (because most of them start out with no prior training): by the end, they're the most awesome leaders and bad-ass heroes ever. There are a lot of hilarious scenes, too, along with the epic epicness.
Anna wrote: "I just want to quickly say that I eye-read a book yesterday and another one today and is this what my life could be if I wasn’t glued to my laptop?! ..."Ahh! I remember that feeling from last year - so sweet. I have hard time staying awake eye-reading, but that's rather part of the charm, too; to just fall asleep at it.
Reading The Dragonbone Chair. About halfway through. If I'm hooked I'll go on to the sequel, if not, going to continue the reread of Wheel of Time since the tv show is supposed to be in the works.
Just finished "The Dwarves" by Markus Heitz. Dwarves, Elves, Men and Mages, a non corporeal threat in a magical land, A quest involving a magic item, the world on the line. I give the book 2 stars with the understanding that the proper audience for this book is: a tween-age person who identifies as male and registers roughly 72.5% male on the Darnell Man-Woman scale. The author has some skill and occasionally drops some profoundly elegant literary nuggets, rare as they are. Warning!!! if you are triggered by cruel, slaughter of unicorns you will need to skip a chapter or gird your lions; I've attempted to gird a house cat and would recommend having more than the usual supply of Neosporin and hydrogen peroxide on hand if you go with that approach, skipping the chapter... much easier.
Don wrote: "Just finished "The Dwarves" by Markus Heitz. Dwarves, Elves, Men and Mages, a non corporeal threat in a magical land, A quest involving a magic item, the world on the line. I give the book 2 stars ..."I thought it was "grid your lions".
It’s actually “gird your loins” but lions works too lol
Mod
The Duke and I: this is the first novel in the series that was the basis for the "Bridgerton" Netflix series. It would have been a tepid, mediocre romance if it weren't for one scene that made it rage-inducing. I'm not going to continue with these novels. I'm of a mind to read P&P for the sixth time to cleanse my brain. (review)
Mike wrote: "Don wrote: "Just finished "The Dwarves" by Markus Heitz. Dwarves, Elves, Men and Mages, a non corporeal threat in a magical land, A quest involving a magic item, the world on the line. I give the b..."A phrase that brings up some very interesting images. Ranks up there with a friend of mine thinking that during War Pigs, Ozzy Osborne was singing Oh Lawn Chairs.
Thank You Jacqueline, I only wish somebody had corrected me when I thought putting that Elizabethan Collar on that terrible Siamese tom was a good idea, better I had myself fired from a canon through a blackberry bush.
Don wrote: "Thank You Jacqueline, I only wish somebody had corrected me when I thought putting that Elizabethan Collar on that terrible Siamese tom was a good idea, better I had myself fired from a canon throu..."swaddle cat in towel first, making sure front legs are pointing towards rear of cat. I've never but a collar on one, but it works wonders with pilling and giving the dreaded pink medicine using a medicine dropper to them.
CBRetiever, The blanket tangle was the final move. You'd think Domestic Cats would be afraid of fighting people, not the case.
Don wrote: "CBRetiever, The blanket tangle was the final move. You'd think Domestic Cats would be afraid of fighting people, not the case."it's the first thing I go for, before they even have time to get worked up
back on topic, I'm reading Quantum by Patricia Cornwell. I didn't have high hopes for this as she's primarily a mystery writer (Kay Scarpetta series), but it's not bad. However, I understand it ends with a cliffhanger and I'll need to read book 2 for the resolution.
ETA: the Amazon product page for this book and the sequel is a nightmare:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
Trying to read the books of the In Death series by J. D. Robb that I haven't already read. I recently tripped over a book called Greywalker, a relatively original spin on the well-worn 'sees ghosts after resuscitation' trope. Very nice, and 8 more books to go.
Don wrote: "Thank You Jacqueline, I only wish somebody had corrected me when I thought putting that Elizabethan Collar on that terrible Siamese tom was a good idea, better I had myself fired from a canon throu..."I was just being a bit of a "saying Nazi". I got the joke and everything else but some people might have actually thought it was what you said. Don't know how many people botch up common sayings nowadays and the amount of radio announcers I hear that say the wrong thing amazes me. So you can gird your loins while you gird your lions. The wrapping them in a blankie thing sounds like it can work.
Just finished a book "One up on Wall Street" by Peter Lynch. If someone were to begin investing in the stock market this is the book I would recommend. in the book "The Quants" a friend of Lynch's gave him a Tout Sheet from Bernie Madoff's scheme, after analyzing the numbers vs. the market, Lynch advised his friend that he wanted nothing to do with Madoff and advised him to do the same.
Beth, I felt the same way about The Duke and I. Honestly I don't even want to watch the Netflix version anymore, even though I know they changed that part. It was too awful. :( On a happier note, I've read a few things recently:
All Systems Red, which I got after months of waiting, and of course loved.
Elatsoe, which was not on my radar at all, but I adored. So glad for the A8 challenge for introducing it to me! It's probably one of my favorite reads so far this year.
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, which I also thought was great. I'm steadily making my way through all of T. Kingfisher's work.
The Fire's Stone, which was a sweet story (though with some dark elements) that absorbed me, something I need right now as I'm experiencing a lot of stress.
Jacqueline wrote: "The wrapping them in a blankie thing sounds like it can work."It does but you have to do it faster than the demonstrator does
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https://www.wikihow.com/Wrap-a-Cat
I really wanted to like "The Dwarves" by Markus Heitz. I've always though that as a mythical race Dwarves have gotten short shrift though they seem very interesting. Elves treated like mythical rockstars , Dragons too! I had hoped the Dwarves would get their moment but it was not be.
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