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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Rachel
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Jun 12, 2021 10:35AM
Stand-alone : not heavy in window units that block your window!
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Anna wrote: "But it does suit my reading mood perfectly! Absolutely horrible! :D"The Selection - Yes! Some people are bewildered by this, but when you're feeling awful... it's sort of the perfect occasion to consume something likewise... kind of awful. Your mind is already numbed, so go for something mind-numbing. I get it.
And no need to feel bad about hating it :D
Gone With The Ghost by Erin McCarthy. This is a cozy mystery with a paranormal element. The ghost of Bailey's best friend appeared in order to implore Bailey to investigate his "suicide."My review - www.Goodreads.com/review/show/4054791106
Rachel wrote: "Stand-alone : not heavy in window units that block your window!"like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/TOSOT-000-BTU-...
I hope that the ice cream helped at least a bit. We went out for ice cream yesterday and to watch race boats come in. Our dog dragged us down the beach, half way across downtown, and directly to the ice cream shop. It had been a while but he hadn't forgotten.I'm pretty meh on reading right now too - or at least on fiction reading. Even the T. Kingfisher that I'm currently reading (Paladin's Grace) only captures my attention intermittently. That's a very unusual reaction for me to one of her books. I suspect that it's not the book since that's my general feeling when I look at any of five books left in my TBR challenge. I might need a reading sabbatical. To do what? Hmm...
A reading sabbatical is clearly when you search the internet to add more books to your TBR?
Sorry to hear about the bad run of books.Hope you find your next great read soon... maybe The Day of the Triffids? I'll be starting that one soon for VBC so I'm hoping it's a good one.
Anna wrote: "A reading sabbatical is clearly when you search the internet to add more books to your TBR?"My TBR bookshelf here is more than twice the length of my Read bookshelf so I can't argue your point.
Other books that I'm currently reading: A Desolation Called Peace (I'm not that interested in any of the characters this time, so... meh), Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold (it's always great to hear Stephen Fry's voice and I'm learning some surprising connections to both more modern language and culture, but I keep hoping for a stronger narrative thread), Olive, Mabel and Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs (an appreciated gift but the videos are really the place to start here) and The Remarkable Life of the Skin: An Intimate Journey Across Our Largest Organ (a bit dry).
Anna wrote: "A reading sabbatical is clearly when you search the internet to add more books to your TBR?"Works for me... that's at least in part how my IRL and GR TBR shelves got so ridiculous. You never know what you'll be in the mood to read, when the time comes, so best be prepared!
Raucous wrote: "The Remarkable Life of the Skin: An Intimate Journey Across Our Largest Organ (a bit dry)."
Some lotion should fix that right up. ;)
I finished the duology
The Killing Moon and
The Shadowed Sun. Fun reads. four stars each.Onto
The Dragon's Path.
No Raucous! It's time to dig deeper, shake your friends down for 5, recommendation they've been holding back for a rainy day!
I'm re-reading The Ten Thousand because I first read it when it was published back in '08, and I can't remember diddley about it. I need a refresher before I tackle the remaining two books in the series.
I'm been mostly reading mysteries this year, but I've started Simon R. Greene's latst urban fantasy, The Best Thing You Can Steal. It's a bit grittier than some of his previous books so far, but fast paced and engaging as well.
I recently discovered Honor Raconteur on Kindle. I'm reading her Henri Davenforth series. It's light mystery fantasy, but the characters are adorable without being overly "sassy and edgy." The mysteries are intriguing enough, but it's really the characters and the wonderful humor of the stories that have sold me. I'm on book two now. I'm having a bit of the same problem as everyone else. I'm finding it hard to find something I'm in the mood to read! I find browsing for stories online difficult. I love the ease of buying digital books, but I miss browsing in brick and mortar book stores. I could go home with armloads of physical books, but finding stuff online is a chore.
I am listening to The Enigma Tales by Una McCormack (a Star Trek - Deep Space Nine novel) for the “Exploring Star Trek” class I’m auditing. Not having watched much DS9 (not because I didn’t want to - just the timing was bad and I have not been able to get to it) the backstory is not clear, but if you know DS9 intimately I think this would be a delightful novel. I never read Star Trek or Star Wars novels until relatively recently. But I have really enjoyed those few.
Brenda wrote: "I recently discovered Honor Raconteur on Kindle. I'm reading her Henri Davenforth series. It's light mystery fantasy, but the characters are adorable without being overly "sassy and edgy." The myst..."I have a couple of sites that send me recommendations for books that are on sale or free at the moment. It saves me having to browse online and gives me some choices that occasionally I take advantage of and find some gems hidden away.
Looking for books, just to be looking does lack in charm and the joy of shopping for books at a physical location. I am hoping that soon my favorite books store on the coast will be back open and ready to go. I want to feel books in my hands again as I consider purchasing.
Has everyone voted for next month's books? The scifi poll has been tied pretty much from the beginning, and still is. Polls close at midnight tonight, GR time, that's 15 hours from now.
I also started reading Day of the Triffids, which I’m enjoying. It’s the Virtual Book Club pick from among our group reads and rereads. Are there threads already? I didn’t find them right away, but I will go digging some more.
Mod
Ask and ye shall be linked!
First impressions: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Spoilers:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Next time anyone is looking for old group read threads, here's how to find them:- The first post of this thread has a link to Group Book Discussions
- Current Events has the same link
- There's a link to Current Events on the group homepage, in the group intro/description
Just tell me if there's a more convenient/logical place for any of these links, and I'll add it :)
edit: And in the case of Triffids, since it's a reread (as all VBC picks are, if they're not BOTMs), it's also in the Rereads thread (second post) and Buddy Read Recruitment.
To find old book discussions, you can also use the search (on the sidebar for a browser). Enter the title and click search. You will get too many results to be useful. Then change the search option from "entire post" to "only topics," and click search again. Now the results will be only threads named with the book title.
Dj wrote: "Brenda wrote: "I recently discovered Honor Raconteur on Kindle. I'm reading her Henri Davenforth series. It's light mystery fantasy, but the characters are adorable without being overly "sassy and ..."I don't think there is a bookstore within a reasonable driving distance from me. Not anymore. *sighs*
I usually spend an hour or two just going through book titles on Amazon trying to find something. And I frequently start a book and then have to go find something else, which almost never happened to me, when I got my books from stores.
I used to know who all the major, current authors were, but I've lost track. The only ones I know of are Brandon Sanderson and...the guy who writes The Dresden Files, whose name escapes me. lol
I loved this one so much I found it difficult to write a coherent review.
The Kingdomshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just completed
Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks. I didn't think that I will like it this much. But now after completing it, I'm still under its effect, and can't go for a light-hearted read now.
Esther, I just found out about Kingdoms yesterday and added it to my TBR! I haven't read anything by Pulley yet, but I think I now have everything by her on my TBR :D
Esther, I added Kingdoms as well. I admit the author's other popular book, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, didn't look like it would appeal to me, but I'm glad to see another offering I might try.Now with my brain back enough to appreciate them, I finished Paladin's Grace, and am making my way through Paladin's Strength next. I forgot how much I laugh through her White Rat books.
I am trying to read a little of it all.
In a fit of wanting-to-cross-something-off I finished my personal SFFBC groupshelf challenge for this year withGardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, which has moments of interesting ideas, so that I will go on with the series, but I dearly hope it is correct what I was reading with others that the prose gets better in the following books.
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty which was a really enjoyable read of a closed room murder mystery in space. I can't recall ever having read this combination. I loved the first half, yet the ending somehow felt on the average side. So I gave 3 stars, but they are pretty good 3 stars.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood was one of the currently rare 5 star reads for me. Atwood writes an adorable style and the book has the structure I love: told in two timelines where the one in the past slowly reveals how the one in the present came to be. The topic of virus pandemic and the end of humankind isn't exactly an enjoyable one, but her sarcastic prose made it actually into a fun doomsday read.
My 24th book for this year was The Gunslinger by Stephen King, which I would probably never have picked up if it wasn't for the group shelf. I had to overcome my in-built aversion of Western in the beginning. Later it went better and in the end it reminded me a bit of Gene Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun" atmosphere. Perhaps I would have been more invested if I had a more open mind while started reading. For now my average 3 stars, but I might come back to it.
Outside of the groupshelf challenge I finished:
Europe in Autumn by Dave Hutchinson, an espionage story set in a shattered Europe of the future. I very much appreciated the East European setting and the spy/noir/SF genrebend worked well. The beginning was intriguing, the middle was a bit drawn out and the ending came out of nowhere which threw me out of my suspense of disbelief and cost it one star in my rating. Still I'm intrigued and will go on with the series.
With the non-fiction group I read Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alec Nevala-Lee. An excellent biography about 4 authors who shaped the SF landscape during the golden age: Campbell, Hubbard, Heinlein and Asimov. None of those come away with glory, Campbell and Hubbard quite the contrary. But the influence they had was ... well ... astounding. The historical placement will help me better understand the works of this time.
At first I was a bit disappointed that there was so little mention about my personal hero, Theodore Sturgeon - I already knew that he was a fan of dianetics, so that came as no surprise (and quite honestly, would I have lived in that time I would have been as well) - but since all the great minds got deconstructed here I'm quite glad in hindsight that I still can adore him without learning of inexcusable flaws.
Star Trek: Discovery: Wonderlands by Una McCormack was my next attempt at reading a Discovery tie-in that I like. Again it didn't work. The voices of the characters were good, but the story again was average and the writing too pathetic. The over emotional narrating of January LaVoy didn't help the cause. I guess I must learn that I can't compare the quality of Star Trek novels with those of non-franchise SF books, or simply stop reading them (which of course I can't, cause the next one could be the really good one ... :D)
I’ve been reading some Star Trek novels lately too, Gabi; also by Una McCormack: ST-DS9 The Enigma Tales. If you’ve seen all of DS9 I think this is a good one. I saw some interesting parallels to Post-War Germany. I just started reading ST-DS9 The Never-Ending Sacrifice also by McCormack. Both are about Cardassia and Cardassians/Bajorans.
@Diane: I've read the Never-Ending Sacrifice and remembered liking it. Yet it is always easier for authors to create a story on their own with no known characters (if I recall correctly there is none in Sacrifice). Discovery is the first ST show where I literally love all of the characters and thus my expectations are way too high on the novels, I fear. Only Dave Gallagher managed to hit the right tone for me thus far.I should go back and read some older Peter David novels. He was great, but he wrote mainly TNG.
P.S.: Diane, if you haven't already done it I can recommend A Stitch in Time, a Garak novel written by Andrew Robinso himself.
@Gabi, that is one that is definitely on my TBR.
I find Percy Jackson to be perfect for when I don’t want anything too taxing too Elowen. Rick’s books are brilliant.
I finished The Ten Thousand, which was a drag this time around. Too much of a focus was spent on the action and not on the characters. I just started another series by one of my favorite military fantasy authors- Lost Legio IX, which is a fantasy spin on the lost Ninth Hispana Legion from Brittania. It is filling in the backstory that had been touched upon in the Stiger series. His series always put the characters first, and I very much enjoy them!
Military Themed books do often lost in the details
Yes, they do. But Bernard Cornwell does them so well! There is no shortage of action, battles, campaigns, etc, but his characters are always put to the forefront. He's an excellent author!
I read "Agincourt" and "The Last Kingdom" by Cornwell and just picked up "Waterloo" this very day.
Trying to read all the Drizzt series this year, but only have books 4-6 so far. Trying to get older ones in my TBR pile knocked down. Lyra, Garrett PI, Redwall, Shannara.
Just Finished "Gone South" by Robert McCammon and it is one of his best. Naught to say it was always a comfortable read... none of this and hour before bedtime. Robert McCammon is the Southern Peer to Stephen King and his work often makes me tense and a bit uncomfortable, as good horror will do but it's so damn good. Definitely a PG-17 rating. At one point I was so worked up over the treatment of one my favorite characters, I almost threw it out the window and the window was closed but I gotz to the end "And in the end The love you take is equal to the love you make", so I loved it.#gnashtag- graphic violence, 1980's-1990's culture, cruelty to animals and people, Elvis references and so forth & so on.
At last I got around to reading Neuromancer by William Gibson. I loved it especially the character of Molly Millions. My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished 'Zodiac' by Neal Stephenson. I've read nearly everything by him, but somehow skipped this old one. It's great, like all his other books. He can blend sci-fi with hard-hitting action like no other. Some knowledge of chemistry helps.
The main books I’m reading at the moment are Mexican Gothic and This Is the Voice. The former is a real “gothic” novel, in the sense that it involves a young woman protagonist who visits a mysterious old mansion. She’s a lively and interesting character, a rich young lady from mid-20th century Mexico City. This is not my usual kind of thing, but I’ve enjoyed a couple of the author’s previous books and so far this one is working out. “This is the Voice” is an interesting and well written nonfiction work that discusses the human voice from a variety of angles. The author is a New Yorker staff writer.
Just finished the Sword of Fire by Katharine Kerr. Didn't like it as much as I'd hoped but I'm still looking forward to the next one. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Stephen Burridge, Mexican Gothic sounds interesting, I hope you will share your thoughts when you finish it.
Just Finished "Lost Legio IX" by Marc Alan Edelheit and it was excellent. A fine Portal Fantasy with Romans. Consumed it in two sessions.
Don wrote: "Stephen Burridge, Mexican Gothic sounds interesting, I hope you will share your thoughts when you finish it."will do.
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