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?
Just finished Neuromancer and Piranesi, not sure what I'll take on next.I also really enjoyed 11/22/63, but I have a predilection towards time travel stories. I did think it was too long though - weirdly the aspect I would have edited to be shorter was the part directly connected to the event from the title.
Peter Sawyer, I've not read any Ben Bova, I appreciate that you have and also pointed out your Favorite Bova.make my book mining easier.
I'm currently reading The Barbed Coil by J.V. Jones and a short story collection by Jane Yolen called The Midnight Circus. The short stories are good and the Barbed Coil is a typical, but fairly entertaining, normal US woman out of place in a fantasy world book. I had to reward myself with something pleasant after The Traitor Baru Cormorant
I finished Scourge of Rome: (Gaius Valerius Verrens 6):, and whew! What a book! Now I have to figure out what to read next. I think something more lightweight in tone.
I don't know what my favorite Stephen King is BUTT I remember reading Salem's Lot and making it off limits 1hour before bedtime.It generated much tension.
Salon's lot scared the crap out of me. I can still remember that scene with the scratching at the window!
I had trouble focusing when I first started Piranesi due both to it's immersive puzzle box nature and my state of mind at the time. I ended up returning it to the library after only getting through the first 10% or so. I later decided to give it another try as an audiobook and that went better. I ultimately ended up enjoying it and found the ending to be well done. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars because of how long you have to be stuck in the puzzle at the beginning, but I would have rated the last half closer to 5.
Gave up on the
The Lies of Locke Lamora after one book. The first was okay, but the second, no way and didn't finish. Now into the
The Bone Ships series. Four stars for book one.
I started The Fires of Treason, which I came across via @P. L. Stuart's excellent review. This lighter fare fits the bill after the heavier subject matter explored in Scourge of Rome: (Gaius Valerius Verrens 6). So far I like it, but I've always been a sucker for strong sibling relationships.
I have a question "The House in the Cerulean Sea" is tagged LGBTQ. I don't prefer books heavy on the mush no matter the equipment involved. At the same time I appreciate well developed characters and interpersonal relationships come with that territory.
is "The house in the Cerulean Sea" a romance heavy book?
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Bodice Rippers have their place, just not my place
Really? I didn't think it was romance heavy, but I guess that depends on what aspect of "romance" we're talking about. Definitely not a bodice ripper! :D
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As you say, Anna, it depends on what aspect of romance we're talking about.
Sweet, yes! But even Allison liked it, so the level of sweet *romance* must be extremely low!
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Tasha Suri's appearance on the Fantasy Inn podcast discusses what's needed for a story to be tagged romance that I think THINCS meets. Not that I'd call it heavy on romance. Chock full of mush though...
I liked The House in the Cerulean Sea and it definitely is not a bodice ripper! I think whimsical is the best word to describe it. And it is definitely sweet - not everyone's cup of tea for sure!
Ryan wrote: "Do we need a thread about what constitutes 'Romance'?"If you want to discuss it, sure! You can also take over my romance recs thread if you want, I already chatter about all things romance in there :) It's here.
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I really loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built, especially the world Chambers developed and the relationship between the two main characters. Some of the ideas didn't quite stick for me (they felt, I don't know, imprecise?), but everything else was thoroughly enjoyable.A non-SFF book:
I only gave the thriller/mystery Razorblade Tears 3 stars despite being so immersed in it that I stayed up until 1 in the morning to finish. It's kind of like a Law & Order episode directed by Quentin Tarantino: some of the same corny dialogue and cliched characterizations. But for a gripping and sometimes really smart take on familial homophobia, race, and American masculinity it was also pretty amazing.
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House in the Cerulean is all rainbows and ice cream. Sweet wish fulfillment for people who've dreamed of really making the world a kinder place. But there's no relationship drama or steamy things on stage.
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It's romance centered but it is not detailed in its few intimate parts. There is a delightful ghost dog too. The pace is a little mellow.
Well, I don't know how this happened. Did I add We Have Always Been Here by Lena Nguyen to my TBR (in January) knowing what it was, or thinking it was something else? I have no idea. I had a vague idea (today) that it was short fiction or possibly non-fiction, along the lines of We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib. So I started it and... it's a scifi horror novel XD But luck's on my side, I like it! So I'll keep listening :D For now at least, ask me again in 15 minutes, I've been very moody lately.I read the new Becky Chambers yesterday, and I don't really want to talk about details, but it managed to give me the worst anxiety attack I've had in months, so I had to rate the book three stars. I thought it would be a four star comfy read, but nope. I did finish it, but I'd never have imagined I'd finish a Becky Chambers book thinking I just want to get it over with. Other than that, I agree with everyone who says what plot? That doesn't bother me though, I've liked plenty of zero plot books! I'll probably read the sequel when it comes out, because I'll have forgotten how this one made me feel. I'll be all 'yay new Becky Chambers, wow, it'll be so cozy and fun' <_<
Juggling three books at the moment:The Comfort Book by Matt Haig which isn't genre in any way, but Haig *is* on our group shelf.
The Last Emperox by John Scalzi to finish out that series which I've had some ups and downs with, but I wanted to see it through and the breezy tone is working for me now.
The Physicians of Vilnoc by Lois McMaster Bujold which I had put down for awhile not wanting to read about a plague, but am now giving another shot as I'm interested in continuing the series and the novel just came out.
One more thing re: The Comfort Book one quote it cites rang true for me, especially when thinking about reading:"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." -Heraclitus
I look back at books I read over the years and it's difficult to know whether I'd enjoy them more or less now. So my ratings are a snapshot of what I thought in that moment but could easily clash with what I'd rate everything if I reread them all today.
Am I going to hate The Stand? Should I even try to take it on? I'm aware that if I don't know then you can't either, but if you have a guess, let me know! :D I'm honestly not sure if I should even consider starting it, since my mood has been all over the place lately. But I managed to finish a long audiobook today, and I'm feeling like maybe I should try to keep the momentum going. Pro: The audio is on Storytel, but will be removed in two weeks
Con: It's a million hours long (48h!!!)
edit: Forgot to mention it's the extra long edition
It depends, Anna. I read it when I was young. But I myself wouldn't read it now because I'm not into pandemic books since we're in one.
I had gotten an email from The Fussy Librarian the other day with their daily list of free ebooks, and I downloaded The King's Trial. I'm enjoying it so far, which is a nice surprise. Free books are hit or miss. The MC reminds me of Eugenides a little bit from Megan Whalen Turner's stellar Queen's Thief series.
Hmm, maybe I'll listen to a bit of it while I make dinner and decide based on how I feel after that. I've been abandoning audiobooks left and right in the past couple of weeks, so what's one more.edit: Well, I got annoyed before I even got to chapter 1 XD So much jabbering! Not today, thanks.
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How DARE you compare RemPop to that series!!! :o
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I loathed it! Unless I'm thinking of a different series? Is this the one with only one decontamination shower, and oh noes we must use it together, in the altogether, oh my! Not to mention the hottub tentacle sitch :S
I talked about reading it starting with this post :)(lol, I just read posts 556-581 in that thread, haha)
Anna wrote: "edit: Well, I got annoyed before I even got to chapter 1 XD So much jabbering! Not today, thanks..."LOL! So much for that 😹
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(view spoiler)
Michelle, I might try again another day! I just wanted to listen to the beginning of the *story* to see if I'm in the mood for it, instead I got preface and author's note (in two parts!) and whatnot after another :S I skipped ahead to see when it actually starts, and it was "chapter 7" (Storytel, like many audiobook services, doesn't have chapter headings, they're just numbered starting from one, even if there's an intro and a dedication and a prologue, etc.) SEVEN! I ain't got that kind of patience.
Ryan, I don't remember anything else about the series :/ I read through book three and then dropped it.
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In the first book we're constantly told that the now missing alien species used any reason imaginable to be naked. In the sequel we meet the aliens who are always clothed.
If I weren't such a sucker for SFF involving aquatic lifeforms I'd abandon it too.
Wait, was this also the series where the aliens were literally space squid? :D
Now I kinda want to reread this. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!
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SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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gnashtag- coming of age, existential crisis.