What Else Are You Reading in 2021? Showing 1,501-1,550 of 2,230

[Eric]

I finished Under Heaven. Stellar. Onto River of Stars. Set in the same framework, but not really a sequel. Pretty much stand alone these are.

[Gary]

Finished reading The Burning White by Brent Weeks. I am reading The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. I plan to read The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie next, when it’s published on September 16, 2021.

[Stephen]

Yesterday I finished a reread of Space Cadet (1948), second of the Heinlein “juveniles”, all of which I read multiple times a while ago. I have another long car journey coming up next week and I have a library CD audiobook copy of 1949’s Red Planet set aside. I’m pretty sure “Red Planet” was the first Heinlein I read, back in the mid-‘60s.

Meanwhile I’ve begun The Honourable Schoolboy. I’ve read quite a bit of le Carre but not this one for some reason.

[Jan]

Stephen wrote: "Meanwhile I’ve begun The Honourable Schoolboy. I’ve read quite a bit of le Carre but not this one for some reason."

I loved that book and that whole series in fact. Wonderful writing. Complex and intriguing plots and characters. It's a while since I read them. I wonder whether they feel dated now.

[Lost Planet Airman]

Stephen wrote: "Yesterday I finished a reread of Space Cadet (1948), second of the Heinlein “juveniles”, all of which I read multiple times a while ago. I have another long car journey coming up ne..."

Yay, Stephen! Space Cadet was my first Heinlein, and the book that got me addicted to SF&F!

[Ines, Resident Vampire]

I finished Survive the Night and really enjoyed it, it's an entertaining, quick read.
Will continue with The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw for my eye-read and for my audiobook read, I'll probably start The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix, because I'm still in the mood for some slaher/thriller/horror.

[Dj]

I read this book more for amusement than anything else. It filled the bill quite nicely.
101 Tips for Traveling with a Vampire. My thoughts:

Not your average list of travel features. Kind of a fun read though and one that does beg the question of does this have any sort of practical application?

101 Tips for Traveling with a Vampire

[Phrynne]

I was surprised by Requiem for a Ruler of Worlds by Brian Daley. Glad I read it though. Sad the author died so young.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Michelle]

I finished my third reading of The Crown Conspiracy; it was such fun, although this series always is!

Now I'm about to start the last in Douglas Jackson's series, which is quite the bummer. I was hoping that he was hard at work working on another, but he confirmed that this is the last. This one's called Hammer of Rome: Gaius Valerius Verrens 9.

[Jan]

Michelle wrote: "I finished my third reading of The Crown Conspiracy; it was such fun, although this series always is!

Now I'm about to start the last in Douglas Jackson's series, which is quite the..."

Is it OK to read the Jackson series out of order, would you think Michelle? I'm thinking of trying it and wonder where to start.

[Michelle]

You could, Jan, although I think it might be a bit confusing? Each book builds on the history, characters and events of the previous book. The first of the series is what got me hooked into reading the whole shebang; it was very, very good. I can't link, (app), but it's Hero of Rome.

[Jan]

Michelle wrote: "You could, Jan, although I think it might be a bit confusing? Each book builds on the history, characters and events of the previous book. The first of the series is what got me hooked into reading..."

OK thanks for the info, Michelle. I might try #1 then :)

[DivaDiane]

Ok, so I\ve been back from vacation for over a week now, but I got in a lot of eye-reading while I was there, and not just SFFBC reading either (there wasn't much to do other than read, eat, walk). I read 3 novels:

Winter's Orbit which I loved.
Local Star which I liked pretty well.
The Last Wish which I loved. It filled out what happens in the TV series, but the series also enhanced some bits of the book.

a middle grade novel:

Trash Mountain by Jane Yolen, which is not your typical animal kid's book with a cute character. There was real trauma, but it was very hopeful and featured animals, who would normally be enemies, helping each other against a common foe.

six poetry chapbooks (plus several incomplete) for the Elgin Award:

Betelgeuse Dimming, which you can also listen to with a musical backdrop for free on BandCamp (I think).
The Undead I loved this, despite the zombie theme. There was even a bit of a story.
Otherwheres
The Island of Amazonned Women more about breast cancer and surviving it than speculative
25 Trumbulls Road very creepy
Visions at Templeglantine wonderful
The Last Robot : And Other Science Fiction Poems by Jane Yolen - fantastic

and a number of kid's picture books, which I won't list here.

I also started reading Eldest aloud to my son, which we'll be reading for a while if the 9 months it took us to read Eragon are any indication.

And I started reading Digital Divide for the Amazin' Eights challenge, which I'm loving!

[Anna]

DivaDiane wrote: "I also started reading Eldest aloud to my son, which we'll be reading for a while if the 9 months it took us to read Eragon are any indication. "

It took me 8 years to read the third one, so good luck with that :D

[Faith]

My review of The Peculiarities by David Liss

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[[deleted user]]

I'm almost done The Priory of the Orange Tree. I think I'll finish it today. Wow! Great book!

I haven't posted for a long time. My house is being repaired and I'm living in a rental.

[Anna]

I hope you get to move back in soon, Pamela! I really should get to Priory, I think I was planning on reading it when it came out.

[Travis]

I just finished Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth, and LOVED it (even though horror is usually a genre that throws me off). Lesbian boarding school spiritualist storyline meeting up with a lesbian Hollywood-by-way-of-Montana storyline in a way that for me just absolutely worked. Plus there are shout outs to my favorite Willa Cather short story, Paul's Case, Boston marriages, the Seven Sisters, and Ruth Ashmore.

[Jess]

Travis, I also finished Plain Bad Heroines and agree with you. It was one of my favourite books of the year.

[Travis]

Jess wrote: "Travis, I also finished Plain Bad Heroines and agree with you. It was one of my favourite books of the year."

Yay! I listened to it and forgot to mention the performance of the narrator, Xe Sands, who gave soft butch perfection.

[Gabi]

The second half of August I've read (aside from the group reads):

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. It was a re-read, cause one of my other groups started a WoT readathon and I try to keep the pace.

The Last Days of New Paris by China Miéville. A really cool piece about manifestations of surrealistic art determining the outcome of Nazi-occupied Paris after an S-bomb was detonated. Certainly more enjoyable if one has knowledge of the surrealists, but there is a large what-is-what section in the afterword for laypeople. Typical Miéville weird great.

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott. A delightful mathematical tale in the POV of a 2-dimensional square.

The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov. After I was rather bored by his Foundation trilogy this one was a positive surprise and kept my interest.

The Fallen by Ada Hoffmann is the sequel to "The Outside" which is on our group shelf. Unfortunately it didn't work for me. The prose was too repeating for my taste and I was missing some gripping plot.

Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going by Neil deGrasse Tyson is a good overview over astronomy. Especially for readers who are new to the subject.

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho. Despite being an Urban Fantasy (not my cup of tea usually), this story got me with it's wonderful ghost myth tradition, a hilariously grumpy grandma ghost and a perfect ending.

The Terminal Experiment by Robert J. Sawyer is nothing out of the ordinary, but I love to read this author from time to time. It is more on thriller level with SF background, very readable and immersive, but not too deep.

Die dunkle Seite des Mondes by Swiss author Martin Suter is about the midlife crisis of a wealthy businessman that goes horribly wrong. Rather yucky and graphic in parts, but really good. I missed reading books in German language.

Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis is the writing down of an oral narration of Athabascan Indian community. Two women (70 and 80) are left behind by their tribe in a harsh winter. A powerful and moving legend.

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe is about the capitalistic side of the opioid crisis in the US. Well researched and written, and perfect to lose your faith in human decency.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami - probably the most beautiful book I've ever read. Absolutely perfect in its execution - even for Murakami standards.

Towing Jehovah by James K. Morrow - and this one may very well be the craziest book I've ever read. I'm still not entirely sure what I should think about it. Over the top gimmicks and religious philosophy - but so exaggerated that it was simply great fun to read.
God is dead, his body fell into the sea and a down-on-his-luck oil tanker captain gets the order to tow him into the arctic to prevent his body from decomposing.

Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton. I was impressed by the first book in this duology, but somehow the second didn't work for me. I had a hard time concentrating. Too many characters, too many awkward sex scenes, too flat character writing overall and way too many pages ... still the worldbuilding is outstanding.

September now is reserved for SciFi-September, a bingo challenge on Twitter which Leticia made me aware of and which sounds like fun.

[Nicole]

My August Books:

(1) Alter by Jeremy Robinson: I've read a Jeremy Robinson book in the past and found it a pretty entertaining, if light, ready. This one was wholly disappointing with a scattered plot line and unbelievable characters/motivation 2 stars.

(2) I read Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O'Keefe for book club and looooved it. I followed it up with Chaos Vector and Catalyst Gate. (4 Stars/ 4 Stars/5 Stars)

(3) The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin. N.K. Jemisin is really hit or miss for me and this one was a miss, I found myself wishing I was finished with it so I could move on about 1/3 of the way through the book until the end. 3 stars

(4) To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini. This one dragged too much for and suffered for having started in around the same time as Velocity Weapon which I liked much better. 3 stars

(5) The Powers of the Earth by Travis J.I. Corcoran. This was a decent book with an interesting setup. I think I enjoyed the social/political commentary more than I liked the plot or characters, though. 3 stars

(6) The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo. I wanted to love this book, as I have all of Nghi Vo's other works, but this one really just fell into the like category. Still beautifully written, as you'd expect of Nghi Vo, I just didn't quite feel the magical elements were integrated very well with the story and it actually detracted from the power of the book. 4 Stars

(7) The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Amazing story, I felt the translation left a little to be desired, though. 4 Stars.

[Meredith]

Anna wrote: "I actually went into Tea Master, back when it was new, thinking it was about a tea master, and I was so disappointed :( I mean sure, it *kinda* is, but not how I thought it would be. [book:A Psalm ..."

Okay, so I read the Tea Dragons series this week and it was just wonderful. Great stories, characters, and art. I definitely got a little misty towards the end of the last one. Ginseng! <3

[Anna]

Yes, Ginseng! 😭❤️

[Marc]

Just finished Zelazny's Lord Of Light. amazing book, although it started slowly, as it seemed to be just about Hindu deities (how is this sci-fi?), but yep, it is sci-fi!

Now, Jonathon Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke's debut and Hugo award winner!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

two of my favorites, Marc! What a joy you're in for!

[The Joy of Erudition]

I loved the Red Dwarf TV series, and when I later read this first book, I loved it, too, with its different take on the same events and plenty of SF philosophical staples. Years later I'm reading it again, and this time I'll go on to read the rest of the books!

Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers

[Gabi]

Thomas wrote: "I've just treated myself to Skyward by my favourite author Brandon Sanderson. I loved every second of it and Brandon has proven to me he is just as talented at writin..."

Yeah! Doomslug! (sorry ... I will never not jump in with the Doomslug cry ^^' - it's on automatic)

[Florian]

Gabi wrote: "The second half of August I've read (aside from the group reads):

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. It was a re-read, cause one of my other groups started a WoT re..."

Wow! That are quite many books for half a month. Do you happen to read so many because you take yourself much time for reading or because you can read really fast?

I´ve heard of Flatland in one episode in Big Bang Theory, where Seheldon imagined living in such a world. I wasn´t quite sure that this is really a thing. Would you recommend reading it?

[The Joy of Erudition]

Florian wrote: "I´ve heard of Flatland in one episode in Big Bang Theory, where Seheldon imagined living in such a world. I wasn´t quite sure that this is really a thing. Would you recommend reading it? "

I would chime in with my recommendation of it, as someone else who's read it, if you want a story that explains existence in various numbers of dimensions (including more than our own 3), and why flat, cardboard characters are 2-dimensional, not 1-dimensional. Realware also does a good job of illustrating multi-dimensional existence, but with a lot more sex.

[Lost Planet Airman]

Marc wrote: "Just finished Zelazny's Lord Of Light. amazing book, although it started slowly, as it seemed to be just about Hindu deities (how is this sci-fi?), but yep, it is sci-fi!"

Marc, you must have missed a page. Lord of Light was set on another planet, far in the future and many generations after colonization buy humanity. But (view spoiler)[the original ship's crew had (or developed) the technology for longevity and reincarnation, and set themselves up as the (hide spoiler)] the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon shape their society. So the book is one of those fancy treats of many layers - science fiction with a fantasy coating, dipped in mythology.

Florian wrote: "I've heard of Flatland in one episode in Big Bang Theory, where Sheldon imagined living in such a world. I wasn't quite sure that this is really a thing. Would you recommend reading..."

It is on my TBR but still unread -- on one hand, it is 96 pages in paperback form, so if it bad it won't be long. On the other hand, it was originally penned in 1884, so the writing style will be closer to A. Conan Doyle than Neil deGrasse Tyson.

[Gabi]

Florian wrote: "Gabi wrote: "The second half of August I've read (aside from the group reads):

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. It was a re-read, cause one of my other groups sta..."

Hi Florian, I 'read' that much, because I listen to a lot of audiobooks while I do other chores. Actual reading with the eyes takes me ages.

If you love mathematics Flatland is an absolute delightful thought experiment. Since it is from the 19th century it of course feels a bit antique in its family/social takes, but the age even added to my delight. I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend it to everybody who has a soft spot for theoretical mathematics.

[Florian]

Ah, that way you do it^^ That's a good way to do it. When driving to work I also always listen to my podcasts, so I "use" the time for something (more ore less) useful ;)

Yea, it sounds interesting. I've added it to my to read list, so (maybe one day;) I will read it

[Gabi]

In September I'm trying to get as much as I can done from the following bingo slate to slim down my ever expanding storytel tbr list: https://twitter.com/SciFiSeptember/st...

So far I listened to the following promps (all short books)

time travel: Tau Zero by Poul Anderson - another sort of time travel. A ship accelerates so fast that the universe around it ages in fast motion. Super interesting concept, super cringey character interaction writing.

water: Midnight, Water City by Chris McKinney - turned out to have little do with water despite the title. A SF crime noir which was better than I feared (I'm no fan of this genre). The disjointed POV of a sometimes unreliable narrator added much to the interesting, oppressive atmosphere

non human mc: The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany: a cool new wave story with aliens trying to live Earth myths and creating new ones (the rock and the roll i.e.) at the center a musing about being different.

unheard: Mem by Bethany C. Morrow: a scientist can extract bad memories and gives them to a new avatar. The novella follows one of those extractions in her battle for self determination. Very interesting concept and questions

[Anna]

I was very annoyed when I read Mem a couple of years ago! Because it's too short to use in a mod poll :P I have all her other books on my TBR but haven't gotten to them yet. Mostly because they're YA fantasy, which I need to be in the mood for.

[Chris]

So a couple weeks ago I bought the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.

I will not be buying the next trilogy... yet, because I can't afford to keep staying up to unreasonable hours reading while I have to adjust my schedule to start waking up early for work again. I had the "one more little chapter" syndrome bad with that one.

I'll probably pick it up once I'm again used to the early mornings and not-so-late evenings again lol.

My library hold on Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb just popped though. Since I couldn't get my hands on the monthly reads, I'll be picking that up next.

I never did finish reading the Wheel of Time books. I think I got to around 6 or so into the series and felt it started to drag. I remember enjoying the world and overarching story, but vaguely recall the books starting to get a bit samey without too much progression. Perhaps I should try to pick up where I left off at some point.

[Saar The Book owl]

@Chris: Mistborn: The Final Empire and the other books are still on my TBR - pile. Oh yes, I also suffer from the 'one more little chapter' syndrome ;)

Assassin's Apprentice is really good. I read the second book also.

Right now, I'm still reading Dune. Never thought it was so interesting!

I'm also reading Deadhouse Gates, but it seems to get me ages to go through it.

[Brick]

I'm close to finishing The Nobody People. This read pretty remarkable. I love the storyline. The author does a very good job with the build up, start--and I am confident--to finish.

Before that book I read Nine Princes in Amber. Another wonderful read!

[Colin]

Since I finished Gideon The Ninth and enjoyed it (a lot), I figured I would move on and read Harrow The Ninth. About a hundred pages in now. The second person POV is interesting and very different. I can't think of another novel using it. The prose is rather difficult, however, and this is not related to the POV. I'm going to keep going, though. If I can read Anthony Burgess, I can read this and I want to see how it turns out.

[Anna]

Colin, check out our discussion threads for Gideon/Harrow!

Gideon the Ninth >> First impressions | Final thoughts & Series (Harrow)

[Sarah]

I am starting We Are Watching Eliza Bright right now. I'm very much enjoying it so far- it's narrated by a chorus of the gamer community and touching on so many important things and some very gray and difficult to navigate areas.

I'm also going through one of those times where I'm finding it really difficult to concentrate on/finish anything so I'm also about half way through Billy Summers (have to say- this is not my favorite by King, though the nostalgia is real) and I recently started listening to Daisy Jones & The Six which is an excellent full cast audio book.

[Colin]

Anna wrote: "Colin, check out our discussion threads for Gideon/Harrow!

Gideon the Ninth >> First impressions | Final thoughts & Series (Harrow)"

Thank you! Will do!

[Anna]

Japanese speaking/reading friends! Has anyone read 本を守ろうとする猫の話 (The Cat Who Saved Books)? This is one of my most anticipated translations of the year, and it came out in Finnish yesterday. I started it, but I'm putting it down for now because it feels so un-Japanese! My question: Very early in chapter 1 (or the prologue?) there's discussion of an upcoming holiday, is it really Christmas and do they really talk about Santa Claus?! Are the books listed all European classics? The translator has also translated some of my favorite books from Japanese, so I don't think she'd have changed things so much, but it just feels so... wrong!

edit: I think I'll keep reading, now that I know what's going on and can adjust my expectations accordingly.

[Michelle]

I finished Bernard Cornwell's The Winter King, which is the most realistic-seeming portrayal of a the King Arthur legends that I've ever read. Nary a speck of magic or sorcery. Great book! This was the first in a trilogy.

[Sarah]

Michelle wrote: "I finished Bernard Cornwell's The Winter King, which is the most realistic-seeming portrayal of a the King Arthur legends that I've ever read. Nary a speck of magic or sorcery. Great b..."

This is on my list to read (hopefully) this year. I'm very excited for it but it's so dense compared to his Saxon Stories books!

[Michelle]

The Saxon stories are in my queue, Sarah!

[Lost Planet Airman]

Colin wrote: "...The second person POV is interesting and very different. I can't think of another novel using it. ..."

Off the top of my head, there is Robert Silverberg, Dying Inside (1972) and "Sundance"; N.K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season; and Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus.

I like this technique and look forward to getting to Harrow the Ninth!

[HeyT]

I read Clay's Ark today and man was that a downer. Like I am drained. Only one book left before I finish the series though.

[Beth]

I finished Under Heaven yesterday and really liked it. I haven't been writing book reviews lately, but hoping that I can get that one and a few others written this weekend.

I'm most of the way through "There Would Always Be a Fairy-Tale": Essays on Tolkien's Middle-Earth by Verlyn Flieger and need to start my review for that too.

[Saar The Book owl]

Anna wrote: "Japanese speaking/reading friends! Has anyone read 本を守ろうとする猫の話 (The Cat Who Saved Books)? This is one of my most anticipated translations of the year, and it came ou..."

Oh, I'm going to order this one! Is it still un - Japanese? I've got a lot of books that are translated from Japanese and I followed 2 years a course to learn Japanese, but I'm not nearly halfway ;)