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?
I'm about sixty percent through Thunder of the Gods, which is the eighth in the Empire series. Thank goodness the legion is campaigning again because it's back to being a highly-enjoyable series!
This was very successful last time, so let's see if you can help me pick another good one! :) I'm in the mood for a dystopia. Which one of these should I start tonight? (Or tomorrow if I end up doing something else tonight.)Trashlands by Alison Stine
Femlandia by Christina Dalcher
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer
Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace
One of these I'm actually not super excited about, and would probably pick that one first if left to my own devices. It'd be easier because it doesn't matter if I like it or not. One I don't really know anything about, and two are ones I actively want to read.
I'll start the one that has the most "votes" when I'm ready to start listening! :)
how about none of the above? I vote against the Jeff VanderMeer one as any book that is described as cinematic sounds like it was written for one thing: to be made into a movie
I guess if you have a better option, do share! I won't promise I'll start it though, because of audiobook availability, etc. but I'll take a look! :D
Restaurant to Another World (Light Novel) Vol. 1 (light novel): epsodic story about a restaurant whose customers are a parade of fantasy novel sterotypes once a week. Cute idea, fairly boring presentation. (review)Mostly Harmless: I had read the first three Hitchhiker's novels back in the '80s, and here in 2021 I've now read them all. Worth it! Also tough going, in this case. Minor content warning for discussion of mental illness in this review. (review) If I could draw, I would draw a fan art of the new Guide with its sausage string of Earths. Hands down the coolest thing in the book.
I finished my other book sooner than I thought, so I'm already ready to start the next one. As Hummingbird is the only one to get votes, I'll be (finally!) starting that one. I haven't even read the blurb, so I have no idea what it's about :D I'm hoping for super powered VanderMeer weirdness!edit: I listened to the intro/prologue and I already f*cking love it! Don't let me down, book!
Kateb wrote: "Dj wrote: "The Joy of Erudition wrote: "Allison wrote: "Joy, yess! Welcome to the delightful world of Having Read Dune!"Thanks! Now I need to decide whether to treat it as a standalone, or contin..."
I think the first book is a milestone achievement. It had so many things in it that seem so effortless. Different cultures and some powerful female characters and it is done with such ease. Things that nowadays are a hot button topic were done back when most books were all about the guys and everyone was pretty much white.
Not a perfect work but pretty close to a real look at a possible future than most at that time
It's been quite some time that I finished two books in two days, but here we are! Yay!A Stroke of Midnight: I call this my "fae smut" series. I like this series because it does a pretty good job toeing a line between being mystical and affecting, and over-the-top absurd. It's one of those series that, for one reason or another, readers aren't likely to see a real ending for, and should instead just enjoy as it comes (pun intended). (review)
Next is The Steerswoman, which I've been looking forward to reading for quite a while, and its winning this month's poll sealed the deal for it. :)
"Fae smut"! That's a good one, Beth!
(If anyone is wondering, I liked Hummingbird Salamander, but it needed to be like 900% more weird. Pretty much a basic mystery.)Anyone read Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson yet? I'm thinking of starting it next, hoping it'll be a more spacey mystery!
re: fae smut. When I joined Goodreads and learned all about free ebooks I read a lot of them. There was this one series that was about fae and they had very explicit sex on every page. I called it fairy porn :D That was back when I still thought I had to finish every series I started and well, now I know for a fact that I do not like fairy porn.
@Anna: I've read "Far From The Light of Heaven", but I fear it's not much of spacey mystery. It's a scarce prose, so the reader gets the information on a need to know basis.
Hmm. OK then, expectations have been adjusted!
Just started The Three-Body Problem and after one chapter I have to admit it feels different. Will it be good different or bad? I have no idea. Will see how it goes. Not exactly getting any hints of sci-fi yet unless people talking about physics fits that category.
Mod
The SF comes later, Munachiso! You should check out the BUddy/Group read thread.
Anna wrote: "There was this one series that was about fae and they had very explicit sex on every page. I called it fairy porn :D"Hehe! This one was nowhere near as egregious. It falls into a zone where there isn't enough smut for readers who are only looking for that, and there's too much for those who dislike it. I fall into neither of those camps, though things did get silly at times. Like the characters pausing for a **** with a double murder scene close by. :D
I finally read Dune this summer....I was always kind of scared of the book because when I was about five I was given a Dune book with a record attached, anyone remember those? Anyway the cover was scary to me and the pictures were even freakier. It was the tube going in their nose that really made me feel squeamish.I've found a picture of the book:
What on earth? The ones that I remember were for early readers (and, yeah, were advertising vehicles for major franchises). Body horror in a product for 7-year-olds does not compute...
DivaDiane wrote: "The SF comes later, Munachiso! You should check out the BUddy/Group read thread."Will check it out. Had no idea one existed.
Mathew wrote: "I finally read Dune this summer....I was always kind of scared of the book because when I was about five I was given a Dune book with a record attached, anyone remember those? Anyway the cover was ..."I don't remember the book, but the reason for finding the images scary makes sense to me, I hate things up my nose
I had that Dune record book and was fascinated by it but it didn't do a great job of telling the story.
I don't often finish books in quick succession. Just happened to have an ebook, paper book and audio that concluded around the same time!In audio we have Something Fresh, the first in the "Blandings Castle" series by P.G. Wodehouse. I was surprised to enjoy this more than the Jeeves stories I'd read. It's tempting to say that an author is ahead of their time in x or y respect, but that happens enough jillions of times and it becomes evident we just aren't looking in the right places. In any case, the sympathetic portrayal of 1910s gig worker Joan was a standout here. (review)
Next in audio is You Had Me at Hola, a contemporary romance.
Beth wrote: "I don't often finish books in quick succession. Just happened to have an ebook, paper book and audio that concluded around the same time!In audio we have Something Fresh, the first i..."
As I understand it Wodehouse wrote by the ton. I read a brief bio on him and he seemed like a pretty interesting individual.
He was definitely prolific. Barely scratched the tip of the iceberg with what I've read so far. :)
Just read Em by Kim Thúy, a short book of the war in Vietnam and the stories of people caught in it and its aftermath. Her prose is succinct, precise, and brutal. Definitely worth reading, especially if you remember those years.
The Werewolf of Whitechapel in ebook format. Characters are likable, the mystery is okay so far.Star Eater in audio. Interesting world building, it's already grabbed me. Who doesn't like cannibal nuns? And zombies!
I am going back to read the entire Chronicles of Narnia in addition to a current book, Immortality, by Anna Faversham. She is another author I met on Goodreads
Rick wrote: "I am going back to read the entire Chronicles of Narnia ...."By conicidence I'm reading The 35th of May, the original book in which people get to another world by entering a wardrobe.
Unlike the Narnia kids, these guys had the good sense to take a talking horse with them.
Mod
I'm reading the new Michael Connelly police procedural, The Dark Hours. It's enjoyable and gripping so far. Connelly can write a character and plot really well. He's a consistently reliable writer.
Currently reading Doomsday Book, which may have been an unwise choice to read while sick (with non-covid illness) in the middle of a pandemic. I'm a little over halfway and really enjoying it so far though. It's the kind of book I find myself picking up instead of other things I should be doing. Good sign for the book, bad sign for my responsibilities. Also reading The Steerswoman for this month's pick. I've heard a lot positive about this and at about a quarter of the way done I'm liking it a lot. I'm particularly enjoying Bel's character.
My current audiobook is The Dragon Reborn for my Wheel of Time read/reread. I'd forgotten so much of the books, so while I generally remember where things are going there's so much I'm rediscovering. This is one of those series that I love but I don't necessarily recommend because it definitely has its faults.
Jordan wrote: "Currently reading Doomsday Book, which may have been an unwise choice to read while sick (with non-covid illness) in the middle of a pandemic. I'm a little over halfway and really enjo..."Free advice: do not finish reading it just before bedtime.
Allison wrote: "You're older than you look, Ed?"Different horse. "N. Caballo" is a much better roller skater than me. He was a world champion, quadruped division.
"The 35th of May" seems to be sadly rare in English. I'm reading a French copy I found by chance.
Mary wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Currently reading Doomsday Book, which may have been an unwise choice to read while sick (with non-covid illness) in the middle of a pandemic. I'm a little over halfway ..."Hmmm, duly noted.
Most intense reading experience I ever had was with “Doomsday Book”—it’s harrowing and hysterically funny (in parts).
Ozsaur wrote: "The Werewolf of Whitechapel in ebook format. Characters are likable, the mystery is okay so far.Star Eater in audio. Interesting world building, it's already grabb..."
ah, say what to the what now
Ed wrote: "Allison wrote: "You're older than you look, Ed?"Different horse. "N. Caballo" is a much better roller skater than me. He was a world champion, quadruped division.
"The 35th of May" seems to be s..."
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
seems it is an affordable 300 dollars
Mod
Also, I see what you did there, Ed!
Ed wrote: "Rick wrote: "I am going back to read the entire Chronicles of Narnia ...."By conicidence I'm reading The 35th of May, the original book in which people get to another world by ent..."
Pretty funny!
Jordan wrote: "Currently reading Doomsday Book, which may have been an unwise choice to read while sick (with non-covid illness) in the middle of a pandemic. I'm a little over halfway and really enjo..."Haha, I read that one too with a slight cold!! another good one is
The Windup Girl
by Paolo BacigalupiI got Connie Willis's sequel now, just gotta finish Dune before I get to
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
her next book in the series is on my xmas wish list, so hopefully I'll be reading Blackout next year!
(I don't want to start a thread just for this question, so I'll dump it here.)What do you call a kids' book that is shorter than (adult) novel length? It's not a novella, but it's also not a picture book. Is it a chapter book? I could google, but I bet I can get a better/quicker answer here!
Incidentally, what is a chapter book? A kids' book with chapters?
I'm asking because I read another one of these, and I always have a hard time deciding how to classify it in my spreadsheet (novel or picture book), and this time I decided maybe I should start a new category, but I don't know what to call it!
Marc wrote: " I'll be reading Blackout next year!"Make sure to have All Clear ready when you finish!
Yes I think chapter book is correct. That is how our library seems to refer to them. You have picture books, then easy/early readers, then chapter books.
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Thanks! Now I need to decide whether to treat it as a standalone, or continue on with ..."
fully agree, and we cant forget that Dune ebcame a legend many, many years ago. Sci FI books have improved since then.
I bought all of the DUne books as they came out, i started to re read them with all of this discussion and nope not as good as years ago. BUt the first book is still good.