2022 Read All the Books: On Cloud Nine

[Dj]

Beth wrote: "I'm intending to read a SFFBC chonker sometime this year but haven't decided which one yet. :) Some that immediately come to mind that I haven't yet read are [book:Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell|142..."

I have started all three of those and have been touching on them a bit, I am finding the Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell book more interesting than I thought I would, so of the three so far that is the leader for now.

[CBRetriever]

I finished the last of the Ann Leckie books on our bookshelves: Ancillary Mercy. I quite liked this series

This makes 8 books out of the 15 read (two are in omnibus editions that I've not finished yet) so they don't show in my totals

[Dj]

Watchmen So I got halfway through this book and decided enough was enough. I two stared it. I decided though instead of doing a review on why I didn't like this book, I would mention why even though the last two books on the bookshelf are ranked low I still find this challenge so wonderful.

I, like most people I suspect, tend to stay in patterns that I am used to. The fact that I am reading books that have been voted on by others offered up to the group as reads that they enjoyed helps me break out of that pattern. There are a number of books that I never would have picked up under normal circumstances that I have really enjoyed. So yeah, there may be a few that don't resonate with me when I am reading them, but I would be surprised if anyone likes all the books on the Shelf. This helps me expand my horizons and because it is a challenge, it gives me a reason to read them farther along than I might normally do.

That last bit is a part of the reason I ended up liking Gideon the Ninth when it had a bit of a rough start for me. So while I may have given up on this book, I am not giving up on the Challenge, not by a long shot.

[Laurie]

Awesome. I feel the same way. It is nice to get recommendations and try books I might not normally try. Happy reading!

[CBRetriever]

Finally finished the omnibus of The Old Kingdom Collection: Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, Clariel by Garth Nix so my total reflects my reading of [book:Sabriel|518848

not a big fan of this series so I'm glad to move on to something else.

[Dj]

CBRetriever wrote: "Finally finished the omnibus of The Old Kingdom Collection: Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, Clariel by Garth Nix so my total reflects my reading of [book:Sabriel|518848

no..."

Hopefully, your next read will be more to your liking.

[CBRetriever]

I'm still working on Shadow & Claw by Gene Wolfe and am on the second book in this grouping of two books in order to add this as a full completion: The Shadow of the Torturer. It too is not a favorite

maybe then I'll read either the two Becky Chambers books or 16 Ways to Defend a Walled City - I have high hopes for these three

[DivaDiane]

Skip 16 Ways, CBR!

[CBRetriever]

oh no - I already own it...

[CBRetriever]

and I've already finishedShadow & Claw but went with a book from my TBR challenge instead: Starrigger by John DeChancie. My husband had a two plus hour doctor's office visit (most of it spent waiting to see the doctor) so I'm already 40% through Starrigger.

[Tom]

Going for 13, and I've already read 3 of the books this year that appear in the list, so i'm on track, Woo!

[Ellen]

Finished The Blade Itself and reached the halfway point of 15 books out of my goal of 30 for the year.

[Will]

finishing sorrowland means I'm 4 books done out of 15... now I'm dithering over what to read next. continue a series or start a new one?? Tempted to try Blood Song

[Lucy]

I am late joining this challenge as I only just discovered this Goodreads Group - I am going to try for 25 books. There are loads of books on the shelf that overlap with my personal Want To Read list so I'll be going with some of those. The first book I read this year was The Song of Achilles so that's one down!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

good luck everyone!! excited to see how you do

[Maarit]

Two more books down since my last update, this time Three Parts Dead and Piranesi (translated edition). Also added a new book on my currently reading pile, which is the e-book version of John Dies at the End by David Wong. So far read 20% of it and I started it during Easter Sunday. The other two CR-books are a bit on hiatus at the moment though I'm trying to get Blindsight read ASAP, since I've almost renewed it 10 times already through my library (benefits of working in one, though I had to re-loan it at point of 5 renewals). I may have to increase my goal of 6 books read to 10 or so maybe, but we shall see.

Read


(translated Finnish edition)

Currently reading

(Blindsight)

[Laurie]

I finished Good Omens last week and had a great time with it. So irreverent and unique. I'm loving this challenge as it's exposing me to books I'd never know about otherwise. I just ordered a copy of The City of Dreaming Books. We'll see how that one goes...

[Elma]

Goal: 12 books
Bit late to the party, since I only just joined the group, but let’s see how many I can tie in with other challenges as well 😊

Read: 6/20
- - -
-

Currently Reading:


Planned:
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
The Blade Itself

A Wizard of Earthsea
The Bear and the Nightingale
The Painted Man (aka The Warded Man in the US)

If I can make it/them fit:
The House in the Cerulean Sea

[DivaDiane]

That's great, Elma! Glad you can join us!

[Maarit]

A few more books read, this time John Dies at the End (didn't like), Blindsight (didn't like) and Sphere (surprisingly liked a lot). Now I have a bit too many books on my CR-pile, of which I own two and have no hurry to read. Two other books are from library and When Gravity Fails is the only copy avaiable and someone has reserved it so it's a bit of a high priority book at this moment.

I've upped my challenge to 12 books read, but at this pace I might have to raise it up a bit more later on.

Read


Read translated editions


(Blindsight)

Currently reading
The City We Became
Blackfish City
Karen Memory
Kun painovoima pettää (When Gravity Fails)

[DivaDiane]

Having read 7 books for this challenge, I am supposedly 3 books ahead of my plans for 12 books. I (recently) read

Preludes & Nocturnes
Sorrowland
Slaughterhouse-Five and
More Than Human

I have Reap the Wild Wind on the back burner at the moment. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue it soon before I forget everything. It's a print book and a hardcover no less, and my eye-reading time is at a premium.

I've got Watership Down in progress (audio) right now. I read this when I was 13 or 14, and loved it and I'm really enjoying the audio book reread.

[CBRetriever]

finished the two Becky Chambers' books on our shelves:

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet & A Closed and Common Orbit to make it 10 out of 15 I plan to read this year.

[HeyT]

After a couple months of being distracted by urban fantasy series I'm back in the challenge again having read Hollow Kingdom

[CBRetriever]

The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey and diving into the rest of the series. I quite liked this one

This makes it 11 out of 15

[CBRetriever]

Finished The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

This makes it 12 out of 15

I'll be doing Recluce next month

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

chugging along!

[Meredith]

I'm up to 8/20 plus 1 retro read.

4⭐️
The Actual Star
Blackfish City
Soulless
Raven Tower (read a couple years back)

currently reading:
Compass Rose

[Nicci]

I read 6/10, one of them is DNF. I'm not sure about counting as a "read."

Sorrowland - DNF - Not for me.

Finished:
The Echo Wife
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Old Man's War
The Song of Achilles
A Dead Djinn in Cairo

[Meredith]

I had a couple bookshelf DNFs last year. I decided to count them, but I also added 2 to my reading goal for the year.

[Beth]

I haven't updated on this page, so here we go!

Goal: 7
Read: 4


Finished:


Currently Reading:


DNF:


On deck (subject to change!)(all in audio):

(Rosewater is looking good to be next)

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Def count DNFs IMO. You can now be spoiled about them and feel no regret, and have formed opinions on them.

Nice work yall!

[Beth]

I feel uncomfortable counting a book iirc I didn't get even 100 pages into! I guess I should have counted my semi-DNF of Kushiel's a year or two ago since I did get very close to halfway through a nearly 1000 page book. I don't have a super solid personal determination for that but 300 pages or 50% (whichever is fewer pages) seems appropriate.

[CBRetriever]

Beth wrote: "I feel uncomfortable counting a book iirc I didn't get even 100 pages into! I guess I should have counted my semi-DNF of Kushiel's a year or two ago since I did get very close to halfway through a ..."

I forced myself to finish that one

[Meredith]

Beth wrote: "I feel uncomfortable counting a book iirc I didn't get even 100 pages into! I guess I should have counted my semi-DNF of Kushiel's a year or two ago since I did get very close to halfway through a ..."

I usually try for 20-25%, to confirm something really isn't working for me (though I've gone further). Then I feel like it should count. I made an effort. I cross it off the list.

Also, if you read about half of Kushiel, that really is like reading a whole book.

[DivaDiane]

I think, for this challenge, counting DNFs (at whatever point you abandon it) is in the spirit of it. The idea is to read all the books on the shelf, but that doesn’t mean they are all going to do it for you, but at least you tried, hey?

[Dj]

The Magic of Recluce

While the book is well written and the story flows well enough I have to say that I don't find coming-of-age stories with Fantasy added in any more entertaining than the regular kind. Maybe it is an age thing.


At nine finished in this challenge so far, it does put me a tad behind the power curve to finish twenty-five, but I am enjoying the reads for the most part.

[CBRetriever]

Dj wrote: "The Magic of Recluce

While the book is well written and the story flows well enough I have to say that I don't find coming-of-age stories with..."

Ah, I just finished that one as well. I got a little tired of all the "sound effects" in the middle of the text though. I'm on to the second book in the series.

This puts me at 13 out of the 15 I proposed to read this year. I still have 5 in my TBR pile, but I'm saving them for next year

[Dj]

CBRetriever wrote: "Dj wrote: "The Magic of Recluce

While the book is well written and the story flows well enough I have to say that I don't find coming-of-age s..."

Well, you liked it more than I did, I am skipping the rest of the series. Hope you enjoy it. I listened to it as an audiobook, I can say the sound effects didn't translate well there either.

[CBRetriever]

Dj wrote: "Well, you liked it more than I did, I am skipping the rest of the series. Hope you enjoy it. I listened to it as an audiobook, I can say the sound effects didn't translate well there either."

I'm reading the rest of them just because I own them - I bought them back when they were $2.99 each

[Dj]

CBRetriever wrote: "Dj wrote: "Well, you liked it more than I did, I am skipping the rest of the series. Hope you enjoy it. I listened to it as an audiobook, I can say the sound effects didn't translate well there eit..."

Yeah, when you own something you do feel more compelled to read them. Hope you enjoy them.

[CBRetriever]

I figure it'll take about a year as I'm reading them on my out and about in the world Kindle so unless I have to do a lot of waiting, it'll take that long

[Dj]

So for my group read challenge right now, I am listening to: The Lions of Al-Rassan

Now it probably mentions this somewhere in the blub on the book...which admittedly I never read, but I was very pleasantly surprised when I came to the realization that this is a reimaging of the Reconquista. Or when the Spanish retook the Spanish peninsula from the Muslems led by Philip and Isabel. This is also the time of the El Cid

[Deedee]

So far in 2022, I've finished the following off the Bookshelf:
The Actual Star 2 stars
Dreamsnake 5 stars
The Invisible Library 3 stars
The Echo Wife 3 stars
Klara and the Sun 5 stars

DNF:
Compass Rose

And currently reading (halfway through)
The House in the Cerulean Sea

I have in my read-soon pile: Solaris, The Songs of Distant Earth, and Six Wakes, not sure which one I'll read next.

[HeyT]

I just hit 11 shelf reads for the year which puts me at 211 shelf books total.

[Dj]

HeyT wrote: "I just hit 11 shelf reads for the year which puts me at 211 shelf books total."

Congrats

[Mihai]

I`m a little behind, but following the group reads.

Read:
Reap the Wild Wind
Sunshine
The Echo Wife
The Actual Star
Ariadne
Blackfish City
Daughter of the Forest

I liked Ariadne most, from them.

Soon Klara and the Sun Will use this opportunity to catch-up with some more Ishiguro novels.

[Ellen]

Finished Doctor Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles and On the Oceans of Eternity to bring my shelf total for the year to 27.
Glad to get Doctor Who out of the way. I kept putting it off. It was a struggle to finish.

[CBRetriever]

Ellen wrote: "Finished Doctor Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles and On the Oceans of Eternity to bring my shelf total for the year to 27.
Glad to get Doctor Who out of the way. I k..."

better you than me - that Dr Who book is on my NTR (never to read) list. I have enough in my TBR pile to keep me going w/o resorting to reading that book.

and so far, I only own 6 other books that are on the bookshelf, that I haven't read and I'm holding them for next year's challenge.

[Anna]

Ellen, you get a bonus for Terraphiles! I don’t know who else is in this exclusive club, but you have a fancier lounge with stronger drinks.

[Ellen]

CBRetriever wrote: "better you than me - that Dr Who book is on my NTR (never to read) list.."
That's a good place for it.