Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion
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Beware of Chicken 3
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Vagabond Treehouse (2023) [Beware of Chicken 3 - December 4th]
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From Audible Plus, I got the Penric & Desdemona books by Lois McMaster Bujold, some St. Mary's short stores, the Kate Wilhelm legal thrillers in the Barbara Holloway series, the Tufa and Eddie LaCrosse series by Alex Bledsoe, and a few other random books...
From Hoopla, I got the Cork O'Connor series,the Alex Benedict series, Midnight Texas, Gunnie Rose, a bunch of Hailey Edwards series, some T. Kinfisher, The Lady Darby mysteries, some Shelly Laurenston / GA Aiken books I don't have on audio, Laundry Files in a pinch, Glass & Steele, Chimera, that Zoth-Avarex book, some Penny Reid romances, Constance Verity, Phule's Company, Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain, some Magnificent Devices... and some standalones I've since removed from my favorites list...
I am in for all those you guys named... I am doomed for time next year, but I wouldn't have it any other way:)))
I WANT TO READ EVERYTHING!I feel like that acts as a response to pretty much everything I've missed in the last few days. :)
As for keeping track of new releases--I just check in on the GR new releases page and the "my authors" tab monthly. And I go to bookbub and add any new authors to my authors +follow list, and they send me an email every time there's a new release. Then I swing by my local bookstores on Tuesdays, or add books to my ebook wishlist/check libraries etc.
Currently reading The Firekeeper’s Daughter. Enjoying it so far--the cultural and thriller aspects are fun and interesting, but I also find it interesting that it's set in early 2000s, for all it was published in 2019. So the MC is between HS and college about when I was in college, and all the little details almost read like historical fiction to me too...
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I also distinctly remember the Greywalker series for using pagers, but I think it just published in that time when pagers were still a thing...
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Maybe the new releases me and Narilka listed...
Timelord Iain wrote: "I also kinda assume you guys aren't really talking about reading all the series I just listed in a stream of consciousness from KU/Amazon/Audible... there's no way I have time to even think about r..."Oh no, I do want to read everything... just probably should keep it to the individuals y'all listed for this next year at least. :) Also I'm not really interested in things that don't have some SF/F bent to them, so straight up mystery & thrillers, romance, historical fiction etc are a soft pass for me.
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Moreso, now that I've started... the quality of this audiobook is lackluster... I immediately noticed the faint white noise in the background (bad noise cancelling?)... Audible reviews are unhappy with it, too, and also pointed out the mouth sounds the author is audibly making (taking a breath every couple words / short sentences, and noticeable mouth smacking)... now I can't stop hearing it...
One reviewer tried and failed to be understanding about possible COPD or Long Covid symptoms... I can understand... I'm used to decent audio quality, unless it's a medium quality CDrip of old audiobooks from pre-2000, when everything was recorded on tape cassettes/CDs...
Timelord Iain wrote: "I also kinda assume you guys aren't really talking about reading all the series I just listed in a stream of consciousness from KU/Amazon/Audible... there's no way I have time to even think about r..."I have no prayer of keeping up with all you read lol It's mostly to get the conversation going, see what looks interesting and if there's any that appeal to all of us to read together :) Please keep the stream of consciousness going! I find it useful.
I actually read Constance Verity Destroys the Universe whenever we had planned to read it... I didn't even notice those things in the audio... Hmmm...
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I swear it gets worse... you can hear like a deep breath through nose often... I think listening at 2.7 to 3x only makes it worse... it's almost a good thing the story is so short... I'm near the end already...
I felt like the story was rushed and kinda all over the place... before long Connie is just teleporting to heroic moments... there's a bit of Matrix element to it all... or the finale of the Grimnoir Chronicles...
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First, I finished Rapture in Death... I remember solving this one super early the first time I read it, but thought there were several solid suspects...
Then, I read Constance Verity Destroys the Universe, as I mentioned earlier...
Now, I'm reading Born Magic: The Diary of Scarlett Bernard, my first Old World / Melissa F. Olson book in a few years... nice to return to this world, and nice to see there's some plot hiding in the background of this diary-structured book about supernatural motherhood...
Next, I'm planning to read Artful, a story I picked up on sale forever ago... about the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist, with some extra fantasy elements...
Plumming my unread Audible books, today, to mix things up...
Haha! I remember those scenes:))) I really enjoyed that series. It is not great or anything, but a perfect palette cleanser for after a hard book, like the one I am finishing right now... The Ship of Magic... My goodness! It is so good, but so froth with emotional turmoil, that I feel like crying all the time... Constance Verity would be great right about now...
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Ship of Magic is the last Hobb book I read, a few summers ago... I feel like I need to re-read it to continue... been so long... and not sure I was paying close enough attention...
Assuming it's the beginning of the Liveship Traders trilogy...
Yep... It is slow in pace, but absolutely chock-full of emotional turmoil... Whenever you feel like something like that, join us in the Elderlings thread... It's a club format so everyone is reading whenever they can...
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It's a shame... for now, I'm gonna focus on Malazan with Brian...
Good! That is another favorite series of mine... I just started book #5, but will be reading about a chapter every several days, so it will take me at least a month to read it... You guys will catch up to us very fast, I know it, and after that will leave us in the dust...
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Or not... eating and watching D20 is my bane for reading :D... halfway through the season now, tho... and it's alot of fun...
The Realm of the Elderlings is some of the best books I've read for character focused drama. Some day I'll do a reread. I'm just not ready for Robin Hobb to rip my heart out like that again yet lol
I need to read that series someday. Only read first two. Would have do a reread. Maybe this year
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Well….Malazan is a for sure. The others are hopeful. Plus all the books you, Choko, and Tammie find for us to read along the way. And If Soo comes back I’ll never sleep.
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But, tomes tend to put a damper on my other reading plans...
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I read Liveship Traders before Fitz's first trilogy and it turns out ok. It will give you some very minor spoilers that you'll recognize in hindsight. It won't impact anything until after both those series. Then you'd be in trouble not to read in order.
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I read the first one in 2016, and the last 2 as BRs in 2019... then we never successfully continued to Liveship Traders, and I eventually read Ship of Magic in 2020... but I didn't retain much detail of the story, even while reading it...
I've slowed down a bit the past two months but am hoping to finish up my reread of the wheel of time sometime soon. Has anyone started the latest wandering inn audiobook yet?
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Julian, what Iain said... We are all waiting...
Narilka wrote: "The Realm of the Elderlings is some of the best books I've read for character focused drama. Some day I'll do a reread. I'm just not ready for Robin Hobb to rip my heart out like that again yet lol"Ah, such a good description.... @Iain--I just finished my reread of the Farseer books on audio and really enjoyed it... planning on jumping in to Liveship as soon as I can clear up my audiobook backlog... still have go get to the last few St. Mary's! For the same reason, @Julian, I haven't even looked at the new Wandering Inn yet, but knowing that it is waiting for me is like having a nice warm fireplace nearby...
All caught up on physical reads for now though. I finished The Firekeeper’s Daughter and jumped into Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series. Finished book 1, jumping right in to book 2. Really enjoyed both. Trying to organize my thoughts to write proper reviews now... Maybe I'll squeeze in Constance Verity 3 there too--if the audio is so sub-par, maybe it'll be better to go physical...
And dang, I did not realize that Seanan McGuire is also Mira Grant. Cool!
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The profile pic is just Seanan McGuire + Butcher Knife ;)
I can't remember when I found out, but I've read and love Newsflesh... read and didn't love / abandoned Parasitology (after the 2nd of 3 books)...
Read the mermaid short story twice... planning to read the full-length novel soon...
message 3785:
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Timelord Iain, Tech Support
(last edited Dec 09, 2022 07:41PM)
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rated it 5 stars
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All the reviews are like: "I don't understand why I liked this book so much. I shouldn't. Nothing really happens. It's slice-of-life about a man becoming butler to a wizard, with a bit of magic and legal shenanigans."
Ok, I need to read it now!!!
Timelord Iain wrote: "The profile pic is just Seanan McGuire + Butcher Knife ;)..."LOL! Well, this is my first Seanan McGuire too--or second, since I'm on Wayward Children book 2 now, so I didn't know what she looked like either. :)
Wizard's Butler does sound awesome... I keep seeing it pop up on sales but never dove in... Definitely discovering a love of a well-done slice of life book...
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LOL! Well, this is my first Seanan McGuire too--or second, since I'm on Wayward Children book 2 now, so I didn't..."
Seanan also narrates some of the Wayward Children books... mostly the Jack & Jill ones, I think?...
Is she a good narrator? I hesitate a bit at authors narrating their own books--except for those who are professional narrators also, like Baldree & Kowal, the ones I've listened to (albeit not a lot) have not been up to par... Jim Butcher was ok, Jodi Taylor was meh, and Louise Eldrich was horrible...In other news, Jodi Taylor is releasing a new xmas special, and it's in the Time Police novels! I know I'm not caught up yet on St. Mary's but do we have a date for starting Time Police?
Time Police Xmas special Amazon link:
(https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Grint-Ti...)
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I think Seanan was a good narrator... no complaints anyway...
And I liked Neal Gaiman's reading of Norse Mythology...
I haven't read any Kowal (other than the cowritten book with Sanderson), only listened to her read the October Daye books...
The only Jodi Taylor I've listened to is the soundcloud readings of short stories that lack official audio... and it's still better than that Constance Verity book I complained about a few days ago...
I kinda just assumed we were going to move from St. Mary's to Time Police as a barely scheduled side-read, until we run out of books?... then maybe try her other series?... there's a trilogy and that Isabella Barclay historical... in the meantime, there's 3-4 Time Police books, I think...
That was my assumption as well. No need for official date or anything. When you guys catch up, we just continue with the Time Police:)
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In this case, an army vet is hired to care for an octogenarian that the younger generation thinks has dementia... Offered way too much money...
MC does look at cleavage a lot tho
I’ll read it after I finish this Death book.
Adding the Wizard's Butler to my wish list :)
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Anyway... he quickly became more distrustful of the younger generation, and more trusting of the octogenarian, even as he struggled to come to terms with the fantastical elements/claims...
I'm enjoying the slice of life nature of the whole thing... even as I feel foreboding for what kind of conflict is coming for the end of the story (the niece is trying to declare the uncle unfit so she can own/sell the house)...
This is the beginning of a series, altho it's probably pretty standalone... the author's blog indicates he's working on a sequel, but has been sidetracked with medical problems that seem to have resolved themselves... so hopefully the writing will progress again, soon... title seems to be Wizard's Cat... not sure if it's the same wizard or a new one... the mythology of the series seems to indicate a whole network of wizards and butlers...
Wizard's Butler definitely sounds like a fun read... will keep an eye out on it for deals... sadly its not on Hoopla or Libby for me, and no credits. >.<I'm in book 2 of the In Death series, then I'm planning on trying to catch up with St. Mary's. Sorry to keep y'all waiting!
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Other reviewers say the author is like this in his other more actiony series, so I’ll probably try those at some point, too… and I found confirmation that Wizard’s Cat follows the same characters…
I am very intrigued and just found out I have had this book in my audio library, together with all of his other stuff, forever. This is the problem with having terabytes of audio books - you never know what exactly you have until you purposely look for it.
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Just tossing around the idea of turning the Manor into a Bed & Breakfast is like catnip to me... I'M IN!!!
Fantasy Buddy Reads
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Nora Sakavic (other topics)Jordan L. Hawk (other topics)
Jordan Castillo Price (other topics)
T.J. Klune (other topics)
Derek Alan Siddoway (other topics)
The next Witchla..."
I'm probably cutting it tight on keeping KU worth it... been awhile since I read a ton from there... but Mystery Buddy reads help... and checking out ebooks to buy the audiobook cheap...
The Tracy Crosswhite BR is on there (9-10 books)... Jack Nightingale is on there next... Craig Schaefer ebooks are on there... and I'm drawing a blank on other stuff right now... in the past I read the Palace Job trilogy, Marko Kloos stuff, Puatera Online, Michael Mammay's Planetside trilogy, Odyssey One, all Melissa F. Olson's stuff, and a few others... Soo was great for that kinda searching...