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 2022?
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Michelle
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Apr 11, 2022 11:52AM

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Yep, definitely. As was Sullivan's intention, I'd say. But readers seem to agree, Riyria is the easier, more pleasurable read. I'll still continue with both though!




I read that series about forty, (yikes!), years ago. It's creepy how fast time flies. Are you enjoying it this second time around?


I saw an ad this morning for a book that had dragons in space, Jan!



Going to write up some thoughts in a quick review. I’m pondering on the comparison between this book and Wizard of Earthsea, and Sabriel. All three of them do that thing which I don’t think of as “my thing” where the magic and the story is fairly loose and unexplained and crazy things just happen, sometimes without much of an explanation. In earthsea I loved it, in this book I loved it, but in Sabriel I really didn’t connect with anything and felt I was being told a story I had no investment in.
Maybe earthsea is partly nostalgia, as I read it many years ago. And maybe I’m more forgiving of the unexplained magic in Jackalope because they are short stories. Or maybe the writing itself in Earthsea and Jackalope is just so captivating (for me) that I connect with it so much more. I suspect it’s more this.



Woot! Please do share your thoughts in the T. Kingfisher thread! ^_^

Woot! ..."
thanks, good idea! have just posted over there :)


This is my first of Tanith's. I'd read up on her a bit before diving in and was prepared for the dreamy style. I'm enjoying it!

Also started working through Magicien : Le Mage (EN: Magician: Master) by Raymond E. Feist, continuing a read of an old favourite in French for practice.

if you're looking for another good French translation try Le Nom du vent by Patrick Rothfuss. The translator did a wonderful job and it's almost like reading poetry in that the words flow so well
C’était de nouveau la nuit. L’auberge de la Pierre levée était envahie par le silence, un silence en trois parts. Le premier était un calme en creux, l’écho de choses absentes. S’il y avait eu du vent, il aurait soupiré en passant entre les arbres, fait grincer la chaîne de l’enseigne et chassé le silence sur la route comme un tas de feuilles mortes.
Rothfuss, Patrick. Le Nom du vent: Chronique du Tueur de Roi, T1 (Fantasy) (French Edition) (p. 11). Bragelonne. Kindle Edition.




I enjoy how it's examining language, culture, gender, home (country), immigration, well a lot of things :D but there's also humor and fun and probably even more so for those who know the Japanese language/culture better than I do. I've meant to read from this author for a long time, but all her books have a pretty low average rating, so I've never gotten around to them. This is her latest one translated into English, and it sounded cool to me, so I decided why not start here.
Mainly why I wanted to post about it is that the language aspect is pretty interesting. It shows that this is an author who writes in two languages (and lives in two cultures) and has compared the two and found the differences amusing. I also (naturally) got a kick out of how in this dystopian future people think that sushi comes from Finland, which, combined with the language stuff, made me once again think about how much I enjoy Japanese authors. I especially like them when translated into Finnish (which this one is not), and I've always wondered why that is. I think the feel of the writing style or use of language is just somehow similar? I guess I'm trying to say that Japanese books translated into Finnish feel familiar and make a lot of sense, but books translated from other languages appeal to me more in English? (All the millions of Finnish speaking Japanese book readers let me know if you agree!)
Anyway, I always feel weird recommending weirdo books that are perfectly suited to my tastes to anyone else, but it only has 231 ratings on GR, so I thought I'd mention that it exists :)
I also have to mention The Dolphin House by Audrey Schulman (of Theory of Bastards fame), which I read a couple of days ago. It hits similar notes as Bastards, in both good and bad. It's not scifi in any way, but it is fiction about science :) Major content warnings for (view spoiler) , and also (view spoiler) . Also I really hope she writes more books like this, but trusts that we want them for the animals, and don't need the tacked on sexy action! (She says in her afterword that she adds sex to her books because she doesn't think other people find animals as fascinating as she does. We do! More animals, less sex please!)


I suspect her works are very... academic? Thick with metaphors and psychological elements, and very slow paced, which probably leads to some of those many 3-star reviews from people who seem to enjoy it but not be in love with it. The sort of book that certain people will be immersed in, but many will find a bit too heavy and unclear. I wish I could remember the book a bit better now, but it's been so many years.


Anyway I started it last night - the audio of course because the narrator does this series so well!


Really liked that book. Afterwards, I also read Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?: The Mystery Behind the Agatha Christie Mystery which sets out an alternative explanation of the events in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - very clever! (warning - spoilers for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd in the GR description of this second book)


I'm not a fan of "downer" books either. I also had those concerns about this one early on but by the end they felt very misplaced. On the other hand, my spouse never made it past the first few chapters, despite my enthusiasm. So... *shrug*

I've been wanting to read "Dracula", and now there is an interesting project called "Dracula Daily" to read it gradually over the next six months
The original novel was told in letters which were sent from May 3 to November 11. The idea, then, is to read each letter on the day it was written. A bit like we did here with "Lonesome October". I may join in.
https://draculadaily.substack.com/about


Oh no, Marc!

It took me a few chapters to get into it but in the end I loved it. I don't recall that it was a "downer"

I've been wanting to read "Dracula", and now there is an interesting project called "Dracula Daily" to read it gradually over the next six months"
This sounds like so much fun, I think you should start a new thread for it! There's still a couple of days before it starts, so that would get more visibility for anyone else wanting to join. If you don't want to set the thread up, let me know and I'll do it :)


I'm a closer, not an opener. But I can try. Which folder should I use?
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