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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Jul 15, 2022 08:55AM

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Same, and then I find myself getting upset that the books aren't satisfactory. To help with this, I started reading a few lighter/sillier/fluffier books every month that I set very low expectations for but mostly over preform!
Some examples: Payback's a Witch, Legends & Lattes




The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar - two POVs 800 years apart. In one a girl is fleeing as refugee from Syria across Northern Africa and Middle..."
Sounds like some fun reads were to be had. Sorry to hear about Tiamat's Wrath being slow in places for you. I just started it and hope I can get through it fairly soon. So far I have loved the series, but the David vs Goliath angle does keep coming up.

I've read the first in this series (unless this is the first, not the recently-released second...), so wanting to know if it's more engaging than the first (which was fine, but not amazing to me).


I feel a bit bad for not exactly liking the series. It's not the series' fault. When I started it I was looking forward to an emphasis on the natural science and alien culture. But it is a Space Opera/Military SF with a bit of those topics I would be interested in as background. So I'm just constantly hitting my head against the actual intent of the books ^^'.

I didn't like the series either (as far as I got). Given the popular acclaim I kept thinking that I should like it, but this focus was all wrong for me.

That does make sense. It happens from time to time.




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


I am in the middle of What Moves the Dead.


I hadn't originally intended to read this. But I ended up doing so because I had I received an invitation from the publisher. This was very good, and I need to prioritize more sci-fi thrillers.
My review - www.Goodreads.com/review/show/4841878104

My plan so far is to look at Lightspeed, Uncanny, Clarkesworld, Apex, Analog, and as many more I can find.
I love short stories (grew up with Martian Chronicles; I, Robot; and more), so it should be a fun project to see all the stuff I've missed.

That's the plan! And it's fun to try to arrange my thoughts into reviews. I'm planning on doing a short review for each story.
It should be interesting to see the zeitgeist emerge and evolve as I read.

Anyhoo, now finishing off Ann Leckie's Ancillary series (middle of Sword, then Mercy), then... ?? still waiting on Lois McMaster Bujold's Vor series to show up. Maybe I'll start her World of the five gods series, I have some now in the appropriate order... Or maybe finish Cixin Liu's 3 body problem series (read the first already), or Dan Simmon's Hyperion series... dang out-of-print books! some I can't even find on amazon...

available in Kindle format - I have them


Wintersmith
I'm not sure why, but I set aside Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series for a while. I just picked up the third book today and I'm having a wonderful time diving back into the world of witches, cheeky faeries, and general Pratchett silliness.


Wintersmith
I'm not sure why, but I set aside Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series for a while. I just picked up the third book today and I'm having a..."
I love Terry Pratchett, and I think the Tiffany Aching series is excellent. I've just finished Carpe Jugulum myself.

So far I've read






I hadn't originally intended to read this. But I ended up doing so because I had I received an invitation from ..."
Crouch wrote Dark Matter as well, which I thoroughly enjoyed. You should pick it up!

Richly written novel that will deepen your appreciation for the senses we use every single day.


I love these "cozy mysteries" set in the world of The Goblin Emperor! I hope there will be many, many more of them, they're so lovely and I really want to see what happens in Celehar's life next. They're not cozy mysteries in the usual sense, but they have mysteries, and they're very cozy, and this is my kind of cozy mystery :)


Crouch wrote Dark Matter as well, which I thoroughly enjoyed. You should pick it up!"
Of his two other big hits, yes, I'm more inclined to pick up Dark Matter rather than Recursion. The latter reminds me of films with inter-looping time lines like "Inception" and "Memento." And I hadn't warmed up to either of these films.

I'm starting this one today! I love the books set in this world. I just finished A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers, so I'm already in "cozy" mode. :-)



I think Fortress is the only one in the series I haven't read. I love me some Sharpe!

I love these "cozy..."
I have started reading the Goblin Emperor and so far am enjoying it. The thought of Cozy Mysteries in the same world is intriguing.
Michelle wrote: "I finished Terms of Enlistment last night and enjoyed the heck out of it. I switched genres to HF right after, so I'm currently rereading Sharpe's Fortress."
I read Terms of Enlistment when is came out because it looked like a 'boy' book and I'm always seeking books to recommend for students. Loved it; love the series; put the book in several kiddos hands too :)
I read Terms of Enlistment when is came out because it looked like a 'boy' book and I'm always seeking books to recommend for students. Loved it; love the series; put the book in several kiddos hands too :)

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender (the writing was underwhelming)
The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie (I dearly hope this is not an example of her usual style ...)
Christmas at the Island Hotel by Jenny Colgan (completely unspectacular chick lit with again underhwelming prose)
The Whisper Man: A Jack Nightingale Novella by Stephen Leather - average. An interesting thriller idea, but it couldn't pull me in.
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake - absolutely not for me. "Everybody is so cool" teenage feeling (even though the protagonists were said to be a bit older), lot of telling, little showing and and exposition last chapters that eventually killed it for me for good.
I guess it could speak to readers who liked "A Deadly Education" by Naomi Novik (which I didn't like and which gave me a similar feeling)
Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera - another one of the badass girls in dystopian setting that blur together in my mind and where I can't remember the story when I look at it a month later.
BUT I also found some good stuff!
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz convinces with a beautiful poetic prose, loveable characters and inclusion of positive parents in a coming of age novel. Definitely a feel good book.
The Etched City by K.J. Bishop - I picked this one up from a 10 book recommendation by Adrian Tchaikovsky and it is perfectly down my alley. New weird with not exactly a plot to follow, but more atmospheric writing. A painting with words, a fever induced dream, a brutal tale in a dystopian setting.
I would recommend it to readers who loved Wolfe's "The Book of the New Sun" or general Miéville's weirdness.
And outside of the popsugar challenge I've finished my read aloud for the boys of The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, which of course delivered.



I hadn't originally intended to read this. But I ended up doing so because I had I receiv..."
This book must be really good. The wait at my library is 25 weeks long.


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