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?
CBRetriever wrote: "I have read them all - you can get the entire OZ series on amazon.com for $2.99 in Kindle format with illustrations in most caseshttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..."
I have that. But am unsure if I am invested enough to read them all.
I generally have the same issue with the Narnia series.
I've read that one too and I prefer the OZ books
I am re-reading the Monk and Robot series by Becky Chambers - for another book club ;) I am having a lovely time!
Allison wrote: "loved the Vela! last i heard it was subscription dependent distribution though. has that changed?"A much belated reply, but as I'm always happy to plug awesome books - I read The Vela on Hoopla, free through the library.
The second season however may only available as the online serial. I haven't gotten to it yet, but the first couple chapters opened up fine, so it seems to be free to read.
Phrynne wrote: "I am reading Witch King which is a new book by Martha WellsShe's a genius. I can hardly put it down!"
*eyes sparkle with envy* Lucky you! I can't wait to read it next year.
Alexandra wrote: "I am re-reading the Monk and Robot series by Becky Chambers - for another book club ;) I am having a lovely time!"They are such lovely books! Both of their dedications seemed aimed directly at me at the time I read them. A soothing cup of tea in book form. <3
I gave the first as a Christmas gift last year, and have been delighted to hear it keeps being stolen, necessitating more copies be distributed. Not to brag as a friend-group literary influencer, but... *buffs fingernails on shirt* ... I do hear a tattoo is in the works.
Mel wrote:They are such lovely books! Both of their dedications seemed ai..."
It's a wonderful feeling when you help other people discover great books... Yay :)))
The Monk and Robot series is so good. I just finished them a month ago and also recommended it to my mother-in-law who fell in love with them.I am currently reading A Master of Djinn now and am loving it!
One of the books I'm reading is Freehold by Michael Z. Williamson. It, so far, for the main character (female) has nudity, jumping into bed with the guy across the hall, then a three way relationship with the same guy and a female escort, then she goes out as an escort, then she joins the military with stuff cribbed straight from GI Jane but taken several steps further with more to come. The writer does not seem to understand women or to be able to write well from a female point of view.
I've finally waded through the twelfth Honor Harrington book after several false starts. I admit to flickin pages on my kindle during meeting, after meeting, after meeting full of pages of dialogue, to get to the bits I wanted to read. I think this is as far as I'll go with the series. I really enjoyed the first half dozen, and was quite invested in Honor's story. But the author needs a decent editor. (IMHO)
I finally finished Freehold by Michael Z. Williamson. This one goes to my bottom 1-star collection. It got even more gruesome at the end.I started another one that was part of a Bundle (StoryBundle), Tyche's Flight by Richard Parry, which is much better. It has kinda a Firefly/Serenity vibe so far
I give you a lot of credit for finishing it, after what you've said about it!
Michelle wrote: "I give you a lot of credit for finishing it, after what you've said about it!"I tend to finish books, even if I pretty much skim the bad ones. I did seriously think about DNFing it though
Thomas wrote: "I've just finished the 2nd half of Words of Radiance. I loved every second of it and Brandon continues to be my favourite author to date. I'll be very interested to read State of th..."Great, Thomas. I'm working my way through Mistborn, and I look forward to reading this series!
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Another rather puny mid-month reading roundup. In addition to these two books, I read a little more than one-third of Reamde.Brideshead Revisited (audio): this was recommended by a GR friend as an autumnal read, and succeeded admirably. I had no idea what this was like going in, and was surprised at how openly queer some of it was. (review)
The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong (Novel) Vol. 4: the final volume of this M/M romance/xianxia/comedy/?? is a set of short stories. This was the author's first serial, and it shows sometimes, but there was definitely some great stuff along the way, too. (review)
I've been working with a commute lately so I haven't been around much and monthly reads have been kind of right out for me due to business in general. But I did pick back up audiobooks this time for my drive, and I ended up grabbing How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin. I never really got into short stories much, but it's perfect for a commute in a way, and the stories in this one, especially in the context Jemisin describes in her introduction to the collection, were really interesting. I frequently found myself stalling in my car a little longer to hear out the end of a story or the next key part lol. There were multiple narrators for the various stories, and some of the story-narrator pairings were really great matches.I picked up The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang as a next listen after waffling for a bit about the choice. (I was considering Joe Abercrombie as my main alternative after hearing comparisons to Christopher Buehlman, but the blurb on Poppy War had me a bit more interested.) I also picked up Dragonfly Falling by Adrian Tchaikovsky a while ago in ebook form after enjoying the first book, but finding time to sit and read lately has been tough, so I'm not far into it yet, and it's the kind of story that takes a while to get rolling I think.
Read
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey, a novella (est. 40,000 - 45,000 words). This is a sapphic faux Western set in a dystopian future (or alternate history) US. Possibly because of the novella length, the world-building is thin and a bit trite. The focus is on characters. A quick easy read, but not particularly memorable. Recommended for readers who like dystopian SF, coming-of-age stories, and LGBTQ SF.
Michelle wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "I'm reading Nicholas Sparks' latest Dreamland"My oldest daughter is a Nicholas Sparks fiend!"
I do love some of his books, but this is not his best work. (Usually I need Kleenex)
OMG I’m in Powells. Which of these beauties are following me home?
Depends, Jacqueline. How big of a vehicle did you bring there?
Can you pick me up a couple of books while you're there?
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Hubby has given me a 2 book limit. Yeahhhh like that’s happening 😂🤣 So far I’ve found Charlie Jane Anders The City in the Middle of the Night for $9 (they ranged from $9-15 so I went through and got the cheapest one and you can’t find it for under $23 in Australia) and a French phrase book for $5. Oh and a coaster. Hubby has been reading Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff the whole way around. We’re heading back to the sci fi/fantasy section after a cuppa in the cafe. Been all over the shop. Even Hubby is impressed with the place. His only ask is that we find a Walmart. I think there’s one sort of near the green line train/tram thing. Yesterday we found a big Barnes and Noble in the nearly deserted mall near our hotel (Lloyd’s). Starbucks and books. I was in my happy place. I’m in my happier place today.
This bookshop is a really the only reason we came up this way. We flew to Vancouver (the one in Canada) and came down to Seattle by bus and then Portland by train. I’m loving Portland. It’s so pretty and rather busy and vibrant. We went for a walk up towards the University and then came back down here. On Thursday we fly to San Fran so I can ride the trolley up the hill. Missed out last time we went.
After rereading Sharpe's Waterloo, (excellent, excellent!), I did a kindle walkabout for something lighter in tone. I settled on J.R.R. Tolkien's Letters from Father Christmas. It is so precious! He wrote these letters to his kids as they grew up. He would include funny stories from the North Pole, little drawings in the margins, and illustrations of the stories. I now want the hard cover version!
hopefully you found some good ones (unless you're still there making up your mind which ones to get). They have an excellent cookbook selection...
Yeah Chessy I found a couple I like. No cookbooks though. We were there for hours. Had 2 visits to the cafe for a reviving cuppa before I did more wandering. Worth the visit.
My copy of The Lost Metal landed on my kindle at long last. Guess what I will be reading this afternoon.
Phrynne wrote: "My copy of The Lost Metal landed on my kindle at long last. Guess what I will be reading this afternoon."I am playing catch up. Just finished book five,
Shadows of Self and started book six,
The Bands of Mourning. Fun stuff. I had forgotten about this series after finishing
The Alloy of Law, book four.
Eric wrote: "I am playing catch up. Just finished book five"I'm also playing catch up, but I'm further behind. I just started The Well of Ascension (book 2).
Jacqueline wrote: "OMG I’m in Powells. Which of these beauties are following me home?"Every time I go to Powell's in downtown Portland, it reminds me of being a kid and going to a Candy Store for the first time. It is such a magical experience.
It is a magical experience Dj. Wanted to go back today but ended up at the Barnes and Noble next door to our hotel. It has a Starbucks and their turkey sandwiches are yummy. I bought another book. We found a Walmart on the Green line and then decided to go to the airport on the red line to check it out before we have to find our way there in the morning. The red line runs right by our hotel.
I really do love Portland.
Jacqueline wrote: "It is a magical experience Dj. Wanted to go back today but ended up at the Barnes and Noble next door to our hotel. It has a Starbucks and their turkey sandwiches are yummy. I bought another book. ..."me too - I'm so glad we decided to retire here
Pretty good decision Chessy. According to Laini Taylor there are a lot of really great donut and patisserie places around too. And there’s an amazing view of Mt St Helens and Mt Hood from the balcony of my hotel. Which doesn’t have a fridge and the balcony is now being used as a fridge. It’s now called the outdoor fridge 😂🤣
Jacqueline wrote: "Pretty good decision Chessy. According to Laini Taylor there are a lot of really great donut and patisserie places around too. And there’s an amazing view of Mt St Helens and Mt Hood from the bal..."
I used to do that in French hotels. You picked an excellent time for your visit as it's not raining. Are you going to, or have you gone up the old Columbia Gorge Highway and seen all the amazing waterfalls?
https://www.columbiarivergorge.info/w...
and there's maps to the area there
Nah we haven’t been out of the city. Next time. We decided we’d maybe get a car next time we’re here. Yes I want to come back. The weather has been excellent. The whole trip has been pretty good. There was one morning in Vancouver when it was raining and we were in San Diego the day it flooded so that day was a write off. Didn’t stop us from going places though. And one morning in Disneyland it had rained. Apart from that it’s been blue skies. Some days have been really cold but at least it wasn’t cold and raining. Just got to see what San Fran has to offer. Hopefully no rain. I’m sick of rain. It’s been raining in Australia for nearly 18 months. The ground is so wet the water just runs off and floods everything. Places that normally don’t get rain for 10 years have been flooded for 2 months. One place we used to live has to get food in by helicopter.
We leave today. Flying to San Fran to go on the trolley and maybe walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Hubby and our daughter did that last time we went and I was too big and had pulled a muscle trying to walk quickly across the road. I’ve lost 50kg now so can do it. Even though after close to 3 weeks of walking between 5 and 15km a day my legs have had enough.
Jacqueline wrote: "Nah we haven’t been out of the city. Next time. We decided we’d maybe get a car next time we’re here. Yes I want to come back. The weather has been excellent. The whole trip has been pretty good...."
there are tours so you didn't need a car to go there - maybe next time
got my 80's metal fix, read 'Nothin' but a good time: Uncensored history of the 80's Hard Rock explosion' by Tom Beaujour. Pretty good, I grew up in that era, the rise and fall and current resurrection.Now reading Violet Moller's Map of Knowledge: How Classical Ideas were lost and found, and also Lois McMaster Bujold's Memory, another vorkosigan book. Wasn't planning on reading it, but it's an ebook, and I forgot to bring MoK with me to work, so, during lunch, I started memory...
I just read a couple of excellent fantasy books I need to gush about!!For those who love A Little Princess and Harry Potter, there's a book that adds HP-type elements to an ALP retelling! (For instance, a school for magic w/ rooms that move around.) The Gilded Girl by Alyssa Colman. It's middle-grade and very cute/sweet. Great theme that I think will especially resonate in our society today, although it takes place in the early 1900s like (I think) the original did. And if you've seen the movie from the '90s, the author obviously got her major idea from the "Kindle My Heart" song (which I still remember the lyrics to, LOL). Loved it so much!!
Also the 3rd Plot Bandits book by Katherine Vick is out now, The Narrative, and it's just as hilarious as the first two! :D Think Terry Pratchett but more meta, with minor characters (Disposables, who've got a very unfair lot in life) trying to take over the plot from the ruler of their world, the Taskmaster. There's one more book to go in the series, and I've still got my guesses and suspicions about who the mysterious Taskmaster is.... Dying to find out how it ends!!
Hmm, I just realized both those books have a social-justice type theme tying them together....
I’m reading Private Eye. From start to finish once every two weeks.
Beth wrote: "Depends, Jacqueline. How big of a vehicle did you bring there?"😂😂😂
My latest YA foray has been to read the Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner and i have to say it's been delightful! it feels like reading an older fantasy (like written many many years ago). The writing style and story development is very old school in the best way possible. I almost want to call them cozy? But still with great stakes?
Marc wrote: "got my 80's metal fix, read 'Nothin' but a good time: Uncensored history of the 80's Hard Rock explosion' by Tom Beaujour. Pretty good, I grew up in that era, the rise and fall and current resurrec..."Oh, Memory was terrific!!
Meg wrote: "Beth wrote: "Depends, Jacqueline. How big of a vehicle did you bring there?"😂😂😂
My latest YA foray has been to read the Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner and i have to say it's been de..."
I must've read that series 7 or 8 times! I'm about due to reread it.
Anna wrote: "Has anyone read the newest in the Thief series yet, Moira's Pen: A Queen's Thief Collection?"Yep!! I had preordered it. Read it and enjoyed it immensely!
Nice! It’s on my list of things I hope to get to soon 😊
Anna wrote: "Nice! It’s on my list of things I hope to get to soon 😊"I tried to stretch it out into two reading sessions. I wish that it had been longer!
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SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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Yeah that can happen. I started reading Tainth Lee's, Night Master. I remember trying to read it back when I was in High School but nothing about the book, so I had no idea why I put it down or why I hadn't tried to read it or anything by her after that. Being from Iowa and of an age where some things weren't spoken of, when I started reading it again it wasn't long before that answer jumped up and slapped me in the face. Now though I just bore down read through it and am hoping that particular issue doesn't come up again.