SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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Help us pick subgenres/themes for next year!
Haha! I love most of these ideas! I will +1 the following:- non-US/UK/CA and/or translated works
- short story collections
- novellas!
- social science
- lighter/funny/hopepunk
- urban fantasy with out the romance/erotica
- Robots/AI/Androids
I might second more later.
And this is probably something nobody is interested in, but how about “related works”? Like an author biography or the type of this that gets nominated for the Hugo category.
I want to see more in both fantasy and SF: two or more female main characters but not romantically linked to each others. And anthologies based on regions are also good, preferably translated works.
Adding my voice to novellas as well.
Michelle wrote: "Allison wrote: "also if you can think of new ways to say "light" genre fiction... we usually have a comedy or optimistic book theme ever year and it's getting hard to find synonyms that are meaning..."Oh, I like Fluff and Stuff for a break from time to time.
I'd like to see:- Warm, positive works (Hopepunk or whatever it will be called next year).
- Found family
- Post scarcity
- Post singularity
- I love the sound of "fantasy not inspired by Medieval/Renaissance Europe."
- Inspired by mythology (both SF and fantasy, and especially options outside classic western mythology)
- Novellas (it feels like there are so many more options here these days)
- Short story collections (I would second that)
- Translated works
- Literary
- Ecological focus
I am not sure how this one would work out, but how about Sci-Fi/Fantasy works that have minimal reviews or that are self-published? I understand that there is something like a freight car worth of accidents waiting in this category, so maybe as an alternative an outlier from a known author. Like Jim Butcher's Aeronaut serie(s) instead of his detective work.
Allison wrote: "i understand what light means, I'm just looking for things we can call it in polls"I don't think that anyone really does, actually. It could be a thread of its own. (Akin to the 'likable characters' discussion.) (For example I do not, personally, mean beach reads or fluff.)
(I've asked for rec's for light and gotten stuff that needed extreme content warnings. Blurbs have similarly misled me, with murder mysteries that have gore and child abuse marked as light. Hence, the list of specific examples to help us brainstorm a simpler way of saying at least what is not or giving examples of works that do qualify.)
Mod
Mod
of the ones that have been listed so far, these are of interest to me- hopepunk
- books in translation and/or not by US/UK authors
- anthropological SF
- space opera (ideally not by somebody already on the shelf)
Dj wrote: "Like Jim Butcher's Aeronaut serie(s) instead of his detective work."This one was read in 8/2016: The Aeronaut's Windlass
and maybe as an anti-genre/author thing: if an author has been on the list more than 3-4 times, that's it for them. I just sorted by author and it's amazing how many have 4-5 or more books in the listLe Guin, Ursula K. 7
Gaiman, Neil 6
Jemisin, N.K. 5
Pratchett, Terry 5
Sanderson, Brandon 5
Scalzi, John 5
Butler, Octavia E. 4
Dick, Philip K. 4
Kay, Guy Gavriel 4
Leckie, Ann 4
Mod
Allison wrote: "love the idea of adding "author not already on the shelf" to more of our themes!"I *always* want to do this, but people will grumble if we try to gently say that maybe we don't abolutely *need* another Pratchett, Sanderson, or Scalzi on the shelf? Or even another UKLG :)
So yes, mods would love to do this more often, if members will let us! ^_^
I'd love for you to do thatas far as self-published books go, a lot of people might have a problem with them as they might only be available on one platform and not in hardcopy or through libraries
CBRetriever wrote: "Dj wrote: "Like Jim Butcher's Aeronaut serie(s) instead of his detective work."This one was read in 8/2016: The Aeronaut's Windlass"
That was why I used it as an example. I read it and enjoyed it. I think it would be good to do this with other authors as well. Read something that is out of their main stream writing.
CBRetriever wrote: "I'd love for you to do thatas far as self-published books go, a lot of people might have a problem with them as they might only be available on one platform and not in hardcopy or through libraries"
Understandable. I get some on Kindle, but not everyone uses that platform. And I was thinking more of the hit-and-miss aspect of those books as more than the platform issue. Thus possible alternatives. So far the lists look great.
You can never read too much UKL! But seriously, I agree, it's better to read new authors than keep reading the same ones, just because they are popular. I wouldn't mind if there was a ban (so to speak) on those authors CBR listed.
DivaDiane wrote: "You can never read too much UKL!"I agree, you can't read too much UKLG, but we don't have to add *all* of them to the group shelf! :D
Echoing some suggestions from previous comments, I would love to see the following:- Post-apocalyptique
- Non-USA/UK authors, translations
- Fantasy based on mythology from Asia, Latam and Africa
- Found family books will always go platinum in my house
- Cheerful happy stuff!! I think the real world is providing more dystopian nonsense than I can handle so lately all my reads have been lighter stuff lol
Announcement:On January 1st, 2023, this group will be renamed to SHPBC (Shiny Happy People Book Club.)
More information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYOKM...
Anna wrote: "Announcement:On January 1st, 2023, this group will be renamed to SHPBC (Shiny Happy People Book Club.)
More information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYOKM..."
LOL!
Anna wrote: "Announcement:On January 1st, 2023, this group will be renamed to SHPBC (Shiny Happy People Book Club.)
More information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYOKM..."
💕🥂
Anna wrote: "Announcement:On January 1st, 2023, this group will be renamed to SHPBC (Shiny Happy People Book Club.)
Not the S**tposting Book Club? Just as well, I suppose.
Beth wrote: "...Not the S**tposting Book Club? Just as well, I suppose."Ha 🔥🔥🔥
Hmm. That could work just as well, Beth :)
I derailed us, so here's me nudging us back on track!What other themes and subgenres would you like to see?
"Fantasy based on mythology from Asia, Latam and Africa"What I'd really love: if we split this up into individual categories: one month Asian-inspired fantasy, one month African-inspired, one month Latin Americas/Native American. This way, we don't make all non-EU fantasy compete with each other for one month of the year with only one winner actually getting read.
Actually, my personal preference would be either splitting it up further into North-Africa (Egyptian, etc.), Middle-East, India, China, Japan, Korea, and so on; or just repeating larger regional themes more than once over the year. What do you guys think? (If we do split it up into smaller regions, I'm for including a month for Europe, as well.)
Other themes I'd love:
- SF archaeology (exploration of ancient alien ruins/ships/objects)
- terraforming
- 19th century-inspired fantasy (I love Gothic spooky stuff, Victorian, steampunk, etc.)
- mystery plot (could apply to SF or fantasy)
- recent award-winners (SF or fantasy)
- YA fantasy
- space opera or space adventure
- indie/self-pub
- Middlegrade fantasy (this is where all the light-hearted, magical, uplifting stuff is hidden, people!)
- anthologies
- comedic (SF or fantasy)
- aquatic
- genre-benders
- military
- cute companions (animal, robot, magical being, ...)
Eva wrote: ""Fantasy based on mythology from Asia, Latam and Africa"What I'd really love: if we split this up into individual categories: one month Asian-inspired fantasy, one month African-inspired, one month Latin Americas/Native American. This way, we don't make all non-EU fantasy compete with each other for one month of the year with only one winner actually getting read. "
That’s a very good suggestion.
Archaeology and aquatic sound good to me, too. 19th century-esque not centered on colonizers could be interesting.
Just going to second ghost stories and works in translation. (No promises I won't go on another six month reading shut down if we do those, but I will try to show up and participate if I can.)
Art/Music as a themeTime Travel (SF or F)
Retellings of fairy tales/myths
Books about books
Books with giant monsters/robots
Early 20th Century period SF/F
Altering Memories
Good YA. Not the silly love triangle angsty stuff.
Mod
(I've given up on my +1 streak, I'll add them when we wrap this up in the mod shack.)
I forgot:- dragons
- motley band of heroes
By the way, with my world fantasy ideas I was referring to fantasy inspired by the culture or mythology of a particular region or country, not that it needs to be from there or set there.
+1 on the "good YA" (or adult-reader-compatible YA)
Eva wrote: "I forgot:- dragons
- motley band of heroes
By the way, with my world fantasy ideas I was referring to fantasy inspired by the culture or mythology of a particular region or country, not that it n..."
Thank you for clarifying adult-reader-compatible YA, Eva- this is what I meant but didn't properly describe.
I’ll +1 that version of YA as well as middle-grade for the happy quotient. I personally love good middle-grade books, but I understand that most adults don’t really want to read them. Oh and +1 for dragons!
+1 for middle grade. The Howl's moving castle book we had in one of the last months felt very mg to me and it was a lovely read.edited to correct the title ... ^^' it was too early for my brain.
How about books featuring librarians (do love librarians), or books featuring medical professionals in SF/Fantasy, or books featuring music/musicians?
maybe we could have a separate YA/MG reads section on the forum? And do Buddy Reads of them?other ideas for themes could be
Psy interactions with Animals other Humans (mind reading) - Dragonflight and The Book of Jhereg come to mind here
and maybe a twofer - two books using the same source material but translated into the SF&F realm and comparing the two: Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast and Bryony and Roses for one (the synopses of the Kingfisher novel seems like it's a Beauty & the Beast redo)
So many good ideas here+1 Shiny happy people/Hopepunk
+1 world fantasy/ inspired by different regions
+1 novellas
+1 gender bending
+1 self-published/indie/hidden gems (perhaps by # of ratings?)
+1 post-scarcity
+1 first contact
+1 music
+1 mind-reading and psychic abilities
+1 animal/mythic/robot companions
+1 exo-botany/exo-zoology
●Botany/plants/gardening in fantasy as well
●The Pathos of Time - how I refer to books that take place over a character's entire life, or across eras with immortals, or with time dilation in sci-fi, not sure how to label it. Generation-spanning?
●LGBT+ Characters
●Disabled Characters
●Neurodiverse Characters
I know we also have amazing challenges devoted to diverse and inclusive books, but always here for more of them!
Anna wrote: "Announcement:On January 1st, 2023, this group will be renamed to SHPBC (Shiny Happy People Book Club.)
More information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYOKM..."
LOL almost makes me wish I was more of a REM fan.
Just going to toss this out there, books that have a movie based on them and discussions on how they compare?
i got another one! books with an adult cast, or as i like to call them, developed frontal lobe ensemble
Some good ideas. I like: Short story collections
Translated works
Ban on authors after 3 times on the shelf:
I'm more likely to read them without help from the group. I like being introduced to authors I might otherwise miss out on.
I'd like to have runner-up polls twice a year. That would allow five per poll, instead of the current 10.
Chris wrote: "I'd like to have runner-up polls twice a year. That would allow five per poll, instead of the current 10."+1
Nyx wrote: "....Cheerful happy stuff!! I think the real world is providing more dystopian nonsense than I can handle so lately all my reads have been lighter stuff ..."Ok, for purposes of this thread, I nominate either optimistic, or *cheerful*, instead of the overused-to-the-point-of-meaninglessly-vague light.
But I will be creating a thread to discuss what we mean by light reads. (and beach/summer reads for that matter)
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Yes!
Allison wrote: "oh post scarcity is one I'd like too"
Also down for this.
How about „fantasy not inspired by Medieval/Renaissance Europe“
(I feel like I should put extra quotation marks around Medieval and Renaissance since most fantasy has a very loose grasp on what those historical periods were like anyway, but that‘s a different discussion)