SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
SciFi and Fantasy Book Challenge
>
2023 TBR Cleanup Challenge
CBRetriever wrote: "finished8. Book page total ends in an 8
The Border Keeper by Kerstin Hall
248 pages
and started on
14. Technical Challenge
Termination Shock b..."
I just read Termination Shock. Enjoyed it.
I’ve started Twilight of Briareus, my “7. Showstopper” book. My copy is a ‘70s DAW paperback I’ve had for a long time, with a nice Kelly Freas cover. The book is starting out like a classic British “cozy catastrophe” story, but I suspect there’s more to it.
Stephen wrote: "I just read Termination Shock. Enjoyed it."so far, so am I - I just started the boat trip down the river scene
Meredith wrote: "6. At sixes and sevens (in a confused, badly organized, or difficult situation) - Broken Homes, main character is always at sixes and sevens in this series. As am I, the reader, but I can't get enough of these characters and their weird world.."I agree, Meredith! I love this series.
Finally updating the ones I have finished--1. Only one-- She totally admits she is a cursed Psychopathic narcissist
2. Binary--One of the better Duos in Fantasy Lit, Kellanved and Dancer
6. At sixes and sevens --- A very confusing (to me)book of a MC who travels all sorts of places for Im not sure what reason, but I tried to go with it anyway
12. Let's try this again--After reading so many of this series, I went back to reread the fisrt one:
13. Sweet Revenge---An interesting take on one-upping the Seelie Court
15. My old friend--- A latest installment from one of my 'guilty pleasure' authors..
16. Scrumptious--Probably the best cookbook I've read--The New Midwestern Table: 200 Heartland Recipes
18. Around the Shelf---the last book in this trilogy went back to the world of volume #1, A Fire Upon the Deep ,
On my lengthy 'to think about' list:
3. Three's company
4. Four corners of the earth
5. Five Finger Discount
7. Showstopper
8. Book page total ends in an 8
9. Nine-to-five
10. Top 10
11. From the library
14. Technical Challenge
17. Cover with text only, no images
19. Bingeworthy
20. Zero to hero--
I've finished two more books for this challenge. These were both on my original list. That's weird given the random walk I'm making through my TBR list this year.✔️10. Top 10: The Very Best of the Best: 35 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction
✔️15. My old friend: Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
10: The Very Best of the Best: 35 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction includes someone's top 10 over the covered period (15 years, not the claimed 35), but maybe not mine. I loved a few of the stories and just a few of the rest didn't work for me. That's not bad for a collection this large.
15: We've had dogs for many years, so I can't say that I was surprised by the behaviors and interactions described in this book. It was interesting, though, to learn more about the physiological and psychological bases for them.
Progress: 12/20
finished14. Technical Challenge
The challenge is to prevent the earth from being destroyed by the greenhouse effect
two to go
I've finished two more entries for this challenge:✔ 8. Book page total ends in an 8: Illuminations
✔ 12. Let's try this again: Roadmarks
8: I didn't notice until I had finished Illuminations that it matched this prompt. I've been having trouble getting back to challenges here this year (or starting new ones) so I'll take it. Illuminations is another book that I had mixed feelings about. The plot was built around a trope that I don't like and I spent too much time yelling "Stop doing that!" at the MC. Once she finally got over that it was pretty great.
12. I missed Roadmarks when it first came out, so this was a chance to relive that new Zelazny book experience. Roadmarks has a somewhat confusing start (intentional, I think) but once past that I enjoyed the setting and story.
Progress: 14/20
completed the 19th book in this challenge2. Binary
Going with binary opposites like good and evil, black and white, us vs them, etc or, in the case of this book, when a witch is born a doppelganger is born and the witch has to destroy the doppelganger to retain her powers
just have this one yet to complete:
20. Zero to hero
The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence
Thrown out on her own, the heroine (not hero) has to survive and it looks like she'll be the expected saver of the world (2 more books here)
Finished my 19th book:7. Showstopper - A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (nominated for 10 awards, including the Booker Prize)
I found this book very frustrating, and I honestly don’t understand why it was nominated for so many awards. There were some beautiful moments, and I loved the great-grandmother character, but I had a lot of issues with the book overall.
I have only one more to go - a book that I have been putting off reading for a long time, despite multiple friends telling me how much they loved it: We, the Drowned for the four corners of the earth prompt. I’ve decided the only way I’m going to manage it is to make it my next audiobook, despite owning the print book.
Kaia wrote: "We, the Drowned for the four corners of the earth prompt. I’ve decided the only way I’m going to manage it is to make it my next audiobook, despite owning the print book"Funny, this is EXACTLY my story: This too was my four corners of the Earth pick. I also never thought I would be able to get through the kindle version, so I downloaded the audiobook version instead. I am now about 1/3 of the way through. It is very well narrated, but as I am sure you noticed, is a daunting 25-1/2 hours long.
And finally, it also is my final book in this challenge.
We must live in parallel universes.
Have fun.
Wow! We’ll done, Kaia and Edwin. I am failing miserably at all my challenges this year. Except the general GR one for plain numbers.
Edwin wrote: "Funny, this is EXACTLY my story: This too was my four corners of the Earth pick. I also never thought I would be able to get through the kindle version, so I downloaded the audiobook version instead. I am now about 1/3 of the way through. It is very well narrated, but as I am sure you noticed, is a daunting 25-1/2 hours long..."That is an amazing coincidence, Edwin!
I used my Audible credit to download the book today, and I gasped when I saw how long it was. But, I listen to audiobooks on my commute and doing chores around the house and yard, so I know I'll get through it before the end of the year. I'm glad to hear that it is well narrated.
DivaDiane wrote: "Wow! We’ll done, Kaia and Edwin. I am failing miserably at all my challenges this year. Except the general GR one for plain numbers."Thanks, Diane! I hope that you have at least been finding and reading books that you love this year, even if they aren't meeting your challenges.
I have indeed. I decided I had better work on my feedback ratio on Netgalley ARCs and have been reading my backlog, picking first the shorter volumes and ones that most interested me, or are most recent and they’ve all been really good aside from one.
DivaDiane wrote: "Wow! We’ll done, Kaia and Edwin. I am failing miserably at all my challenges this year. Except the general GR one for plain numbers."I too have a tendency to take on too many challenges, for my reading goals here on GR, and for life in general. My new mantra is to exhibit more self control for my reading challenges and to try better to say no when I can to work and social commitments. "Less" is often better I think.
Now, having said all that, my TBR shelf is certainly not getting any smaller.
Kaia wrote: "But, I listen to audiobooks on my commute and doing chores around the house and yard, so I know I'll get through it before the end of the year. I'm glad to hear that it is well narrated."I mostly only listen in the car on my commute, which is only 20 minutes each way.
Hmm, now doing the math for this particular audiobook................well, let's not.
CBRetriever wrote: "completed the 19th book in this challenge2. Binary
Warrior by Marie Brennan
Going with binary opposites like good and evil, black and white, us vs them, etc or..."
Looks good, hope you enjoy it.
Kaia wrote: "Finished my 19th book:7. Showstopper - A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (nominated for 10 awards, including the Booker Prize)
I found this book very frustrating, and I hon..."
Congrats on being close to your goal. Best of luck. Hope this last book turns out to be a fantastic read
Here is my Five Finger Discount TBR bookA book that is both interesting and strange in its difference from modern times. What a life it must have been during that time when kids would live with their grand parents and grow up more on their own than taken care of and guided. No Play dates and very little supervision. A time for glorious discoveries and disastrous failures.
Reading about his life was interesting but it wasn't enough of a reason for me to choose this book. It was more for where he grew up than the how. I have a friend that was born and raised in Oregon and would go to the Tillamook Bay area quite often. So it was fun to read about the past of places that I had gone to with her and heard about what it was like when she was growing up.
One of the better biographies I have read.
Growing Up In Bay City Oregon: A Memoir 1936 - 1953
Dj wrote: "CBRetriever wrote: "completed the 19th book in this challenge2. Binary
Warrior by Marie Brennan
Going with binary opposites like good and evil, black and white..."
Looks good, hope you enjoy it
I did and I read the second book in the duology, but it wasn't as good. The first one can be read stand alone, so I'd suggest stopping there
CBRetriever wrote: "Dj wrote: "CBRetriever wrote: "completed the 19th book in this challenge2. Binary
Warrior by Marie Brennan
Going with binary opposites like good and evil, blac..."
Yeah that happens. Ready Player Two hasn't grabbed my attention. I will probably get back to it sometimes, but i am in no rush.
Three's Company Mostly a straight forward Fantasy Novel, but one with enough twists to keep it interesting and fresh as a read. It starts out by having a female protagonist, but she isn't one of those all powerful wonder kids. The supporting characters are also now the most capable of types for an adventure. There are struggles a plenty that make this book a very interesting read.
Glad it turned out to be a worthy read.
Dreadmarrow Thief
I finished 8 books from my list so far. Been in a book slump for a few months, and still am (kind of), so not sure I'll finish all of them in time. 1. Only one - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins - There can be only one winner of the Hunger Games... usually :)
▪️ I liked this book as a character study. I was even duped into liking Snow at first. I'm not sure it will make a good movie though :/
2. Binary - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - A woman with two husbands
▪️ This books needed some serious commitment. It's lengthy, and everything was so Dramatic all the time (even for a romance), so it kind of tired me out. But still, I enjoyed it and will probably continue the series.
3. Three's company - Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett - Three witches <3
▪️ With the new audiobooks being published, I just had to re-read this in the new format. Such great narration by Indira Varma!
5. Five Finger Discount - The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V. & Filipe Andrade - Death's job got stolen by a human who invented immortality
▪️ Interesting artwork and a contemplative story.
10. Top 10 - Insurgent by Veronica Roth - In the Top 10 of Best Books of 2012
▪️ This whole series was, for me, the biggest disappointment this year. I liked the movies well enough, and I expected I was going to like the books more (as usual) but, and I can't believe I'm going to actually say this, the movies were just better, plotwise.
15. My old friend - The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien - The new audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis. Old, but new :)
▪️ This audiobook is a treasure. The narration felt like what I imagine listening to a bard in some great hall by a fire would feel like. It was a perfect blend of story, writing style and voice. Everyone should give it a try!
16. Scrumptious - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke- A delicious mystery :3
▪️ A real surprise. I went in only knowing that everyone recommended it and that it was a kind of fantasy. I didn't expect the mystery, and it really hit the spot, even in the middle of a book slump!
18. Around the Shelf - The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - Most of the plot happens around the shelves :)
▪️ This was fun and uplifting, though predictable. In a worse mood I might have rolled my eyes at the ending (just a little), but in all I enjoyed it.
I love this challenge! It encourages me to read new books I probably would have put off indefinitely.
Tamara wrote: "I finished 8 books from my list so far. Been in a book slump for a few months, and still am (kind of), so not sure I'll finish all of them in time. 1. Only one - [book:The Ballad of Songbirds and..."
Some good choices there. I loves Wyrd Sisters, what is out here to be afraid of?
US.
Dj wrote: " I loves Wyrd Sisters, what is out here to be afraid of?US. "
Give the new audiobooks a try if you can! The Small Gods audio was an absolute delight.
Here is to 11/20!Five Finger Discount:
I finished Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett. It was fast-paced and very exciting. I liked the world building and the magic system. Some of the characters were walking and talking tropes, but I was willing to overlook that. The ending makes you want to read the rest of the trilogy, so... :)
Tamara wrote: "Dj wrote: " I loves Wyrd Sisters, what is out here to be afraid of?US. "
Give the new audiobooks a try if you can! The Small Gods audio was an absolute delight."
Might have to see if I can borrow a copy of Prymids then I am just not feeling it all that much right now.
✔️16. Scrumptious - The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in CrisisVery interesting nonfiction.
12/20. I need to haul up my socks, get cracking, etc.
Mod
10. Top 10 - The Mill on the FlossFinished! A classic that I'm glad to have read, and that was both a delight and a disappointment.
This makes 12/20!
✔️20. Zero to hero - Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial LifeStrong memoir of childhood and early adolescence by Nobel prize winner
13/20
✔️18. Around the Shelf - The AlterationExcellent 1976 alternate history novel by famous English literary author
14/20
1. Only one:I have made a swap! King Arthur The Once and Future King is now Monkey King Monkey King: Journey to the West. Now I am at 33% and enjoying it immensely :)))
I finished my challenge today! 20/20 with:4. Four corners of the earth - We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen.
This multigenerational saga of sailing men and boys from a small town in Denmark certainly fit the prompt, as you hear stories of them traveling all around the world. It took me a solid month of listening to get through the audiobook - it was over 25 hours long! In the end, I have mixed feelings - some of the stories were engrossing, some a bit tedious, and many on the grim side. It was well-told, though, and the audiobook narrator was excellent. So glad to finally get this book off my TBR list - it's been on there for over a decade.
Kaia wrote: "I finished my challenge today! 20/20 with:4. Four corners of the earth - We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen.
This multigenerational saga of sailing men and boys from a small town i..."
Congratulations!!
Again, I think we must live in parallel universes. I also just finished this same audiobook today, also my Fours Corners of the Earth pick, and also my final book for this challenge.
I agree with your assessment: long winded at times, but quite epic in its dimensions. And yes, the narration was excellent.
Edwin wrote: "Again, I think we must live in parallel universes. I also just finished this same audiobook today, also my Fours Corners of the Earth pick, and also my final book for this challenge.I agree with your assessment: long winded at times, but quite epic in its dimensions. And yes, the narration was excellent."
That is so amazing, Edwin! I can't believe how similar our experiences have been in reading this particular book as part of this challenge.
And congratulations to you on finishing the book and your challenge!
Congratulations, both Kaia and Edwin!! We’ll done!!(I am failing miserably)
congrats on completing the challenge - I still have one book to go
Congratulations, Kaia and Edwin! :)))
Congrats, great job Kaia and Edwin!
That's been on my list to read for what seems forever!
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Watersong (other topics)The Grimoire of Grave Fates (other topics)
A House With Good Bones (other topics)
The Ship of Stolen Words (other topics)
The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)Julio Cortázar (other topics)
Tove Jansson (other topics)
F. Scott Fitzgerald (other topics)
Paul Auster (other topics)
More...
8. Book page total ends in an 8
The Border Keeper by Kerstin Hall248 pages
and started on
14. Technical Challenge
Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson
The challenge is to prevent the earth from being destroyed by the greenhouse effect
total = 17 out of 20 books