What are you reading in April 2023?

[Shel, Moderator]

Happy Spring! Let us know what you're reading right now - any and all genres welcome!

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I’m starting Shadowmarch by Tad Williams for another Goodreads group. It’s pretty hefty! Might take me a while.

[Mary]

The Virtues of Captain America: Modern-Day Lessons on Character from a World War II Superhero by Mark D. White

[Cheryl]

Reading lots of poetry and books about same for children, in a project for the Children's Books group. For example:
Reading Poetry in the Middle Grades: 20 Poems and Activities That Meet the Common Core Standards and Cultivate a Passion for Poetry and
A Jar of Tiny Stars: Poems by NCTE Award-Winning Poets and
Songs in the Shade of the Cashew and Coconut Trees: Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes from West Africa and the Caribbean.

And The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales by Alison Lurie as I got lured into hosting April's BotM discussion in the group Once Upon a Time.

[Cheryl]

Also I hope to finish the Newbery title Shabanu: Daughter Of The Wind (for the Newbery club in Children's books) soon so I can move to another BotM (don't recall which group) The Goblin Emperor which has been under my consideration for a long time.

[Shel, Moderator]

After finishing up Children of Memory, I tore through Hide by Tracy Clark, a random thriller that I downloaded as a free Kindle First book. It was okay - certainly hard to put down, but like most popular thrillers I've read it was pretty predictable and improbable.

I haven't decided yet what to pick up next.

[Dawn]

I just started A Suitable Companion for the End of Your Life yesterday, it is pretty curious so far. Not sure what I think yet, it has started out quite bizarrely really. But I do like a creative dystopian, so we'll see.

[Mary]

The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History by Tonio Andrade

[Shel, Moderator]

I started Oryx and Crake yesterday.

[Shel, Moderator]

Aaaand finished Oryx and Crake since I had lots of time to read yesterday - hooray for 3-day weekends! My library loan for Strange the Dreamer just came in so that's next. Look at me, all reading ahead for the group! :)

Happy Easter to anyone celebrating!

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

And I’m just the opposite. Still working my way through Shadowmarch for a different group, with the Children of Time series to read as well as Oryx and Crake for this group. And Surface Detail coming up next month… too many other things on my plate right now!

[Shel, Moderator]

I finished Strange the Dreamer and can't wait to discuss it with everyone next month. Heads up - it ends on quite a cliffhanger. Luckily I was able to download the sequel from the library right away!

[Mary]

Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success by K.M. Weiland

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I finally finished Shadowmarch by Tad Williams, 7/10. Good, not great. Felt very much like a first book in a series (which, of course, it is) since the author had to introduce a large cast of characters, do a bit of world building, give some backstory, and launch the many plot threads. Hoping the rest of the series is a bit better.

I needed to read something different before diving into more SF/F, so I’m reading Coyote Waits by Tony Hillerman. Then I’m going to tackle Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

Finished up the Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik as well as the Silo trilogy by Hugh Howey, neither of which blew me away while still being entertaining enough to keep reading. Felt like something really good after all the so-so stuff so decided to reread The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay, which was as great as I remembered it to be. Then I didn’t know what to follow that up with so did what I usually do nowadays in that situation—grabbed a random Neal Stephenson to reread, which ended up being Termination Shock. About halfway through that now, and better the second time through.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Stefan wrote: "Felt like something really good after all the so-so stuff so decided to reread The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay, which was as great as I remembered it to be."

While none of Kay’s other books will ever the match the emotional impact The Fionavar Tapestry had on me, I think Tigana and The Lions of Al-Rassan are two of his very best books. If I were rereader, I would reread those two.

And hey, nice to know you’re still lurking about at Beyond Reality! 😁

[Ken]

Finally finished Iron Council, China Mieville
Wasnt into it. Not one of his best

Next up was
The Spy Who Loved Me (James Bond
A very different James Bond. POV of a femme fatale.

Now reading
On Her Majesty's Secret Service

I am in uncharted waters with Bond here. I read a bunch when I was a teenager but never read them all. The last few are all first time reads

Not sure what I will be reading next. Thinking SF but who knows
I am on vacation next week, going to Rome so will have some time on the plane to read.

[Ken]

Stefan wrote: "Felt like something really good after all the so-so stuff so decided to reread The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay."
I still have to read the last two he wrote.
I want to do a reread of his stuff

[Mary]

Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development by K.M. Weiland

[Mary]

Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story by K.M. Weiland

[Shel, Moderator]

I just got back from a lovely vacation with lots of time to read!

I read: Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor, the sequel to Strange the Dreamer which the group will be starting in May. The two books together are excellent and I can't wait to hear what everyone has to say.

My other two vacation reads were out of genre - Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, which I really enjoyed, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which surprised me in several ways and made me cry at the end. Really, really good.

Now I've just picked up The Bear and the Serpent by Adrian Tchaikovsky, sequel to The Tiger and the Wolf which we read recently.

[Ken]

Finished the two Bond book
The Spy Who Loved Me was nothing like the move. It was quite different. Sort of a strange author flexing his writing muscles
On Her Majesties Secret Service is pretty good.

Starting on a reread of Foundation

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Coyote Waits by Tony Hillerman, 8/10. Interesting how Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn come at the mystery from different starting points. Both are such interesting characters.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 10/10. My comments are in the topic thread in the Previous BotM Discussions folder. Obviously I won’t get to book 3 in this series during April while it’s our current BotM, but I will get to it eventually.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, 9/10, comments in our series read folder for the MaddAddam trilogy.

Blood Memory by Greg Iles, 8.5/10. Definitely a page turner once you get past the first 25% of the book. A few parts felt a little preachy and I figured out one of the main mysteries of the book (view spoiler)[(who abused Cat when she was a child) (hide spoiler)] early on, but this is a solid, well-written story.

Started Tetrarch: A Tale Of The Three Worlds by Ian Irvine.