From the Bookshelf of Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge…

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)

Becky Chambers

Start date: June 1, 2024

Finish date: June 30, 2024

Discussion: Current Monthly Group Read

Why we're reading this: Monthly Group Read for June 2024 (set in space)

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Monthly Group Read for July 2019 (set in spa…more
[close] Monthly Group Read for June 2024 (set in space)

previously ...
Monthly Group Read for July 2019 (set in space)

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Current Monthly Group Read

September Group Read Discussion: Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery
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What Members Thought

Dec 22, 2015 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, aliens, everyone-loved-it-except-me, lotsa-buzz, spacey-space-future

Rosemary set down her plate on the buffet table and walked to the window. She folded her arms across her chest and took a deep breath, looking out onto the crowded sky. A small, angry planet, surrounded by the warships of people who wanted to control it.

I have to confess, I was disappointed in this one. It got so many glowing reviews, I was expecting too much. This is just sort of a nice sci fi book filled with a bunch of alien species and a little bit of plot. There's not a lot of tension, ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 29, 2016 martha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction, kindle, year-2016

FUN. Definitely reminiscent of Firefly, as others have noted, but that's not a bad thing. (Also kinda Farscape-y? But then I'm always looking for that.) Psyched it won't be the last one! ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 13, 2021 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: american-fiction, north-american-fiction, fiction, lgbtqia, sci-fi

I was really into this book, but it weirdly took forever to read, because it's pretty character-driven, which is not what you'd expect from a supposedly-light-hearted sci-fi space journey. It's a found family story, with an omniscient narrator that rotates focus on the ship Wayfarer's various crew members. And there are a lot of things to love about this book: there is such diversity among the characters and many of their stories and backgrounds are quite thought-provoking on issues of norms and ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 11, 2018 Christina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: popsugar-2018-reading-challenge, sci-fi

Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge: A book set on a different planet (okay, so this one is mostly set in space, but sometimes they go to planets! IT COUNTS)

Chalk a win up to the "pulling out books at random on the library shelf" method of book selection. It doesn't always work out for me but in this case, it really did. To be honest, the thing that really sold me was that when I flipped through the book to get a sense of the writing style, I saw lots of dialogue. I liked the idea of a smaller, char Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge: A book set on a different planet (okay, so this one is mostly set in space, but sometimes they go to planets! IT COUNTS)

Chalk a win up to the "pulling out books at random on the library shelf" method of book selection. It doesn't always work out for me but in this case, it really did. To be honest, the thing that really sold me was that when I flipped through the book to get a sense of the writing style, I saw lots of dialogue. I liked the idea of a smaller, character-driven science fiction story, and decided to give it a shot. I was very glad I did.

I will lead with the criticism: the plot is extremely episodic. The universe reminded me of a number of TV shows I've watched (particularly "Farscape" and "Firefly") and between the plot structure and the frequent POV shifts I felt like this wasn't necessarily meant to be a book, but rather the first season of a sci-fi TV series. I mean, it was still good, and it would make a darn good first season of a show, just know if you decide to read it that it's going to be episodic.

But I really enjoyed it. The world-building was great, and paced well (that isn't faint praise! Well-paced world-building is hard to find), and my hope of finding a character-driven book was fulfilled. Although the blurb on the back focuses on Rosemary and her arrival is the book's starting point, the actual story is about the whole crew. Some (Rosemary, Sissix, Ashby, Jenks) more than others, but still about the whole crew. For the most part, the crew is populated by interesting and well-developed characters (Kizzy...is almost too quirky). The aliens are properly alien and I enjoyed the background concept of a universe with a pretty well-organized galactic alliance in which humans are not founding members or even all that well-regarded. Not the targets of alien extermination plans, either, just kind of the new kids who haven't proved themselves yet. There's a lot to explore in this universe, and I was really glad to see there are sequels. ...more

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Jan 12, 2020 Jessica McLaren rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Okay, look. I know I tend to be generous with the stars around here, but this book...!

Can I actually give it six stars?

Science Fiction is probably my least favorite broad genre, especially science fiction that involves aliens and spaceships. And right there in the book description, it's all, "This book is about a bunch of aliens on a spaceship!" So, I was skeptical while also optimistic, having heard so many great things.

This book might well be called The Quick Way to Sorting Out a Bunch of Th ...more

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Nov 22, 2019 Rachel rated it liked it

Shelves: aroundtheyear2019, popsugar-2019

A real escape. Cute story set in space with a wide variety of likable characters.

Read for the PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge prompt #20 "A book set in space" and the Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge prompt #13, "A book that is included on a New York Public Library Staff Picks list" (Spring 2019 Picks for Adults). ...more

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