SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Finished The Gallery of Lost Species (well-written but rather grim), knocked off another Wodehouse (Jeeves in the Morning). Now embarking on Ken Liu's short story collection The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories. A friend pointed me to the title story when it was published in an SF anthology last year (?) and I was blown away by it, so am really excited to try more of his work.

I continued my Discworld read, with Eric. I liked it, but not nearly as much as some of the others (My Review).

I also listened to Skeleton Crew, which appears to have a brand new audio book edition, with a variety of actors for voice readers. There were some pretty good stories in there, but overall I didn't find it as good as some of the other collections I've read by him (My Review).

I finished Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore last week. It was a very fun read. I finally started Dust of Dreams a few days ago. I had marked as currently reading months back but never actually started.

Comic book-wise, I finished working my way through all 72 volumes of Naruto and am reading some of the afterwards/side stories. I just started reading Video Girl Ai and re-reading the original Dragonball. My library just got Saga v.6 and I was first in line, will start that tonight. I am also buying and reading the entire set of Mobile Suit Gundam: THE ORIGIN, Volume 1: Activation. It's a great hardcover collection. I finished the first 4 volumes and the 5th just arrived.

Plus lots of random baby books and some programming books.

Sky, have you checked Netgalley? They often offer graphic novels for review.

So I caved and I ended up picking up Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I enjoyed it for what it is. I wrote up a short/spoiler free review

Zippergirl wrote: "Sky, have you checked Netgalley? They often offer graphic novels for review."

Hi! I do use NetGally but never thought of looking for graphic novels on it - thanks for the tip!

Just finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. What a messy fanfiction. I wish it was not canon.

Continuing The Gunslinger (Dark Tower 1). My first Stephen King's novel for a very long time. I forgot he could be so verbose.

My review for Victoria Schwab's latest This Savage Song.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished The Road as a road trip listen with my S.O. I have mixed feelings. The writing was rather poetic, for something so very bleak. However, this was definitely a character study rather than a plot driven book. We kept waiting for it to build up to something, but it never really did. It did engender some interesting discussion for the remainder of the trip, so a definitely a worthwhile read.

I'm revisiting Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, and am currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring. It's been 20+ years since I read it previously, and I've seen the Peter Jackson movies probably a dozen times in the interim, so it's interesting to read the original text with the 'vision' of the movies in my head. I can recognize specific lines of dialog, and also see a bunch of stuff Jackson skipped.

Mary wrote: "I just finished Six of Crows, which I enjoyed a lot,"

I just started listening to that with my son today. So far so good.

July’s reading highlights…
I had more free time for reading than normal, so I read quite a few books. Here are my favorites:

1. Calamity by Brandon Sanderson is the final book in the Steelheart Trilogy. I was heistant about this one because I had read a lot of mixed reviews. People seemed to either love it it or hate, without many in the middle opinions. I loved it! It wasn’t as actioned packed as the previous two books, but it tied the long range plots together and made me laugh, smile, and bite my teeth (sometimes all at once).

2. I also read and loved The Rithmatist. This is another amazing magic system and world created by Brandon Sanderson! I don’t think I’ve read anything by him that I do not like.

3. In March I began slowly making my way through the audio books for The Lord of the Rings and finally finished this month. Like Steven, it had been almost 20 years since I read them originally as a high school senior. Older me appreciates the depth more, and I discovered that approaching an old book many years later gives it a new perspective.

4. Re-reading LOTR inspired me to check out other old favorites, so I sought out another favorite author Neil Gaiman. I listened to the audio versions of my three favorites: American Gods (June), Anansi Boys, and Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. Still amazing! All of them!

5. I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it was to read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. It was a delightful SF space travel book with a great, diverse cast of alien characters. It managed to be both serious and light in just the right proportions.

6. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin was another surprise gem. I’m not sure how to classify the book. When 15 year old Liz dies in a tragic accident, she travels to the afterlife where she learns that she will begin to grow younger (back to her infanthood) until she is reborn back on Earth. She is forced to struggle with the loss of her life that she never got to finish, the relationships she never had, and a family she can no longer communicate with. It sound depressing, but it wasn’t. Infact, it was often funny. Plus, animals can talk to humans in the after life, so yeah...I liked this book a lot.

7. I also read the entire 7 book Magyk by Angie Sage series. It definitely a YA series for younger teens, but the magic and characters were interesting. I felt the author did an exceptional job of hinting in the early books about what would happen in later books. The details were never contradictory. The series has an enjoyable depth to it.

Just finished book 2 of Michael Sullivan's Riyria Revelations (RISE OF EMPIRE)Z cheat 5-star read in my book. On par with the best of epic fantasy created by the likes of Brett, Abraham, Martin, Staveley and Weeks in my view.

Silvana wrote: "Continuing The Gunslinger (Dark Tower 1). My first Stephen King's novel for a very long time. I forgot he could be so verbose."

Saw some photos recently of Idris Elba on-set for the filming of this. He's not at all how I pictured Roland, but I think he might do a good job.

Melanie wrote: "6. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin was another surprise gem..."

So glad you mentioned this, I doubt I ever would have run across it otherwise. Looks very interesting, have TBR'ed it.

Michele wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Continuing The Gunslinger (Dark Tower 1). My first Stephen King's novel for a very long time. I forgot he could be so verbose."

Saw some photos recently of Idris Elba on-set for th..."

I'm a bit disappointed in the choice of actor but will still be going to see the movie!

Meanwhile I want Idris Elba to play everything. James Bond. Doctor Who. Roland Deschain should be pretty awesome too.

I finished a couple books over the weekend; one awesome, the other merely entertaining.

The Handmaid's Tale. I started this several years ago and quickly put it down. I'm not sure why because when I started it again last month I was immediately enthralled. It could be that the times we live in make this once again, frighteningly relevant. Here is my review.

Trapped is the fifth book in the Iron Druid urban fantasy series. While it isn't as good as the previous books in the series, it's still entertaining. I especially like Luke Daniel's narration and voicing of Oberon, the Irish Wolfhound. Here is my review.

Rob wrote: "Meanwhile I want Idris Elba to play everything. James Bond. Doctor Who. Roland Deschain should be pretty awesome too."

Lol!

Tom wrote: "I finished a couple books over the weekend; one awesome, the other merely entertaining.

The Handmaid's Tale. I started this several years ago an..."

I love that book :)

Currently reading The Farthest Shore. Before that, I read Consider Phlebas. Next, I'm probably going to read Use of Weapons or The Lathe of Heaven.

Rob wrote: "Meanwhile I want Idris Elba to play everything. James Bond. Doctor Who. Roland Deschain should be pretty awesome too."

*chortle* I second that :)

Michele wrote: "Rob wrote: "Meanwhile I want Idris Elba to play everything. James Bond. Doctor Who. Roland Deschain should be pretty awesome too."

*chortle* I second that :)"

I concur.

I just started listening to The Aeronaut's Windlass. I may also start reading Smoke with my daughter but she just had me order her a new Nintendo 3DS so I might not see much of her for the rest of the summer.

Smoke Tom, I thought Smoke was wonderfully atmospheric.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I also enjoyed:

Chris wrote: "My July reading included Nexus (4), Cat's Cradle (3), The Road (3), and Spin (3).

..."

Very cool. The Road is one of my all-time favorites, and I just re-read Ubik a couple months ago.

I just finished Jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny which I read so I could participate in a group discussion in a different book club. I gave the book 2 stars.

I started reading A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin.

I'm still working on:
- Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card which I hope to finish later this month or early September
- The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2015 edited by Rich Horton

I am just finishing Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb and look forward to starting her Liveship Traders series soon with Ship of Magic.

The Farseer Trilogy is now my favorite fantasy series (tied with The Kingkiller Chronicle)!

Badlydone wrote: "I am just finishing Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb and look forward to starting her Liveship Traders series soon with Ship of Magic.

The Farseer Trilogy is now my favorite fantasy series (tied wi..."

Liveship is quite different, but I really enjoyed them. A lot of people seem to skip them, which I find sad. They feel disconnected at first, but the connections become more apparent later in the trilogy, and more important in later series set in her Elderlings world. I hope you like it!

Having just finished Joan Vinge's "The Winter Queen", I thought I would start "The Summer Queen".
WOW! From 400+ pages of standard font to 650+ pages of tiny font.
My failing eyes aren't happy

I finished The Anubis Gates, which was pretty fun overall, but I felt like it dragged a bit toward the end.

Just started Spin, immediately hooked. I hope it stays this good.

I'm reading Snow Crash, which is okay, and The Anubis Gates, which I'm loving so far.

I'm reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a play - it's fun being back in HP world!

Sarah Anne wrote: "I'm reading Snow Crash, which is okay,"

I swear no one seems to love that book like I do.

I'm currently reading Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt for a library discussion. I'm not loving it, which I guess is not uncommon.

Lately I've finished Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, which I've owned for five years. It's a hoot! Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements is a better concept than reality, but some of the stories are very worth reading. Black Dove, White Raven I liked very much. Before that I read a MG ARC Jungle Land.

Glad to know about Octavia's Brood (a nod to Octavia Butler?). Looks really good!

Michele, not just a nod, Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements is a tribute to Octavia E. Butler, a commemoration of her work, by other people writing short stories based on some of her themes.

Rob wrote: "Sarah Anne wrote: "I'm reading Snow Crash, which is okay,"

I swear no one seems to love that book like I do."

I love it like you Rob :) Loved it when it came out, still love it re-reading it years later

Maybe it's a programmer thing then

I don't know, a very high percentage of my friends gave it five stars.

Sarah Anne wrote: "I don't know, a very high percentage of my friends gave it five stars."

Are they all programmers? :-P

I don't think I could ask them all! It's a lot of people. I think I should just reread it when I'm less grumpy. The pizza delivery scene was odd because it didn't go anywhere. That bugged me. And that was like 2% into the book.

Sarah Anne wrote: "The pizza delivery scene was odd because it didn't go anywhere. That bugged me. And that was like 2% into the book." Stephenson got a little wordy with that but it introduced the two main characters along with how they would be tied into the storylines later. I grew impatient with the long ancient history explanations later.
I read the book because it motivated real life Philip Rosedale to create Second Life.
If interested in cyberspace stories, Vernor Vinge's 1981 novella, "True Names" was the first and coined the word "cyberspace".
Diane Duane's "Omnitopia Dawn" builds on epic cyberspace battles between virtual world providers.
"Ready Player One" is another epic along those lines.

Rob wrote: "Sarah Anne wrote: "I'm reading Snow Crash, which is okay,"

I swear no one seems to love that book like I do."

I do! The first paragraph of the book is one of the best I have ever read for setting the style and tone.

Sarah Anne wrote: "I don't think I could ask them all! It's a lot of people. I think I should just reread it when I'm less grumpy. The pizza delivery scene was odd because it didn't go anywhere. That bugged me. And t..."

Don't feel too alone Sarah. I've tried to read it a couple of times and couldn't get past the first chapter. It's odd because I do like Stephenson a great deal. I will eventually try again for the same reasons that you do. I want to see what all the fuss was/is about ;-)

Yay! I'm not alone!

Just finished my first read of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone last night. It was nice read.

Currently reading, the Girl who kicked the hornets nest and The Voyage of the Basilisk

Just put on hold @ my library: The Children of Men & The Aeronaut's Windlass for this month.

Jori wrote: "Just finished my first read of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone last night. It was nice read."

Have you seen the movies, or are you coming to it "cold" ?

my favorite things about "SnowCrash" was the facial tattoo "poor impulse control". One of my life rules is never argue with a person with facial tattoos.... ever.

Didn't drink the SnowCrash kool-aid either.