SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Heh. I've been doing a WoT reread in audio.

Michele wrote: "Sarah Anne wrote: "...you had to go and say audio. I had visions of Rainbow Six and Without Remorse being about 50 hours each."

Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time: eleventy billion hours and counti..."

Haha! Yes.

Just finished A Canticle for Leibowitz. It was just okay. I found it hard to connect with most of it.

I seem to be in a serious post-apocalyptic phase lately. It hasn't really been deliberate, but it has been interesting viewing how different authors predict humanity might react.

I recently finished Blood's Pride and Fortune's Blight, both of which I thought were just okay. And just finished Lock In last night, which I liked a lot better.

Veronica wrote: "I recently finished Blood's Pride and Fortune's Blight, both of which I thought were just okay. And just finished Lock In last night, which I liked a..."

I absolutely loved Lock In.

Agree, Valerie, it's a very good book. My first Scalzi. :-) I'm glad to see that there will be at least one more book.

I have yet to read something from Scalzi that I haven't enjoyed. I highly recommend Fuzzy Nation.

Fuzzies!!!!

I finished The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson yesterday and Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt a few days earlier for my RL book club and a library discussion and wasn't thrilled with either of them.

So I'm rereading/ reading Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs, because I know at least I'll like the characters.

Michele wrote: "Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time: eleventy billion hours and counting... .."

I was considering that one recently. Actually, I was looking through the audio files on my computer and wondering what I could listen to that would free up the most space. Should I take the plunge, knowing it will probably kill my efforts to finish 100 books this year?

Concernig Wheel of Time: In listened to the audiobooks a while back, got upto book 7-ish but life started to demand some attention so somehow I gave up at that time... It got so complicated that there is no chance now that I can pick up where I left off. I must start all over again if I want to get through that monster ;-)

Valerie wrote: "Veronica wrote: "I recently finished Blood's Pride and Fortune's Blight, both of which I thought were just okay. And just finished Lock In last night..."

The only thing about Lock In is that everything happens in favor of good people too easily.

just started Too Like the Lightning

Maryam wrote: "The only thing about Lock In is that everything happens in favor of good people too easily."

LOL, well I'm not sure that I'd refer what happened to (view spoiler)[several of the Integrators (hide spoiler)] as being "in favor of". Sounds like my idea of a personal hell.

Rob wrote: "Heh. I've been doing a WoT reread in audio."

I read the whole series on audio. I had a big problem when writing reviews because I did not know how to spell any of the names never having seen them!
But at least I knew how to pronounce them!!!

I absolutely loved Lock In."

I enjoyed it, once I could wrap my head around the concept. Just couldn't picture it at first but then everything just fell into place. Great book and I look forward to the next but I personally prefer the humor that showed up in Redshirts.

Finished More Than This. Not sure what I think; I have to ponder it a bit. Now working on The Progress of Julius, another du Maurier that I had never even heard of.

I just finished In the Heat of the Night: The Original Virgil Tibbs Novel. I enjoyed it but this is one of those rare cases where the movie is better. Here is my review.
★★★½ stars.

Finished Finn Fancy Necromancy, which was a pretty solid, funny urban/modern fantasy (I'm excited to read the sequel). Now I'm on to Three Days in April, which I'm also enjoying.

And apparently Assassin's Apprentice is next, because I've been meaning to read it for 15+ years now.

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 really enjoyed Snow Crash too and gave it 5 stars. How do you not love a book where the main character is a pizza deliveryman named Hiro Protagonist and government employees are the hardest working people in the country?

I finished Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card. It was kind of dull and fortunately it brings to a close the "Shadow Series," although there is another side story ("Shadows in Flight") and a planned book that will tie in with the conclusion of the main "Ender" series. I think those will wait for another day.

I'm starting The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein. Since the only other Heinlein books I've read were Job and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, both seemingly equally reviled by Heinlein fans, I'm looking forward to reading what is widely considered to be one of Heinlein's best books.

I'm also reading A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin and also The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2015 edited by Rich Horton.

Since my last post I finished:

1. City of Bones by Martha Wells. I enjoyed this quite a bit. My review.

2. Witches Abroad, the third book in the Witches subseries of Discworld. I enjoyed this also; so far, Witches is my favorite Discworld subseries. My review.

3. When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger. I was more iffy on this. I liked some aspects but disliked other aspects and, while I enjoyed the story, I never cared much about the characters. My review.

4. Small Gods, another Discworld book. I enjoyed this pretty well also. It had a little more meat to it than many of the other Discworld books, and it also had some very funny moments. My review.

Now I’m reading I Am Legend, which I actually knew nothing about prior to starting it. If I’d known what it was about I might have picked a different book and saved this one for some other time, but I’m enjoying it pretty well anyway. It helps that it’s extremely short, only 160 pages, so it feels like a fast read. The main character is awfully dumb, though, and there seems to be some questionable logic in the story itself.

I haven't been getting my feed status updates and had no idea you had read When Gravity Fails, YouKneeK. I've been trying to get to that for awhile. Thanks for the review :)

Sarah, I can’t wait to see what you think once you do read the book. I’ve never even heard of it before; I just tried it because it was on sale recently and on our group bookshelf.

Randy wrote: " How do you not love a book where the main character is a pizza deliveryman named Hiro Protagonist and government employees are the hardest working people in the country?"

LOL! So true :D

YouKneeK wrote: "Since my last post I finished..."

Wow, you are reading some great stuff! The Discworld books are so wonderful (have you read Mort or Hogfather yet? Stellar!). I Am Legend is a classic; so many movies made of it, and all different, but the book is still the best as far as I'm concerned,

Had never heard of City of Bones but looks excellent, have TBRed it. I'm in the middle of listening to the audio version of She; they just got to the part where they see the entire ruined city of Kor spread out before them, with the statue of Truth at its center. So the phrase "city of bones" seems apropos :)

Finished More Than This (not sure yet what I think; pondering) and am now torn between getting back to Ken Liu's The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, which I was reading before Patrick Ness distracted me, and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which my mom sent me and highly recommends.

Just finished Nevernight by Jay Kristoff So good!

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

Michele wrote: "YouKneeK wrote: "The Discworld books are so wonderful (have you read Mort or Hogfather yet? Stellar!)."

I’ve been reading the Discworld books in publication order, so I’ve read Mort but I have 7 books to go before I get to Hogfather. I liked Mort pretty well, but I wasn’t as crazy for the second Death book (Reaper Man). That’s as far as I’ve gotten with that subseries. Wyrd Sisters has been my favorite of all the Discworld books I’ve read so far.

People keep saying good things about Hogfather, so I’m very curious about that one. It will take me a while to get to it, though. I’m reading other standalones and shorter series in-between the Discworld books to keep myself from drowning in all the silliness. :)

I hope you like City of Bones if/when you read it!

Hi, just finished Storm Front.

Jim Butcher has delivered a very interesting and nuanced character in the Wizard/PI Harry Dresden whose world is populated by a host (actually more of a menagerie without a keeper) of weird, strange and wonderful characters.

The narrative is strong with this one, although predictable in spots, is often surprising and in the end dealt with a spiritual confrontation within Harry that lifted the story up another notch.

It is precisely the climax and resolution of this story that lifts it from 4 to 5 stars.

The story will suit those who enjoy their action (and there is lots of action) levened with a healthy dose of dry, ironic, wit.

I expect to read more of Jim Butcher and Harry Dresden.

I am now starting The Library of Mount Char

Postponing both The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, which I was reading before Patrick Ness distracted me, and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which my mom sent me and highly recommends, I have been distracted by Bel Canto, which my mom also sent me and highly recommends.

Never doubt your mother, people.

Weird, I did an update a few days ago and it disappeared. It's been a month since my last update, and I don't have as many books to report.

I loved A Natural History of Dragons. It was a funny overlap how I read it both from the discussion here and my RL book group (we meet to discuss it tomorrow).

Zoe's Tale was really good considering it was covering the same plot from a different angle. Goblin Hero was good but weaker then its predecessor. The Slow Regard of Silent Things was definitely interesting and I enjoyed reading it, but I don't think it will ever find itself on the re-read pile, so glad I got it from the library.

Fool's Assassin was awesome and Fool's Quest is almost finished and just as good. Damn it Robin Hobb, it's hard to read when you make me cry. Being a special needs mom, I can relate to a lot of the early story line on Bee.

I just finished Hard Red Spring, a historical novel spanning 100 years of Guatemalan history and U.S. involvement. Very well researched but painfull to read. Here is my review.

I'm reading The Devil's Alphabet by Daryl Gregory. I'm a third of the way through it and really enjoying it.

Recently finished The Geek Feminist Revolution by my fave author Kameron Hurley (splendid, no holds barred essay collection of women in SFF and in general - must read!) and a fun middle-grade fantasy by Jasper Fforde The Last Dragonslayer. Definitely will continue with the rest of the series.

Currently reading Story of Your Life since there is a movie coming out about it and Ted Chiang is recommended by some friends.

Trying to finish The Gunslinger. So. Hard.

Lara Amber wrote: "Fool's Assassin was awesome and Fool's Quest is almost finished and just as good. Damn it Robin Hobb, it's hard to read when you make me cry. Being a special needs mom, I can relate to a lot of the early story line on Bee.
"

She is indeed a very special writer and I just could not hate her for making me cry (inside and out).

YouKneeK wrote: "Michele wrote: "YouKneeK wrote: "The Discworld books are so wonderful (have you read Mort or Hogfather yet? Stellar!)."

I’ve been reading the Discworld books in publication order, so I’ve read Mor..."

You can read Hogfather anytime but I recommend it for Christmas reading. I did that last year and it was really a perfect timing due to obvious reasons. Wonder if there's any other Christmas-y/ish SFF reading.

Currently revisiting Chimes at Midnight on audio. This is my second favorite series of my favorite genre (UF).

Silvana wrote: "Currently reading Story of Your Life since there is a movie coming out about it and Ted Chiang is recommended by some friends. "

LOVE that entire collection. I think I'd heard there would be a movie based on the title story, but I just cannot imagine how that would work.

Per usual, I have a book for each room and situation. Some of what I'm currently reading:

The Greatest Gift
Historical fanfic based on Jean Auel's Earth's Children series. Halfway through and it is so much better than the last in the series that I'm superimposing it and pretending that this is the actual last book. Land of the Painted Caves *never happened*.

The Princess Bride
I've watched the movie a million times but never got around to reading the book. I'm glad I have. A little less than halfway through and I love it.

Listening to Shattered.
I loved this series at the start. Irish mythology (later he threw in some Native American mythology as well), druids, a talking dog, bacon... It was all love. Then it fell off. I put it down and was unable to read anymore. I love the characters though and wanted to see what was next. So I started listening to it instead. While Oberon's voice is not what I had in my head, I've found that I love listening to this and it has successfully brought me back into the series. I think I'm on the last few chapters.

1984
I thought I read this in high school around the time I read Animal Farm but I have no recollection of it. Just a chapter or two in but loving it so far.

Currently reading more than that but I'll skip to the recently finished.

Kindred
This was awesome. I love how Butler didn't shy away from the bad stuff, it wasn't fluffy puppy tails and unicorn brows, and yet didn't make it into a slashfest. Just fabulous. Currently have Wildseed waiting for me to put down one of my others so I can read it as well.

I Am Legend
Loved this. Of course, I didn't realize that all of the short stories at the back were standalones so I was pretty confused. But on their own, they averaged to pretty good (maybe higher had I not been disgruntled because I couldn't connect them). The main story, though... That was great. I've seen the movie and loved it as well (I mean... Will Smith) but the book was one of those few where they are so vastly different it's hard to find the similarities and yet both hold equal sway over my literary heart.

I just started reading The Final Empire. Never read it so I need to before I can even think of reading The Well of Ascension with the group.

Recently finished Reaper Man. Now I'm alternating between The Clone Republic and Blood of the Earth, both of which I'm just finding so-so despite being well past the halfway mark in each.

I am currently reading In a Different Key: The Story of Autism by John Donvan and Caren Zucker and The African Company Presents Richard III by Carlyle Brown. Two very different reading experiences, but both are very, very good, even excellent.

Next up might be The Library at Mount Char, so I read more from the SF/F list.

Ellen wrote: "I just started reading The Final Empire. Never read it so I need to before I can even think of reading The Well of Ascension with the group."

There's going to be a read on the 2016 Group Bookshelf Reading Calendar/Planning thread. The threads are at the bottom of the first post if you'd like to join us. This thread is a part of our members' attempts to Read All the Books! off of the group shelf.

Almost finished with We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler which seems oddly classified as Science Fiction (a Nebula Award nominee). It is more about the nature of human beings in the existing world. There is an interesting twist, but I'd still classify this as fiction. An excellent book, I'm listening to on Audible. Narrator is fine but this is one of those books I wish I was reading to catch all the nuances.

Okay. Tonight I begin my next book...A Canticle for Leibowitz. I'm so addicted to apocalypse...s. Halp!

Sarah Anne wrote: "Ellen wrote: "I just started reading The Final Empire. Never read it so I need to before I can even think of reading The Well of Ascension with the group."

There's going ..."
Whoops! I looked for it on the shelf but looked right over it.
Good I need it for my challenge

Ellen wrote: "Whoops! I looked for it on the shelf but looked right over it...."

It's a long list at this point :)

Bel Canto -- lovely but :;cries:: Now almost finished with Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight -- great fun, unsparing and unsentimental yet funny and sweet and heartbreaking. Refreshingly straightforward, much like real life.

Currently 1/2 way through Magician by Raymond E. Feist (re-read) as part of a chronological read of most of The Riftwar Cycle as displayed here http://www.crydee.com/raymond-feist/r...

just finished "strictly analog" really enjoyed it.