SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Kim wrote: "I...

Will...

Finish...

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell...


Too funny!

Sarah wrote: "The Mechanical drove me insane. He should not have gone with the New Amsterdam/New France setting without explaining where England went! And what year it was! It was so frustrating to me."

I agree that the lack of backstory for the world annoyed me a little but at the same time it was refreshing to just go with the flow.

Melanie wrote: "Too funny!"

In the history of this club I've only ever given up a couple times and I won't let this book beat me.

Valarie, love hearing someone else talking up "Fledgling". That book knocked my socks off.... and I was wearing tight socks that day.

Finished Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson . Great author, great book:)

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

Don wrote: "Valarie, love hearing someone else talking up "Fledgling". That book knocked my socks off.... and I was wearing tight socks that day."

Agreed. Fledgling is awesome! Even though it was her last book, I think it is also one of Octavia Butler's best.

My review: http://buckmire.blogspot.com/2007/08/...

I'm in the middle of Zoe's Tale right now, my first by John Scalzi
Loving it, fast, fun and great dialogue.
I must confess, after reading some of these comments, I'm glad I gave Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell a miss...

MadProfessah wrote: "Agreed. Fledgling is awesome! Even t..."

MadProfessah, your review is much more eloquent than mine, but for what it is worth here is a link to mine: Darth Val's fledgling review.

Bottom line - this is EASILY the best book I've experienced this year.


It is a good thing I had somewhat low expectations for the next audiobook in my queue. I am currently listening to Angels' Blood, since this series will be up for consideration to be added to the Top UF Series list in my Urban Fantasy Aficionado group. It is becoming clear that this is more of a PNR novel than UF. Way more lusting than plot. Hrm.

YouKneeK wrote: "After that, I started on Dawn by Octavia E. Butler yesterday and finished it this morning. (It’s very short at less than 250 pages.)"

I wish I could read 250 pages in a day.

Kim wrote: "I...

Will...

Finish...

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell...

LOL. I have actually postponed reading that book because I had a similar experience with Consider Phlebas and I could not go through that twice in one month.
I know I will probably make myself unpopular for saying this as Iain M. Banks has god-like standing in most scifi circles but 1/3 of the book could have been dumped and no one would notice. His world-building was great but he was too busy with his pointless detours to ever lets us really enjoy it.

Now I am on to The Secret Adversary for a total, and very pleasant, change of pace.

Trike wrote: "I wish I could read 250 pages in a day."

That isn’t a normal pace for me; I don’t normally have that kind of time. But sometimes a really great book will tempt me into making the time, if it’s a weekend and I can get away with it.

On the other hand, now that the weekend is over, I’m only 20% into the equally short sequel even though I’m enjoying it. If only every day could be a weekend. :)

Michael wrote: "I'm in the middle of Zoe's Tale right now, my first by John Scalzi
Loving it, fast, fun and great dialogue.
I must confess, after reading some of these comments, I'm gl..."

Oooh, another John Scalzi to read! I'm currently on my second, Old Man's War , of his after having read Redshirts. Both are equally enjoyable. He most definitely writes a fun read.

Be glad you missed Jonathan Strange...

I just started Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits and I have to say so far it is fantastic. I am so glad I started it. I have never read a David Wong book before, I have headed a lot about John Dies at the End so I thought I would give him a chance.

Michael wrote: "I'm in the middle of Zoe's Tale right now, my first by John Scalzi
Loving it, fast, fun and great dialogue.
I must confess, after reading some of these comments, I'm gl..."

I love John Scalzi but was doubtful about Zoe's Tale as he is basically rehashing the previous book. But he did not disappoint.

Valerie wrote: "MadProfessah wrote: "Agreed. Fledgling is awesome! Even t..."

MadProfessah, your review is much more eloquent than mine, but for what it is worth here is a link to mine: Darth Val's f..."

I have Fledgling on audio, I guess I need to push it higher in the queue.

MadProfessah wrote: "Don wrote: "Valarie, love hearing someone else talking up "Fledgling". That book knocked my socks off.... and I was wearing tight socks that day."

Agreed. Fledgling is awesome! Even t..."

I agree, I read Fledgling last month and thought it was fantastic. I read an article that talked about the direction Octavia Butler was thinking about taking the sequels in and it sounded really intriguing; I wish we could have gotten to read them.

I just started The Gone-Away World and am really interested in the worldbuilding so far. It's also quite funny.

I LOVED Fledgling. It was so good, I may have a bit of a book hang over. I will have to find that article. I have been wondering to myself what she might have done in regards to sequels.

I am currently listening to Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances. I love some Neil Gaiman.

I just finished George by Alex Gino about a fourth grade trans kid. It was good, but MG novels to send me have to be spectacular. Maybe I am J, which is YA, by Cris Beam, is.

Valerie wrote: "I LOVED Fledgling. It was so good, I may have a bit of a book hang over. I will have to find that article. I have been wondering to myself what she might have done in regards to sequels.

I am currently listening to Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances. I love some Neil Gaiman. "

I love Neil Gaiman too but am wary of trying any more of his short stories after reading his How To Talk To Girls At Parties. It was not what I was expecting from a Gaiman-esque work. I said I wouldn't purge his other short stories/collections from my TBR list based solely on this one sample, but I would like to know - in general, how do his short stories compare to his longer novels?

I'm currently re-reading the lies of lock lamora ... my favourite book<3

Jaleenajo: Sadly I believe Octavia Butler passed in 2006. She truly was a master of her trade.

Valarie, let a brother know if you find a good hang over cure. Ha^!

Valerie wrote: "I LOVED Fledgling. It was so good, I may have a bit of a book hang over. I will have to find that article. I have been wondering to myself what she might have done in regards to sequel..."

This is the article I was talking about if you're interested; it also talks about the directions she was thinking about going with the sequel to Parable of the Talents. Apparently these notes were part of her archives that she bequeathed to a library:

http://io9.gizmodo.com/archives-revea...

Elle wrote: "Valerie wrote: "I LOVED Fledgling. It was so good, I may have a bit of a book hang over. I will have to find that article. I have been wondering to myself what she might have done in regards to seq..."

Personally, I thought "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" was one of his weaker short stories--a lot of his other stories are darker and more adult, which is what I prefer from him (I loved American Gods but wasn't a Stardust fan, for example). The stories in his collections are really varied but overall I really enjoyed both of the collections I've read by him (Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders). Hope that helps!

Jaleenajo wrote: "Personally, I thought "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" was one of his weaker short stories--a lot of his other stories are darker and more adult, which is what I prefer from him (I loved American Gods but wasn't a Stardust fan, for example). The stories in his collections are really varied but overall I really enjoyed both of the collections I've read by him (Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders). Hope that helps! "

I am heartily reassured on the Gaimnan short stories front. Thank you. I'm starting on his The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes this weekend!

Jaleenajo wrote: I just started The Gone-Away World and am really interested in the worldbuilding so far. It's also quite funny. "

I would love to know what you think. The premise intrigues me but some reviews have been so-so.

Re-reading the Wheel of time, here is my review of Eye of the world.

Thanks for the share Jaleenajo. That was interesting. It makes me sad that we won't get to see those stories.

Elle,

I have a whole shelf of books devoted to Neil Gaiman. I love his novels and his short stories. His adult books and his books for children and for teens. I have an autographed copy of the script he wrote for "Babylon 5." But I can't get into his The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes graphic novels.

As for his short stories, try "The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury," which is in Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances, among other places.

This morning I finished the brilliant graphic novel Nimona by Noelle Stevenson.

Julia wrote: "Elle,

I have a whole shelf of books devoted to Neil Gaiman. I love his novels and his short stories. His adult books and his books for children and for teens. I have an autographe..."

Julia wrote: "Elle,

I have a whole shelf of books devoted to Neil Gaiman. I love his novels and his short stories. His adult books and his books for children and for teens. I have an autographe..."

I am further reassured that I can proceed with confidence regarding Neil Gaiman short stories. Thank you. I'm slowly making my way through his works but do not own any his books therefore no shelf. I'm a library girl. But a few of his books I've read are on my Wish List that I readily make available to relatives and friends around gift giving occasions. : )

Nimona was a fun read. I like Noelle Stevenson's Lumberjanes series too.

Elle wrote: "Nimona was a fun read. I like Noelle Stevenson's Lumberjanes series too. ..."

I just bought both of these :) They came yesterday.

Here is my review for 4th book of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.

I finished listening to my audio "reread" of The Great Hunt and enjoyed it even more the second time. (My Review)

45 more days until my wife is due. I read The Scientist in the Crib: What Early Learning Tells Us About the Mind. It was excellent reading about how and when infants learn, though even being only about 10 years old, the sections on computer learning/ML/AI were vastly outdated :)

Next up in learning how babies learn and infant minds develop are The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life, and What's Going On in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life.

I am still working my way through Toll the Hounds though by not reading any other fiction at the same time I am making much faster progress than the last book. I am hoping to finish it before The Last Mortal Bond comes out in about a week.

Manga wise I read more volumes of Hikaru No Go, Inuyasha, Naruto, and Attack on Titan, because my library has complete sets of them.

I just finished Watership Down. My priority books right now are A Darker Shade of Magic, The Shadow of the Torturer, Stray Souls, The Tower: A Novel, as well as finishing A Fire Upon the Deep.

And that all seemed doable until I typed it out...

I just finished Ken Liu's The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories which will appear tomorrow. Read my review here.

Just finishedThe Secret Adversary .
About to start The Knife of Never Letting Go

Currently reading: Ancillary Mercy.

After that I'm planning to read: Nova, The Old Man and the Sea and The Tombs of Atuan

Oh, I completely loved The Old Man and the Sea!

What did you think about Watership Down? It's one of my favorite books.

Elle wrote: "Julia wrote: "I am further reassured that I can proceed with confidence regarding Neil Gaiman short stories. Thank you. I'm slowly making my way through his works but do not own any his books therefore no shelf. I'm a library girl. But a few of his books I've read are on my Wish List that I readily make available to relatives and friends around gift giving occasions. : )"

One of the things that is good about short story anthologies is that you don't have to read every story--pick and choose. The second half of Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances is better than the first half, FYI.

Sarah wrote: "Oh, I completely loved The Old Man and the Sea!"

Yes, but it was sooo depressing--reader beware!

I did the audio and it was narrated by Donald Sutherland. I completely loved it. I was so engrossed that I accidentally ran a stop sign while I was listening to it :)

I was really bored by Watership Down. I should have read it when I was younger.

Books I finished
- Moon Over Soho, Whispers Underground, Radiance, Maskerade (Upon reread, I am liking the second tier Discworld books even more than I had before, if that is possible), and The Golem and the Jinni - bookclub side read – All I can say is WOW!

Books I am reading this week:
- Kindred – got it, then found out I had it all along on one of my bookshelves.
- Downbelow Station – Starting a C.J. Cherryh read and re-read
- A Fire Upon the Deep - SciFi bkclub past read
- Shadow's Son– past Scifi/Fantasy booklist book and its only a trilogy so its finishable
- The Book of Jhereg - friend's recommendation
- Three Parts Dead
- The Cloud Roads
And the next two Peter Grant books once they arrive.

I'm in the middle of A Fire Upon the Deep and really enjoying it. How was Radiance? I've seen very mixed reactions.

Currently reading:
Death Angel's Shadow
Ghost Story
Un Lun Dun
Wytches, Vol. 1

Having trouble getting through Un Lun Dun, I'm about 100 pages in and it's not keeping my interest. Surprising, as I generally like China Mieville.
Ghost Story is a reread, so it's not getting as much attention as it probably should, I only pick that up when I'm between other books.
Death Angel's Shadow is a fast read, and I'm loving it.

I'm currently reading All the Birds in the Sky. It's... odd.

Radiance is a beautiful love letter to movies in an alternate universe. Her language is lavish and lush. It is not best enjoyed as a casual read – you have to pay attention to catch a lot of the details. I think this is a book and Valente is an author for which & whom you really have to be in the mood.

I finished the first book in Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan and plan on continuing on to the next part soon. I am also starting The Terror by Dan Simmons today.

Dylan wrote: "I finished the first book in Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan and plan on continuing on to the next part soon. I am also starting The Terror by Dan Simmons today."

I hope you do continue The Riyria Chronicles by Michael J Sullivan it is such a great series.

I am currently reading Kindred and so far it is outstanding.

I am bouncing between two audio books:
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances - a little disappointing. There are some stories that are fantastic, but they seem to be the exception.
Behemoth - well, now that I've been set on this path . . .