The Sword and Laser discussion

So in the latest podcast, Veronica mentioned that Phillipa (?) was attempting to read all the books on the Sword & Laser bookshelf. Which made me wonder....

As of today, March 15th 2019, I have read 76 of 127, or 59.8% of the books. Not bad.

Over on the SciFi & Fantasy group there’s a similar question out there. As I’ve mentioned over there, there are some authors and some books I have no interest in, and since I’m not a compketionist, I’ll be happy if I ever hit the 50% mark for that group’s shelf. (They do one SF and one F book each month, so the list gets bigger faster.) Here, though, I could potentially hit 80% if I really applied myself.

It was Priscilla.

I'm a 100 percenter :-)

I have read all 127 Sword and Laser books (118 official + 9 alts.) though it was made easier by joining over 10 years ago. I only had 9 books to catch up on.

And this is the Tweet in question. :D

https://twitter.com/GCRokzZzZz/status...

I tend to jump around a lot between genres and am active in several groups on Goodreads, so, usually, I tend to read along with group picks that fit my current reading interest. In 2019 that has mostly been horror. I've read 45 out of 127, or 35.4% of the books. Some I've read on my own and for some, I've done a read-along. I think I'm fine with my numbers, especially since I'm rather peculiar about what I like to read when it comes to fantasy.

I even had this handy, think it was for another thread on here a few months back.

Anyhoo, though, I wouldn't. I skip a few books a year when I'm just not interested in them. Plenty of good reading out there and this place has a pretty good success rate. Hard to hit 100% of the time.

I will never read all of them as some just are not in my sphere of interest. Currently, I already read 56 out of 127 (44%), with four books already in my TBR shelf.

Looks like I'm up to 82 of the 127. I don't know if I'll specifically go back and read them all, but I do sometimes use 'that book was a sword and laser pick' as a deciding factor to read something when I'm not sure what I'm up for next.

I'm at 86 books (67.7%) and this thread just made me feel better. I do have completionist tendencies, however John Taloni & Silvana's comments made me realize that I've purposefully skipped a few books that I had no interest in, and so even if I were to try and read everything from before I started, I wouldn't have those completed. Now I'm fine with not doing any of that haha.

Caitlin wrote: "I'm at 86 books (67.7%) and this thread just made me feel better. I do have completionist tendencies, however John Taloni & Silvana's comments made me realize that I've purposefully skipped a few b..."

Snap!

I’m a very bad member. I’ve only read 31%. I’m a moody reader! I have to go where my interest is pulling me and it not always the pick. :-(

Dara wrote: "I’m a very bad member. I’ve only read 31%. I’m a moody reader! I have to go where my interest is pulling me and it not always the pick. :-("

It's not like I'm much better ^^

I'm at 52% if I count books I read decades ago before joining S&L.

I've read 47 out of 127. Honestly I only read the group picks when they sound like something I'll enjoy and I can find an affordable copy, which is not always easy.

But hey, I'm a Trekkie so I'm quite happy with 47 :)

I just counted. Had to mark a few read. 32/127.
I joined S&L almost 2 years ago. There are quite a few on my Want to Read list too, but I doubt I’ll ever read 100%. Maybe.

Is there a quicker way to compare read shelves than counting?

Looks like I’ve read 41%, and that’s having joined S&L just about 3 years ago.

Reading the books I wouldn't otherwise read and that were outside my, previous, wheelhouse was the main reason I joined Sword and Laser.

I needed to challenge my reading tastes and apart from the odd bad book, I am glad to have read most of the book picks.

Some books that I thought I would hate I ended up enjoying immensely. Some that I thought I would like, I ended up not liking at all.

My numbers was higher than I had expected 79 so about 62%, I think I started to actively read along with the group in 2015 but felt like I skipped quite a few. Guess Tom and Veronica picks books I like to read (shocking I know).

When I joined in 2012 I had already read about half the group's previous reads and over the years I caught up and read everything up until the end of last year. I realized that I didn't enjoy most of the picks from the last couple years so I've given up and am just mostly lurking now. The Calculating Stars looks like something I might enjoy so I'll probably get to that eventually.

Trike wrote: "So in the latest podcast, Veronica mentioned that Phillipa (?) ...."
Tassie Dave wrote: "It was Priscilla....."

I heard "Penelope" while I was listening lol


I joined and started reading along with Dragonflight in April 2013. I have read every group pick since then, except December 2015's Arrows of the Queen. I've only gone back and read three of the previous books (The Hobbit, Bitter Seeds, and Ready Player One), so in total I've read 72/127, or about 57%.

But, another thing Priscilla mentioned was that she was going to continue reading series if she liked that first book. And, while I haven't done that with every series I' have done it with a lot of them. I continued on after Bitter Seeds, Wool, A Natural History of Dragons, His Majesty's Dragon, Altered Carbon, The Last Wish, Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter, The Rook, We Are Legion We Are Bob, The Calculating Stars (although I read both books before TCS was picked for the group lol), and I'm currently working my way through the Invisible Library series.

I joined in July 2012, and started reading along in August. I've read every main pick since then, but I've skipped most of the alt picks.

I never intentionally went back to read the ones I've missed, but there are a lot of great books there so I hit a bunch of them anyways.

Like Dave, part of the reason I'm in/still active in the club is to get exposed to books I wouldn't otherwise read. So I read all the picks. If they don't sound appealing to me, I try to get them from the library.

Looking at the numbers this puts me at: 105/127 or 83%.

If we limit that to main picks, I'm at 100/118 or 85%.

There are another 7-8 I may end up reading eventually, a few of which I own, but none are high on my backlog list.

After starting in 2015 I have managed to read almost all of them (2 I couldn't bring myself to finish)...

Of the 127 I have read 90 as my reading is often omnivorous and I have also chosen books to read from the back catalogue...

I've been a member since day 1 and have read many of the books. In the early years, I skipped a few. But at some point I decided to try to read them all each year (in fairness, some years life happens and I still don't get to do it).

Read: 106 (83.5%)
Lem: 7 (Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr, Zeroes, Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, Stories of Your Life and Others, Downbelow Station, The Dirty Streets of Heaven, Tigana)
Didn't try: 11 (Doomsday Book, Helliconia Spring, The Salt Roads, The Time Traders, The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Empire State, Blindsight, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, The Windup Girl, The Forever War)
Backburner: 2 (A Fire Upon the Deep, The Fifth Season)
Currently reading: 1 (Ninefox Gambit)

2016 was a difficult year for me to read. Life was going on, then, between a crazy work situation and the first recurrence of what has turned out to be a chronic infection. I was traveling while I was reading Downbelow Station. I disliked the book so much that I left it in the hotel room when I left.

^FWIW The Forever War might be worth a try. It's a difficult book, kind of the anti "Starship Troopers." But just as Heinlein had a positive view of the military from his experiences, Haldeman's negative views came from his service in the Vietnam war. It is at the least a classic of the genre, and a viewpoint well supported.

I agree with John. And even though it is on your back burner, I would add that I really think The Fifth Season would be a book you would very much enjoy, based on your past likes. Blindsight on the other hand, in my opinion, can stay in that never tried pile, and you won’t have missed anything, unless you have a huge craving for experimental writing styles involving vampires and horror set in space.

I’ve tried three different NK Jemison books. I finished but didn’t like The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and tried 2 others and gave them up. As much as I like her Twitter and musings, I am not th biggest fan of her books. It’s a shame because I really want to like them but her fiction writing style doesn’t work for me.

terpkristin wrote: "I’ve tried three different NK Jemison books. I finished but didn’t like The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and tried 2 others and gave them up. As much as I like her Twitter and musings, I am not th bi..."

I feel the same about John Scalzi, so I get it. That being said, I think The Broken Earth books are really quite different from her other books so they might be worth an attempt if you're searching for your next read.

Melani wrote: "terpkristin wrote: "I’ve tried three different NK Jemison books. I finished but didn’t like The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and tried 2 others and gave them up. As much as I like her Twitter and mus...

I feel the same about John Scalzi, so I get it."

I feel the exact same way about Jim Butcher, so yeah, me three. I have gone out of my way to listen to interviews, con appearances, and podcasts with him, but I am not a fan of his books.

Melani wrote: "I feel the same about John Scalzi, so I get it."

Girl, me too. *high five*

I always thought it was so weird that I could love someone's non-fiction output and find their fiction... tolerable. I love that I'm not alone.

terpkristin wrote: "I’ve tried three different NK Jemison books. I finished but didn’t like The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and tried 2 others and gave them up. As much as I like her Twitter and musings, I am not th bi..."

I didn't really like The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms much, but I RAVE about The Broken Earth trilogy. ymmv

First started listening a few years ago but only read a few books before life got in the way. Started up again last January and have since been pretty good about keeping up (minus a few months of weird illness) and have gotten to 35/127 with 3 more in my currently reading shelf. I have the full S&L list on my phone as a checklist and refer to it when looking into book orders.

I've read 80 and lemmed 5, but was still glad to try something new in my lemming. I joined S&L in 2009 when my husband mentioned something he had seen on tech tv or something like that, and I had been muttering about wanting to read more sci-fi. So I haven't always read the books in the right month but sometimes join the convo later.

I didn't lem the Lem, though.

Well, I finished Northern Lights so now I just need to read 112 more books? Lol
I made a video where I talk about this if anyone is interested
https://youtu.be/C7csyT-EUl4

I'm at 68/128. Apparently I'm really busy in November/December because out of the last 5 years I've only read 2 books in those months!

Aside from that my biggest shortfall is the hard to find books. If it's not available at the local bookstore or library then I'm ordering a physical copy online. I'm too cheap to pay for express shipping so sometimes they arrive late in the month and that's why I have at least 16 S&L reads sitting on my bookshelf just waiting to be read.

Yes if you are in the US the "Media Mail" rate is a great thing, but it does typically take a bit longer. Oh, and by the way if you are buying the book when you can't find it locally, I don't think you are being cheap. Practical, sure, reasonable, yes, economical, I assume so, but cheap, no.

I’ve added a couple more books in the past two weeks, so I’m cooking along.

Currently reading (and loving) We Are Legion (We Are Bob), but it’s slow going because I can barely see my Kindle due to these stupid cataracts.

Yeah buying books is not cheap! If you have an ereader, you could try seeing if they are on sale as ebooks. Or if you prefer physical books (I do) you could look at BookOutlet. They have books for super duper cheap. If you buy more than $35, you get free shipping. They don’t always have all the books but if you keep checking back, they get new shipment.

Or make an interlibrary loan request! If you have access to an academic library it's probably free; at a public library sometimes you have to pay a fee like $1... Still cheaper than a book. And you can check worldcat.org to see if libraries have it (you have better luck with titles held by 30+ libraries.

I would assume many libraries allow you to request books. I do it all the time with my local library... Probably a dozen books over the last two years. You just have to be patient and wait a few months for it to come in.

Having just checked my extensive records. I read or (mostly) listened to 86 of the main choices and have another 14 to-be-read/heard on audiobooks

I first found the show in April of 2012 when the first video versions aired on Geek and sundry. I hope to someday read ( or lem ) all 128 books ( even as it keeps growing ).

right now my stats are
read 101
lemmed 7
TBR 20 ( of which I have 4 already )

Biblio is awesome for getting cheap used copies. Used it to get The Sword of Rhiannon, Soulless, Mortal Engines and Logan's Run among others.

I've read 69 of the books on the "read" shelf - roughly 54%. Three more are on my firm TBR list.

I've only been following along for the last two years or so, a lot of my read content is coincidental and I still pick and choose which I read as I tend to not lem once I start.

There are some I will never go back for (I'm looking at you, Heinlein,) but I'm slowly picking my way through books I skipped for less solid reasons.

I'm a bit over a third (43 out of 127), with another 13 titles on my TBR list.

By the group voting for Theft of Swords for April and Tom choosing The Martian Chronicles for May, my percentage is going up as I’ve already read those.

That really helps a lot! Thanks, guys!

Say, how about next month we read something else from my already-read list to help me catch up?😁

I concur! Another Harry Potter! Lol

To be honest, I’m just thankful this isn’t a series.

There are 42 I have not read, but it is really 39 because there are three I will not read no matter what. I have read everything safe one since I joined this group in Sept of 2014. Meeting with a local group curbs the desire to skip the BOM.

Stephen wrote: "There are 42 I have not read, but it is really 39 because there are three I will not read no matter what."

I'm curious, which are the ones you will not read and why?

The Mists of Avalon because of what I have learned of the author sexual crimes against children, Memoirs Found in a Bathtub because I have read Solaris and that is enough of Lem's writing to be satisfied and finally the The Once and Future King because I have tried and tried and just could not get into it. I still have it and may give it another go at it.