SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Oh, I think I've found the perfect thing to read for Z: Zikora: A Short Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - it's completely free on Amazon Prime incl. audio, it's short, and sounds interesting.

Eva wrote: "Oh, I think I've found the perfect thing to read for Z: Zikora: A Short Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - it's completely free on Amazon Prime incl. audio, it's ..."

I'm going for Andre Norton's Zarsthor's Bane for my Z and The Jargoon Pard for J

CBRetriever wrote: "Eva wrote: "Oh, I think I've found the perfect thing to read for Z: Zikora: A Short Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - it's completely free on Amazon Prime incl. ..."

That's also an interesting idea! I thought you'd probably count Zero Gee for both 0 and Z. Andre Norton is one of those authors I nebulously remember having read as a teenager, but I can't remember any of the books.

In looking at my titles list:

B,C, h, P,R, U, W, S are done, so eight down

I havent tabulated authors yet...

Cumulative update:

Totals
13/26 titles (A B C D E G I M P R S T W)
13/ 26 authors (B C D F G H K L M O R S W)
3/10 Numbers (5 6 7)

Details: (view spoiler)[

13/26 titles

A Alphabet of Thorn
B Best of All Possible Worlds
C Current Futures anthology
D Deeplight
E Exhibit Labels
F
G Gods monsters and the lucky peach
H
I In the vanishers’ palace
J
K
L
M Midnight taxi tango
N
O
P Persephone station
Q
R Relentless Moon
S Six of crows
T Take a look at the five and ten
U
V
W When fox is a thousand
X
Y
Z

13/ 26 authors

A
B Bardugo, Leigh
C Carey, M. R.
D Dick, P K
E
F Friedman, CS
G Gaiman, Neil
H Anthony Horowitz
I
J
K Kowal, Mary Robinette
L Lord, Karen
M McKillip, Patricia
N
O Older DJ
P
Q
R Kelly Robson
S Serrell, Beverly
T
U
V
W Willis, Connie
X
Y
Z

Numbers
3/10

0
1
2
3
4
5 Take a look at the five and ten
6 Six of crows
7 Seven of infinities
8
9
(hide spoiler)]

For titles I have H, J, K, N, Y, and Z left. I have a fairly good idea of what I want to read for all of them except Y. I took the easy route for X.

(view spoiler)[20/26

A - Ancillary Justice

B - The Bear and the Nightingale

C - Caliban's War

D - The Desert Spear

E - Elf Defence

F - Fuzzy Nation

G - The Goblin Emperor

I - The Impossible Girl

L - Leviathan

M - The Mere Wife

O - Orconomics

P - The Poppy War

Q - Queen of the Conquered

R - Return of the Trickster

S - Six Wakes

T - The Torch that Ignites the Stars

U - Uprooted

V - Vicious

W - The Warded Man

X - The Book of Phoenix (hide spoiler)]


I had decided to use short stories and novellas for numbers and authors. Numbers are done.

(view spoiler)[Numbers 10/10
1 - The Haunting of Tram Car 015, - P. Djeli Clarke
2 - It Takes Two Nicola Griffith
3 - Who's Afraid of Wolf 359? Ken McLeod
4 - 24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai Roger Zelazny
5 - History of the Invasion Told in Five Dogs The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May/June 2017 Kelly Jennings
6 - 26 Monkeys, Also The Abyss Kij Johnson
7 - Seven Years from Home Naomi Novik
8 - LOKI 7281 The Last Defender of Camelot Roger Zelazny
9 - Carnival Nine Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #225 Caroline M. Yoachim
10 - Ten Rules for Being and Intergalactic Smuggler
Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales Holly Black (hide spoiler)]


I'm missing U, V, W, and X for author. Yes, I used the same stories for numbers and authors as far as possible. I don't think that's against the rules?

(view spoiler)[Authors 22/26

A - Ben Aaronovitch - Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection

B - Octavia Butler - Unexpected Stories

C - P. Djeli Clarke - The Haunting of Tram Car 015,

D - Tony Daniel - Life on the Moon (on publisher's web site - Infinity Plus)

E - Amal El-Mohtar - Seasons of Glass and Iron The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales

F - Nancy Fulda - Movement: A Short Story

G - Nicola Griffith - It Takes Two

H - Peter F. Hamilton - Sonnie's Edge A Second Chance at Eden

I - Walidah Imarisha - Black Angel Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements

J - Kelly Jennings - History of the Invasion Told in Five Dogs The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May/June 2017

K - Marko Kloos - On The Use Of Shape-Shifters In Warfare

L - Geoffrey Landis - Falling onto Mars

M - Ken McLeod - Who's Afraid of Wolf 359?

N - Naomi Novik - Seven Years from Home

O - Karen Osborne - The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power

P - Suzanne Palmer - Number Thirty-Nine Skink Asimov's Science Fiction, March/April 2017

Q - Roberto Quaglia (and Ian Watson) - Beloved Vampire of the Blood Court Flurb #13 - A Webzine of Astonishing Tales (actually issue #3 but #13 is the only one listed on Goodreads)

R - Benjamin Rosenbaum - The House Beyond Your Sky - Strange Horizons #4 September 2006

S - Brandon Sanderson - Snapshot

T - Karen Traviss - A Two-Edged Sword

Y - Caroline M. Yoachim - Carnival Nine Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #225

Z - Roger Zelazny - 24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai (hide spoiler)]


Lots of good stuff. I've become a huge fan of Marko Kloos' short stories and I'm looking forward to reading one of his books. I'll also be looking for more from new-to-me authors Kelly Jennings, Karen Osborne, Holly Black, Peter F. Hamilton, Walidah Imarisha, and Suzanne Palmer.

There was only one story I truly hated (Roberto Quaglia's) and that's because of how much I dislike bizarro fiction. I was willing to give it another chance but, nope, it's not for me.

Caillen wrote: "Yes, I used the same stories for numbers and authors as far as possible. I don't think that's against the rules?"

Totally allowed!

Finished Andre Norton's The Jargoon Pard which will fulfill J for Titles

Alpha Author: E, F, H, I, K, N, O, Q, S, U, X, & Z = 12 out of 26
Alpha Title: G, H, J, N, O, R, S, T, X & Y = 10 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I think I'll tackle Zarsthor's Bane for this Z in Titles next

I've made some progress, so it's a good time to post an update.

New Titles:
E - "Exit Strategy" Martha Wells
N - "Network Effect" Martha Wells
R - "Rogue Protocol" Martha Wells
T - "This Virtual Night" C.S. Friedman


New Authors:
F - C.S. Friedman
G - Neil Gaiman
W - Martha Wells

Summary:

Titles: A,B,E,F,H,K,L,M,N,O,P,S,T,W
Authors: D,F,G,J,K,L,T,W

Everyone is doing so well! ^_^

This is such a cool idea :)

Finished Andre Norton's Zarsthor's Bane for Z in Titles

Alpha Author: E, F, H, I, K, N, O, Q, S, U, X, & Z = 12 out of 26
Alpha Title: G, H, J, N, O, R, S, T, X, Y & Z = 11 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

Not sure what I'll read next

I have belatedly decided to join the alphabet challenge in both Medium & Author modes for this year.

While starting fresh, it appears I am a natural alphabet reader, as my scores so far are:

Medium Mode: 21/26; Letters Missing: E, J, K, Q, Z
Author Mode: 23/26; Letters Missing: I, Q, U

7/29 UPDATE: Finished 🥳

List of titles/authors:
(view spoiler)[
Medium Mode:
A- Aliens Omnibus, Vol. 1
B- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
C- The Conductors
D- A Dowry of Blood
E- Excalibur by Tini Howard, Vol. 1
F- Freedom Is a Constant Struggle
G- Given Away: Korean Adoptees Tell Their Stories
H- A Head Full of Ghosts
I- Isola, Vol. 1
J- The Jasmine Throne
K- Kokoro
L- Legal Drug Omnibus
M- Meridian
N- The Night Sun
O- Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America
P- The Plotters
Q- The Queen's Gambit
R- Ring Shout
S- Sorrowland
T- Two Truths and a Lie
U- The Unbroken
V- Vĩnh biệt Tugumi
W- The White People and Other Weird Stories
X- X-Men: Colossus: Bloodline
Y- Yes, Daddy
Z- Zikora

Author Mode:
A- Stacey Abrams
B- Dee Brown
C- C.L. Clark
D- Angela Y. Davis
E- Bernardine Evaristo
F- Brenden Fletcher
G- S.T. Gibson
H- Angela Mi Young Hur
I- A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
J- N.K. Jemisin
K- Cassandra Khaw
L- Mercedes Lackey
M- Patrick McGrath
N- Amélie Nothomb
O- Ijeoma Oluo
P- Jonathan Parks-Ramage
Q- Ed
R- Herman Raucher
S- Brian Staveley
T- Paul Tremblay
U- Luis Alberto Urrea
V- Aleksandr Voinov
W- Django Wexler
X- Malcolm X
Y- Satoshi Yagisawa
Z- Lijia Zhang
(hide spoiler)]

Yay for new alphabet readers! I also had the same thing happen the first time I did this challenge. I wasn't going to, but when I took a look what I'd already read I noticed I was so close that I might as well go for it.

Finished The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett for W in Titles and B in Authors

Alpha Author: B, E, F, H, I, K, N, O, Q, S, U, X, & Z = 13 out of 26
Alpha Title: G, H, J, N, O, R, S, T, W, X, Y & Z = 12 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

Not sure what I'll read next for this contest but I'm over halfway there with 35 out of 62 books read !!!

I give up on author X, but I’ve read two books with an X in the author’s first name, and as the creator of this challenge, I say it counts!

Can Xue - Love in the New Millennium
Guo Xiaolu - UFO in Her Eyes

End of May update

I went through the short stories in collections that I've read this year and was able to fill in a lot more.

Titles: 19/26 ABCDEFGHILMNOPRSTWY
Authors: 20/26 ABCDEFGHJKLMNOPRSVWZ
Numbers: 4/10 4567

details
(view spoiler)[
Titles 19/26

A Alphabet of Thorn
B Best of All Possible Worlds
C Current Futures
D Deeplight
E Exhibit labels
F Fugitive telemetry
G Gods monsters and the lucky peach
H Home habitat range
I In the vanishers’ palace
J
K
L the little shepherdess
M Midnight taxi tango
N Noble Warrior
O Over the Woodward wall
P Persephone station
Q
R Relentless Moon
S Six of crows
T Take a look at the five and ten
U
V
W When fox is a thousand
X
Y Yellow eyes
Z


Authors 20/26

A Ashby, Madeline
B Bardugo, Leigh
C Carey, M. R.
D Dick, P K
E Eskridge, K
F Friedman, CS
G Gaiman, Neil
H Anthony Horowitz
I
J Jones, Gwyneth
K Kowal, Mary Robinette
L Lord, Karen
M McKillip, Patricia
N Norton, Andre
O Older DJ
P Peynado, Brenda
Q
R Kelly Robson
S Serrell, B.
T
U
V Valente, Cat
W Willis, Connie
X
Y
Z Zhang, Hal Y.


Numbers 4/10

0
1
2
3
4 Their mother’s tears: The fourth letter
5 Take a look at the five and ten
6 Six of crows
7 Seven of infinities
8
9
(hide spoiler)]

for X Xingu by Edith Wharton is a quick and funny read

Thanks for that recommendation, Chessie. I found it on Project Gutenberg. I didn’t have a story X, just an author X.

that's where i got it, but I think it was free on Amazon as well when I bought it

Finished Quantum by Patricia Cornwell for Q in Titles and C in Authors

Alpha Author: B, C, E, F, H, I, K, N, O, Q, S, U, X, & Z = 14 out of 26
Alpha Title: G, H, J, N, O, Q, R, S, T, W, X, Y & Z = 13 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

Not sure what I'll read next for this contest but I'm over halfway there with 37 out of 62 books read !!!

My tally thus far:

I added Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler to Titles. I won't count Butler for the Authors' part of the challenge just yet.

Books: BCDEHILMOP = 10/26
Authors: ADEKLOS = 7/26
Poetry: S = 1/26

Next up: but not for a while - To Say Nothing of the Dog

See my original post for the running tally with all the titles and my plans: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..

Finished Music to My Sorrow by Mercedes Lackey for M in Titles and L in Authors

Alpha Author: B, C, E, F, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, S, U, X, & Z = 15 out of 26
Alpha Title: G, H, J, M, N, O, Q, R, S, T, W, X, Y & Z = 14 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

Not sure what I'll read next for this contest but I'm over halfway there with 39 out of 62 checked off !!! I am going to finishe the Urban Elves series first though

So yesterday I read Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, just to get a Y done, otherwise just filling in what i am otherwise reading. But I see there are a few more letters I will have to make a point about!

Done:
Book: A, B, C, D, E, H, K, L, N, P, R S, U, W, Y

Neeed F, G, I, J, M, O, Q, T, V, X. Z

Authors:
Done: A, B, C, H, J, K, L, M, S, T, W, Z
Need: D, E, F, G, I, N, O, P, Q, R, U, V, X, Y

Finished Bedlam's Edge by Mercedes Lackey for B in Titles

Alpha Author: B, C, E, F, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, S, U, X, & Z = 15 out of 26
Alpha Title: B, G, H, J, M, N, O, Q, R, S, T, W, X, Y & Z = 15 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

This finishes the Urban Elves series by Lackey and I'll add two compilations The Chrome Borne and The Otherworld also by Lackey which consist of two books each for C & O in Titles.

Congrats on finishing the numbers! I'm working on 9 right now, and it'll also complete* my author challenge. Two more left for title, one of which is next month's Amazin' Eights book, and then I'll spend the rest of the year reading the remaining numbers :D

* If I come across a true X author I both want to read and have access to, I'll read one more.

Anna wrote: "If I come across a true X author I both want to read and have access to, I'll read one more. ."

I almost downloaded Xenophon's The Art of Horsemanship and read that.

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1176

The only ones I know for X are Malcolm X or Xinran. Z is way easier!

Does anyone have any Q authors up their sleeve? Maybe a short story?

I was going to read Night at the Fiestas: Stories by Kirstin Valdez Quade for Q but I ended up randomly reading a thriller with a Q author so I used that.

Will put that one on the list of possibilities. Thanks Anna!

Emmett wrote: "The only ones I know for X are Malcolm X or Xinran. Z is way easier!

Does anyone have any Q authors up their sleeve? Maybe a short story?"

Arthur Quiller-Couch is the one I used. He rewrote Perault's Fairy Tales so they qualify as short stories

Ha!

Took a look at my trusty spreadsheet and I’ve read short fic by A Que from Clarkesworld:

http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/autho...

(edit: It’s entirely possible A is the last name)

Really putting in an effort for finish some of these challenges this year! Woot!

So far here's what I've got:

A - Aurora - Kim Stanley Robinson - Finished
B - Breach of Peach (The Lawful Times, #0.5) - Daniel B. Greene - Finished
C - Cauldron of Fire (Kirov Saga, #2) - Finished
D - The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War, #2) - R.F. Kuang - Currently Reading
E - The Emperor's Soul - Brandon Sanderson - Purchased Not Yet Read
F - The Fifth Season - N.K. Jemisin - Not Yet Purchased Not Yet Read
G - The Girl in the Spider's Web - David Lagercrantz - Not Yet Purchased Not Yet Read
H - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - - Not Yet Purchased Not Yet Read
I - Isolate - Matt Rogers - Not Yet Purchased Not Yet Read
J - Jade City - Fonda Lee - Not Yet Purchased Not Yet Read
K - Kirov - John Schettler - Finished
L - The Last Emperox - John Scalzi - Finished
M - The Magicians - Lev Grossman - Purchased Not Yet Read
N - New Spring - Robert Jordan - Not Yet Purchased Not Yet Read
O - The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman - Not Yet Purchased Not Yet Read
P - The Poppy War - Kuang, R.F. - Finished
Q - The Quantum Thief - Hannu Rajaniemi - Not Yet Purchased Not Yet Read
R - Red Seas Under Red Skies - Finished
S - The Salvage Crew - Yudhanjaya Wijeratne - Not Yet Purchased Not Yet Read
T - The Torch that Ignites the Stars - Andrew Rowe - Finished
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Edit #1 (21JUN2021): Had to take about a month and a half off reading due to really needing to dump time into something else, but now that is finished, so back to this great hobby! Doubling down and setting goals for when I have certain books finished.

That’s a great start!

I'll make time for a longer update soon, but as of 21 June, I have completed books to fulfill the following initial letters:
ABCD G IJK N RS W Y
(leaving: EF H LM OPQ TUV X Z

And the following author's last names:
abc e h jklmno rst w
(leaving: d fg i pq uv xyz)

My update:

Medium Mode Authors - A, B, C, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, O, P, R, S, T, W

Medium Mode Titles - A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, L, M, N, O, P, S, T, U, W, Z

Numbers - 0, 1, 7, 9
Bonus Numbers: 32, 40

I keep forgetting this challenge and end up reading the same letters of the alphabet over and over! But at least once I finish Megan O'Keefe's Velocity Weapon (which is fantastic!), I'll be able to add O for author and V for title. Then the only title letters left will be I, K, Q, R, V, X, and Y.

My current plan:
✅I: I Hate Dragons or Illuminae
K: Killing Commendatore, maybe?
Q: one of my "Queen of..." books (I have so many!)
✅ R: The Riddlemaster of Hed
V: Velocity Weapon
X: Xeelee
Y: The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy

For authors, I'm planning to read:
D: Marina Dyachenko or David Dalglish
E: S. C Emmett (Throne of the Five Winds)
I: Kazuo Ishiguro or Justina Ireland
N: Brian Naslund (Blood of an Exile) or Linda Nagata or Jeannette Ng
Q: Chen Qiufan (Waste Tide)Julia Quinn
U: Nahoko Uehashi (The Beast Player)
V: Catherynne Valente or Nghi Vo or Mira Valentin
X: Xia Jia (Invisible Planets)
Y: E. Lily Yu, Charles Yu, Moira Young, Jane Yolen, Ji Yang, or F. C. Yee
Z: Sarah Zettel or Timothy Zahn

Chen Qiufan is a C author. For anyone who doesn't know, Chinese names have the last name first, and Goodreads might show them either way. So if you're looking at an alphabetized shelf, it might look like you've found a Q or X author, but it could also be that the GR sort order is wrong. This happened to me, I thought I'd read an X author, but turns out the sort order was wrong :( I should've looked at the author name on the book cover before celebrating :D

I wasn't sure about A Que because I was on my phone at the time and try googling "a que" lol, but yeah he is also not a Q author.

But.

X is super hard, and it seems like Q might also be hard, so if anyone needs to make tiny modifications to the rules, that's completely OK! This isn't supposed to be torture! We're trying to find fun ways of reading books that are on our TBRs, and if nothing fits perfectly, pick the one that comes closest :)

Ah, too bad, I thought the order had been reversed for the English edition of the book! Guess I'll read Julia Quinn, then. 😄

Yeah it's confusing, because sometimes it is, sometimes not, and same with Goodreads, so you pretty much have to check yourself :S

Thank you for checking this for me, Anna! :-)

Finished The Chrome Borne by Mercedes Lackey for C in Titles

Alpha Author: B, C, E, F, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, S, U, X, & Z = 15 out of 26
Alpha Title: B, C, G, H, J, M, N, O, Q, R, S, T, W, X, Y & Z = 16 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I'll next read The Otherworld also by Lackey which consist of two books for O in Titles. Then I'll do a two-fer Ivory Apples by Lisa Goldstein for I in Titles and G in Author

I have three more to go: J, K, and Y. I'm almost finished reading Jade City. I haven't quite decided which book I'm reading for K but I have a couple of choices.

My problem is Y. I still haven't found anything that I really want to read. Any suggestions for titles starting with Y would be greatly appreciated.

Y is the only title I haven't read yet because I'm not super excited about any of my choices. I think I remember struggling a little with Y in the past, too. It's not because there aren't options, it's because I don't feel like reading the books at that time, or I've accidentally just read them before the challenge starts, etc. A couple of options:

The Yiddish Policemen's Union - It's on the group shelf. I always think I'll read it for Y, but I still haven't, probably never will.

The Yellow Wallpaper - Anyone deep enough into several challenges will really get this :)

Yes Please - If you like Parks and Rec!

Yellow and the Perception of Reality - This is what I'll read if I can't think of a novel length thing.

I also have these as an option :D

I used this as my Y: The Year’s Best Military SF & Space Opera: First Annual Edition and as an added bonus, it upped my short story totals.

Anna, I really enjoyed Yellow and the Perception of Reality. Would recommend it for anyone trying to cross Y off their list! Short and sweet.

I’ll read it in any case, I love McHugh, but I’d prefer to cross Y off with something a bit longer. But I’m not too fussed about it 😊

****************************************************
My progress update:

****************************************************
A to Z 2021

Letters so far: E, I, J, L, M, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, , W.

E - ✔️

I - ✔️ ✔️

J -✔️

L - ✔️

M -✔️

O - ✔️ ,✔️

P -✔️

Q -✔️

R -✔️

S - ✔️

T - ✔️

V -✔️ , ✔️

W -✔️

My ABC & 123 Challenge update:
After Atlas
Blood Oath
Cibola Burn
The Duke and I
Empire Girls
The Forever War
Greenlights
How Lulu Lost Her Mind
In the Garden of Spite: A Novel of the Black Widow of La Porte
Jurassic Park
Killing Pretty
Little Fires Everywhere
Maplecroft
Nemesis Games
Oryx and Crake
Project Hail Mary
The Quantum Thief
The Russian Cage
Snowflakes
Troubles in Paradise
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (currently reading)
The Viscount Who Loved Me (currently reading)
Whispers to a Crow
X ??
Y ??
Zoe's Tale (currently reading)

Once my alphabet is done I'll start the 123 part of the challenge.

I'm really enjoying this as I've read books that I would probably never have considered. I may even add in an author version of the ABCs...

Yes, challenges are a great way to finally read some of the books that are gathering dust on your TBR, or to find completely new things! Since you read Oryx & Crake, maybe the sequel for Y?

Anna wrote: "Yes, challenges are a great way to finally read some of the books that are gathering dust on your TBR, or to find completely new things! Since you read Oryx & Crake, maybe the sequel for Y?"

Y for YAY and YES! When the TBR read is too big to remember that you actually own a copy of the book....