SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Great! :D

Finished The Otherworld by Mercedes Lackey for O 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, L, M, N, O, Q, R, S, T, W, X, Y & Z = 17 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I'll next read a two-fer Ivory Apples by Lisa Goldstein for I in Titles and G in Author

Finished Ivory Apples by Lisa Goldstein for I in Titles and G in Author. I raced through this book in a few hours because it was so interesting

Alpha Author: B, C, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, S, U, X, & Z = 16 out of 26
Alpha Title: B, C, G, H, I, J, L, M, N, O, Q, R, S, T, W, X, Y & Z = 18 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I'll probably next read Guy of Gisburne: The Omnibus by Toby Venables for V in Authors. This is two books in one, so if I like it I might read the 3rd book in the series.

Really looking for an X book to put on my list...if anyone has any ideas.... O.o

The numbers are harder than I thought they'd be! There are lots of books, yes, but I've read almost all of the ones I'm interested in.

Finished Vacuum Flowers by Michael Swanwick for V in Titles. I wasn't really impressed by this book.

Alpha Author: B, C, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, S, U, X, & Z = 16 out of 26
Alpha Title: B, C, G, H, I, J, L, M, N, O, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y & Z = 19 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I'm currently reading Guy of Gisburne: The Omnibus by Toby Venables for V in Authors. This is two books in one, so if I like it I might read the 3rd book in the series.

I haven't been being strategic about my reads for this and have definitely slowed down on progress.

June authors added:
T James Tiptree jr.
Y Isabel Yap

status end of June:
Titles: 19/26 ABCDEFGHILMNOPRSTWY
Authors: 22/26 ABCDEFGHJKLMNOPRSTVWYZ
Numbers: 4/10 4567

James - X-men? There’s also a short book by Edith Wharton that starts with an X, if that’s in your wheelhouse (sorry I can’t remember the title ATM but it shouldn’t be too difficult to find.

Xingu by Edith Wharton

Finished Guy of Gisburne: The Omnibus by Toby Venables for V in Authors. I enjoyed this one even though it was barely Fantasy. It did turn the Richard the Lion Hearted and Robin Hood story round about in that those were the villains and Guy of Gisburne and Prince John were the good guys

Alpha Author: B, C, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, S, U, V, X, & Z = 17 out of 26
Alpha Title: B, C, G, H, I, J, L, M, N, O, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y & Z = 19 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I'm currently reading the last book in the Guy of Gisburne series for the series challenge.

I added a couple of Authors and a Title to my completed list for the challenge:

Dolores Reyes for Eartheater and
Dave Itzkofffor Robin

both very good books!

For titles:

The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway by Una McCormack. Great fun!

That brings me to
Authors: ABEIKLNORS 10/26
Titles: ABCDEHILMORWX 12/26

I think I had better step up my game.

I didn't read the ones I intended for this challenge, but I went through the books I've read and took the letters from there.

So far:

Titles: A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P R S T U V W Y (22/26 - missing J, Q, X, Z)
Authors: A B C D E F G H J K L M N P R S T U V W Y (21/26 - missing I, O, Q, X, Z)

Oh, me too, Gabi! I’ve been terrible about reading the ones I had intended and substituting ones I have! That said, Robin was one that I’d put on my list.

It's the series challenge where I keep substituting series. OOooOO, I just realized I can knock off K if I substitute Knight of the Demon Queen for Kings of the North and there goes K for Title. Hmmm, I'm going to have to go check on a few others...

Alpha Author: B, C, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, S, U, V, X, & Z = 17 out of 26
Alpha Title: B, C, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y & Z = 20 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I'm currently reading the last book in the Guy of Gisburne series for the series challenge.

ETA to change know to knock

Finished The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden for A in Authors

Alpha Author: A, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, S, U, V, X, & Z = 18 out of 26
Alpha Title: B, C, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y & Z = 20 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I'm currently reading A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne for P in titles

I went back and looked at my books and I realize that I have already filled all but J & Y in author and U in Title, but as I'm really trying to clear out my TBR pile, I'll stick with the rest of my list until we get down to the end and I still need to complete this.

J = J. V. Jones
Y = Jane Yolen
U = Unholy Land

Unholy Land looks interesting so I'll probably do this one after the book I listed as reading above

Finished The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett for D in Title (I did have The Daylight War by the same author listed for D)

Alpha Author: A, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, S, U, V, X, & Z = 18 out of 26
Alpha Title: B, C, D, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y & Z = 21 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I'm currently reading A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne for P in titles

Finished reading A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne for P in titles

Alpha Author: A, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, S, U, V, X, & Z = 18 out of 26
Alpha Title: B, C, D, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y & Z = 22 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I'm currently not reading a book for this challenge

You've been busy :)

I just finished today! 😍

Listened to both Zikora & Kokoro over the past couple weeks, both of which I would highly recommend.

I also got rid of pesky Author-Q with Ed by qntm, which I would not read unless you hate yourself. (You've been warned)

If you want to see my list for any inspiration for certain pesky letters, you can take a look here: (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- qntm
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)]

Wow, Emmett! That's impressive!!

congrats - I've been stuck for 8 days w/o adding anything. If I ever finish The Traitor Baru Cormorant, I'll move on to U with Unholy Land.

I'm going to have to go read the two threads for Baru and find out why I'm having a hard time with it...

Congrats Emmett, great work! ^_^

I'm still missing a couple of numbers, but I don't expect to finish them very soon, as they're all eye-reads, and one is a chonker I'll probably get to in the cold, dark months later in the year.

Emmett wrote: "I also got rid of pesky Author-Q with Ed by qntm, which I would not read unless you hate yourself. (You've been warned) ..."

Sounds perfect for me!

I skipped out on the numbers this time, but maybe I'll try throwing that one in next year.

@Ed- I think that book would have actually been way more fun if one of the characters was my namesake. I say go for it XD

This sounds like a really fun challenge and a great way to get to some of those books that have been languishing on the TBR for years. I'm already booked up for challenges for this year, but I'm definitely putting this on my list to do for next year.

every year has different challenges, but I vote for this one to repeat itself next year

This is a repeating challenge! (Or it will be, if someone participates next year.) It's designed to be, like the short fiction challenge. There won't be a challenge to fill out on the Group Challenges page (I never know what to call this, but usually I say challenge-challenge :D), but the challenge itself, this thread, will be open for action. Any challenge can be done any year, even the ones that were meant for a specific year! That's why I list even the old ones in Current Events :)

Anna wrote: "This is a repeating challenge! (Or it will be, if someone participates next year.) It's designed to be, like the short fiction challenge. There won't be a challenge to fill out on the Group Challen..."

I'll definitely be adding it to my list for next year then 😊

Yay, I hope you find a good X! :D

Anna wrote: "Yay, I hope you find a good X! :D"

LOL, sounds like I might need to start looking now!

It wouldn't be the worst idea :)

or saving it if you have one now....

I checked off 2 letters in Titles: N and A

The Never Ending Sacrifice and
Artificial Condition

And W in Authors

Martha WellsArtificial Condition

That brings me to
Authors: ABEIKLNORSW 11/26
Titles: ABCDEHILMNORWX 13/26

Still a little behind.

I only have Z to finish and have started on the 1,2,3 part of the challenge. I think I'm going to add on an author ABC to the challenge since it's helping me to chip away at my TBR pile.

Zoe's Tale has been on my list forever so glad to be checking that one off. I love this series and have kept putting off reading more.

1st to Die will be my first Patterson. Meh narrator but at least it's shortish. We'll see how the writing is.

Karen wrote: "it's helping me to chip away at my TBR pile"

Amazing, that's what it's supposed to do! :)

it's not working for me

Finished reading Unholy Land by Lavie Tidhar for U in titles and T in authors

Alpha Author: A, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, S, T, U, V, X, & Z = 19 out of 26
Alpha Title: B, C, D, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y & Z = 23 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I'm currently reading The Midnight Circus by Jane Yolen for Y in authors. I've decided to hold off on The Greater Alta series for a while

Hadn't planned on doing this challenge but after a quick check it seems I'm only missing X, Y, and Z to complete it for books.

Yep, it's pretty easy to get almost all the letters by accident, but the remaining ones make you work hard enough that it still feels like a challenge! :D

I own a few Ys and Zs that I'm yet to read, but have nothing for x on my owned shelves. Gonna do some more digging but the options are looking like an insurmountable challenge.

Yes, X sucks. Feel free to improvise!

I've posted a few X options in this thread - feel free to steal one of them

Sneaking through the window now, CBR.

Think I'll accept my reading of The Poet X for the challenge as there's nothing that interests me that starts with an x.

I'm currently missing Q, U, X, and Y for the author challenge, which, x aside, shouldn't be too hard to complete.

I'll post the books I've read that fit the challenge when I'm done to possibly help others that try this.

Poet X was my pick for X one time I did this challenge in the past. I changed it to something else at the last minute, but I felt like the single X was close enough! I already said this on the first page, but another way to deal with X is to find a title that *ends* with X, that's much easier! And for authors, first name starts with X is easier, so that's kind of the compromise between the strictest mode and the anywhere in the title/name mode.

Finished 1st to Die. I know I won’t listen to more of this series due to the narrator. The writing was mediocre, predictable but decently paced. What I may grab as a beach read but wouldn’t feel I’m missing out if I never read another.

I found Zoe's Tale as an audiobook 🎉. I’m horrible about reading on my device which is why it has taken me forever to move forward with this series.

Since I’ve added in the ABC authors to my challenge my first author will be T. Kingfisher with A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking.

Anna wrote: "Poet X was my pick for X one time I did this challenge in the past. I changed it to something else at the last minute, but I felt like the single X was close enough! I already said this on the firs..."

Sinopticon 2021: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction edited and translated by Xueting Christine Ni will be my X author book. Managed to grab an ARC via netgalley.

Karen, all the YES to audiobooks and T. Kingfisher!

Ryan, that looks excellent!

Finished reading The Midnight Circus by Jane Yolen for Y in authors and then in looking through my spreadsheet of books I've read for challenges, I realized I had collected R in authors for The Kraken's Tooth for the series challenge

Alpha Author: A, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, N, O, Q, R, S, T, U, V, X, Y & Z = 21 out of 26
Alpha Title: B, C, D, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y & Z = 23 out of 26
Numbers (0-9): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 = 10 out of 10

I'm currently reading The Barbed Coil by J.V. Jones for J in authors as well as for the TBR challenge

I feel like the finish line is just around the corner...