You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

Report your space reads here once you've finished the book and discussed it in the relevant thread. Do let us know how you liked the book too.

OK, just finished Redshirts. Thoroughly enjoyed it! I was with a little disappointed there wasn't more "space" in the story but it was a fun read. It was fun seeing life from the point of view of those poor guys in the "red shirts." We all know what happens to them on the away missions in every episode...

You took the words right out of my mouth, Susan!

Parthiban wrote: "Hey, I am new to this group. The book which I read last was
Breakfast at Tiffany's
by Truman Capote
The first story of the quartets was really interesting and at times, amusingly funny. Plannin..."

Welcome Parthiban! Looks like you like the classics. This thread is for reporting the books we read during May that fit the Space theme. We have a more general thread where we discuss what books we've finished and ones we are starting which can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thank you, Sarah. Yes, I love classics and Modern Lit. Sorry about posting it here. Happy reading!

No worries Parthiban. Didn't want you to miss out on seeing what we're all getting stuck in to. There are many members here who also enjoy Classics as well as Modern Literature.

Lol I am working nights tonight and I actually was thinking Breakfast at Tiffanys - that had parts in space. I didn't know that---- :)

No, It didn't. It was my mistake to post it here, by just seeing the name of the discussion thread. My Apologies. I am deleting my comment.

It's all good Parthiban. We don't get overly excited about things like that. We just give gentle nudges in the right direction, so no need to apologize. Welcome, by the way. We're glad to have you join us.:)

welcome! and don't stress at all. I just love all of us going "wait.... there was space in that book?"

Rusalka wrote: "welcome! and don't stress at all. I just love all of us going "wait.... there was space in that book?""

Not astronomical space for sure! There were other spaces here and there. :D

Thanks to you all for the overwhelming and warm welcome :) Have a great weekend :D

I read Stand By for Mars! for this month's theme. It was surprisingly good. I'm thinking I might want to continue the series.

I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm glad I finally got a chance to read it and finally read all the famous quotes in their proper context. It was funny at times and I really enjoyed the criticism on the human race. I did not care so much for the story itself though, and sometimes I guess it was just a bit too silly for my liking.

I read A Wrinkle in Time. It was an ok read. I like the way they traveled through space by wrinkling.
I am not going to continue the series I didn't really connect with the characters in the story and it was a little to tame for me I like more action in stories

Parthiban wrote: "Rusalka wrote: "welcome! and don't stress at all. I just love all of us going "wait.... there was space in that book?""

Not astronomical space for sure! There were other spaces here and there. :D ..."


lol I needed a good laugh especially at 3am

I read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (actually the Finnish translation Kuu on julma), ended up giving it two stars; have read better ones from Heinlein.

I read the group read The Martianand commented on the group read thread. A unique and intriguing book! 4 stars.

I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Science fiction is a genre that I struggle with, but I found this book easy to get into and mostly interesting. I appreciate the superior writing more than the actual content of the novel. I am glad that I have read it.

I read Fuzzy Nation for the themed read and discussed it in the "Space" thread. I'm so glad I read this little gem of a story. It was funny and sad with several memorable characters.

I read The Martian and loved it. I'm not a science fiction reader, but I think that this is not a typical sci fic. The story is smart and engaging. Mark, the main character, is funny and SO resourceful. I'm glad I read it.

I read The Fractal Prince and liked it. Maybe I'll get to Redshirts this month. I like Scalzi and thought the concept for the book was fun.

I gave this suspenseful ride, The Martian, 5 stars and read it all in one day. Whew!

Debra wrote: "I gave this suspenseful ride 5 stars and read it all in one day. Whew!"

What ride was that Debra?

I've been holding off reporting as I've read a number of books that fit the theme. I think I'm down now. I managed three:
The Martian which was very well written, entertaining and really had me rooting for the main character. I will be keeping an eye out for future books by this author.

Ancillary Justice as a buddy read. This was a difficult book to read at the beginning as the author dumps you in the middle of a story and you're left to piece everything together. She employed some very interesting plot devices and was a fantastic read. I will be continuing with the series.

Fuzzy Nation was great fun but also thought provoking. I loved the characters especially the fuzzies. I do really liked Scalzi's writing style. Pretty sure I've said that so many times now.

Oh! It was The Martian, Sarah! Edited my original post! Ooops!

I read Falling Free pretty good I think I gave it 3 stars. Actually I don't think I've rated it yet, but plan for 3 stars.

This month I read:


Finally read some graphic novels to get excited about, 5 stars for each volume.

I read Space for Hire, a parody on noir detective stories, but set in outer space..

I like how the physical attributes of the alien characters were slowly revealed rather than described from head to toe. One scene may have a purple octopus appendage wrap a hug around Sam's shoulder, another would have a third head share a shot of booze. The whole creature was never fully described or revealed.

Like the concept, but this plot was a bit too silly.

I read Ancillary Justice with the buddy read. In the end I enjoyed it and gave it four stars, but for the first third to one-half of the book I was SO confused. The main character, Breq, is an artificial intelligence. The beginning of the book alternates chapters between a time when she is just one body, an ancillary, and a time twenty years earlier when she was the AI for a ship, with many ancillaries (human bodies adapted for the AI to use them). In that part of the book, there are multiples of Breq, so she is seeing things from multiple viewpoints at the same time. And, to make everything even more confusing, the language she uses has only female pronouns, so everyone is a "she," though later on we discover some of the "she's" are men. Once you sort all of that out enough to figure out what is going on, the book gets very interesting. The author had some very original ideas. I think the book deserves all the praise it has gotten, but getting started on it does take some patience.

I read The Sparrow and gave it 3 stars.

So much about this book was annoying. The superficial relationships between all the characters that were occasionally punctuated by 'deep' talks. The constant mixing of parent/child emotions with lovers emotions. The lovers triangle that was resolved so oddly. The dramatic ending that was no big surprise and honestly was only as dramatic as it was because he was a guy.
That said, I did like it. I loved the concept of the story and the license this gave the author to explore religion and civilization.

I read two books this month for the monthly theme. I read The Martian for the group read. I also read Ancillary Justice as a buddy read.

The Martian

Ancillary Justice

I just finished Fuzzy Nation. It was better than I expected in some ways. It definitely held my interest and I generally liked the characters, though a couple were over the top stereotypical. I thought some parts towards the end were a bit too convenient and there was a bit too much court time for my tastes, but overall I really enjoyed it. Interesting and fun story with great pacing. Glad I decided to read this one. 4✭

Peggy wrote: "I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm glad I finally got a chance to read it and finally read all the famous quotes in their proper context. It was funny at times and I really ..."

This about sums it up for me, too! I just finished re-reading this. I read it before, about 15 years ago. I think I liked it better, then. Maybe my mind was less into it, this time. 4 stars (last time I gave it 5).

I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I enjoyed it. Maybe not LOL funny but I smirked a lot listening to this. I look forward to the rest of the series cause I have no idea where it's going, unlike this one as I had seen the film when it came out.

I read Foundation. I read it maybe 30 years ago and enjoyed it. Still do. Maybe because I'm older now and my attention span sometimes flags a little (or I just plain fall asleep), it took me a while to get through it. Characters are not well or fully developed to carry throughout the book, but it isn't the characters themselves that are the focus, it's the fall and rebuilding of the Empire that is. Still I give it 4 stars ( minus the one star because I got a bit confused at times between the putting downs and picking ups). I plan on reading the rest of the series, something I didn't do 30 years ago.

I read These Broken Stars which was a pleasant surprise. I had it labeled more as a YA romance, but it is a SF through and through. I give it almost 4 stars (3 and 3/4). I would reccomend this book to SF fans and sympathizers

I read These Broken Stars, wich I really liked . It was a 3 and 3/4 stars for me

Roz - I read Foundation years ago too, but have no memory of it. I don't know if I read any others either. Thanks for reminding me. I may have to revisit it, if I have time.

I'll probably post badges Friday so that gives some of you a bit more time to report your reads. I can see that some of you chatted in the threads but are yet to report.

Lara wrote: "I read The Fractal Prince and liked it. Maybe I'll get to Redshirts this month. I like Scalzi and thought the concept for the book was fun."

What did you like about the Fractal Prince Lara?

Amanda wrote: "I read two books this month for the monthly theme. I read The Martian for the group read. I also read Ancillary Justice as a buddy read.

The Martian

[book:Ancillary Justice|17333..."

Did you have a preference of the two Amanda?

Sarah, I liked the Martian better. Ancillary Justice was interesting, but a bit difficult to follow. TheMartian was easier to relate to and was interspersed with humor to keep it moving and make you like the characters.

Sarah wrote: "What did you like about the Fractal Prince Lara?"

I enjoy the very futuristic and hard to imagine work that has been created. The characters are interesting and there is good suspense. However, I will say that this book was not as strong as the first, which was much more subtle in execution.

Hi Sarah,
It serves me right for not getting a badge, but I did - kind of post in message # 2, right under Susan. I read and finished Redshirts. Susan said what I felt about the story. The story was definitely not what I thought it was going to be. Ok, but not great. Alternate reality people being wiped out because of a make-believe TV show story line. They are able to go to the TV reality to plead with the show writers to manage the elimination of the "extras" a little more humanely.
Wil Wheaton's narration was exemplary!

Thanks Cherie. I'll get a badge posted to you asap.

Just finished The Miniaturist
"There must be no more secrets, so I said." This story/world is full of secrets which complicate our lives as the characters of The Miniaturist so aptly demonstrate. Do those secrets help or hinder? Compelling read

You will need to report your read in the June reporting thread to ensure you get your badge. There is one set up. This thread is for last months group reads.

Thank you, Sarah. I will try to do a better job in June. ;0)

Sarah, I noticed that you posted badges, but I didn't get one. I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (see message #33).

I read The Martian in May and commented on it's thread. I really enjoyed it, especially the author's use of blogging for narration and the humor!