SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
SciFi and Fantasy Book Challenge
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SciFi and Fantasy Challenge 2014
Sorry in this thread we're not discussing general reading goals for next year but specifically the SciFi and Fantasy book club 2014 challenge.
Here's a link to the groups bookshelf:/group/books...
I didn't get much done in 2013 so I think I'll sit this one out. The latest Gaiman book intrigues me and I'd still like to get to some of those Hugo/Nebula winners I missed, like Diamond Age and Spin.
The Diamond Age
Spin
I'm very excited about this challenge! I'm busy reading The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress which will see me end the year having read 43 books on our bookshelf. I want to try to reach 100 by the end of next year, so my challenge will be 57 books off our bookshelf during 2014!
I plan to read the 24 books we choose during the course of the year plus 33 books on our bookshelf that I haven't yet read. I'm using our listopia list to help me go though our books and pick which I want to read for this challenge.
I've decided to switch out a few of the books I've selected because I have a few too many by the same author and I've been looking through our bookshelf more and I think there are some that I missed when I first put my list together. So my new amended list is
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12. Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
13.
14.
15.
16. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26. Blackout by Connie Willis
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33. The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56. The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
I belong to several book clubs and rely heavily on library availability, so it is tough for me to read all of the selections.I am going to commit to 20 books this year. Since I do not know what the choices will be for the coming year, I'll just say it will be a combination of past books from the bookshelf and 2014 selections.
I've read 53 of that list. And I plan to catch up at least 25 in addition to most of the monthly books 2014.
I am aiming for 36. That makes three a month, the two monthly books plus an extra (or more extras if I have already read the monthly books).
How does someone sign up for a challenge? I clicked on the "Read all the books" link and it says 0 people participating.I'll aim for 24. If I don't like one of the monthly selections (or can't easily get hold of it) then I'll go to the list on the bookshelf for that month.
Last year I really fell off my reading habits and I want to change that this coming year. I have a goal of at least 20 books. I plan on reading one book from each months polls and one that I pick out for myself. Currently I am rereading The Hobbit and plan to have it done by Friday which is the day I plan on getting Fuzzy Nation.
Julia wrote: "How does someone sign up for a challenge? I clicked on the "Read all the books" link and it says 0 people participating."Due to the way the challenges work you can't sign up until January 1st.
Only nine, I guess. If there are more Pratchett's and Abercrombie's
Julia wrote: "...I'll aim for 24. If I don't like one of the monthly selections (or can't ..."
I'll aim for 24, too.
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MK's Books - so far, just filling in as read them. Will make a planned list a bit later in the year ...
Monthly club reads --
2. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman - Jan 9, 2014
3. Fuzzy Nation, by John Scalzi - Jan 9, 2014
6. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle - Feb 26, 2014
7. Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie - Mar 9, 2014
10. The Island of Dr. Moreau, by H.G. Wells - Apr 10, 2014
13. Legend, by David Gemmell - April 30, 2014
14. The Last Wish, by Andrzej Sapkowski - May 21, 2014
15. The Mote in God's Eye, by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle - June 7, 2014
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
>>> Goal! 24.
Extras, picked from the bookshelf --
1. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman - Jan 2, 2014
4. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman - Feb 9. 2014
5. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman - Feb 18, 2014
8. The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon - Mar 13, 2014
9. Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman - Apr 9, 2014
11. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut - April 21, 2014
12. Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood - April 24, 2014
Planned reads --
Dawn, by Octavia E. Butler - Jun BOM, tentative
The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham - Jun BOM, tentative
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, by Douglas Adams - Jan extra, tentative
The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss - Mar BOM tentative
The Color of Magic, by Terry Pratchett - Jul extra, tentative
Pump Six and Other Stories, by Paolo Bacigalupi - Feb, BOM tentative - probably not, sounds too dark
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Kate wrote: "I just reserved Gaiman's book at the library for the January selection and Fuzzy Nation is coming in the m..."
My library didn't have either in ebook, which would have been preference, but they had Ocean in hardcover, and Fuzzy Nation on CD, so I reserved them both. Picking them both up on Saturday.
Fuzzy Nation be my first book on CD, hope that goes okay. I've tried Audible audio books before, but that I can take wherever I take my kindle ... CD I have to stay put by the CD player. Not sure how I'll like that. Bonus, tho - it's narrated by Wil Wheaton, so I'm looking forward to that :-) .
MK wrote: "Fuzzy Nation be my first book on CD, hope that goes okay. I've tried Audible audio books before, but that I can take wherever I take my kindle ... CD I have to stay put by the CD player. Not sure how I'll like that. ..."MK, I got hooked on audio books through the library (Overdrive) and Audible. I've recently branched out into audio CDs.
It sucks that they are less portable, but I've been okay listening in the car and using computers and laptops. Occasionally, I will rip a chapter or two to MP3 if I know I will need to be portable and then delete those section immediately after listening.
I was really excited that Wil Wheaton was the narrator for Redshirts, but then felt like he did an okay job. I am hoping his narration for Fuzzy Nation is better since I had picked this up as an Audible Daily Deal a while back.
Valerie, appreciate the comments re:CDs. I hadn't considered laptop and desktop, was thinking I'd be stuck near a stereo or CD player :-p. I'm surprised on Wil Wheaton! Maybe he comes across better on Twitter and fb, then on audio books ;-). Will be interested to hear how he does, and to hear how you liked him.
Glad that my dorkiness of finding more ways to cram in "reading" time could be of benefit. :)
My goal of 15 does not include the 2014 monthly selections. So it looks like I am actually signing up for 39. That's okay with me. I see several books on the shelf I have but have not opened beyond basics of copyright information gathering, etc. I also have a couple of books outside of SF&F that I want to read soon.I also have several series SF books that aren't on our list that are burning holes in my shelves demanding at least a nod in their direction. I am posting my chosen 15 beyond the annual group reads soon. Happy trails and good journey!
This year I'll try but I'm going to the minimum goal, 12 books. Lets see how it goes. :)
I'm doing the "only read books from your to-read pile until April 1st" thing, because of this.Additionally, I'm going to once again attempt to read two books from each letter of the alphabet, 26 x 2 = 52. When these two goals align with the club, everything will come up roses!
Double post.
I will attempt to read 25 books off the bookshelf.
I'm going to challenge myself to 20. Just finished fuzzy nation and graveyard book. Oceans is next on my list
12 seems a good number, Neil Gaiman first I think.
I challenged myself to read 20 books!At least one monthly book plus some books from the bookshelf.
I have challenged myself to the minimum as well. I have given myself a goal of 55 for the overall GR book challenge, as I have a huge TBR pile and plan on whittling that down this year. But I am easily distracted so we'll see. :)
I've challenged myself to the minimum of 12 too. Between work and family issues, it's generally very difficult for me to read more than 2 books a month. I have a huge pile of things I'd like to get to, but I figure dedicating half my time to the group reads should be good for me. I've been looking for an excuse to read a Scalzi book, so Fuzzy Nation will be one of the next I tackle.
I'm in for 20 books! So, how does this challenge work? As long as I put it on my specified shelf it will count? Does the edition have to match the one on the group bookshelf?
I might be done for the challenge for at least around 12 since I want to do some rereading, and I have a couple of the past book club reads on my to be read list, but probably more depending on the rest of the book of the month picks for the rest of the year or if I feel like reading or rereading more of the past club reads..
I'm in for at least 12, though I'd like to read more like 20.
I'm excited that we've for so much participation :) I hope that means that some of us might read the same books and be able to discuss them. Is anyone else going to pick their books ahead of time or am I alone on that?KristenR wrote: "I'm in for 20 books! So, how does this challenge work? As long as I put it on my specified shelf it will count? Does the edition have to match the one on the group bookshelf?"
Yup, you've got it! I'm pretty sure the challenge is linked to your bookshelf rather than the group bookshelf so whatever edition you put on the bookshelf you create for the challenge will be fine. So the edition shouldn't matter.
I created my bookshelf and when I finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which was my first book towards this challenge, suddenly I'd read 1 of 57 books!
For the record, I really don't expect to manage my goal of 57 books this year, but I wanted to challenge myself. I won't be reading anything other than the list I've posted and the group choices each month. It should make for a very interesting year of reading!
I am in for 20. There are a bunch of books on the group shelf that I have been meaning to read.
Holly wrote: "I've decided to try and read 8 as I am not very good at sticking to pre-determined lists. I read as they wind takes me basically. My overall reading challenge for 2014 is 45 new books with me tryin..."If you read the rules, 12 is the least amount of books one has to read in order to be in the challenge.
I'm in :0)! I'll start off with a goal of 16 -- one per month plus one per quarter.
To Penny's question, yes, I have a list. A goal for this challenge is sequels. I read and enjoyed the previous but I get distracted with new books and put off the sequel -
- 2d book - The Mongoliad: Book Two by Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear and company
- 6th book in the Nicholas Flamel series, The Enchantress by Michael Scott
- 2d in the Legend trilogy, Prodigy by Marie Lu
- 4th in Inheritance series, Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
- 2d Hunger Games, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
- 3rd Inkheart, Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
- 2d Akira, Akira, Vol. 2 (graphic novel) by Katsuhiro Otomo
- Wool prequel, Shift Omnibus Edition (Silo, #2) by Hugh Howey
Another goal - 2d book by an author I had not read until SF group read and want to read another
- The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov (enjoyed club read The Caves of Steel)
- The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham (same for this one, read The Day of the Triffids last year)
Last Goal - It's About Time I Read One (really)
- a vampire book - They Thirst by Robert R. McCammon. I loved Swan Song. This one is set in LA
- a zombie book - World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
There are also some bonus books in mind but that's good for now!
I don't have a list -yet! I will make one tho :-).
Good afternoon everyone,I decided to read 25 (nice round number ;)) books from the list. Since I will be relying on library availability, I actually put 27 on the list. One of the books is actually a Glen Cook omnibus (
) consisting of (in order)
;
; and
. Since the list consists of at least the first book of those chronicles, will I need to read the whole omnibus to satisfy the challenge? Thank you.Jim Townsend
I'm aiming for 12 from the bookshelf. I have other books I want to read in addition to the book club I'm in for a total of 24 this year. Starting off with Boneshaker.
Penny wrote: "I'm excited that we've for so much participation :) I hope that means that some of us might read the same books and be able to discuss them. Is anyone else going to pick their books ahead of time o..."Penny, I don't have a definitive list, but I am going to try to start with those that I have already acquired for some reason or another, and that includes:
Fuzzy Nation
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Foundation
Oryx and Crake
Consider Phlebas
Childhood's End
Leviathan Wakes
Ubik
Neuromancer
Ship of Magic
The Lions of al-Rassan
The Dark Tower, Volume 1: The Gunslinger Born
Prince of Thorns
The Road
The City and the City
The Terror
Snow Crash
The Day of the Triffids
Very tentative list. I'm very bad at sticking to premade lists.Magician
Ubik
Embassytown
The Shadow of the Torturer
Under Heaven
Consider Phlebas
The Briar King
Stranger in a Strange Land
Have finished the first book of my challenge, Fuzzy Nation, and loved it. There are some books that I'm not looking forward to though but I guess it wouldn't be a challenge otherwise.
Carilu wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm looking at the group's bookshelf, and it appears I already have some on my to-read list. I added these books to my "1001 Must Read" bookshelf I'm slowly compiling from the master ..."At the top of the page on the right side there is an option for the "Bookshelf" for the group. that's where I found all of my picks for the year.
Flash Beagle wrote: "To Penny's question, yes, I have a list. A goal for this challenge is sequels. I read and enjoyed the previous but I get distracted with new books and put off the sequel -
- 2d book - [book:Th..."
That's a great list Flash, but the challenge is to read books that the group has already read, that is books that are on our bookshelf already. One or two of your listed books meet the criteria.
Not sure about making a list beforehand as what I read will probably depend on what I can find at my local used bookstore. I know for sure I will try and read all of the Gaiman that is on the bookshelf, any Douglas Adams that I haven't read already and Terry Pratchett.
Penny wrote: "Flash Beagle wrote: "To Penny's question, yes, I have a list. A goal for this challenge is sequels. I read and enjoyed the previous but I get distracted with new books and put off the sequel - ..."
Uh-oh! New list coming up! :P
Original entry on 1-6-2014The 2014 Selections include: (will be updated monthly as new books are selected and announced)
Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo B. Bacigalupi -- COMPLETED
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle --COMPLETED
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman -- COMPLETED
Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi -- COMPLETED
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie -- COMPLETED
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss -- CURRENTLY READING
Legend by David Gemmell -- COMPLETED
The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells -- COMPLETED
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle -- COMPLETED
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski -- COMPLETED
Dawn by Octavia Butler-- COMPLETED.
The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham -- CURRENTLY READING
Red Country by Joe Abercrombie -- CURRENTLY READING
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin -- COMPLETED
Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem -- COMPLETED
Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan -- CURRENTLY READING
The Martian by Andy Weir -- CURRENTLY READING
The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks -- CURRENTLY READING
I am working on the following lists:
15 books on our group's list I have never read but wanted to so as one part of the 2014 Challenge beyond the group's monthly choices in 2014. They are:
1. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
2. Childhood's End by Sir Arthur C. Clarke -- CURRENTLY READING
3. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep by Philip K. Dick -- COMPLETED
4. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury -- CURRENTLY READING
6. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
7. Mistborn #1 by Brandon Sanderson
8. Mort (Discworld # 4) by Sir Terry Pratchett -- COMPLETED
9. Neuromancer by William Gibson
10. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
11. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
12. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
13. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein -- COMPLETED
14. Watchmen by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins
15. Wool Omnibus 1-5 (Silo # 1) by Hugh Howey -- CURRENTLY READING
Books I have in to read, currently reading or read that can count toward the 2014 Challenge:
1. Embassytown by China MiÄ—ville -- CURRENTLY READING
2. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card -- CURRENTLY READING
3. Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm
4. Old Man's War (Old Man's War # 1) by John Scalzi - COMPLETED
5. Rendezvous with Rama by Sir Arthur C. Clarke - COMPLETED
6. The City and the Stars by Sir Arthur C. Clarke - COMPLETED
7. The Color of Magic (Discworld # 1) by Sir Terry Pratchett
8. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham -- COMPLETED
9. The Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko -- COMPLETED
10. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams --
COMPLETED
11. The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. LeGuin
12. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson -- CURRENTLY READING
13. Zoo City by Lauren Beukes -- CURRENTLY READING
I have removed Stephen King's "The Stand" as it is not currently on the group's bookshelf
Updates to my progress can also be found on page 5 of this discussion, message # 230.
I've signed up to read 12 books in the challenge, though I haven't picked them yet. It looks like I've read about 27 of the books listed, so there's still plenty to choose from, including ones I own. (Which is always nice - easy to pick them up on a whim!)And I'm 1 down, with The Ocean at the End of the World!
Good morning,I chose 25 books to read from the list although I put 28 books on my Science Fiction and Fantasy list 2014. These are books I have never read, although a few of the authors are familiar:
1. The Black Company. I'm reading it as part of Chronicles of the Black Company, which it begins. It consists of the first 217 pages of the omnibus. A former member of the Science fiction Book Club, I've read Glen Cook's "Garrett" fantasy detective series, but not this one. Finished 1/9/2014.
2. 1Q84
3. The Black Prism
4. Cat's Cradle
5. The Caves of Steel
6. The Day of the Triffids
7. The Diamond Age
8. Embassytown
9. Fuzzy Nation
10. I Am Legend
11. Infernal Devices
12. The Lies of Locke Lamora
13. Little, Big by John Crowley
14. Magician
15.The Long Earth
16.Midnight Riot
17.Night Watch
18.The Ocean at the End of the Lane
19.Pandora's Star
20.The Princess Bride
21.The Shadow of the Torturer
22.Spin
23.Ubik
24.Warbreaker
25.The Warrior's Apprentice
Jim Townsend
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Oryx and Crake (other topics)Ubik (other topics)
Dawn (other topics)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (other topics)
Assassin's Apprentice (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
J.R.R. Tolkien (other topics)Andreas Eschbach (other topics)
Jim Butcher (other topics)
N.K. Jemisin (other topics)
Guy Gavriel Kay (other topics)
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My goal is 51 books at the moment. 28 group books I have missed plus 23 books from next years reads (I've already read next months Neil Gaiman). Depending on which books are chosen my goal may go down if I've already read them.