Flights of Fantasy discussion

I'm currently reading Witchmark and really enjoying it. Shaping up to be a 4-star read.

I'm completely slacking on reading much lately.

I need to review:
The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers, and Foodies Are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet
and
That Was Then, This Is Now (DNF)

Currently reading:
THE MEULLER REPORT

Stalled on:
The Right Stuff
and Magic Bites

July was slight on completions for me, with only two books finished.

Part of that was starting the cinder block known as Kushiel's Dart for SFFBC's mid-August reread.

I'm about 1/3 of the way through that, but am taking a break from it during vacation for some shorter/easier things. Coming along on the trip are:

Obsidio - last volume in a super fun YA SF trilogy
The Man in the High Castle
Mostly Harmless
Artificial Condition
...and a stack of translated manga.

In audio I'm almost done with Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, but since that's a terrible pick for a vacation I'll find something else to listen to while settling down to sleep. Haven't decided on what yet.

Finished Witchmark last night. Definitely 4-stars for me.

It's got fantasy, mystery, pseudo-Victorian England vibes, with lots of bicycles, and a super sweet M/M romance. <3

Beth wrote: "July was slight on completions for me, with only two books finished.

Part of that was starting the cinder block known as Kushiel's Dart for SFFBC's mid-August reread.

I'm about 1/3..."

I was not impressed with Kushiel's Dart... Hope you enjoy it more than I did. But I LOVED (if that's the right word to choose) Evicted. Enlightening but heartbreaking and really shows the horrific situation and cycle some people have to live in. :(

OH, haha... "re-read". You already know if you'd enjoy it. I'll just see myself out! :P

Agreed, Becky, it's really good, showing both the small and the big picture surrounding the tenants' situations. And sickening and saddening and infuriating, and not easy to listen to for long stretches even with Dion Graham narrating it.

Beth wrote: "Agreed, Becky, it's really good, showing both the small and the big picture surrounding the tenants' situations. And sickening and saddening and infuriating, and not easy to listen to for long stre..."

Agreed! I liked that it shows the situation from both the tenant and landlord sides. It's so easy to write them off as greedy and uncaring, but I don't think that is the case a lot of the time, they really are just trying to make a living and survive too. I mean, we're not talking about billionaire investor slumlords... We're talking about regular people who got some money together and wanted to invest in property... and now they are looped into the lose/lose cycle as well. It's just a hard situation all around. Such a great book. And yeah, that narration was perfect.

I loved Kushiel's Dart. But I also read it back when it was first released. The world of online books wasn't here as yet.

It's certainly not for everyone but i think it works especially well for High Fantasy readers and Romance readers. I don't really read High Fantasy anymore but I still love my Romance.


ETA: LOVED the next series in the universe, too. THe 3rd series I've avoided.

Becky wrote: "OH, haha... "re-read". You already know if you'd enjoy it. I'll just see myself out! :P"

The group is rereading it, but it's my first time. (blush)

I wasn't in love with it to start. The wall of words has done its work and I'm finally getting into it! "Too many names in the background" is my major complaint with it at this point.

Beth wrote: "Becky wrote: "OH, haha... "re-read". You already know if you'd enjoy it. I'll just see myself out! :P"

The group is rereading it, but it's my first time. (blush)

I wasn't in love with it to start..."

Back when I first read it, I loaned it to read after. He was SOOO mad, lol. He said the book just wasn't his style as he felt the writing was "overwrought and lush" (iirc) - but what made him mad was that he wasn't able to put it down after about 50 pages or so. LOL

It never became his favorite but I can see others points.

Ahh gotcha! Most of my issues were with the writing and style and overuse of foreshadowing. And euphemisms.

Becky wrote: "Ahh gotcha! Most of my issues were with the writing and style and overuse of foreshadowing. And euphemisms."

Yeah. Pretty much his issues, too. He felt the author skated awfully close to purple prose and that she never said in 10 words what she could say in 100.

I think her story truly gets better as it goes along. The plotting/ideas she had were rather impressive for the time (for me). I'd never read anything quite that daring (this was almost 20 years ago!) and the idea of mixing BDSM(gasp!), prostitution, religion and sexual freedom with standard fantasy hadn't hit my corner of the world.

But for all I love it and praise it...I can tell you that the writing does not change, lol. It's also not as daring now as it was 20 years ago. Time has caught up with it and passed it in some places. The sentiments are still lovely but...

...it's not something that I'd encourage you to sample again.

I'm re-reading NPCs. I enjoyed this series SO MUCH.

I think you're right about it being more daring before the ebook age*. Erotica is so easy to come by these days--readers can get it in whatever style or gender mix they like at the push of a button.

*or the fanfic age? I remember reading a lot of it in the mid-'90s.

And I don't think KD is erotica anyway. It tries to sell itself as such early on, but now--whether because of supersaturation, or the euphemisms that Becky mentioned--it's skewing more toward "big brick fantasy novel" in my mind.

Beth wrote: "I think you're right about it being more daring before the ebook age*. Erotica is so easy to come by these days--readers can get it in whatever style or gender mix they like at the push of a button..."

Hmmmm. Not quite sure. I didn't really know about a lot of fanfic back then. Certainly it was before ebooks. I remember getting into an argument with one of my bookclub members cause she picked a book that was only in HC (not in MMPB!!) and she was mad I didn't "get over it." It was a big deal, lol.

But yes, you can get erotica just about everywhere now. Whats more, you get a little erotica in a lot of mainstream books now, too (not just romances). I remember being a bit scandalized reading this - so you can imagine my face when one of my co-workers turned me on to actual erotica! That was my introduction to the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Ellora's Cave, lol. So. Much. Shock.

KD would get laughed out of the erotica room, lol. It does a lot better as a door-stop fantasy.

I recently finished Jack of Shadows which I was meh about.

Currently reading Myths and Mortals, book 2 of the Numina trilogy - which I actually won via goodreads, but in Kindle format. I think I'm liking the second book slightly more than the first, but I'm getting a little tired of the hand-wringing between the two mains. Like, I get it, but it's getting a bit repetitive...

I'm currently reading The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter as part of a TBR challenge. It's interesting, so far. Not quite what I was expecting going in, but we've now reached the part where a (view spoiler)[circus is actually involved... (hide spoiler)]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "I'm currently reading The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter as part of a TBR challenge. It's interesting, so far. Not quite what I was expecting going in, but we've now reached the part whe..."

lol

I've started re-reading the Spells, Swords and Stealth series, starting with NPCs. It's a lot of fun.

I'm currently reading The Ruins.

I need to review like 3947 books that I've either finished or abandoned, and then I will feel like life is back to normal. My Currently Reading shelf is a HOT mess.

I'm currently reading the novella Blackwood: A Gotheim Tale. It's relatively short, a bit sizeable chunk of enjoyable reading if you're not looking to get into anything too long and time consuming.

Literally none of the non-graphic-novel books I brought along on vacation ended up being read. oh well! :)

Currently I'm reading stories from the Tanith Lee collection Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer in between a few chapters of the much heftier aforementioned Kushiel's Dart. It's mostly working--both are enjoyable to read, for very different reasons. Pretty prose for one, galloping narrative for the other.

Don't worry Beth... That's my whole life right now. Thomas was out of town for 2 weeks and I was like I'M GONNA READ ALL THE BOOKS!

How many did I read?

ZERO. Not one. I didn't even crack one open. I did listen to The Meuller Report, but only because it autoplayed when I got in the car and I didn't have to do anything but listen. LOL

I did finish The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in audio which is about 6 hours long at 1x. Better than nothing, but not by much!

Finished reading Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, which is a nicely written coming of age tale that has much to do with family secrets and the psychological harm they can cause as well as with friendship and relationships. It's easy to see how this book won so many awards.

Now reading The Midnight Gardener & The Well of Tears interspersed with stories in Lovecraftiana: Lammas Eve 2019 and enjoying both.

Nicki! When you get to Equal Rites, let me know and I'll read along with you. I have been meaning to get to it forever, and this will help.

I just finished my Discworld-a-thon last month! Glad you're enjoying your new foray back.

Im reading Strange the Dreamer. I went in with a little trepidation because I was one of the seemingly few who was not in love with Daughter of Smoke & Bone. O loked the concept but hated how the romance was handled, and was worried about the same here, but I've been liking this one a good deal better.

Got about halfway through Kushiel's Dart before calling a temporary halt. I'll get back to it.

In the meantime I'm reading Northanger Abbey and wondering how I missed it. Such fun.

In audio I've been chipping away at Gardens of the Moon and am almost at the 2/3 mark.

I liked one of those books... LOL

Ahh, Sourcery. The book that made me realize I didn't like Discworld as much as I thought I did.

Chris wrote: "Ahh, Sourcery. The book that made me realize I didn't like Discworld as much as I thought I did."


I feel like the middle books of the series tend to be my favorites, overall... with the caveat that I am partial to the Tiffany Aching series, too.

Finished Strange the Dreamer. I have... thoughts. I don't know. I liked it, don't get me wrong, but... I feel like the author takes 5 pages for every description. Like, this book was originally meant to be a standalone, and is now a duology of over 500 pages each... and while I do enjoy the descriptions at time, but the end I grew a bit weary of them and kept thinking that there's no real reason why this story needs to be over 1000 pages...

But I did like it and I will continue.

***

Started The Wanderer in Unknown Realms this morning.

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "I'm currently reading The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter as part of a TBR challenge. It's interesting, so far. Not quite what I was expecting going in, but we've now reached the part whe..."

Sign me up!

I just finished Pumpkinheads. Freaking adorable little graphic novel. I loved it.

Felina wrote: "Sign me up! "


Not sure you'd like it. Not nearly as much carnival as one would expect...

Finished The Wanderer in Unknown Realms. Interesting novella that started well, but I'm not a fan of the non-ending ending...


Started White Trash Zombie Gone Wild this morning. This might be the make or break book of the series, to determine whether or not I continue.

I finished up Sapphire Flames which was fun but makes me want to read the first 3.

I started listening to a nonfiction audiobook last night Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick - so far it's pretty good, but a bit scattered and the reader sounds like she's eleventeen.

Maybe it'll come together though.

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "Felina wrote: "Sign me up! "


Not sure you'd like it. Not nearly as much carnival as one would expect..."

Boo!

Becky wrote: "I started listening to a nonfiction audiobook last night Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick - so far it's pr..."

Eleventeen. Ha ha.

Becky wrote: "I liked one of those books... LOL"

I looked at your reviews and know which one it was! ;) I'm not quite done with any of them but suspect they'll end up with similar rankings to yours, even if they don't get similar ratings.

Chris wrote: "Ahh, Sourcery. The book that made me realize I didn't like Discworld as much as I thought I did."

Two Rincewind books as the first and second books in the series was plenty for me. I skipped Sourcery and might never read it.

Finished The Sword of Kaigen yesterday. It was better than I expected.

Only other thing I read this month, aside from the group read, was The Fated Sky. Which wasn't as good as The Calculating Stars, but still a decent follow up.