RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off) discussion

Hello everyone,

It is the last month of the year! That means we have an adventurous month ahead of us!! For this month we have Adventure/Fantasy. Oft times adventure comes under fantasy and vice versa, hence we keep both of these genres together as one. You can also read adventure or fantasy alone without any of these falling in the second category. So have your pick.

Following are the DEFINITIONS for this month's genres:

Adventure: Adventure fiction is a genre of fiction in which an adventure, an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger, forms the main storyline. Adventure novels and short stories were popular subjects for American pulp magazines, which dominated American popular fiction between the Progressive Era and the 1950s. Adventure fiction often overlaps with other genres, notably war novels, crime novels, sea stories, Robinsonades, spy stories (as in the works of John Buchan, Eric Ambler and Ian Fleming), science fiction, fantasy, (Robert E. Howard and J.R.R. Tolkien both combined the secondary world story with the adventure novel)[6] and Westerns. Not all books within these genres are adventures. Adventure fiction takes the setting and premise of these other genres, but the fast-paced plot of an adventure focuses on the actions of the hero within the setting.

Fantasy: Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting. Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of technological and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three (collectively known as speculative fiction or science fiction/fantasy) In its broadest sense, fantasy comprises works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians, from ancient myths and legends to many recent works embraced by a wide audience today, including young adults.

Here's a quick summary of the levels:

Level 1: Casual Reader: 1 book (easy)
Level 2: Frequent Reader: 2 books (moderate)
Level 3: Bookworm: 3 books (mildly strenuous)
Level 4: Bibliophile: 4 books (strenuous)
Level 5: Bookiopath: 5 books or more (challenging)

Please mention what type of books you'd be reading:

PB: Paperbacks
EB: E-Books
AB: Audio Books

Please feel free to announce your to-read books along with the level you are targeting for below.

PLEASE READ (for new members):
1. You can read any number of books for the respective genre each month in one particular month.
2. Take your time and go through your entire TBR-list before deciding the books to read.
3. You can join the challenge at any stage (in any month.)
4. You can drop out of the challenge any time you like.
5. You can select different levels every month.
6. Use this discussion board to share your reads with other members of the group.
7. Please be active and don't hesitate to ask questions or recommend books.

There are absolutely no limits so you can interpret this genre in its broader sense and include other similar genres and/or subgenres that you feel might have a wee bit of similarity with the main genre. You can also include books that are not particularly centered around the main genre but has its components or elements somewhere in the story.

The main intent of this challenge is to incorporate different kinds of books and genres into our normal reading routine to make the experience more fun and entertaining. Please do not lose yourself in the technicalities as we all know how literary genres can be confusing.
If you have any doubts or questions, then post them below and we'll be happy to answer/discuss them.

Happy reading!

I will be reading On Stranger Tides, for the Buddy Read. (It's on it's way from another library.) I also will be reading Alice by Christina Henry (another library Hold). And I will probably look at a few graphic novels. There are a ton of them with a fantasy/adventure theme.

I'm hoping to finish the rest of the Darker Shades of Magic series, A Gathering of Shadows and A Conjuring of Light

I have 3 books planned so far:

On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers, for December buddy read. I just got the book so I'll start reading this today.

Beneath the Skin by R.L. Martinez. This book is the sequel to a book I read (and loved) last year. The cover image of this book is horrible, but the story is really, really good!

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin. I bought this book earlier this year. It is the illustrated edition, so I'm really excited for this one!

Happy reading guys!

1.) Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Fantasy)

3 stars.

Dagny wrote: "Not much magic/fantasy though for serious readers of the genre. More like a cozy with one secret magical item."

I'm always amazed by the many different types of books that can fit into any given genre. I always thought Fantasy had to be only books like Lord of the Rings. But really it's a much bigger genre than that. It's great to explore books where the fantasy setting is more contemporary and the magic in the story is of a simpler type.

2.) Death Note, Vol. 2: Confluence by Tsugumi Ohba

4 stars. Volume 2 of a really interesting Japanese manga series. It's Fantasy, but this volume had alot about the police trying to find a criminal mastermind. It might be interesting to fans of the Mystery genre.

3.) Sinbad the Sailor - and other stories from the Arabian Nights (Fantasy/Adventure)

3 stars. Some of the fairytales I liked more than others, but it was entertaining and a bit different. Great illustations for the stories, too. It can be found in ebook format at Project Gutenberg here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47285

Dagny wrote: "B. R. wrote: "I'm hoping to finish the rest of the Darker Shades of Magic series, A Gathering of Shadows and A Conjuring of Light"

Sounds like fun, B. R."

They are fun books, I highly recommend pretty much anything written by V. E. Schwab :)

B. R. wrote: " They are fun books, I highly recommend pretty much anything written by V. E. Schwab :) "

B. R.,

Have you read Vicious, yet? I was thinking of trying that one.

4.) On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers

3 and a half stars. Lots of fun!

Dagny wrote: "I've started Paper and Fire and so far it is shaping up to be a pretty good read. It's #2 in The Great Library Series and you definitely don't want to read it before reading the fir..."

Dagny,

This series sounds very interesting! I will have to look for the first book, Ink and Bone.

5.) The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (Fantasy)

4 stars. I really liked this book. It's a coming of age story, with part set in England during WWII and part in a Narnia-like fairytale land. Not really for children, as the fairytales are quite dark, bloody and twisted. The boy must learn life lessons there in order to return to his home. Great writing, with alot of adult observations about life.

Dagny wrote: " I wasn't aware of John Connolly until a few months ago when one of his books caught my eye. Can't recall which one, it might have been one in his Charlie Parker series. "

Dagny,

I was curious to read Connolly's mystery series, after finishing his fantasy book. I just got back from my library with Every Dead Thing, the first book in his Charlie Parker series. It will be interesting to compare it with The Book of Lost Things.

Dagny,

Well, I read the first book of John Connolly's Chalie Parker series. My review can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I think I like his fantasy writing better, but that's just a matter of personal taste.

Dagny wrote: "Thanks for the report on the Charlie Parker series, Cheryl. I'm not much of a one for serial killer novels either. Give me a murder for love or money any day, lol."

That's the thing about serial killer novels - motive. There is none, other than the killer is crazy. In other crime novels, finding out the motive is as important as finding out who did it.

I'm done with 2 so far.

#1 On Stranger Tides - Buddy Read - 4/5
#2 Beneath the Skin - 4/5

6.) Fearie Tales: Stories of the Grimm and Gruesome edited by Stepen Jones

4 star short story anthology, with the stories based on the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm. Dark and creepy!

1. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2. 2.5 stars. Fantasy. Some interesting aspects to time travel but the author made all the relationships feel awkward.
2. Origin. 2 stars. Adventure. His novels seem to be written based on a specific formula. On the bright side, I learned a lot about Spain.
3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay. 4 stars. Fantasy. Liked the movie, liked the book.
4. Grief Cottage. 3.75 stars. Fantasy. Sad coming of age story.
5. Gwendy's Button Box. 3.5 stars. Fantasy. A palate cleanser. Entertaining little story.

Dagny, I think I liked Dan Brown's Inferno best. It was a race-against-time biological threat solved (I guess that is not a spoiler since Langdon has survived to become involved with another thriller!) using clues from Dante's works. Brown's Professor Langdon series would be an exciting one to read for the series challenge.

Yep, Inferno was a good read. It was a fast-paced read and quite informative too. Though I liked the Lost-Symbol better. It was quite dramatic and the puzzles were good.
I'm yet to read Origin and Angels and Demons, so even I might add the Langdon series for the series challenge.

7.) Nil by Lynne Matson (Adventure)

I'm listing this one for the challenge, even though it's also YA and maybe even a bit science fiction. I definitely fits the Adventure description: "an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger, forms the main storyline." It involves teens having to get off of a mysterious island in 365 days from the day they arrived (through a mysterious portal), or they will die. Kind of like Maze Runner, but still an interesting read. 3 stars.

Dagny wrote: " But if you decide to go for it, Heena, I will too. "

It's a big commitment, but one I'd be willing to make as I really need to be done with this series. Let's try and do it, Dagny.

Cheryl wrote: "7.) Nil by Lynne Matson (Adventure) I'm listing this one for the challenge, even though it's also YA and maybe even a bit science fiction. I definitely fits the Adventure descripti..."

I love island stories. This one does fit adventure perfectly by the sound of it.

I just finished Labyrinth Lost - I'll posting a review soon, however, a short summary would be an engaging YA fantasy novel centered on Latinx mythology, but it also has a few YA genre cliches

Finished reading my 3rd book - A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - 5/5
This was an illustrated compilation of 3 short stories by GRRM - The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Night - the first 3 parts of an ongoing series, The Tales of Dunk and Egg.
It was a beautiful book and I loved it so much that I feel like reading it again!
A must-read for fantasy and ASOIAF lovers.