Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

I got so many that on the tag my husband wrote "Merry Bookmas!" Instead of Merry Christmas haha! I got Assasin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, Arcanum Unbound by Brandon Sanderson, The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, and Waylander by David Gemmell to name a few. So excited for them I can't decide which to start with! Probably Assasin's Apprentice, I have heard good things about that series. I also have a gift card for Waterstones to spend. So what did everyone get?

A contract on my newest fantasy novel. (Happy dancing!)

I didn't ask for books this year. Am moving soon and figured I didn't need more weight. LOL

I was given some great books for Xmas this year, and now I need to decide which one to read first, lol.

Infomocracy
Fools and Mortals
Kings of the Wyld
Fool's Assassin

Plus an Indigo gift certificate.

Cibola Burn
Nemesis Games
Navigators of Dune
Ready Player One
Red Rising
Golden Son

I got : Saga vol 5,6,7
Sea of Rust
Amatka
Children of Time
Golden age & other stories

Ready Player One
American Gods
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (illustrated)
The Bounty Hunter Code
The Imperial Handbook
Star Wars: Complete Vehicles
Hidden Universe Travel Guides: The Klingon Empire

@Rachel: Is Golden Age the Temeraire anthology?

I did not get anything for Christmas except lots of cakes so I entertain myself by buying the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and since there are 80% discounts in my local bookstore, the Visual Dictionary of The Force Awakens and Before the Awakening novel.

Silviana - yes it is! Looks like a nice visit with old friends.

Princess Holy Aura

I got Words of Radiance ( I now own this in all three formats!! So good!) and The Hate U Give.

I got no books, because my family knows I just impulse-buy them as soon as I see one I want. (I get a lot of Amazon and B&N gift cards). Persepolis rising is next in my to-read queue, then a few independent books that caught my eye.

On the other hand, my kids got probably 25 books between them!

Mythos: A Retelling of the Myths of Ancient Greece
Acceptance

and a waterstones gift card.

I got American Gods :)

Treated myself to Kindle Fire 7 so I'm still browsing mostly but have purchased Gormenghast Trilogy, some Moorcock and Robert E Howard for starters. As everyone and his dog mentions Brandon Sanderson at the drop of a hat that seems like a good place to begin with as I'm way behind on current trends.

I got:
Stardust which I've already finished and loved
Occupy Me
Akarnae
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook Presents: 10 Summertime Treats (which looks super tasty)

Plus three non-sci-fi/fantasy books

I WISH I still got books for Christmas. Instead, I normally end up with gift cards so I can go out and get whatever I want, mainly because no one in my family has any idea what types/ genres of books I'm interested in. Which is nice, but it would be fun to open some much desired new books.

I got the first 4 books in the Riftwar series. Now that Feist has ended the series, I want to re-read the whole thing. My first 4 books have disappeared, so I put them on my Xmas list.

infael wrote: "I got the first 4 books in the Riftwar series. ..."

I'd highly recommend reading the Empire trilogy that he wrote with Janny Wurts after reading the first 2 of the Riftwar books. It's not strictly necessary, but fills in a lot & is even better.

Thanks to some of you, I bought myself Kindle versions of Elantris and Warbreaker.

Eric wrote: "Thanks to some of you, I bought myself Kindle versions of..."

I hope you enjoy them, Eric! After I finish The Way of Kings I'll be giving both of those a read myself.

Casey wrote: "I hope you enjoy them, Eric! After I finish The Way of Kings I'll be giving both of those a read myself."

I'm surprised you wouldn't continue the Stormlight Archives with and ? Then again, you may already have "Warbreaker" and "Elantris." Either way, Brandon Sanderson rocks! :)

When I opened Words of Radiance, (which I think I got as a for-me-for-you because my dad has WoK already haha!) my parents asked when I'd be able to read it.

"Oh! Already have! Twice!"
"So why would you ask for it?"
"Because I don't have it in a version I can share or show off!" I explained proudly, elbowing some more room on my poor, abused bookshelves for this book that is so thick that it rests just as easily on its spine as its side.

Which is a too long way of saying Sanderson is indeed great.

Eric wrote:
I'm surprised you wouldn't continue the Stormlight Archives with [bookcover:..."

I will definitely be continuing, as soon as I read Warbreaker, since I've heard there's a bit of a connection between that one specifically that I don't want to miss when reading Stormlight. It's going to be difficult putting Stormlight on hold for a week or two that's for sure!

Casey wrote: "I will definitely be continuing, as soon as I read Warbreaker, since I've heard there's a bit of a connection between that one specifically ..."

Good to know. I'll be looking for the link with Stormlight.

Allison wrote: "I explained proudly, elbowing some more room on my poor, abused bookshelves for this book that is so thick that it rests just as easily on its spine as its side."

True, some books are meant to be hardcover and saved. I migrated to a Kindle, because I traveled so much for work the device simply made sense.

Casey wrote: "I normally end up with gift cards so I can go out and get whatever I want, mainly because no one in my family has any idea what types/ genres of boo..."

I can relate! For as long as I could remember, it was impossible for me to walk out of a bookstore empty-handed. Then I got a Kindle, which took my impulse buying to a whole new level, and my family are willing enablers of that habit.

The family that live in the house with me know I have way too many books already (hmm...is it possible to have too many?) so they never give me books anymore. Plus it's hard to guess what I do/don't have. But my brother, who doesn't live here, always gives me a gift card for Indigo :)

I'm already trying to decide what to get with it, checking out the boxing week sales at the same time to see if I can get even more of a deal out of it. So far I'm pretty sure I'm getting Sins of Empire and The Wall of Storms and maybe Night Shift. If it's true that in-store there is a 30% off sale on all fantasy books (the ad wasn't clear, maybe it's only new hardcovers?) then I might be able to squeeze in a fourth book!

Eric wrote: "Casey wrote: "I will definitely be continuing, as soon as I read Warbreaker, since I've heard there's a bit of a connection between that one specifically ..."

Good to know. I'll be looking for the..."

It is not a subtle connection or object :) the connection shows up at the very end of Words or Radiance and sparingly throughout Oathbringer.

Ack!Careful! Spoilers! (Only through WoK- read Warbreaker ages ago)

Rachel wrote: "Ack!Careful! Spoilers! (Only through WoK- read Warbreaker ages ago)"

And the mystery builds.... lol!

While I hadn't intended to go today, the guests wanted to check out the stores so I went with them and indeed picked up the three books I listed at 30% off so that left me with about $7 on the gift card, saving that for later since there wasn't anything else I really wanted at the moment.

Good thing I wasn't going for certain authors though! There was an entire Sanderson shelf that was nearly empty except a handful of books. Gaiman was popular too. Steven Erikson and Ian Esselmont was nearly wiped out too. I got the last Ken Liu book so was lucky there!

I got Exile by James Derry. It's the third book of his Sci-fi series and I've enjoyed is so far.

This Christmas was about sportsbooks. I got The Franchise: Lebron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers by Terry Pluto and Brian Windhorst, Return of the King: LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Greatest Comeback in NBA History by Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin, Cleveland Is King: The Cleveland Cavaliers' Historic 2016 Championship Season by Brendan Bowers, The Chase: How Ohio State Captured the First College Football Playoff by Bill Rabinowitz, and Next Man Up!: Ohio State's Unbelievable 2014 Championship Season from the Columbus Dispatch.

My family knows better than to buy me books for X-Mas. They have no idea what i already have...so, i buy my own. I went to my brother's for X-Mas this year and hit the bookstores...among the highlights: A Lit Fuse (that's the new Harlan Ellison bio), 20 titles in the SF Masterworks series, and 10 titles from The Best of Trek series...

I haven't received a book as a gift since I was fifteen, when I asked for Dune and I received a book by Brian Herbert. I get gift certificates now.

Casey wrote: "I WISH I still got books for Christmas. Instead, I normally end up with gift cards so I can go out and get whatever I want, mainly because no one in my family has any idea what types/ genres of boo..."
Amazon wish lists ;)

For Christmas, I got the paperback collection of KJ Parker's Two of Swords series & Rachel Caine's The Great Library trilogy.

Non-sff, I got a cookbook My Two Souths: Blending the Flavors of India into a Southern Kitchen (from which I fixed a spicy hoppin' john for New Year's) & Mountain Goats: Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation of an Alpine Ungulate

Book Nerd wrote: "Casey wrote: "I WISH I still got books for Christmas. Instead, I normally end up with gift cards so I can go out and get whatever I want, mainly because no one in my family has any idea what types/..."

I can also recommend Amazon wish lists or even the regular wish list on paper or via email, if you want to support your local book stores.

I'm very happy I got the hardcover editions of Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind and Blood Song by Anthony Ryan :)

Marie wrote: "Book Nerd wrote: "Casey wrote: "I WISH I still got books for Christmas. Instead, I normally end up with gift cards so I can go out and get whatever I want, mainly because no one in my family has an..."


Wish lists are great so long as the family also knows how to use them ;) unfortunately for myself, I'm the only technologically literate member of my close family. Even briefly considered charging some of them for my IT work a few times ;P

Eric wrote: "Casey wrote: "I hope you enjoy them, Eric! After I finish The Way of Kings I'll be giving both of those a read myself."

I'm surprised you wouldn't continue the Stormlight Archives with [bookcover:..."

I agree, Brandon Sanderson does rock! I love his Cosmere universe and his magic system is pretty original too. 'Elantris' is a good read also. I have yet to read 'Warbreaker' or 'Oathbringer'. It's on my to-read list.

J.J. wrote: "I agree, Brandon Sanderson does rock! I love his Cosmere universe and his magic system is pretty original too. 'Elantris' is a good read also. I have yet to read 'Warbreaker' or 'Oathbringer'. It's on my to-read list."

I'm into Part 3 of and things are really heating up. I will myself to get my "chores" done early, because come late afternoon and evening, I become totally immersed in Elantris. I'm sure will be the same. Then withdrawals will set in.

Are Sanderson's a series of short stories?

Casey wrote: "Wish lists are great so long as the family also knows how to use them ;) unfortunately for myself, I'm the only technologically literate member of my close family. Even briefly considered charging some of them for my IT work a few times ;P "

Gift cards are great. I know some people feel it is impersonal but when it comes to bookstores I feel part of the gift is giving the booklover an excuse to go hang out in a bookstore (or less fun, on the website) and just browse.

Eric wrote: "J.J. wrote: "I agree, Brandon Sanderson does rock! I love his Cosmere universe and his magic system is pretty original too. 'Elantris' is a good read also. I have yet to read 'Warbreaker' or 'Oathb..."

Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection is indeed a collection of short stores and novellas sent in the Cosmere universe. I suggest reading at least the first mistborn trilogy beforehand and read the first two Stormlight Archive books before reading the included novella, Edgedancer.

The only book I got and the only book I asked for was a copy of . And I finished it before the year. But I got $100 worth of gift cards to B&N, so I'm really happy.

Casey wrote: "Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection is indeed a collection of short stores and novellas sent in the Cosmere universe. I suggest reading at least the first mistborn trilogy beforehand and read the first two Stormlight Archive books before reading the included novella, Edgedancer."

Thanks Casey! I have read all the Mistborn and all three of the Stormlight Archives. I'll do after , though I'm not really big on short stories. But they are Sanderson.