Flights of Fantasy discussion

I'm all over the place in reading this season! I just finished up (yet another) Murderbot re-read... (I could be enticed to read it again. Just sayin')

In the meantime, I'm reading the audio edition of Binti right now.

Please feel free to join me! Or just comment as you see fit. ;-)

5-Nov-2018: Currently reading Binti

So, I'm almost 75% done with this little short.

I didn't really know anything about it going in - taking a page from Becky's book - so I was quite surprised about where I've ended up so far.

The other...difficult thing for me is that I decided to read an audio. The narrator is African and has a beautiful speaking voice - but I am not super accustomed to accents.

The accent was a bit confusing for me (and still is on occasion) but the narrator fits the story very much. I ended up reading along while listening - I love the musical quality to her speaking voice which has added a great deal to my read. And yes, I did buy both the audio and the ebook...


don't judge me

No judgement on the dual format experience. Sometimes that's so nice to just immerse yourself in the story. Especially if there are accents or something that make the story a little hard to follow just orally. (No shame in that at all. We have to train our ears to hear accents/unfamiliar terms/languages, etc, and unless trained, there's no shame in needing a little assist. I'm learning Spanish on Duolingo and I'm working really hard to do just that!)

Anyway, kudos on the Me-style sight-unseen read. :D Isn't it nice to just let the story take you where it goes without any preconceived notions? :D

Becky wrote: "No judgement on the dual format experience. Sometimes that's so nice to just immerse yourself in the story. Especially if there are accents or something that make the story a little hard to follow ..."

:-D

The immersive experience is wonderful. I put in my headbuds and start reading and everything else disappears. Hubby was watching a crapton of politics and I caught not a whiff of it.

And the "not knowing anything going in" thing has been pretty cool, too. I was quite surprised by the plot shift but I had no clue where I was going to end up regardless. I wonder how I'll feel by the end.

7-Nov-18: Finished Binti!

It was ok. I liked it but I wasn't agog over it. The story didn't quite go where I was expecting but - as I mentioned before - I had no real clue what was going to happen, regardless.

I found the plotlines about Binti's intelligence and her people's difference to be a little more compelling than other parts of it.

I did love the fact that she is Tribal and stuck to her people's cultural ways (in some aspects). She didn't try to get rid of her otjize.

07-Nov-2018: Starting Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews.

It's book #3.5 of the Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews. I have read the other three books.

This is [currently] as online serial that will [eventually] be pulled, edited and published as a single novella.

If you're interested in joining in, the read is here: http://innkeeper.ilona-andrews.com/ca...

Ok. So, tbh... I'm enjoying this alot!

Wow, MrsJ! I've been MIA on GR these many weeks so had no idea about this thread and yet, kid you not, I just finished this yesterday. Well, to latest posting on Nov 5th = Chapter 17, Part 1. Freaky timing or great minds? ;-)

I, too, am enjoying latest Innkeeper installment, even if it breaks from previous books (different POV & locale, as well as plot thread). I'm not completely sold on Maud's fighting prowess & some pieces are too convenient, so curious how/whether certain things will get ironed out for publication. But loving the bloodthirsty bits & intrigue. Can't wait to read the rest, as well as find out if ending will tie back to end of #3.

FWIW, the audio is pretty good--LOL, once you get past vocal similarities to Kate Daniels series (same narrator). Nerve issues flared up so I re-read #1-3 via audio prior to reading SotB. :-)

Karma♥Bites ^.~ wrote: "Wow, MrsJ! I've been MIA on GR these many weeks so had no idea about this thread and yet, kid you not, I just finished this yesterday. Well, to latest posting on Nov 5th = Chapter 17, Part 1. Freak..."

Me, too!! It's...fun. I miss Dina but I'd always liked Arland. I'm kinda mad it's not done yet - but I'm glad more is to come.

I haven't tried the audio. The last time I tried and Ilona Andrews audio it put me to sleep.

But, since I'm "done" for now, I'm moving on to Beyond the Empire

08-Nov-2018:
Beyond the Empire

Beyond the Empire is a space opera with a gunrunning empress heroine. The MC has been compared to both Hans Solo and Princess Leia.

This is book 3 in the series. I've enjoyed EACH one of these books. Outstanding.

I started reading last night and I'm already close to finished. SO excited.

MrsJoseph wrote: "The other...difficult thing for me is that I decided to read an audio. The narrator is African and has a beautiful speaking voice - but I am not super accustomed to accents. "

When I read this I wondered if it had the same narrator as Midnight Robber and yes, it does! Ms. Miles has such a beautiful voice. Kind of lost the flow on that one--I found the patois very difficult to follow--but I do want to get back to it.

Beth wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "The other...difficult thing for me is that I decided to read an audio. The narrator is African and has a beautiful speaking voice - but I am not super accustomed to accents. "

Wh..."


Midnight Robber looked super interesting...til I read the trigger warning. O_o

But yeah, her voice is amazing. I think I'm getting better at it, so I'm trying to decide to read book 2 of Binti or not. The biggest hurdle was...Binti isn't really catching my attention.

And I finished up Beyond the Empire!

More like 3.5 stars.

The story wraps up rather tidily - but I started skimming a little by the end. I figured out who the bad guy was maybe 1/3 of the book before the cast - cause it was being kinda tossed in your face.

This one IS good - but its not as good as the previous two. The beginning, middle and most of the ending were A BLAST... The end was a good end to the plot arc...

...but I think this book suffers from "not really being the end of the series." There's another series directly after this one with the same characters but doing something different. There's a whole set up plotline in this book to make way for the new series...

...and that just doesn't quite work well with books that are supposed to be "The End." It wasn't the end, it was book 3 in a 6 books series.

08-Nov-2018: Currently reading: First Test

Also re-reading: Artificial Condition on Audio

This one is a YA/MG I've been planning to read for a while. I'm starting this now because I'm still waiting for a book to be delivered.

I finished up First Test last night. It was cute. I really liked the MC and the way she looked at treating others. Even though I enjoyed it...I wasn't caught by it. She's no Daine. I'm in no hurry to go to book 2.

9-Nov-18

I started The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries last night - it's a cozy Victorian murder mystery.

I'm almost done but I'm not really a fan. The Inspector is a bumbling idiot. :-(

Finished The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries

More like 2.5 stars

It's both cute and irritating at the same time. Mrs. Jeffries and crew are adorable.

The Inspector appears to be a very kind man but a greater dunce in law enforcement has not been located. He simply does not feel comfortable and is not knowledgeable about his job. This is beyond not being swift on the uptake - he is incompetent and ignorant. Just not willfully so, it's more...Stupidly so.

The fact that Mrs. Jeffries seriously has to lead him around for him to notice anything was frustrating. I was expecting the Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries to be a team...not that he would be a complete idiot who was being gently (and unknowingly) lead around and clues placed into his stupid little hands.

The writing is fine. The plotline was very Holmes-esque...which makes me interested in book 2. IDK. If the Inspector can even figure out he's an idiot...that would make it better.

IDK what to read neexxxxt *whines*

Im cursed

09-Nov-2018: Rise of the Seer

Ok. Just ran into this one but I'm gonna read it. The author just broke my heart.

Update: Rise of the Seer started off...rather grimly.

The prologue showed a serf-like farmer family being killed for trying to leave their...area? in front of the remaining serfs to make a point. Parents and oldest daughter beheaded, 12 y/o remaining daughter has her neck broken.

I was looking for something a little...lighter so I stopped.

OK. Just can't do "Seer" right now.

Instead, I've started an audio of Homeland.

I'm also re-re-re-re-reading Murderbot 4.

Also still reading How Not to Get Shot: And Other Advice From White People

I also started the Xyua Universe series. Which did NOT start anywhere near what I was expecting. At all. Nowhere near. O_O Buddy read thread here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I'm interested in knowing how Homeland works for you in audio. It was too young-feeling/naive for me in book form, but my audio brain seems to be more forgiving about some things.

Beth wrote: "I'm interested in knowing how Homeland works for you in audio. It was too young-feeling/naive for me in book form, but my audio brain seems to be more forgiving about some things."

So far, not bad! IDK how I'd like it if I was reading my print copy (yes. I own the omnibus in HB. *headdesk*)

I'm hoping to get a little farther - I quit last time.

Ok.

I started reading Three Mages and a Margarita

MY GOD! The cover is pretty terrible but it is SO MUCH FUN.

Note to dudes: there is maybe 2-3 kisses in book. No dating but some staring. Could possibly have a romance in book 2 but it feels more Kate Daniels romance vs Romance. Meaning it is not the point of the story.

Pretty solid fluffy UF with lots of fun and snark.

Moving on to book 2! It dropped today.

Finished up Murderbot 4. I'll take a break from re-reading it again to finish up (hopefully) Homeland and Drizzt.

Yeah. Homeland. Fuck Homeland:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Time on MT. TBR: 5 years, 7 months

Well.

That was unexpected.

I have been trying to read this book (well, trilogy) since 2016 at least. And no matter what, I keep failing.

I wanted to win. I wanted to beat this book but I can’t. I can’t force myself forward anymore. Maybe I need to skip the rest of this and go on to book 2? But book 2 – according to the blurb – has him being hunted by the only person he ever loved. *sniff*

I wanted to get into reading D&D books to see what the hype was. I know a lot of people play and read the D&D books…and I wanted to possibly join in the conversation.

The D&D world is ginormous… so I had to pick a place to start. I started with the first novelization of the D&D world: Quag Keep by Andre Norton (review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). While I kinda liked Quag Keep (more for its historical value), I wasn’t in love with it. But it was very readable to me! Everyone else (in my group) bitched about how it didn’t stand the test of time…but the fucking characters had more depth than this shitshow.

Homeland is Drizzt’s origin story. What have I learned so far? So far I have Black elves that hate for no reason other than they are evil. Black elves who’s men are ruled and abused by the black female elves for no reason other than they're evil. All in the name of the Evil Spider Goddess. Who is evil for no reason than she's evil. Ok. Let’s rewind that a bit: black people who live underground and are evil – must kill on sight or be killed. Check. Women who are feminist, domineering, evil men abusers. Check. Spider Queen = evil female leader of evil women. Check!

And into all of this walks Drizzt Do'Urden. Naïve Prince of the Gary Stus. Drizzt is different. HE has honor. HE is not evil and will stand for no shade of grey. Drizzt is so honorable that living in dark, evil Menzoberranzan makes not a dent in his naivety. Drizzt is abused for 16 years…and yet never once lost that “happy innocence” he was born with. Cause Drizzt is different.

I sooooo wish I had run into this at age 10. I would have eaten this up with a spoon while begging for more. Now? It’s hard to stomach the lack of nuance and the hideously obvious “good vs bad” shit here. Drizzt does not grow as a person because his ass is perfect already.

MrsJoseph wrote: "09-Nov-2018: Rise of the Seer

Ok. Just ran into this one but I'm gonna read it. The author just broke my heart."

Brandon Barr passed away Wednesday...

Chris wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "09-Nov-2018: Rise of the Seer

Ok. Just ran into this one but I'm gonna read it. The author just broke my heart."

Brandon Ba..."

Yeah. I saw that. I was very shocked and saddened. :-(

27-Nov-2018 - Update

I'm still only about 30% in to Dark Arts. Cooking for Thanksgiving and other life issues has made me a bit of a slow reader lately.

Also, am still re-re-re-re-rereading Murderbot. Again.

12-Dec-2018 Update: I finished up Dark Arts and a Daiquiri on 6-Dec-18 but I've been a bit bogged down in life and reading slumps.

On the bright side! I was able to fit in 3 more Murderbot Re-reads!! ;-)

Review for Dark Arts and a Daiquiri: 3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars!

(view spoiler)[This one...wasn't as much fun as the first book. The pace was a little choppy, some things didn't make sense (plot wise), etc.

Once I was able to work my way past the almost middle section (chunky and slow), it picked up again and became more fun.

I'm...a little perturbed that Tori's head is turned so easily by a pretty face. And I really want something to (honestly, NOT) happen with her and a boy. So she can stop mooning over hot guys. I also want her to have a power or learn some additional martial arts or something. Or stop being stupid.

All things being said, I'll certainly read book 3. This was still fun - just not as much of a romp as book one. (hide spoiler)]

I ran a poll to determine my next read...

...and decided I totally didn't want to read that book at all! I ended up starting The Black Parade. I have high hopes as it's an Ilona Andrews rec!