Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels discussion

Place your suggestions for Buddy Reads here. Also, discuss timing and so forth of the Buddy Reads.

Great!

People, post your suggestions - both books and dates for BR

Currently there are ongoing Buddy reads:
A Song of Ice and Fire
Flowers for Algernon

Once we have decided in this thread which book and when, we can make a folder for each.

I note that with Buddy Reads, other groups I am in do not make the
"spoiler" and "non-spoiler" threads for each book as we do in the monthly reads. Instead, the individuals participating shield the spoilers individually by using the html tags. Opinions on this please?

Fully agree, one remark: not a folder per book but a thread in this folder

Kateblue wrote: "I note that with Buddy Reads, other groups I am in do not make the
"spoiler" and "non-spoiler" threads for..."
Sorry I just went ahead and made my thread, but that was my expectation yes. More than one thread per book seems overkill when it might only be a couple of people using them.

Kateblue wrote: "Once we have decided in this thread which book and when, we can make a folder for each."
I don't see the necessity of doing it democratically. I think it would work best if people just posted their own threads with their own schedules to see who bites.

I agree that buddy reads can be arranged between the buddies, but I have seen groups that have so many buddy reads that a guy kind of coordinates everything. But buddies, have at it for now. If it gets too confusing, we can do something else later.

I'd go for no separate folder and no more than one thread per book with lots of spoiler tags in it. I tend to only post in the non spoiler thread then forgot/don't have time to post in the spoiler thread since I already moved on to other books.

I think that's the consensus. Thanks Silvana. Do you want to join Flowers for Algernon? Or Sarah is doing all the Game of Thrones.

Kateblue wrote: "I think that's the consensus. Thanks Silvana. Do you want to join Flowers for Algernon? Or Sarah is doing all the Game of Thrones."

Not at the moment, thanks, Kate. I might have some invites later, let me check ;)

I think the best choices for buddy reads here are the ones that can never win because they are the classics that many of us have already read. Flowers for Algernon is one of those. It was up for voting some months ago and didn't do very well. My guess is that we had, most of us, already read it.

But whatever you guys wanna read . . .

Yep, I was going to check whether my owned unread books actually have similarities with the shelved books. I happened to procure some classics last week.

That was exactly my thought as well, Kate, and the same with the GoT series.

I think anything that goes up for a vote and doesn't get close to winning is also a good choice, and in those cases we know exactly how many people voted for it.

I want to propose Dying Inside, as I need a July shortie and want to knock this classic Silverberg off my master list. Probably not till after the July 4 American holiday, because, like Kate, I've got several other halfway-read books to finish. I won't create a folder till I'm ready, but I welcome input.

I'll join Dying Inside, but I will be able to discuss it in the second half of July

Allan wrote: "I want to propose Dying Inside, as I need a July shortie and want to knock this classic Silverberg off my master list."

Happy to join. I'll keep an eye out for the thread and grab it from the library this week :)

I wrote this over in another thread but then I decided that I should copy it here.

+++++++

Let me explain why buddy reads were not instituted in this group before and why I will mostly not be joining them. I am not going to be trying to control what books should or should not be buddy reads, I just want to state the rationale.

NOT IN OTHER POST (This is a rationale that was discussed by us mods earlier this year and is one reason why we have not instituted buddy reads before. We also didn't think we needed them yet, but that's changed, obviously, now. If it's what you members want, of course, then, buddy reads good!)

In this group, unlike others where they have whole fields of fiction to choose from, we are working from a limited number of books, I think 580. I realize I may never get through all 580 during my lifetime, but I don't want to read all the "good" ones too soon. If, after a few years, I am only left with duds like Darwin's Radio, I will have to go find another group.

With Flowers for Algernon and some other books, for example, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and Dune (and others I'm sure I can't think of right now), I think buddy reads are good because most SF readers have read them already. Therefore, these books can't win a monthly vote, and members who can't read them will get frustrated. The only way this group can serve our members these books is via buddy reads.

Another group of books that would be good candidates for buddy reads are books that this group has read in the past but that members missed because they weren't a member yet or they ran out of time.

I can only hope to read most books with the group when the group votes to read them. So for me, at least, I will probably not join buddy reads all the time.

However, if buddy reads start to rule this group, well, then, too bad for that rationale. Plus, if buddy reads rule the group . . . less work for us Mods!

And the important thing is . . . Have fun!

I've been toying with the idea of re-reading the original Foundation trilogy. It's been decades since I read it, and I thought it might be a good precursor to reading the add-on novels. I read Foundation's Edge when it came out, but have never read the others. It was my introduction to SF, so I have a nice hardback commemorative edition, and on top of that, I've been working through the (The Galactic Empire Trilogy: The Stars, Like Dust; The Currents of Space; Pebble in the Sky. Would anyone be interested in a Buddy Read, maybe starting in June?

Actually, Foundation is not one of my favorites. I read all three books as a kid, but I remember I didn't like them nearly as well as other Asimov (I Robot, Caves of Steel, a couple of SF's I can't remember the name of) Looking back, I'm not sure why. Maybe too much politics? I'm never that crazy about books with a lot of politics.

Allan wrote: "I've been toying with the idea of re-reading the original Foundation trilogy."

Allan, I'm interested. It's been on my TBR pile for yonks. Although I'm a much slower reader than you, so you might want to drum up interest from more people to make it a timely buddy read :)

I may join in on Foundation. Re-read the 1st one two years ago, gonna do the remainder

I am writing here because I just wanted to say that I am reading The Sparrow byMary Doria Russell

Allan, you said you were reading it starting the 9th. If you are, let me know and I can make a buddy read thread. If you are done, that's fine, also. This book is taking me FOREVER to get into. Now I am just a little over 20% and things are starting to pick up.

If anybody else is reading it, let me know also, and we can make a buddy read thread.

Anyone interested in a late April buddy ready of Drowned Country? Its the second book in the duology that started with Silver in the Wood.

Yes! As I said, I’ve got the duology, so I’m ready to go anytime!

Rebecca wrote: "Anyone interested in a late April buddy ready of Drowned Country? Its the second book in the duology that started with Silver in the Wood."

I'm in, I plan to get to the 1st book this week and because it is a novella and is present on audio, I'll finish it in a day, so will be ready for mid-April

Awesome! My library says it will be four weeks until I get the book, but they usually over estimate the time. But if I don’t get it in time for a mid April start I’ll just go ahead and buy it. Looking forward to it!

Hi all, I'll start Drowned Country tonight, not really mid-April as I thought, but still in April! Have others started/finished reading?

Rebecca wrote: "Hi all, I'll start Drowned Country tonight, not really mid-April as I thought, but still in April! Have others started/finished reading?"

As you've already seen, I finished it. I'll be glad to discuss the duology with anyone interested.

Locus recommended reading list for 2022 is out. https://locusmag.com/2023/02/2022-rec...

Any interest to read some of the free short stories? Or maybe we could also share like we did a few years back? I have some I might have interest in.

Silvana wrote: "
Any interest to read some of the free short stories? Or maybe we could also share like w..."

I plan to, but not right now - have to finish The Best of World SF: Volume 2 at another group and I guess I'll do it till end-Feb. So, yes, but probably mid-March

Oleksandr wrote: "Silvana wrote: "
Any interest to read some of the free short stories? Or maybe we could also share like w..."

I plan to, but not right now - have to finish [book:The Best of World SF: Volume 2|601..."

The committee said the 2023 Hugo Awards nomination phase is expected to last till the end of April so we still have time. Ok, let's regroup in mid March then.

Silvana wrote: "The committee said the 2023 Hugo Awards nomination phase is expected to last till the end of April so we still have time. Ok, let's regroup in mid March then."

This year's WorldCon still has russian chauvinist Lukyanenko as its guest of honor so I self-abstain from membership this year but I plan to read stories. Soon we'll get Nebula nominees and we already have Locus plus Tangent selections, so quite a long list already

I'd join in on some short stories as I can. With April being catch-up month, it opens some time up.

Some of the voter packet has been uploaded and I am glad most of the Chinese works have been translated into English including the short story ones. Gonna be catching up from now till the next month, I guess.

PS: I am kinda annoyed that many of the nominees in the big four categories + astounding + lodestar are sequels. And some of these don't provide the prequel copies for us late readers.

Yes, regarding Hugos, it seems Lukianenko was finally dropped from guests of honor, at least he isn't listed

That's good news. They will also have Kim Bo-young as guest and do a Three Body IP multimedia showcase, I am so excited! The drama adaptation (tencent, not netflix) was really good.

Ian Watson, who died earlier this week, was a prolific and respected SF author. I don’t know his work at all. I’d like to suggest a buddy read of his first novel, The Embedding, which made a splash when it was published in the 70s and was nominated for a Nebula. It seems to be in print as a British SF Masterworks paperback and in Kindle form so it shouldn’t be hard to find. I would suggest that the buddy read take place some time fairly soon, perhaps the next couple of months.

Stephen wrote: "Ian Watson, who died earlier this week, was a prolific and respected SF author. I don’t know his work at all."

When in the early 2000s I was into story side of Warhammer 40'000 (I bought several miniatures, but never even glued them together), his (then out of print) Space Marine and The Inquisition War were considered 'heretical' in the sense that they were written when the game was very young and its backstory (so called fluff) hasn't been canonized. I've read them back then and if you aren't into Warhammer 40'000 and its history, they aren't good enough. I'll gladly join the buddy read, but maybe in May?

Sure, May would be fine for me.

I’ve ordered a copy.

For Embedding, I can try, though I am not sure it is for me. There are some pretty critical reviews

I don’t know what to expect. Descriptions make it seem pretty wild, but also involving linguistic theory, about which I know little.

I vrabbed the kindle version for $3, if someone will post a reminder when to start this one

Andrew wrote: "I vrabbed the kindle version for $3, if someone will post a reminder when to start this one"

Great! so far we have more or less agreed on May but nothing more specific than that. I think later in the month might be better as we are already halfway through April.

How would people feel about starting The Embedding May 15, i.e. two weeks from today?

I read it in 2022 and I remember it not being at all what I anticipated. I might be able to fit it in after May 15.

I have no strong preference as to the date. How about May 22?

I put it on the calendar, though I do have another book on the 23rd. It is one of those Bordertown books and is novella length, so I may read them at the same time