UK Book Club discussion

I just spun the virtual wheel for October and came up with Fantasy &/or Folklore. This works well for me as I have Dune waiting on my Dusty Bookshelf Challenge (plus the film's finally being released this month) - talk about good timing!

The other plus is: with Halloween just around the corner, the darker side of fantasy and folklore will fit the bill perfectly (especially since we've already done Horror/gothic/ghost-story - last October).

Fantasy/myth/folklore books I've enjoyed in the past include: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, American Gods, The Gormenghast Trilogy, The Song of Achilles, A Song of Ice and Fire series: 5-Book Boxed Set, The Night Circus, The Penelopiad, The Buried Giant, The Bone Clocks and of course The Lord of the Rings.

What recommendations do you have and what will you be reading?

Impeccable timing, Liz! I have already embarked on my annual witchfest reading jag. This year I have a perfect book for this theme: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow.

The stars were obviously aligned ;)

I may see if I can finish the Lord of the rings trilogy as I started them in the Adventure category then didn’t finish them

Great idea, Laura. I still have the last Harry Potter to read, although 'Dune' is so long, I'm not sure I'll fit it in...

Liz wrote: "Great idea, Laura. I still have the last Harry Potter to read, although 'Dune' is so long, I'm not sure I'll fit it in..."

Dune is quite long but apparently very good!

Yes, 688 pages. That's the reason it's been stuck on my to read list for so long! Thank goodness for my Kindle!

Liz wrote: "Yes, 688 pages. That's the reason it's been stuck on my to read list for so long! Thank goodness for my Kindle!"

688?! oh wow that is quite a chunky one. Good luck!!

I have just started (well 29% through) Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology - it’s a fun/lightweight read. I probably envisage Tom Hiddleston a little too much - but am coping with that admirably ;)

lol Sharron.
I have the same problem: I should be reading The Testament of Loki this month. Its the follow up to The Gospel of Loki which I gave 4 stars to.

Ah, I will look out your review Kat, we have those books as my daughter has read them - will add them to my list :)

*Kate - GR chopped off the ‘e’ in your name - sorry about that :)

Well, I jumped the gun on October—what can I say, I was in the mood for witches! I devoured The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, a fantasy novel set in not-quite-Massachusetts in 1893). Loved all 500+ pages of it! Here’s my review if you’re curious: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

I am just starting 'Dune'....

Think I may go for Neil Gaiman’s Norse Myths as I preordered it and still haven’t got around to reading it - story of my life!!!

Just starting The Two Towers, it took me ages to start this as i have been completing another challenge alongside this. Excited to start this, then i think The Return of the King may be the last physical book of October for me but we will see.

Good luck, Laura!

I'm about halfway through 'Dune' and enjoying it. I had wanted to finish reading it before seeing the film (which came out in Singapore last week).

I took my son at the weekend (first time in a cinema since covid reared its ugly head). I was delighted to discover that it was 'Dune:part 1' and covered exactly as far as I had read!

We came out of the cinema and my son said to me 'can I borrow the book?' He has now finished it before me and is teasing me with fake spoilers!

I've just finished a re-read of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which fits fantasy well enough!
I've moved on to Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West which I'm 50 pages into. Anyone else read it? I've heard some mixed reviews and a few DNFs so not sure if its going to be worth my while.

I tried to read Wicked when it first came out (I’m a sucker for anything with “witch” in the title) but could not get far. The writing style seemed awfully flat.

Thanks Abigail. I am finding that myself. I'll give it a bit longer and see if I can get into it. I don't like to give up!

I do recommend the book I read for this challenge, The Once and Future Witches. Lovely writing and good characters. It’s set in an alternate 1890s Massachusetts and involves the suffrage movement.

Finally finished Dune. I found it atmospheric and entertaining. I saw the film last week too. Really good, it successfully capturied the world and its characters. Not an easy job, as David Lynch would agree.... ;)

I really needed something atmospheric for Halloween, so I made a start on Russian vampire novel 'Night Watch' a couple of days ago. It is spilling into November, but the pages turn very easily...

The closest that I came to satisfying this challenge was The Panic Hand by Jonathan Carroll. Some of the short stories had elements of fantasy in them.

This month was an absolute fail; I gave up on the Lord of the rings a third of the way through the second book. I’m planning to go back to it in the new year but I just wasn’t getting very far this time round.

Hopefully November will be more successful

Never mind Laura. A new month, a new genre.

Laura, it sounds as if you completed one book in the series at least—surely that counts!

Liz wrote: "Never mind Laura. A new month, a new genre."

Very true!! i am determined to at least have one book read for this months genre!

Abigail wrote: "Laura, it sounds as if you completed one book in the series at least—surely that counts!"

You are so right Abigail!! One book out of three is better than none at all