And Now For Something Completely Different discussion

Sorry this group has been silent for a while, 2010 has been a bumpy, busy year for me. Hopefully 2011 will go a little smoother. Since the year's almost over, I thought we might talk about the best books we read this year that fit under the category of "Something Different" in SF/F.

Oh, and the books don't have to be published this year, just read this year.

I personally discovered some great new authors.

This year I really loved Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor and The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, for instance. Both were excellent speculative books.

Who Fears Death is set in post-apocalyptic future Africa and follows the journey of an outcast young woman fulfilling her destiny to change the world. This book has generated some controversy for it's depiction of the practice of Female Genital Mutilation and for other things, and it is not an easy or light read. It's definitely something that requires a reader to be ready to engage in some serious and troubling thoughts as well as someone willing to cast aside notions of "should be" and deal with the book on its own terms.

Jemisin's first book The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is wonderful. It's got touches of classic fantasy while escaping the tropes of what's become rather common and boring Eurofantasy that dominates the shelves. It's engaging and thrilling and exciting and I loved the hell out of it.

And I can't say enough about the addictive powers of Michelle Sagara's Chronicles of Elantra series. I gobbled up the latest volumes of it as quickly as I could.

I think a lot of folks would enjoy Cherie Priest's Boneshaker for steampunk goodness. And if you're into historical fantasy, I'd definitely recommend The Patriot Witch. It's a very authentic and well written historical fantasy set during the American Revolution. It got me through a long and epic road trip.

So what else have folks been reading and loving that's completely different?

For me, this year I've been having to really stretch myself to find SF books that I enjoy. I've burned through most of my regular authors (except for Jack McDevitt, thank you for being so prolific). So I've been exploring some sub-genres and classics that I usually avoid.

I'm currently reading At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft. I'd classify it as horror SF, at least for the time it was written in. It makes me think of Who Goes There by John W. Campbell Jr.

I also decided to read The Hunger Games - I know, everyone has read this series, but it's been a long time since I've read any juvenile-category SF. I've read all of the Heinlein juveniles, but otherwise...I was impressed. It's nice that authors can write challenging books for the preteen/teen set that are also fun to read as an adult.

Charles Stross's Laundry books are probably what made me seek out HP Lovecraft. The Laundry series are great spy/SF/horror books. I also revisited Pat Cadigan. I wish she would write more. Synners and Fools are wonderful, pure cyberpunk books.

I hope that you did not mean that these books had to be published in 2010 but just read in 2010. This year was a great year of reading for me so far (just a few days left).

1984 I had been wanting to read this for so long and I finally took the plunge. I love it. The party's slogans still haunt me.

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire I started the series this summer, and I was very impressed with it. I have not read the third one yet, but I'm saving that for an early 2011 read.

I also read some great Jules Verne. He is easily one of my favorite authors. I had the pleasure of reading Journey to the Centre of the Earth,From the Earth to the Moon, and Round the Moon this year.

I also had the pleasure of discovering William Sleator. I especially enjoyed House of Stairs and Interstellar Pig.

A book group that I am in here on GoodReads read The Left Hand of Darkness, which I really enjoyed.

I am a big fan of Jane Eyre, so I read Jenna Starborn, which is a science fiction retelling of the classic story. It was wonderful.

I also read Watchmen for the first time, and I was surprised at how much I loved it since I don't usually read books like that.

So I think that overall this was a wonderful year of reading for me.