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2014 RYOC April Update
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justifiedsinner
Posted 2014-05-01 8:55 AM (#7452)
Subject: 2014 RYOC April Update		Quote Reply



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Four months down, 8 to go.

A busy month so not much reading done. Only 4 books read but these counted for 14 in Challenge books. I'm ahead in half the challenges and behind in the other half so hopefully it will balance out. I continue to focus on the 12 Awards and WoGF challenges but I also want to finish all the Nebula winners by the end of the year. Breakdown as follows:


12 Awards: 7/12
Have to Read More: 4/12
Masterworks: 3/12
WoGF: 3/12
Fantasia: 7/12
In Translation: 2/12
Read the Sequel: 6/12
The 35: 15/35
Book of Ones: 2/12
Trilogies: 3/9
2nd Best: 5/12
Short Fiction 1/12
End of the World 5/12
Guardian List 2/7
Mythopoetic 3/12
Killer B's 1/3

Challenges: 16
Challenge Books:71
Actual Books: 20
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DrNefario
Posted 2014-05-01 9:30 AM (#7453 - in reply to #7452)
Subject: Re: 2014 RYOC April Update		Quote Reply



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Location: UK		Five real books for me in April. I'm not sure how many virtual books that works out as, but it included the longest book on my list (Surface Detail by Iain M Banks - 632 pages) and the shortest (The Time Machine by H G Wells - 71 pages). This means I've read a total of 19 books from a provisional list of 50.

Page counts were a bit weird this month. I started with a hugely oversized paperback of Jhereg by Steven Brust, and finished with a well-spaced Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, at 173 and 472 pages, respectively. I suspect they were actually about the same length, if they'd been printed in the same format.

I also bit the bullet and removed Mistborn from the End of the World Challenge. Although it is very definitely post-apocalyptic, it is not set on our world, and I decided that was a key component of the EotW Challenge for me: it has to be our world that is ending or has ended.

In just a few hours - I think - I should also find out which of the award challenges I can count last month's God's War towards. (I'm predicting that it won't win the Clarke, which will still mean I need to decide which award to count it for in the Second Best.)

My standings:

Women of Genre Fiction: 8/12
Book Ones: 9/12 (reviews complete)
Masterworks: 4/12 (3 SF, 1 MW)
12 in 12: 4/12 (Nebula, Shirley Jackson, Campbell, Locus YA)
Second Best: 4/12 (Locus F, Mythopoeic, Locus SF, Locus YA)
Read the Sequel: 4/12
End of the World: 5/12
Read More: 2/12
Guardian: 3/7
Elizabeth Noun: 1/3

So, just the Read More of that Author which is significantly behind schedule - to be expected given that the WoGF is all-new authors.
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justifiedsinner
Posted 2014-05-01 12:38 PM (#7454 - in reply to #7452)
Subject: Re: 2014 RYOC April Update		Quote Reply



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I'm in a similar position with the Hugos and the Locus SF, since I've read all of those I may need the new ones to complete the Challenge. If Ann Leckie wins the Hugo I'm golden.

The Award presentation is starting as I write this.

Edited by justifiedsinner 2014-05-01 12:41 PM
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Rhondak101
Posted 2014-05-01 2:45 PM (#7464 - in reply to #7454)
Subject: Re: 2014 RYOC April Update		Quote Reply



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Location: SC, USA

Two Challenges are completed:

Pick and Mix 12/12

Guardian 8/7

Fourteen are ongoing:

12 Awards 8/12

Short Fiction 8/12

SF Authors of Color 0/12

The End of the World 5/12

Marxists, etc. 8/12

The 35 19/35

The Second Best 3/12

LGBT 5/12

Fantasia 10/12

Bucket List 4/9

One More By 5/12

Translation 5/12

Young Adult 7/12

 

April Books 8

Among Others Jo Walton

Little Brother  Cory Doctorow

Perfume  Patrick Süskind

The Scar China Miéville

Walk to the End of the World Suzy McKee Charnas

Five Children and It E. Nesbit (not in WWE yet)

Howl’s Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones

Abarat Clive Barker

 

29 Total Books filling 105 of 195 slots

 

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HRO
Posted 2014-05-01 5:57 PM (#7471 - in reply to #7452)
Subject: RE: 2014 RYOC April Update		Quote Reply



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Location: Neither here...nor there		HROs Update for April


1. Hand of Prophecy by Severna Park - 3 Stars
LGBT
Masterworks (SF Mistressworks)
WoGF

2. Headlong by Simon Ings - 3 Stars
Bucket List

3. In the Forest of Forgetting by Theodora Goss - 4 Stars
Mythopoeic Award (2008)
Short Fiction

4. The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan - 3 Stars
Book of Ones
Creature Feature
Second Best (SJ Award 2011)

5. The Necessary Beggar by Susan Palwick - 4 Stars
End of the World
Mythopoeic Award (2007)
WoGF

6. Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente - 4 Stars
12 in 12 (Lambda Literary Award for SF/F 2010)
Fantasia
LGBT
Mythopoeic Award (2010)

7. Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford - 3 Stars
Book of Ones
End of the World
Fantasia

8. Shadows and Light by Anne Bishop - 3 Stars
The Number of the Counting Shall Be Three


Challenge completion
12 in 12 = 4 of 12
Book of Ones = 7 of 12
Bucket List = 4 of 9
Creature Feature = 2 of 6
Elizabeth Noun = 1 of 3
End of the World = 6 of 12
Faerie Mythology = 3 of 12
Fantasia = 4 of 12
I Just Have to Read More of That Author = 3 of 12
LGBT = 3 of 12
Masterworks = 6 of 12
Mythopoeic Award = 4 of 12
The Number of the Counting Shall Be Three = 2 of 9
Second Best = 5 of 12
Short Fiction = 4 of 12
WoGF = 5 of 12

Books read for challenges (total to date) 27 of 79

Favorite book in April


In the Forest of Forgetting by Theodora Goss

(I also really enjoyed The Necessary Beggar by Susan Palwick and Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente.)

Im doing very well keeping up with my reading and maintaining balance amongst all the challenges. However, Ive fallen very behind on reviews. (Fortunately I keep some notes and make rough drafts so I hopefully can get caught up.)


Edited by HRO 2014-05-01 6:00 PM
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Engelbrecht
Posted 2014-05-01 11:47 PM (#7476 - in reply to #7452)
Subject: RE: 2014 RYOC April Update		Quote Reply



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Thought I'd get caught up here and join the fun! 

Looks like I've read 33 challenge books YTD (and 36 total), 10 of which aren't in the DB yet.  76 of 222 challenge slots have been filled, representing 4.11 months worth, so, so far, so good.

Challenge Status:

  • 12 Awards 3/12
  • Masterworks 3/12
  • Short Fiction 8/12
  • Authors of Color 1/12
  • Women of Genre 9/12
  • Pick and Mix (lists) 7/12
  • Read the Sequel 5/12
  • Young Adult 0/12
  • Creature Feature 4/6
  • End of the World 4/12
  • Fantasia 6/12
  • In Translation 6/12
  • Mythopoeic 0/12
  • The 35 9/35
  • Guardian 0/7
  • Trilogies 3/9
  • Second Best 4/12
  • Bucket List 4/9

April Challenge books:

  • Fools by Pat Cadigan (1992) (7/10)  Muddled & confusing, but has worth
  • Duplex by Kathryn Davis (2013) (9/10)  Surreal & wonderful!  Has kind of a Ben Marcus thing going on.
  • The Black Spider by Jeremias Gotthelf (Albert Bitzius) (Swiss) (1842) (7/10)  Stiffly written, but interesting for it's time.
  • Datura by Leena Krohn (Finnish) (2013) (7/10) Fell short of expectations.  Philosophical, but only mildly so.
  • The Iron Heel by Jack London (1908) (7/10)  95% didactics, 5% plot & characters.  Amazingly (and depressingly)  prescient.
  • Doomed by Chuck Palahniuk (2013) (6/10)  Typical Palahniuk, but thinner and subpar.
  • The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis (1963)  Beautifully elegiac, but not as good as his Mockingbird.
  • The Bread We Eat in Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente (includes Silently and Very Fast) (2013) (8/10)  Some outstanding pieces mixed with works of lesser quality.

Other April books:

  • Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (2012) (6/10)  Cardboard plot & characters, seemingly written to show off an "inside" view of Google.
  • What Makes This Book So Great  by Jo Walton (2014) (9/10)  A deserved frontrunner for the 2014 Hugo Best Related Work.
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DrNefario
Posted 2014-05-02 5:40 AM (#7480 - in reply to #7452)
Subject: Re: 2014 RYOC April Update		Quote Reply



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Location: UK		I've been dipping in to What Makes this Book So Great myself. I might finish it by the end of the year, but who knows what harm it will have done to my wallet by then?

I guess I get to count God's War as the BSFA runner-up, now the Clarke result is in. I think that means I can do my challenges in 49 books rather than 50.
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spoltz
Posted 2014-05-02 12:48 PM (#7492 - in reply to #7452)
Subject: RE: 2014 RYOC April Update		Quote Reply



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Location: Beaverton, Oregon, USA
Jumping into this thread a little late in the game, so I've listed my reads by month...

I Just Have to Read: 10/12
Grandmaster: 2/12
GLBT: 3/12
Masterworks: 5/12
WoGF:  6/12
2nd Best: 6/12
Elizabeth Noun: 0/3

Read 21 books.  Filled 32 / 75 slots

April reads - 6:  
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle - WoGF
Godbody - Theodore Sturgeon - 2B
Mr. Fox - Helen Oyeyemi - WoGF
The Dog Stars - Peter Heller - 2B
The Female Man - LGBT/MW/WoGF
The Golem and the Jini - WoGF

March reads - 4:
Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie - WoGF
Black Easter (and Day After Judgement) - James Blish - IJHTR/2B
Dhalgren - Samuel R. Delaney - GM/LGBT/MW
Grendel - John Gardner - MW/2B

February reads - 5:
A Deepness in the Sky - Vernor Vinge - IJHTR
Behold The Man - Michael Moorcock - GM/MW
Deep Wizardry - LGBT/WoGF
Passage - Connie Willis - IJHTR
The Mislaid Magician - Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer - IJHTR

January reads - 6:
A Choice of Gods - Clifford D. Simak - IJ/2B
All Clear - Connie Willis - IJHTR
Blackout - Connie Willis - IJHTR
Downbelow Station - CJ Cherryh - IJHTR
Paladin of Souls - Lois McMaster Bujold - IJHTR
The Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut - MW/2B

I still might add the Pick -n-Mix challenge to cover the books I'm reading for book club.
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spoltz
Posted 2014-05-02 12:52 PM (#7493 - in reply to #7452)
Subject: RE: 2014 RYOC April Update		Quote Reply



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Location: Beaverton, Oregon, USA		Oops, left out The Grand Tour by Wrede and Stevermer for IJHTR from January.
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daxxh
Posted 2014-05-02 1:16 PM (#7494 - in reply to #7452)
Subject: Re: 2014 RYOC April Update		Quote Reply



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Location: Great Lakes, USA		Only 4 books for me this month. We've had some dry weather, unusual for here, so that increases my outdoor time and decreases my reading time.

Mendoza in Hollywood - 2.5 stars (Authors, Pick&Mix, Sequel)
Annihilation - 4.5 stars (Authors, Pick&Mix, Ones)
Divergent - 2.0 stars (WoGF, Pick&Mix, Ones)
Servant of the Underworld 4.0 stars (WoGF, Pick&Mix, Ones, 3s)

I am almost done with Hild - very good.

Challenges
Author 7/12
Masterworks 4/12
WoGF 6/12
Pick&Mix 9/12
Sequel 4/12
35 9/35
Ones 6/12
Guardian 0/7
Killer Bs 0/3
2nd 5/12
Bucket 2/9

18/47 total books (although that total may change as I keep reading books that aren't on my challenges list).

Favorite book of April and for the year so far - Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. The sequel comes out in a few days.

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FeminineFantastique
Posted 2014-05-06 4:49 PM (#7532 - in reply to #7452)
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Servant of the Underworld, Aliette de Bodard -- AoC, Creature Feature
Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler -- 12 Awards, AoC, EoTW, Read the Sequel
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Catherynne M. Valente -- 12 Awards, Faerie Mythology
The Drowning Girl, Caitlin Kiernan -- 12 Awards, LGBT, Creature Feature, Mythopoeic
Sleep Donation, Karen Russell -- EoTW

12 Awards 4/12
LGBT 3/12
AoC 3/12
Read the Sequel 2/12
EoTW 2/12
Creature Feature 3/6
Faerie Mythology 3/12
Mythopoeic 1/12
2nd best 3/12

Favorite book of April is a tie between The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland and Sleep Donation.

Edited by FeminineFantastique 2014-05-06 5:04 PM
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dustydigger
Posted 2014-05-11 12:23 PM (#7592 - in reply to #7452)
Subject: Re: 2014 RYOC April Update		Quote Reply



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Location: UK		Never had time to join in this thread with all the mayhem in my life,and reading has taken a bit of a backseat lately,so some of these challenges have been a bit neglected!

12 Awards 5/12
Have to Read More 5/12
Masterworks 4/12
YA Challenge 8/12
Creature Feature 4/6
Faerie Mythology 6/12
Fantasia 3/12
Book of Ones 6/12
Guardian List2/7
Killer Bs 1/3
Second Best 2/12

Total books involved - 60
Read till end of April - 23.

Books read in Aprilthose from challenges are starred
L Sprague de Camp - Lest Darkness Fall *
C J Cherryh - Protector
H P Lovecraft - The Lurking Fear anthology
Neil Gaiman - Fables and Reflections(Sandman)
Kim Harrison - Ever After
David Eddings - Pawn of Prophecy *
J G Ballard - The Crystal World *
Terry Pratchett - Small Gods
John +Carole Barrowman - Bone Quill

Oh dear,only 3 from challenges,better get stuck in I'm falling behind rapidly! lol.




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