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Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017
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Arifel
Posted 2017-01-04 5:34 AM (#14939)
Subject: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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Hi! I'm new here but looking forward to using WWE and especially joining in with the reading challenges this year

So I've always found myself instinctively moving away from certain titles on my TBR pile - I'm sure you know the ones. I have a couple of hardbacks that I pick up occasionally only to put back down, afraid I might need more weightlifting training before holding them for prolonged periods; some Kindle reads that I'll start before checking the page count, inhaling sharply and flipping to something new in a novella anthology instead. Since tracking my reading numbers more consistently this problem has got even worse, as it's far too easy to start thinking in terms of "but how will I read as many books if I have to read these long ones?"

To stop these perverse incentives in their tracks and give these big beautiful books their deserved time in the sun, I created the Giants of Genre Challenge - to read 5, or 10, long-to-you books that you've been intimidated or put off by, in 2017.

I hope the levels come across as fairly modest, though I've gone for some mandatory reviews in both - I figure that if one is spending so long with a book, there will be lots to write about at the end in a review component. I've also discovered that length can be a surprisingly tricky criteria to seek books against, especially if you get most of your recommendations and suggestions online (rather than browsing shelves, where the doorstops are a bit more obvious), and I know that what counts as "long and intimidating" varies from person to person, so I hope people can interpret in a way that feels challenging in a good way rather than just frustrating.

Hope everyone has fun with this, please let me know if you have any suggestions. Would also love to hear what people are intending to read - and doubly so for any unusual and/or diverse books that fall in this category that you think more people should know about.

https://www.worldswithoutend.com/rollyourown.asp?ryo_id=184

(Yes it took me several days between writing the challenge and getting to the forums, sorry about that)
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Arifel
Posted 2017-01-04 5:39 AM (#14940 - in reply to #14939)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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Also, I'm chuffed to see how many people have already signed up, and also VERY grateful to the nameless benefactor who seems to have resized my humble banner attempt to fit with everyone else's - thank you!
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daxxh
Posted 2017-01-04 10:56 AM (#14943 - in reply to #14939)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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Location: Great Lakes, USA		I thought about making a challenge like this since I have tried to read Under the Dome three times. Twice, I had to fly somewhere and didn't want to take such a heavy book on the plane. The last time, I opted for a shorter book to finish a challenge. I have Under the Dome, Duma Key and The Mabinogion on my list to read this year. I may actually read them if I put them on this challenge. Thanks for creating it!
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DrNefario
Posted 2017-01-05 6:27 AM (#14951 - in reply to #14939)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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Location: UK		I had already set myself a challenge some specific very long books this year, although not all of them are genre (Shogun and Lonesome Dove). I sort of want to set myself a stupidly high bar for this challenge - 1000 pages, or something - but then I think I might struggle to read 5. I am currently thinking maybe 650 pages as a workable minimum, but I'm not sure I'll stick to that.
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Sable Aradia
Posted 2017-01-08 3:32 PM (#15010 - in reply to #14939)
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I think this is a great idea for a challenge! I read a lot of fat paperbacks and this is perfect for me! Thanks!
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dalex
Posted 2017-01-10 1:02 PM (#15037 - in reply to #14939)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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I definitely have some books that have been on the TBR List for quite awhile but they always get neglected in favor of shorter books. I've selected five of those "please read me" titles for this challenge. I set my page count at a minimum of 550 pages, using isfdb for the first edition page count. 

Tigana 688

Arcadia 594

Owl Killers 576

Book of Strange New Things 585

Hild 546



Edited by dalex 2017-01-10 1:06 PM
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Sable Aradia
Posted 2017-01-10 8:58 PM (#15042 - in reply to #14939)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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My first of the year will be a David Weber infodum- er, I mean, novel. Shadow of Saganami.
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DrNefario
Posted 2017-01-12 6:32 AM (#15049 - in reply to #14939)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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Location: UK		I think that's the next Weber on my list, if I ever get back to that series. That might be a good choice, given that it will double up for the military challenge. I was considering reading the Call to Duty spin-off instead, but that's pretty short in comparison.

I've provisionally decided to make my threshold 600 pages. That's the top band of colour-coding on my spreadsheet. I guess if I make good progress I can keep replacing the shortest book and see what I end up with at the end of the challenge. Of course, there's immediate controversy as I add River of Gods, which my kindle claims is 616 pages, but isfdb seems to suggest all the paper versions are under 600. I'll allow myself a bit of margin.
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Sable Aradia
Posted 2017-01-12 9:55 AM (#15057 - in reply to #15049)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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DrNefario - 2017-01-12 4:32 AM

I think that's the next Weber on my list, if I ever get back to that series. That might be a good choice, given that it will double up for the military challenge. I was considering reading the Call to Duty spin-off instead, but that's pretty short in comparison..


Yes, that's part of what informed my choice. Also reading At All Costs this year (I'm trying to do the Honorverse in rough chronological order). So far so good! I have read short stories and a novel that have introduced me to most of the major characters doing it this way, so I'm already invested in their fates; otherwise, the two chapters that thus far have involved introducing them to their middy voyage would have been as dry as toast. But you can't read Weber as individual books; you've got to take it like a saga. I heard they were doing a movie but really, the Honorverse would be a better TV show.

Now that I think about it, I think it would make a kickass TV show.
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DrNefario
Posted 2017-01-12 11:03 AM (#15060 - in reply to #14939)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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Location: UK		I'm trying to read them in published order - the last one I read was Crown of Slaves a couple of years ago (which I didn't much like at all) - rather than splitting them up into sub-series, or whatever. They do seem to cross-refer a fair bit, especially with the story collections. I think I'm probably safe from spoilers with the far past in Call of Duty, though.
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Sable Aradia
Posted 2017-01-13 1:40 AM (#15067 - in reply to #14939)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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How interesting! I read Crown of Slaves last year and I thought Flint and Weber were a better team than Weber on his own. Though it definitely had a different feel than books written specifically by Weber. It lost that British nautical adventure homage feeling and read more like a spy novel combined with a bildungsroman. And that would be a shame because that's one of the things I really like about the series: I am a fan of Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester. So I'm glad they don't do that sort of story all the time! But I thought it was an interesting subplot for the saga.
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Sable Aradia
Posted 2017-02-19 9:45 AM (#15314 - in reply to #14939)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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So I have FINALLY finished The Shadow of Saganami. Fairly typical Weber fare except that this time he tries to do too damn much in one book. I know why it needs to happen, but there's got to be a better way to do this! The first half was like trying to cut through prose with a machete. The last half was an awesome action thriller. Worth it, ultimately, but only just this time. Hoping At All Costs will be better.
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devilinlaw
Posted 2017-04-03 2:03 PM (#15544 - in reply to #14939)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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Location: Las Vegas, NV		Big books can be daunting. Fortunately for me, i do most of my "reading" with audiobooks. This has been a mixed experience for me when it comes to big books. Some big books that i have listened to (like Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, narrated by Scott Brick) were an endurance test to get to the end of. Others, like A Game of Thrones & A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin, each narrated by Roy Dotrice, were absolutely fantastic & i will be reading all the books in Song of Ice & Fire series as part of this challenge. i've also read The Scar by China Mieville. i wanted something else from The Scar as the second trip to Mieville's New Crobuzon/Bas Lag world & as such was kind of disappointed. Hopefully Iron Council will be more of what i am looking for.
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Sable Aradia
Posted 2017-04-03 9:08 PM (#15553 - in reply to #14939)
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Maybe I should try that. Might get more reading done! I've been writing a lot so I'm behind this year.
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Arifel
Posted 2017-04-08 1:00 AM (#15569 - in reply to #15544)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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My audiobook listening has been tending towards shorter books recently, as I've been going through a lot of the Tor.com novellas through the two "season" collections they've made. But I'm now testing my long book staying power with the full cast recording of Dune (which I've never read before, shocking as that is) and am very much enjoying it so far - narrator and cast are both fantastic.

I'm finding this challenge useful for pushing myself to read qualifying books, but not so great for forcing myself to review them...! Of the five things I've read so far on this challenge, I've most enjoyed Twelve Kings by Bradley Beaulieu and Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Anne Kaufmann (although this definitely isn't a long book by word count, it is an intimidatingly big hardback though). The only book I've been unsure about is Acacia: the War with the Mein by David Anthony Durham; I did like the characters and felt the plot got much better after the first third, but I didn't feel it went far enough along the "undermining weird tropes of epic fantasy" line which I was expecting of it from reviews. Maybe that happens in books 2 and 3 but I'm not sure book 1 made me invested enough to find out.

Now that the Hugo list is out, I might use this challenge as an impetus to read Death's End, which is the only finalist I haven't read yet. And there's all those Expanse novels in best series too...
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Badseedgirl
Posted 2017-04-18 2:41 PM (#15593 - in reply to #14939)
Subject: Re: Giants of Genre: A Long Book Challenge 2017		Quote Reply



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Location: Middle TN, USA		So apparently I am doing this challenge of I sign up or not. So here I am. Late but motivated.
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Sable Aradia
Posted 2017-05-06 2:49 AM (#15682 - in reply to #15593)
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Badseedgirl - 2017-04-18 12:41 PM

So apparently I am doing this challenge of I sign up or not. So here I am. Late but motivated.


LOL! Why am I not surprised?
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