Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels discussion

Anybody want to do this again?

I’m in!

For sure! Maybe twice?

I’m new around here. Would you mind explaining what this challenge entails?

Cody wrote: "I’m new around here. Would you mind explaining what this challenge entails?"

The rules are simple, make a post in this thread with lines from A to Z. Then once you read a book for every letter of the alphabet, edit them into your post until you complete the list. Some letters may be tricky but I'll give it a go and if I get stuck I'll just ask for recommendations here.

Right, and one thing I did last year (my first time trying this challenge), was to come back and edit my post with new read books. Once I hit a big milestone (like half done or something) I would do a new post with my updated list. But you can approach it however you'd like!

A - Assassin's Apprentice
B - The Bronzed Beasts
C - Claimed
D
E - The Exiled Fleet
F
G - A Gathering of Shadows
H
I
J
K
L - Liberty
M - Master of Crows
N
O
P
Q
R
S - The Song of Achilles
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

And we are off! Remember, these don't have to be SF or F. Or even fiction. But last year, most were.

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J
K
L
M
N
O
P - Powers
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Rebecca wrote: "Right, and one thing I did last year (my first time trying this challenge), was to come back and edit my post with new read books. Once I hit a big milestone (like half done or something) I would d..."

I did something similar, only showing links to the books I'd finished or would finish, but unlinked books for those I'd planned to read.

A -
B - Black Gods & Scarlet Dreams (C L Moore)
C -
D - Declare - in progress
E - Elder Race - novella, will replace
F -
G - The Girl with All the Gifts - in progress
H -
I -
J -
K - The Killing Moon - Feb group read
L - Life During Wartime (stalled in 2021, finish this year)
M - The Mind Master (James Gunn)
N -
O -
P - Parable of the Sower
Q -
R -
S - The Summer House - in progress (and really bad)
T -
U -
V -
W -
X -
Y -
Z - Zodiac (Neal Stephenson)

Updating

A - The Anubis Gates
B - Blood of Elves
C - Children of Time
D - Declare
E - Elder Race
F - Farmer in the Sky
G - The Girl with All the Gifts
H - Hunter by Mercedes Lackey
I - I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
J - The Journal of Nicholas the American - in progress
K - The Killing Moon
L - Leviathan Falls
M - The Midwich Cuckoos
N - Norstrilia - planned
O - On Stranger Tides - planned
P - Parable of the Sower
Q -
R - Red Prophet - in progress
S - A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
T - Triplanetary
U - The Uplift War - planned
V - The Voyage of the Space Beagle - planned
W - Watchmen
X -
Y - You're All Alone by Fritz Leiber
Z - Zodiac

Oh hey folks, updating this now that its APRIL!? I liked what Alan did with the books he planned to read, so I've started that here now too.

A - Assassin's Apprentice
B - The Bronzed Beasts
C - Cyber Mage
D - Dance of a Burning Sea
E - The Exiled Fleet
F - Fevered Star - planned
G - A Gathering of Shadows
H - High Jinx
I
J
K
L - Liberty
M - Master of Crows
N
O
P
Q
R
S - The Song of Achilles
T - The Time of Contempt - planned
U - Under the Whispering Door
V
W
X
Y
Z

Updating - - -

A - Abandoned in Death
B - The Box short story, will replace, if I remember
C - Cloud Cuckoo Land
D. DEAD SPACE
E - The Echo Wife
F - Fated
G - Gwendy's Button Box
H - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
I - THE INVESTIGATOR
J - Jon's Downright Ridiculous Shooting Case
K - To Kiss or to Kill
L - Little Free Library short story, ditto
M - Machine Man
N - (nowhere to run) not read yet, Joe Pickett #10
O - Open Season
P - Powers
Q - Quicksilver
R. RENSIME
S - The Seventh Bride
T - The Tower at Stony Wood
U - Unto Zeor, Forever
V - VEILED
W - Wolfsong
X - (the xy axis) Do not read!! Not SF, and not that great.
Y - Youth (by Isaac Asimov, currently reading)
Z - Zelerod's Doom

Update :)

A - Assassin's Apprentice
B - Baptism of Fire
C - Cyber Mage
D - Dance of a Burning Sea
E - The Exiled Fleet
F - Fevered Star - planned
G - A Gathering of Shadows
H - High Jinx
I
J
K
L - Locklands
M - Master of Crows
N
O - Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments
P - Persephone Station
Q - Queen of Shades - planned
R
S - The Song of Achilles
T - The Time of Contempt
U - Under the Whispering Door
V
W - Wildfire
X
Y
Z

Updating

A - The Anubis Gates
B - Blood of Elves
C - Children of Time
D - Declare
E - Elder Race
F - Farmer in the Sky
G - The Girl with All the Gifts
H - Hunter by Mercedes Lackey
I - I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
J - The Journal Of Nicholas The American
K - The Killing Moon
L - Leviathan Falls
M - The Midwich Cuckoos
N - Norstrilia - planned
O - On Stranger Tides - planned
P - Parable of the Sower
Q -
R - Red Prophet
S - A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
T - Triplanetary
U - The Uplift War - planned
V - The Voyage of the Space Beagle - planned
W - Watchmen
X - X-Men: Days of Future Past
Y - You're All Alone by Fritz Leiber
Z - Zodiac by Neal Stephenson

So, You've almost finished, Allan! Let's check my reading (I haven't yet chosen books to finish the challenge, just my usual reading

A - Ariadne
B - Blood Music
C - The Complete Debarkle: Saga of a Culture War
D - The Death of the Necromancer
E - The Escapement
F - Five Minds
G - The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
H -
I - Intermezzo. Оповідання та новели
J - The Jasmine Throne
K - The Killing Moon
L - Leviathan Falls
M - The Midwich Cuckoos
N - No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters
O - The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain
P - Purgatory Mount
Q
R - Rainbow Mars
S - Sea of Tranquility
T - The Tiger and the Wolf
U - Under the Whispering Door
V - Voices
W - When Worlds Collide
X
Y
Z

Updating slightly, slow going this year.

A - Assassin's Apprentice
B - Baptism of Fire
C - Cyber Mage
D - Dance of a Burning Sea
E - The Exiled Fleet
F - Foxhunt
G - A Gathering of Shadows
H - High Jinx
I - Iron Kissed
J - Juniper & Thorn
K - The Kaiju Preservation Society
L - Locklands
M - Master of Crows
N - Nettle & Bone
O - Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments
P - Persephone Station
Q - Queen of Shades - planned
R -
S - The Song of Achilles
T - The Time of Contempt
U - Under the Whispering Door
V -
W - Wildfire
X
Y
Z - Zodiac planned

Missing R, X, and Z.

A - Amongst Our Weapons
B -The Bird Artist
C - Clouds of Witness
D - The Death of the Necromancer
E - Eric
F - The Fall of Gondolin
G - The Ghost Brigades
H - The Hollow Places
I - Icehenge
J - J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century
K - Knot of Shadows
L - The Lincoln Hunters
M - Metamorphosis and Other Stories
N - Nebula Awards Showcase 2011
O - Ocean Prey
P - The Past Is Red
Q - Quarry's Blood
R -
S - The Silmarillion
T - Tunnel in the Sky
U - Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth
V - Voices from the Radium Age
W - Wedding Station
X -
Y - The Year's Best Science Fiction Vol. 1: The Saga Anthology of Science Fiction 2020
Z -

I've made zero progress in the last two months on this challenge. Seems the books I'm reading don't fit.

A - The Anubis Gates
B - Blood of Elves
C - Children of Time
D - Declare
E - Elder Race
F - Farmer in the Sky
G - The Girl with All the Gifts
H - Hunter by Mercedes Lackey
I - I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
J - The Journal Of Nicholas The American
K - The Killing Moon
L - Leviathan Falls
M - The Midwich Cuckoos
N - Norstrilia - planned (H/N)
O - On Stranger Tides - planned
P - Parable of the Sower
Q - The Quiet Pools - planned (H/N)
R - Red Prophet
S - A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
T - Triplanetary
U - The Uplift War - planned (H/N)
V - The Voyage of the Space Beagle - planned
W - Watchmen
X - X-Men: Days of Future Past
Y - You're All Alone by Fritz Leiber
Z - Zodiac by Neal Stephenson

Oh how was Zodiac Allan? My library has the audio version so I thought it might be an easy add.

Rebecca wrote: "Oh how was Zodiac Allan? My library has the audio version so I thought it might be an easy add."

It is an interesting early eco-SF. The author was still young and hasn't honed his mastery, but it was quite good

Sorry, I started to write a reply and got distracted. Acorn has it right. It’s not like later Stephenson; it’s only his second book and he did not have his technique or style pinned down completely. Nevertheless, it’s a fun story about an ecological warrior, and it’s closer to 300 pages than his letter heavy times.

Rebecca wrote: "Oh how was Zodiac Allan? My library has the audio version so I thought it might be an easy add."


I liked Zodiac pretty well

I'm done! And I did not even realize it until I was drafting this update. I went through my reading challenge books for this year and realized that some Joe Pickett books fit, for D and V. Plus Braking Day and The Year of the Quiet Sun. At least The Year of the Quiet Sun was good for something because I did not think it was good for reading!! (All due respect to Allan)

A - Abandoned in Death
B - Braking Day
C - Cloud Cuckoo Land
D. Dark Sky
E - The Echo Wife
F - Fated
G - Gwendy's Button Box
H - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
I - The Investigator
J - Jon's Downright Ridiculous Shooting Case
K - To Kiss or to Kill
L - Lost Souls
M - Machine Man
N -Nowhere To Run
O - Open Season
P - Powers
Q - Quicksilver
R. Rensime
S - The Seventh Bride
T - The Tower at Stony Wood
U - Unto Zeor, Forever
V - Vicious Circle
W - Wolfsong
X - The XY Axis Do not read!! Not SF, and meh
Y - The Year of the Quiet Sun
Z - Zelerod's Doom

Nice work, Kateblue!

Wow Kate, good job!

I'll plan to do Zodiac this year and let ya'all know how it goes. Thanks!

I think I’ve identified R, X, and Z books I’ll read in the coming months.

Ragnarok: The End of the Gods by A.S. Byatt. I enjoyed this when I read it before and I’ve been intending to reread it.

X-Ray: The Unauthorized Autobiography Rock star memoir by Ray Davies of The Kinks, whose records I loved when I was young. This book has sat unread on the shelf for years.

The Zebra-Striped Hearse by Ross Macdonald. I’ve been gradually rereading Macdonald’s Lew Archer detective novels, and the “Z” is a good enough reason to read this one next.

Stephen wrote: "X-Ray: The Unauthorized Autobiography Rock star memoir by Ray Davies of The Kinks, whose records I loved when I was young. This book has sat unread on the shelf for years.
"

I've always wanted to read this but haven't come across a copy. I was also a big fan of the Kinks, and Ray's lyrics were so intelligent and amazing. I saw them twice in the late 70's, once at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater (I went to college 6 miles away). I still have a whole bunch of their albums.

I saw them once, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in 1975. I had a bunch of albums on LP that I played the heck out of. I have a few on CD that I haven’t listened to nearly as much.

Rebecca wrote: "Wow Kate, good job!

I'll plan to do Zodiac this year and let ya'all know how it goes. Thanks!"

Zodiac was good

A few minor updates, still missing V, X, Y, and Z.

A - Assassin's Apprentice
B - Baptism of Fire
C - Cyber Mage
D - Dance of a Burning Sea
E - The Exiled Fleet
F - Foxhunt
G - A Gathering of Shadows
H - High Jinx
I - Iron Kissed
J - Juniper & Thorn
K - The Kaiju Preservation Society
L - Locklands
M - Master of Crows
N - Nettle & Bone
O - Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments
P - Persephone Station
Q - Queen of Crows (Metamorphosis Mag short story)
R - River Marked
S - The Song of Achilles
T - The Time of Contempt
U - Under the Whispering Door
V - Vita Nostra (planned)
W - Wildfire
X
Y - The Yiddish Policemen's Union (planned)
Z - Zodiac (planned)

Anyone else doing this challenge? I've read a lot of books since my last update, but none have filled in the blanks for me. I keep meaning to read those but get distracted by other things.

I still plan to read the 3 books I mentioned in message 25 above, but I haven’t yet.

I started The Zebra-Striped Hearse but didn’t enjoy the first few pages. Not in the mood for Ross Macdonald, I guess. I’ll substitude Zoo Station as a “Z” book. First in a series of excellent spy stories set in WW2 Berlin, which I’ve been meaning to reread.

I’m still doing it but I’m the same boat Allan, haven’t prioritized Y and Z reads I have planned. I’m reading R right now. No idea what I’m going to read for X.

Rebecca wrote: "I’m still doing it but I’m the same boat Allan, haven’t prioritized Y and Z reads I have planned. I’m reading R right now. No idea what I’m going to read for X."

One of our reads works for Y - The Year of the Quiet Sun. I didn't like it much, though

X is always the hardest, I think

I have not moved at all on this, and I'm not sure I'll be able to squeeze it in with December approaching rapidly. It will of course be a challenge I'll set up in 2023 though.

I’ve had other priorities but I may yet get there.

Yes, I planned to do it again, also. Allan, you can set it up or I can. Does not matter to me, just so we do it again

Reading The Quiet Pools by Michael P. Kube-McDowell to cross Q off the list. It's a H/N nominee from 1991. That still leaves me with N, O, U, V that I won't get this year.

Well, I want to do this again next year. I will put up a thread, if that's ok with everyone

Kateblue wrote: "Well, I want to do this again next year. I will put up a thread, if that's ok with everyone"

I'm game.

While my Book Title challenge is falling short by a few, here's my list going by Author (surname) instead of Book Title.

A - Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
B - Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
C - The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey
D -
E - I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
F - Eifelheim by Michael Flynn
G - The Ghost Ships of Archangel by William Geroux
H - Farmer in the Sky by Robert A Heinlein
I -
J - The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
K - The Journal of Nicholas the American by Leigh Kennedy
L - Hunter by Mercedes Lackey
M - A Spy Among Friends by Ben McIntyre
N - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
O -
P - Declare by Tim Powers
Q -
R - The Female Man by Joanna Russ
S - Triplanetary by E.E. Smith
T - Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
U -
V - Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
W - Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
X
Y - Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
Z -

I finished X-Ray: The Unauthorized Autobiography today, which completes the challenge for me. X-Ray is excellent if you care about The Kinks and probably if you care about 1960s rock memoirs in general.

Links to most of these in message 16 above.

A - Amongst Our Weapons
B -The Bird Artist
C - Clouds of Witness
D - The Death of the Necromancer
E - Eric
F - The Fall of Gondolin
G - The Ghost Brigades
H - The Hollow Places
I - Icehenge
J - J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century
K - Knot of Shadows
L - The Lincoln Hunters
M - Metamorphosis and Other Stories
N - Nebula Awards Showcase 2011
O - Ocean Prey
P - The Past Is Red
Q - Quarry's Blood
R - Ragnarok
S - The Silmarillion
T - Tunnel in the Sky
U - Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth
V - Voices from the Radium Age
W - Wedding Station
X - X-Ray
Y - The Year's Best Science Fiction Vol. 1: The Saga Anthology of Science Fiction 2020
Z - Zoo Station

Stephen wrote: "I finished X-Ray: The Unauthorized Autobiography today, which completes the challenge for me. X-Ray is excellent if you care about The Kinks and probably if you care about 1960s rock ..."

Congrats, Stephen! I stalled badly at the end of the year in this challenge....really more not paying attention to it.

I'm a big fan of the Kinks myself, you and I being close in age. I saw them twice in the late 70s, once at the famous Red Rocks (I went to college 8 miles away). Muswell Hillbillies is my favorite album of theirs. Ray is a genius with the English language.

I'd really love to read X-Ray if I can find a copy. I read my share of rock bios - Pete Townshend & Kurt Cobain this year. I've got bios of Chrissie Hynde, Alex Chilton & the Clash lined up for 2023.

Allan wrote: "Stephen wrote: "I finished X-Ray: The Unauthorized Autobiography today, which completes the challenge for me. X-Ray is excellent if you care about The Kinks and probably if you care a..."

I’m probably more conventional, a Village Green Preservation Society guy. I actually have a book about it, The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society. X-Ray is an interesting book, somewhat dark. Ray as an old duffer (this was written in the early ‘90s) is being interviewed by an unwitting young agent of the Corporation that has tentacles everywhere. His reminiscences include some childhood stuff but concentrate mainly on the period up to about 1968-9 when the group had huge success but Ray, the songwriter, was under great stress, dealing with crooked showbiz characters and an early marriage.

Allan wrote (I went to college 8 miles away)."

I went to Boulder for two years. What is that close to Red Rocks. Mines? I never went to Red Rocks, but I think Boulder is farther

Yes, Colorado School of Mines in Golden (perhaps that explains my nerdiness). It's straight west of Denver where I-70 goes up into the mountains. Boulder is more NW of Denver and farther out. But the drive on Highway 93 between Golden & Boulder is incredibly scenic. You're driving along the foothills of the Rockies, just gorgeous.

Yes, I have been there. Can you still see the Coors factory off to you right as you come into Golden?

What did you major in? I guy I dated went to.Mines his first year on a scholarship, then had an actual mine job or internship for summer vacation, and hated it so much he quit and worked his way through Southern Colorado State College in Pueblo. I kinda lost track of him after he left Mines. CU to Mines wasn't too bad, but I rarely got to Pueblo, and then I ended up at IU some years later

BTW packing up the computer tomorrow so will talk to you guys again in a week or maybe less

Kateblue wrote: "BTW packing up the computer tomorrow so will talk to you guys again in a week or maybe less"

Bon voyage! I'll start and close book's threads today

Kateblue wrote: "Yes, I have been there. Can you still see the Coors factory off to you right as you come into Golden?

What did you major in? I guy I dated went to.Mines his first year on a scholarship, then had ..."

Oh yes, Coors is still there. My last college apartment was 4 blocks from the brewery - I spent a ***little*** time there. I could see Castle Rock above the big Coors sign on the front of the building out my window. The town has been gentrified quite a bit now though, it's lost some of its small town character.

My official major was "Chemical & Petroleum Refining Engineering", plus I minored in Mineral Economics. After school, I took a job in the steel industry and worked as a blast furnace engineer for 7 years. Went to school at night and got my MBA from Northwestern in downtown Chicago, then I moved into a finance role. I still work very closely with manufacturing & engineering though.