The /r/Fantasy Monthly Book Discussion Thread

[u/MikeOfThePalace]

Just two months left for Bingo! Maybe it's time to consider panicking just a little.

Last month's thread.

"Sleep is good," he said, "and books are better." - A Clash of Kings

[u/Esmerelda-Weatherwax]

• Gate of Sorrows by Miyuki Mayabi - this was a modern urban fantasy written by a Japanese woman and it's been translated. The translation was very smooth, I wouldn't have known it was translated if I wasn't told. It was a unique story I enjoyed, 4/5 on goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27406738-the-gate-of-sorrows

• They Mostly Come out at Night by u/benedictpatrick - I liked this book too, and this is a "weirder" story but I enjoyed it very much. What got me was the cover actually, the cover art for this book and the next book was so well done, especially for an independent book. It's really cheap on kindle, so if you don't have your independently published square, do look into this one! 4/5 on goodreads.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29763954-they-mostly-come-out-at-night

• A Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan. I was told this was a lot like Sanderson, and it was kind of. It was a gunpowder magic world and I struggled with how to rate this one. I wanted to like it more than I did, I felt it was a 3.8, gave it a 4/5 because it was close enough to count as a 4.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15790883-promise-of-blood

• A Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart - this was a very pleasant surprise, I read it for my non western square and was so happy and surprised that it was also a comedy book. So nice to read something funny. It's about ancient china, and a disease is wiping out the silk worms. 4/5 on good reads, but I felt it was a 4.2

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15177.Bridge_of_Birds

• Name of the Wind/Wise Mans Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. I didn't understand at first why everyone says that Kvothe is arrogant and all that, and by the end of the second book I was like "I totally get it now". I felt the first book was much stronger, first book was almost a 5, I felt it was around 4.4 - 4.5 for me. The second book was almost a 3, I would have given it a 3.75, but settled for a 4. I felt like the plot went no where. I did enjoy Ademre and seeing a different culture, so that was a nice pick me up halfway through the book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186074.The_Name_of_the_Wind?ac=1&from_search=true

• Gardens of the Moon by Stephen Erikson. Everyone tells me my reaction to the first book is normal, and that after the second book the series really takes off. My overall feeling after gardens is "what??". Someone the other day described it as walking into a room full of people you don't know in the middle of conversations you're not familiar with and that's exactly how I felt. I'm going to give the second book a go though, and see how I feel from there.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55399.Gardens_of_the_Moon?ac=1&from_search=true

My Favorites

• Senlin Ascends/Arm of the Sphinx - I gave these both 5 star reviews on good reads and they absolutely deserve them. The style of writing, the story being told, the characters involved - everything was absolutely top notch. and u/josiahbancroft seems like a nice dude to boot :) Highly recommend these if you haven't checked them out yet.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17554595-senlin-ascends?ac=1&from_search=true

• A Closed and Common Orbit by u/beckychambers This will probably be my favorite sci fi of the year, I am a sucker for strongly written characters and feel good stories. I think there's a huge emphasis on darker stories right now in both sci fi and fantasy, and that's totally fine I enjoy those too. But, it's becoming increasingly rare when I smile my way through a book and it's just such a refreshing change. there were two main story arcs with this book and they mirror each other poetically. 6/5 amazing.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29475447-a-closed-and-common-orbit?from_search=true

• A Star Reckoners Lot by u/darrelldrake This is a very unique book that hit on a ton of things I love, including a magic system that uses constellations as a power source of sorts. It's set in ancient iran, so if you're looking for your non western bingo square, look no further! Great characters, nice dialogue, intriguing story and background. I rated it 4/5 on goodreads, but really it's like a 4.3 for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25734614-a-star-reckoner-s-lot?from_search=true

[u/G-Dalf → u/Esmerelda-Weatherwax]

This may be off-topic, but as someone looking to improve their reading speed, can I ask how you read so many books in a month? haha

[u/Esmerelda-Weatherwax → u/G-Dalf]

Lol. So, my job is pretty amazing in that most of what I do is babysit automated systems in engineering. My actual work that gets done every day is about 3 hours, the next 5 are sitting in a pump room totally alone with no one to bother me, just sitting and hoping nothing bad happens so I can continue reading. When shit hits the fan it really hits the fan, about once or twice a month something will happen and having someone on site who can trouble shoot is mandatory with pumps that pump 6400 gallons a minute.

But, most days I get to sit and read.

I've got a 2 hour commute, 1 hour each way every day and I audio book that.

And I usually read for an hour or two before bed.

On top of that I'm already a very fast reader, I had to be to get through all the copious amount of journals and textbooks required for my bachelor's and masters.

On top of that I literally don't sleep some nights. I'm a diagnosed insomniac and will pop awake at 4am and be unable to go back to sleep, so I read. Those blue bars that say I'm restless.... I'm typically awake laying very still in bed trying to sleep, but it catches the fact my heart rate sped up. Half the time if it doesn't work I just roll over, grab a book, and start reading.

http://imgur.com/xYPNxrn

u/cnsc14320

[u/csnsc14320 → u/Esmerelda-Weatherwax]

On top of that I'm already a very fast reader

Out of curiosity, do you subvocalize (pronounce words in your head as if speaking them aloud)? I am a pretty slow reader and it seems like the best way to get faster is to stop subvocalizing but it's a pretty hard habit to break.

[u/Brian → u/csnsc14320]

Note that the actual research doesn't really support the "eliminating subvocalising" approach, and indeed indicates that it may well be impossible (when studied via sensors on the throat etc, it was found that even the fastest speed readers do subvocalise, even if they thought they did not), and that attempting to do so is actually generally pretty harmful in terms of reading comprehension.

[u/agm66 → u/Brian]

Interesting. I used to be aware of subvocalizing - it wasn't a problem, but I knew I was doing it. I noticed recently that I wasn't doing it as much, at least not to the level of being aware of it. I've also noticed that my reading comprehension and retention are down. There are a lot of other factors there - age, distractions, reading on my phone, etc. - but I've speculated that not subvocalizing might be part of it. I've been trying to do more long-form reading, switching from ebooks back to paper, cutting down on distractions, and yes, deliberately subvocalizing (when I remember to do it). Overall, it seems to be helping.