Showing posts with label Nebula. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nebula. Show all posts

Pride and Prometheus (Becky's Review)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 by Becky

Kessel, John. 2008. Pride and Prometheus, from The Baum Plan for Financial Independence. (Winner, Nebula in Novellette category)

"Had both her mother and her sister Kitty not insisted upon it, Miss Mary Bennet, whose interest in Nature did not extend to the Nature of Society, would not have attended the ball in Grosvenor Square."

Pride and Prometheus focuses on Mary Bennet, the often under appreciated sister of Elizabeth and Jane. Kessel describes her as, "Awkward and nearsighted, she had never cut an attractive figure, and as she had aged she had come to see herself as others saw her."

Kitty and Mary are the only unmarried Bennet sisters, and it isn't all that surprising that Mrs. Bennet won't be truly happy until Kitty finds a husband. (I doubt Mrs. Bennet has high expectations for Mary.)

At one of the ton parties, the two Bennet sisters are introduced to two gentleman: a Mr. Victor Frankenstein and a Mr. Henry Clerval. Mary's first impressions of Victor: "He had the darkest eyes that Mary had ever encountered, and an air of being there only on obligation. Whether this was because he was as uncomfortable in these social situations as she, Mary could not tell, but his diffident air intrigued her. She fancied his reserve might bespeak sadness rather than pride."

What does Mary think of Victor? What does Victor think of Mary? Can he find a sympathetic listener?

If you've read Frankenstein, you might be wondering where this fits in. The action of this story takes place AFTER Victor Frankenstein has had a heart-to-heart with his creation and promised 'the monster' a wife. This makes him sullen and cross, for the most part, but before he begins his work in earnest, he goes on holiday with his best friend, Henry Clerval. As to how this fits in with Austen, the action would take place several years at least after the close of Pride and Prejudice. (We do visit Mr. and Mrs. Darcy at Pemberley, and they already have children.)

What did I think of this one? It's complicated. Which isn't a fair answer, I know, but a true one. Kessel's Mary is intelligent and thoughtful. I liked that. Kessel's Kitty, well, it made me think at the very least. I hesitate to say too much. After all, if you've not read it, I don't want to spoil it for you. But I'll never look at Kitty quite the same way again. Is that a good thing? a bad thing? I don't know. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the matter if you've read this short story. I'm not sure what to think about Kessel's Frankenstein and his monster. I haven't decided if he captured their voices right or not. But I did *like* the conversation Mary has with the monster.

You can read this one online or download an audio file of the author reading this story.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Two More Down

Friday, April 18, 2008 by alisonwonderland

So far I've only read two of the books on my original list for this challenge. But I have completed two additional award-winning books, bringing me to a total of eight.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was a 2000 Printz Honor Book, and my review is here. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes was a co-winner of the 1966 Nebula Award for Best Novel. My review is here.

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The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (Mo's review)

Saturday, February 2, 2008 by Mo


As he is such a prolific favorite of so many science & science fiction fans, including the mister, I was looking forward to reading “The Gods Themselves” by Isaac Asimov, which won the 1972 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1973 (and, subsequently, qualifies as my 6th selection in the “Book Awards” Challenge, as well)

You can read my thoughts, here.

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The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

Thursday, January 17, 2008 by Ana S.

The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of Genly Ai, a human envoy to a far-off planed that he names Winter. Genly is in Winter as a representative of the Ekumen, an association whose aim is to promote communication and trade between worlds – not just commercial trade, but trade of ideas, philosophies, experiences, beliefs, cultures. Before Genly’s arrival, the inhabitants of Winter, the Gethenians, were not aware of the existence of other inhabited worlds. Genly’s mission is to convince them that he is trustworthy, and that it would be in their best interest to join the Ekumen. This is not an easy task, because most won’t even believe that he is an alien.

Winter is an austere planet, with constant sub-artic weather. However, that is not the strangest thing about it. What Genly finds strangest is the fact that the Gethenians are androgynes. They have a sexual cycle that lasts approximately 26 days. For 24 of those, they are genderless and asexual. In the remaining two days, they enter kemmer, and can become either male or female. There is no way no predict which they will become, nor do they find it relevant. No Gethenian has a predominant tendency to become male or female. And the same person can mother and father a child, and often does both during their lifetime.

Ursula Le Guin uses this premise to explore issues like gender and its role in society, power, ambition, fear and politics, and more individual issues like sexuality, intimacy and trust.

I will start by saying that I feel very ambivalently towards this book. This is not the first time I tried to read it – the first time was a couple of years ago, and I just couldn’t get into it, so I put it down. I thought it was perhaps a matter of timing. However, this time I struggled once more. But I persisted.

I do not mean by this that I think that The Left Hand of Darkness is a bad book. It won the Hugo and the Nebula, and I can see why. I can see its merits, and I understand why it’s a landmark in science fiction. I certainly don’t want to discourage anyone from reading it. It’s hard to have such mixed feelings, especially about a book by an author I practically worship. I guess the best I can do is try to explain how this book made me feel, and why.

Even though I am a big fan of fantasy and other forms of speculative fiction, I have a little trouble entering sci-fi worlds. It’s not that I can’t do it – I love books like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and TV series like Stargate and Babylon 5. It’s just that it takes an extra effort – I am not transported into a sci-fi world as easily as into a fantasy one. I can’t explain why. It’s certainly not a matter of scepticism, of being unable to suspend my disbelief. Aliens, after all, are much more likely than ogres or elves. I grew up obsessed with the X-Files and scanning the skies for flying saucers regularly. And plus, my enjoyment of a story has never depended on how close its relationship with reality is. So this resistance is odd, I know, but it’s how it’s always been for me.

So that, and the fact that I am unfamiliar with Ursula Le Guin’s Hamish universe, could have been part of the problem. But there’s more. The story begins as a report from Genly to the Ekumen. Part of it is written like that, with other chapters from the point of view of Estraven, the Gethenian Genly gets closer to. There are also short interludes with myths and traditional tales from Winter (and in the first half of the book, these were my favourite bits).

My problem, at first, was that the book was written as a report and it actually read like one, rather than like a story. There was this sense of alienness, of distance from the story that I couldn’t shake off. I felt like I was on the outside looking in. What’s interesting here is that this reflects exactly how Genly feels about Winter in the first half of the book. He cannot get over the Gethenians’s lack of gender definition. I think the strangeness I felt was possibly part of what the book was trying to achieve. It’s funny, because I don’t really think of myself as someone to whom gender matters all that much. And yet… the strangeness was there. This book made me think. Even if I don’t believe in the existence of male or female personality types or characteristics, even if I don’t think I look at or classify people in terms of their gender, to what extent can I actually ignore those categories? They are, after all, deeply ingrained in my mind.

As the story advances, the tone becomes less strange, more intimate, quieter and more reflective. There was a part describing a long journey across the ice that I really enjoyed. And again, that is exactly when Genly begins to surpass the strangeness he feels, which once more makes me think that this is part of what Ursula Le Guin was trying to achieve. When Genly began to feel at home among the Gethenians, I too felt at home in the story.

And yet… this book made me uncomfortable, and I can’t quite pinpoint why. It challenged me. There were passages I loved, passages that show Ursula Le Guin at her very best:
When you meet a Gethenians you cannot and must not do what a bisexual naturally does, which is to cast him in the role of Man or Woman, while adopting towards him a corresponding role dependent on your expectation of the patterned or possible interactions between persons of the same or the opposite sex. Our entire pattern of socio-sexual interaction is nonexistent here. They cannot play the game. They do not see one another as men or women. This is almost impossible for our imagination to accept. What is the first question we ask about a newborn baby?
Or:
It is a terrible thing, this kindness that human beings do not lose. Terrible, because when we are finally naked in the dark and cold, it is all we have. We who are so rich, so full of strength, we end up with that small change. We have nothing else to give.
And:
How does one hate one country, or love one? Tibe talks about it; I lack the trick of it. I know people, I know towns, farms, hills and rivers and rocks, I know how the sun at sunset in autumn falls on the side of a certain ploughland in the hills; but what is the sense of giving a boundary to all that, of giving it a name and ceasing to love where the name ceases to apply?
I can see this book growing on me as it sinks further in. I can see myself looking back at it with more and more fondness as time goes by. I really liked the ending, for example – it was hopeful and sad, full of gain and loss. I think this is a book that will stay with me. But if you were to ask me right now how much I enjoyed it, I still wouldn’t know what to say. However, if the question were if I’m glad to have read it, the answer would be a definite yes.

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Ringworld by Larry Niven

by Lightheaded

Ringworld
Larry Niven

Louis Wu is old, 200 years old in fact, but this is the future so it doesn't really matter. What matters is that Louis Wu is also bored as hell and itching for an adventure.

In comes Nessus, a Pierson's Puppeteer. In the Known Space universe of Larry Niven, the Puppeteers have the most advanced technology there is. And Nessus is looking for travel companions for a mission he is not quite ready to reveal but sure leaves Louis Wu and the rest of the recruits interested.

The other recruits? A Kzin species named Speaker to the Animals. Described as ferocious, he joined the mission because he was intrigued. And the payment to them all - technology for a spacecraft that is far too advanced than what is known to humans and the other alien inhabitants of planet Earth - is enough bait for him in hopes of helping the Kzins in somehow defeating the human race sometime.

Then there's Teela Brown, another human. With no flight training to speak of and with hardly any experience at all in space travel save that she has been to Mars or probably partied on the moon (I'm trying to remember her background, I don't want to flip through the book because it's packed somewhere in this house with other books I'm planning to send home as I'm lacking space on my shelves already).

All four set off towards Ringworld, a ring-shaped structure that encircles a star. A structure that is highly advanced and built to hold inhabitants in its vast inner surface. I don't think I'm explaining it well, I need to review my science knowledge. Hahaha!

Imagine a large ring then and set it on a dark, dark surface and call that space. Place a little sun at the center. Imagine the ring's inner flat surface to contain the air that we breath, the seas that we swim in, lands that are both fertile and deserted. And that the ring's system holds all things in place. Then imagine it orbiting, revolving around that little sun. It's a self-surviving system, a created universe. It's an ideal structure for a universe where Earth and other planets faces the possibility of overpopulation.

I was so into the book that it didn't really matter if I wasn't able to recall my early science formula of mass, gravity, inertia and so forth. Hahaha!

It's not just a book of descriptions though. The story of the four in itself is enthralling. Of course I see Ringworld through their eyes but that's not just what the book is about. The four main characters have their own stories to tell and that's part of the book's strength. As the tale unfolds we learn of the wars between the Kzins and the humans, of why Teela Brown was actually recruited, and what does Nessus get from this mission at all?

Interspersed with this is one of my favorite parts in reading a science fiction book - the technology, obviously! This was written in 1970 and yet Larry Niven already imagined a world where teleportation, among other things, is quite normal with transfer booths! And I could actually see and feel the Earth of the future in Louis Wu's eyes.

And yet despite that the book never lacked in feeling. Niven understands the worn-out traveler Louis, of a world that is getting smaller everyday and a planet that somehow is losing its identity and all in a matter of a couple of paragraphs into the book even prior to Wu's recruitment. Niven shows the same care for the other characters, making me glimpse at their lives, their thoughts all throughout the book and making me root for them all the more!

The last paragraph teases us into a sequel or something to that effect. The mission to Ringworld could end there in the first book. But as in all missions where a major discovery is found, there are and will be questions and further probe. And I finished the book August of last year wanting to know more about Ringworld and its engineers. Maybe sometime in the future.

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Neuromancer by William Gibson

Friday, December 14, 2007 by Athena

My experience with cyberpunk has not been large. I have read Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash and The Diamond Age, and liked them well enough. This Canadian novel is the archetypal cyberpunk novel and won the triple crown of sci-fi literary awards: the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. For most of the novel, I was not too enticed. I kept waiting for myself to care, and to feel really invested into the plot. It did not happen, at least not the extent that I wanted it to. As a a result, I have feeling I'll forget the plot of this book fairly soon. I think the blunt and straightforward prose are an advantage, but I was not wholly interested in the story. There are interesting concepts about AI, genetic engineering, cyberspace, and the concepts of the power of the free market to over rule the current world structure. Gibson wrote about all these before it was popular in the mainstream. If only I did not feel I have already read it all before because this fifteen years on. This would probably be a good introduction to cyberpunk as it has all the elements.

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Newbery Award winner 2004 Criss Cross Lynne Rae Perkins

Monday, October 29, 2007 by Juliette


First sentence – She wished something would happen.

Having reflected upon this book for a while I am still unsure regarding my view of it. I am wondering if it is ‘my age’ that meant that this book did not connect with me. Many of the Newbery award winners and myriads of other children’s books I have read have invariable ‘spoken’ to me. This is often in the form of deeper lessons for life, those truths that lie beneath the story. Alternatively it may be that a book resonates as I reflect upon how it could be shared in the classroom. Disappointingly Criss Cross failed to inspire and stimulate. There was a glimmer of reflection as two of the young people related to one another as they shared the task of supporting an aging and infirm ‘granny’ character. There was a sense of looking out beyond and giving to another. In my opinion this was the best part of the book. Giving to another enriched both of the characters as they found reward. Apart from this instance my view was that the characters and situations were lacking in depth. I have passed my copy to my young friend Chloe and look forward to hearing her view.

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Becky's Review of Speaker For the Dead

Sunday, September 16, 2007 by Becky


Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card.

Speaker for the Dead is the sequel to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. But in many ways, it is even more instrumental than Ender's Game. You see, Ender's Game started out as a story--a short story. Orson Scott Card was working on ideas for a new novel, and the basic premise of Speaker for the Dead came to him. Although, at the time the Speaker was a Singer. He thought and worked and thought and worked. And then it came to him, what if the Speaker was Ender! What if he used one of his *old* characters, and gave him a new story. There was one problem. The story needed to be fleshed out before this new novel could work. And it needed more "fleshing" than just a simple prologue or chapter could do. What he needed was to turn his original story into a novel all its own. This is when the characters (we know and love) came into existence. This is when Andrew/Ender was "born."

Speaker for the Dead is a sequel, but it didn't begin life that way--and you don't have to read it that way, either. It was my intention all along for Speaker to be able to stand alone, for it to make sense whether you have read Ender's Game or not. Indeed, in my mind this was the "real" book; if I hadn't been trying to write Speaker for the Dead back in 1983, there would never have been a novel version of Ender's Game at all.
How did Speaker for the Dead come to be? As with all my stories, this one began with more than one idea. The concept of a "speaker for the dead" arose from my experiences with death and funerals. I have written of this at greater length elsewhere; suffice it to say that I grew dissatisfied with the way that we use our funerals to revise the life of the dead, to give the dead a story so different from their actual life that, in effect, we kill them all over again. No, that is too strong. Let me just say that we erase them, we edit them, we make them into a person much easier to live with than the person who actually lived.
I rejected that idea. . . No, to understand who a person really was, what his or her life really meant, the speaker for the dead would have to explain their self-story--what they meant to do, what they actually did, what they regretted, what they rejoiced in. That's the story that we never know, the story that we never can know--and yet, at the time of death, it's the only story truly worth telling.
Speaker for the Dead is the story of a planet, a colony, in need. Lusitania. Home of colonists, Catholic colonists who speak Portuguese and Stark, and home of the "Piggies", pequeninos, "Little Ones." It has been three thousand years since the close of Ender's Game. Humans have supposedly learned much since the xenocide. They have come to regret the destruction of the Hive Queen and the "buggers" and have a new policy when dealing with alien species. This policy plays an important role in Speaker for the Dead. The pequeninos are different--very different from the human colonists. Their is a fence separating the two. Only xenologists--one or two at a time--could visit the pequeninos. Only for a few hours each day. And their were strict guidelines as to how much they could ask and tell. Pipo and Libo are the xenologists. One master, one apprentice. Novinha is the (young) xenobiologist. The three work together closely, but when tragedy strikes--Pipo's murdered by the Piggies--lives are destroyed and things are set into motion that can't be undone.

Andrew Wiggin is THE Speaker for the Dead, though only a few know it. (There are many who have that title of "speaker" but only one is the original. The author of The Hive Queen and the Hegemon.) When he receives the call to 'speak' the death of Pipo, he begins his journey to Lusitania...little knowing that it will forever change his life and determine his destiny.

There are many things I loved about Speaker. I love how Ender has matured into Andrew. I loved seeing how much he's grown...changed. He is wise. But his wisdom doesn't make him less human, it makes him more human. I love how this novel is about taking broken things, messy things, ugly things--and making them whole, making sense of the chaos, making them beautiful. In some ways, it is more philosophical than Ender's Game. Again, it is the characters that make Speaker for the Dead such an outstanding novel. His characters aren't perfect--far from it--but they're real.

Sickness and healing are in every heart. Death and deliverance are in every hand. (240)

Of all of the humans, he is the one who will understand us. (347)

When you really know someone, you can't hate them. (370)

Once you understand what people really want, you can't hate them anymore. You can fear them, but you can't hate them, because you can always find the same desires in your own heart. (370)

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Seeker - 2006 Nebula Award Winner

Friday, August 3, 2007 by Matt

I recently finished the science fiction book Seeker and posted a review on my blog. It is a decent book but not one I would assume worth of winning an award. The most impressive thing about the book is the knowledge of astronomy displayed by the author. Please check out the full review!

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Ender's Game

Monday, July 9, 2007 by Becky


It is time to talk about an old friend. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. A novel that has become without a doubt my most favorite book in the entire world. Okay, so you might think I'm a bit overly dramatic at times. (I've been told this countless times.) But this time, I really, really mean it. (You still don't believe me, do you?) To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born. No, I wasn't born loving Ender's Game, but sometimes it feels like it. (Yes, it was that life-changing.) It was seven years ago. The fall of 2000. I was taking a Master's level class in Children's Literature. The professor was Dr. Betty Carter. Ender's Game was a required book for the class. Up until that point, I had never read a science fiction book. Never heard of Orson Scott Card. Never even heard of the Nebula and Hugo awards. I was in for quite a surprise. I liked it, I really liked it. Melodramatic as it sounds, this book opened up a new world for me. I began to devour anything and everything Orson Scott Card. I began to spend my weekends searching used bookstores for copies of his works. And I began to obsessively check his official website maybe not every day but more than three times a week. I especially fell in love with his "Uncle Orson Reviews Everything" columns. And as my whole family--even extended family--can tell you, I began centering whole conversations around Orson Scott Card. Did you know that he.....Guess what OSC thinks about this....If OSC likes a movie, then I'll see it. (Although I don't always always agree with him on everything.) If he recommends a book, I try to read it. (I especially read it if it's a kid or YA book since that's my passion.) So maybe it's not normal to know what your favorite author likes to watch on tv...but if he chooses to write about it...then I might as well read it and remember it like trivia. Why is Ender's Game such a life-changing book? Yes, it is wonderful. Yes, it is practically perfect in every way. Yes, I could read it a hundred times and never get bored with it. But it did much more than that. Now, when you ask me to list my top ten books...or my top twenty books...it's hard for me not to make the majority of my list Orson Scott Card.

Ender's Game is the novel that started it all. It remains my favorite and my best. My second favorite would probably be Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus.

What makes Ender's Game so perfect? The characters. Yes, there is action. Yes, there is a war. But it is the characters that draw you in. It is Ender and Valentine and Peter that make you keep turning the pages. I think OSC gets characters in a way that few other authors do. He creates thoroughly human characters.

Andrew Wiggin "Ender" shows readers that it is not easy to be a hero. That 'saving the world' demands great sacrifice and selflessness. A hero's life is not a happy life. Yet a hero is what the world needs when the story opens. Set hundreds of years in the future, Ender's Game shows an Earth that has survived two alien invasions. The "Buggers" (an insect-like alien race) have been defeated twice. But the war--though over--carries on. As long as this alien race is out there somewhere, the Earth could still be in danger. Therefore, the world has united as one to fight their common enemy. The brightest and best children are taken from countries all over the world to Battle School. This school is a space station. The children--ranging in age from six to sixteen--are trained from the very beginning by the military. Everything has a purpose--from the "video games" that psychoanalyze each student to the battle games the children play in zero gravity. The military--the powers that be--believe Ender to be the savior that the world has been looking for all these years. And they will devote their lives to ensuring that he becomes exactly the kind of hero they need for the final battle that is to come. The problem? Such training is not healthy psychologically. These children aren't really children. They're being raised to kill and destroy the enemy as defined by the powers that be. They're being taught to hate. They're being taught to love war....to love battle...to love competition. They don't know about love. They don't know about kindness. They don't know about mercy and compassion. Most forget what life was like on Earth altogether. They've forgotten about their families, their homes, their customs. In other words, they've forgotten just why Earth is worth defending and protecting. The war has become a game to them almost. A fight for the sake of fighting.

To read a more in-depth review (also written by me) click here. Although I'll warn you now, there are spoilers. It was written for a class. And in writing assignments like those, it is all about summary and analysis. And you can't analyze a book without discussing the ending!

My Author Study Paper on Orson Scott Card

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Nymeth's List

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 by Ana S.

Hello everyone!

I'm Nymeth from Things Mean a Lot. Here are my picks for the challenge:
  1. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (Pulitzer 2001)
  2. The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Pulitzer 1983)
  3. Beloved by Toni Morrison(Pulitzer 1988)
  4. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (World Fantasy Award 2006)
  5. Little, Big by John Crowley (World Fantasy Award 1982)
  6. Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner (World Fantasy Award 1991)
  7. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin (Hugo 1970, and Nebula 1969)
  8. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushie (Booker Prize 1981)
  9. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishuguro (Booker Prize 1989)
  10. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (Booker Prize 1997)
  11. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (Newbery Medal 1978)
  12. On Beauty by Zadie Smith (Orange Prize 2006)

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Trish's Books

Tuesday, June 12, 2007 by Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity

Hi all! I'm excited for this challenge to begin (as it is my first "grown up" reading challenge).
Below is my tentative list (hopefully I won't subtract but maybe only add to in the future). My list can also be found at Trish's Reading Nook.

1. The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (National Book Award 1993, also Pulizer)

2. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (National Book Award 1992, also NBCC)

3. Sophie's Choice by William Styron (National Book Award 1980)

4. The World According to Garp by John Irving (National Book Award 1980)

5. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (Booker Prize 1989)

6. Atonement by Ian McEwan (National Book Critics’ Circle Award 2002)

7. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (Nebula Award 1969)

8. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Pulizer Prize 2003)

9. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (Pulizer Prize 1947)

10. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (Pulizer Prize 1921)

11. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (Nobel Prize winner 1949)

12. Snow by Orhan Pamuk (Nobel Prize winner 2006)

I have to admit that I was a little biased in my pickings. My husband is putting me on a tight book spending leash--so I had to try and pick books that I already own, but haven't read (Oh how I wish I could put some of those Atwood books on here, but there are too many books TBR for me to go back and do re-reads).

I look forward to seeing everyone else's list and reviews!

Best,

Trish

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Camille @ Dabbling Dilettante's List

Saturday, June 9, 2007 by Camille

Here is my challenge list after days of deliberation. I'm so excited about this challenge. I've decided to use it to branch myself out into genres I don't usually read and to expose myself to new authors I haven't encountered yet. I've also selfishly included some Pulitzer-prize winners to further my own personal goal of working my way through all of those. But I kept the number down to three to keep the spirit of a challenge.

1. On Beauty by Zadie Smith (Orange)
I've been wanting to read this for awhile and recently bought White Teeth, which I haven't read yet, either.

2. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin (Nebula)
Having recently finished the Earthsea books, I am a renewed fan of LeGuin's. (I remember liking her as a kid after reading the first Earthsea book.) I'm curious about her other works.

3. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (Pulitzer)
This is the third Pulitzer winner. I'm planning on having finished the first two in June.

4. Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington (Pulitzer)
This the fourth Pulitzer winner. Again, to pursue the completion of my personal goal.

5. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (Newbery)
I like YA and children's novels. I'm curious about the most recent winner.

6. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (Newbery)
If you read the most recent winner, you might as well read the next to most recent winner. You never know when you'll want to finish that list, too, one day.

7. Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear (Agatha)
I never read mysteries so this is a genre I wanted to represent in this challenge. I checked through the Edgar winners but they looked too scary for me (probably why I tend to shy away from mysteries). But on the Malice Domestic website Agatha winners are described as "...mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence; usually featuring an amateur detective, they have a confined setting and characters who know one another." Sounds like my cup of tea.

8. Possession by A.S. Byatt (Man Booker)
I recently bought this at the used bookstore. Thought I'd throw in a few TBRs.

9. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (Costa/Whitbread)
My brother and his fiancée read this in Iraq while they were stationed in Fallujah and they liked it. I've been wanting to read it for awhile.

10. Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (Hugo)
Branching out into science fiction

11. Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip (World Fantasy)
Further explorations into the fantasy genre

12. The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton by Jane Smiley (Spur)
Definitely new territory for me, the western-set novels. Plus I started Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel but have never read any of Jane Smiley's fiction.

Alternates

1. Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Man Booker)
own it-TBR
2. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (Nebula)
TBR
3. American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Nebula)
I keep hearing about Neil Gaiman from other book bloggers.
4. Dune by Frank Herbert (Nebula)
I think I remember my dad reading this in the early 80s. I never had an interest but now I'm curious.
5. Sophie's Choice by William Styron (National Book Award)
TBR
6. One of Ours by Willa Cather (Pulitzer)
Pulitzer goal; 5th winner

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Becky's List

Thursday, June 7, 2007 by Becky

Hi! My name is Becky and my site is Becky's Book Reviews.

In no particular order:

1. Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card (Alex Awards, 2000)
2. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (Hugo, 1986; Nebula, 1985)
3. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (Hugo, 1987; Nebula, 1986)
4. The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler by James Cross Giblin (Robert F. Sibert Medal, 2003)
5. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Pulitzer, 1961)
6. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (Pulitzer, 1937)
7.Possession: A Romance by A.S. Byatt (Booker Prize, 1990)
8. A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (Newbery, 2001)
9. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (Newbery, 2004)
10. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (Newbery, 1995)
11. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Newbery, 1990)
12. Looking for Alaska by John Green (Printz Award, 2006)


Alternates

1. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (Newbery, 2003)
2. Holes by Lois Sachar (Newbery, 1999)
3. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (Newbery, 1998)
4. Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (Newbery, 1993)
5. Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt (Newbery (1983)
6. Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray (Newbery, 1943)

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Matt's List

by Matt

Hey, this is Matt from A Variety of Words where I'll be posting reviews of these books as I complete them. Fantastic idea for a reading challenge. This is only the second challenge I've joined and I'm looking forward to getting started. I ended up with about 19 books on my list so I'm posting the 12 plus 7 alternates.

  1. Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich (NBCC)
  2. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (Man Booker)
  3. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (Hugo, Nebula)
  4. Europe Central by William Vollmann (National Book Award)
  5. The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (National Book Award)
  6. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (National Book Award)
  7. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Nobel)
  8. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Orange)
  9. Beloved by Toni Morrison (Pulitzer, Nobel)
  10. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (Pulitzer)
  11. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Pulitzer)
  12. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (Pulitzer)
And now for some alternates just in case I decide to change it up a bit.
  1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Governor General, Arthur C. Clarke)
  2. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville (Arthur C. Clarke)
  3. Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (Hugo)
  4. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (Pen/Faulkner, Orange)
  5. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (Pulitzer)
  6. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (Pulitzer, Spur)
  7. Seeker by Jack McDevitt (Nebula)
  8. War Trash by Ha Jin (Pen/Faulkner)
Nearly every one of these book was already on my list, and some I had been putting off, but no longer!

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Athena's Before Challenge Reads

Saturday, June 2, 2007 by Athena

Hello, I'm Athena of aquatique.net. Joining reading challenges seem to be a new habit of mine. I really look forward to the book discussions and making my own lists. These are the books I've already read over the years. Most of these books I've liked. Feel free to ask about any of them.

Booker Prize:
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (also a Governor General's Award winner)
Life of Pi by Yann Martel

British Book Award:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by by Lynne Truss
Stupid White Men by Michael Moore
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

Commonwealth Writers Prize:
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres

Costa (Whitbread) Book Awards:
The Amber Spyglass (HDM Book 3) by Philip Pullman
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Giller Prize:
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Governor General's Award:
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Hugo Award:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (also a Nebula)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Dune by Frank Herbert (also a Nebula)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

National Book Award:
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (also Pulitzer)

Newbery Medal Award:
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The High King by Lloyd Alexander
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
Holes by Louis Sachar

Nobel:
Herman Hesse - Siddhartha
Albert Camus - The Stranger
John Steinbeck - East of Eden, Grapes of Wrapth, Of Mice and Men
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera, and couple of others.
William Golding - Lord of the Flies
Jose Saramgo - Blindness, The Cave

PEN/Faulkner:
The Hours by Michael Cunningham (also a Pulitzer)

Pulitzer Prize:
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I've been using Lists of Bests for a couple years, which has allowed me to easily keep track of relevant lists and books I've read (and can compare with others). They have all the lists in the challenge, and I've tagged them BARC. Hope this tool helps anyone else.

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Nebula Award

Tuesday, May 29, 2007 by 1morechapter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula_Award_for_Best_Novel

2010 Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis
2009 The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
2008 Powers by Ursula K. Le Guin
2007 The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
2006 Seeker by Jack McDevitt
2005 Camouflage by Joe Haldeman
2004 Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
2003 The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
2002 American Gods by Neil Gaiman
2001 The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro
2000 Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
1999 Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
1998 Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman
1997 The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. Mcintyre
1996 Slow River by Nicola Griffith
1995 The Terminal Experiment by Robert J. Sawyer
1994 Moving Mars by Greg Bear
1993 Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
1992 Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
1991 Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick
1990 Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin
1989 The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
1988 Falling Free by Lois Mcmaster Bujold
1987 The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy
1986 Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
1985 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
1984 Neuromancer by William Gibson
1983 Startide Rising by David Brin
1982 No Enemy But Time by Michael Bishop
1981 Claw of the Conciliator: New Sun 2 by Gene Wolfe
1980 Timescape by Gregory Benford
1979 The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur Charles Clarke
1978 Dreamsnake by Vonda N. Mcintyre
1977 Gateway by Frederik Pohl
1976 Mars Plus by Frederik Pohl
1975 The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
1974 The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula Le Guin
1973 Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur Charles Clarke
1972 The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
1971 Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg
1970 Ringworld by Larry Niven
1969 The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
1968 Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin
1967 The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany
1966 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes and Babel-17: Including
Empire Star by Samuel R. Delany
1965 Dune by Frank Herbert

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