#the martian by andy weir (audiobook)
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Currently Listening: The Martian by Andy Weir, narrated by R.C. Bray
This is my absolute favourite audiobook, and one I turn back to time after time when I need an audiobook to listen to. I love the characterization of Mark Watney, and I love how R.C. Bray brings him to life. Whenever I need a chuckle, this book does it!
What's an audiobook you keep coming back to? Why?
#the martian#andy weir#audiobook#r.c. bray#science fiction#a lot of true science though#booklr#book talk#listening is reading#currently listening
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3, 11, 14 for the book asks?
3. What were your top five books of the year?
(gonna lump some series together)
"Darius the Great is not OK" and the sequel "Darius the Great Deserves Better" by Adib Hhorram - maybe it was just the vibe I needed at the time, but they were lovely coming of age books.
The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (reread) It's been actual YEARS since I read these and I still cite them as a favourite series. It was amazing how much I forgot. Still a good read. Even if I want to throttle the teenage protag at times!
The Martian by Andy Weir. I picked the audiobook up on a whim because it was available and I needed something to listen to. Best whim I've had this year! I don't know what I expected from the book, (I haven't seen the film) but it was a blast from start to finish. Again, the narration by Wil Wheaton didn't hurt!
Jade City by Fonda Lee. I've only had a chance to read the first of the trilogy, and it was setting up for some grand things. It's been a while since I looked around the fantasy genre for a good series to sink my teeth into and there's been so much published since I last went looking. Can't wait to get to the next two.
A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland. Fantasy queer romance. Does what it says on the tin. The right amount of trope and emotion and vibe. I've read a few fantasy romances this year and I was expecting something melodramatic and cliche but fun, and it delivered way above what I expected! I know the author is publishing again next year and I can't wait. I think it's pirates next time.
Honourable Mentions
Lessons in Chemisty - Bonny Garmus
The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison/Sarah Monette
11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?
The Odssey - Homer (I know QUITE A WHILE Huh?)
I listened to an audiobook narrated by George Blagden, this has been a book I've tried to read for a while as I am ofc very aware of the cultural impact, but I just couldn't get into reading it. Considering the Odyssey comes from Oral Tradition it is so much better when read to you. George Blagden's voice doesn't hurt either :P
14. What books do you want to finish before the year is over?
I'm rereading Jane Austen's Emma for the first time since I read it the first time, and I'm trying to go slowly and really enjoy the language, not zoom through for "OMG WHAT HAPPENS NEXT". I'm now getting to enjoy the slower chapters and all the bonus gossip and vibes.
I'm also in the middle of Victoria Goddard's Hands of the Emperor which has been a good read so far, protags who aren't -20 are rare and I love it.
Yes I ADHD read multiple books at once.
Folks, send more book asks!! - The List is Here
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just barely holding back from sending you the entire list lmaooo. once again, feel free to pick and choose
1, 3, 5, 15, 24, 37, 42, 54, 77, 85, 100, 129, 131
Bean, my beloved. Hello dear thank you for always coming through 💖
A book that is close to your heart
Vicious by V.E. Schwab. If I had to pick a favorite book, it's probably this one. My original copy of this book is SO fucked up lmaoo
3. A stand-alone that you wish was a part of a series
OH Wilder Girls by Rory Power. What a phenomenal fucking book. It had an open ending that left me satisfied, but also really thinking about what was going to happen and wishing that I knew. I still think about this book and I read it like... four years ago?
5. Something in fiction that reads like poetry
THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR BY AMAL EL-MOHTAR AND MAX GLADSTONE HOLY SHIT HOLY FUCK I FUCKING LOVE THIS BOOK AND I HAVE FOR A LONG TIME AND ITS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOKS I'VE EVER READ I'M ABOUT TO READ IT FOR A FOURTH AND PROBABLY FIFTH TIME
15. A book rec you really enjoyed
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley!! This book has something for literally everyone, I'm actually in the process of re-reading it because I didn't know it was a part of a series when I first read it and my therapist keeps telling me that the way that she puts the overall plot of the series together is one of the most interesting things he's ever read
24. A book on your nightstand
The Cabinet by Un-Su Kim, The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin, The Martian by Andy Weir, Vicious by VE Schwab, I'll stop there because I'm not typing out like 20 titles for this and I wish I was joking
37. Your favorite heist book
I'm actually not entirely sure that this counts, but Anxious People by Frederick Backman. I have a bunch of heist books that I want to read, but I haven't gotten around to yet. This is one of my all time favorite recs though! I love Frederick Backman fr he's such a great author
42. A book that made you want to scream by the time you got to the end
Lost Boy by Christina Henry oh my god. Ohhhh my god. Oh my sweet lord. Everything by Christina Henry is phenomenal, but this one in particular fucked me up. This was one of those books that leaves you feeling raw and hollow at the end. It will stomp on you. It will shred your heart. It will be worth it.
54. A book with the best opening line
Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket. The opening line is literally "This morning I ate poison for breakfast." Full disclosure, if you go into that book expecting a full plot, you won't enjoy it as much. It's really a very wandery story without much plot, but I had a good time and normally I hate stuff like that. There's just something that's really so lovely about Lemony Snicket's way of writing though. Also, the audiobook is narrated by Patrick Warburton my beloved
77. A book so useless that you could use it as a coaster
Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith. This is the only book I've ever given a zero star rating to. I've never read fanfiction as bad as this book. This is comparable to my wattpad writing when I was 12. Maybe worse. I wouldn't even use it as a coaster, because I returned it.
85. Your favorite book about magical realism
Right now it's probably Even Though We Knew The End by C.L. Polk. This book was so beautiful, and so quick, and the vibes of it were absolutely impeccable. It's a queer, noir, magical realism murder mystery. It was also slightly devastating, but in a really beautiful, hopeful, satisfying way.
100. Your favorite gothic novel
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. This is one of my favorite books of all time, and it's definitely my favorite haunted house story of all time! The plot is just phenomenal and Shirley Jackson is SO incredible. Also it's far superior to The Haunting of Hill House (which she also wrote)
129. A book with beautiful prose
Gallant by V.E. Schwab. She couldn't just have one book on this list. She's my favorite author by FAR. I just. kdfharughu. I don't know how she does it. There are always SO many banger lines in her books. The way she writes is just so. SO. Idk man. If you like my stuff, read her stuff, she's such a huge inspiration to me.
131. Recommend any book you like!
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers OR The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey. Literally any book by either of them is phenomenal, but those are two of my favorites! They do have VASTLY different vibes though. A psalm for the wild built is like. a solar-punk utopian book about happiness and existence and success not being defined externally. And the echo wife is like. a sci-fi character study of two (three?) horribly fucked up people and also murder and also becoming the thing you fear the most and losing your humanity and rguahrgur. They're both amazing books though!
book rec ask game
#batsasks#book recs#bibatrambles#🫘 this was a terrible idea#thanks for the ask bestieeee!!!!#for context I've read every one of these and some of them i've read more than once#except for the ones on my nightstand#i'm currently reading those
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BOY HOWDY YOU SURE WERE RIGHT ABOUT THAT FUNNY LITTLE MARTIAN BOOK
I finished the audio book yesterday on my way to work and had to try and disguise the fact that I had been openly weeping in my car not 5 minutes earlier as I walked into the building. I also had to remind myself to Breathe after I realized I was holding my breath through just. the whole last chapter. GOD that book is so good, thank you so much for recommending it, and also I will be thinking about it for the next 2-5 business years.
HAHAHHAHA YOU ARE SO VERY WELCOME I'M GLAD YOU LIKED IT!!!!!!!! IT'S A REALLY GOOD BOOK AND READING IT HONESTLY JUST. ELEVATES THE MOVIE THAT MUCH MORE -- They're both very good, but knowing the source material makes the movie EVEN better
now... have you ever heard of a silly little book,, with a silly little audiobook that's even better, called Project Hail Mary - also by Andy Weir 👀... jk... unless
It's very good and if you're finding yourself looking for a new audiobook that scratches a very similar itch, I think you'll like it :D
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Recommended Reading
Here is a list of books, both prose and graphic, that I think are worth checking out. All of these books are speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, alternate reality, et cetera), since that’s essentially the only genre I read. Entries followed by a ♥ are my extra-special favorites. The ones marked with an H won at least one Hugo Award. Those marked with a ▽ contain prominent LGBTQ+ characters or issues.
Lighter Science Fiction
Douglas Adams: The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy and its first two sequels, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and Life, the Universe and Everything. The Hitchhiker’s Guide is a landmark work in SF comedy and is a must-read. If you are an audio listener, then I suggest starting with the 1978 BBC radio play, which was the original version of this story. (If you like THHGTTG, then check out Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and its sequel.) ♥
John Scalzi: Any of his SF, especially the Old Man's War series and the Interdependency series (The Collapsing Empire and its sequels). Scalzi’s work, with few exceptions, is not only very funny, but also includes some good science-fiction-y “big ideas.” If you are a fan of Star Trek, then his novel Redshirts, which won a Hugo, will be of particular interest. Interestingly in some of Scalzi’s recent work, such as Kaiju Preservation Society and the Lock In series, he never revels the gender of the main character. Almost all of Scalzi’s audiobooks are read by Wil Wheaton. Wheaton does a great job, but his voice does tend to make the listener imagine the main character as a man, even when there’s no textual evidence to support that imagining. ♥H
Martha Wells: The Murderbot Diaries (All Systems Red and sequels), winner of the 2021 Hugo Award for best series. Despite the name, this series of five novellas and one novel follows a human-bot hybrid (not a robot) security unit (SecUnit) as it struggles to protect its stupid humans while coping with social anxiety and finding time to watch soap operas. Plus, it doesn’t really murder all that often. The series is very funny, but it is also a surprisingly serious and insightful examination of sentience, autonomy, and living with neuroses. Wells, who identifies as neurodivergent, will write three more Muderbot books, beginning in November 2023, as part of her six-volume deal with Tor. I particularly enjoy Kevin R. Free’s narration of the audiobooks. I’m counting these books for LGBTQ+ representation because Murderbot is nonbinary and asexual, but since it isn’t human (and doesn’t want to be), nonbinary and/or ace readers (whom I assume to be human) may not find themselves reflected in Murderbot’s experience. ♥H▽
Scott Meyer: The Authorities series (The Authorities and Destructive Reasoning), Master of Formalities, and Grand Theft Astro. Meyer’s books are all hilarious, fun adventures. The Authorities books follow a privately funded taskforce created to investigate crimes that the police cannot solve. Megan Sloan is one of my favorite detectives in fiction. Master of Formalities follows a protocol expert in a far-future monarchy. My favorite gag in this book occurs when someone becomes his own uncle. Grand Theft Astro is a heist story with Meyer’s trademark humor. If you enjoy these books, check out his Magic 2.0 series, which is described in the Lighter Fantasy/SF Mashups section. Luke Daniels, who narrates all of Meyer’s audiobooks, does an excellent job with these stories. ♥
Ernest Cline: Ready Player One. This book is great fun, especially for those that remember the ‘80s or enjoy the popular culture of that era. The audiobook is narrated, very appropriately, by nerd icon Wil Wheaton.
Andy Weir: The Martian and Project Hail Mary. The Martian is the basis of the very faithful film adaption (which I also recommend), and it is super-realistic science fiction with a lot of jokes. Project Hail Mary feels much like The Martian (though far more speculative) at first, but a third of the way in, a major plot development shakes up the story for the better. ♥
Dennis E. Taylor: We are Legion (We are Bob) and sequels (the Bobiverse series). This series begins with the dark premise of the protagonist being uploaded into a von Neumann probe and launched into deep space, but it’s actually very funny. Ray Porter does a great job narrating the audiobooks.
More Serious Science Fiction
David Brin: Startide Rising and The Uplift War. In this universe, sentient species modify or “uplift” presentients to help them bridge the gap to sentence, after which the “client” species is indentured to its “patron” for 100,000 years. Humans, once discovered by the Five Galaxies civilization, only escape indenture because they have already uplifted chimpanzees and dolphins, making humans the lowest-ranking and most hated patron species in the known universe. These books have great worldbuilding and aliens that are very well developed in terms of both biology and culture. The other Uplift books are also good, but these two, which each won a Hugo, are my favorites. ♥H
David Brin: Glory Season. This novel is an amazing extrapolation of an agrarian society built on parthenogenesis. The main character is a rare “variant,” a person who wasn’t cloned but was instead conceived sexually via one of the tiny number of men on the planet. She and her twin must find roles in society without the benefit of membership in a clan of genetically identical women occupying an established niche. Plus, there are fun puzzles and Conway’s Game of Life. ♥
Vernor Venge: A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky. In this universe, the laws of physics vary with the average density in the galactic “neighborhood.” Thus, while the Earth lies at a point where only sublight speeds and human-level intelligence are possible, farther out in the plane of the galaxy and especially off the plane, superluminal speeds and superhuman intelligence can be achieved. Also, on one planet in the “Slow Zone,” there is a race of wolf-like beings who are not individually sentient but who achieve sentience (via ultrasonic communication) in groups of four to six. These books have spectacular worldbuilding, well conceived aliens, and some very compelling science-fictional “big ideas.” Can be read in either order, but publishing order (as listed above) is likely best. Each novel won a Hugo. ♥H
Vernor Venge: Across Realtime. This volume is a compilation of the novels The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime as well as the novella The Ungoverned. These stories revolve around an interesting technology for altering how time passes.
James S. A. Corey: The Expanse series (Leviathan's Wake, eight sequel novels and several shorter works). Fairly hard science fiction based on a politically strained three-way balance of power in a solar system that is confronted with terrifying alien technology. This series is the basis for The Expanse TV/web series, which I also recommend. The Expanse won the 2020 Hugo for best series. ♥H
Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice and sequels (The Imperial Radch series). A far-future story in which a sentient ship formerly controlling and inhabiting many human bodies is now confined to a single human body (and with its ship self destroyed). These books attracted a lot of attention because the Radchaai language only uses female pronouns, and thus the gender of many of the characters is never revealed, but there's a lot more to this story than that. Ancillary Justice won basically all the awards offered in 2013. Leckie’s novel Provenance and her upcoming Translation State take place in the same universe but follow new characters. ♥H▽
Arkady Martine: A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace. A new ambassador (with the old ambassador’s memories shoved into her brain) is appointed to represent a “barbarian” space station to the “civilized” Teixcalaanli Empire, where she becomes embroiled in a succession crisis and meets people with names like Three Seagrass (my favorite character) and Eight Antidote. Eventually, she must also negotiate first contact with sentient aliens. These books are an interesting examination of imperialism and language. Both novels won the Hugo Award. H▽
Becky Chambers: The Wayfarers series (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and sequels). This anthology series explores different cultures and locations in a well developed galactic civilization. Wayfarers won the 2019 Hugo Award for best series. H▽
Lighter Fantasy/SF Mashups
Scott Meyer: Off to Be the Wizard and its sequels (the Magic 2.0 series). These books are science fiction disguised as fantasy. An amateur hacker discovers a computer file that can be edited to change the real world. Within 24 hours, everything goes wrong, and he flees from the FBI to medieval England, planning to set himself up as a wizard using his new capabilities. That plan doesn’t go well, either. These books are laugh-out-loud funny and may be of particular interest to computer scientists. The audiobooks’ narrator, Luke Daniels hilariously brings the text to life. ♥
More Serious Fantasy/SF Mashups
Tamsyn Muir: The Locked Tomb series (Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, Nona the Ninth, and Alecto the Ninth [not yet published]). Charles Stross described the first novel as “Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!” Honestly, I’m not sure whether to put this series under the “Lighter” or “More Serious” heading. There is a lot of humor, especially in the first book, but there is also quite a lot of horror and sadness. The second novel will absolutely gaslight you, forcing you to question your own sanity, but you’ll be glad you trusted Muir before you reach the end of the book. I can’t imagine anyone other than the excellent Moira Quirk narrating these books. ♥▽
John Scalzi: The God Engines. This novella, in which humans use enslaved gods (defeated enemies of their own god) to power their starships, is almost the only Scalzi work without a large dose of humor. It’s very good, though.
Anne McCaffrey: The first six Dragonriders of Pern books. (I've only read the first six.) These are science fiction disguised as fantasy and are classics in the genre. Far in the future, on an agrarian planet that has forgotten its history, humans ride sentient, telepathic dragons into battle against deadly spores that fall from the sky when another planet in an extremely eccentric orbit comes close.
Lighter Fantasy
Nicholas Eames: The Band series (Kings of the Wyld, Bloody Rose, and Outlaw Empire [not yet published]). Mercenary bands are the rock stars of the fantasy world in which these novels take place, attracting rabid fans and touring huge arenas. These books certainly have strong elements of humor, much of which is focused on the central conceit, but there is also a lot of action and pathos to be had. Both published books a great fun to read, and I’m looking forward to reading the third.
Tamsyn Muir: Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower. This novella subverts fairytale tropes and comments on gender roles while delivering an outsized dose of Muir’s trademark dry humor. Moira Quirk is hilarious as the audiobook narrator. I’m counting this book for LGBTQ+ because one of the characters doesn’t identify with any gender and because the story examines gender roles. ♥▽
Travis Baldree: Legends and Lattes. A female orc warrior retires from adventuring to open a coffee shop. "What's coffee?" everyone asks. This novel is well crafted, full of interesting characters, and very cute. My friend @novelconcepts aptly described it as “a beautiful warm hug of a book.” There's even a tiny touch of WLW romance, if you’re into that. Baldree is writing a prequel. ▽
More Serious Fantasy
Brandon Sanderson: All of the series and standalone books that are set in the Cosmere (rather than on some alternate Earth). Mistborn: The Final Empire is probably a good place to start. The Stormlight Archive (The Way of Kings and sequels) is my favorite series of Sanderson’s, but each of those books is >1300 pages or >45 hours in audio form, so it may not be the best place to start. Era 2 of the Mistborn series (set 300 years after the Era 1) is probably the most fun. Sanderson also has many books not set in the Cosmere that are more than worth reading. His method of taking a break from writing is to write on a different series, so, every year, he puts out ~400,000 words worth of material (3-4 normal novels or a single Stormlight book). If you listen to the audiobooks of the Stormlight Archive, I recommend getting the hardcopy as well, since the art included really helps bring the world of Roshar to life. ♥
Scott Lynch: The Lies of Locke Lamora and sequels (The Gentleman Bastard series). Great worldbuilding of an original fantasy world with dark humor. Lynch finally completed his first draft of Book 4 (of 7 planned) in May 2019 after a 4-year delay, so I’m hoping it will be available eventually. I’m starting to give up hope, though.
China Miéville: Perdido Street Station. Very rich worldbuilding. Very, very dark. Don’t read this book if you aren’t interested in depressing storylines. Miéville’s other work is just as inventive and, in his word, “weird” as this one.
N. K. Jemison: The Broken Earth trilogy (The Fifth Season and its sequels). These books have an intriguing premise, extensive worldbuilding, and an interesting writing style. These novels won the best-novel Hugo for three consecutive years, which no author had done before. H▽
Alternate Reality (Including Alternate History and Steampunk)
Elizabeth Bear: Karen Memory. This novel follows a lesbian prostitute as she teams up with a lawman in a steampunk version of a Seattle-like city in the Pacific Northwest. I also enjoyed Bear’s space opera series, White Space (Night and Machine). ▽
Cherie Priest: Boneshaker and its sequels (The Clockwork Century series). Steampunk + zombies = fun. This story begins with a plague of zombification erupting out of Seattle, and it finally provides a reason for Steampunks to wear goggles. ♥
Ian Tregillis: The Mechanical and its sequels (The Alchemy Wars series). Alchemy + steampunk robots + a little philosophy.
China Miéville: The City and the City. See the Detective Stories section of this document. ♥
Felix Gilman: The Half-Made World. Steampunk mixed with fantasy. Also, sentient, demon-possessed firearms.
Mary Robinette Kowal; The Lady Astronaut series (The Calculating Stars and sequels). This universe is an extremely hard-science-fiction alternate history in which a catastrophic event dramatically accelerates the space program. The Lady Astronaut of Mars, a short story, is chronologically last but was written first. There’s also a short story called “We Interrupt this Broadcast” that comes chronologically first but isn’t closely connected to the rest. Kowal’s second job is audiobook narrator—she narrates Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series, for example—and she narrates all these books herself. Interestingly, Kowal’s third job is puppeteer, so she’s pretty busy.
Scott Westerfeld: The Leviathan series, as described in the young-adult section of this list. ♥
Detective Stories in Speculative-Fictional Settings
Scott Meyer: The Authorities and Destructive Reasoning. See the Lighter Science Fiction section. ♥
John Scalzi: Lock In and its sequel, Head On. This series of detective stories takes place in a world where a disease has left millions of people “locked into” paralyzed bodies and forced to use remotely operated mecha to interact with the world. Scalzi never reveals the gender of the main character, leaving it up to the reader’s imagination.
John Scalzi: The Dispatcher series. As of a few years ago, if someone is intentionally killed, they stand a 99.9% chance of recovering with their body reset to a few hours earlier, which makes murder more difficult, but not impossible. Dispatchers are licensed to kill—I mean dispatch—people before they can die from injuries or illnesses, thus giving them a second chance. One such service provider gets caught up in illegal dispatches and a series of mysteries.
Brandon Sanderson: Snapshot. Two detectives are sent into a snapshot, a detailed simulation of an entire city and its millions of inhabitants on a specific day, to investigate a crime.
China Miéville: The City and the City. This book is amazingly thorough exploration of a ridiculous premise: two cities occupying the same space. This novel is probably my favorite of Miéville’s books. ♥
Richard K. Morgan: Altered Carbon. A murder mystery with an SF “big idea” at its core. The basis for a Netflix series that I haven’t seen.
Superheroes and Supervillains in Prose
Brandon Sanderson: Steelheart and sequels (The Reckoners series). This is a young-adult series in which all super-powered people, called Epics, eventually turn evil.
Seanan McGuire: The Velveteen series. This series is McGuire’s funniest work and is available for free here, but I recommend buying the books to support the author. McGuire also has a number of other fantasy series under her own name as well as some SF/horror series under the pen name Mira Grant.
Comics and Graphic Novels
Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, and Matt Wilson: Paper Girls. This 30-issue comic follows four newspaper-delivery girls who get swept up in a temporal war on Hell Day, 1988. They travel to the ancient past and the far future, meet their adult selves, and learn a lot about themselves in the process. The comic was adapted into an excellent Amazon Prime series, which is a bit more character-focused than the plot-driven comic. Both comic and show are recommended. ♥▽
Ryan North: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. This comic was my favorite ongoing superhero series until its recent ending. Firstly, it’s hilarious. Secondly, since Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl’s alter ego) is a computer-science student, there are a number of gags about coding and math. Thirdly, the heroine usually solves her problem not by beating up the villains, but by empathizing with them, understanding their problems, and helping them find nonviolent solutions. Since the series ended with Issue 50, it’s quite possible to read it all. ♥
N. D. Stevenson: Nimona. This mash-up of fantasy and science fiction is not only filled with humor but also includes a surprising amount of sweetness. ▽
Various authors: Lumberjanes. This young-adult comic series follows a group of cabin-mates at a summer camp for girls—excuse me, “hard-core lady-types”—as they encounter a surprisingly high frequency of supernatural phenomena over one time-dilated summer. This comic wrapped up its run after 75 issues. ▽
Alan Moore: Watchman. There’s a reason many people point to this graphic novel as an exceptional example of the genre. Honestly the way the story is told is more interesting than the story itself, but the storytelling is well worth the price of admission.
Short Stories in Speculative-Fiction Settings
Various authors: Metatropolis and its sequels. This series of anthologies is a near-future look at how cities (and green spaces) might evolve.
John Scalzi: Shadow War of the Night Dragons, Book One: The Dead City: Prologue. Trust me, read this hilarious fantasy parody for free here.
John Scalzi: Miniatures. A collection of very short science-fiction stories.
Young-Adult Speculative Fiction
Brandon Sanderson: The Rithmatist. In an alternate United States (so not in the Cosmere), geometric drawings are used to defend the world against an onslaught of 2D creatures. If you listen to the audiobook, I strongly suggest buying the hardcopy as well, since the drawings included play such as strong role in the story. I also suggest the Reckoners series, listed above, but The Rithmatist is my favorite non-adult story from Sanderson. ♥
Scott Westerfeld: Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath. This series takes place in an alternate-history WWI, where one side uses steampunk mecha, and the other relies on genetically engineered animals. There’s a bonus epilogue online, for those how can’t get enough. The hardcopy contains some very nice illustrations. The companion Manual of Aeronautics provides much additional (full-color) artwork, though the character descriptions in the last few pages contain major spoilers. ♥
Mark Lawrence: The Book of the Ancestor trilogy (Red Sister, Grey Sister, and Holy Sister). On a world being buried under ice, an orphan with magical powers joins others like her training to become warrior nuns. ▽
Myke Cole: The Sacred Throne series (The Armored Saint and sequels). In a land ruled by a religious tyrant who claims to have defeated devils from another plane, a teenage girl must fight to protect those she loves when the emperor’s vicious zealots arrive at her tiny village. Plus, there’s a steampunk mecha suit. The age of the protagonist points toward a young-adult audience, but this book has far more violence than is typical of YA novels. ▽
T. Kingfisher: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking. “T. Kingfisher” is a pseudonym used by Ursula Vernon for young-adult and adult titles. This book follows a very minor wizard whose magic only works on dough. The story is full of humor and heart, and there’s more than a little (bread-based) action as well.
Anne McCaffrey: The Harper Hall Trilogy: Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums. These books are a subset of McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series, which is discussed eleshere.
Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games series. These books are the basis for the kids-killing-kids battle royale film series.
Children’s and Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction
Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events. Very well done, but also very dark. The Netflix series based on the books is also quite good.
Ursula Vernon: Castle Hangnail. This adorable story follows a would-be wicked witch who applies to fill a vacancy at the titular castle.
Brandon Sanderson: The Alcatraz series (beginning with Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians). These books take place on an alternate Earth (thus not in the Cosmere) where most of the world is run by a cabal of evil librarians. There’s a ton of fun adventure and silly humor, which my son loved when I read them to him as an 8- to 9-year-old. Be sure to get the later printings with art by Hayley Lazo; her work is great.
Kazu Kibuishi: The Amulet series (beginning with The Stonekeeper). A portal-fantasy graphic novel with beautiful art and an interesting, magical setting.
#unsolicited opinions#bibliophilia#science fiction#fantasy#speculative fiction#alternate reality#alternate history#detective story#mystery#recommendation#books
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Hi 👋 For the Book Ask: 6 & 12?
6. What is your favorite book to recommend?
Hm, that is highly dependent on what you are looking for. Going for the books features less often on tumblr, I'd suggest:
The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea (middle grade folkloric fantasy set in Ireland)
Six Wakes by Murr Lafferty (adult sci-fi murder mystery)
When you trap a tiger by Tae Keller (middle grade, loss, contemporary with Korean folklore)
Bramble Fox by Kathrin Tordasi (middle grade portal fantasy set in Wales)
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill (adult, crime, set in 1980s Laos, with some magical elements)
12. What book have you re-read most often?
As I excluded audiobooks last time I answered, I will tackle them now. As I wrote, I have several on repeat. Because I love them so much. These are for example: The Truth, Thud, Monstrous Regiment, and Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett read by Stephen Briggs; Die Känguru Chroniken (alle Bände) by Marc-Uwe Kling, and The Martian by Andy Weir, read by R. C. Bray.
Thank you for asking!
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What do you listen to/watch when crafting? I'm making a quilt and looking for documentaries of podcasts to put on in the background and would love recommendations if you have any!
Good question! I watch and listen to a lot of stuff, I'm not going to lie, I'll try to keep this list reasonably short because I need to go to bed but I hope I can help!
Watch: so when the thing I'm doing is simple/I don't have to look, I like to put on a show. I have a friend who can crochet while also watching a show with subtitles at the same time but I do not possess this power so I generally put on English shows or movies, I try to avoid shows that use a lot of visual humour since I miss a lot looking down at my work
- Avatar: The Last Airbender is so so so good I'm so glad my friend bullied me into watching it
- Studio Ghibli movies (though it can be really hard focusing on my craft when watching these because the art is just so beautiful I can't stop looking)
- Police Procedurals (yes, they're copaganda but I literally grew up watching them so they're kind of comforting?) So think Bones, Castle, Criminal Minds, CSI ect.
- Youtube video essays: I love watching videos that talk about fashion, how it's made, fast fashion and it's consequences as well as the general enshittification of clothes as well as videos on different techniques like nalbinding, knitting shetland lace, darning, spinning ect.
Listen:
- Concept albums! I love concept albums, listening to them from start to finish, some of my favourites are Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge and I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love by My Chemical Romance, American Idiot by Green Day
- Actually any album really is great when you're doing particularly difficult work, just put one on and listen to it start to finish
- Audiobooks! I borrow audiobooks from my local library through a BorrowBox account but you can also find heaps of audiobooks on youtube! My favourite audiobooks so far have been The Martian by Andy Weir, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins and The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells but there are also So Many classics on Youtube like Pride and Prejudice, The Bell Jar, 1984 and others
- Podfics! If you like fanfiction, depending on the fandom, you can sometimes find audio versions of your favourite fan fics. I listen to a lot of My Hero Academia podfics since the fandom is so popular there's a lot of choices available but I know that some other fandoms I read don't have as many podfics available.
- Podcasts! I don't listen to a lot of podcasts but I do still have some recommendations. I've listened to a little of The Magnus Archives, Tales From The Arcanist and You're Wrong About
Alright that ended up a little longer than I anticipated but I hope that helps! I'm going to bed now
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Book ask - 6, 10
6. What is your favourite book to recommend?
I'm gonna do three for this one. Sue me. For non-fiction, I love to recommend Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber. It's a really interesting and well written dissection of the different types of jobs that pretty much everyone can agree are entirely make-work, why they exist, and what can be done about this. It's also a very good on-ramp to the rest of his economics and anthropology writing which I find so engaging.
For partially fiction, it has to be Jerome K Jerome's Three Men in a Boat. If you're not familiar, it's a travelogue turned comic novel from the late 1800s, of three men rowing up the Thames in a small boat. It's an extremely funny book with the jokes ageing remarkably well, and the prose is charmingly florid but doesn't take itself too seriously. In what way is it 'partly fiction', the extremely real genre I assigned it? Well the author made up a dog for the book. It's terrific. There is also an audiobook version read by Hugh Laurie and he is the perfect choice for it, he knocks it out of the park.
Finally: fiction. I always love an sf book where something really fucked up happens to a guy in the middle of space. Blindsight by Peter Watts is probably one of my favourite stories like this, but unfortunately it's a bit too much to recommend generally (too many caveats) but an admirable (and much more optimistic) alternative is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. What if there was an astronaut who woke up alone in deep space with no comms to earth, complete memory loss, and the future existence of life on earth at stake? What if this became a really stunning novel about friendship and sacrifice, and (of course, since it's by the author of The Martian) how fuckin cool doing science is. One of the cases where the audiobook is very additive to the experience for reasons I shan't spoil. Check it out!
10. What is your favourite book to recommend to someone who doesn't usually like that genre?
Fantasy is one of those genres where if I love a story, I adore it, but I get put off quite quickly by some of the more overused tropes. When I want to rec fantasy books to others who feel the same way there's a really really obvious standout. Its Discworld¹. The actual recommendation varies depending on the person I'm recommending it to, but top 3 would be Monstrous Regiment, Wyrd Sisters, and Going Postal.
1. I mean yes of course it is. I'm sorry it's not a more interesting answer but it's true and you can't argue with that²
2. "Can't argue with the truth, sir."
"In my experience, Vimes, you can argue with anything." - Jingo, Terry Pratchett
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19 and 22 for the book asks :D
19. Did you use your library?
Very much yes. Both online and in person. Browsing the library catalogue and making lists is one of my favourite things to do. "Here's all the books I can get for free!!"
I use the library to take reading risks, either outside genre, or a story in genre that I'm not sure I'm going to like. Or just cos I don't have enough cash for books atm and want to read. Also for audiobooks. Because they're expensive and when I'm working I can zip through those. Libraries are great.
Some fab things I read from the library that I wouldn't have tried otherwise.
The Martian - ANDY WEIR
Darius the Great is Not OK - ADIB KHORRAM
Foundation ISAAC ASIMOV
22. What’s the longest book you read?
Possibly... To Sleep in a Sea of Stars - Christopher Paolini. I listened to the audiobook which was 32 hours long while I was working, google says the book is 880 pages.
I also (re) read 6 Robin Hobb books in the same world, and they're pretty big individually.
For the book asks
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@the-butch-of-blaviken thanks for the tag 💖
Answer the following questions and tag 9 people you want to know better:
Last song: Contra viento y marea (Against wind and tide) by Lèpoka, my friend showed me a bunch of songs about pirates and drunkards and this one was catchy.
Currently watching: Aldnoah.Zero, with a friend, it is certainly an anime, it’s ok, the mecha aren’t even the main focus and some designs are kinda ridiculous, not good but not too bad. Also I’m going to start the Witcher S3 now, and I want to finish watching Earthspark.
Currently reading: Besides some uni stuff I haven’t been able to read a book in a while, I can’t focus long enough, my last attempt was The life of Lazarillo of Tormes (this is the old ass book reading website, the main character gives me so many feelings, he had a hard childhood ok) but ended up listening to the audiobook instead lmao I also have The Martian by Andy Weir and a few others unfinished since forever, I’m a disaster.
Currently obsessed with: Pirates, mermaids, water, the sea, I have fish brain, I long to return to the ocean where I belong, trying to resist the urge to mermaid-ify all my blorbos. The DnD session I have in two days! My character is leveling up and will finally take his paladin oath, ahh they grow up so fast...
Tagging @noodleblade, @wafferreyes, @lakka-arts, @astro-nautics and @soyuncalimero if you guys want to do it <3
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About Me:
Name: EJ
Age: 19 (painfully gen z)
Pronouns: she/her
Location: UK (Bri’ish innit)
Sexual orientation: bisexual
Occupation: student, studying for BA in film studies (1st year)
MBTI: INTJ (architect)
Likes: reading, writing, watching stuff, Marvel (especially Spider-Man), Star Wars (especially The Mandalorian), horror (especially Saw), music, musicals (especially Beetlejuice)
Current main interests (constantly changing): Pedro Pascal (+ filmography), Leigh Whannell (+ filmography), Saw, The Mandalorian, The Last of Us, Call of Duty, Heath Ledger (always), Star Wars
Current read: Haunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton (ebook), Ghost Radio by Leopoldo Gout (audiobook)
Current watch: The Mandalorian (weekly), Beyond Paradise (weekly), Narcos, Young Dracula (rewatch), Louis Theroux Documentaries, 911: Lone Star (weekly), Gogglebox (weekly)
Favourite films: Tangled, 10 Things I Hate About You, Jaws, Saw, Jurassic Park, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Get Out, Top Gun, Prospect, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Brokeback Mountain, A Knight’s Tale, Knight & Day, The Social Network, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Princess Bride, American Psycho, Clueless, Legally Blonde, Jennifer’s Body, Some Like It Hot, Little Miss Sunshine, The Martian, Final Destination, The Batman, Heathers, Mamma Mia
Favourite shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Mandalorian, Friends, Criminal Minds, Sex Education, Stranger Things, The Big Bang Theory, Ghosts, Doctor Who, Merlin, Fleabag, Miranda, 911, 911: Lone Star, I Am Not Okay With This, Bones, The Mentalist, Death in Paradise, Narcos
Favourite actors (changes regularly): Pedro Pascal, Paul Dano, Heath Ledger, Leigh Whannell, Nicolas Cage, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Keke Palmer, Lupita Nyong’o, Lucy Liu, Gemma Chan, Joe Mazzello, Rami Malek, Stanley Tucci, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Keanu Reeves, Queen Latifah, Angela Bassett, Jane Lynch, Tracie Thoms
Favourite YouTube channels (a lot of movie commentators): Aaron and Jo, Dylan Is In Trouble, MacDoesIt, Pretty Much It, Trin Lovell
Favourite music artists: Mook, Queen, ABBA, Olly Murs, P!nk, The Beach Boys, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Elvis Presley
Favourite books: Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco, Forget Me Not by Karissa Kinword, The Martian by Andy Weir, From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata, The Mindf*ck Series by S. T. Abby, Abandon by Meg Cabot, Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab, Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
This is just some generic information about me. Always feel free to ask questions if you want to know more :)
Uhhhh what else do you want to know?
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WWW Wednesday
1. What are you currently reading?
I just started Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I saw the movie The Martian, but I've never read the book, so this is a first for this author.
I've started Sweet Like Jasmine by Bonnie Gray for my "facebook friend recommendation." It's a short book, only 250 pages, and it's exceedingly Christian and Christian self help and I think it's going to be a slog.
I'm still listening to The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke. I'm about 2/3 of the way through it and I love it.
2. What have you recently finished reading?
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher - this one started out really great. It was definitely more fantasy based than horror, but the beginning was really creepy. I loved the characters, especially. But then there were chapters of a copied manuscript (apparently it was a short story by Lovecraft) in the middle and it started to drag. Rather disappointing.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarrow. I managed to get over the hump of unbelievability and enjoyed the rest of the story. It is not high literature and it's trope-y but in a good way. The spice was just right too. Iron Flame has a really long waitlist, but the audiobook is available so I might be listening to that next.
The Magical Language of Others by EJ Koh. NPR did a write up on her debut novel, but it wasn't available at the library, so I looked at her other books and this one fit in with my unofficial theme of "Asian women write about their complex relationships with their mothers" of 2023. It was a quick read but I found the writing to be confusing in places and lacking in emotional growth.
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood. Have I been avoiding reading Ali Hazelwood’a novels because she wrote Reylo fanfic even though they are about smart nerdy women? Yes. But this one came available at the library and I was in the mood for something light and I found it charming and nerdy and engaging. Even though Nolan Sawyer is just Adam Driver by another name. I do have to protest with it being labeled as Young Adult. The protagonist has graduated high school and her love interest in a few years older. It’s definitely more of a new adult novel.
3. What will you be reading next?
Well a bunch of books all came available at the library at the same time, so I'm shifting around a little.
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenz. My friend has highly recommended these books and the main character is a doctor. Will I finally find my goldilocks of a medical romance?
A Power Unbound by Freya Marske. I really loved the first books of the trilogy so I'm excited.
Mister Magic by Kiersten White. I heard that she wrote this book as a way for her to process leaving the LDS church, so of course, that got me interested.
Know My Name by Chantel Miller. Book club book.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - still on the list. I've managed to avoid spoilers from the movie so far.
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ngl it's been a rough reading week but i'm back on a saturday! go me for having my shit together.
i finished two things this week, skulduggery pleasant and hidamari ga kikoeru (i hear the sunspot) and enjoyed both!
the audiobook of skulduggery pleasant is really good, and the actual text holds up surprisingly well from what i remember when i read it as a kid. it's not perfect (all the stuff with beryl and co is a bit ehhhh even if it evolves later) and i'm looking forward to carrying on with the series!
hidamari ga kikoeru was an easy read, with some nice art and enjoyable characters. i was left a bit wanting at the end of the volume but i know there's more in this universe so i'll pick those up at some point. it didn't grab me as such, but i can definitely see why people love it.
i attempted to finish the semantic error novel but idk, i think i'll just follow the manhwa at this point. i felt like i was missing things which the manhwa makes up for in the art (which sucks cos i do want to read the novel but don't know korean). translation is hard work tho, and i appreciate the team for putting it out there for people like me to read!
also still pushing along with children of time but have had a rough week in general and it felt like a bit much to tackle atm. i'm only 150 pages in. i enjoy it when i actually sit down with it (and am very glad i'm not an arachnophobe) but it's getting over that intimidation hump that's the problem. portia's bits are the most engaging for me.
in terms of stuff i've started, my new audiobook is the martian by andy weir and read by wil wheaton, which is great. he hits all the right comic beats and makes the science sound more engaging and convincing than i remember the paper copy being (which was already pretty good). if you're gonna read it, this is the way i'd recommend. the sudden shift from first person to third is still super jarring tho.
i'm also a very short way through utsukushii kare (aka my beautiful man) and am finding the book much less mean than the drama, so far anyway. plenty of time for that to change 😅 cos hira hasn't properly interacted with kiyoi yet (i'm at the bit where he's got his first pennies). i've got all three LNs, so we'll see how it goes. it's fairly easy to read, and the art is lovely.
i'm pretty sure that's it? hopefully i finish some of these by next week and offer some more interesting thoughts!
#books#bookblr#reading#skulduggery pleasant#hidamari ga kikoeru#children of time#utsukushii kare#the martian#not been at my best this week ngl#but should be better next week#utsukushii kare will take a while for me to get through#i'm like 4% in after a couple of hours#might have to change up my system#scheduled#i've been reading a lot of fanfic sooooo#there's a really long one i've been trying to finish and it's getting a bit exhausting#it's over 300k words but in 20 chapters so it feels like a bigger commitment than it actually is#anywho#see you next week
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Book asks: 12, 23, 26
Ask Game
12. which book will you read next?
My to-be-read list is quite extensive so I haven't settled on my next book but it's probably going to be one of these three.
It kinda depends on what my mood's going to be after I finish the middle grade audiobook I'm currently listening to.
If I feel like a light, fun adventure with a woman who was the brightest magician of her age until she lost her magic (and was the only woman accepted in the Victorian(ish)-time magic university) but now has opened a school for female magicians? Then the second book in The Harwood Spellbook series.
(also depends if I'm feeling like audiobook or not, the narrator in the first book was excellent so I'm planning to read the second book by listening too).
If however I want something heavier and completely new then Elatsoe looks like it's a very interesting read. A queer fantasy book focusing on a main character from a Lipan Apache family who can raise the ghosts of dead animals? Sign me up.
But yeah, I feel like that one will require more mental and emotional space in me, so I'll need to be in the right frame of mind.
And finally, if I feel like checking out the newest Brandon Sanderson book (which I've heard is getting excellent reviews). I'll read Yumi and the Nightmare Painter.
23. what book to movie adaptation do you love?
The Martian by Andy Weir. Great book, great movie. Had a lot of fun with both.
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Matilda by Roald Dahl. I've got a special place in my heart for that book because it's actually the first book I ever read. And the movie was everything that kid!me wanted it to be (including the ending, I'm still glad they changed Matilda's ending to not losing her power).
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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. And its absolutely perfect 2005 adaptation (though this is a bit of a cheat as I watched the movie first, but as it inspired me to immediately go read the book I'm going to count it).
26. do you use libby? (or other)
No. It's unfortunately unavailable in my country.
I do subscribe to Scribd, but I know that's not the same.
#ask game#ask meme#books#book recs#book rec#thornbound#elatsoe#yumi and the nightmare painter#matilda#the martian#pride and prejudice#stephanie burgis#darcie little badger#brandon sanderson#andy weir#roald dahl#jane austen#terapsina rambles#terapsina's book rambles#answers#anonymous
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3, 48, and 128 for the ask game, please!
Hello! Thank you for the asks!
3. A stand-alone that you wish was part of a series
Oh.....that's both so good and so hard!!! The closet I can get right now is actually a short story in an anthology I read last year. The anthology is called The Book of Dragons and the story is Matriculation by Elle Katharine White. Such wonderful world building in such a small amount of time. I love the main character, I love the dragon, and I love the world that we get a small peek at. I actually looked to see if Elle Katharine White had written more for this world, but alas, no dice.
48. Your favourite sci-fi novel
My fave sci-fi is The Martian by Andy Weir, hands down. I love the audiobook for it, read by R.C. Bray, and I reread it every couple of years. Or just when I need a pick-me-up as the character of Mark Watney is hilarious!
128. A book that made you hungry
Kitchen Chinese by Ann Mah made me so hungry for Chinese food when I read it a few years ago... I probably need to read it again, as I don't know how I'd feel about it now, but I am definitely a sucker for asian food. My favourite food ever!
Thank you for the asks! See the list here and send me any you want me to answer!
#ask game#questions answered#booklr#books#the book of dragons#matriculation#elle katharine white#the martian#andy weir#r.c. bray#kitchen chinese#ann mah
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I started listening to the Project Hail Mary (by Andy Weir, same dude who wrote The Martian) audiobook yesterday and the scene where he's all "I have to save my kids" and the one lady says "you don't have any kids" and he responds "yes I do I have dozens of them they come to my classroom every day" I may have started crying
#project hail mary#andy weir#i may not be a phd having science teacher who is good enough to go to space#but i AM a teacher#and god damn id want to save my kids too
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