In an original twist of fate, I haven’t seen the beginning of this year swish by and I can’t believe it’s August already!
Shiny things in August
I’m really excited for this month: the Great British Bake Off is coming back in two days, shortly followed by Nine Worlds, my favourite geeky convention. If these weren’t enough to set me a-squee (they are), the BooktubeSFF Awards would certainly do it.
I started my booktube channel last October and just has it took me a while to find booktube in the first place, it has then taken me ages to find the BooktubeSFF, the science-fiction and fantasy loving section of the booktube community. But I did eventually find fellow SFF-focused booktubers, and I’m super excited to have found them now, just as the first BooktubeSFF Awards are kicking off.
Some excellent books were nominated for the inaugural awards, and from now until October, the organisers are holding readalongs to read & discuss all of the nominees over on Goodreads.
The August readalong will be focusing on these five works:
Best Adult Novel
The Martian by Andy Weir
I first read The Martian last year, and listened to the audiobook again in June, so I won’t be re-reading this one in August, but I’ll definitely participate in the readalong discussion.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
I bought a copy of this book a while back on a bit of a whim, so I’ll be reading it as soon as I’m done with my current commute book. I hear it’s beautifully written, although very bleak.
Best YA Novel
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie
I’ve just borrowed this book from the library, and I have high hopes for it. I haven’t read any Abercrombie before but I do enjoy a bit of grimdark, so there’s no reason I shouldn’t really like it.
Best Graphic Work
Rat Queens Vol 1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J Weibe and Roc Upchurch
I got an e-copy of this one in my Hugo voter’s pack and read it towards the end of July, so it’ll be fresh in my mind for the readalong.
Best Short Work
The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
I’ve got this book on hold at the library & I should get my hands on it soon, though I’d like to read The Name of the Wind before starting this one. This is a character study type of piece for one of the characters in The Name of the Wind, so it doesn’t make much sense to read it on its own.
And a few more…
Apart from these, I also want to at least start The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson, because its sequel, Words of Radiance, is one of the nominees and a part of the September readalong. The only slight issue I might have with that is that the books are A THOUSAND PAGES LONG. EACH. Quite literally.
If I have any time left over for reading this month (which I rather doubt!!), I’d also like to start The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. The third book, Cress, is nominated & we’ll get to that one in the September readalong, but I haven’t read either of the first two books, Cinder and Scarlet.
PHEW.
That is quite a list for a slow reader like me! Thank goodness I’ve got a plane ride or two planned this month…