Fantasy February 2013

FF is back! I think this will be our 3rd year and it has been a popular theme month. I know I accumulate many fantasy and related titles through the year, (thanks LT, you enabler!) so this is a good way to knock a few of those titles off the shelf.
This is a very easy going Thread but we'll try to keep the titles close to fantasy, which is a very broad genre. Dystopian, steampunk and Urban Fantasy fit in just fine.

The titles I plan to read are, (I'll be adding a couple more too):
Tigana- Thanks to Valerie (where is she?) for the big nudge on the is one, plus Bonnie (my LT Goddess) recently read and loved it.
Rebel Heart- This is the 2nd book in the Dust Lands series and hasn't received very positive reviews. My daughter was disappointed.
Oryx and Crake- Because this fits so well and I can't wait for Atwood April.
The Lies of Locke Lamora- I hope I can bookhorn this one in. It's been waiting in the audio stacks for a couple of years.

Hi Mark: I'll have to rummage around and see if I can find something of interest to me. Enjoy your Fantasy February reads!!

Would alternate histories count? If so, I'm thinking of:

--Two in the Field by Darryl Brock, which is a baseball time travel book
--Alternate Presidents by Mike Resnick, an alternate history of presidential politics
--The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser, a time travel book

>2 lindapanzo: Linda, I can vouch for Alternate Presidents being a fun read...I like alt-hist a lot, though.

I'm going to read The Lions of Al-Rassan this February.

Thanks, Richard. Have you read Alternate Kennedys? I may add that to the list if I get through the others earlier in the month.

I think I can qualify with The Last Unicorn, currently reading, and Guards, Guards which I must read for the Feb. RL book group. OK, kids, I'm trying this on for size...we'll see how it goes.

Alternate Kennedys was a little creepy to me, but not bad; Alternate Generals was also quite intriguing.

Marky-Mark .. how wonderful that you've started a Fantasy February thread. I've got to get back to reading more fantasy since it's one of my 13 challenges for the year.

You're in for a treat. I loved Tigana when I read it a few years back. If you like it, you should then read Ysabel and The Fionavar Tapestry series.
So you haven't found Valerie too? I've been wondering where she's gotten to and I wonder if she's too busy and hasn't started a thread in the group this year yet.

I'll have to look through my TBR Tower and put aside a few fantasy books to read in Feb.

Valerie said she was NOT going to start a thread this year, but would try to cruise the 2013 threads occasionally. See her last year's thread.

There's going to be a group read of Jhereg for Fantasy February. Anyone is welcome to join.

At the moment considering The Cardinal's Blades and The Map of Time.

ETA: oh, and The Fugitive Prince

I too have Tigana languishing in my stacks and his Under Heaven. Others I want to read for February are:

The Lies of Locke Lamora
The Once and Future King
The Broken Kingdoms
The Wise Man's Fear I loved the first book and don't know why I haven't gotten to this one yet.
The Exiled Queen (YA)
Bitterblue (YA)

I'm also sure I spot a few titles from everyone's reads that will jump onto my shelves ;)

People are starting to trickle in! Yah! We usually have a great bunch and since we keep the month open-ended, there are a flood of good titles.

Linda- For you, I will include alternate history because I want you to come back. LOL.

Caro- Everyone seems to LOVE Tigana. I am looking forward to that one.

Michelle- I love your book choices. I loved both The Once and Future King & The Wise Man's Fear. Enjoy. I hope I can squeeze in Locke Lamora. I would also like to get to the 2nd Graceling book.
I see you read Shadow and Bone. I like that one too and I hope the 2nd one comes out this year.

Since my theme for February is spies I won't be delving too far into the world of fantasy.
However, I'm part-way through George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones as part of my year-long read of A Song of Ice and Fire so there's that.

Looking forward to getting hit by book bullets in this thread - I haven't read a lot of fantasy in the last few years and am a bit out of touch so I'm always keen to learn about new-to-me titles and authors.

I have both Tigana and Jhereg in the TBR piles. I've been meaning to read The Broken Kingdoms for a while too so I might clickety-click and buy a copy. Gail Carriger has the first book in a new series out in feb: Etiquette and Espionage which I think is fantasy.

Other possibilties:

The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
Farmer Giles of Ham by J. R. R. Tolkien
Roverandom by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers
The Love Child by Edith Olivier
The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers

I probably won't read all of those but I like having a selection of books to chose from (as you can probably tell...)

I don't know what books I'll be reading in February, but I do know that I'll be reading fantasy - so I'm in!

Here is the link for the Jhereg group read in February:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/148667

Heather, War for the Oaks and The Drawing of the Dark are both excellent. I picked up the complete Chronicles of Amber a few years ago, meaning to do a complete reread at some point, but haven't gotten to them yet.

I'll wait until a little closer in to plan my reading for the month, too.

Oh, I love Fantasy February!

I have a few that I have set aside for February:

Ice Forged by Gail Z Martin - this is an ER book that I must get read
Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

That should keep me busy and out of trouble!

Mark and Tanglewood - I hope you both are able to fit The Lies of Locke Lamora in, I loved that book when I read it a few years ago!

ETA: And Heather, I agree with Roni, The War for the Oaks is a great urban fantasy!

I love fantasy February :) I will be trying to clear off a few of the last remaining fantasy on the 1,001 that I haven't yet read... so will be trying to get through;

The Once and Future King
Cloud Atlas

But they are both rather long so I have a feeling it may not happen. Maybe just one of them then.

I will also be reading at least one more L.E Modesitt Jr and a couple of YA novels - Un Lun Dun and Grass for his pillow.

Should I not have managed to finish, I will also be finishing off the last Wheel of Time novel which I am about to start now...

edited to add: #16 Delta queen we cross posted with pretty much exactly the same start! LOL.

>15 ronincats: Yikes, a book bullet and it isn't even February yet. I'll be joining you, but I decided to pick up The Book of Jhereg, which seems to contain the first three books in the series.

>17 BekkaJo: There is a group read for Un Lun Dun planned for later in the year.

I have not yet read Redwall, so I believe I'll put it on my February list to read...

I have a yearning to re-read The Silmarillion, so maybe I'll start that in February. Might not finish though, it's not a book to read quickly!

#17 I'd also love to re-read Once and Future King one day, but maybe not just yet. But BekkaJo, that book was originally published as four separate books, so you could just read the first book The Sword in the Stone for a shorter read in February. In fact, I might be able to manage that too...

#13 Heather, if you haven't yet read Farmer Giles you really must, not least because it has a geographical setting quite close to you, but also because it is delightful and funny - and short!

I would like to get round to the third volume of Elizabeth Moon's Paksenarrion trilogy: Oath of Gold, and another volume of George R R Martin - A feast for crows is next up for me.

Wow, so many people signed up already. Okay I will definately reading The Book of Jhereg, as I am taking part in the group read Roni organised.

other possible FF reads are:

The King of the Crags - Stephen Deas (second in the Trilogy)
The Sentinel Mage - Emily Gee
The Last Stormlord - Glenda Larke
The Twilight Herald - Tom Lloyd (second in the series)
Red Seas under Red Skies - Scott Lynch (second in the Trilogy)
Tomorrow The Killing - Daniel Polansky (second in Trilogy)
Midwinter - Matthew Sturges

all reads object of change :)

Yay! I've been so looking forward to this thread this year. The only one that I am determined to read is Lost In A Good Book, which I've owned since it was first published and I have the rest of the series not-so-patiently waiting for me. :)

My short list includes Soulless by Gail Carriger, A Game of Thrones by Martin, and The Shadow of the Wind if it counts, and I'm pretty sure that it doesn't.

My long list includes more books in the Thursday Next series, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion (of which I've never read either of them), and maybe City of Dark Magic. I just bought it last week and it sounds SO good and very interesting to me, so that one may not languish on the shelves like most other books I own.

Can't wait until February 1st!!!!

I'm in! Here's my list of possibilities:

Howl's Moving Castle
Stardust
Map of Time
Storm Front
Whatever George R. R. Martin book I'm on - currently reading Game of Thrones

I would like to join in too! I'm not sure what fantasy titles I will be working on but I just caved and bought Warbreaker for my Kindle based on the recommendations of many 75ers.

Love FF! I hope I get to read Tigana. Was waiting for the perfect time to read it - and this is it!

Will be searching my shelves to see what else I can dig out ;-)

Hmm... I have an unread copy of Tigana as well... do I smell another group read for Fantasy February...?

I'm not sure what all on my shelves will fit into this category, but I did just get The Hobbit from the library today. I've been waiting on it for several months so I think it will fit. I also picked up Graceling on audio book while I was there today. It has a sticker on it that indicates 'fantasy'.

Mark, Michelle, and Claudia--Tigana also sits unread on my shelf, and it would help my motivation if we did a group read of it, if you all want to work together.

I think a group read for it would be great, as it is a bit of a chunkster.

Hey, Paws - I saw this above:

Since my theme for February is spies I won't be delving too far into the world of fantasy.

Check out The Jennifer Morgue and sequels. Both spy *and* fantasy!

Wow! I can't believe the interest in Tigana. Once again, I though I was one of the very few who had not read it. Very cool.
A Group Read would be excellent. Does anyone want to take charge?

Count me in for FF but I have no idea what I'll be reading as yet...

31. Thanks for the tip but I've got all my reading for this year decided already.

Reading Fantasy in February? Sounds like a plan!

Drachenelfen by Bernhard Hennen
Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan
Dreamer by Mark Teppo and the Mongoliad(s) I have this far
and Cthulhu in Woderland is on my list too

@31, 34 &co: And yes, the Laundry Files are AWESOME!

I would love to read Tigana, but am trying to avoid acquiring new books and this one is not yet on my shelves. Could do a library book, but I suspect it may be one I want to keep...

The Shining City by Kate Forsyth has been whining at me from it's place in the Series Book Basket, so I am taking this opportunity to crack it open on the first of February...

I'm currently reading The Best Tales of Hoffmann and The Faerie Queen, which both should count, I think...

>38 scaifea:: Only if you finish them next month ;0)

@38 it would be interesting what you think of ETA Hoffmann - I wonder how well the translation works and what you make of the social/geographical background...

>40 aquascum:: So far I'm enjoying it and the translation seems good.

#21 Oh - I so did know that and hadn't thought! That's an excellent idea, because otherwise I was going to either have to scrap the idea, not finish in Feb or... slightly out there alternative... give away the children till March :)

Actually maybe I should do that anyway...

Never heard of Tigana nor Guy Gavriel Kay. And he is Canadian and so he fits with my challenge in the 13/13 group to read books by Canadian authors. Looks like I will have to see if I can get my hands on it.

Thanks for getting this going, Mark. I'm going to read Memory of Light in FF. It's the final one in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, completed by Brandon Sanderson.

Oh! I finished a fantasy book, and it is not yet February. I guess it does not count. Well, I'll just have to go find another fantasy book on my shelves!

ETA: It was The Last Unicorn that I just finished.

As someone who doesn't read fantasy, I am enjoying seeing what people intend to read.

In college, I took a Science Fiction and Fantasy class. Besides The Hobbit and Philip Jose Farmer's To Your Scattered Bodies Go, I don't recall what else we read in the way of fantasy.

ETA: Aha. We read The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, as well as The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.

I'm not one for sci fi but I do recall liking those books better than the fantasy books. Of the four, I think I liked Philip Jose Farmer the best.

I have so much to choose from, but I am trying to read at least 25 books this year that were on my shelves prior to 2012, so this is a good chance to advance on that goal next month. After looking through my books, my shortlist is:

Jhereg: reread of a favorite in a group read
Tigana: been on my shelves since 4/09, also group read
The Killing Moon: an ER book from May, 2012
Wildwood Dancing: pre-2011 (first year I kept track of acquisitions)
Falcon: on shelves since July 2008
Goblin Moon: on shelves since June 2011
The Clockwork Three: lent to me by my sister in 2011
Magic To the Bone: also pre-2011

I have 11 others on my longlist, should I run out of reading here. Of those, Jhereg, Goblin Moon, and Falcon are pretty short. The Clockwork Three and Magic to the Bone should be fairly light reads. That leaves Tigana, The Killing Moon and Wildwood Dancing as more involved reads.

ETA I guess I should take my list of library books I've placed holds on into account for February as well, as most of them should come in during that time. I'd forgotten about them. Those would be:

Shadow of Night: this is the sequel to A Discovery of Witches and the longest of the lot
The Hidden Gallery: this is the second in The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series.
The Crimson Crown: this is the fourth and final book of Chima's Seven Realms series, and there is no way I am not going to read it as soon as I get it. If you've been following my thread, you know how much I've enjoyed the first three books.

So, was anyone going to host the Tigana G.R. or shall I? Help would be nice. LOL.

Go Roni! Go Roni!

Okay, I'm already doing the Jhereg one, so I might as well set up the Tigana thread and post it in the appropriate spots. I shall be a very informal host, however, so be forewarned.

Here is the Tigana thread:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/148764

I've put the following people down, but haven't put Genny (see if she'll decide to join us, but Oath of Gold is great too) or Cathy (ccookie) until we know if she can locate a copy. Your name here doesn't mean you are irrevocably committed!

msf59 (Mark)
Tanglewood (Michelle)
ronincats (Roni)
souloftherose (Heather)
bahzah (Claudia)
dkphoenix (Faith)

Roni- I didn't mean for you to start the Group Read thread, I was just encouraging you on all your FF selections. LOL.
But thanks, that is a big help!

Having read and loved Tigana last month I will continue on with Guy Gavriel Kay and read his The Lions of Al-Rassan. I'm looking forward to my second ever fantasy read next month:-)

You and Richard, Bonnie, are both reading The Lions of Al-Rassan in February. How exciting! That book tore me up, wrung me out, and still left me feeling exalted--great story!

I haven't decided what I'm going to read in February, but I do have Tigana on my TBR shelf. Feb. seems as good a time as any :)

I'm new to the 75 book challenge, and I'm going to try to participate in Fantasy February. (BTW, did I hear tell of an Atwood April?! So psyched for that if so!)

Some of the picks I have planned for February are more sci-fi than straight-up fantasy, but since many bookstores lump the two together anyway, I'm ok with that :) I hope I'm not breaking any rules!

Here's what I have planned so far for February:

Alloy of Law
Little Brother and maybe the two other Doctorows I have: The Makers and For the Win
possibly Simultaneous Man
The Woman Who Died A Lot

If I can finally get a copy of Graceling, I'll read that too.

This is just my list so far. To stay on track for the 75, I have to make sure I keep plowing through the books :)

I think I'll try and join in with this as well. I like the look of Tigana - other things that I've got on my shelf are:

Soulless Gail Carriger
The Damned Busters Matthew Hughes
Shades of Grey Jasper Fforde
A Madness of Angels Kate Griffin

>39 humouress:: I'll be lucky if I finish the Spenser this year! Ha!

55: Oh, I LOVED Shades of Grey!!!! I hope you do too!

eta: I blame each and every one of you for this - I just bought Tigana on Amazon. :) You're all horrible enablers, and I love you for it!

I'm in. Downloaded from the library last night. Love my Kobo!!

Woohoo, we're up to 10 on Tigana!

Laura - I'm laughing because I bought Tigana from Amazon, too!! What a lovely excuse to purchase a new book!

We have to thank Valerie for the interest in Tigana. She inspired, (or threatened) me to pick it up a couple months ago and now we have a Group Read of nearly a dozen readers? Impressive!

Oh Goody! I love FF! It reminds me to get back to a favorite genre, I will start with de Lint,
Eyes Like Leaves and The Painted Boy, I think.. and I will be watching this thread for blue text. Thanks for linking me Mark!

Mark dear... or anyone else who gets here first...

Can you tell me what we are defining as fantasy? Does it need to fit squarely in the fantasy category or does anything other-worldly count?

> 55

I'm going to have to try Shades of Grey some time this year too, because Fforde is one of my favorites.

Have you read his Thursday Next series?

@TinaV95, I'm not Mark, but I doubt we're looking for strict adherence to dragons and fairies, if that is what you are referring to as 'squarely' fantasy...

...anyone else?

Tina- Like I mentioned at the top of the thread: We are pretty open-ended about what type of fantasy that we include, as long as we don't get to silly. What did you plan to read?

What's too silly???

The way I see it - if I think it's fantasy, it's fantasy! LOL

I was thinking The Hobbit for sure, but maybe The Eyre Affair or Neverwhere.... are either of those in the 'fantasy' category?

Cee -- LOL. Loving that definition!

Ooh, someone had a bad day..........breaks into a grin.

Both of those are SOLIDLY in the fantasy genre, Tina, and both are recommended!

Excellent! Then, count me as a definitely for FF!

:)

Thanks, Roni. Feeling any better?

Tina- I have also read all 3 of those and loved them. Neverwhere was my first Gaiman and was I head-over-heels. You'll have a good time.

I figure if the book has something in it which just could not really be real, and it does not have any pretense to paying any attention to real science, then it is fantasy. Pretty much. Not real. Not scientific in the slightest.

Of course, there are those who do pay some attention to science, but only in a glancing way...

You're welcome, Tina. Unfortunately, no, I'm having a bit of a relapse.

Glad to hear that Mark.... I'm sure they will be hits for me based on all the raves I've heard in this group.

I like that definition Maggie!!!

Roni, I am sorry to hear that! Take care of yourself!

Update to post 54:

My definite FF reads are...
The Alloy of Law
The Simultaneous Man
For the Win
The Woman Who Died a Lot
Shades of Grey

... I'm hoping I manage to get through all of them!

For future reference, do vampires & werewolves count as fantasy in this month? Doubt that I'll run out of reading but just in case.

#77 - I hope they do, I am planning on reading Lonely Werewolf Girl.

77. I'd say they definitely do. The WIkipedia article says fantasy "is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting". Werewolves and vampires = definitely supernatural. Ergo, fantasy.

Looking through my latest stash of library books, I'm right for FF! Of course, I could probably read fantasy for several months just off my shelves but hey....

I will hopefully be getting around to reading Dodger by Terry Pratchett and A Wrinkle in Time. I also have a couple of sci-fi books out, but (while I understand the looseness of the "fantasy" definition here) I think sci-fi might not count. Although where does that leave dystopia?

"Fantasy ist demnach ein literarisches Genre, dessen zentraler Inhalt die Annahme des faktischen Vorhandenseins und Wirkens metaphysischer Kräfte oder Wesen ist, das als Fiktion auftritt, das als Fikiton auch verstanden werden soll und muss." Frank Weinreich, Fantasy. Einführung.

Asking google translate...

Fantasy is therefore a literary genre whose central content accepts the factual existence and activity of metaphysical forces or beings, that appears as fiction and that is/must be understood as ficiton.

> 80

Since the starter of this thread is reading Oryx and Crake, which I would technically classify as post-apocalyptic and sci-fi, I think you're ok :) I'm just putting that out there, since I'm going to read The Simultaneous Man and For the Win as part of the month of February.

If it's good enough for the thread-starter, it's good enough for everyone! LOL. Like, I mentioned in the 1st post, this is a wide-ranging genre, let's just grab a book or 3 and have a good time!

If anyone is looking for a fantasy-related book, plus a short story collection, try the Miniature Wife and Other Stories by Manuel Gonzales. This guy is quite a talent. There are, yes, miniature women, unicorns, swamp monsters and of course the ubiquitous zombies.

I think that I am going to be reading Diana Wynne Jones' A Tough Guide to Fantasyland along with my fantasy choice. Been dying to re-read it ever since I finished reading it the first time. It's about fantasy, so it counts.

I think I've decided on these for my FF reads:

Tigana
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Shades of Grey
Fires of the Faithful

If I like Fires of the Faithful, I'll read Turning the Storm after that.

In addition to Warbreaker I am going to try to get through books 2 - 4 in Lois McMaster Bujold's Sharing Knife series. That will clear out a nice chuck of space on my shelves!

There are so many wonderful Fantasy books to read - and February is the short month!

I've got a huge list of Fantasy books I could read next month and I refuse to even try to narrow down which ones I'll get to with one exception - Jhereg. I blame that entirely on Roni who suggested on my thread (rather emphatically, I thought) that I pick it up because I was looking for a nice short book. Thanks, Roni!

I just finished Game of Thrones and I'm awestruck. I'm planning on reading the next in the series, Clash of Kings--now, I would call that "fantasy" but would the rest of you? It's probably a fantasy that I would finish a thousand-page book in a month, but Game of Thrones was nearly as big.

Karen O.

88. It's DEFINITELY fantasy.

I second: "It's DEFINITELY fantasy."!!

Karen- I am so glad you were blown away by GOT! I was too and it made me an instant fan.

Yes, Martin is considered fantasy!!! I think he's one of the few slightly narcissistic authors who doesn't define their fantasy writing as "fantasy" (sorry, but that's being ridiculous), though I could be wrong. Goodkind is another one (*eye roll*). But, Martin's books are absolutely 100% fantasy, so read away!

fantastic fancy fantasy in my reading.

I don't seem to have any fantasy in my to be read pile, although a couple that I abandoned part way through Under Heaven for one.

But it's an opportunity to re-read some old favourites:
The Far Traveller - Ghosts in Germany
Rusalka - RiverThings and HouseThings and BathhouseThings in Russia
Elf Defence - Elves in America

and to listen to Samuel West reading Philip Pullman's Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm

I would love to get my hands on a early copy of Grimm's... 1812 or '15...

>91 dk_phoenix: Faith: Wait, Goodkind doesn't think that what he write is fantasy?! Eye roll indeed.

Everyone getting stoked? Do you have those FF selections lined up in a neat row? My kick-off book will be Tigana, which I plan to start in a couple days.

Rosina- I have heard very good things about the Pullman book. I'm glad to hear it's available on audio. I'll have to search it out.

Speaking of Martin and the Game of Thrones. My son is re-watching both seasons of the HBO series, getting ready for Season 3, which starts March 31st. I've been catching snippets of it and it reminds me how good that show is. Of course, it can't follow the books completely but the writers have condensed it down perfectly.
Is anyone else a fan of the show?

I loved Seasons 1 & 2 but am not planning on watching 3 as it rolls out. I disconnected my cable last summer and am enjoying not having TV in my house. I'll probably buy it when it becomes available though!

I think reading the books, which I completely inhaled, and watching the TV series are two quite different experiences even though they are closely aligned.

I've decided to read the books (the ones that have been published so far) before I watch the TV series so I won't be watching it just yet. I'm about halfway through the first book (and LOVING it) and if I read nothing else I'm sure I'd be able to finish them all before the end of February but I've got other things to read so will get through them in due time.

*** WARNING : Possible spoilers ahead ***
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I have to confess I gave up after 2 or 3 books of Game of Thrones, because all my favourite characters had been killed off. I had such high hopes for Sean Bean - I was hoping this would be another of those times that they didn't stick to the book. Ah, well.

I am so ready for this :)

I'm going to start the humongous The Memory of Light, the last in the late Robert Jordan's 14 book series, which is being finished by Brandon Sanderson. I saw it went to #1 on the NYTimes bestseller list, so I imagine I'll have some LT company on it at some point?

>101 jnwelch:: I'm planning a group read of the whole WoT series, starting in June. Would you like to start from the beginning again? :0)

102- have you added it to the group read thread?

Is it February yet? I'm itching to get started!

#101 I couldn't wait :) I'm about a third of the way through - excellent so far. May/may not have finished by Feb.

I think I'm going to read two of my three planned alternate histories (see post #2) and also will probably read Neverwhere which is far, far outside of my usual.

Mark and Laura would not steer me wrong, would they?

Who, us? Never. >:)

Well, I might but not this time. Smirky grin.

I'm rarin' to go with FF, though I do want to finish Horby's About a Boy before January runs out :)

I can't wait to read more Jasper Fforde!

-Esquiress

PS: What is this series that Brandon Sanderson is finishing? I love his Misborn books.

Sanderson finished up the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan died. If you're interested, check out The Eye of the World.

I am going to start Fantasy February with Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. I loved the previous two, so have high expectations for this one.

#106 - I'll add my recommendation to Neverwhere as well, Linda.

Okay, Mark, Laura, AND Judy would not steer me wrong.

Apparently, there's a TV version of it as well.

#112> The TV version came first, and is rather fun, in a low-budget BBC way. (Gaiman wrote the script for it, and then had fun writing the novel without regards for a BBC budget. :)

No idea when I'll be starting. Still in the thick of Anna Karenina, and am already juggling some other non-fantasy novels. Because of course, one cannot be reading enough books at any one time. :P

>103 majkia::

Apparently I (or someone else) have already put Eye of the World, the first in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time (WoT) series in for June, in preparation for the WoT group read.

I'm thinking one every couple of months, because they swiftly become chunksters a bit further on in the series - or we can see how it goes at the time?

#114 I'll join you Nina - I read the first book years ago but got scared off by such a long and uncompleted series. Now that it's completed, it's just long...

Game of Thrones fan?? Of the books a resounding yes, but I could not stand the series after about two episodes. I was spending every minute thinking "that's not in the books" and "that doesn't happen until later" and "I don't remember her/him saying that". I had to quit.

I just read a book called Crewel, at the request of someone at work.. it would have qualified for FF, and it was wonderful! It is one for those who are interested in lighter reads and alternate realities. I thought I would post about it in case anyone wanted to have a look.

If someone wants a less weighty but fun read, I'd recommend Little Fuzzy. I reread it last year and enjoyed it tremendously.

114 - yeah, one every couple of months would be good, I think. I own 1 and 2, and keep seeing them in the TBR and thinking I should jump into them some day, so June it will be.

> 114.

I might give a group read a try, if in June it's the first Wheel of Time book. That sounds like a good time for me to try something new... although that means getting a book not currently on my shelf :)

-Esquiress

I broke one of my own rules and watched Season 1 of Game of Thrones with my husband, and at his urging, before reading the books. I liked it a lot. Now I am finally going to tackle the book for Fantasy February, and then we'll see whether Book 2 or Season 2 comes first.

Other FF plans:
Greenwitch - Susan Cooper and The High King
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
Heartless - Gail Carriger
The Once and Future King - T.H. White

I'd love to join in on Tigana but since I don't own it I am trying to hold back. There's always the library though, and I'm doing well so far with reading my own books in 2013..

>102 humouress: I have re-read the early ones in the Wheel of Time series more than once, Nina, to get back up to speed for a new one coming out, but at 14 books I'm going to have to wave my arms in surrender. I will follow that group read with great interest, though.

I'd watched the first season of Game of Thrones last year and loved it! Now, just this past month I read the first book in the series (and loved it, too!) I was impressed by how closely the TV series was able to cleave to the book. They did add quite a lot of sexy parts (in addition to the ones that were already there--I don't consider myself prudish, but at least a few scenes were blatantly added to jazz the narrative up).

So, I'm really looking forward to reading A Clash of Kings in February. I'll keep my eyes open to see what everyone else is reading, and maybe join in.

Karen O.

I have read all the Song of Ice and Fire series published to date and have started watching the Game of Thrones season 1... Up to the fifth episode I think so far. My problem is I am finding the violence and terrible things that happen MUCH harder to take in the video format than the written format. Not sure why, but maybe the visual aspect is too in your face, while the written material is such that my imagination can back away from it?

124. Graphic violence is always more difficult when it's on the screen compared to on a page. Our minds automatically "tone down" the explicitness of the violence to one we can handle when we read - that's not possible when we watch a movie or a TV show.
Imagine if the classic children's books were portrayed exactly as they are in the books when doing a movie version. The Brothers Grimm would be NC-17!

Thinking that I will go with The Crimson Crown for FF... but there are so many great ideas Crewel, Bitterblue, and Tigana (which my library didn't have)... I might expand if I get through the other two I'm reading prior to The Crimson Crown which are: The Forest of Hands and Teeth and Gone... neither of which I think will qualify as fantasy unless I pull a

>67 -Cee-: Bahzah
The way I see it - if I think it's fantasy, it's fantasy! LOL

I started Tigana a day early. It's a BIG book, so I wanted to jump in. It took me a few pages to get the rhythm and the characters lined up, but I am really enjoying it so far.

I totally forgot I had Graceling as one of my category challenge reads. Duh! On to the February reading list it goes.

Roberta- I really enjoyed Graceling. I've been meaning to get to the 2nd book.

So glad that FF is just a few hours away from being official!!!

112: Linda, I watched the first disc of the BBC Neverwhere, and while the production quality is a little not-great (I found out that the lighting looks weird bc they were thinking that it would be a movie at first so they lit for film and for it to be worked with in post-production - instead, after filming was done, it was decided that it would be a TV miniseries instead. Just a little FYI for y'all), it's not bad. I do see how incredibly close the book is to the series, and while I liked the book a lot I don't like the series much more comparatively.

Woot woot!!!! FF is here!!!

>126 lovelyluck: Jennifer, both of those books have a lot of fantasy tags here on LT. Even if you want to insist that Gone is science fiction, The Forest of Hands and Teeth would be considered fantasy by most.

I can't do violence at all visually. While I'm careful of it in books, I can tolerate necessary violence much better there.

>131 ronincats: I can do my happy dance now! Woot Woot... on my way into my bedroom to listen to my husband snore as I start The Forest of Hands and Teeth.....

Finished Ella Enchanted in the wee small hours of this morning. Balancing between putting it in January or February, I think I'll drop it in as an FF read.

I will be marching to the library to fetch Graceling after I read Shades of Grey. According to the online catalog, it is in. Of course, that means I need to get crackin' on my FF books )

Dropped in to the library (finally), only to find that my library doesn't have a lot of the books on my wish-list, necessitating a $5 ILL - or they're out on loan. Including Jhereg and Tigana :0(

... BUT apparently, I can get those on Open Library *wanders off to investigate*

I've woken up to February! Started Oath of Gold last night - I read the first two volumes of this trilogy last summer, then got distracted and for some reason have not returned to this final volume till now.

One of my categories is to read some of the longer books that have been lurking on my shelves - 'longer' I've defined as over 500 pages. I didn't think of this as a particularly long one, but it just squeaks in at 501 pages!

I've started Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson as my first Fantasy February read. Hope to fit in a few more later in the month:)

I'm reading an ER book, Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr. Quite good, with a very interesting magical system. Enjoying it very much.

>137 calm:: Oh, goody. I just picked up Warbreaker from the library today. I'll (try to) make sure it moves up the ranks.

I am new to Library Thing so I not quite sure how this works, but I love fantasy books and thought I would fit well in this group. I just finished Way of Kings--Brandon Sanderson in January and can not believe I have to wait more than a year for the second book. I am a huge Sanderson fan.

For February I plan to read:

Bitterblue, Kristin Cashore (YA)
The Daylight War, Peter V. Brett

To start and then a friend of mine gave me the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks so I may take a shot at that one.

Welcome Art4Fun, if you like Fantasy than this is certainly the place to be in February! :)

I'm in for the group read on Tigana! I actually managed to grab it from my library today and I'm ready to go :)

For FF I'll be attempting to read Game of Thrones finally! I've had it for a while and not gotten around to finishing it. I'm currently listening to Fevre Dream also by Martin.
Also on my potential list is:
The Light Ages by Ian R. Macleod & Galore by Michael Crummey.

I hoping to get to Crucible of gold.

I have to wait about five days for my library to get me Graceling, so I'm forced to finish Shades of Grey first. Oh well... I'll manage!

I'm way behind here.. but I am about to begin The Painted Boy by Charles de Lint

Started Drachenelfen. Interesting... not many tie-ins to 'later' Elfen books yet. Interesting.

Happy FF weekend, everyone! Is the gang off to a good start? I am. I have been loving Tigana and I am nearly 200 pages in. His style reminds me somewhat of Patrick Rothfuss. I wonder if Kay was an influence.

Welcome Art4Fun! Hope you have fun here and keep us updated.

Chelle- I've had Fevre Dream on my WL for years. I'll be watching for your thoughts.

I started off my Fantasy February last night with The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I liked it a bit better than The Raven Boys, but it was still not four-star material.

My main fantasy work this month will probably be Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart. My copy has a rather "period" cover (it wouldn't be Fantasy February without a few of those):

I'll be listening to three more hours of Good Omens tomorrow on my trip home from Kansas City. I never thought I would become a Neil Gaiman fan. This one is very entertaining and thought provoking. Excellent narration as well.

>149 Donna828:: Watch out for the dread sigil Odegra, then. (The M25 used to be part of my mum's daily commute)

#148: I love the "period" cover art! Thank you for posting it.

#149 I read Good Omens last year Donna, having read almost nothing of his so far until then - it is indeed very entertaining, and does raise interesting questions and ideas too. I am used to that from Pratchett's work, I need to read more Gaiman to see what is his distinctive voice rather than their shared work.

>149 Donna828:. Good Omens?! I love that book :)

I love Good Omens too. I must have read that book at least 5 times. It remains on my re-read bookcase.

I've started off my Fantasy February with Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and I absolutely loved it. Found it hard to put down and ended up reading late into the night.

The year is 2044, the various wars between nations have resulted in a world of darkness, poverty and danger. But OASIS provides the virtual world everyone escapes to. Virtual classrooms, virtual planets, avatars of your choosing, shopping malls, even virtual towns that resembled the towns in the 20th Century. And best of all, setting up an OASIS account is free.

In this world enters Wade, whose avatar Parzival, goes to the OASIS public school on the planet Ludus. He has a best friend, Aech, a crush on Art3mis, and later meets Daito and Shoto, 2 Japanese avatars. The only thing they have in common is they're all avatars in OASIS, set on individual quests to earn credits that will allow them to make purchases for their online personas and level up to earn more talents and power.

But OASIS was invented byJames Halliday, and upon his death, he broadcasts his will and issues a challenge to all. If anyone can find the 3 keys that will lead them through 3 Gates and they find the ultimate prize, an easter egg, that person will inherit the immense wealth accumulated by Halliday and OASIS.

Needless to say this starts a race among gunters (egg hunters) who hunt individually or in clans. But there's an evil corporation, IOI, who have teams of Sixters, employees tasked with finding this Egg which will give IOI total control over OASIS, which they want to turn into a fee-based service.

The hunt is made more difficult because all gunters need to understand Halliday, an eccentric recluse who loved everything about the 1980s. The entire book is filled with wonderful references to video games and arcade games popular in the 80s, books, movies, tv series and music of the 80s. Lyrics and scripts are cleverly woven into the quest. In addition, the IOI appear to stop at nothing to find the ultimate prize, even murder.

But underneath all the nostalgia for the 80s, as with any good quest, our protagonist has to learn through his mistakes and about human relationships, that the online world is fantasy and that there is a real world out there that he should learn to enjoy as well.

Definitely a 5 star read for me.

Great review, Caro! I loved that book too. I've finished The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood, the second in the series. This children's series is very much in the Lemony Snicket mode--a series of improbably adventures where they are somehow at risk over a number and a narrator who occasionally steps out of the story to discourse on vocabulary--but with its own unique setting and the viewpoint character of Miss Penelope Lumley, young governess to the three Incorrigible children.

I finished an ER book, A Cast of Stones by Patrick W Carr which I thought was quite well done.

Now on to Zoo City.

Caro - I loved Ready Player One thanks to Mark and Valerie's recommendation. I passed it on to my nephew and his wife. They loved it. He asked me the other night how many times I reread yet? I said none and he told me he has read it 3 times. Glad he enjoyed it. LOL It is quite the adventure story. I loved all the 80s references.

Caro:
So glad you loved Ready Player One!

For some reason I thought Ready Player One was about something else completely! Onto the WL.

Making good progress with A Clash of Kings. Martin titles each chapter with the name of an individual, and this device just pulls me in chapter after chapter. It's like, if I don't read this chapter, so-and-so will be left in dire straits until I do!

Loving Fantasy February!

Karen O.

#160 So glad it's not just me! I had exactly the same feeling. It's also awful when it's really late at night and you KNOW you should be asleep, but then the next chapter is about your favourite so of course you are morally obligated to read it... I had a lot of late nights with that book!

After a slightly January start I am about 200 pages from the end of the last Wheel of Time novel and WOW! Loving it - Sanderson deserves a medal for his work finishing this series.

160. I didn't think I would but I really like that way of chapter-ing the books (thought I'm only on A Game of Thrones yet). I have found myself going "Oh, balls, another Sansa-chapter" and then checking when the next Jon- or Tyrion-centered chapter is...

161. Yes! I've been slightly groggy at work more than a couple of times because I've stayed up too late reading "just one more chapter" because I wanted to read about a particular character.

Hope to start Tigana later today

woot woot! I finished my first fantasy.... The Forest of Hands and Teeth on to the next one.....

I finished my first one, too - The Demi-Monde: Winter. It's a science fiction / fantasy combination which I finally got around to reading because I'm getting the second book as my January ER win....

iBooks is offering Game of Thrones for $3.99 for anyone who has an Apple reading device. The sale continues until the end of the month.

I'm picking up a lot of good fantasy titles for my teetering tower from this thread. I'm only planning to read one book for FF and won't start it until next week sometime.

I've just started Dodger by Terry Pratchett, about the Artful Dodger from Dickens' Oliver Twist. It's not high fantasy in the style of Kay or Martin, but has been described as "historical fantasy". So far, no fantasy :) but a good start with Dickens and a friend running across Dodger protecting a young woman from some highly nefarious characters.

*sigh* I'm having no luck in finding either Jhereg or Tigana (for the group reads) on Trove. Hope I can get hold of them soon. Any suggestions? :-D

Finished my first fantasy read of the month - Fires of the Faithful by Naomi Kritzer. It was a quick enough read that I think I'll finish the duology before diving completely back in to Tigana.

>humouress- I'm so sorry you can't find a copy of Tigana. What a bummer. I guess, that's one of the benefits of living in the suburbs of a big city, I usually can find anything. Good luck.

Speaking of Tigana. I am really chugging along. I should hit the halfway point or slightly beyond today. Yah!

That sounds like a great GOT deal!!

I finished my first fantasy read for this month, Tolkien's Farmer Giles of Ham which was a gentle story about a farmer who ends up fighting off a dragon. Now reading Tigana for the group read and really enjoying it so far.

>170 msf59:: Thanks for the sympathy, Mark. Although, I'm more anxious about getting hold of a copy of Jhereg, since it was my reading The Phoenix Guards by the same author that seems to have kicked off this particular group read.

I've read Tigana (which I remember as being quite long) before, albeit many years ago, so I could pop into the thread (I assume there is / will be one?) now and then. However, I've discovered that there seems to be a copy at my sister's local library. I just have to persuade her to borrow it for me.

But I think she might first have to join up, as I doubt she's a member yet. Sacrilege!

Here's the Tigana G.R. Thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/148764

I am also listening to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling and I am one third of the way through The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.

My first Fantasy February read....

The Sharing Knife: Legacy by Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Fantasy
Source: off my shelves

The Sharing Knife: Legacy is the second book in Bujold's Sharing Knife series. These books should be read in order.

In this book, newly married Lakewalker Dag and farm girl Fawn travel to Dag's home village so that Fawn can be introduced to his family and community. It does not go well as the well developed prejudices between farmers and Lakewalkers are seen from the Lakewalker side in this novel. Dag must also take a leadership role in fighting a magical malice outbreak.

I actually enjoyed this book better than the first volume of this series. Fawn is starting to develop as a person in her own right apart from Dag. Dag is starting to understand and respect the talents Fawn brings to the relationship. In the first book, Dag's magical abilities overwhelmed the much younger Fawn's unmagical abilities. This is a gentle fantasy series and good for people who don't like a lot of violence in their reading but who do enjoy a little romance and family relationship drama.

Just finished the last Wheel of Time novel - excellent! Going to miss these - I think I'll wait a few years then go on a Wheel of Time bender and read all 14 in one go :)

@humouress, I found Jhereg for cheap on abebooks.com:
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&tn=Jhereg

Motor City Books has a good copy of Tigana for $3.95 including shipping:
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&tn=Tigana&x=0&y=...

Yay, Ready Player One! I had a blast with that one, too. Nice review, Caro!

I'm starting into the last 200 pages of the 909 page A Memory of Light. Whole lot of battlin' goin' on.

>178 jnwelch:: Woohoo! Another fan! I don't think I've yet heard anyone say, "Oh... I really didn't like Ready Player One."

Just finished Graceling and I it was a fast fun read! Scarlet comes out on Tuesday! I started Leviathan a few hours ago. The illustrations are wonderful. I also started the audio of 1Q84. I don't know if it qualifies as "fantasy" but I'm counting it. I have a few chunksters this year so I figure this is a good month to tackle it.

Tolkiens größte Helden - lovely collection of meta and Hobbit lit., offers a lot of food for thought.

Read and reviewed Redwall. :)

177: Thanks for doing the research for me, fuzzy. I'll look into it.

>180 luvamystery65: Thanks for the tip on Scarlet coming out, Roberta! I really liked Cinder.

It's slowly dawned on me that I probably have to choose between GoT and Tigana for this month, the month being short and the books being long, and I'm leaning towards Tigana for now.

>184 jnwelch:: I'm on a long waiting list on PaperBack Swap for Cinder - and now there's a sequel too?! Oh, dear me.

I loved Cinder. I can't decide if I should wait until we get Scarlet in around May or try to ILL it before that from one of the public libraries that inevitably get popular books in sooner. If it's even half as good as Cinder, I don't know if I can wait that long.

I'm going to splurge and buy Scarlet. Then I can pass it on to the nephew. Then it goes to his wife, his sisters etc... It lessens the guilt. ;)

I have started FF with The Hobbit. Does reading threads count at all?? ;)

OH, and I'm listening to Graceling on audio book...very enjoyable so far.

Many good FF books going here. Very nice. I am over halfway done with Tigana and it's as good as people have reported.

Roberta- I love your current FF choices! We had a G.R. of 1Q84 last year, which was a lot of fun.

Tina- NO! Nice try, though. I liked Graceling on audio too!

>189 TinaV95:: I *wish* reading threads counted, just like I always wished that reading student papers counted as reading.

It does seem possibly reasonable that student papers would count as reading fantasy.

*snirk**

Hahaha Maggie!

It was worth a shot Mark! ;)

>192 maggie1944:: *snort* AGREED!

Hi! Little bit late to the party, but wow! Lots of great fantasy mentioned in the thread! I especially wish I could read Tigana, The Lions of al-Rassan and Neverwhere again for the first time. What fantastically wonderful novels!

Anyway, though I had forgotten about Fantasy February, I am in the middle of Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz, about an evil puppeteer, his apprentices, and a sad little rich girl who got entangled in his sorcerous web. Started out just a tad slow but by the end of Chapter 2 I started having a hard time putting it down. Also serendipitously on my list for this month are Angel's Blood and subsequent novels in the series by Nalini Singh.

192. Haha! Agreed.

My first read for Fantasy February was The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente:

September is a 12 year old girl who is bored at home and who doesn't fit in at school. So when the Green Wind and his leopard (the Leopard of Little Breezes) arrives at her window and invites her on a trip to Fairyland, she isn't likely to refuse. But Fairyland isn't quite as she imagined: for a start there seems to be a surprising lack of fairies. The rule of the benevolent Queen Mallow has been replaced by that of the Marquess, seemingly a young girl but one who holds all Fairyland in her sway. Determining that any visitor to Fairyland needs a serious quest, September undertakes to retrieve the magic spoon of the witch Goodbye which has been stolen by the Marquess. She's befriended in her quest by a wyvern, A-through-L, a dragon-like creature who is unable to fly as all winged creatures have their wings bound with iron chains by order of the Marquess. But the control of the Marquess over Fairyland is greater than September had ever imagined, and her quest becomes seemingly more and more hopeless.

I enjoyed this book, but I was expecting to love it, and in the end I wasn't quite as enthralled by it as other people seem to have been. To me it seems to have slightly fallen between two stools in deciding whether it is an adult's or a children's book. There is beautiful writing here and hugely imaginative ideas, but it just left me a little colder than I was expecting. For me, everything just needed to have a little more depth. So overall, ***1/2.

Drachenelfen by Bernhard Hennen - taking rebellius princess syndrome to new hights... or should that be lows...? And no way around her... other autors have obnoxious female characters and you can just skip their chapters, but this is really the main character, so... *sigh*

But there are intersting non-female and non-main characters, and I love the worldbuilding and the Elfen cycle as such, so I'll keep reading ;)

#197> I read The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland a few days ago (a bit too early for FF!) and I have to agree with you, I didn't enjoy it as much as I was expecting. I did love the wyverary though. :)

I'm reading Piratica by Tanith Lee. It's YA, and set in a parallel universe, where France kept its monarchy, but England became a republic. Pretty tightly woven, so far. And not just one, but three Pirate Queens!

On the group read front, I went in to a different branch of our library, and asked about Jhereg, with the intention of requesting an ILL; but the librarian very kindly put in a request to purchase. I feel a bit guilty about that, because they only have two others in the series on their catalogue (so they might eventually have to buy the whole of the rest of the series), plus there are loads of other series that are missing the first books that I would ask for, if I could.

As for Tigana, I think my sister's library has it. Now, just to persuade her to get a library card, and then borrow it for me in enough time to finish it for Fantasy February!

My second book for Fantasy February is The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin. I've never read anything written by her before.

And I believe that, somewhere here on LT, there's a group read of this book going on....I just have to find it! ;)

Addendum: found it! It's the Green Dragon February Read: http://www.librarything.com/topic/148439#3841942

201. Ursula K. LeGuin is great. Well, most of her books are. I wouldn't recommend Tehanu to anyone but the others I've read are really great. Am yet to read The Lather of Heaven though, so looking forward to your views on it.

Come join us for the February read, @PawsforThought! :)

203. I don't have time. I have too many books lined up for the month already. Thanks for the invite, though. :)

I managed to pick up a book at the library randomly that I thought was just historical fiction but turned out to be magical realism as well! Galore by Michael Crummey. Thoughts here

I finished A Memory of Light, a good finish-up of the series. For those who are curious, here's my review: http://www.librarything.com/topic/149040#3892873

I'm looking forward to reading Scarlet, too. I liked Cinder a lot.

I started reading Gaiman's Neverwhere last night.

I'm about 10 percent of the way into it. Hopefully, it'll improve. Not caring for it yet...

Contrary to my earlier posts, my other FF book will probably be Jasper Fforde's book, The Eyre Affair.

>205 ChelleBearss: Oh Chelle, I have Galore on my shelf and you have made me want to pick it up right away. Rethinking my FF read....

Graceling came to my library today for me, so I'm trying desperately to finish Shades of Grey ASAP so I can dive into it!

I loved the eyre affair and the subsequent books. The characters are quirky and fun. If you know literature you will appreciate even more.

I'm finding books on my wish-list (as gleaned from LTers) few and far between at our library; either they've been borrowed, or our library doesn't have a copy - it's not as strong as I would like on fantasy and SF.

I managed to pick up Kristin Cashore's Fire, but should I read Graceling first? I know it's the first in the series, and I prefer reading series in order usually, but from the blurb on the back, the story didn't seem to follow directly on.

>205 ChelleBearss:, 208 Me too! Me too! I want to read Galore now too!

Oh we are all so easily swayed... and it's so much fun :-)

humouress- That is totally unfair! Boo, real world!

I remember Kath loving Galore a few years ago. I didn't realize it had fantasy elements.

#211 I haven't read Fire but from I've heard it's a prequel to Graceling (set chronologically before those events) and features different characters so I think you should be fine to read Fire first.

I just finished Bitterblue the final entry in Kristin Cashore's trilogy (or at least I think it's meant to be a trilogy). I have loved all three books and can't wait to see what this author does next.

#211 - Fire could certainly be read first in this trilogy, but definitely read Graceling before Bitterblue as they are more directly connected.

I join Judy - loved all three of the Cashores, and read Graceling before Bitterblue.

>210 Art4Fun69:: Agreed! I love Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books. The Eyre Affair is one of my favorite books.

Still listening to Graceling and loving it and I just requested Fire on CD from my library. Hope y'all enjoy both - Esquiress and humouress!

Finished my first FF pick last night -- The Hobbit. I know, I know. It's a shame I hadn't read it before now. It's a classic AND the movie is coming out so I had to read it first!

>213 msf59:, 214, 215, 216, 218 : Thank you!

Do the Moomin books count as fantasy? Just wondering.....

I've started my next Fantasy February book, Ice Forged by Gail Z. Martin. This is a book I received through the ER program so I am delighted to be able to fit it in this month.

I began The Cardinals Blades. So far so good.

Uh oh. I've started The Cardinal's Blades and appear to be rooting for the bad guys. Oops. But really, the guy I like the most is, well, apparently a bad guy! Can't help it!

I finished my second book for Fantasy February....The Sharing Knife: Passage by Lois McMaster Bujold. It is the third book in the Sharing Knife series.

I started Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson and I am loving it so far.

I read Shades of Grey by Jaspar Florde This book has already been widely read and reviewed, so just a couple of quick thoughts. This is kind of dystopian, Alice in Wonderland-like novel. It's cleverly written and fast-paced. A lot of people I know love Fforde's writing. It was a bit too clever for me. I liked it OK, but probably won't read any more of his writing.

I've finished The Hidden Gallery, Jhereg, and Etiquette & Espionage and am 6 chapters into Tigana.

>225 banjo123:: If you haven't read the Thursday Next books, at least give The Eyre Affair a try. My first FF book was Shades of Grey too, and even though I'm a Jasper Fforde fan, I didn't really like it.

The review is on my thread - here.

I'm into Part 2 of Tigana and am also reading Through the Looking Glass for a Coursera fantasy literature course... how timely!

>227 Esquiress: -- Well maybe I will look for The Eyre Affair. I do like the Bronte's.

Drachenelfen Die Windgängerin by Bernhard Hennen

Doing the legwork of worlds buildung and character development to gear up for the great rift portrayed in the sequels, this one. One? Actually it's two books published in one - what a novel idea... Expecting the great showdown in the next one/two books - how did I get sucked into a prequel WIP? *shakes head at self*

At page 37 of Tigana! Slow but steady...

Sad to say but I think fantasy is just not my thing.

I managed to crawl through the first quarter or so of Neverwhere and it never got going for me so I'm putting it aside.

I've still got The Eyre Affair which I'll still try to get to.

A lot of great reading go on here so far! I've already added a few new titles to the wish list. I've finished two fantasies so far, both by new to me authors; Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder and Storm Front by Jim Butcher. They were both quick enjoyable listens and I will look forward to reading more in both series. Now I'm working on The Black Company by Glen Cook and Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb.

@lindapanzo, there's fantasy and then there's fantasy.

I don't care for fantasy works by Terry Brooks, Piers Anthony and others that are highly recommended by LT members. However, I love works by Tad Williams, CJ Cherryh, and some Mercedes Lackey and some Anne McCaffrey.

fuzzi, I'll have to follow along here and see who else might possibly appeal to me. I knew that Neverwhere was totally outside of the ballpark for me and that, for me, I was taking a chance by reading it but I never did get into it.

I think I mentioned that, when I was in college, I took a course in science fiction and fantasy literature. Even then, it was not my thing but, at my small liberal arts college, this was routinely the top-rated course of them all. Maybe I was more flexible in my reading then but I tackled those books and actually enjoyed some of them.

Now, 30+ years later, I like what I like. I'll sometimes try other things but it's tougher for me to stick with totally different types of books.

Exactly, like what you like...but don't not try something out of your favorite genre. I discovered that I enjoyed reading Westerns (good ones) when I read a Louis L'Amour by accident. Before that, I would have pooh-poohed reading that particular genre of book.

I started on Beautiful Creatures this morning....

Linda, (#232) you might like something like Midnight Riot which is fantasy but also a police procedural, which might appeal more. I love love love Aaronovitch.

#238 Thanks for the suggestion. I'll have to take a look at that one. I love mysteries and a mystery with some fantasy or sci fi elements might be more appealing.

I like the J.D. Robb mysteries, despite the futuristic elements. In fact, after reading more than 20 of those, I hardly notice the futuristic angle anymore.

I'll give the Jasper Fforde a try and take a look at the one you mention.

>232 lindapanzo:: The Eyre Affair is definitely worth a try-out, even though you didn't like Gaiman's Neverwhere.

240 - both of those are on my list for FF! Not sure which to start on first! :)

>241 TinaV95:: The Eyre Affair is really light-hearted and laugh-out-loud funny to boot :) I just love Jasper Fforde.

>232 lindapanzo:: lindapanzo, The Eyre Affair is a suspend-disbelief romp through classic literature. More or less (it's been a while since I read it); but if you like classics (Jane Eyre and so on), you might enjoy identifying the books and events it refers to.

I had a quick look at your profile. We don't share many works, but I see you have a Harry Potter book - you could read more in that series, if you liked it. LT recommends I borrow The Stranger based on The Little Prince by Antoine de Sante-Exupéry which I just borrowed from the library. It's a short work (not much more than 100 pages), classified as children's literature, but can also be considered an allegory of the human condition (according to the blurb).

Good luck with your reading, whatever you decide to read. :0)

ETA: just realised my post is a bit ambiguous. I meant that, since you have The Stranger, you might like reading The Little Prince, which is a short work ... etc.

I started my 2nd FF book of the month: Oryx and Crake. Wow! This is so good. Atwood rules. This is only my second book by her but both have been terrific. And it works very well on audio too!
I am just about finished with Tigana. I will hate to leave this world.

lindapanzo - I'm glad you're not giving up on the whole genre because of one book. I mean, I love fantasy but didn't like Neverwhere at all! I hope you find something you like, or at least have fun trying.

Finished Snow Child - great fantasy read for a snow lover (me).
Halfway through Tigana - lots of good fantasy here, just keep losing my momentum everytime something/someone new is introduced.

>244 msf59:: Atwood is fantastic, isn't she? Oryx and Crake is awesome. Was the other book The Handmaid's Tale?

Not a fan of Atwood :P

I am a little envious of anyone reading the Potter books for the first time....

I finished Oath of Gold, the third and final book in the Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy by Elizabeth Moon. Really enjoyed it and wonder why I left it so long after reading the first two last year.

I see that there are some prequels/continuations written more recently. Has anyone read those and are they worth pursuing?

208/212 Yay Bonnie & Cee, glad I could persuade you to start it earlier!

>249 gennyt:

I've recently read two of the continuations of the Paksworld series, Genny, and enjoyed them very much. If you liked the secondary characters in the original trilogy, you'll probably enjoy reading more about them in the quintet - Elizabeth Moon has planned five books, although only three have already been published. The fourth is out this summer. You have plenty of time to get caught up!

I just finished Jhereg by Steven Brust which was so highly recommended by Roni - it's a hoot! I'll definitely be reading more, so thank you Roni!

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl 4 stars!

I am very glad that I read this one, and I look forward to continuing the trilogy. I think the film will be fun, too! Books two and three already requested from the library.

>248 mckait:: Bummer. :P

Genny, the next series starts right at the very end of Oath of Gold and follows Kieri in Lyonya and Mikeli in Tsaia, as well as Dorrin and Arcolin, as the shake-up of kingdoms and duchies continues. Paks appears from time to time but is no longer the viewpoint character. And yes, if you loved Oath of Gold, you will also continue to love Oath of Fealty, Kings of the North and Echoes of Betrayal. The fourth is coming out in June as Dejah noted, and the series is planned for 5 books.

I'm almost at the halfway point in Galore by Michael Crummey and it's starting to shape up as a 5 star read. Myth, fable, rich quirky characters, ghosts that seem all too real, rich, rich language, metaphor---need I say more? I literally cannot put it down. Absolutely delightful. And to think that it's been sitting on my shelf for over two years. Thanks Chelle for lighting the fire!

woot woot..... I finished my second fantasy The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima GREAT!... on to the next one...

Eyes Like Leaves by Charles de Lint 4 stars

High fantasy. I haven't read that in a while. Next? dunno.

I'm still going on Dodger, which I don't think is fantasy at all, but is a great romp with the Dodger, Dickens, and various other Victorian personages of note, through the underbelly (and sewers) of London. I think people just tagged this one as "fantasy" here because he does write mostly fantasy.

And I also just read In Watermelon Sugar which I'm going to classify as fantasy, because it certainly wasn't set in this world. A very peculiar little book, but rather charming in its way. (So long as you don't want explanations of what on earth is going on.)

And this morning I picked up Among Others and am regretting that intensely, because now I'd rather be reading that than anything else. Sadly, being a Monday, other uses of my time are probably more important to my bosses than reading. Sigh. Cruel world.

ETA: Just got a text from the library, Mr Penumbra is in for me! AND apparently they have Galore on the shelves. Oh my, I think I can squeeze in a visit on my way home tonight...

Thanks, Roni and Dejah, for your replies about the Elizabeth Moon books. I look forward to reading more about the world of Paks and her friends in future.

I apologise, this is somewhat OT, but I didn't know where else to put it...

I'm looking for Group Reads, particularly of The Silmarillion, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Anyone reading these books? I'm not a native speaker, so being able to talk about it while reading would be nice...

Just finished Graceling about 20 minutes ago - loved it! I'll be moving on to The Knife of Never Letting Go next.

I got Crucible of Gold finished last night, latest in the Temeraire series. Te new one is due out in August so I'm current on this series at least!

Started Scarlet, the sequel to Cinder, and so far it looks to be another good one.

I splurged and ordered Scarlet to reach $25 on an Amazon order. I'll probably start it as soon as I finish The Blue Castle.

Scarborough ...the author is doing a chat this month

http://www.librarything.com/topic/149848

I read and enjoyed Tallis' Third Tune last year...

I finished the fantastic Oryx and Crake. Atwood rules! I just picked up the audio of the Year of the Flood, which I will save for Atwood April. My next FF, will be Drowned Cities. I LOVED Ship Breaker.
So everyone liked Cinder? I'll have to try that one.

I'll get Part 2 of the FF thread, up soon.

I finished and REVIEWED Michael Crummey's fabulous novel Galore. I liked it even more that Chelle---5 stars. I'm not sure if it's fantasy per se but it's definitely magical realism with a heavy dose of ghosts, myth and spooky stuff.

#263 - Joe I'm reading Scarlet too. She is off and running with this one. I've read Part One and I'm liking it so far.

>260 aquascum:: Have you tried the Group reads thread / wiki?

I think Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrel is somewhere in my TBR pile, but as it's quite big, I haven't made any plans to tackle it, yet.

Finished my first fantasies for this month Jhereg which was a fun read and The Night Circus which was an absolute gem - loved it, loved it - However, I am not sure whether the books of Patrick Ness count towards FF as well as they are more like Science Fiction for YA.
I have finished this month The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men by him. Both absolutely brilliant reads which I can only recommend.

> 260 aquascum - As I said before if someone sets up a group read for Tolkien I will join. I would be interested in reading The Silmarillion as well.

Finished my audio of Graceling yesterday and I agree with Es. It is an awesome YA fantasy! Can't wait to drive tomorrow to start Fire. I NEVER say that I can't wait to drive. It was that good!

When I went to the library, I also wandered around the fantasy and teen sections and picked up Red Riding Hood and Wake to go along with FF.

@ 269 which Group reads thread? This is what I found: http://www.librarything.com/search.php?term=Group+reads&searchtype=talk&...

>268 luvamystery65: Good to have a reading companion, Roberta. It just gets better as I get further into it. I like the addition of Scarlet as a main character, along with Wolf and Carson Thorne.

#273 Joe I'm loving the new characters so much. I don't want to spoil anything but Iko!!! I am laughing out loud with delight.

Oooh, this thread is like a candy store! The tbr pile and must-buy list just increased a few meters!!

I just started The Shadow Rising, book nr four in The Wheel of time series. Do not think I will be able to finish it off this month, though!

>269 humouress:: That's how I am with Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrel too. It's just so big to tackle at the moment!

>272 aquascum:: aquascum - Group reads wiki is here: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Groups:75booksin2013

In a bit of a rush, but go up to the 75 Books group name (top of this page), click on that, which will take you back to the home page, and the Groups link is there. Have a look at the wiki for more, or maybe you can set up a read. Or even ask for a tutored read (not quite sure how that works, though).

I'm about 3/4 of the way through Tigana and have finished chapter 6 in Shadow of Night, making slow but steady progress on both.

While everyone is coming by here on a regular basis, let me ask: What is your favorite obscure fantasy--one that many of us might not be familiar with?

One of my favorites, which I have to reread every few years, is The Winter King's War trilogy by Susan Dexter, consisting of The Ring of Allaire, The Sword of Calandra, and The Mountains of Channadran. These were published by Del Rey from 1981 to 1986. It is classic fantasy, but with original twists and, oh, I love the characters! Such great story!

Dexter wrote another threesome of prequels, which is not quite as good, and a singleton which happens some 20 years after the events of the original trilogy and IS as good. I'd recommend Dexter to any fantasy lover. This is pre-vampire, pre-urban fantasy fare, but among the best of classic epic fantasy.

As promised, Part 2 of FF is up and running. Gather your potions, swords, wands and breastplates and come on over:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/149936