Netgalley Science Fiction Readathon

In preparation for Sci-Fi Month 2015, I thought I’d set myself a bit of a challenge: to read as many of my science fiction Netgalley ARCs as possible for the event. This has two purposes: it provides me with content for the event, AND it helps me raise my Netgalley ratio even higher! If you want to join in with this readathon in preparation for Sci-Fi Month, you are more than welcome.

I’m posting about this because I need help deciding which books to start with! I don’t think I’ll manage them all before November, so let me know if you recommend any of these. I will definitely be reading Red Rising, as it’s part of my book group’s monthly pick for September.

Here’s what’s on my list:

As you can see, I have a lot to choose from. So I turn to you, my readers: have you read any of these? Are there any you would recommend?

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Monthly Roundup: December 2014

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, and writing about what’s to come in the next few weeks.

Last month I read a total of thirteen books: The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King, In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant, Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little, Moriarty (New Sherlock Holmes #2) by Anthony Horowitz, Yes Please by Amy Poehler, The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez, Seraphina (Seraphina #2) by Rachel Hartman, Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) by Beth Revis, The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus #1) by Rick Riordan, Revival by Stephen King, The Slow Regard Of Silent Things (The Kingkiller Chronicles #2.5) by Patrick Rothfuss, Newt’s Emerald by Garth Nix and Confronting the Classics by Mary Beard.

My standout books for the month were definitely Revival by Stephen King, and Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. I have a review of Revival coming up so I won’t talk about it now, but Seraphina caught me totally by surprise. I also really loved Amy Poehler’s Yes Please – I have so much love and respect for her. It was also fantastic to finally start The Dark Tower series by Stephen King!

 

Challenge progress:

• I read five books towards the Avengers vs. X-Men Challenge. The challenge is now over, and I earned a total of ninety-four points for my team! There is now a DC vs. Marvel Challenge for 2015.
• I read 135 books towards my Goodreads goal, and managed to complete it – my goal was 120!

 

Currently reading:

How was December for you?

Sci-Fi Month: Definitive Science Fiction Reads

Today I want to share a challenge with you all: my definitive list of science fiction reads! They are books I feel every sci-fi fan should read at least once in their lifetime, and as well as creating a challenge for myself I hope that it can be challenge for some of you too. Although I already have a Top Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books Challenge, I wanted to create one that reflected all different types of science fiction, including Young Adult. So it will actually be a mix of books I’ve loved, books I really feel I should read because they’re considered classics, and some titles that might often be overlooked, as well as some books that I’ve heard a lot of good things about.

 

If you’d like to join in, feel free! I’ll be keeping track of my progress too, on a separate post. Don’t forget to check out the schedule for the rest of today’s posts. You can also Tweet about the event using the hashtag #RRSciFiMonth.

‘Classic’ science fiction

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
• Foundation by Isaac Asimov
• The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard
• The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
• The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
• Dune by Frank Herbert
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
• Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
• I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
• A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
• Ringworld by Larry Niven
• The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven
• 1984 by George Orwell
• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
• A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
• Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
• Twenty-thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
• Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
• The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
• The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
• The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham

Newer science fiction

• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Attwood
• The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
• Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
• Guardians of Paradise by Jaine Fenn
• Neuromancer by William Gibson
• The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
• Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
• Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
• Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• Hyperion by Dan Simmons
• Mockingbird by Walter Tevis

Young Adult science fiction

• Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Breathe by Sarah Crossan
• The Maze Runner by James Dashner
• Earth Girl by Janet Edwards
• Legend by Marie Lu
• Cinder by Melissa Meyer
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
• Across the Universe by Beth Revis
• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
• What’s Left Of Me by Kat Zhang

What do you think of the challenge? Are you going to join in?

Weekly Roundup #24

My ‘Weekly Roundup’ is where I share the books I have received in the past week, whether bought, gifted, borrowed etc.

 

 

From the library

• Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12) by Charlaine Harris – Oh, the Sookie Stackhouse novels. What started out as a great, fun series is really starting to peter out. From about book eight or nine, it felt like Charlaine Harris was just trying to fill the quota of thirteen books that she had planned. I’ve actually already read this one – picked it up from the library on Thursday and returned it on Saturday. I plan on doing a post on this series some time soon.

Bought

• Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) by Beth Revis – I’ve heard a lot of good things about this series, since Shades of Earth, the third book, appeared on Netgalley. I didn’t request it as I wanted to read them in order, and found this one in the charity shop!

What did you receive to read this week?