Finding a renewed joy in reading science fiction stories during SFN, and having my hours to enjoy the stories grow a bit limited as November shifted into December, I was most delighted to find: the Sci-Fi Experience! (Review Site of the Experience!) As 2014 continues to move forward, science fiction & fantasy will both play a larger role on my blog as I am a member of The Classics Club, whereupon one of my focuses is specifically on: classic science fiction, classic fantasy, and classic/modern Magical Realism. (I tend to include the latter under this umbrella due to the elements which attach the sub-genre to the creativity of the former!)
When I first stumbled across this particular reading challenge, I was elated on the one level I wasn’t able to complete all of my SFN posts as scheduled originally! I wanted to take December & January during the Experience to stitch everything back together, and complete the journey I had taken during Rinn Reads most excellent month of sci-fi loveliness! This is prior to realising that my December 2013 would be blissfully full of holiday events, concerts, and the mirth of joy which surrounds the Christmas Season! My local community opened up their doors to such a beautiful celebration of joy this year, I was overtook by the festivities to where I lost hours to enjoy all the lovely reading adventures I had scheduled to partake in at the very same time! Therefore, January is my month of redemption, to where I can go back through my SFN Posts, tweak them, post them, and be confident in knowing that even if your original plans get a bit delayed from their original intentions, its okay to complete our goals at a later date which works better for us! Not only as book bloggers, but as readers! Our reading lives should never be stressful nor taxing, and in this way, I am always thankful the bookish community online is such a warm, engaging and adaptable group of people!
I wanted to select a few titles to read during the Experience, specific to this Challenge, which is why whilst engaged in a lovely conversation with an author (Kate Elliott) I have been keen to read since I was seventeen (i.e. when I was first introduced to “King’s Dragon”, part of the “Crown of Stars” series), via our serendipitously lovely Twitter chats, I was encouraged to seek out the following authors & their stories:
@JLovesAStory I would rec CJ Cherryh’s early sf but it is pretty dense. My own Highroad Trilogy or Jaran. Writers James Corey & Rachel Bach
— Kate Elliott (@KateElliottSFF) November 22, 2013
- Gate of Ivrel (Book One: Morgaine series) by CJ Cherryh {ILL REQ}
- Jaran (Book One: Jaran series) by Kate Elliott {intrigued to read for eons!} {ILL REQ} UPDATE: The book came in by ILL late January
- Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey {keep reading about it; the suspense of what’s inside is over!} {ILL REQ} UPDATE: The book came in by ILL late January
- The Boy With the Cuckoo-Heart by Mathias Malzieu {I found this via Roof Beam Reader originally, grabbed it off a library display (featuring clocks & clockpunk titles) w/o realising my library had it in their catalogue!}
- *NOTE: ILL REQ = inter-library loan request
You see, I took option #2 because originally she had made this suggestion:
@JLovesAStory Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie is pretty cool. Recent space opera/sf.
— Kate Elliott (@KateElliottSFF) November 21, 2013
For the curiously inclined, the entire conversation can be viewed!
At the very same time, if you are curious to know which
posts I will be working throughout January, they are as follows:
A Sherlockian-Steampunker Janeite: Tells All
TBA (Sci-Fi Blogs) & TBA (Sci-Fi Authors I Have Read)
TBA (Sci-Fi Yet to Read)
New2Me: SciFi Serials & SciFi Zines
Sci-Film Films [film reviews]
Doctor Who Reviews & Conversations
SFN TBR Jar
& as many book reviews focused on
Steampunk, Dystopian, & Time Travel
as time will allow!
With a bit of an added twist and bonus, I am going to be
featuring Seventh Star Press titles and authors the week of the 26th!
Consider it Seventh Star Press Week here on Jorie Loves A Story!
Crown of Vengeance (Fires in Eden {World of: Ave}, Book 1) by Stephen Zimmer,
The Writers Workshop of Science Fiction & Fantasy (Anthology), [27 January]
and The Brotherhood of Dwarves (Book 1) by D.A. Adams!
Author Guest Post: On writing Dwarves by D.A. Adams [26 January]
{SOURCES: The 2014 Sci-Fi Experience was granted permission to use the artwork by Stephen Martiniere in their official badge for all participants to show their solidarity during the event! Sci-Fi November Badge and Event Badge were provided by Rinn Reads for participants to advert the month-long event and to encourage people to follow along with those of us who are contributing! Tweets between Kate Elliott and Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story were made possible by embed codes via Twitter.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.
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