reading progress for the Hugos
Ok, with reading "The Jewel and Her Lapidary" yesterday over lunch, I've read all of the Hugo short stories and novelettes. And I liked many of them. The novellas are the next set to conquer over lunchtime at work, at allergy shots, etc.
For long-form fiction, I tried to start Three Parts Dead last night (nominated for Best Series), got exactly three chapters in, and decided I would rather read something else for the evening thanks. I had a lovely palate-cleanser of the second half of Ashes of Honor. I don't know if I'll go back to that first book in The Craft Sequence immediately or try something else. I only have ABOUT THIRTY BOOKS* from the Hugo packet to read in the next two months.
Thank goodness I've already read all of October Daye and most of Vorkosigan or I'd be really intimidated. Ha.
ETA: I'm 51 pages into This Census-Taker and I'm ready to try something else. The narrator isn't interesting, the world-building is flat, and there isn't any noticeable plot yet. I did learn a new word: "pinchbeck." It means cheap imitation.
ETA2: The Ballad of Black Tom is good so far. The narration is lyrical, the characters interesting, and the setting narrowly focused around the characters.
My reason for loving or giving up on stories is usually the same at the root. I need at least two out of three things to be good to enjoy a story: world-building, plot, and characters.
This entry was originally posted at http://reedrover.dreamwidth.org/2073219.html and has
comments so far. Please comment there using OpenID or here if that is your preference. I'm still reading both journals.
For long-form fiction, I tried to start Three Parts Dead last night (nominated for Best Series), got exactly three chapters in, and decided I would rather read something else for the evening thanks. I had a lovely palate-cleanser of the second half of Ashes of Honor. I don't know if I'll go back to that first book in The Craft Sequence immediately or try something else. I only have ABOUT THIRTY BOOKS* from the Hugo packet to read in the next two months.
Thank goodness I've already read all of October Daye and most of Vorkosigan or I'd be really intimidated. Ha.
ETA: I'm 51 pages into This Census-Taker and I'm ready to try something else. The narrator isn't interesting, the world-building is flat, and there isn't any noticeable plot yet. I did learn a new word: "pinchbeck." It means cheap imitation.
ETA2: The Ballad of Black Tom is good so far. The narration is lyrical, the characters interesting, and the setting narrowly focused around the characters.
My reason for loving or giving up on stories is usually the same at the root. I need at least two out of three things to be good to enjoy a story: world-building, plot, and characters.
This entry was originally posted at http://reedrover.dreamwidth.org/2073219.html and has
comments so far. Please comment there using OpenID or here if that is your preference. I'm still reading both journals.