Learning to DNF || Reading the Nebula Short List || FRIDAY READS

[@mariareadsssf]

"Witch King" was my first work by Martha Wells and I really loved it. I took extensive notes so maybe that helped. Glad you DNFed the books that did not worked for you. I was really excited for "The Outlaws" (I read an eARC), but you were right, it was a 3 star read.

[@Rachel-6016]

Ahhh so glad Translation state worked for you!! The Imperial Radch is one of my fav worlds/series 🫶

[@kes22]

Just pointing out again that there's a huge tone shift between Justice and Sword and I think it might be worth picking up in the future if you're ever contemplating going back to that trilogy. I'm so glad Translation State was such a surprise win for you!

[@BooksWithBenghisKahn]

“Weird in a way I didn’t find engaging” - very aptly described my experience with Witch King too!! Its nominations this year feel like a slap in the face to us readers, since it really seems like it got nominated by people who didn’t read the book.

[@anonymes2884]

Or maybe just by people that read it but disagree with your opinion ? 3.7 on Goodreads, 4.3 on Amazon - however unreliable a metric those may be, clearly some people like the book. (gotta watch out for that ever present temptation to assume people that disagree are actually _wrong_ rather than just, as with all opinions, "wrong" :)

[@RodgersReads]

I am intrigued by Shigidi. It maybe sounds like something I might like lolol

[@wheresmybook6507]

Since you liked Translation State, if your not up for trying the Imperial Radch trilogy again, you might look at Provenance next. It’s a standalone too, in the same universe and has a similar smaller problem set with the scale of larger events vibe .

[@ThatsSoPoe]

What a surprise about Translation State! So cool that you liked it so much. And way to go on all the DNFing!🎉

[@anonymes2884]

Yeah, I get you on "The Terraformers" - I finished it and enjoyed it but felt the same to some extent. So i'll state upfront that I think a lot of books today are too long (plenty could lose even hundreds of pages and be as good or better IMO) - plenty of SF&F novels widely held as "classics" are around 250 pages. That said, _generational_ stories, by their nature, justify more pages and in "The Terraformers", just as I was starting to click with one "generation", we moved on. It's too short for its own structure IMO. ( :)

[@dayphantasm]

I dnf-ed Terraformers too. It was disappointing. I liked Autonomous so much, so I had hopes. Oh well.

[@anonymes2884]

Unfortunately I haven't liked either follow-up as much as "Autonomous". Maybe it's just a case of two "difficult second albums" though.

[@gabrielle_vx]

SOOOOO PUMPED for the Ursula K Le Guin Award !!!

[@themusicsnob]

Nice to hear that Translation State was a win 🏆 I finished Ancillary Justice last week and it was a surprise five star for me although slow to get into

[@rodoh22]

I am currently working my way through the HUGO novels and now am looking forward to Ann Leckies novel which I had previously expected to be a struggle. I have read and enjoyed Shigidi though it was not particularly memorable it was a good unknown novel to me on the list. Anyway thanks for the video.

[@sambell2743]

I’m also one of those people who DNF’d Terraformers. I could not connect to the writing or the characters. I have a copy of Translation State on my shelves, and I have high hopes I will enjoy that - even more so after watching your video.

[@BeautifullyBookishBethany]

I’m with you on Witch King! I DNFed Shigidi but I could see it working for other people. This makes me think I should try Ann Leckie.

[@LiteratureScienceAlliance]

I remember reading your review for shigidi and I think I was just so much more focused on Noema and really loved her story. But also at the end of the day it wasn’t a new fave so don’t think you are missing out by dnfing it. I think you could have a blast with the Radch universe

[@fttoma]

I'm still sad that alot of people didn't find the witch king to be enjoyable and I was so surprised when I was reading the reviews on Goodreads 😢😅 but I'm glad that I read it and I'm so excited to pick more of Martha wells work and I'm adding translation State and shigdi and the brass head of obalufon to my tbr 😊😊

[@julibaro575]

I also DNFed The Terraformers and I had a similar experience with it. I kept giving it a chance because I knew it wasn't a bad book, but after 150 pages of just not caring about any of the characters or the world, I finally decided to quit.

[@erinh7450]

I've read the Radch trilogy (which I liked more than you did but that's neither here nor there), and while some of the same species come up (and their translators), I don't think there is any character overlap at all, and this isn't even in the Radch empire, just adjacent, and the whole AI ship/avatar thing that is so central to the trilogy doesn't even figure in to this book at all. It could easily be read as standalone.

[@BooksWithBenghisKahn]

Oooh Translation State sounds like a winner and worth checking out for me even if I haven’t read the trilogy-glad you found an engaging read in this project!

[@danny_reads0101]

I'm so glad you enjoyed Translation State.. I was also super surprised by it!!!

[@heabooktubes]

Proud of you for dnfing. ♥️♥️♥️

[@mattkean1128]

Mythopoeic finalists aren't until May I think, but I'm always curious about those. 🚀

[@esmayrosalyne]

Gosh I wish I had DNFed The Terraformers, here's to being better at letting go! Bummer about The Water Outlaws tho, I was nervous about that one. And yay for Translation State, I am adding that to the TBR!! 🤩

[@devlyn873]

I should have DNF'd Terraformers honestly. I think I liked each part less than the one preceding it.

[@RKStumblingbear]

Definitely interested on your takes on the Nebula novels. I have finished the short stories, almost finished on the novelettes and working on the novellas currently.

[@zinaak4194]

I am loving your videos!

[@natasagajic1061]

Angela: There's also this nefarious thing in the north, it's always something in the north Me, squinting at my Norwegian friends: SUS 😂 On a more series note, I kinda got into the rabbit hole of SPFBO 9 in the last few days, while trying to find a book for my self-pub/indie-pub square for Reddit Bingo and I think that one is a really cool award because it promotes small authors 💖

[@renaevsbooks]

I read Terraformers and wished I DNFed it, then immediately picked up Witch King and could not DNF it fast enough. I gave it 100 pages. If I don’t know what is happening in 100 pages I’m out!

[@MsWOCReader]

I have Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi I need to read.

[@priscilla.t.a]

🚀

[@Emily-fh8en]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't vibe with the terraformers 🙈

[@Octobig]

🚀🚀🚀

[@MrRorosuri]

✨️ growth✨️

[@CityGirlWriter]

🛸🛸🛸

[@marisagettas]

🚀🚀🚀🧑‍🚀🧑‍🚀🧑‍🚀

[@jynxdcoffee8498]

🚀🛸🚀🛰🚀🪐🚀

[@ffridiejr]

[@KristenelleSFFReader]

Watching this and realizing I hadn’t even looked at the nebula shortlist this year. 🫣 Yay, for Translation State! This makes me more motivated to pick up Ancillary Justice.

[@BriMiKie]

🚀

[@chrisalluna6733]

🚀🪐🌌

[@GreatLeity]

🚀

[@artlogonmx]

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[@MyYoumeyou]

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[@SheWasOnlyEvie]

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[@MrRorosuri]

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[@BookishVicky]

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