Saturday, January 22, 2011

2011 Book Club: The Women of Fantasy


I've been dithering this whole month about weather or not I should join Challenges or Book Clubs. Mainly due to my new work schedule. If I make a commitment, I always do my best to come through unless it's out of my hands. However, The Women of Fantasy Book Club, hosted by Erika of Jawas Read, Too!, is just the perfect fit for me this year.

Reading more fantasy is a personal goal I set for myself at the beginning of the year. I was planning to read some of the books and/or works by authors that are listed as part of this book club. So, why not join, right? Plus, Erika made it easy... not all 12 books need to be read for the year, only those that interest me.

Details:

All year we’ll be reading books published by female authors in the Fantasy genre. Some are older titles, some newer, but all look to be amazing reads. Participants can join in the discussion in one of the months, all twelve, or a random selection from the entire year. It is up to the reader!

There will be 12 books—a different one for each month. Readers will have the entire month to read that selection. At the end of each month, there will be a review/discussion post at Jawas Read, Too! where Erika (1) reviews the book and (2) welcomes comments and discussion. Discussions pertaining the book will be held. Comments or links to reviews (if one is written) every month or any month are not necessary in order to participate.

Instead of having links in several different locations all of the pertinent information for this challenge will be on this page. It will serve as a hub for easy access to previous month’s reviews and discussions throughout 2011.

Books:

So what books do I want to read? Well, I actually have the first book on the list The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jesimin in my TBR pile and will read it this year. However, I just began reading the first book Elizabeth Bear's Promethean Age series, Blood and Iron, and want to finish it this month. This is a series I've had in my TBR for a while and really want to explore, together with series by other female fantasy writers, Robin Hobb, Tanith Lee, and others. I will eventually read other books included in the list provided by the book club, but for now I've chosen the following four:

March 2011
Prospero Lost
by
L. Jagi Lamplighter
April 2011
Four and Twenty Blackbirds
by
Cherie Priest

June 2011
The Dark Mirror
by
Juliet Marillier
September 2011
Firebird
by
Mercedes Lackey

Check it out, this is a fun Book Club! Plus, it's being done in conjunction with Dreams and Speculation's 2011 Book Club: The Women of Science Fiction.

I will keep you all updated on my progress at the bottom of this page with links to my reviews. And a cross link from my review to this page in future posts.

1) Prospero Lost by L. Jagi Lamplighter - DNF
2) Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cheri Priest - Grade B-
3) The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier - DNF

8 comments:

  1. Wow, it's an interesting challenge - though I don't really read fantasy as such.

    I have read Juliet Marillier before, though, and she's a terrific author.

    Good luck!

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  2. Good luck! My friend Kerry (whose blog is Saving My Sanity) has also joined this challenge, and The Women of Science Fiction Challenge :)

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  3. Thanks Alex. I'm really looking forward to reading these and other books I have on my list. This is a genre I love and have neglected for a while. :)

    Orannia, thanks. And that's great! Lots of bloggers in that Book Club at the moment. :D I wanted to join the SF Book Club also, but in the end decided to commit to only one and chose Fantasy.

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  4. Interesting :) This sounds like a great book club...

    I kind of want to sign up for something, but I decided no pressure for this year :) ah well, I'll have to live precariously through you and Christine! :)

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  5. It is, right? I know what you mean about wanting no pressure, Nath. This book club seemed perfect, though. I don't have to post reviews or link posts...just read the book and I can read four books in a year, lol!

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  6. The challenge seems fun, I'd love to do it too, but as I'm willing to participate in the other one I don't know if I could keep up with everything plus my already planned reds from my TBR list...
    I have read The Dark Mirror before. Lots of details but it's a great story. I have the second one of that trilogy to read...one day lol

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  7. YAY! I'm so glad you joined this one, too, Hils!
    I just finished reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms yesterday and really enjoyed it! I'm hoping to do a review soon... you know I'm not productive with those, but I know a lot of people expressed interest in it on my blog, so want to follow through.

    I'm very excited about this book club and how it will expand my reading horizons! ^_^

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  8. I'm excited too, Christine! I have One Hundred Thousand Kingdoms in my TBR and hope to read it this year too, but didn't have the time to do so by the end of the month. Too bad. :( I look forward to your review!

    I hope you enjoy the different aspects of fantasy, it's such a beautiful genre. :) Can't wait to see what you think of it.

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