Hélène's 2018 ROOTs

Welcome to my 2018 ROOT thread :)

One rule to rule them all : a book is a ROOT if I've owned it for more than a year.
Books can be paper book, audiobook or ebook.

Welcome Hélène. Happy ROOTing.

Thank you. I'm reading A fire upon the deep by Vernor Vinge which has been waiting on the shelf for six years!!! It's important to get a good start, isn't it?

Happy Rooting in 2018!

Good luck with your ROOTing!

Bienvenue, Hélène, et bonne lecture!

Thanks! I'm still reading Vinge : it's a big book.

glad you're with us!

Happy reading in 2018, Hélène!

January

A fire upon the deep by Vernor Vinge
Stories of your life and others by Ted Chiang
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
The bridges by Tarjei Vesaas

February
Gagner la guerre by Jean-Philippe Jaworski
Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen by H. Beam Piper
Unclean spirits by M.L.N. Hanover
The Knight: A Tale from the High Kingdom by Pierre Pevel
Moonheart by Charles de Lint
Some kind of fairy tale by Graham Joyce

March
Titan by John Varley
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Le crépuscule des elfes by Jean-Louis Fetjaine

April
None this month. Shame on me ! ;)
May
Bayou moon by Ilona Andrews
Iron dawn by Matthew Stover
The gods of Pegana by Lord Dunsany
June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Ohh, that's real nice with those pictures.

Welcome and thanks for those pictures. The books look so well organised!

These are my bookshelves and I do try and organize them. But it's hopeless :)

I know about hopeless. Mine are hopelessly overflowing to the floor...

>18 MissWatson: Well, it isn't quite as hopeless here. They stick to the shelves. ;)

I just finished A fire upon the deep by Vernor Vinge : it never grabbed me in spite of lots of great ideas. Zones of thoughts, alien races (top notch), plot : everything is fine but the prose didn't fit with me.

Those bookshelves look pretty organized to me. Already one ROOT in, looks like your ROOTing is going well in 2018!

Second ROOT of the year, the extraordinary Stories of your life and others by Ted Chiang.
I usually don't like short stories but that's a five stars book. I had to stop and catch my breath between stories. The prose is understated but the rational tone amplifies the effect of the strange concepts and emotion. And then the structure of the text parallels the stories : these stories are diamonds perfectly chiseled.

Welcome to the group, and a belated happy new year!

Thank you!

3.5 stars
(I don't remember how to make the stars)

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

Noirish cyberpunk is'nt my cup of tea but this one is very well made. The plot is convoluted and action-packed, the world, a realistic dystopia. At the same time, he raises questions about what it is that makes a person's identity.

The bridges by Tarjei Vesaas

3 stars

Short chapters where thoughts and emotions of the characters follow action. But it's nothing like a psychological study. The norwegian landscape echoes the desires and doubts of the characters, wrapped in a very poetic prose.

Gagner la guerre by Jean-Philippe Jaworski

4 stars

What an adventure! Beautiful prose.

>26 h-mb: I have never heard of the author before, but the book has some very positive reviews. Sounds like my kind of story...

There's richness and pace of the language and it's action packed for all the descriptions.

>26 h-mb: sounds interesting, I wish my French was up to it!

>29 floremolla: I had to pick up the dictionary many times while reading this book and this doesn't happen often - if I do say so myself. And french is my first language! Baroque effervescence :-)

Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen by H. Beam Piper

2 stars

Plebeian prose but fun to read. Everything runs smooth for Kalvan.

Unclean spirits by M.L.N. Hanover

2 stars

I don't really like Urban Fantasy and this one is a common plot with common characters.

The Knight: A Tale from the High Kingdom by Pierre Pevel

3.5 stars

Well written, full of twists and turns, with an ambigous hero.

Moonheart by Charles de Lint

3.5 stars

A fine novel which balances magic and mythology in contemporary settings.

Some kind of fairy tale by Graham Joyce

3 stars

An unusual fantasy novel, told by an unreliable narrator. On the one side, it's a fantastic tale, on the other, it's a mystery about ordinary folks.

Titan by John Varley

3 stars

An extraordinary journey but it didn't grab me.

Hi Hélene, good job on the ROOTs reading!

Yes, I'm rather glad of the total :) I decided to play the AlphaKit and SFFKit Challenges with ROOTs. It means three books at least per month - and more probably five.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

4 étoiles

I like what Mitchell does with his characters, the variety of the prose and types of narration. In fact, I liked everything I read in this novel :) A discovery of a new author for me.

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

2.5 étoiles

I'm not fan of UF but the settings and characters are good and make me want to know more.

Le crépuscule des elfes by Jean-Louis Fetjaine

3 stars

A traditional heroic fantasy which links the myths of the Tuatha De Danann and Arthur.

Great progress, Hélène. That is nice you enjoyed Cloud Atlas so much. I am afraid to even attempt it, after watching the movie.

I didn't see the movie but I'm looking for it now.

>39 h-mb: glad you enjoyed Cloud Atlas, it's one of my favourite books - I've read all of Mitchell's work, some of which I've liked better than others. I like how characters reappear in his novels and events are linked. Hope he's got something new coming out soon... :)

This was my first book by Mitchell but it won't be the last. I've an eye on The Bone Clock.

>44 floremolla: The same here. >39 h-mb: If you liked Wolkenatlas you will love his other books too.

Yesterday's kin by Nancy Kress

4 stars

"First" contact and family problems on small and grand scale ;)

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

3 stars

I like the setting with the "edge" stuck between magical and mundane world.

I'm some sort of contrary girl. I decided to take part in challenges to "attack" my TBR pile and last month I read anything except the books I intended to read ! Needed some freedom.
Result = 0 ROOT :(

>49 h-mb: That happens a lot! As long as you're enjoying what you *are* reading, that's what counts :)

>50 rabbitprincess: What she says! I loved the book in >48 h-mb: too.

Iron dawn by Matthew Stover

3 stars

A mix of Sword & Sorcery with a late Bronze Age background.

The gods of Pegana by Lord Dunsany

3 stars

A description of an imaginary pantheon written in short paragraphs, like an incantation.

I've been terribly remiss in my reading of ROOTS and my reading anyway. So here's to redeem myself :



Le mythe d'Er by Javier Negrete

An interesting mix of fantasy et SF, mythology and history.

I hope you are still reading, Hélène! ROOTs or other ones!

I'm reading - but not ROOTS, alas. I'm a contrary woman : I had a spendid program of ROOTS so, of course, I read only new books !

>56 h-mb: LOL. So you better think about a list with NON-ROOTs for next year!

That's an idea ;-)