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In which C. and friends talk about reading SFF.

The 2017 Hugo Awards shortlist: a conversation between two SFF fans

29/4/2017

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Hugo Awards 2017 shortlist
Matt from Runalongtheshelves and C. take a look at the 2017 Hugo Awards shortlist and discuss the nominees.

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Novellas are a thing now

9/4/2017

 
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On my to-be-read list.
Once upon a time, I would only read something if it had at least three volumes. As a (very fast) reader, I felt like anything else was truly unsatisfying. And it really was: it felt to me that I barely had time to get into the story that it was over. Let's not even mention short stories that made me feel I only had to blink twice before they were over. So I looked for and read voraciously anything that came with more than one volume.
But strangely, for about a year now, I've realised that I'm reading more and more stand alone novels.

Of course, one could blame life: I don't have as much time on my hands as when I was a young adult. Nowadays, I go to bed with the intent of reading at least 100 pages and have to give up that goal 40 pages later because my eyes are closing on their own.
Some backward looking persons could also say that I'm too distracted by social media and that I would have been reading when nowadays I just check Twitter. Which, as far as I'm concerned, is completely untrue as the time I spend on Twitter more or less equates the time I used to spend playing video games.
Curiouser and curiouser: I've even found myself enjoying novellas lately. Novellas! That's around 100 pages. I can do 100 pages in one reading session, you know. Where are the days when I would get lost in trilogies for weeks?

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... And a six year wait for A Dance with Dragons...

6/4/2017

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The post title comes from Rage of Thrones by The Axis of Awesome.
(Please note the video contains a lot of swear words.)
You see where we're going, right? So, book series and waiting for the next volumes is a challenging topic not only because readers experience the waiting time differently, but also because while we wait, the writer is (usually) busy writing and also needs our money to keep on living. So it's easy to look like a spoiled brat if, as a reader, you think that the infamous "six year wait" might be a tad too long...

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Diversity on The Middle Shelf: a rub in April

29/3/2017

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Art by Joshua Mays.
As all the regular readers of the Middle Shelf know, diversity is extremely important here.
The blog was open with one initial goal: to alternate reviews about books written by male writers and books written by female writers. In 2016, I added another guideline: a fourth of all the reviews per calendar year would be about writers of colour. In 2017, I am aiming for a third.
And so far, so good. I have no trouble finding excellent stories by female writers or by PoC writers even if, when it comes to PoC writers, there aren't that many offerings.
The problem is that in April I've decided to review novels I've liked from the Clarke Award submission list... And there are only five writers of colour on it.

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A person of good character

12/3/2017

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It's almost always all about the characters. We can forgive a cliché story if it has characters we engage with. We more rarely forgive a story, however great, if the characters are bland or barely brushed.
The characters make us care. We identify with them, we reject them sometimes too, we recognise ourselves in them or aspire to be more like them. Because there are great characters, then we're ready to follow them wherever the writer leads them. With time, some become associated with moments in our lives and become a part of us.
It's all about the characters.
So here are some of our favourites characters in science-fiction and fantasy and what makes them special to us, in no particular order.
Warning: may contain traces of Pratchett and Tolkien characters.
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SciFi & Fantasy vs. Proper Literature - Part 1: Readers

5/3/2017

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Art by Tom Gauld.
I'm meeting for the first time this eminent doctor whose field crosses into mine:
"Ah, C.! I'm so glad to meet you, I've heard so much about you.
- So glad to meet you too, Dr Y.
- And what are you reading at the moment?
- Oh, scifi as usual."
There is a moment of blind panic in her eyes and she doesn't say a word for a few seconds. I think I've been suddenly hit by a magical power because I can hear all her thoughts: "Did C. say 'scifi'? Is it really C.? But I was told C. had an agrégation in Modern Literature!"
She dismisses what I've just said with a blink and, barely skipping a beat, goes on to explain to me that she is currently reading Anna Karenina and loving it while I am silently howling with laughter...

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Why we care about POC characters in SFF - A conversation between two SFF fans

20/2/2017

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Art by Greg Ruth for the cover of Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor.
You have to imagine Azzie and C. lounging on a sofa, a cup of tea in their hands, a big TV screen in a corner of the cozy room and bookshelves in another, both deep in a conversation that actually began years ago and that will probably go on for many years to come. Come on, step closer: you're welcome and there's still room on the sofa...

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Thoughts on the 2017 Arthur C. Clarke Award submission list

14/2/2017

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I've been faithfully following the Arthur C. Clarke Award for years, mainly because I often agree that their winner was worthy. It may not be the best reason to do it, but it's also a sure way for me to discover new authors, new novels that I know in advance that I'll like.
The contrary is also true: sometimes, after having read a novel that has been shortlisted, I wonder why the heck did that book ever arrived on that shortlist.
But I always make a point of reading the shortlist and last year I even reviewed three of them (Children of Time, The Book of Phoenix and Arcadia, which were, in my opinion, the most interesting novels on it).
So it's always with some trepidation that I wait for the submission list first, then the shortlist.
And hurray, the submission list has been published today! It may not be a longlist, but there are always novels worth discovering on it that won't make it to the shortlist.

Here are a few thoughts, short reviews and predictions...

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The art of wandering through books - Thoughts about chapters or lack thereof

21/1/2017

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Art cover for The Colour of Magic.
It all began when Leigh and C. embarked on a complete re-read of Terry Pratchett's Discworld (speak his name). After having been fans for decades, we knew what to expect from a Sir Terry's novel: wit, a thought challenging story, great characters and no chapters.
But when we read again The Colour of Magic (and it was the first time we were re-reading it in years), the chapters jarred a bit. When, after months of reading, we reached Going Postal, the chapters were back, and since we had gone for about 20 books without, it seemed even more shocking and, along with Ian, we wondered how much chapters influenced our reading.

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Forward>>
    "While we were reading" is an irregular feature about reading science-fiction and fantasy. Nothing fancy, come as you are.
    It is also home to all the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards announcements.
    GO TO THE REVIEWS

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