SFF: The 5 Books You Read When You Require a Complete Reality Escape

Sunday Fun Five #76:

#70: The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)
#71: The 5 Excuses for Buying New Books You Use on Yourself
#72: The 5 Books You Wouldn't Have Read If Not For Blogging
#73: The 5 Things That Keep You Book Blogging
#74: The 5 Picture Books You Loved as a Kid
#75: The 5 Books that Remind You of Star Wars
#76: The 5 Books You Read When You Require a Complete Reality Escape
For the 18th of June: #77: The 5 "New-ish" TBR Books You Really Need to Read

A Countdown of

The 5 Books You Read When You Require a Complete Reality Escape

5. The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama
Normally, when you think of a reality escape, you don't generally think of historical fiction books- but The Samurai's Garden is such a beautifully written, tranquil book that I couldn't keep myself from adding it.

4. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
I pretty much love this book, but it still didn't make my five star reads. I think this was my first major urban fantasy book, and another building block in my obsession with vampires.

3. My Man Jeeves (Jeeves #1) by P.G. Wodehouse
Jeeves and Wooster make for the perfect reality escape by getting into sticky situations that often result in a humorous outcome.

2. Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle #1) by Diana Wynne Jones
This book made me happy when I was in a snarly mood, so I would consider this a fairly potent reality escape/mood tamer.

1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1) by Douglas Adams
For me, this is the ultimate reality escape because it's set off-planet (or at least some of it). Nothing like zany space adventures to keep reality at bay.

Which books are your favorite escape from reality? 

SFF: The 5 Books That Remind You of Star Wars

Sunday Fun Five #75:

#66: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)
#67: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner
#68: The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016
#69: The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017
#70: The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)
#71: The 5 Excuses for Buying New Books You Use on Yourself
#72: The 5 Books You Wouldn't Have Read If Not For Blogging
#73: The 5 Things That Keep You Book Blogging
#74: The 5 Picture Books You Loved as a Kid
#75: The 5 Books that Remind You of Star Wars
For the 21st of May: #76: The 5 Books You Read When You Require a Complete Reality Escape

A Countdown of

The 5 Books That Remind You of Star Wars

5. Kesrith (The Faded Sun #1) by C.J. Cherryh
Initially, I put this near the top, but somehow I remembered thinking it was more Star Trek-esque than Star Wars-esque. One must be a vigilant geek and distinguish betwixt the two. Still, the alien flavor of this book reminds me greatly of a galaxy far, far away.

4. Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #1) by Ilona Andrews
This book contains a section that reminds me of the market and Cantina scenes in Star Wars. Though the overarching theme isn't to save the world, somehow this innkeeper helps to keep the whole "aliens on Earth" thing under wraps.

3. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
This one has plot elements I cannot disclose (AKA spoilers) that make it like Star Wars. If you've read the entire series, you'll probably know what I'm talking about, but suffice to say, it's on this SFF list for a reason.

2. The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Though not rooted in space travel, this epic fantasy features an alien world and customs that harken back to the first three episodes of Star Wars (for me, at least). Also, the characters are robust as those you'd find in Lucas's universe.

1. Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin
Spaceships? Check. Intergalactic travel? Check. Strange beings? Check. Cats? Err... plenty.
To me, this one feels the most like Star Wars because it's fun, it involves saving the world(s) (albeit not from the Empire), and has all the expected trappings of a sci-fi set in space. Alas, there is no badass female in this book. Really, though... there's only one Princess Leia. And she happens to be a year old terrier mix.

Which books remind you of Star Wars?

SFF: The 5 Picture Books You Loved as a Kid

MonSunday Fun Five #74:

#60: The 5 Literary Characters Who Should Run For President

#61: The 5 Authors You Wouldn't Mind Having as Your Teacher

#62: The 5 Comfort Reads You Depend on For Difficult Days

#63: The 5 Reasons You Need More Than One Patronus

#64: The 5 Supernatural Creatures/Beings You Prefer Reading About

#65: The 5 Books You Read in 2016 That Were More Addictive Than Pumpkin Pie Spice-d Things

#66: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)
#67: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner
#68: The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016
#69: The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017
#70: The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)
#71: The 5 Excuses for Buying New Books You Use on Yourself
#72: The 5 Books You Wouldn't Have Read If Not For Blogging
#73: The 5 Things That Keep You Book Blogging
#74: The 5 Picture Books You Loved as a Kid
For the 7th of May: #75: The 5 Books that Remind You of Star Wars

A Countdown of

The 5 Picture Books You Loved as a Kid

I can't recall if I did picture books or not before as a SFF theme, but these are some of the ones that helped me read when I didn't necessarily want to. Interestingly, all the books I remember best were published before 1950.

5. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco and William Nicholson (Illustrator)
A classic tale of a well-loved rabbit, but other than that I don't remember much about it- which is why I gave it a place at the bottom of my list. This is actually the oldest of the books, having first been published in 1922.

4. Corduroy by Don Freeman
I remember this a little better because I was absolutely enamored with the illustrations of the charming teddy bear (and it has a rather standout cover).

3. Goodnight Moon (Over the Moon #2) by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd (Illustrator)
This is an old standby of picture books, though I remember absolutely hating Runaway Bunny, because there was no point to the plot. This one, at least, had a bit of a seek and find aspect that made it more palatable to my peculiar childhood sensibilities.

2. Madeline (Madeline) by Ludwig Bemelmans
I loved Madeline so much I almost wished I was an orphan and could go live with her and the other girls. Her misadventures made for an interesting picture book.

1. King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian by Marguerite Henry and Wesley Dennis (Illustrations)
This book I liked best because I was obsessed with horses, and also it's a much longer story than any of the others (I think it's considered a chapter book, but the illustrations are gorgeous). I liked many of Marguerite Henry's books, but this one was my favorite.

Which picture books did you like best as a kid?

SFF: The 5 Things That Keep You Book Blogging

Sunday Fun Five #73:

#60: The 5 Literary Characters Who Should Run For President

#61: The 5 Authors You Wouldn't Mind Having as Your Teacher

#62: The 5 Comfort Reads You Depend on For Difficult Days

#63: The 5 Reasons You Need More Than One Patronus

#64: The 5 Supernatural Creatures/Beings You Prefer Reading About

#65: The 5 Books You Read in 2016 That Were More Addictive Than Pumpkin Pie Spice-d Things

#66: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)
#67: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner
#68: The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016
#69: The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017
#70: The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)
#71: The 5 Excuses for Buying New Books You Use on Yourself
#72: The 5 Books You Wouldn't Have Read If Not For Blogging
#73: The 5 Things That Keep You Book Blogging
For the 23rd of April: #74: The 5 Picture Books You Loved as a Kid

A Countdown of

The 5 Things That Keep You Book Blogging

5. Pure Stubbornness
I'm actually a pretty stubborn person, and I can be slow to change my ways once I've decided on a pattern of how to do things, when to do them, etc. Stubbornness is an excellent trait to have as a book blogger, because you have to rely on yourself for inspiration and you will likely encounter many (many) people (and fellow book bloggers) who have a conflicting opinion about a book you love or hate. If you're of a stubborn bent it's also important to keep in mind that there is room in the blogosphere for differing opinions and to keep an open mind when someone points out a "flaw" in your favorite book... even if you think it's just a flaw in their thinking.

If only I had a cup that big...

4. Caffeine
I never wake up with much energy any more, so caffeine is what helps fuel my posting. I'm a fan of coffee, I have an on-again, off-again relationship with Diet Dr. Pepper (I just call her Melinda), and chocolate also has my endorsement, especially if it happens to be covering coffee beans.

Some of my most anticipated titles of 2017

3. All the New Releases
I love being able to enthuse with other readers about the latest and greatest titles to be published in a given year. I don't know many readers in real life, so it's nice to be able to converse with other literary minded folks.

My pile awhile back...

2. the-pile and the-invisible-pile
I have a lot of books I've acquired and want to read: the-pile is all the physical books, the-invisible-pile is all of the Kindle ebooks or their equivalent (thus the invisible). I always have books to read, even if I feel like I have "nothing" to read (funny how that works). My piles keep me blogging by keeping me supplied with old favorites, less known older books, and some more recent books too.

1. Fellow Book Bloggers
I likely wouldn't be around if there was no book blogging community. Although I have had blogs in the past I just wrote for myself as a kind of book journal, etc., it's nice to know I'm not alone in liking and reading certain books, even if they aren't quite mainstream.

What keeps you blogging?

SFF: The 5 Books You Wouldn't Have Read If Not For Blogging

Sunday Fun Five #72:

#60: The 5 Literary Characters Who Should Run For President

#61: The 5 Authors You Wouldn't Mind Having as Your Teacher

#62: The 5 Comfort Reads You Depend on For Difficult Days

#63: The 5 Reasons You Need More Than One Patronus

#64: The 5 Supernatural Creatures/Beings You Prefer Reading About

#65: The 5 Books You Read in 2016 That Were More Addictive Than Pumpkin Pie Spice-d Things

#66: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)
#67: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner
#68: The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016
#69: The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017
#70: The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)
#71: The 5 Excuses for Buying New Books You Use on Yourself
#72: The 5 Books You Wouldn't Have Read If Not For Blogging
For the 9th of April: #73: The 5 Things That Keep You Book Blogging

A Countdown of

The 5 Books You Wouldn't Have Read If Not For Blogging

Since I've had a less than fun time healthwise lately, I decided to restart SFF on a new question. If I hadn't started blogging almost three years ago, there would be a huge gap in my favorite books category, as I've had plenty of blogger recommendations that ended up paying off for me. Since my memory of who recommended what isn't the best, I'll just be mentioning the books.

5. Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle #1) by Diana Wynne Jones
While I had seen parts of the movie, I hadn't been sure I wanted to read the book. This one was a real mood lifter for me and a joy to read- it's perfect for those who like fantasy on the lighter end of things.

4.  Magic Bites (Kate Daniels #1) by Ilona Andrews
I wasn't too impressed with urban fantasy until I came across Ilona Andrews' works, starting with Magic Bites. Ilona Andrews (a husband and wife writing team) are now amongst my favorite authors.

3. Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop
From the cover, I'd assumed I wouldn't like it- it looks more like a mystery than a character-centric fantasy, but Written in Red is one of my favorite books now. I'm actually considering a reread of it soon.

2. Thorn by Intisar Khanani 
Normally, I tend to stay away from Young Adult books- I had my fill back when I was a young adult, and most hadn't terribly impressed me. However, because this was self-published YA fantasy, and I tend to like self-pubbed books over traditionally published ones in static genres (historical romance, etc.), I made an exception and found a new author to stalk.

1. Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb
Even though this had a George R.R. Martin recommendation, I was wary about reading it given some of the reviews. However, when fellow book bloggers I trusted recommended it to me, I decided to give it a shot (and frankly didn't expect to like it even then). The last two books in this trilogy were some of my favorites of 2016.

Which books have you found through blogging? 

SFF: The 5 Excuses for Buying New Books You Use on Yourself

Sunday Fun Five #71:

#60: The 5 Literary Characters Who Should Run For President

#61: The 5 Authors You Wouldn't Mind Having as Your Teacher

#62: The 5 Comfort Reads You Depend on For Difficult Days

#63: The 5 Reasons You Need More Than One Patronus

#64: The 5 Supernatural Creatures/Beings You Prefer Reading About

#65: The 5 Books You Read in 2016 That Were More Addictive Than Pumpkin Pie Spice-d Things

#66: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)
#67: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner
#68: The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016
#69: The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017
#70: The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)
#71: The 5 Excuses for Buying New Books You Use on Yourself
#72: The 5 Books You Wouldn't Have Read If Not For Blogging

A Countdown of

The 5 Excuses for Buying New Books You Use on Yourself

I'm not sure about you, but I have book buying issues. As in, I buy way too many books. These are some of the excuses I find myself using over and over again when I'm at my book buying binge finest.

5.  "Blogger raved about this book!"
So what if this mysterious blogger and I disagree on most books rating-wise- this one could be the tie-breaker! Or so the book buying devil on my shoulder tells me.

4. "I still have shelf room/can buy a new shelf."
My mom helps enable me a bit with this one- if she sees a cheap shelf, she'll usually buy it for me.

3. "If I buy this, if might be my new favorite!"
I use this excuse way too often for it to be remotely true in most cases. True, a few of the books my brain coerced me into buying did end up on my five star reads shelf, but quite a few of those actually came to me as freebies.

2. "I liked this author's other book."
This is probably the most likely excuse I'll use if I've read another of that author's books. I'll even use this one when I only rated the other book 3 Stars- on the off chance I'll like another of theirs. I seem to get comfortable as far as authors go- if I like one of their books enough, I'll buy their entire catalogue.

1. "You only live once."
I use this one quite a bit. So what if I live in a house that you can't see the walls of- you only live once, and I want to live in a castle made of books (or so my mind tells me).

Do you use any of these excuses? What do you do to curb your book buying?

SFF: The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)

Sunday Fun Five #70:

#60: The 5 Literary Characters Who Should Run For President

#61: The 5 Authors You Wouldn't Mind Having as Your Teacher

#62: The 5 Comfort Reads You Depend on For Difficult Days

#63: The 5 Reasons You Need More Than One Patronus

#64: The 5 Supernatural Creatures/Beings You Prefer Reading About

#65: The 5 Books You Read in 2016 That Were More Addictive Than Pumpkin Pie Spice-d Things

#66: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)
#67: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner
#68: The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016
#69: The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017
#70: The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)
For the 15th of January: #71: The 5 Excuses for Buying New Books You Use on Yourself

A Countdown of

The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)

5. Wild Seed (Patternmaster #1) by Octavia E. Butler (Published in 1980)
I heartily recommend anything and everything Octavia E. Butler has written, despite not having read it all yet myself- I just love her writing style. I like her Patternmaster series because of the idea of superhumans who aren't exactly superheroes, and how they live their lives.

4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1) by Douglas Adams (Published in 1979)
I wasn't at all impressed with the first half of this book, having watched the movie edition prior, but the second half turned my opinion of it upside down. This is an excellent comedic space adventure.

3. Kesrith (The Faded Sun #1) by C.J. Cherryh (Published in 1978)
C.J. Cherryh's books are lasagna in a world filled with potato chip sci-fi books- the worldbuilding drives the plot, but it can also feel a bit on the heavy side. Still, after you finish one piece/book, you think of how good it was and how much you want another.

2. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (Published in 1932)
This book is startlingly advanced for the period in which it was published- and as someone interested in the history of advances in medical science, it caught my fancy. You have to keep in mind, though, that this book is less of a story driven book and more of an idea driven one.

1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Published before you were born, unless you're a vampire or otherwise mortally challenged)
Some people think of this more as a horror story than anything else, but I consider it more sci-fi, since reanimation reminds me more of sci-fi than horror. I was initially hesitant to read this book last year, but ended up loving it despite never getting around to publishing a review.

Which science fiction books have you read and enjoyed that were published prior to your birth?

SFF: The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017

Sunday Fun Five #69:

#60: The 5 Literary Characters Who Should Run For President

#61: The 5 Authors You Wouldn't Mind Having as Your Teacher

#62: The 5 Comfort Reads You Depend on For Difficult Days

#63: The 5 Reasons You Need More Than One Patronus

#64: The 5 Supernatural Creatures/Beings You Prefer Reading About

#65: The 5 Books You Read in 2016 That Were More Addictive Than Pumpkin Pie Spice-d Things

#66: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)
#67: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner
#68: The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016
#69: The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017
For the 1st of January: #70: The 5 Vintage Sci-fi Books You Recommend (For Vintage Sci-fi Month!)

A Countdown of

The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017

5. Age of Swords (The Legends of the First Empire #2) by Michael J. Sullivan
Expected Publication: June 28th 2017

This book will continue the story that started with Age of Myth, which I found quite excellent this year. Unfortunately I'll have to wait until I can either procure this on NetGalley or find it in stores- but I think it'll be worth the wait.

4. The Tiger Queens: The Women of Genghis Khan by Stephanie Thornton
This was a book I ordered with The Blood Mirror to get free shipping- but I bought it also because it's set in Mongolia, a place I don't know much about. It didn't seem like I read much historical fiction in 2016 and I'd like to return to more of it in 2017.

3. Rendezvous with Rama (Rama #1) by Arthur C. Clarke
I bought this at Better World Books after hearing good things about it. I did read A Fall of Moondust this year and was less than impressed by it, but I'm willing to read more of Clarke's later works.

2. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
One of the new-to-me authors I am most impressed by this year is Octavia E. Butler, so I'm excited to read the rest of my stockpile of her works in 2017. She wrote complex sci-fi in a manner that's easy to devour.

1. The Blood Mirror (Lightbringer #4) by Brent Weeks
This book was just all wrong for me this year- I bought it in hardcover, which means I have to tote it around (it's hard with just one free arm) and also my grip has started to wane a bit, leading to the deaths of multiple ceramics in our kitchen. Then I was having the year end antics of 2016, most of which were negative, so I'm hoping 2017 will be bright enough that I can read this.

Which books are you looking forward to reading in 2017? 

SFF: The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016

Sunday Fun Five #68:

#60: The 5 Literary Characters Who Should Run For President

#61: The 5 Authors You Wouldn't Mind Having as Your Teacher

#62: The 5 Comfort Reads You Depend on For Difficult Days

#63: The 5 Reasons You Need More Than One Patronus

#64: The 5 Supernatural Creatures/Beings You Prefer Reading About

#65: The 5 Books You Read in 2016 That Were More Addictive Than Pumpkin Pie Spice-d Things

#66: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)
#67: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner
#68: The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016
For the 22nd of December: #69: The 5 Books You're Excited to Read in 2017

A Countdown of

The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016

5. Haviland Tuf of Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin
Haviland Tuf is a logical vegetarian who also loves cats, and though his travels seem a bit moot in the end, if there were more books about him I'd pick them up in a heartbeat.

4. Jodahs of Imago (Xenogenesis #3) by Octavia E. Butler
Jodahs is the first of their kind- a third sex ooloi with human DNA, and their experiences are riveting. I won't say more for fear of spoiling this book, but definitely consider picking up the Xenogenesis series if you want something different from the usual science fiction offerings.

3. Wang the Taxi Driver of The Incarnations by Susan Barker
Wang has been on my mind a lot this year- something about this story simply sticks with me, but most of all I think of Wang and his experiences in this book.

2. Janie of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Janie doesn't have an easy journey in Their Eyes Were Watching God, but it becomes more evident as the book progresses that she is a singular personality. There are some things in this book that made my eyebrows raise, but in the end I couldn't think of a thing I'd change about it, or Janie for that matter.

1. FitzChivalry Farseer of Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb
I am so glad I finally gave in and read these books this year. I'd been told Robin Hobb is great by multiple bloggers, but it was only this year I decided to put those claims to the test. Fitz wasn't originally one of my favorites of the series, but after reading the first trilogy featuring him as a main character, he has become one of my favorites, along with the Fool, Nighteyes, and the many other characters of this series.

Which characters made an impression on you this year?