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Location: Gunnison, Colorado | This thread is for discussion of the second annual Author! Author! challenge. Here's the description of the challenge:
This challenge is for those wishing to delve further into a favorite author, or pursue a new discovery, by reading several books by a single author during 2017.
The "Experienced" reading level represents a commitment to read four books one author. As you move up the reading levels, each level should consist of another four books by that same author or four by another author. You can choose to read four, eight, twelve, or sixteen books by one author, or read four (or a multiple of four) by more than one author. For example, if you choose the "Virtuoso" reading level, you could choose sixteen books by C. J. Cherryh, or eight by Cherryh and eight by Frank Herbert, or four each by Cherryh, Herbert, Le Guin, and Gibson. Rereads of old favorites are also fair game for this challenge.
Reading multiple books by the same author within a fairly short timeframe can give you insights into that author's themes, style, or obsessions not apparent from an individual book. Consider sharing your insights on the forum thread dedicated to this challenge! I ran this challenge last year using multiples of five books as the basis, but am decreasing it to four this year in order to decrease the commitment a bit. I’m going to continue on with my mad quest to read Jack Vance and Michael Moorcock chronologically (I’m up to the mid-‘70s for both authors), and look forward to seeing which writers are chosen by others. In 2016 we had 19 participants and a total of 167 books read. Last year’s forum discussion can be reviewed here. Enjoy! |
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| Perfect! Thanks |
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Location: New Zealand | I'm ready to go. In the end I went with:
4 books by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (trying to finish her Retrieval Artist series)
4 books by Robert J Sawyer
8 books by John Brunner
I'm looking forward to delving into these. |
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| I think Rusch has a new book in the series coming out this year! |
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Location: Middle TN, USA | This challenge is going to be perfect for me. I have taken on my own personal challenge to catch up on my Stephen King. There are so masny of his books I have not read or read so long ago, I just don't remember reading them. Twelve books in twelve months all King. I'm calling it "King 👑 for a year" |
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| "King for a year" - I like that! |
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado | Only a week into the year, and it looks like this challenge is on track to attract a somewhat more interest than last year. 15 participants so far, and a few books already completed. Based on the picks already chosen, it looks like the authors picked so far are:
Stephen King (two participants)
Ursula K. Le Guin
Alastair Reynolds
William Gibson
C. J. Cherryh (two participants)
George R. R. Martin (two participants)
Larry Niven
H. P. Lovecraft
Elizabeth Bear
Leigh Brackett
Guy Gavriel Kay
Daniel Abraham
Connie Willis
Peter S. Beagle
S. M. Stirling
Michael Moorcock (two participants)
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Robert J. Sawyer
John Brunner
Jack Vance
I hope everyone enjoys the challenge! Personally, I'm glad to see that people are still interested in checking out some of my "old school" favorites like Brunner, Brackett, and Moorcock. Gibson and Cherryh are two of my all-time favorites, and I've already read just about everything they've written. (Sable Aradia's picks are a really nice overview of Cherryh's prolific output...) And twelve Stephen King novels in a year is quite a commitment. My picks are a lot shorter!
It would be great to hear what you all think of these writers as you make some progress. Onward... |
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| I hope everyone enjoys the challenge! Personally, I'm glad to see that people are still interested in checking out some of my "old school" favorites like Brunner, Brackett, and Moorcock. Gibson and Cherryh are two of my all-time favorites, and I've already read just about everything they've written. (Sable Aradia's picks are a really nice overview of Cherryh's prolific output...) And twelve Stephen King novels in a year is quite a commitment. My picks are a lot shorter!
It would be great to hear what you all think of these writers as you make some progress. Onward...
I discovered Cherryh last year for the Women of Genre Fiction challenge; read about three of her books (totally unrelated to one another) and loved each one. She crosses over with a lot of the other challenges I'm doing this year too: Grand Mistresses of Genre Fiction, LGBTQ, and weirdly, the Military Spec-Fic Challenge (that would be the Faded Sun trilogy and the world of Downbelow Station.) So she was a logical pick. I thought "Voyager in Night" was a work of genius. And you know, it's like nobody's ever heard of her around here! So weird! I hope other people will discover her too. I look forward to delving deeply into her work. I'm excited because "Downbelow Station" (also good for the Space Opera and 12 Awards) is on my to-read list this year and that's a book I've wanted to read since I first heard the filk music about it almost 20 years ago. Same with "The Tree of Swords and Jewels," though I understand that's number two in a series and I don't have book one, so I'm hoping I can muddle through anyway. |
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Location: Great Lakes, USA | I didn't do so well with the doorstop Stephen King books last year, so I am trying again this year and have added Duma Key and Under the Dome to the Giant Challenge. I have quite a lot of inherited Stephen King books to read and could do 12, but I figured I'd try more variety.
@Sable Aradia - CJ Cherryh is one of my favorite authors and Downbelow Station is one of my favorite books (up there with Dune and Lonesome Dove). Hope you enjoy it! |
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado | There are a few Cherryh aficionados around (and she does have a pretty big "fan base" that doesn't seem to overlap as much as it used to with general SF fandom), but I think there are a couple of reasons she's somewhat neglected these days, despite having been an active writer in the field for four decades. She's very prolific (more than 70 books) and most of her work is series-based, so it might seem daunting to figure out where to start reading. The connections between the Union-Alliance novels are somewhat complicated, but for the most part they are all standalone in the sense that each one is a self-contained story with it's own setting and characters, so it doesn't matter which is read first (though there are a few exceptions to that rule). And, her main project for the second half of her career is the Foreigner series, which is the antithesis of the Union-Alliance books in that it's a long ongoing series that should really be read sequentially. With book 18 (!) coming out this year, it's not likely that too many people will be picking up the latest Cherryh novel if they're not already on board with that one. And I have talked with a few people who are put off by her style. With the exception of much of the '90s fantasy, I've read her books as they came out, starting with Brothers of Earth in 1976. A reread project has long been in the back of my mind, as most of her books have faded in memory... |
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| Scott Laz - 2017-01-08 11:21 AM
There are a few Cherryh aficionados around (and she does have a pretty big "fan base" that doesn't seem to overlap as much as it used to with general SF fandom), but I think there are a couple of reasons she's somewhat neglected these days, despite having been an active writer in the field for four decades. She's very prolific (more than 70 books) and most of her work is series-based, so it might seem daunting to figure out where to start reading. The connections between the Union-Alliance novels are somewhat complicated, but for the most part they are all standalone in the sense that each one is a self-contained story with it's own setting and characters, so it doesn't matter which is read first (though there are a few exceptions to that rule). And, her main project for the second half of her career is the Foreigner series, which is the antithesis of the Union-Alliance books in that it's a long ongoing series that should really be read sequentially. With book 18 (!) coming out this year, it's not likely that too many people will be picking up the latest Cherryh novel if they're not already on board with that one. And I have talked with a few people who are put off by her style. With the exception of much of the '90s fantasy, I've read her books as they came out, starting with Brothers of Earth in 1976. A reread project has long been in the back of my mind, as most of her books have faded in memory...
Brothers of Earth was one of the ones I read. Style; well, can't do anything about style preferences. And I get there "there's too many books to even get started" thing; I've been deterred by a few writers for that reason (Robert Jordan, Modesitt, etc. - though I've inherited more than a few Modesitt books so I expect those will be on the list this year or next!) |
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| daxxh - 2017-01-07 1:25 PM
I didn't do so well with the doorstop Stephen King books last year, so I am trying again this year and have added Duma Key and Under the Dome to the Giant Challenge. I have quite a lot of inherited Stephen King books to read and could do 12, but I figured I'd try more variety.
@Sable Aradia - CJ Cherryh is one of my favorite authors and Downbelow Station is one of my favorite books (up there with Dune and Lonesome Dove). Hope you enjoy it!
I'm excited! Yeah, Under the Dome might make my list depending on how things look nearer to the end of the year too. I've been meaning to read it and I still need some books for my Apocalypse Now Challenge.  |
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Location: Middle TN, USA | Under the Dome was the book that turned me off Stephen King for a while. I read it back in 2009 when it came out, and the story was great, but there was a scene in a bunker that was just too, too disturbing for me. Since then I have found the joys of "Splatterpunk" and so If I read it now I probably would not be so squeamish. I just finished Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door, but still to this day I shudder at the thought of rereading Under the Dome! Don't worry, I totally see the incongruity of the situation.
@Sable Aradia, I don't think Under The Dome will work for your APOC challenge. The "Dome" in question only effects one town, so unless it has changed the book does not meet the Apoc challenge requirements, it would be more like "Handmaid's Tale" |
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| Well, if it only affects one town, you're right! It won't work for my challenge conditions. Thanks for the heads up! |
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Location: Belgium | I've read some Larry Niven many years ago, so I think I'm going to try to re-read some of them. Already finished with the Integral Trees and now reading the Smoke Ring. The Ringworld serie is also on the to-do list. And Stephen King is worthy of a re-read but I'm not sure yet if that's going to happen this year... The Discworld series is also on my list (some of them I have read, but a lot of them I haven't read), but then 16 books is going to be too little. |
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Location: Middle TN, USA | I love Discworld and hasve not read over half of them. I guess I know what I'll be doing in 2018!!! |
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Location: behind the 4th wall | Tricia Sullivan has been on my radar for ages but I've never read her books, for whatever reason. I just read her newest title, Occupy Me, and was uber impressed. Now I'm eager to read more by her so she is my choice for this challenge. |
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| I'm a Cherryh fan but I'm so far behind it's not funny. I've only read her SF and haven't yet started the Foreigner series.
Elizabeth Bear is another favorite author and I'm also behind with her so I chose her for this challenge. I found Leigh Brackett just last year and I'm eager to read more of her planetary romance books. |
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| Too many wonderful authors-a good problem to have! |
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| Dlw28 - 2017-01-17 7:52 PM
Too many wonderful authors-a good problem to have!
Agreed!  |
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| I remembered that I was planning to read "A Song of Ice and Fire" before the end of the year too, so I added GRRM to my challenge list. That maxes me out! We'll see if I've bitten off more than I can chew. |
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Location: Belgium | I've also wanted to read Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle but apparently crime isn't fantasy :-)
So since most of their work isn't eligible for this site, I'll probably wait with them. Is their a crime/detective equivalent of this site? |
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Location: UK | I read 11 Agatha Christie books last year. Which is probably about 9 more than any other author. They're pretty easy going, and I don't think I've ever taken more than 4 days to read one. They are almost the snack you can eat between meals without ruining your appetite. |
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado | @kabouter: Arthur Conan Doyle did dabble in science fiction with his Professor Challenger stories… A couple more people have joined the challenge, so we’re up to 17! Looking over the choices, I too wish I had time to dive into all these writers… |
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| kabouter - 2017-01-18 11:56 PM
I've also wanted to read Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle but apparently crime isn't fantasy :-)
So since most of their work isn't eligible for this site, I'll probably wait with them. Is their a crime/detective equivalent of this site?
*laughs* I've been sneaking in the Dexter series here and there, so I guess there's a few of us sidelining in crime fiction!
Nice to see so many people joining the challenge! Lots of people to chat with about our favourite authors! (Or to complain to, if we decide we don't like them). |
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Location: Middle TN, USA | I read several of the Sherlock Holmes shorts last year, and plan to slip in some more. Maybe there is some correlation between sci-fi, fantasy, horror and crime fiction? |
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Location: Belgium | I think the Hound of the Baskervilles is a nice example of a certain relationship between Crime and Fantasy. The crime is the main plot, but the hound is supernatural. And the overall atmosphere of that novel makes it more a Fantasy book than a Crime book. |
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Location: Carrollton, TX | Go ahead and make it 18, Scott. I've given up on resisting joining another challenge.
I'm thinking Cory Doctorow for sure. I had already decided to knock out some Heinlein this year too.
Then probably at least one more author, but who? So many great choices: Cherryh, McKillip, Mckinley, Stross, Tepper.
If only I didn't have to work; I'd have so much more time for reading.
And for those of you contemplating Arthur Conan Doyle, let me toss out there <i>The Maracot Deep</i>. It's a wonderfully weird tale of Atlantis and the ultimate struggle between good and evil.
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Location: Middle TN, USA | I upped my challenge to 16. I will be adding some of the Discworld novels. What can I say, I'm a glutton. |
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| Slinkyboy - 2017-01-21 7:30 AM
Go ahead and make it 18, Scott. I've given up on resisting joining another challenge.
I'm thinking Cory Doctorow for sure. I had already decided to knock out some Heinlein this year too.
Then probably at least one more author, but who? So many great choices: Cherryh, McKillip, Mckinley, Stross, Tepper.
If only I didn't have to work; I'd have so much more time for reading.
And for those of you contemplating Arthur Conan Doyle, let me toss out there The Maracot Deep. It's a wonderfully weird tale of Atlantis and the ultimate struggle between good and evil.
Yay! More crazy people to join the asylum! |
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Location: Alief, TX | I picked this challenge up late in the year. I ended up reading eight books by Philip K. Dick.
The Crack in Space
Eye in the Sky
The Man in the High Castle
Now Wait for Last Year
The Penultimate Truth
The Simulacra
Ubik
The Zap Gun
Brings me to a total of 20 of his that I've read. |
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Location: Carrollton, TX | jontlaw - 2017-12-23 9:40 PM
Brings me to a total of 20 of his that I've read.
Twenty total is impressive. I just checked, and I've only read three.
I didn't realize just how much more of his stuff I have to look forward to.
So let's see.. For this challenge I did Cory Doctorow, Heinlein, and Diana Wynne Jones.
Homeland
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Pirate Cinema
The Rapture of Nerds
Between Planets
Space Cadet
Starman Jones
Red Planet
Howl's Moving Castle
Castle in the Air
The House of Many Ways
Enchanted Glass
... A good year in reading over all.
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Location: Alief, TX | One of these days I'm going to get through all my Heinlein. I have even more than I have by Dick. |
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado | Just checking in to see this year's challenge results. I'll do a more detailed wrap-up of specific authors read when I get a chance, but the short version is: 24 participants (out of which I count 16 fully completing their challenge -- yay!), reading 204 books!
I guess I'll start this one up again for 2018. If anyone has ideas for revising the rules in any way, chime in.
For some reasons I missed the recent comments on this thread, so welcome to everyone who added the challenge late.
jontlaw & Slinkyboy: I've read every PKD novel (he's my favorite SF writer), and actually embarked on a re-read project this year. I envy people who still have new ones to discover... and congrats on finishing your challenges! |
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Author! Author! 2017