Welcome to Litsy!

Soft pick. I liked the plot and the main characters, but overall the book felt a bit disjointed. It almost felt like a book of related short stories rather than a novel. I also wish that the side characters had been more fully developed.

I'm finally catching up on my #queerbc selections! This was July's author.

This was a reread and yup I still love it. The ending is somewhat lacking but I enjoyed the overall experience.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

“When Patricia was six years old, she found a wounded bird.“

I kept putting this book aside for a while now, not sure why, now that I started it, I love it.

Twice I tried to get into this book and put it down. The third time it all connected for me and I loved it. It‘s sci fi and cli fi but it‘s also about grade school friends who take different paths and reconnect as adults. Plenty of fantasy, great characters, and lots of action. Can‘t wait to read more Charlie Jane Anders!

#thebibliophage2022

That moment when reading parallels life. I took this pic in the morning. Several hours later I read this passage where the human character becomes an actual bird and tries suet (the stuff in the green cage — basically fat and seeds or nuts) for the first time.

#weirdsynchronicity #bookishsynchronicity #birdwatchersoflitsy

#JanuaryJazz @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
#NationalBirdDay

Oct #roll100 picks! All the Birds in the Sky and Gardens of the Moon - that's 6 and 71 for me... I do have a book for 100, but I messed up and put the 2nd in a series, when I haven't read the first. Plus it's a Brandon Sanderson and the odds of me reading 2 Sanderson books even by the end of the year are not high 😅
So I'll focus on the other 2 picks, and if I have time catch up Too Like the Lightning and Unspoken Name from previous months

If you are a fan of science fiction and/or fantasy and ever have the chance to see Charlie Jane Anders in person, I highly recommend doing so. She is THE BEST—always has something interesting to say, wears the most fabulous dresses, and signs her books with exuberance. I see her whenever she‘s in town and this is the first book I ever had her sign (there have been more since).

Tell me about your favorite signed books!

#FavoriteSignedBooks

I barely slept last night and woke up early to finish this book. It was a great book, but I have a feeling that my standards for a good ending increased after finishing Aurora‘s End. Nonetheless this was a great book with a great plot so I will be giving it a pick and...⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

Ps. That‘s my very fluffy pillow in the background. :)

Control is an illusion.

My first Charlie Jane Anders book, but it won‘t be my last. If you like witches, assassins with unusual moral codes, boy geniuses and rogue AI‘s, this is for you. I could not put it down. Really excellent.

So I just finished this one and I still don‘t really know what happened.

Full review on my blog here:

http://bookshelfadventures.home.blog/2021/05/31/all-the-birds-in-the-sky-by-char...

Great environmental fiction. This starts out like a Kate DiCamillo book but ends up with a science fiction/fantasy blend that will sift through your brain for years.

Bk18 of #Scarathlon2020 #Screamathon2020 #Pageathon #TrickOrTreadAthon #Gothtober #GothicReadathon #RockyHorrorathon #ReadLikeHellathon #RIPReadathon #Booathon #ReadToReadathon #CocoTurns50 #ReadYourWayReadathon & finally #24B4Monday #Readathon It covers prompts #Zombie #Gothtober #Transformation #HotPatootie #BlackBirdOnCover #Witch Wow. That‘s a few ‘thons. I ended up liking this book, though it had its moments of WTF? 3,786pts #TeamSlaughter

Having an icecream & coffee break so thought I‘d give an update on where I‘m at for both #Scarathlon2020 & #24B4Monday #readathon plus all the other many many thons including #CocoTurns50 & #ReadYourWayReadathon Not sure about this book, it‘s strange & quirky which I like but it‘s casual mistreatment of children takes a bit of getting used to. We shall see whether it works out in the end. 1pt #TeamSlaughter

This was just meh. Started out very promising with the magic vs science concept, but the execution felt choppy and left me dissatisfied. It‘s weird enough to make me glad I read it though. 💫💫

#Booked2020 #animaloncover
#PopSugar2020 A book by a trans or nonbinary author
#MountTBR2020

👏

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rebecca-skloot-and-ed-yong-for-east-bay-booksellers...

“Birds taste good,” Berkeley observed, bouncing on his front paws a little. “They flap around and try to fly out of your paws. They are like toys with meat inside.”

I don‘t know why that last bit tickled me so, but I‘m still giggling. This book is just quirky enough to be charming without pushing into coded caricature, and so far is not what I expected.
Pictured is Xander, who chitters at birds, but will probably never have one between his paws.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rebecca-solnit-lidia-yuknavitch-and-jaime-cortez-fo...

Here‘s some more #welovebookstores events to benefit bookstores coming up.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nk-jemisin-and-rebecca-roanhorse-for-borderlands-bo...

I‘ve finally started this one, after owning the hardcover since its release date. I‘ve been chatting books with someone I hadn‘t talked to in a while and it‘s been refreshing and motivating me to get to ones they‘ve read and enjoyed recently. Not to mention my semester being done means I can read recreationally, guilt-free!

Such a weird book. I loved it.

Book 3: All The Birds In The Sky

This book would be on my recommend list. A perfect mix of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. This is a very accessable read. I do not typically just read sci-fi/fantasy. It reads like a dream.

What happens when a group of witches go to war with the world's largest tech company? The 2 people leading the charge are childhood lovers.

Charlie Jane Anders has won a Nebula, Hugo and most importantly a Lambda.

tl;dr - read it!

Ready to read this. Seems like a Romeo and Juliet type story between witches and techies, all while trying to save the planet. Sounds interesting and a quick skim through a few pages, got me hooked.
#allthebirdsinthesky #charliejaneanders #witch #engineeringwunderkind book #books #reading #bookstagram #litsy

I don‘t know about everyone else, but I enjoy seeing pictures of people‘s bookshelves, reading nooks, book stacks, book swag—I ❤️ it all. So, I thought maybe a #SundayShelfie every week would be fun?!?

Annalee Newitz & Charlie Jane Anders are 2 of my favorite SF writers—always thought-provoking, inventive, & compelling—& this shelf holds my signed copies of their books. Plus, Legos!

Maybe we can make this a thing? I‘d love to see more shelves!

A great idea, but the writing still needs some working. I like the mix of fantasy and sci-fi that Anders used. But it all is a little messed up and often I didn't know, where the story was going. Also, to much lovey dovey.

Genre: Fantasy
Date Started: November 30, 2019
Date Completed: December 11, 2019
How did you choose this book: I found this book at Dollarama and read the summary, and I decided to buy it.
Summary: Two kids named Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead were special. Patricia specialized in talking with animals and even turning into a bird; she gained this ability/magic ever since she found an injured bird and helped it heal.

*313 pages*

Science and Fantasy Fiction

Date started: November 27th, 2019
Date finished: December 2nd, 2019

Honestly, Dollarama has pretty good books. I've found great stories there from time to time. I found this book while buying snacks.

That was so fun! I sometimes struggle with book club choices. I get grumpy that I‘m not making progress on my TBR pile(s). But I really enjoyed this one. A little slow in the middle, but ultimately a really fun ride.

Patricia and Laurence are childhood friends, but their growing powers in magic and science, respectively, threatens to destroy their relationship—and the rest of the world along with it.

Read September 22-29
Book 51/55

@thevictoriousone read it immediately! I adored this novel about magic and science, nature and technology. This is clifi that is much more concerned with how we think about the coming death of our planet than the repercussions of an apocalypse. I realize that sounds uninteresting and navel gazey but it is really brilliant. It's also about being an outsider and how we can find home in another person and about love - what we gain and what it costs.

“She misplaced herself in the woods over and over, until she knew by heart every way to get lost.”

My favorite part about this book is a witch and a boy being friends is so cool to me.

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders was a great read. I only read the first chapter but it was enough to get the jist of the book. It is about 2 socially outcasted people. A witch and a boy. They become friends and have to work together to save the world. The tones in this book also differ between a serious tone and a absurd dramatic tone. This is definitely a really interesting book to read.

Magic + (computer) science = magical story

A bit urban fantasy and science fiction.

Couldn't put it down.

Thanks @scripturient for giving it to me.

Another round!!!

#BFCR4 @wanderinglynn

I just signed up.

Halfway through my first book of the challenge already.
#selfcareSunday

This book is, wow! At the start it had a sweet, child friendship vibe, but much like Harry Potter gets darker as the series progresses, by the time I was at the end of this book I'd been through so much with these characters that it seems laughable my initial thoughts were that it's a children's book.
It's Fantasy, Sci Fi, Cli-Fi, Magical Realism, Apocalyptic, Romance, Thriller, Drama.... what is this book?! It's amazing is what it is.

I loved this book! It‘s hard to go wrong when you start with a six-year-old girl speaking to birds and discovering that she is a witch, though I was a little skeptical when the next chapter was about a boy who desperately wanted to see a rocket launch. But this book is all about science and magic being two parts of one whole, and it‘s about massive world-changing events and creations while being focused tightly on these two people.

“You know… no matter what you do, people are going to expect you to be someone you‘re not. But if you‘re clever and lucky and work your butt off, then you get to be surrounded by people who expect you to be the person you wish you were.”

Loving this book and this beach! Until my feet got sunburned 😭

“She‘d tried to make friends, because she‘d promised her mom (and witches kept their promises, she guessed)”

Really liking this so far!

Why I have I never heard of this... it‘s good! One reason I love the Hugo Awards - it points you in the direction of treasures! Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz talk all things science fiction including it‘s relevance to life and society. 👍🏼

https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com

Trying something a little different while on vacation! Has anyone read this book?

A little behind on my reviews...

I really tried with this one. I got about halfway through and realized I couldn‘t care less what would happen. The characters were just too depressing when they were kids and uninteresting when they got older. The pace and story just weren‘t working for me.

#cantwinthemall #nolatefees

This book was full of really cool ideas. Those ideas need a much better writer or a much stronger editor. The structure didn't work. Too many scenes were there for no reason. Some pivotal moments were glossed over. The supporting characters were poorly integrated. The author has a tin ear for dialogue & has difficulty mixing tones. And the denouement is aggressively stupid. The end, merely trite.
#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 -trans/nonbinary author

*sigh* so many books to read, so little time.

Took me a minute to get into this (the tone, especially in the first section, was Roald Dahl with swearing which is not what I was expecting) but it really grew on me, as did the two characters. There is a lot going on in this world but Anders brings it together in a surprising and satisfying way!