Welcome to Litsy!

After a manic three weeks of tidying, painting, and stripping away carpet, it feels like I‘m finally able to start my year. Comfy new couch, check. Cup of tea, check. Chill playlist, check. Blanket, check. First book for #memereadingchallenge, check. Bit of a headache from the residual smell of paint… unfortunately also check, but let‘s do this!

DNF

I loved the show and tried this on audiobook but I think my issue is that audiobooks are not for me. I will consider reading it in the future but damn it‘s hard to follow when someone is reading to me.

I kept falling asleep or losing my place and had to rewind but didn‘t know where I‘d lost track. It‘s been months and I‘m admiting defeat.

This is the third audiobook I‘ve tried and all of them haven‘t really been for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I just realized I haven't posted any finished books for over a month! I'll start with one I abandoned after getting 1/4 in. Maybe this was a case of "lost in translation," but the writing in this one felt flat, and I just didn't care about the characters or the countdown. It had great reviews, so it's clearly just not for me right now. This was my August #Doublespin and then came up again as my September #Bookspin ?. @TheAromaofBooks

Just finished my first ever audio book. I was mostly listening it when I were painting. My college recommended to me. I have seen the Netflix series and I liked it. But the book is totally different I think sljghtly better than the series. So I bought all the three books and now I am reading the second part.

Trying this as an audiobook! Wish me luck 😂

I found it helpful to first listen to Neil deGrasse Tyson explain on YouTube what the Three Body Problem is re: physics, calculus and orbital mechanics before I started this book. This is a first contact novel where the aliens and the humans are at odds, but neither is especially superior technologically than the other at least at the outset. Translated from Chinese, which made it doubly interesting-seeing the world from a non-western perspective.

#BOTM picked!! I really want to read this, I‘m loving the show. They only had the audiobook but I‘m trying to get into more audio reading so that‘s perfect!

Cant wait for the start of #camplitsy24 I‘m starting on Clear before tackling this!

Here are a few questions to get us started on the discussion of The Three-Body Promblem. This is just a guide, you are welcome to discuss anything. #LitsySciFiBookClub #LSFBC

@Larkken @Deblovestoread @bnp @Johanna414 @BookmarkTavern @julesG @sebrittainclark @BookBelle84 @Readergrrl @CSeydel @Roary47 @Lizpixie @Ruthiella

#LitsySciFiBookClub #ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024 I struggled with the first three chapters because they weren‘t science fiction-y, they were about the horrific things that happened in the Chinese “Cultural Revolution” of the 1960s. But it did establish characters and the basis for their beliefs and actions. It turned into an intriguing story. I don‘t know if I‘ll continue the series but time and mood will tell.

3✨I finished this quite a while ago and didn‘t know how to review it. It was entertaining enough that I wanted to continue. It was witty, had a lot of science concepts (some easy, and some you really needed to think about). I was slightly confused the majority of the time. I think it was just too witty for me. #LitsySciFiBookClub

#LSFBC #LitsySciFiBookClub @TheSpineView @CatLass007

I liked this from the beginning, but didn't feel connected with it until a little over halfway through. I like the ideas in it, and the narrative sweep. There aren't any particularly engaging characters in it - perhaps wily police officer Da Shi, but he's not exactly a nice guy - so it's really about the ideas and how they're linked, which I found interesting. It was also interesting to ⬇️

#LitsySciFiBookClub I read an article about this book a couple of years ago and thought it sounded interesting, so I added it to my Audible library. Three months in a row I nominated it for this buddy read. Now I‘ve listened to the first two chapters and I‘m finding it extremely depressing, even disturbing. This is not a review. I‘m not bailing. I plan to listen to the entire book. Because I haven‘t even gotten to the science fiction part yet.

50/150 To be honest, I don't get the hype surrounding this book. Yes I found the story interesting, and I'm giving it a pick, a low pick, but I don't think it's anything especially ground breaking. I can't imagine I'd make it past the first episode of the TV series. I'll be interested to see what the other members of #LitsySciFiBookClub think, if I'm in the minority on this. 3.25/5. @TheSpineView

Starting this for the #LitsySciFiBookClub @TheSpineView
I watched the first episode of the Netflix series, but Mrs B wasn't taken with it, then the book was nominated for the group read, so I've paused the show to avoid spoilers.
I see this has mixed reviews, but I'm partial to some hard sci fi, so have hopes for an enjoyable read 😊📡👽

Tge Kindle version is on sale for the next 5 hours.
@TheSpineView

repost for @TheSpineView:

The Three-Body Problem is the winner for May's #LitsySciFiBookClub selection. My local library has this available. Kindle price is $11.99 and used from $7.15 on Amazon. I noticed one slightly loved copy on ebay for .99 + 4.87 shipping.

original post:
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2728202

#BuddyRead

The Three-Body Problem is the winner for May's #LitsySciFiBookClub selection. My local library has this available. Kindle price is $11.99 and used from $7.15 on Amazon. I noticed one slightly loved copy on ebay for .99 + 4.87 shipping.

Open discussion for April's selection, The Calculating Stars, will being in a couple of days.

@Larkken @Deblovestoread @bnp @Johanna414 @BookmarkTavern @julesG @sebrittainclark @BookBelle84 @Readergrrl @CSeydel

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I can‘t give this enough stars! Flew through this hard hitting science fiction story. The concepts alone are mind blowing. Don‘t be afraid of the hard science behind it, don‘t let it intimidate you. You definitely don‘t want to miss out on this one. Bring on book 2!

Just finished watching the Netflix version of 3 Body Problem and thoroughly enjoyed it - although of course the books are better. As @vivastory said in his review they had to make changes for cost and marketing reasons. In my heart i always want the entire complexity on screen with no conjoining of characters - but thats never possible. I loved seeing the game in full glory, and the Ye Wenjie section was PERFECT. Love Benedict Wong too 🙌

Just reread this first book of the trilogy and starting book 2. For sci-if fans, this one is great reading. On Kindle it‘s easy to flip back to the list of characters as it‘s a little tricky keeping all the Chinese names straight. Can‘t wait to find out if the alien civilization gets to earth!! Highly recommend the Netflix series!

I have to say we‘re enjoying the Netflix show of this series. I haven‘t read the books, but now I‘m thinking I should! If only as I will want to know what happens after series one.
Although I will be thinking differently about getting on a cruise ship this summer…

A little too hard sci-fi for me. I‘m a bit bored and lost. I still look forward to the Netflix series though as the concepts are interesting.

Nope.

This is from the author's afterword, which I don't agree with but provides a glimpse into the impetus behind the series. I appreciate his grand, romantic view of science & the wonder it inspires. The novel itself is frustrating & flawed because the writing ranges from the beautiful to the almost prosaic level of a Wikipedia entry. But I am fascinated about the themes that come up & am keen to read the rest before the Netflix series comes out!

A pick with caveats. It's good, just not the book I wanted it to be.
Wow does he put the science in sci-fi! There are intriguing ideas here but there's a tonne of "telling" and Wenjie is the only real character: the others are little more than pegs to hang ideas on. I zipped through its 400 pages but I'm not sure there's enough *story* to make me want to read the subsequent volumes. If I don't actually care what happens, what's the point, right?

Ambitious, mysterious, challenging, and unsettling describe this landmark sci-fi soon to be adapted by Netflix. This unique take on first contact explores science & technology, the development of civilizations, and, most of all, what happens when people give up on humanity. Character is somewhat sacrificed to high concepts here, and I found myself thinking of Sophie‘s World but with video games and physics instead of postcards and philosophy.

this series is amazing. much more than science fiction and really about the human conditon.

What an imagination of the author ! I was not into sci-fi books but when I started to read it I couldn't stop myself and finished it in 3 days.

Can I get some applause and cheering? I read a book outside of my comfort genres!! 👏🏽 👏🏽 👏🏽

This was a birthday Audiobook gift from my brother in law and I mostly understood what was going on most of the time! 🤣

I think audio is the wrong way to go with this book. The narrator 's voice was robotic and emotionless which made the story extremely hard to pay attention to.
I am interested to see how Netflix turns these storylines into a comprehensive show. The core of the story is very interesting, and the end of this book wove the storylines together expertly.
The overall book is probably a pick but this audio didn't do it justice.

#20in4 #Readathon @Andrew65
We are having another snow weekend. I am so ready for summer. Going to hibernate with my books and join the weekend readathon.
Hoping to make a dent in the Women's Prize long list (WP)

Goal is 4 books
Finish-
3-Body Problem (#doublespin)
Homesick (WP)
Read-
Gender Queer (#transRightReadathon)
Cursed Bread (WP)
Start-
Pod (WP)

A very unusual and memorable sci-fi book. Really thought-provoking, couldn't stop thinking about it for a long time after having read it.

Check out our podcast about it: https://bit.ly/3fJU3o7

This is true, hardcore, badass sci-fi. Someone in my IRL book club loaned it to me and I'm so glad she did.

It's the beginning of a trilogy that centers on what happens when humans make contact with life from another planet. The political background added so much angst to the story, and there's so much actual science used that it made my nerd heart happy.

I can't wait to start book 2. # SeriesLove2023 @TheSpineView @Andrew65

#2023Book28
I‘m definitely not the target audience for this kind of book. I‘ve never been big on space-based science fiction, and this one has too many characters and plot lines to follow. The writing is good and enjoyed some of the plots, but overall it just wasn‘t for me.

Feels like the perfect weather to stay home and read.

#currentlyreading

8/10

Cixin Liu‘s award winning SF novel (the first in a trilogy) rises above dull characterisation and inconsistencies in plotting in part due to excellent translation by Ken Liu (who provides some context via footnotes), but also by the way the story uses both the horrors of the Cultural Revolution and the three-body problem from orbital mechanics to ground the rest of the plot. It held my attention but I don‘t know if I would automatically read on.

This book does an excellent job of being exactly what it is, which is an incredible story told through hard science. It doesn‘t have much literary merit but that‘s okay because that‘s not goal. Science geeks will love it but people like me will appreciate it more on the screen than on the page. Either way, it‘s an impressive story. 🚀

This was unlikely anything I have read lately and it was very good! A really fresh, new take on sci-fi that left me looking forward to the next book in this trilogy.

A few years ago, a fellow wedding guest raved about this series & now thanks to the #ReadAroundTheWorld challenge, I finally started listening to this science fiction book set in #China! While the audio performance is smooth, I have to admit this story relies on a lot of telling- and some sections made my eyes downright glaze over… I had a hard time connecting with the characters, but there are some tantalizing ideas in this alien invasion story!

Intense and extremely clever hard sci-fi.

Some good twists and the connection to Chinese history - in particular the cultural revolution - is fascinating.

Character development was a bit lacking.

Of course, before I listened to part two of this, I “re-listened” to this first part and was left very puzzled because I felt there were things in it I didn‘t hear when I listened to it the first time – about two years ago. And it turned out, this impression was true, I first listened to the audio play and not to this unabridged version.

In a way, I liked this even more than the audio play because you learn more about the Trisolarians.

Interesting hard sci-fi concepts from China. For the full review, please visit http://benjamin-m-weilert.com/index.php/2021/11/17/book-the-three-body-problem-2...

This was so good, and got me to actually read non stop for 2 days. The plot was super intriguing and I kind of enjoyed that it was more about the concept and story than the characters in it. The first half was my personal favourite bit, but although the latter half feels like a lot of exposition in one go, it did help to set the stakes and frame of the trilogy. I would recommend this to friends.

Recommended to me by my aunt. This was a really interesting book! Science fiction translated from Chinese. The book starts out during the Cultural Revolution and includes several helpful footnotes for context. The story is very compelling, even though I didn't really understand what was going on or what the overall plot was going to be until about halfway through the book. Definitely looking forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy!

Truly outstanding book. From the first pages I was hooked. Three-Body Problem is filled with wonderful and believable characters and outstanding storytelling. I‘d finish one chapter and I drive right into the next one because I had to know what happens next. This book is highly entertaining and thought provoking. Highly recommend 👍

After seeing this recommended over and over and over, I was excited to read it. I went into it with no knowledge whatsoever. I wasn't expecting the history lesson that is the first half of the book. It is slooooow and the character building seems to take second stage to making sure you understand the politics. That said, it also ends abruptly.