Welcome to Litsy!

The 2024 Hugo Awards have been announced: https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2024-hugo-awards/

Really happy that two books I loved won for Best Novel and Novella. I haven't read any of the other winners yet, but I likely will.

Just a reminder that if you want to participate in nomination process for Hugo awards, you need to sign up and pay for supporting membership by tomorrow. Supporting membership is just $50 and you get electronic copies of all the novels/novellas/short stories etc that end up on the short list for a Hugo award so you can read and vote. If you love sci-fi/fantasy, it‘s pretty cost effective. https://reg2.discon3.org/

I'm continuing to work through my Hugo Voter Packet during the #JubilantJuly readathon. I took a break from the Best Novel nominees to read through the Best Story shortlist. My favourite of these is “Do Not Look Back, My Lion“ by Alix Harrow, a warrior-culture fantasy story with unexpected twists on traditional gender roles.

#hugo2020 #hugoawards
@Andrew65

Like all the best books about books, Jo Walton's personal journey through the Hugo Awards has made me want to read craploads of fiction. As a bonus, she backs up her succinct but compelling evaluations with choice selections from the comments section (these pieces originally appeared on Tor.com) and the occasional longer essay on a winner or nominee. If you want to know what was going on in SFF from 1953-2000, read this.

Onward through Walton's history of the Hugos. As of 1989, I've read a whopping 8 Best Novel winners or nominees. My short fiction count still sits at 1 definite and a couple I miiiiiiight have read but I'm bad at titles so I'd have to look up plot summaries and that's too much effort.

I was weirdly glad to see Walton cite THE MISTS OF AVALON as a least favourite book. I bailed when I was 13 & won't try again now I know about Bradley. #readathon

Lunch was lentil soup, dark cherry truffle Aero, and a couple more years from Walton's Hugo book. #readathon

It's #readathon time, y'all! Here're my barely-awake Hour 0 survey answers.

1. Middle of Canada.
2. The tagged book.
3. Midnight sausages!
4. This is my 21st consecutive Readathon. I've participated since October 2008, and this event is so imprinted on my psyche that I often forget other people aren't as familiar with it as I am. So far as I'm concerned, Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon is THE Readathon.
5. My Readathon style no longer varies much.

Took me until 1979 to find some Hugo-nominated short fiction I've definitely read. I knocked "Fireship" off my list earlier this year, and was surprised at how much I loved it. I usually like Vinge best at chunkster length.

As of 1979 I've also read seven Best Novel winners or nominees. Part of me's all, "Damn my poorly-readness!" but truthfully, I don't WANT to pack my reading list with white American dudes, and that's the early Hugos majority.

Y'know, this (in reference to STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND) is exactly my impression of Heinlein, and exactly the reason I've never read him. Jo Walton's convinced me to give him a shot after all. What do y'all recommend? DOUBLE STAR, featured earlier in this book, sounds good and is at my library. Or is there a better starting point?

I also borrowed a goodly number of library books, of course. Now I kinda want to put THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA aside for a bit so I can dive right into AN INFORMAL HISTORY OF THE HUGOS. I requested it almost two years ago and really thought my hold would expire before it actually got published and made it through processing.

1. Usually 1-2 times per week, but I haven't been in 3 weeks on account of the weather.
2. Trinity College because it's so frickin PRETTY.
3. A bunch of digital stuff, but only the tagged book in print. I still haven't rebuilt my holds list after my time in BC.
4. 4 or 5. I was so little my mum had to sign it for me. I re-signed it on my own account 20 years later when her signature wore off.

#TrivialThursday @GarthRanzz