Hey bookworm friends, before #Scifimonth2024 is over, I thought I’d make a sci-fi month edition of my Friday meme-medley posts! Go ahead and jump to any of the ones that interest you and see you in the comments section 😉.
Today’s Friday Bookish Memes Are:
- The Friday 56 Hosted by Head Full of Books
- Books From The Backlog Hosted by Carole’s Random Life
- Friday Face-Off Hosted by Lynn’s Books
- Let’s Talk Bookish Hosted by Book Nook Bits
The Friday 56
Here are the rules for this meme: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56%, and share a snippet (but please no spoilers). Then head over to Head Full of Book’s post to link up!
I’m currently listening to the audiobook for The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer. Usually, I share the first line of books for these memes but not this time (it was short and nothing special). Instead, I’ll share this exchange between a character and the spaceship’s Operating System that made me laugh.
“Cool, cool,” I say, heading back to my quarters. “I think I’m gonna eat a pint of ice cream and go to bed.”
The Darkness Outside Us, Eliot Schrefer (p. 56)
“There is no ice cream on this ship.”
“I knew that,” I say. “It was a joke.”
“I have logged it as a joke and will learn from it. Next time you make a similar statement, I will laugh.”
Books From The Backlog
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to highlight some of the neglected books from our bookshelves. Go visit Carole’s post and join the linkup.
My neglected book of the week is:
A Witch’s Sin by Daniel B. Greene
Series: Neon Ghosts, #1
Genres: Science Fiction (Cyberpunk, Dystopia)
Published by Wraithmarked Creative in 2024
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Why did I add to my shelf? I love watching Daniel Greene’s Youtube Channel so I supported his Kickstarter campaign. The book itself is gorgeous but I still have to read it!
What would you do to keep your dreams ad-free?
Bruised, stoned, and still adjusting to her latest wear implants, apprentice enforcer Taya Mint plunges into the darkest depths of Megastructure Seven Zero Three, challenging everything she thought she knew about life within the walls she has never stepped beyond. With only one assignment left to earn her full license, Taya finally stands a chance to rebuild a life wounded by grief. But soon she discovers the kidnapping she’s investigating is just a piece of a puzzle, one that leads to grisly death and the greedy heart of power within the structure. When evidence points to a supernatural threat as the culprit, Taya finds herself needing to rely on cold-blooded allies just to survive the hell that is Seven Zero Three.
In order to save an innocent life in a world polluted by zealots, Taya will have to learn just how much it costs to face the monsters that occupy humanity’s artificial Eden.
Friday Face Off
Friday Face Off was created by Books By Proxy but is now hosted by Lynn’s Books. Lynn invites us to compare book covers. Pick a book that has alternative covers to showcase then choose your favourite. Stop by Lynn’s blog for her latest Face Off post.
Let’s compare covers of a recent sci-fi Month read: The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera. Review here.
Cover Artist: Raxenne Maniquiz
VS
Cover Artist: Could not find.
I love that both covers roughly kept the same blue and orange colour palette! Not only is it eye-catching but it represents the story well. I understand that the UK version of this book probably changed the name to ‘The Last Storyteller’ because the audience in the UK is less likely to speak Spanish. But it annoys me because the story itself has lots of Spanish words in it and it’s not hard for kids to learn that ‘Cuentista’ means ‘Storyteller’! Anyway, that’s not the cover’s fault. The UK cover has gorgeous flowers but I don’t love the more minimalist representation of Petra at the bottom. Whereas in the US cover, I love the details on the person’s face down to the muscles, hair and what looks like veins. Every element of that illustration is deliciously textured.
And the Winner is: Option 1
Let’s Talk Bookish
Let’s Talk Bookish is a meme where participants discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts. The topics for each month will be posted on Book Nook Bits one month in advance. Take a look at November’s prompts if you want to join in on the fun!
How Do You Know a Genre is Just Not for You?
Prompts: Are there any genres you stay away from, no matter what? How do you know a genre is not for you? Do you ever revisit your least favorite genres? Are there genres of books you’ve never really tried? Why not?
Let me start by saying that I think of myself as a “speculative fiction” reader or “genre fiction” reader first. Fantasy is my first love but I also love lots of other genres and I feel like I’ve expanded my experience and interests a bit in recent years. The quick answer to “How do you know?” is “I’ve read enough to figure out what I like and don’t like in stories plus I extrapolate from types of movies I’ve watched.” But aside from that, I think the best way to answer this question is to go through some of my least-read genres and explain my reasoning.
Contemporary and Literary Fiction
I generally need some element of supernatural, fantastical, or historical—something entirely outside my lived experience and imagination to find a story engaging. I’m generally not interested in reading stories in contemporary settings, slice-of-life, or stream-of-consciousness.
Thrillers vs. Mystery
I hate the heightened tension and anxiety of Thrillers. I don’t watch Thriller movies and I am not interested in a more long-form version of these feelings. They have to be tempered by mixing with another genre for me to consider reading them. On the other hand, I love mysteries. But that’s because I want to solve the mystery—not live through it—if that makes sense.
Horror
I’m quite an anxious person and a scaredy-cat, I certainly don’t seek out horror movies. But this I have learned about myself: I can handle violence if it’s fantasy violence. Give me monsters chasing people NOT serial killers or guns. If the violence is rooted in reality I don’t want it; my brain needs to be able to say ‘that’s not real’ for me to be ok reading it. Enter my toe-dips into the horror genre. It is broad and I recently discovered some horror books I love because they stay within those acceptable bounds for me all the while making piercing social commentary. This is new for me.
Romance
I’ve only recently started reading more romance books. I bet you can guess I lean towards fantasy romance and monster romances. I also want to try some historical romances soon! In terms of subgenres I avoid, I’d say contemporary, mafia romance, and dark romance. See all the above points.
Obviously, there’s more than what I just listed but these are the bare bones of my literary preferences. Also, since I’m not a machine every so often I make exceptions 😉. I hope that gave some insight into my book choices.
More of my posts with the tag “Book Blog Memes” can be found here.
Let’s chat in the comments!
Are your reading preferences to mine in any way? Or, which cover did you like better? 🖤
I really like the quote you shared today. I imagine food in space must be a very limited choice. What the other voice one of a robot?
The voice that wants the ice cream is a spacefarer and they’re in space with very limited company and very limited food indeed!
Oh I didn’t know Let’s Talk Bookish was still going.
I enjoy thrillers, but I think I prefer them as movies and shows than books. The tension and anxiety make me too impatient with the story in a book, so I’ll often skip to the end to find out what happens before completing it.
Yeah I only discovered Let’s Talk Bookish kind of recently but even though I don’t think the blogger that hosts it is super active on the blog she still posts the topics for the month which is nice 🙂
& oh I can totally understand the need to flip to the end to see what happens with all that stress and tension!! haha 😂
I have to admit, that scene is funny. Enjoy your current read!
Thank you 🙂 I ended up enjoying my current read more than I thought!
I love the US cover of The Last Cuentista even more now, since the UK version changed the title. As for what genres I read, I’m the same, I love the speculative in my fiction, even if it’s just a hint, like magical realism. I used to read a lot of literary fiction before blogging, and I do miss it at times.
Yeah same here :)!! Ah that’s nice we certainly have some overlap in our reading tastes. Aw well, maybe you’ll find some more literary fiction stories that you like 🙂
A Witch’s Sin looks pretty cool. Thanks for sharing with me!
Right? I thought it looked cool too, I just hope I like it when I get to it 🙂 & thanks for visiting my blog 🙂
Ooh how fun to give these a sci fi twist to fit the month. That segment from The Darkness Between Us was funny so thanks for sharing it and I have to agree with your choice of book cover, the first is simply too stunning not to vote for. I actually realised the book was on my TBR when I went to add it after your review though once I realised the titles differed 😂 I think the UK one looks more MG to be fair to it but I adore that US cover so much.
It was really interesting to read your genre thoughts, even if we differ in some regards 😂 I love thrillers for instance and really want to read more contemporary fiction as I used to love it but hardly ever pick it up anymore. Although my favourite is incredibly likely to always remain fantasy. I kind of relate on the horror thing but not on the real/fictional divide. I used too be way to freaked out by horror but want to try and start testing it out more. But for me the major line is gore and story based. If it has the odd bit of gore that’s linked to the story I don’t mind but I have no desire to read slasher type novels where it’s all about those gruesome elements. Romance I just generally need to try and test out more although romantasy will probably end up being my go to within the realm.
Hehe I’m glad you enjoyed that excerpt from The Darkness Between Us! 🙂
Oh that’s so funny, that happens to me sometimes and it’s always fun to notice that the same book has caught my attention multiple times 🙂 I agree with you that the UK cover looks more MG, I somehow didn’t even consider that 😆!
We definitely differ in some ways but not in others genre preference-wise but that’s what makes interacting with you so fun! 🥰 Haha yes I can’t see myself ever disliking fantasy as a genre, not possible!
I also have no desire to read any slasher type novels! I do think it’s interesting that we’re both interested in maybe testing horror out a bit now🤔 I just think the genre lends itself well to making commentary on a lot of relevant topics. Yeah Romantasy works well for me too because bridges the gap nicely.
It’s nice to know it’s not just me 😂 and it kind of makes you want to prioritise it more as clearly you’re truly interested in it. To be fair I only noticed because I thought it was an adult one when I first saw the US one and found myself surprised when I read your full thoughts.
Yes it’s nice to have some crossover and some differences. I’m glad we both agree about fantasy though 😂
I can’t say that I’m surprised about that. And that’s a good point, some of them do handle some topics pretty well. Yes I think that’s exactly it. Although I like the fantasy elements to be developed too, not just there as background appeal 😂
Yeah for sure, whenever that happens I say to myself “at least I’m consistent!” 😂
OH I see that is interesting, I suppose if you don’t know it can look like an adult cover!
omg yes, glad we agree about fantasy too🖤!
At least those are the types of horror books I’d give a chance to anyways, and I agree with you if the fantasy aspect is just for decoration I’ll likely not love the book. 😂
That’s true 😂 I think I had some books that appeared on each of my paper lists 😂
I hope they end up working for you. And yeah, I love my fantasy elements 😅