The Sword and Laser discussion

For Fantasy I read Dragon Republic, Fire and Blood and Black Leopard. I voted for Dragon Republic

For comics I read Umbrella Academy, Hand Maids Tale adaptation, Paper Girls 5 and Shades of Magic. I voted for Shades of Magic

It seems like it's been so long since I read The Winter of the Witch that I forgot it was this calendar year. That got my fantasy vote. I really liked that whole trilogy.

I went with A Memory Called Empire in sci-fi.

Um … I voted for myself in the sci-fi category :D

(it was the only qualifying sci-fi book I'd read)

In the fantasy category rather than write myself in (it's the first time in 9 years I've not had a book in there), I wrote in A Time of Blood by John Gywnne. Though I had forgotten that I'd read The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft, which is even more brilliant. So if Hod King gets written in it will get my second round vote.

Except for a single book in SF (Becky Chambers), this is the first year that I haven’t read any of the books in any of the categories. So I’m sitting this one out.

I *do* have a number of them in my TBR and a few on hold at the library, but they haven’t come in yet.

Not sure a popularity contest is at all useful here...

I also have only read a few of the books (though a reasonable cross section of the SF books). Exhalation has been the stand out of those but they are missing many important and interesting books.

The SF category is missing the Hugo winner for crying out loud..

Iain wrote: "The SF category is missing the Hugo winner for crying out loud"

That one is understandable as the book was published outside the window of the GR awards, 11-16-18 to 11-15-19. Although that window pretty much excludes every book published the first two weeks of November. (And most from October, frankly, as there’s not enough time for a critical mass of readers to get to them.)

I double checked just now and The Calculating Stars was in last year’s contest. (I voted for it.)

My SciFi vote went to Dark Age by Pierce Brown. His Red Rising series is pure entertainment in my book, I'm always happy when a new entry arrives. Also, I have only read one other entry from the category and quite a few of the others on my TBR.

In the Fantasy category, I wrote in A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie.

Also, I wrote in Tyll: A Novel in the Historical Fiction category but it basically reads like a story in a low-magic Fantasy setting.

I’m glad there’s no Goodreads police making sure we read what we voted for. I only did that in 1 category. I have to read Persepolis Rising before Tiamat's Wrath. Otherwise it was The Institute, The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 3: Hotel Oblivion & Fire & Blood. I plan to read The Dragon Republic, so I may regret not voting for it later.

Ian wrote: "I’m glad there’s no Goodreads police making sure we read what we voted for. ..."

Why would you vote for a book you've not read? Or am I misunderstanding?

In Fantasy, I voted for Of Blood and Bone.
In the SF category, I went for Tiamat's Wrath (of course!).

Also, in the History & Biography category, I voted for Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives In World War II -- a very powerful read.

Voted for the excellent How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems in Science & Technology, although it should arguably be under Humour instead.

Trike wrote: "Iain wrote: "The SF category is missing the Hugo winner for crying out loud"

That one is understandable as the book was published outside the window of the GR awards, 11-16-18 to 11-15-19. Althoug..."

Not over here, (10 April 2019), so these awards do not really apply on this side of the Pond..

I feel bad enough voting for a book when I haven't read any other books in that category. How can I really know it's the BEST.

That isn't to say that I didn't do it, I totally did. T. Kingisher's The Twisted Ones freaked me right out for weeks. So yea, I voted for it in the horror category.

Iain wrote: "Not over here, (10 April 2019), so these awards do not really apply on this side of the Pond..."

I think Becky Chambers had the opposite issue, as her books were released in the UK a year before the US. Not quite to One World yet.

In the Best Debut Novel I wrote in The Black Hawks , Great cover, nice price and a fun read. Wrote in The Golden Wolf for Historical Fiction. Wrote in Holy Sister for Fantasy. Nice that I could have wrote in about seven titles in the Science Fiction & Fantasy section.

I have read zero of these books, in any category, so I'm not voting at all this year. ( I think this is more a popularity contest anyhow.)

AndrewP wrote: "I have read zero of these books, in any category, so I'm not voting at all this year. ( I think this is more a popularity contest anyhow.)"

They all are, unless we switch to word count, or something.

“And winner of Largest Font Used On A Cover goes to...”

Rick wrote: "Ian wrote: "I’m glad there’s no Goodreads police making sure we read what we voted for. ..."

Why would you vote for a book you've not read? Or am I misunderstanding?"

I read the 1st 6 novels and several novellas in the series and I have only heard rave reviews for Tiamat's Wrath (book 8), so I'm confident that I would vote for it if I had read it. I'll probably be getting around to it before the end of the year.

Like Melani, I feel a bit guilty for not reading all the books in a category before voting, but I would guess that less than 1% of us read all the nominees before we vote in a category.

As usual, I haven't read anything published this year so I didn't vote.

I do plan on reading The Testaments but I probably won't get to it until 2020.

I voted for The Deep for science fiction and "wrote in" Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell for horror.

Voted for The Future of Another Timeline in this first round just so it has more chance of getting through the next one, etc. I will likely vote for Tiamat's Wrath which has a better chance in the final round due to popularity. Still planning to read Exhalation and some others.

For fantasy I wrote in A Little Hatred.

Books published very recently might not get enough votes (unless they have rabid fans who will vote despite they have not read them) but hey, no expectation at all, just for fun!

I've read way more new releases this year than last year, but only a couple of my read books have been nominated this year while I had lots nominated last year. weird.

Tracey wrote: "I've read way more new releases this year than last year, but only a couple of my read books have been nominated this year while I had lots nominated last year. weird."

I wonder what the selection algorithm is.

Trike wrote: "I wonder what the selection algorithm is."

Books published in the United States in English, including works in translation and other significant rereleases, between November 16, 2018, and November 15, 2019, are eligible for the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards.

We analyze statistics from the millions of books added, rated, and reviewed on Goodreads to nominate 15 books in each category. Opening round official nominees must have an average rating of 3.50 or higher at the time of launch. Write-in votes may be cast for eligible books with any average rating, and write-in votes will be weighted by the book's Goodreads statistics to determine the top five books to be added as official nominees in the Semifinal Round. A book may be nominated in no more than one genre category, but can also be nominated in the Debut Novel category. Only one book in a series may be nominated per category. An author may receive multiple nominations within a single category if he or she has more than one eligible series or more than one eligible stand-alone book.

It’s a mystery. We’ll probably never know.

I'm not sure if I'm just not reading the new popular fantasy anymore or what, but I'd read ZERO of the fantasy books goodreads listed for the open round. And most of them aren't even on my (unrealistic) TBR pile.

I think that's the first time that's happened to me since I've joined Goodreads.

I tried to write in Underlord for round 1, but unsurprsingly it didn't make the cut. It's still my favorite fantasy book from this year though.

For round 2 at least, I do see several fantasy books that I read and enjoyed this last year got written in and made the cut. That includes The Burning White which I just finished and was probably my #2 fantasy book this year. But at the time of the opening round I hadn't finished it yet.

And there are a few others now from my top fantasy reads I'm hoping will make it the later rounds: Holy Sister, A Little Hatred in case Burning White falls short. It coming out so recently probably hurts its chances. Not to mention it's a huge damn book.

By contrast I'd read several of the sci-fi books, and I read far less sci-fi than fantasy. I guess the stuff I do read there is the most popular. I'm Tiamat's Wrath all the way, that's probably my top read from this year overall.

Oh and personally I don't feel bad about voting when I haven't read all the choices. All these award lists wether they are carefully curated or a popularity content are just a means to discuss and share your favorites.

Or lament how your favorites go unrecongnized in favor of some other book (or as was the case the one year with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two) a play you think far less deserving wins.

I generally try not to get too upset that something I love loses to something I didn't, or something I haven't read yet. Life's too short. I enjoy seeing what other people in this group name as their favorite reads of the year far more than what goodreads as a whole votes for.

Rob wrote: "I enjoy seeing what other people in this group name as their favorite reads of the year far more than what goodreads as a whole votes for."

*nodding in agreement*

Anyway, A Little Hatred made it to the semifinal so I'll vote for it all the way. Only read three of the list so far, with one in my wishlist (The Ten Thousand Doors of January)

SF selection is not bad, the only book I'm not familiar with is Here and Now and Then. Can't understand why Thrawn: Treason is there since it is the weakest of the trilogy.

I read four already with two coming soon. Now I am thinking to cast a vote for The Light Brigade just for fun.

Personally I like Thrawn: Treason far more than Thrawn: Alliances. But neither were as good as Thrawn

Rob wrote: "And there are a few others now from my top fantasy reads I'm hoping will make it the later rounds: Holy Sister, A Little Hatred in case Burning White falls short."

They both did. Hooray :D

Tassie Dave wrote: "Trike wrote: "I wonder what the selection algorithm is."

Books published ..... , between November 16, 2018... November 15, 2019"

Is clearly stupid. It essentially makes books published in the last month or so of the year ineligible as they do not really have a chance of developing a buzz (unless a well known author).

You need a few month separation between the award and the publication dates if you are to be taken seriously.

Yeah, the Goodreads awards are stupid. So are pretty much every award in my opinion. It's still fun to take about my favorite books though. I wouldn't get too upset by it. At worse just don't participate/ignore this thread.

It's a bigger problem than just Goodread though. All the end of year/review stuff comes out far too early in the year. It basically punishes stuff released in the last 2 months or so.

How can I list my top 10 books for the year in early december when there are probably new books in December that I'll read and enjoy (as has been the case for the Expanse books in previous years)?

I typically try to wait until January to do my year in review, or very late in December when i'm fairly confident there isn't a book that's going to jump the list. And if it does, I'd probably just update.

Rob wrote: "I'm not sure if I'm just not reading the new popular fantasy anymore or what, but I'd read ZERO of the fantasy books goodreads listed for the open round. And most of them aren't even on my (unreali..."

Sorting my lists by Pub Date reveals I’ve only read 2 Fantasy novels in the allotted period, but I read 9 SF books and 11 graphic novels in that time frame, yet none made the list.

Other than a few really obvious big name authors coming out with a book or a super-hyped debut, it’s just going to be catch as catch can, and there’s no way to anticipate it.

Rob wrote: "It's a bigger problem than just Goodread though. All the end of year/review stuff comes out far too early in the year. It basically punishes stuff released in the last 2 months or so."

It’s really a problem for movies, since studios often release some of their biggest and favored films for Christmas week, often on Christmas Day.

I don’t know for how many decades I’ve seen a “Year’s Best” list published on something like December 3rd when half the Oscar contenders haven’t even been released yet, due to the arcane AMPAS rules for award eligibility.

For me I've read: 11 fantasy and 6 sci-fi books that meet the time period.

Two of those 11 are by an indie author (Will Wight) whose starting to get popular, but nowhere near the levels that it takes to get on the list.

Three others are by mid-level authors that probably also don't have the popularity needed but whose books I buy pretty much automatically (Django Wexler, Scott Meyer, Drew Hayes)

The remaining 6 are from some pretty popular authors on GR, at least in fantasy circles I'm in:

Joe Abercrombie
Mark Lawrence
Brian McClellan
Anthony Ryan
Michael J. Sullivan
Brent Weeks

Of those 11 fantasy books, 4 are in the current round of voting (0 were in the initial round). Of the 6 sci-fi books I think 3 were in the intial round and 4 are in current round.

I can't figure out if there is a way to see the results/list from the first round to double check my numbers though.

But that means 36% of my fantasy reads and 67% of my Sci-Fi reads are in the current round. A lot better than the 0% fantasy I had before.

Rob wrote: "For me I've read: 11 fantasy and 6 sci-fi books that meet the time period.

Two of those 11 are by an indie author (Will Wight) whose starting to get popular, but nowhere near the ..."

Probably a bad sign that I'm replying to myself, but after making that list I can see that I'm severely lacking on woman authors, and minorities in my fantasy reads this year. Something I've been trying to read more of. Not to fill any quota or anything, but because I want to try to read different types of fantasy stories.

12 of the nominees in round 2 are women and I've only read 3 of them before. So I should check out some of them.

For anyone whose read/enjoyed one of those 12 books, what would you recommend?

I already had The Dragon Republic on my TBR and I added Ninth House, The Starless Sea because I enjoyed past books by both of those authors.

Trike wrote: "It’s a mystery. We’ll probably never know."

My theory is that the selection is similar to the way they populate the new releases by genre lists. If I had time I would look through the monthly lists of the time period to compare both the write-ins and the first round nominations. I would really need the number of ratings at the time they made the selections, but there is no way of knowing that now.

Rob wrote: "For anyone whose read/enjoyed one of those 12 books, what would you recommend?"

Specifically among the fantasy nominees? I'd suggest The Ten Thousand Doors of January--among my friend group, it's the standout book, though I haven't read it yet.

Amazingly enough, as much Sci-Fi and Fantasy I have read this year, my most favorite and standout novel of the year was not in those genres.
Daisy Jones & The Six was a great ride and just amazingly put together.
I know we're at individual categories for this voting, but this was my book of the year.

I look at these and the Hugos as shortlists to check out and find books I might want to read. I can't take them seriously (esp the GR awards) since they're popularity awards and you can vote for a book even if you haven't read it which is silly. What happens a lot is that popular authors get votes over less know authors and hot series likewise get votes because the series is popular.

What that means is that a great book by a less known author is very unlikely to win these and... that's OK I guess. AS long as books like that make the initial list, I can check them out, sometimes discover new reads and move on.

I voted Priory of the Orange Tree for fantasy because honestly I think it is the BEST fantasy book I have read so far this year, honestly one of the best fantasy books I have read ever. It's an feminist, diverse, epic fantasy and I love that's it just one book, not a series. Seriously read it if you have the time. Didn't vote for scifi cause I hate voting unless I have read at least the majority of nominees.

It's the final round. I looked thru each category and I've read only two books, Tiamat's Wrath and They Called Us Enemy, so I voted for them.