Welcome to Litsy!

This multi-generational tale of human colonists on an alien world was so close to being a five-star read! The world-building was astonishing, especially the sentient plants, and it was fascinating to watch how society shifted over seven generations. However, there were some annoying bits. The chapters were inconsistent in their tone and some could have been a lot shorter. ⭐⭐⭐ from me as it was an interesting read that dragged at times.

My weekly update for #BFCr4 I'm pleased with the reading side of things - I finished two books and started a third - but I haven't been to the gym for a few days thanks to a lurgy I picked up from the kids 😷 And, yeah, not snacking has been hard...

@wanderinglynn @lapreader @4thhouseontheleft @rsteve388

It feels like forever since I wrote a full length review, but hey I did the long form word thing today!

https://onemore.org/2019/06/22/semiosis/

An unusual tale of first contact and an intriguing SFnal cultural history. Semiosis is episodic and ultimately a little underwhelming - it doesn‘t really have an arc, and just sort of decides it‘s had enough now thanks and stops - but I found it absorbing and enjoyed the nuances of cultural development.

Jeez, first my SF book group read Adrian Tchaikovsky‘s Children of Time, and now this one, which is not about uplift but about a sort of bamboo that‘s trying to train humans to be its service animals ... somewhat like the spiders and the ants in Children of Time. A generation book that unfolds slowly, and contains first contact, mystery, adventure, and other genres within it. Good, BUT did not like compulsory heterosexuality, rape, or murder.

& now my book group book, which should be my last book for May (I might add one from the library, but really, time to get ready for June). #sciencefiction #kobo

I read this book for my book club. I loved it and couldn't wait to talk to everyone about it. Turns out, I was the only one in the club who liked it. Whaaaaat?! I found it very well-written and thought-provoking, and I want to read the next book when it comes out.

Brilliant. Entertaining. Witty. I am not usually into sci-fi but this book was excellent. It exceeded all of my expectations. I never once felt bored with the story or the characters. It was unlike many of the books I have read, and I think it would be a good challenge for non sci-fi readers. Who doesn‘t want to read about intelligent plants?

Phenomenal book (will review after I finish). But I had to pause after this quote. I often find myself pretty disappointed if I have high expectations (from dates, new restaurants, cities, you name it). I am an optimist but I have learned that sometimes it‘s good to have low expectations or no expectations at all (although that‘s tough for me). What do you all think? #foodforthought #qotd

This story had a lot of promise but overall it just failed to keep my attention. It‘s told throughout generations with a different narrator in each generation discussing the struggles & socio-political climate. What they all had in common was that they weren‘t very interesting. I just couldn‘t seem to connect with them. Then the ending, well that was a little too unrealistic for me. Full review at www.thegenreminx.com #TheGenreMinxBookReviews

Well I know I said this was capturing my imagination -- which it was -- but it isn't anymore so I'm bailing! The structure of switching perspectives to the next generation every section isn't helping. There's not enough time to get attached to the characters. Yaa Gyasi's novel Homegoing had the same problem.

16% in this is really capturing my imagination so far! #AwesomeAudiobooks #audiobook #ScienceFiction

I started out being absolutely fascinated by this book. I love first contact stories--especially ones with very alien aliens--so this looked like it was right up my alley. And it seemed like there were so many interesting ideas and questions being set up, but I felt like there was no follow through on any of it.
I see now that there is supposed to be a second book, where maybe some of this will be explained, but I'm not sure I will read it.

#ChapterCheckIn ... chapter two starts out about 30+ years later and they are calling the latrines “gift centers” because they donate waste to friendly plants which is WAY weird if you think about it.

Interestingly, for all that they wanted to get away from earth thinking, these Parents (the original colonists) sure are stuck in their ways.

Also, conspiracies abound!
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#books #booklover #bookworm #booknerd #reading #reader #sciencefiction

This #chaptercheckin is for the first chapter of my much anticipated read “Semiosis.” There are still many questions I have about what is going on, but I‘m enjoying each little tidbit as they are revealed, lol!

I‘m SUPER curious about the snow vines and what effect they will have on the future of the colony.

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#bookstagram #books #booklover #bookworm #booknerd #bookphotography #reading #reader

🌾Character-driven.
🌾Focuses on botany and ecology a lot.
🌾Cross between The Martian, Annihilation, & Uprooted.
🌾Chs are diff character perspectives & written like personal chronicles.
🌾Very slow-paced.
🌾Pensive motifs about colonisation & taking what doesn‘t belong to you.
🌾4/5

Just started this first contact sci-fi book this morning and, with only being a handful of pages into it, I‘m blown away by the intricacy of the world-building and the focus on the characters. Their emotions and tension are beautifully exhibited. It‘s terrifying and marvellously engrossing.

#firstcontact #scifi #semiosis

It‘s not you, it‘s me. I didn‘t get too far into this and I was thoroughly enjoying it, but I just don‘t feel the desire to pick it up right now. So I‘m sending it back to the library for the next person and I shall definitely be revisiting this at a later date. Perhaps when I‘m not in such a slump.

It‘s official. I have hit the slumpiest of the reading slumps 😪 I can‘t tell you how many books I‘ve picked up and put down in the last month. Hoping one of these can break the slump.

As an idea, I really enjoyed this book. I think the narrative voice was too similar between all the supposedly very different narrators, but I enjoyed the development of the society and especially the way Stevland developed. It's interesting to think about his character and the way the Pacifists judged and misjudged him.

Easter is by far and away my favourite holiday of the year - made even better by an excellent four days of reading, interrupted only by time out for eating all the things.

Stevland seems too like a human to me. Runaways from Earth's climatological collapse land on a planet where two plants of the same species are at war Humans befriend the plant that feeds rather than poison them, and the story continues over multiple human generations.

For an alternate take on sentience and plant life, I recommend Umbernight by Carolyn Ives Gilman in the February 2018 issue of Clarkesworld magazine.

On the recent addition shelf of my local library. Some good ‘ol classic sci-fi with a modern twist? It‘s good so far...