Mind Voyages Reading Challenge
This page details the Mind Voyages Reading Challenge that’s driving the bulk of my reading this year. Joining this challenge was spurred by receiving a Kindle for Christmas and wanting to get back into reading fiction again after being VERY sporadic about it for years.
I signed up for the Moon Voyage (read six Hugo winners in 2010) and the Slingshot Back to Earth (three Nebula winners.) I’ve also scoped out a few extra challenges I’m hoping to meet. These are the Mars Voyage (six Hugo winners and four 21st century Hugo or Nebula nominees), Jupiter Voyage (four nominees from the 90′s), and Saturn Voyage (four nominees from the 80′s.)
My additional requirements here are that I only read books from authors I’ve never read, I don’t duplicate authors within the challenge, and I’d prefer these books be available on the Kindle. I’m also giving strong preference to books that are the first book in a series. I don’t like reading books out of order. So, what follows are the challenges I’ve signed up for, the books I’m going to read, and whether I’ve actually read them or not.
9/5 Update: As The City & The City and The Windup Girl tied for the Hugo (announced last night), I’ll need to replace The Windup Girl as a nominee in the Mars Voyage. I’m going to go with Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente. And as I’ll still meet the Moon Voyage challenge requirements without one of the two audiobooks I’ve heard (Hyperion), I’ll remove it from the listing. I’ll likely read another 21st century nominee to replace The City & The City as well, since I don’t need it to complete the Moon Voyage, either.
Moon Voyage
| Book | Author | Award | State | Date Finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Gods | Neil Gaiman | Hugo Win/Nebula Win | Read/Reviewed | 2/13/2010 |
| Hominids | Robert J. Sawyer | Hugo Win | Read/Reviewed | 2/16/2010 |
| To Say Nothing of the Dog | Connie Willis | Hugo Win/Nebula Nom | Read | 4/22/2010 |
| A Fire Upon the Deep | Vernor Vinge | Hugo Win/Nebula Nom | Read | 6/6/2010 |
| The City & The City | China Mieville | Hugo Win/Nebula Nom | Listened | 6/8/2010 |
| The Windup Girl | Paolo Bacigalupi | Hugo Win/Nebula Win | Read | 8/06/2010 |
| The Forever War | Joe Haldeman | Hugo Win/Nebula Win | Read | 8/30/2010 |
The Voyage to the Moon has been completed.
Slingshot Back to Earth
| Book | Author | Award | State | Date Finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Mars | Kim Stanley Robinson | Hugo Nom/Nebula Win | Read/Reviewed | 1/29/2010 |
| Falling Free | Lois McMaster Bujold | Hugo Nom/Nebula Win | Read | 3/20/2010 |
American Gods counts for this challenge. The Slingshot Back to Earth has been completed.
Mars Voyage:
| Book | Author | Award | State | Date Finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boneshaker | Cherie Priest | Hugo Nom/Nebula Nom | Read | 7/15/2010 |
| Old Man’s War | John Scalzi | Hugo Nom | Read | 7/20/2010 |
| Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente | Hugo Nom |
The City and The City counts for this challenge.
Side Trip to Jupiter:
| Book | Author | Award | State | Date Finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remnant Population | Elizabeth Moon | Hugo Nom |
To Say Nothing of the Dog, A Fire Upon the Deep, and Red Mars (from the Moon and Slingshot challenges) also count for this challenge as they were also nominees from the 90′s.
Side Trip to Saturn:
| Book | Author | Award | State | Date Finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Handmaid’s Tale | Margaret Atwood | Nebula Nom | Read | 4/10/2010 |
| Tea with the Black Dragon | R. A. MacAvoy | Hugo Nom/Nebula Nom | Read | 6/8/2010 |
| Helliconia Spring | Brian Aldiss | Nebula Nom |
Falling Free (from the Slingshot Back to Earth) counts for this challenge.
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