There are a lot of book awards out there, and every so often I find myself thinking about reading through an entire shortlist (or even a long list) before the award. But I’ve never actually done it because my TBR list is long enough.

However, when this year’s list of finalists for the Hugo award for best novel came out, I realized that not only I was already halfway there, but one of the three I hadn’t read was already on my TBR list. At that point, it’s just two more books, in a genre I generally enjoy. So, I figured I might as well read them all.

Here’s the first installment with an update on my progress. These are presented in the order of my current personal rankings.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Read in August 2023; 4 stars. This was such a fun concept and a really enjoyable story overall. I loved Amina as a character, she felt very relatable. And I enjoyed the relationships between her and her crew; you really got a sense of how well they knew one another.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Read in February 2024; 5 stars. This was hilarious. I have no idea if all the machinations of the plot actually make sense, but IMO that’s not really the point with a book like this. The characters were great, and I appreciated the way it ended. Someone please option this for a movie! And actually make it!

Witch King by Martha Wells

Did not finish in September 2023. I’ve enjoyed so much of Wells’ other work, I was ready to like this but found it to be pretty slow. There was a lot of worldbuilding, which is great, but for me it felt a little info-dumpy. There’s also some political situation that I think was going to become important, but I have zero interest in that kind of plotline. I don’t have any notes on how far I got into this, but I think it was close to halfway.

Still to be read:

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

I’ve got the print on hold at DCPL because the ebook waiting list is too long. It’s hard to tell if it’ll become available in time, but for now I’ll see how it goes.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

I have the ebook on hold at DCPL, and it should become available for me sometime next month.

Translation State by Ann Leckie

This was the one that was already on my TBR. I’ve also put the ebook on hold, and it should come up in late June.