Monthly Book Club + What Are You Reading? (Dec 2017)

[Tragicomedy]

A big thank you to Redcrayon for our fantastic new banner!

Join the ResetEra Book Club on Goodreads.

This month, I'm going to open a poll for the book club selection. My intent is to make this a community driven choice. I've got a short list based on suggestions and hidden science fiction gems, but going forward I'll be compiling nominations from this group. Please @me as you think of a good selection. I'm going to use Goodreads to maintain a running list.

This month's theme is dystopian science fiction. The nominees are:

John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee for best science fiction novel.

First published in 1972, Roadside Picnic is still widely regarded as one of the greatest science fiction novels, despite the fact that it has been out of print in the United States for almost thirty years. This authoritative new translation corrects many errors and omissions and has been supplemented with a foreword by Ursula K. Le Guin and a new afterword by Boris Strugatsky explaining the strange history of the novel's publication in Russia.

Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those young rebels who are compelled, in spite of extreme danger, to venture illegally into the Zone to collect the mysterious artifacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the place and the thriving black market in the alien products. But when he and his friend Kirill go into the Zone together to pick up a "full empty," something goes wrong. And the news he gets from his girlfriend upon his return makes it inevitable that he'll keep going back to the Zone, again and again, until he finds the answer to all his problems.

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Nominated by Miletius. Man Booker Prize and Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee.

A tale of deceptive simplicity that slowly reveals an extraordinary emotional depth and resonance – and takes its place among Kazuo Ishiguro's finest work.

From the acclaimed author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, a moving new novel that subtly re-imagines our world and time in a haunting story of friendship and love. Suspenseful, moving, beautifully atmospheric, Never Let Me Go is modern classic.

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Nebula Award and John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee for best science fiction novel.

In the far distant future, the country laid waste by nuclear holocaust, twelve-year-old Riddley Walker tells his story in a language as fractured as the world in which he lives. As Riddley steps outside the confines of his small world, he finds himself caught up in intrigue and a frantic quest for power, desperately trying to make sense of things.

Riddley Walker is a brilliant, unique, completely realized work of fiction. One reads it again and again, discovering new wonders every time through. Set in a remote future in a post-nuclear holocaust England (Inland), Hoban has imagined a humanity regressed to an iron-age, semi-literate state―and invented a language to represent it. Riddley is at once the Huck Finn and the Stephen Dedalus of his culture―rebel, change agent, and artist. Read again or for the first time this masterpiece of 20th-century literature with new material by the author.

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Arthur C. Clarke Award and Andrew Carnegie Medal nominee.

Hig somehow survived the flu pandemic that killed everyone he knows. Now his wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, Jasper, and a mercurial, gun-toting misanthrope named Bangley.

But when a random transmission beams through the radio of his 1956 Cessna, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life exists outside their tightly controlled perimeter. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return and follows its static-broken trail, only to find something that is both better and worse than anything he could ever hope for.

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Previous Book Club Threads:

• We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Nov 2018)
• Blindness by Jose Saramago (Feb 2014)
• The Quiet American by Graham Greene (Jan 2014)
• If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino (Sept 2013)
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (July 2013)
• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (Feb-Mar 2013)
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (September 2012)
• Catch-22, by Joseph Heller (January 2012)
• The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (December 2011)
• Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West, by Cormac McCarthy (Oct 2011)
• The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov (Sep 2011)
• The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas (Aug 2011)
• Master and Commander, by Patrick O'Brian (July 2011)
• The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin (June 2011)
• A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan (May 2011)
• The Afghan Campaign, by Steven Pressfield (Apr 2011)
• Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein (Mar 2011)
• Flashman, by George MacDonald Fraser (Feb 2011)

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Support ERA authors:

• aidan (Hugo Award winner): http://aidanmoher.com/blog/ / Tide of Shadows and Other Stories
• AngmarsKing701: Ahvarra: The Heart of the World ; Knight Descendent: Knight's Journal 1; Author Page of Brian Lang
• cosmicblizzard: Freeze Kill
• Elfforkusu: Wrath of Flight
• Fidelis Hodie: Derek Agons Slays a Dragon
• H.Protagonist: Dead Endings
• Hop: The Latte Segment
• Plasticine Live Undead
• UCBooties Trumpocalypse
• whatevermort: The Explorer; No Harm Can Come to a Good Man; Long Dark Dusk by James Smythe

Explore

• Reddit's Favorite Books Published in 2016
• Goodreads 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime
• The 40 Best Sci-Fi Books According to Reddit

 

[Robot With Feelings]

Literally got my copy of Roadside Picnic in the mail a couple of days ago so that would be convenient.

 

[Deleted member 1067]

In a cottage in a wood - Cass green

Got it for like a dollar in a kindle sale because why not. Definition of Whatever/10 book. Plotting reminds me of a telltale game where anytime something happens you get a little x will remember that pop up lol...not bad for an airport read or whatever


Finished Ancilary Justice and liked the hell out of it. Dunno about buying the sequels just yet as I have too much to read atm anyways.

As for the book club I'll go with ridly walker because I already have it and haven't gotten around to reading it XD

 

[Mr_Black]

I am reading robinson crusoe. He just ship wrecked himself yet again.

 

[gosublime]

Voted for Roadside Picnic - would like to see where the games got their inspiration from!

 

[Saphirax]

Ooh, Roadside Picnic sounds interesting.

 

[Osahi]

New Murakami releases today. Will try to get a copy over lunchbreak, but only if the roads are clear. We had snow and jammed up rush hour yesterday evening, and it went below zero last night, so it might be too slippery to safely bike.

 

[insight]

Voted for Roadside Picnic. I watched Tarkovsky's "Stalker" and I loved it, so I'd be interested in reading the book as well.

 

[Xagarath]

Roadside Picnic and Riddley Walker are fantastic books - I can recommend both.

 

[NekoFever]

I'm still working on Oathbringer. I've had a serious shortage of time recently so I'm only about 40% of the way in. It's a monster.

 

[MilkBeard]

About halfway through The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Once finished, I might consider picking up one of the books of the month here. Roadside Picnic sounds interesting.

 

[Ravensmash]

Great choices - I'd be happy to read any of them.

How long is the poll running for?

 

[Fuu]

Voted for Kazuo Ishiguro because it was already on my list, but I'm down for any of those.

New Murakami releases today. Will try to get a copy over lunchbreak, but only if the roads are clear. We had snow and jammed up rush hour yesterday evening, and it went below zero last night, so it might be too slippery to safely bike.

Click to shrink...

You mean the English version of Killing Commendatore? I can't find any info about the release. (Assuming you're talking about Haruki.)

 

[Osahi]

You mean the English version of Killing Commendatore? I can't find any info about the release. (Assuming you're talking about Haruki.)

Click to shrink...

Sorry, should've elaborated better. I was talking about the Dutch translation of (the first part of) Commendatore. They release the first part now, and the second part in the first week of january.

Murakami is very popular in my language region (though it has waned a bit), and we are usually the first or one of the first to get translations. (Colorless... we've got over 6 months before the English version iirc). They are generally also amazing translations. The translator sometimes provides good footnotes when translating something is difficult due to cultural differences/language jokes, etc.


I'm not going out today, as the bycicle lanes in my area are skating rinks now, but I'll grab my copy tomorrow when I have to be in the city center anyway.

 

[Arttemis]

Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp

It starts off with a scene reminiscent of the end to Rogue One, and then becomes a coordinated, multi-phase attack that reads like a heist story. I dislike the way the author describes the use of the Force, but the action is just superb so far.

 

[Psychotic_Mantis]

Just about to finish IT. Took me about a month. I have loved the entire thing. Definitely going off the deep end in the final 100 pages...but I am alright with it. I can definitely tell he was on drugs when we wrote this and I can understand why many others could hate the way this is wrapping up. Guess I will see how it all ends when I finish it at lunch.

Think I might read The Disaster Artists after this. Needed something shorter and less 'epic'. Seems like a fun read before the movie!

 

[Spectromixer]

Voted for Roadside Picnic! Been wanting to read it since my boss recommended it to me.

There is also a film loosely based off of the novel, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalker_(1979_film).

Tragicomedy, can we also add the Goodreads group to the OP? https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/345627-resetera-book-club

 

[Tragicomedy]

Great choices - I'd be happy to read any of them.

How long is the poll running for?

Click to shrink...

I think polls default to seven days but I'm not entirely sure. I'm keeping an eye on the numbers and I think we'll be able to identify the winner before then. A few of these are fairly short books so if the vote is close we can afford to let it finish.

I'll see if I can shorten the poll to ~3-5 days next month.

Voted for Roadside Picnic! Been wanting to read it since my boss recommended it to me.

There is also a film loosely based off of the novel, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalker_(1979_film).

Tragicomedy, can we also add the Goodreads group to the OP? https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/345627-resetera-book-club

Click to shrink...

Done!

 

[Fuu]

Tragicomedy, I don't know how feasible it would be, but I think it would be better if we could have the poll running sometime during the previous month.

Is it possible to run another poll later in December for the January book in the same thread? I'm not sure how the forum system works.

Sorry, should've elaborated better. I was talking about the Dutch translation of (the first part of) Commendatore. They release the first part now, and the second part in the first week of january.

Murakami is very popular in my language region (though it has waned a bit), and we are usually the first or one of the first to get translations. (Colorless... we've got over 6 months before the English version iirc). They are generally also amazing translations. The translator sometimes provides good footnotes when translating something is difficult due to cultural differences/language jokes, etc.


I'm not going out today, as the bycicle lanes in my area are skating rinks now, but I'll grab my copy tomorrow when I have to be in the city center anyway.

Click to shrink...

Ohh, I see. I remember reading it was getting a Dutch translation this year, but I wasn't aware of the release date. That's a pretty cool cover.

 

[Osahi]

Tragicomedy, I don't know how feasible it would be, but I think it would be better if we could have the poll running sometime during the previous month.

Is it possible to run another poll later in December for the January book in the same thread? I'm not sure how the forum system works.


Ohh, I see. I remember reading it was getting a Dutch translation this year, but I wasn't aware of the release date. That's a pretty cool cover.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, the covers are ace in Dutch. Colorless Tsuzuki had a similar style cover, while all the others currently in print are also unified in a different, monochromatic style. This hardcover is pretty neat too. Really like it now I have it in my hands.

(Yeah, I actually did went out to pick it up, braving the cold today. It started thawning this afternoon, so though it was still cold, at least the ice had disappeared almost completely. I'll jump in tonight, and have first impressions up in a few days. (I won't spoil offcourse) )

 

[Deleted member 3815]

Currently reading this;

It's a bit boring as nothing interesting really happens in the book and at time it just feels like that Rowling was testing the water in writing for adults.

I will keep on reading it as I am not at the point where I just want to drop it.

 

[TheBeardedOne]

I'm still reading Jaws by Peter Benchley and The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King.

I also renewed two books I've had out from the library for a while, but haven't finished or read much of as of late. Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Stephen King's short story collection and Seven Deadly Sins by Corey Taylor.

 

[Volkoff]

Just finished reading this:

I'm a sucker for a Dan Brown novel and this one was superb.

Up next on the docket is:

 

[DevilPuncher]

Last week I finished Philip K. Dick's Ubik. First PKD book I've gotten around to and I absolutely loved it. After finishing it I read about how Michel Gondry was planning to adapt it, but he dropped out of the project. Bummed me out a bit, as he would've been great for it. I can definitely imagine that it'd be hard to adapt, though.

Up next on the agenda for me is Margaret Atwood's Hag-Seed: A Novel.

It's her adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. I'm a huge Atwood fan as well as a Shakespeare buff, so I'm super looking forward to digging into this. Been meaning to since it came out last year, but finals got in the way of things.

 

[Tragicomedy]

Tragicomedy, I don't know how feasible it would be, but I think it would be better if we could have the poll running sometime during the previous month.

Is it possible to run another poll later in December for the January book in the same thread? I'm not sure how the forum system works.

Click to shrink...

I'm out on mobile now, but I'll check tonight. I'm fairly certain you can't have two polls, but perhaps I can delete this one later or replace it with next month's nominations.

I'll ask a mod for guidance. There's typically a way to make it work. At the very worst case I'll set up a poll on a voting site and link it here. Next month's thread would then include the vote for the February selection.

 

[BigJeffery]

I read Roadside Picnic earlier this year and absolutely loved it. I strongly recommend everyone in here check it out even if it isn't the book of the month.

I have to read nine books this month to meet my Goodreads challenge, so I'm sticking to short stuff and graphic novels. I'm starting out with Hold the Dark by William Giraldi.

It's fairly short, and Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin, Green Room), one of my favorite contemporary directors, is adapting it into a film for his next directorial project. A friend told me it's thematically pretty similar to Wind River, which I thought was really terrific, so I'm excited to dig into it.

 

['3y Kingdom]

I would be happy with either of the top two options. I already own Never Let Me Go and have been meaning to get around to it, so I voted for Ishiguro.

Just finished Un balcon en forêt by Julien Gracq, the first of his works I've read. I found his simile-heavy style a bit distracting, but enjoyed reading a fictional version of the invasion of Belgium and France at the beginning of WWII from the perspective of a French frontier soldier. The tragic irony of watching these men go through their lives and routines, never quite grasping the threat to come until it is literally on their doorstep, elevated what might otherwise have been a standard military novel.

 

[Gernau Morat Gurgeh]

Just re-read A Canticle for Lebowitz, which is fantastic bit of post-apocalyptic (and post-post apocalyptic) fiction. Beautifully structured, and deserves to be better known.

 

[Bumrush]

I'm just about finished with Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology which is fantastic and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested.

It's a super fast read (about 300 pages) and Neil's writing style is perfect for boiling the myths down. I had been reading quite a bit of Greek mythology before this and it's pretty cool to compare the two (with the Greek myths being much more opulent, godlike, etc. and less "human" than the Norse counterparts)

 

[Mask]

Finished Grace of Kings

I enjoyed it enough. Don't really feel the need to jump into the second book in the series though. Just from the description it seems to just be the same story of rebellion and war with some new characters.

Now I'm reading The Goblin Emperor By Katherine Addison

(Am I the first on this site to mention it?)

About 20% through and just found out that

Spoiler

the previous Emperor and his Heirs were most likely murdered

It is a fast and interesting read so far. Was a bit surprised by the old timey dialogue, but I think that is mostly from how many fantasy books shy away from that now.


Would be interested to try and participate in this months book club (I voted for Roadside Picnic)

 

[Jonnykong]

Currently reading this;

It's a bit boring as nothing interesting really happens in the book and at time it just feels like that Rowling was testing the water in writing for adults.

I will keep on reading it as I am not at the point where I just want to drop it.

Click to shrink...

Sticking with it is definitely worth it cos I can recall the last 100 pages or so being throughly entertaining.

 

[Ravensmash]

I think polls default to seven days but I'm not entirely sure. I'm keeping an eye on the numbers and I think we'll be able to identify the winner before then. A few of these are fairly short books so if the vote is close we can afford to let it finish.

I'll see if I can shorten the poll to ~3-5 days next month.



Done!

Click to shrink...

Cool!

I'm currently reading through Wild Sheep Chase and I'm either going to finish it really quickly or dump it (not feeling it so much) so I'm definitely down for whatever is chosen.

All appeal to me as I love dystopian themes.

Got into the habit of having short stories to read on the side, and currently throughly enjoying Dangerous Visions.

Flies is... dark

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Oh good.

Ive started reading Your Name (the novel adaptation)

 

[Nappuccino]

I've been reading Lincoln in the Bardo. As someone who has been a little iffy on George Saunders (he either hits his stories out of the park, or makes something near unreadible to me), I was skeptical of reading his novel about people in purgatory--especially since he was using Lincoln as a driver for the story, and doubly so because it's written like an oral history. But, for the little things I don't care for (setting, mostly), the writing is incredible and moving. It's not really a story about Abraham Lincoln. It's more instead what we cling to in our times of death. Some of the characters are completely absurd, which is par for the course with Sanders. But he's got me on board and I want to keep reading.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Finished reading Freya and Wulf, an interesting novella that takes Old English poems and sort of groups them into a single story. It was part of an Arthurian shared reading group, although it has nothing to do with Arthur. So... hmmm.

I also published the 11th Entry of my own "King Arthur origins story with a Princess Bride tone" novella, Knight Resplendent. 11 down, 1 to go.

Jumping in to Gaiman's Norse Mythology next.

 

[Deleted member 9330]

When do we figure out who won the poll and which book I check out from the library?

 

[Duane]

Has anyone read Artemis yet? I was thinking about starting it. (by Andy Weir, author of The Martian... Artemis is apparently a detective type story set on the moon)

 

[Tragicomedy]

Now I'm reading The Goblin Emperor By Katherine Addison

(Am I the first on this site to mention it?)

Click to shrink...

This was a hit among several of us on the old forum. I believe Mumei was the first to mention it and began a bit of a frenzy for a month or two. It's a truly fantastic book. Understated, subtle, and an amazing protagonist.

When do we figure out who won the poll and which book I check out from the library?

Click to shrink...

Things are neck and neck, so let's give it another couple of days to see how the vote goes.

Has anyone read Artemis yet? I was thinking about starting it. (by Andy Weir, author of The Martian... Artemis is apparently a detective type story set on the moon)

Click to shrink...

Discussion I've seen around the interweb hasn't been too kind. Seeing it described as a worse version of the Martian with an unlikeable character POV. I'll get to it eventually but my interest in it has dropped since it released.

 

[Duane]

Bummer, that's disappointing to hear. Maybe I'll hold off, then.

 

[Ravensmash]

Nice to Ishiguro catching up.

I recently read Remains of the Day and found myself absorbed by it.

Had no idea Never Let Me Go was considered dystopian so excited if that becomes the choice.

My own personal view, but it'd be nice if we could settle on a book by Sunday evening. Itching to pick up any of them.

 

[Jonnykong]

I doubt I'll be joining in with the book club myself as my backlog is big enough as it is, but I'll vote anyway cos I'm mischevious like that.

 

[Mask]

This was a hit among several of us on the old forum. I believe Mumei was the first to mention it and began a bit of a frenzy for a month or two. It's a truly fantastic book. Understated, subtle, and an amazing protagonist.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, was just trying to be a little cheeky since it is a new forum. I never used to post but was always watching the thread for book suggestions. Trying to participate more now.

 

[PanickyFool]

Get some non-fiction up there!

Seriously, I don't read fiction...

 

[Tragicomedy]

Yeah, was just trying to be a little cheeky since it is a new forum. I never used to post but was always watching the thread for book suggestions. Trying to participate more now.

Click to shrink...

Ah, fantastic stuff.

Get some non-fiction up there!

Seriously, I don't read fiction...

Click to shrink...

Where were you last month? We just read a timely, topical, fantastic non-fiction book.

 

[Sch1sm]

I didn't know we had a Book Club thing running. I'll join for this month. Promised myself I'd read books for pleasure this winter break. Subbed.

 

[PanickyFool]

Ah, fantastic stuff.



Where were you last month? We just read a timely, topical, fantastic non-fiction book.

Click to shrink...

Looks good, added to my kindle.

 

[Spectromixer]

Oh man the poll is tied

 

[Unducks]

Finished Grace of Kings

I enjoyed it enough. Don't really feel the need to jump into the second book in the series though. Just from the description it seems to just be the same story of rebellion and war with some new characters.

Click to shrink...

I'm pretty sure I liked this book more than you did, but I will say that I also liked the second book even more, and that it definitely doesn't end up being more of the same.

 

[Pau]

I feel bad voting because I don't post much about the monthly book but I enjoy reading along and reading what other people are thinking.

 

[PunchDrunk28]

I was a big time lurker on the other place when it came to the what you are reading and picked up many books from what people were reading/recommending. Now that I have an account here, I can start contributing!!

I'm currently working through this one, although, I haven't had as much time as I would like to read: