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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Ship of Fools Book Group - 2016
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Fineline
Shipmate
# 12143
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Posted
Hi Sarasa. I recently read a novel called 'The Rabbit Back Literary Society', by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, which I found an interesting read. It is kind of fantasy, surreal, and also deals with the themes of reading and writing fiction, and the dark elements of that. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but if it is something people are interested in reading, I would be happy to lead a discussion on it and write some discussion questions.
Posts: 2375 | From: England | Registered: Dec 2006
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
Fineline, The Rabbit Back Literary Society sounds like an interesting read. I for one am interested in the process of writting and the mix of genres in the book sounds intriguing. Shall I put you down to lead it in February next year?
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Fineline
Shipmate
# 12143
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Posted
Yes, I can lead it in February.
Posts: 2375 | From: England | Registered: Dec 2006
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Tubbs
Miss Congeniality
# 440
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Posted
Given it's come up a few times, did anyone fancy reading Boneland, the third book in the Weirdstone series by Alan Garner.
It's very different to the other two books. (I'm not really selling this am I?!)
Tubbs
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"It's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than open it up and remove all doubt" - Dennis Thatcher. My blog. Decide for yourself which I am
Posts: 12701 | From: Someplace strange | Registered: Jun 2001
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
I don't much fancy re-reading it but I would be up for discussing it. I'd like to know what others make of it.
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
It was (so far as I know) never published in the US, but I cunningly acquired a copy, so I am in.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
Tubbs, I read the first two books in that series years ago, so I'd be interested in reading the third. The Owl Service was one of my favourite books when I was a teenager, but I haven't really kept up with Garner as an author.
How about this for the start of the 2017 season:
January - 'Golden Hill' led by Dafyd
February - 'The Rabbit Back Literary Society' led by Fineline
March - 'Boneland' led by Tubbs
Keep those suggestions coming. I'll start a new thread for next year sometime in early December, but in the meantime we have:
November - 'A Secret Chord' led by Marama (Now open for business)
December 'All seated on the Ground' led by Jane R.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
Oh gosh, December starts next week!
Of course, I knew that.
I'd like to suggest either 'After Atlas' by Emma Newman or 'Children of Time' by Adrian Tchaikovsky as our SF book for 2017. Both hard SF with some religious themes, both well-written (Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke earlier this year; After Atlas is only just out).
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
Thanks for the suggestions, Jane R. I think I fancy 'Children of Time' more, I'm not very good with dark and bleak novels, which is what the review I read suggested 'After Atlas' was. What do others thin? We could, of course, do them both. We seemed to do a lot of Children's lit this year, so nothing against more than one book in the same genre during the year.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Tubbs
Miss Congeniality
# 440
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sarasa:
Tubbs, I read the first two books in that series years ago, so I'd be interested in reading the third. The Owl Service was one of my favourite books when I was a teenager, but I haven't really kept up with Garner as an author.
How about this for the start of the 2017 season:
January - 'Golden Hill' led by Dafyd
February - 'The Rabbit Back Literary Society' led by Fineline
March - 'Boneland' led by Tubbs
Keep those suggestions coming. I'll start a new thread for next year sometime in early December, but in the meantime we have:
November - 'A Secret Chord' led by Marama (Now open for business)
December 'All seated on the Ground' led by Jane R.
That should work. I'll lurk on an a few threads to get the idea of what I'm supposed to do.
Thank you for including me.
Tubbs
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"It's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than open it up and remove all doubt" - Dennis Thatcher. My blog. Decide for yourself which I am
Posts: 12701 | From: Someplace strange | Registered: Jun 2001
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
Great Tubbs, glad you can do it. It's all pretty straightforward. Start a thread at the start of the month about the book discussion you are leading, and then post a few questions around about the 20th.
Having looked at the 'Comfort Reading' discussion I was wondering about adding one of those for next year. My personal favourite would probably be Anne of Green Gables, but I was wondering if a Georgette Heyer might be a good idea. Nice light romantic romp might be what we all need at the moment.
What do you all think?
Keep those suggestions coming!
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
If you do choose a Georgette Heyer, I would like to put in a bid for 'Cotillion'.
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Excellent idea. My only advice for a Heyer novel is that it be one of her most typical -- not The Maqueraders or These Old shades for instance, excellent as those works are. It should be right there in the center of her power, a Regency romance, and not an outlier. (in the same spirit if we were reading Tolkien it would beHobbit or LOTR and not The Silmarillion. If not Cotillion then The Unknown Ajax or Sprig Muslin.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Super! I'm in.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
Who fancies leading Cotillion - shall I put it down for April?
Jane R - which of the two sci-fi books you suggested do you think would make the best choice for the SOF's book group?
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Goodness, I have a copy of After Atlas right here.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
Gosh, I don't know which to pick! It's hard to give an idea of them without spoilers.
Both are thought-provoking and well-written. If you want a book with a more upbeat ending I'd go for 'Children of Time', but on the other hand 'After Atlas' has a murder mystery sub-plot which might appeal to fans of detective stories...
I could toss a coin, if nobody else has a strong opinion one way or the other?
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
I'm not sure how readily and cheaply available it is as it's a relatively new release, but would anyone be interested in reading and discussing Emma Donoghue's The Wonder? It's set in an Irish village in the mid 19th-century (post-potato-famine) and, while fictional, deals with the apparently real and weird phenomenon of "fasting girls," young girls who appeared to live miraculously on little to no food. The main character is a skeptical English nurse brought in to watch the daughter of a devout, poor Irish family who claim the child hasn't eaten a bite in four months, and there's some wonderful clash of cultures and reflections on the nature of faith, doubt, and miracles.
If anyone's interested I'd be happy to lead out in it -- perhaps it will be easier and cheaper to get hold of if we wait till sometime later in the year?
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
JaneR - I'm thinking that I shouldn't be such a wimp about challenging books and suggest 'After Atlas'. Maybe for May?
Trudy Scrumptious - 'The Wonder' is out in paperback in the UK in May, not sure about the rest of the world, though it looks like it might already be out in the US. So maybe June or July?
[ 30. November 2016, 13:36: Message edited by: Sarasa ]
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
Maybe it's already out in paperback here in Canada and I just haven't noticed! July would work well for me if people are interested.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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keibat
Shipmate
# 5287
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Posted
Dear bookthread:
I only just came across this thread, having set up a link to the 'Today's active threads' button on the SoF threads über-homepage. (I wish there was an equivalent button on other forums that I visit!)
How does this work? Clearly you don't use the thread itself for the actual discussion...
And are new members welcome, or would that spoil the group dynamic? (This is a serious question.)
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keibat from the finnish north and the lincs east rim
Posts: 93 | From: Alford, Lincs + Turku, Finland | Registered: Dec 2003
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
Hi Keibat, everyone is welcome.
How it works is we use this thread (and the new one that will be starting shortly for 2017) to suggest books for us to read. Someone then offers to lead the discussion for the month. At the beginning of the month they start a thread named something like 'January Book Group Discussion - name of book' and then posts some questuins for people to discuss around about the 20th.
Feel free to suggest some titles or comment on the suggestions already made.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
keibat, welcome. I have just opened a thread for the December discussion if you are interested in joining that one.
Sarasa, if you would like me to lead the discussion on 'After Atlas', May should be fine.
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
And surely someone wants to lead for Cotillion but if no one steps up I can do it.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
Thank you Jane R and Brenda Clough. Our 2017 season is taking shape nicely.
January - 'Golden Hill' led by Dafyd
February - 'The Rabbit Back Literary Society' led by Fineline
March - 'Boneland' led by Tubbs
April- 'Cotillion' led by Brenda Clough (Is April OK?)
May - 'After Atlas' led by Jane R
I'll start a new thread for 2017 in the next day or two.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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keibat
Shipmate
# 5287
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Posted
quote:
keibat, welcome. I have just opened a thread for the December discussion if you are interested in joining that one.
Thanks for the welcome. December in a clergy household is a bit too heavy to take on an extra reading assignment – I'll look out for January 2017!
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keibat from the finnish north and the lincs east rim
Posts: 93 | From: Alford, Lincs + Turku, Finland | Registered: Dec 2003
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