Beyond Reality discussion

I know, summer has barely started, but it’s time to look ahead to the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere and think about what you’d like to read and discuss in September 2024. Nominations are now open!

Each group member can make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination. A couple of suggestions to keep in mind:

1. Telling us a little about the book and why you think it would be a good group read can help get other members interested in reading (and voting for) your nomination. If possible, please use a link to the book and author in your nomination post. Click on “add book/author" for an easy way to do that.

2. To see if your nomination has already been read by the group, you can check:

a. The Beyond Reality Google spreadsheet of Previous Books of the Month, available at this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...". To search for a specific title, use the "Find and Replace" option under the EDIT menu. Don't worry, you will be able to find a title but you will not be able to replace it since the spreadsheet is in "View Only" mode.

b. the group's bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month

c. the topic threads on this page: Previous BotM Master Lists

Books the group has read in the past 2 years are not eligible for current consideration. Being chosen as a past BotM prior to that time is not an automatic disqualification, but be aware that it may hinder your nomination’s chances at the polls.

General guidelines:
• Feel free to re-nominate a book that didn’t win in the polls in previous months!
• For questions regarding specifics such as book formats, books in series, self-nomination, and various rules for nominations, please see the group FAQ.
• Seconding is NOT necessary in this group.
• Friendly discussion & debate is strongly encouraged, but please keep things civil.

Poll schedule:
• Nominations will remain open through Tuesday, June 18.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Wednesday, June 19 and will run through Tuesday, June 25.
• The final run-off polls open Wednesday, June 26 and will run through Sunday, June 30.

Thanks!
Kathi, for the Mods

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:
FANTASY:
A Bad Spell in Yurt by C. Dale Brittain
The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson
Voices by Ursula K. Le Guin
Freedom & Necessity by Steven Brust & Emma Bull
The Book of Love by Kelly Link

SCIENCE FICTION:
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
Provenance by Ann Leckie
The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks
Sky Coyote by Kage Baker
Glasshouse by Charles Stross
Where Peace Is Lost by Valerie Valdes

Well, after a recent QOTW discussion about fluffy reads, I'm going to nominate A Bad Spell in Yurt for Fantasy. It looks like fun!

And I nominate Some Desperate Glory for SF. I just finished it; I liked it very much, and I think there's a lot to discuss.

For fantasy I nominate The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson.
I loved her run on Ms. Marvel and I'm curious about her novels.

For sci-fi I nominate Provenance by Ann Leckie.
I'm going to read the trilogy over the summer with another group, so this would be perfect timing.

The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks did pretty well in the poll last time around, so I will nominate that again for SF.

Still thinking about a fantasy nomination.

I will nominate two "seconds" in a series of which the # 1 is on our bookshelves.

For FANTASY, I will nominate Voices by Ursula K. Le Guin. # 1 in the series was read back in 2021 (Gifts)

For SCIENCE FICTION, I will nominate Sky Coyote by Kage Baker. # 1 in the series was read way back in 2011 (In the Garden of Iden)

We could use a few more nominations. Nominations will remain open through Tuesday, June 18.,

For fantasy, I’ll nominate Freedom & Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. Both good authors—let’s see what they created together.

Not nominating for fantasy as this could be the perfect excuse for me to read A Bad Spell in Yurt yet again. :D

As since I'm a bit in the reread mood, I'd like to nominate Glasshouse by Charles Stross. A really fascinating story. Takes place in the future but the majority is a simulation of our more recent past.

I'll put Where Peace Is Lost in again for SF, and recommend The Book of Love by Kelly Link for fantasy, since a podcaster I follow has been raving about it.

Nominations are closed. Preliminary polls are open! Please vote!

Preliminary FANTASY Poll for Sept. 2024 BotM

Preliminary SF Poll for Sept. 2024 BotM

Reminder—preliminary polls are open through tomorrow, June 25. You can vote (or change your vote) until the polls close at midnight PDT.

Thanks to everyone who voted in the preliminary polls.

The final polls to choose our September 2024 Books of the Month are now open, and will be open through the end of the month.

Final SF Poll

Final FANTASY Poll

Please vote!