SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

August: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow

September: Storm Front by Jim Butcher

1. Theme for August: Science Fiction published since 2000

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow 15
Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan 14
Old Man's War by John Scalzi 10
Survival: Species Imperative #1 by Julie Czerneda 9
Blindsight by Peter Watts 7
Hammered by Elizabeth Bear 7
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds 5
The Planet of Mortal Worship by Donald Templeman 4
Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon 4
Air: Or, Have Not Have by Geoff Ryman 3
Newton's Wake by Ken MacLeod 3
Death's Head by David Gunn 3
Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer 2
Crystal Rain by Tobias Bucknell 2
Sun of Suns by Karl Schroeder 2
Spin State by Chris Moriarty 2
Needle in the Groove by Jeff Noon 1
Code of Conduct by Kristine Smith 1
Off Armeggeddon Reef by David Weber 1
Crossover by Joel Shepherd 1
Horizons by Mary Rosenblum 0



2. Theme for September: Urban Fantasy

Storm Front by Jim Butcher 16
Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko 13
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville 10
Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson 8
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison 7
The War For The Oaks by Emma Bull 7
Trader by Charles de Lint 7
The Wood Wife by Terri Windling 7
Blood Born by Patricia Briggs 5
Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin 4
Scar Night by Alan Campbell 4
Whitechapel Gods by S.M. Peters 3
The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll 3
Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick 2
Someone Comes to Town, Someone leaves Town by Cory Doctrow 2
Dogland by Will Shetterly 2
Strangewood by Christopher Golden 1
A Fist Full of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman 1
Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith 1

I will most certainly participate in September's discussion, however, due to my limited time for reading, and the fact I haven't even finished AGOT yet, I'll probably not have the chance to read the August selection.

Leslie, both the August books are really, really short. "Color of Magic" was awful though. I'm really looking forward to reading "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom." It looks like a quick read.

OH NO! I was looking forward to reading Color of Magic!

You can read either, or or both!

Very nice selection of books. Luckily I have read both Prattchet and Butcher, so no worries how to get them :)

I'll be in for the August discussion for sure, and maybe the September. I will know about the September around mid-Aug. Hope that's okay.

If you still need a leader for September, I would like to volunteer.

Michael, its yours!

I'm thinking Terry Pratchett is one of those writers you either love or don't. I have several friends who adore his work, but I've read three and disliked all of them. It's odd, because we all share similar likes where other writers are concerend.

We still need a discussion leader for Down and Out, don't we?

Oh, goody, I'm glad Cory's book made it for August. It's an added bonus that he's Canadian, for those who didn't know that...

I could be the discussion leader for Down and Out, although I'm not really sure what it entails... Nick?

M.D., you just try to be the first to read the book and then try to ask relevant questions that get people excited about talking about the book. It was easy with "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Shannon did a great job with "A Game of Thrones." The key is to ask questions that get people thinking about the themes of the book, character motivations, style, etc.

Doesn't Cory Doctorow live in San Francisco now?

M.D. The group usually helps out too... people will start up a thread of something they think the group could talk about so even as the discussion leader you are not the only one starting threads on the book.

M.D., it is yours!

Peggy, you are too funny. I can't tell you how often I have to go back and do that "reading for comprehension" thing.

I just picked up Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom from the library. I'm disappointed, though, that my library's copy of Storm Front is out with several holds placed on it, and The Color of Magic is missing. hmmmmph.

Kristen,

When a book I want to read goes missing from my library, I tend to feel like going into a murderous rage. Same as when I get a book there and someone has torn out pages (it's happened more times than I want to count!). It just kills me that those books are there for everyone, and people abuse it!

I'm thrilled about the Cory Doctorow book; as much as I like Pratchett, I was expecting to not have much to say about The Color of Magic.

And I love Harry Dresden - although I don't know if I'll be able to remember Storm Front's details specifically, I'm hoping it'll turn more people into fans.

Kristen,

Not sure if this is helpful, but here is a list of libraries close to you that may have a copy of The Color of Magic:

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/43622625...

I had been on the waiting list at the KC public library for several weeks for this copy. I use that library the most because it's on the first floor of the building I work in. But my mother also works for the Leavenworth public library, so on a whim I checked their catalog a couple of days ago and it was sitting on the shelf waiting to be plucked!

If all else fails, I use Interlibrary Loan through the KC public library because they have a nice web interface for me. Or I buy it used on Amazon or mooch it from BookMooch.com.

I'm nothing if not persistent. :)

I'm debating on if I want to read Down and out... I recently read Little Brother and didn't care for it much. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I dislike it. I think he came off as quite a bit amateurish and smug. I'll probably end up reading it for the book club, though, since I'm unlikely to ever read anything by him again otherwise.

Edit: Only one copy at the library and it is checked out and not due until Aug. 20. Hopefully it will be back early since I won't be buying this book.

Ben, it is nice that your library tells you when something is due back! Mine is just guess work on my part!

If you can't get a copy of Down and Out, keep in mind that Doctorow has posted a free copy for download at:
http://craphound.com/down/.

That would work for me if I had a Kindle or a Sony Reader. I stare at a screen for 9 hours every day already so I've never been able to read books on the 'puter.

That would work for me if I had a Kindle or a Sony Reader. I stare at a screen for 9 hours every day already so I've never been able to read books on the 'puter.

I feel the same way, Ben, ebooks have never appealed to me for just that reason. What is different about the Kindle and Sony Reader as far as strain on the eyes?

They use "electronic paper" instead of an LCD type display. It doesn't strain your eyes any more than a normal book does. Plus, you can resize the text, search, etc. There is no backlighting so you can't read in the dark without some kind of light, just like a paper book.

I'm sure I'll get one, but I'm going to wait a bit until the technology matures. I'd also like one smaller than what is available now...something at least as small as a paperback, but maybe a bit smaller. Cheaper would be good, too.

Cheaper would be good, too.

Yes indeed - when I looked at the Kindle on Amazon I was shocked at the price, as well as the book prices. You definitely don't get the waiting-for-the-paperback option with it.

Thanks for the info - I'm much more intrigued by the idea now (I can't tell you how many times I wished that a book had a search box!!)

I think the Kindle and the Sony reader are intriguing. I wish they were cheaper too. I might pay $100.00 for one, but not $300+. I think it really might behoove Amazon to sell the Kindle really cheap. The Kindle versions of books probably just cost them the royalties. If they get enough Kindles out there, they have an automatic market for the books. The profit would be huge.

Thomas, thank you for posting the e-book link. I'm heading out town for the next few weeks, and my biggest packing problem is how to carry all my reading material. I'm not a fan of reading on the computer, but I think I can manage 67 pages of it.

I really like the concept of the eReaders but the main problem is that [almost] every reader has their own proprietary extension. Sony has .bbeb, Amazon has .azw. So if you buy an amazon book in .azw, it currently only works on a Kindle. Until it becomes more open and customizable for the mod community, I'll wait. But I wish they would hurry up with it. I currently read archived comics on my PC with an open source reader using .cbr/.cbz extensions, which are just .rar/.zip files renamed.

Jerrod, see this recent article on Sony Reader going open.

Also, I think Amazon can convert many formats to the Kindle format. Not ideal, but it'll get your PDFs and such on there.

Thomas - thanks for posting the link! I'm on hold for both Aug. books at the library so now I can at least get started on Down and Out. Storm Front came in and I've started that. So far I like it.

Fictionwise also has an ebook reader and it's affordable. I read a lot of books on my Palm Zire71, and that's what I'll do with with Down and Out.

I like the versatility of ebooks and the small screen doesn't bother me, although I'm drooling for a Kindle. e-ink is absolutely awesome.

The advantage of an e-reader is that you can keep hundreds and hundreds of books in your library and never run out of physical space. If you're an avid reader like I am, ebooks are a good alternative to always relying on the library.

That said, I'd better get going on the book. It's August is two days!

M.d. I read a lot of books on my Palm Zire71, and that's what I'll do with with Down and Out.

That is what I did for 'Down and Out' as well (since it was free :). It was my first ebook on a small format and it wasn't too bad.

Has anyone thought of inviting Cory Doctorow to join in the discussion for Down and out...?

The author is on goodreads?

Not that I know of, but he is a well known blogger and it isn't unheard of for authors like Cory to participate in discussions of their books. I'm sure he's busy and all, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.