September / October / November books
All,
we have books now for our collective reading in September, October and November. They are:
September: Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, hosted by @NeilNjae
October: A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar, hosted by @RichardAbbott
November: the Binti trilogy of novellas by Nnedi Okorafor, hosted by @clash_bowley
Our August read, with discussion almost upon us, is Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, hosted by @BarnerCobblewood
I have added categories for each of those, so anyone who likes to get notifications can now add these to their preferences.
@NeilNjae if at some stage you could put an introductory post there with blurb or whatever that would be great.
Comments
I've just noticed that Vita Nostra is about 400 pages. That's long for a monthly read.
Do we want to modify the schedule to accommodate this? (Cloud Atlas was 530 pages, for comparison.)
Thoughts anyone?
On the other hand, I'm finding it a real page turner and a quick read! So, sorry I brought this up...
I agree - I just started it today and am finding it entirely compelling. Hard to stop... I'm currently a third of the way through...
So let's make a decision together... should we
a) keep to the original plan and have September: Vita Nostra, October: A Stranger in Olondria, November: Binti
or
b) change to September+October: Vita Nostra, November: Binti, December : A Stranger in Olondria
?
Having now finished Vita Nostra my vote would be (a) as it is interesting and provocative, but maybe not a hugely long read?
Anyone else?
We could keep Vita in Sept, move Binti to Nov and Stangers to dec, then insert something short and spooky into Oct?
BTW, I'm finding Vita more intriguing now. Initially I kept trying to compare it to Harry Potter because of how it's reviewed, but I've begun to realize it's more Kafka/Hesse. I'm 75% done. There's still a lot about it that doesn't add up, but maybe it will by the end?
It turns out that it's part one of a trilogy, which I didn't know when I recommended it. But the Harry Potter comparison is definitely one to talk about when we get to that.
I'm planning to post some questions about Vita Nostra over the weekend. Does that suit everyone?
Fine by me too
And some questions are up. Have fun!
Well, it's been a great couple of months with Cloud Atlas and then Vita Nostra - both of which generated a lot of chatter. Plus of course the ongoing slow read through The Gradual.
This month I have chosen A Stranger in Olondria and in November we have @clash_bowley 's selection of the Binti trilogy. The categories for both of these are already in place.
@Apocryphal are you OK for a December choice?
And @BarnerCobblewood how about January?
Also @Michael_S_Miller if at any stage you want to lead a monthly read just let us know...
I'm good with December, unless someone else happens to prefer it (because that's when they have free time).
My apologies to Neil and Barner - I completely forgot about Cloud Atlas until too late, tried to read it, and missed reading Vita Nostra while scrambling to get half of Cloud Atlas read - I just gave up at that point! I should have time for Olondria!
Hi @RichardAbbott would be happy to do so, but can't commit a 100%. Not sure what my situation is right after the holidays is yet. Kindly follow up with me in late November? Thanks, BC
No problem
Hi all,
this coming weekend is the last weekend in October (and coincidentally the last weekend of most UK autumn half term holidays). Would people like a bit more time to finish A Stranger in Olondria or shall I post some discussion starters this weekend?
This is also a quick reminder that people might want to set up notifications in that discussion thread!
An extra week wouldn't go wrong with me.
However, I’ve read Stranger before. I’ll try to catch up… refresh my memory.
Let's go for another week then: I'll post discussion starters on the w/e 5/6/7 November
Yes
AOK!
Discussion starters are now posted in the appropriate monthly category!