book group selection time

[boxofdelights]

This year, my SF book group's fearless leader has chosen the theme of diversity. Jacqie picks six, and lets us vote on the other six. Here's her list:

1. Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho
2. Ninefox Gambit, by Yoon Ha Lee
3. The Traitor Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson
4. Signal to Noise, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
5. Shadowshaper, by Daniel José Older
6. The Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins

and the groups we get to choose from:

7. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers
Dark Orbit, by Carolyn Ives Gilman
Planetfall, by Emma Newman, or
Archangel, by Marguerite Reed

8. Wake of Vultures, by Lila Bowen
Vermilion, by Molly Tanzer, or
Orlando, by Virginia Woolf

9. Gene Mapper, by Taiyo Fujii, or
The Three-Body Problem, by Cixin Liu

10. The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Grace of Kings, by Ken Liu, or
The People in the Trees, by Hanya Yanagihara

11. Illuminae, by Amie Kaufman
Uprooted, by Naomi Novik, or
An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir

12. All the Birds in the Sky, by Charlie Jane Anders
Slade House, by David Mitchell
The Cloud Roads, by Martha Wells, or
The Affinites, by Robert Charles Wilson

Isn't that a good list? What would you choose? I'm going to be conflicted between All the Birds in the Sky, which I very much want to read, and The Cloud Roads, which I always want to make more people read.

Comments

[sasha_feather]

Diversity should be the theme every year!

[wild_irises]

I actually disagree. I think diversity should be woven into the choices every year, but different themes are good.

[boxofdelights]

Yes, it should be one of the criteria, like being in print.

[bibliofile]

I find it weird that your group HAS an actual leader, but that could just be my tiny corner of book club fandom. My two most regular groups were started by fans and run along the same model: hosting rotates, host leads the discussion, but everyone can nominate and vote on what we read next.

Process conversations aside, though, it sounds like you'll all end up reading a bunch of good books. Isn't it great that we're only getting more & more diversity to read? (Long way to go, mind.)

For 8, I've read Vermilion and enjoyed it, but I think Orlando may do more -- with gender, and as fiction.

It's kinda weird that FL put Archangel in with Planetfall. Archangel has a religious-sounding name but is actually about colonization and plundering of a planet's natural resources. Planetfall is actually about religion and faith and its role in society/culture -- and it's a newer faith, developed because of first contact with alien/tech.

The Affinities is about people being sorted/self-sorting, belonging and exclusion, stuff like that. I thought it dealt well with the idea but somewhat at the cost of character development. I'm glad I read it, but basically it's a white middle-class guy writing another white middle-class male protagonist. Give me Charlie Jane Anders' book over that, any day, if it's diversity you want.

(will stop nattering now)

[boxofdelights]

Thank you!

My library book group works like yours. There are many more members than meetings, so everyone gets to nominate one book and we all vote. My Tawanda book group used to work that way, but some people were much more persuasive than others, and the others were unhappy about never getting their picks read, so we switched to a system where that month's host just picks a book.

This book group, my SF book group, is held at a book store. Jacqie used to work at the book store, and running the book group was part of her job. She quit a long time ago, but she liked running the group, so she still does it.

[wild_irises]

Here are my very random choices, often because it's something I personally want to read:

7) Either Long Way to a Small Angry Planet or Archangel, both of which are on my "should get to" list.

8) Orlando, because Woolf.

9) Three-Body Problem because Hugo.

10) Buried Giant, because I've never read Ishiguro (or the others, but I'm very aware of Ishiguro)

11) Uprooted, because a very reading-savvy friend liked it.

12) All the Birds in the Sky, because I'm half done with reading it out loud, and I just heard Charlie read from it on Sunday. But I note your comment about Cloud Roads, and I'm also a fan of David Mitchell.

[boxofdelights]

Thank you!

[were_duck]

This is fun!

Here are my picks:

7. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers - I've heard great things. I have tried each of the others and bounced off them for various reasons.

8. Orlando, by Virginia Woolf - I wish more people would read and discuss this book!

9. Gene Mapper, by Taiyo Fujii -- just because I haven't heard of it and that interests me!

10. The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro - Ishiguro can be a tough read but he's always really good. I have been meaning to finish this one.

11. An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir - Illuminae seemed a bit trendy and I liked Uprooted except for the awful ending. I've heard good things about Tahir

12. All the Birds in the Sky, by Charlie Jane Anders -- So so so much fun!

[boxofdelights]

Thank you!

[jesse_the_k]

I'm delving into Planetfall as you post, and it's intriguing. Initial POV character has massive anxiety and super valuable skills.

Nothing else's to report.

[boxofdelights]

Thank you!

[seascribble]

I love love love The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. everything I want from my sci-fi, really. Poly casual romance interspecies space bisexual ladies! Human/AI love story! Space anthropology! So good.

[boxofdelights]

That sounds so appealing!