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Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion

Assist us in selecting our upcoming FICTION book for group discussion in this forum. A minimum of 5 posts is required to participate here!
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Suzanne

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Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion

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Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion.

Members with 25 or more posts are eligible and encouraged to make recommendations for our next fiction discussion. Please add a link to the novel you are suggesting. Please do not make any suggestions unless you intend to participate in the May/June fiction discussion.

All members of BookTalk.org can review the details of each novel and post comments about favorites. The novels with the most positive feedback will be placed in a poll where all members of BookTalk.org are eligible to vote.
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Re: Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion

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The Kindle version of this book was on sale the other day for a few bucks, so I picked it up. It's very long, but I figured I'd throw it out there in case there's enough interest.

Neal Stephenson, Anathem
http://www.amazon.com/Anathem-Neal-Step ... 682&sr=8-2
In this follow-up to his historical Baroque Cycle trilogy, which fictionalized the early-18th century scientific revolution, Stephenson (Cryptonomicon) conjures a far-future Earth-like planet, Arbre, where scientists, philosophers and mathematicians—a religious order unto themselves—have been cloistered behind concent (convent) walls. Their role is to nurture all knowledge while safeguarding it from the vagaries of the irrational saecular outside world. Among the monastic scholars is 19-year-old Raz, collected into the concent at age eight and now a decenarian, or tenner (someone allowed contact with the world beyond the stronghold walls only once a decade). But millennia-old rules are cataclysmically shattered when extraterrestrial catastrophe looms, and Raz and his teenage companions—engaging in intense intellectual debate one moment, wrestling like rambunctious adolescents the next—are summoned to save the world. Stephenson's expansive storytelling echoes Walter Miller's classic A Canticle for Leibowitz, the space operas of Larry Niven and the cultural meditations Douglas Hofstadter—a heady mix of antecedents that makes for long stretches of dazzling entertainment occasionally interrupted by pages of numbing colloquy.
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Suzanne

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Re: Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion

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I have the three Baroque cycle novels but have not read them yet. I don't know if this follow up would ruin the first three for me. I do like the suggestion and would like to see a novel from this genre selected. "Cryptonomicon" is supposed to be good too. If we select a particularly long novel we can extend the discussion to include July.
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Re: Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion

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Suzanne wrote:I have the three Baroque cycle novels but have not read them yet. I don't know if this follow up would ruin the first three for me. I do like the suggestion and would like to see a novel from this genre selected. "Cryptonomicon" is supposed to be good too. If we select a particularly long novel we can extend the discussion to include July.
As far as I can tell, it is unrelated to the Baroque novels. I've never read any of his works before, but am planning to one of these days.
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Suzanne

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Re: Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion

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I did a bit of digging and from what I read "Anathem" is considered a stand alone book. It has received good reviews and from Stephenson fans it is right up there with " Snow Crash" and "Cryptonomicon" as a favorite.

I do like this suggestion and would be interested in reading it. It is lengthy, 900 + pages lengthy. A third month would have to be added.
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Re: Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion

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All of Stephenson's later novels are quite lengthy, but worthwhile. I loved Cryptonomicon, and have Anathem checked out from the library right now! I know I'm not allowed to post suggestions myself yet, but I heartily approve this recommendation would love to participate in the discussion if it's selected.
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Suzanne

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Re: Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion

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We have one suggestion for our next fiction discussion. Would anyone else like to make a suggestion? Also, does anyone have any comments about "Anathem"?

I have noticed a great interest in science fiction/fantasy/utopian gengres of fiction for some time with members of BookTalk. "Anathem" would be considered sci fi and it may make for a very stimulating discussion. It would be helpful to know who would be interested in reading a book of this type.

So for those who do intend to participate in our next group fiction discussion starting in May, please take a look at the suggested novel "Anathem" make comments if you care to and please feel free to make suggestions of your own.
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Re: Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion

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Some ideas in the SF/Fantasy genre -- there are lots of these kinds of lists, of course, I just came across these. Anyone else want to make some suggestions? I don't want to monopolize it, and I don't even read a lot of fiction, but I could throw out a few ideas that I got from these lists.

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843 ... mmentBlock
http://thisrecording.com/today/2010/1/1 ... -or-f.html

"Anathem" made it onto the NPR reader/listener poll from last year.
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Suzanne

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Re: Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion

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Due to the lack of interest the next group fiction discussion will be postponed until June. We will start the suggestion process for the June/July discussion very early in May to allow time for all members to participate. This suggestion phase will not have any post requirements therefore all members of BookTalk.org are eligible to nominate favorite novels. The goal of our group discussions is to provide members with quality conversations about the chosen novel and this cannot be accomplished without an interest in the suggestion phase. It is my hope that the next novel nomination process will generate participation and produce a successful group fiction discussion for June and July. :)
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Re: Suggestions needed for May/June fiction discussion

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A new suggestion thread will be created shortly. This one is being locked.
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