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What FICTION book would you like to read in August through October?

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 4:43 pm
by Chris OConnor
What FICTION book would you like to read in August through October?

Please suggest fiction books that you think would be fun to read and discuss as a community during the 90 day period of August, September and October 2018. Only post in here if you have 10 or more posts on the BookTalk.org forums AND actually plan to participate in the fiction book discussion. This thread is not an opportunity for authors to promote their own books. We are looking for a book to read and talk about as a group.

So what should we read!? :bananadance:

Re: What FICTION book would you like to read in August through October?

Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 4:25 pm
by Old Reb
Actually I have a doubleheader for you. First, "The Power Of One", second "Tandia" both by Bryce Courtenay. "Tandia" is the sequel to #1. Both books are set in South Africa in late 1930's through late 1950's.

"The Power Of One" is in my top 20 list of the best books I've ever read - "Tandia" even better!

Give them a try.

Re: What FICTION book would you like to read in August through October?

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 10:38 am
by LanDroid
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is # 3 on Amazon and the video series is all the rage on Hulu. I haven't seen it and don't know much about it, but sounds interesting.
From the Inside Flap:
In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies? Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now....
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, "The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.

Re: What FICTION book would you like to read in August through October?

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 10:45 am
by Chris OConnor
A good friend was just telling me about the series for The Handmaid's Tale and I've been wanting to check it out. Unfortunately, I don't currently pay for a Hulu subscription and that seems to be my only option for watching it. I used to pay for the commercial-free subscription back when I was binge-watching Lost.

I like this book suggestion, LanDroid. :appl:

Re: What FICTION book would you like to read in August through October?

Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:12 pm
by Cattleman
I read "The Handmaid's Tale" more years ago than I care to remember; it was an excellent book, and would make a good choice. Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate (I am moving again), but still recomment it.

Re: What FICTION book would you like to read in August through October?

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 11:22 pm
by Cattleman
As an alternative to "Handmaid's Tale," I would suggest "The Travelling Cat Chronicles" by Hiro Arikawa (translated by Philip Gabriel). I am about half way through it, and finding it charming. The narrator is naturally, a cat, and the book also gives some insight into Japanese culture.

Re: What FICTION book would you like to read in August through October?

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:02 am
by Robert Tulip
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four, often published as 1984, is a dystopian novel published in 1949 by English author George Orwell.[2][3] The novel is set in the year 1984 when most of the world population have become victims of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance and public manipulation.

In the novel, Great Britain ("Airstrip One") has become a province of a superstate named Oceania. Oceania is ruled by the "Party", who employ the "Thought Police" to persecute individualism and independent thinking.[4] The Party's leader is Big Brother, who enjoys an intense cult of personality but may not even exist. The protagonist of the novel, Winston Smith, is a rank-and-file Party member. Smith is an outwardly diligent and skillful worker, but he secretly hates the Party and dreams of rebellion against Big Brother. Smith rebels by entering a forbidden relationship with fellow employee Julia.

As literary political fiction and dystopian science-fiction, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a classic novel in content, plot, and style. Many of its terms and concepts, such as Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime, Newspeak, Room 101, telescreen, 2 + 2 = 5, and memory hole, have entered into common usage since its publication in 1949. Nineteen Eighty-Four popularised the adjective Orwellian, which describes official deception, secret surveillance, brazenly misleading terminology, and manipulation of recorded history by a totalitarian or authoritarian state. In 2005, the novel was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.[5] It was awarded a place on both lists of Modern Library 100 Best Novels, reaching number 13 on the editor's list, and 6 on the readers' list.[6] In 2003, the novel was listed at number 8 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.[7]

Re: What FICTION book would you like to read in August through October?

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 5:53 am
by Robert Tulip