Missed the nominations this month, so here are my thoughts while sifting through the candidates:
- Cloud Atlas: already in my TBR pile, so yeah, will probably vote for it
- Ubik: Not a fan of psyhic stories unless the setting is a purely fantasy universe: wizards, magic, etc. Telepathy, telekinesis, they're too anti-scientific. I can imagine humans evolving a mild empathic ability based on chemical excretion & reception -- we have pheremones already -- but that's it. I'll tolerate telepathy in a science fiction story if the story is otherwise exemplary. Justin Cronin's "The Passage" is a recent one.
- Beggars in Spain: Those who require no sleep are outcasts. Isn't sleeplessness a trait one can easily hide? Today, some people need only four hours of sleep. Surely a sleepless person can pretend they sleep 4 hours/night. Especially easy if you live alone or with only your spouse & family (who are in on the secret).
- The Quantum Thief: "mind burglar", "steal their thoughts". Blech. However, very well rated and a nominee for a Locus Award. Probably worth reading despite those aspects.
- Day of the Triffids: One of those titles that I feel I ought to read but probably never will. As the description says, better to approach this one as fantasy rather than science fiction.
- Deathworld: more psionics. *sigh* On the other hand, I'll give almost any Hugo Award nominee a try.
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Dick's short stories have made great films but not always the greatest reading. Last one I read was The Minority Report. Not bad, but I liked the movie better.
- Summer of Love, A Time Travel: Looks like a fun mix of cultural anthro and sci-fi/fantasy. (I don't claim to be consistent in my tastes.)
- Armageddon 2419 AD: Suggests the pulp quality of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "John Carter" series, which I couldn't read past volume three or four. Silly escapism and flat secondary characters would be my guess. So many books, so little time.
- Metropolis: Sheesh, I didn't realize this existed! I'll probably pair a reading/viewing regardless of the poll's outcome, since an extended, restored edition of the film was recently made available.
I was just riffing there, so please don't take offense if I dissed your favorite book based on next to no information.