Help us choose a book as the December 2016 eBook for the MobileRead Book Club. The poll will be open for 5 days. There will be no runoff vote unless the voting results a tie, in which case there will be a 3 day run-off poll. This is a visible poll: others can see how you voted. It is http://wtsharpe.com/Pictures/Multiple-Choice_C3.gif You may cast a vote for each book that appeals to you.
We will start the discussion thread for this book on December 20th. Select from the following Official Choices with three nominations each:
• Silverlock by John Myers Myers Goodreads Print Length: 360 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:
In this richly picaresque story of a modern man's fruitful adventurings in legendary realms of gold, John Myers Myers has presented a glowing tapestry of real excitement and meaning. In essence, this is the tale of Silverlock's wanderings in the Commonwealth, the land of immortal heroes real and imagined, in search of his true destiny. In form, it is sheer headlong narrative, with occasional clangorous verses woven into its fabric. In content, it is something between a many-peopled, incident-studded story of high emprise, and a morality for our time. Always it is fresh and bold in concept, superb in its execution . . . How A. Clarence Shandon came to the Commonwealth, exchanging his everyday name and Chicago-bound life for that of a traveler beyond time; what great ones of old legend and modern story he encountered, and to what purpose; what loves he knew and what fights he fought; what trials befell him in the Pit, and what truth he discovered when at last he won to the Hippocrene Spring -- these are matters of such crowding variety and implicit significance as the reader must discover for himself . . . And in the discovering, the literate reader will have a wonderful time. He will be amused by the wicked wit that illumines the vast panorama, and intrigued by the challenge it offers his own learning. Most of all, he will be impressed by its profound knowledge, of our cultural heritage, and stirred by its vital interpretations.
Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse—Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena—Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.
The Handmaid's Tale is not only a radical and brilliant departure for Margaret Atwood, it is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States, now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men of its population.
The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment's calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions. The Handmaid's Tale is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force. It is Margaret Atwood at her best.
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness Goodreads | Print Length: 224 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:
At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd-- whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself-- Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.
From Amazon:
The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do. But it isn’t the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming... The monster in his back garden, though, this monster is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. Costa Award winner Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final idea of much-loved Carnegie Medal winner Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Darkly mischievous and painfully funny, A Monster Calls is an extraordinarily moving novel of coming to terms with loss from two of our finest writers for young adults.
• Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho Goodreads Print Length: 371 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:
In this sparkling debut, magic and mayhem clash with the British elite…
The Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers, one of the most respected organizations throughout all of England, has long been tasked with maintaining magic within His Majesty’s lands. But lately, the once proper institute has fallen into disgrace, naming an altogether unsuitable gentleman—a freed slave who doesn’t even have a familiar—as their Sorcerer Royal, and allowing England’s once profuse stores of magic to slowly bleed dry. At least they haven’t stooped so low as to allow women to practice what is obviously a man’s profession…
At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers and eminently proficient magician, ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up. But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…
Kate Archer left home years ago, swearing that she would die before she returned to Maine. As plans go, it was a pretty good one — simple and straightforward.
Not quite fast enough, though.
Before she can quite manage the dying part, Kate gets notice that her grandmother is missing, leaving the carousel that is the family business untended.
And in Archers Beach, that means ‘way more trouble than just a foreclosure.
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
From Goodreads:
Carousel Tides pulls you into the chill foggy reality of peeling-paint sand-grit coastal Maine outside of tourist season and then hands you something else -- the hidden world lurking in shadows or under the land's surface or just offshore, where black dogs hunt the night and selkies toss unpleasant truths over their shoulders before diving into the next wave. In the center of this, Kate Archer tends and guards one of the spookiest carousels this side of Ray Bradbury and wonders what has happened to her grandmother. The old woman sent her a letter, left papers deeding over the carousel and old house and the Land (meaning much more than property), and vanished, telling the spirits of the land and sea that she expected to be back before the turning of the year.
Now March has come and gone and Kate must return from self-exile to take up powers and responsibilities she has renounced, or dying will be the least of her problems . . .
Sharon Lee weaves fantasy into reality so deftly that you scarcely notice when you slip across the edge. And once you're there, the story's own magic won't let you turn back from the strong characters, deep mysteries, and even deeper danger.
--James A. Hetley, author of Dragon's Eye, Dragon's Teeth, and Dragon's Bones.
The vampires had been living in London since the time of Elizabeth I, but now they were being ruthlessly murdered by someone who ripped their coffins open for the light of day to burn them to ashes. No vampire could endure the daylight to destroy the murderer. They had to turn to a mortal human for aid.
Thus it was that Professor James Asher, one-time spy, returned home to find his young wife in a strange coma and Simon Ysidro, oldest of the London vampires, waiting for him. Ysidro, although polite, left no doubt of his power to locate his spell on the young woman, wherever she might flee. Asher must agree to find the destroyer of the vampires for them.
But if he found the killer, what must happen to them? What would inevitably be the fate of any mortal human who learned the identities and locations of the vampires? The answer was all too obvious. Whether he succeeded or failed, it seemed that Professor James Asher was doomed!
Claire, the Devil’s assistant, knows very little about the world she was dropped into five years ago, when she inherited her mother’s unpaid debt to the Demon King. She certainly didn’t expect to be a contender for the Fallen Queen’s throne, a target for the Druid King’s mafia, or a suspect in the murder of Junior, the Devil’s oldest hell spawn.
In a last ditch effort to save her life and get out of her deal with the Devil, she sets out to solve Junior’s murder only to be taken prisoner by the four most dangerous immortal hell spawn alive.
Not to be out done, the Pagan Queen Mab, claims Claire for entering her realm uninvited. She has an old debt to settle with her brother the Devil. Taking Claire from him after losing her years ago is just icing on the cake.
Will Claire win her freedom, and save herself from the Devil? Or be trapped by Mab forever?
• The Bees by Laline Paull Goodreads Print Length: 352 pages
Spoiler:
From Goodreads:
Flora 717 is a sanitation worker, a member of the lowest caste in her orchard hive where work and sacrifice are the highest virtues and worship of the beloved Queen the only religion. But Flora is not like other bees. With circumstances threatening the hive’s survival, her curiosity is regarded as a dangerous flaw but her courage and strength are an asset. She is allowed to feed the newborns in the royal nursery and then to become a forager, flying alone and free to collect pollen. She also finds her way into the Queen’s inner sanctum, where she discovers mysteries about the hive that are both profound and ominous.
But when Flora breaks the most sacred law of all—daring to challenge the Queen’s fertility—enemies abound, from the fearsome fertility police who enforce the strict social hierarchy to the high priestesses jealously wedded to power. Her deepest instincts to serve and sacrifice are now overshadowed by an even deeper desire, a fierce maternal love that will bring her into conflict with her conscience, her heart, her society—and lead her to unthinkable deeds.
Thrilling, suspenseful and spectacularly imaginative, The Bees gives us a dazzling young heroine and will change forever the way you look at the world outside your window.
JSWolf
11-28-2016 02:36 PM
OK, I've voted.
issybird
11-30-2016 10:24 PM
Bumping as there's a little over a day left to vote.
CRussel
12-01-2016 01:25 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
(Post 3435958)
Bumping as there's a little over a day left to vote.
Thanks for the reminder. I need to get to an actual computer, since I can't vote from tapatalk. :(
WT Sharpe
12-01-2016 07:47 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel
(Post 3436010)
Thanks for the reminder. I need to get to an actual computer, since I can't vote from tapatalk. :(
Can't you go web view and vote in Tapatalk?
JSWolf
12-01-2016 08:11 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe
(Post 3436165)
Can't you go web view and vote in Tapatalk?
Given that Tapatalk runs on a smartphone or tablet, the web browser can be used to vote.
CRussel
12-01-2016 10:13 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe
(Post 3436165)
Can't you go web view and vote in Tapatalk?
Yes. Just annoying and I don't do it, normally.
JSWolf
12-01-2016 12:33 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel
(Post 3436227)
Yes. Just annoying and I don't do it, normally.
We need your vote for The Lightning Thief so it can be tied with that depressing book. I've read that depressing book and it's a very poor fit for December.
CRussel
12-01-2016 01:43 PM
Well, see, I've already started reading The Handmaiden's Tale, and while I can't say I find it captivating, I'm starting to get into it. As for the Rick Riordan, it might get my vote, but I haven't decided yet.
What I'm really sorry to see is that folks aren't giving Carousel Tides a try. It's really a good book, and I think folks would quite enjoy it.
JSWolf
12-01-2016 02:07 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel
(Post 3436317)
Well, see, I've already started reading The Handmaiden's Tale, and while I can't say I find it captivating, I'm starting to get into it. As for the Rick Riordan, it might get my vote, but I haven't decided yet.
What I'm really sorry to see is that folks aren't giving Carousel Tides a try. It's really a good book, and I think folks would quite enjoy it.
Problem is that it is December and I would have to buy this. I voted for the books that interest me that I can get from Overdrive.
Dazrin
12-01-2016 02:29 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel
(Post 3436317)
What I'm really sorry to see is that folks aren't giving Carousel Tides a try. It's really a good book, and I think folks would quite enjoy it.
It looked good but I can't get it from my library. :(
Of the leaders, we have a "near future" dystopian book where the fantasy is in the premise not the genre and a middle grade children's book I have already read (it wasn't bad, but not really good either). Neither are interesting to me.
Hopefully something else catches up. I was hopeful last night when it was a 3-way tie with these two and Those Who Hunt the Night.
spindlegirl
12-01-2016 04:46 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
(Post 3436275)
We need your vote for The Lightning Thief so it can be tied with that depressing book. I've read that depressing book and it's a very poor fit for December.
In spite of being an Atwood fan, and in spite of the fact I own both the ebook and the dead tree book, I didn't vote for it. I wasn't up for a re-read
JSWolf
12-01-2016 04:48 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by spindlegirl
(Post 3436407)
In spite of being an Atwood fan, and in spite of the fact I own both the ebook and the dead tree book, I didn't vote for it. I wasn't up for a re-read
I did like the Atwood book. But I don't think it's a good book for December.
spindlegirl
12-01-2016 04:58 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
(Post 3436409)
I did like the Atwood book. But I don't think it's a good book for December.
Me too. I like the book. I just wanted to read something new. And the other book (The lightning thief) was only 8 dollars canadian.
issybird
12-01-2016 05:00 PM
I read Handmaid's Tale when it came out, so decades later, I figure it can stand a re-read. I have zero interest in reading YA for a book club discussion. I've said so before. :D According to the publisher, it's at a fourth grade reading level. Give me a break, honestly. I like kidlit when it comes with a kid. Not for a group of adults.
When I sussed the field, there were two yeses and four nos; I went the extra mile to read a few pages of the maybes before I made up my mind. Of the three, I found Those Who Haunt the Night to be quite readable and intriguing AND I could get it from OverDrive. I found things of sufficient irritation in the other two that I decided to give them a miss.
JSWolf
12-01-2016 05:15 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
(Post 3436415)
I read Handmaid's Tale when it came out, so decades later, I figure it can stand a re-read. I have zero interest in reading YA for a book club discussion. I've said so before. :D According to the publisher, it's at a fourth grade reading level. Give me a break, honestly. I like kidlit when it comes with a kid. Not for a group of adults.
I've read The Handmaid's Tale and I would rather read something more upbeat.
I've read some good YA books and I'm not bothered to read more. Besides, I think he term You cannot be a YA. You are not a young adult. You are an adult or not.
issybird
12-01-2016 05:28 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
(Post 3436422)
I've read The Handmaid's Tale and I would rather read something more upbeat.
I've read some good YA books and I'm not bothered to read more. Besides, I think he term You cannot be a YA. You are not a young adult. You are an adult or not.
Well, I agree that someone in the fourth grade isn't a young adult; he's a kid. I really do like children's literature; I just don't think it makes for a good discussion. Next up, we'll be talking about whether Junie B. was justified in being scared of the school bus. :p
I do take your point about Handmaid's Tale.
CRussel
12-01-2016 07:26 PM
The Riordan book is just aimed too young for me. So I passed. I am reading The Handmaid's Tale, but suspect from the comments that I may not finish it. So far, it's not going where I want to go, though it is starting to pull me in. I voted, but doubt any of my choices will make the cut, even for a runoff.
Yes, I know Sharon Lee's book is not available at the library. I think that's unfortunate, but the book is only $6.99, and IS eligible for any Kobo coupons you might have. And it's not dark.
Dazrin
12-01-2016 07:27 PM
Since several people have already read it, is there a fantasy element* to Handmaid's Tale? All of the blurbs and reviews I have read are clear on dystopian (which is normally science fiction, not fantasy) but I don't see "fantasy" in any of them. Just imagining what the future could be like under an extreme fundamentalist "totalitarian theocracy" doesn't make it a fantasy novel. Unless there is something, it seems like this doesn't really meet the topic for this month.
Even Atwood's comments seem to say they are science fiction (under the speculative fiction umbrella) and not fantasy.
Quote:
I have written two works of science fiction or, if you prefer, speculative fiction: The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake.
*Magic, supernatural events, elves, fairies, or just the "unexplainable and mysterious".
JSWolf
12-01-2016 09:04 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel
(Post 3436509)
Yes, I know Sharon Lee's book is not available at the library. I think that's unfortunate, but the book is only $6.99, and IS eligible for any Kobo coupons you might have. And it's not dark.
Nominate this book next time it is appropriate and I will give it a nod and if it makes it, a vote.
JSWolf
12-01-2016 09:09 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dazrin
(Post 3436510)
Since several people have already read it, is there a fantasy element* to Handmaid's Tale? All of the blurbs and reviews I have read are clear on dystopian (which is normally science fiction, not fantasy) but I don't see "fantasy" in any of them. Just imagining what the future could be like under an extreme fundamentalist "totalitarian theocracy" doesn't make it a fantasy novel. Unless there is something, it seems like this doesn't really meet the topic for this month.
Even Atwood's comments seem to say they are science fiction (under the speculative fiction umbrella) and not fantasy.
*Magic, supernatural events, elves, fairies, or just the "unexplainable and mysterious".
Yes, you are correct. It's not fantasy. It's not something I thought of at the time. I think it should be disqualified.
Dazrin
12-02-2016 12:37 AM
27 minutes to go is anyone going to help us get a Fantasy book for the Fantasy month?
Only time will tell...
WT Sharpe
12-02-2016 07:53 AM
Well, the poll is over and The Handmaid's Tale won, despite not being a fantasy tale in the ordinary sense. I never read the book, but I saw the movie and it's not something I was in the mood to visit as a book, but oh, well.
WT Sharpe
12-02-2016 08:03 AM
My library's only e-copy is loaned out, but fortunately the Kindle price is only $2.99, and Audible narration c an be added for only $3.99 more.
issybird
12-02-2016 10:02 AM
I always thought I'd re-read this someday; the day has come, apparently.
I wonder if I'll find it as compelling as I did 30 years ago? Dystopias litter the landscape now.
JSWolf
12-02-2016 10:11 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
(Post 3436802)
I always thought I'd re-read this someday; the day has come, apparently.
I wonder if I'll find it as compelling as I did 30 years ago? Dystopias litter the landscape now.
It is a good book. But it's not one I want to reread.
issybird
12-02-2016 11:43 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
(Post 3436807)
It is a good book. But it's not one I want to reread.
I almost never want to reread; I missed out on two discussions this year because I didn't feel like rereading, but couldn't remember them well enough to discuss.
JSWolf
12-02-2016 03:18 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
(Post 3436846)
I almost never want to reread; I missed out on two discussions this year because I didn't feel like rereading, but couldn't remember them well enough to discuss.
I find that sometimes when you do reread, the book comes back to you. So maybe you won't have to reread completely.
I'm going to try to find this as an audiobook. I already have the eBook. I don't remember it well enough to discuss.
CRussel
12-02-2016 04:13 PM
There definitely is an audiobook version. It's even whispersync'd. Read by Claire Danes. I think I'm going to read it as an audiobook as well. Though I have 34 hours of David Weber to finish first.
JSWolf
12-02-2016 04:28 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel
(Post 3436984)
There definitely is an audiobook version. It's even whispersync'd. Read by Claire Danes. I think I'm going to read it as an audiobook as well. Though I have 34 hours of David Weber to finish first.
Yes, it is an audiobook but none of the libraries I use have it as an audiobook. Also, Hoopla does not have it. So I'm not sure if I will reread. But I can make one comment now.
It should not be the book for December as it is not fantasy.
WT Sharpe
12-02-2016 09:54 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
(Post 3436996)
Yes, it is an audiobook but none of the libraries I use have it as an audiobook. Also, Hoopla does not have it. So I'm not sure if I will reread. But I can make one comment now.
It should not be the book for December as it is not fantasy.
But at least it starts off sounding like a holiday tale.
Quote:
Chapter 2
A chair, a table, a lamp. Above, on the white ceiling, a relief ornament in the shape of a wreath....
:D
Nyssa
12-08-2016 11:36 PM
I've completed the book and am looking forward to the discussion.
WT Sharpe
12-09-2016 10:12 AM
Me, too!
CRussel
12-09-2016 01:11 PM
Not yet. Got started in the eBook, but decided I'd prefer to listen to it. And I'm still slogging my way through Weber's At the Sign of Triumph. But I hope to get some concentrated listening time with a couple of trips next week.
issybird
12-09-2016 01:40 PM
I've got the audiobook cued up next, after I finish Wodehouse's Piccadilly Jim (which is delightful).
CRussel
12-09-2016 03:22 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
(Post 3440421)
I've got the audiobook cued up next, after I finish Wodehouse's Piccadilly Jim (which is delightful).
Well, of course it is. It's Wodehouse! (Who's the reader?)
issybird
12-09-2016 03:40 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel
(Post 3440482)
Well, of course it is. It's Wodehouse! (Who's the reader?)
My favorite Wodehouse reader of them all, Frederick Davidson.* :D But even the gods stumble occasionally; the New York restaurant is Del-MON-ico's, not Delmon-EE-co's. :wince: Still, his lifetime mispronunciation index is minuscule, mandatory for godly status.
*He's always Frederick Davidson to me, just as Wanda McCaddon is always Nadia May, real names be danged.
CRussel
12-09-2016 06:35 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
(Post 3440493)
My favorite Wodehouse reader of them all, Frederick Davidson.* :D But even the gods stumble occasionally; the New York restaurant is Del-MON-ico's, not Delmon-EE-co's. :wince: Still, his lifetime mispronunciation index is minuscule, mandatory for godly status.
*He's always Frederick Davidson to me, just as Wanda McCaddon is always Nadia May, real names be danged.
Agree completely about "real names" here. Though for me, Ms. McCaddon is and always will be Donada Peters. ;) And David Case is actually David Case, since that's what I first heard him as.
As for Delmonico's -- the only way I ever heard it in NYC was Del-MON-ico's. Not to say that's correct, but that's what New Yorkers appear to use. (Note: New Yorkers are no better at pronouncing names than any other jurisdiction. You should hear some of the things San Francisco natives do to proper place names. And I grew up in a town where there was a "GO-thee" street!)
issybird
12-09-2016 07:11 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel
(Post 3440574)
As for Delmonico's -- the only way I ever heard it in NYC was Del-MON-ico's. Not to say that's correct, but that's what New Yorkers appear to use. (Note: New Yorkers are no better at pronouncing names than any other jurisdiction. You should hear some of the things San Francisco natives do to proper place names. And I grew up in a town where there was a "GO-thee" street!)
The "when in Rome" rule always applies. You've got to say names the way the locals do. So New Yorkers are absolutely the authority when it comes to pronouncing local institutions, such as House-ton St. And ditto for San Franciscans. (I'm a native New Yorker who lived for several years in the Bay Area.)
OK, Go-thee makes me titter. In turn, I'll offer up one from the nearby State of Maine. Calais. You think you know how to say it?
Spoiler:
Callous.
CRussel
12-10-2016 12:38 AM
You should see what they did to Cadieux street. ;)