New Leaf Nominations for October 2018 • Out of This World: Otherwhence

[gmw]

I nominate: Stargazing by Peter Hill.

Amazon US - USD$9.52 ??? | Amazon UK - £6.17 | Amazon AU - AUD$12.99 | Kobo UK - £6.83 | Kobo AU AUD$12.99

From Goodreads:

In this sublime reminiscence of the pleasures of solitude, the wonders of the sea, and the odd courses life takes, Peter Hill writes, "In 1973 I worked as a lighthouse keeper on three islands off the west coast of Scotland. Before taking the job I didn't really think through what a lighthouse keeper actually did. I was attracted by the romantic notion of sitting on a rock, writing haikus and dashing off the occasional watercolor. The light itself didn't seem important: it might have been some weird coastal decoration, like candles on a Christmas tree, intended to bring cheer to those living in the more remote parts of the country."

Hill learned quickly, though, of the centuries-old mechanics of the lighthouse, of the life-and-death necessity of its luminescence to seafarers, and of the great and unlikely friendships formed out of routine. With his head filled with Hendrix, Kerouac, and the war in Vietnam, Hill shared cups of tea and close quarters with salty lighthouse keepers of an entirely different generation. The stories they told and idiosyncrasies they exhibited came to define a summer Hill has memorialized with great wit and a disarmingly affectionate style.

I stretch the theme to include this on the basis that the act of stargazing is inherently otherworldly, and because the life of a lighthouse keeper seems so far out from the ordinary as to be (almost) out of this world ... and, come to think of it, 1973 seems pretty far out of this world now too. (And, besides which, it's something altogether different which is a good thing, I think.)

It's 276 pages in my hardcover, but kobo says its only 76k words. It's certainly not a hard or arduous read. Finding this on US or Canadian sites seems to be a challenge - but it's a good read if you can find it.

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by gmw

I nominate: Against the Fall of Night by Arthur C. Clarke.

Amazon US - USD$7.75 | Amazon CA - CDN$7.99 | Amazon AU - AUD$10.55 | Kobo US - USD$8.09 | Kobo CA - CAD$8.69 | Kobo AU AUD$10.88

From Goodreads:


It's short, barely more than a novella (120 pages in my hardback). I strongly recommend avoiding the rather horrible sequel: Beyond the Fall of Night, written with Gregory Benford many years later. The two are often sold together, but even if you get Beyond the Fall of Night for free I suggest skipping it.

This is early Clarke and some criticise it for that early earnestness, but I like it better than some of his later work for many of the reasons others don't like it. There is much in here that Clarke doesn't try to explain; it's more human and less scientific than Clarke eventually becomes.

I recommend you check out your library options: this book is old and short, no one should be charging $10+ for this! (But some are.) Why I cannot find this on the UK sites is a mystery to me - I mean this is Arthur C. Clarke for crying out loud!

Perhaps people prefer the re-write of the novel Clarke did in 1956. It's called The City And The Stars. Same story, rewritten, with some minor changes.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Perhaps people prefer the re-write of the novel Clarke did in 1956. It's called The City And The Stars. Same story, rewritten, with some minor changes.

Yes, I supposed I should have mentioned that that existed, but I prefer first version.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Anyone up for a long book and not read 1Q84? Very good book but also very long (~1100 pages.)

If there isn't good interest I don't want to nominate it given the length.

I have another author I will probably nominate something from later.

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

I suspect the length would be rather daunting. I thought at first I hadn't read anything by Murakami, but then realised I had read After the Quake and didn't really enjoy it. So I'm rather ambivalent.

I also didn't much care for After the Quake when the Lit Club read it, but I suspect that wasn't the best Murakami to serve as one's introduction to him. I agree about the length of 1Q84.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Anyone up for a long book and not read 1Q84? Very good book but also very long (~1100 pages.)

If there isn't good interest I don't want to nominate it given the length.

I have another author I will probably nominate something from later.

Murakami is someone I want to try ... but probably not 1100 pages worth on my first visit.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by CRussel

@Catlady: It's all about finding a book that you DO want to read that can be construed to fit the category. The range is fairly large, and that's without pushing too hard.

I can't think of anything I especially want to read that fits the category. I was hoping to get an idea from the initial nominations, but that's not happening.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I can't think of anything I especially want to read that fits the category. I was hoping to get an idea from the initial nominations, but that's not happening.

Depending on how narrowly you're willing to define "this world," you could have a lot of latitude. New Jersey?

I'm still thinking. There's the usual issue of price/availability when I think I've come up with something that would be just the thing. My thoughts are trending toward travel, perhaps imaginary cities, or the mildly fantastical. I'm not a fan of sci-fi or flat-out fantasy.

[gmw]

I think it does (or should?) matter what sort of sci-fi. Sort of like me saying I don't read romance: I don't usually, but I do make some exceptions.

One of the books I had wanted to nominate was Legacy of Heorot by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes. (I didn't because it seemed even more inconsistent in its availability than the books I ended up nominating.) This is sci-fi but it's more action/adventure than anything else. That still might not be your thing, but sci-fi pulls in a fairly wide range of stories.

[Catlady]

So ... does mental illness or amnesia fit the category?

[CRussel]

Certainly it does if you say it does. That's the whole idea of themes -- twist it, turn it, make it work for you! It doesn't mean your choice will necessarily get selected, but it's about discovery. Both your own, and everyone else's. What you discover might well be something I want to read, and vice-versa. Regardless of what book is ultimately selected. As we've discovered, the selected book isn't always the best choice, though obviously a plurality of us think it will be when we vote for it. We can all get fooled.

The more I've thought about this theme, the more I'm thinking of two possible books for it. I'm not sure I am going to nominate either, but I'm going to toss them out here for folks to think about, in the spirit of discovery.

The first is the book I just finished: N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season. $9.99 at Amazon.

Winner of the Hugo for Best Novel in 2016

Spoiler:

This is the way the world ends...for the last time.

A season of endings has begun.

It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun.

It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter.

It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester.

This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I had a horrible time getting into it, but after about 40%, I was hooked. In the end, I couldn't decide how many stars to give it. I completely understand why it won a Hugo, but by the same token, I can't really say I enjoyed it, though I did read it to the end and will read the next (after a break). Usually, when I finish a book, I know what I think about it, but this one has me quite perplexed.

The other book I considered is Ann Leckie's Ancilary Justice. This was also a bit slow to get into, though not as much as The Fifth Season, but in the end was a solid 4 stars for me. I particularly liked the gender bending/gender neutrality of the book, and some of the concepts were quite interesting.

The only novel ever to win the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Awards (2013).

Spoiler:

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.

Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.

Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.

(Also $9.99 at Amazon.)

[Dngrsone]

How about The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Clair North? It's cheap(er), at $2.99 at Amazon.com

Blurb:

SOME STORIES CANNOT BE TOLD IN JUST ONE LIFETIME.

Harry August is on his deathbed. Again.

No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes.

Until now.

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. "I nearly missed you, Doctor August," she says. "I need to send a message."

This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

How about The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Clair North? It's cheap(er), at $2.99 at Amazon.com

A great book, but it's ineligible since it was in April's vote.

Originally Posted by Catlady

So ... does mental illness or amnesia fit the category?

Sounds ok to me as an out of mind or body experience. I'm thinking of nominating something that would make a good Halloween read since I thought that was the intent of this category being in October.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

A great book, but it's ineligible since it was in April's vote.

I would think that it is eligible, it has been 6 months hasn't it?

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

I would think that it is eligible, it has been 6 months hasn't it?

I interpret the 6 months to be that it becomes eligible next month.

[Catlady]

I'm going to nominate A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay.

WINNER OF THE 2015 BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL

A chilling thriller that brilliantly blends psychological suspense and supernatural horror, reminiscent of Stephen King's The Shining, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, and William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist.

The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia.

To her parents’ despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie’s descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts’ plight. With John, Marjorie’s father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.

Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie’s younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface—and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.

Amazon U.S., $11.49
Amazon Canada, $5.99 CA
Amazon Australia, $5.14 AU
Amazon UK, £4.74

Kobo U.S., $11.49
Kobo Canada, $9.99 CA
Kobo Australia, $8.13 AU
Kobo UK, £4.79

E-book and audiobook at Overdrive and Scribd; audiobook at Hoopla and RB Digital. 320 pp.