Holiday Party Canceled!

Due to the weather conditions, we've called off the holiday party this evening!

Just trying to get the word out as many ways as possible.

Please send your top seven nominations to bigorangemichael at gmail dot com. We'll compile the lists and let you know the winners and schedule.

2011 Nominations

Here they are! Our nominations for 2011.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K.Rowling
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R.Tolkein
Throne of Jade by Naomi Novak
Time Traveler's Never Die by Jack McDevitt
Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hugart
Good Omens by Neal Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
To Ride Pegasus by Anne McCaffrey
Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
Rendevous with Rama by Arthur C.Clarke
Use of Weapons by Ian Banks
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
Time and Again by Jack Finney
The City and the City by China Mievelle
Sam Gunn Omnibus by Ben Bova
Slant by Greg Bear
The Skewed Throne by Joshua Palmatier
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
Little Brother by Cory Doctrow
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
Berserker by Fred Saberhagen

Last updated: December 1, 2011

Nominations Held Over From Last Year

Last year, we had three books that got a lot of response and interest, but in the end we couldn't find a place for them in our reading schedule.

We decided to punt them and strongly consider them for 2011. Those books are:

The City & the City by China Mievelle
Steal Across the Sky by Nancy Kress
Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks

Previous Reads (Updated for 2010)

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe by Douglas Adams
Gateway by Frederick Pohl
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri Tepper
A Canticle for Leibowitz by William Miller
Dragonflight by Ann McCafferty

The Mote in God's Eye by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Star Man's Son by Andre Norton
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Wicked by Gregory Maguire
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
Orphanage by Robert Buettner
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
Farnham’s Freehold by Robert Heinlein
Children of Men by P.D. James
Red Mars by Kim S. Robinson

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
Way Station by Clifford Simak
Dune by Frank Herbert
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clark
Foundation by Isaac Asimov

There will be Dragons by John Ringo
Lucifer’s Hammer by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

Time Slave by John Norman
Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois M. Bujold
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

On the Beach by Nevil Shute
The Truth by Terry Pratchett
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Dorsai by Gordon Dickson
Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Santiago by Mike Resnick

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Someplace to be Flying by Charles De Lint
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber

The Caves of Steel & The Naked Sun by Issac Asimov
Soulless by Gail Carringer
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp
Acacia by David Anthony Durham
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
Hyperion & Fall of Hyperion by Dam Simmons
The Traveler by John Twelve Hawkes

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
Archangel by Sharon Shinn

Nominations Guidelines

It's that time again! Time for nominations. Here's the guidelines.

Here are the guidelines we follow for book nominations:

1. Each person can nominate up to four books--three non-Heinlein books and one classic sci-fi or fantasy novel (classic is defined as published before 1970).

2. Please help ensure that we can find the books by making sure they're easily available and at an affordable cost. (If it's out of print and goes for $50 on Amazon's market place, that may exclude some people or lead to mud wrestling for the book at the circulation desk.).

3. We can have nominations for a theme or a series that go together--provided we aren't required to read the entire Wheel of Time series in a month. For example, last year we did the entire C.S. Lewis Space Trilogy one month and we had nominations of 1984 and Brave New World last year because they're thematically similar.

For new members, each person can nominate up to four books as detailed above. For our December meeting, we get together and put together the list of books for next year. We also slot the books into the calendar for next year.

January was traditionally a month when we read a novel by Heinlein. However, we've opened it up to now be classic sf/fantasy month. Classic is being defined at a novel or work published before 1970. We've opened up the field a bit but if you love Heinlein you can still nominate him here or for one of our other monthly openings.

Similar to last year, I'll be happy to keep up with a spreadsheet of info on the availability of books, whether they're in print and the various editions (hardcover, paperback, etc). We would like to have the nominees finalized BEFORE we have our holiday festivities in December, so I'll ask that all nominees be to on or before the November meeting.

Previous Nominations

1984 & Brave New World	George, Aldous	Orwell, Huxley
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	Jules	Verne
A Brother's Price	Wen	Spencer
A Call to Arms	Alan Dean	Foster
A Clockwork Orange	Anthony	Burgess
A Deepness in the Sky	Vernor	Vinge
Acacia	David Anthony	Durham
Accelerando	Charles	Stross
Any title	Kurt	Vonnegut
Armor	John	Steakley
Babel 17	Samuel	Delany
Berzeker series	Frederick	Saberhagen
Bio of a Space Pirate: Refugee	Piers	Anthony
Bridge of Birds	Barry	Hughart
Child of Fire	Harry	Connolly
Cities in Flight	James	Blish
City and the City	China	Mieville
Complete McAndrews, The	Charles	Sheffield
Conquistador	S.M.	Sterling
Conrad Starguard	Leo	Frankowski
Crystal Singer, The	Anne	McCaffery
Cyteen	C.J.	Cherryh
Darwin's Radio	Greg	Bear
Dawn for a Distant Earth	L.E.	Modesitt
Decision at Doona	Anne	McCafferey
Dispossed, The	Urusula	LeGuin
Dog Warrior	Wen	Spencer
Domination, The	S.M.	Sterling
Dragon and the George, The	Gordon	Dickson
Dragon and Thief	Timothy	Zach
Dreammaster	Roger	Zelazny
Ecolitan Operation	L.E.	Modesitt
Fantasies of Robert Heinlein	Robert A.	Heinlein
Faraday's Orphans	N. Lee	Wood
Fire Upon the Deep	Vernor	Vinge
Flatland	Edwin	Abbott
Flowers for Algernon	Daniel	Keyes
Golden Compass	Phillip	Pullman
Good Omens	Terry, Neil	Pratchett, Gaiman
Gravity's Rainbow	Thomas	Pynchon
Gridlinked	Neal	Asher
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel	Robert A.	Heinlein
Heart Shaped Box	Joe	Hill
Heritage of Hastur	Marion Zimmer	Bradley
Host, The	Stephenie	Meyer
Hyperion	Dan	Simmons
Ill Wind	Rachel	Caine
In the Garden of Iden	Kage	Baker
Job	Robert A.	Heinlein
Jupiter	Ben	Bova
Kiln People	David	Brin
Left Hand of Darkness, The	Urusula	LeGuin
Legacies	L.E.	Modesitt
Looking for Madhi	N. Lee	Wood
Macrolife	George	Zebrowski
March Upcountry	John	Ringo
Mutineer's Moon	David	Weber
Nekropolis	Maureen	McHugh
Neverwhere	Neil	Gaiman
Nueromancer	William	Gibson
Postman, The	David	Brin
Privateer	Ben	Bova
Protector's War (or The Fire Dies)	S.M.	Sterling
Road, The	Cormac	McCarthy
Scar, The	China	Mieville
Seeker	Jack	McDevitt
Something Wicked This Way Comes	Ray	Bradbury
Spin	Robert Charles	Wilson
Stardust	Neil	Gaiman
Steal Across the Sky	Nancy	Kress
Sword of Shanara	Terry	Brooks
The Alexandrian Ring (Gamestar Wars, Book 1)	W.R.	Forsctchen
The Child Garden	Geoff	Ryman
The Ecolotian Envoy	L.E.	Modesitt, Jr.
The Green Hills of Earth	Robert A.	Heinlein
Through the Looking Glass	Lewis	Carol
Time Traveller's Wife, The	Audrey	Niffinegger
Time's Eye	Arthur C, Stephen	Clarke and Baxter
Timescape	Greg	Benford
To Your Scattered Bodies Go	Phillip Jose	Farmer
Use of Weapons	Ian	Banks
Variable Star	Robert A., Spider	Heinlein, Robinsin
Way of the Pilgrim	Gordon R.	Dick
Yiddish Policemen's Union	Michael	Chabon

"Hyperion" and "Fall of Hyperion" by Dan Simmons

This month, we're reading "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons and strongly recommending reading "Fall of Hyperion" as well. Simmons has said on numerous occasions that this is one book, split into two halves due to the "realities of publishing."

Hyperion is the tale of seven people who make a pilgrimmage to a terrifying creature called the Shrike in an attempt to save mankind. Stunningly writt ...more Hyperion: Hyperion is the tale of seven people who make a pilgrimmage to a terrifying creature called the Shrike in an attempt to save mankind. Stunningly written and beautifully crafted, Simmons's Hyperion resonates with technical achievement and the excitement and wonder found only in the best SF.

Fall of Hyperion: In the continuation of the epic adventure begun in Hyperion, the far future is resplendent with drama and invention. On the world of Hyperion, the mys ...more In the continuation of the epic adventure begun in Hyperion, the far future is resplendent with drama and invention. On the world of Hyperion, the mysterious Time Tombs are opening. And the secrets they contain mean that nothing--nothing anywhere in the universe--will ever be the same.

The Obscure References SF/F Discussion Group will meet on Wednesday, August 25 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss these books. Meetings are held at the Linebuagh Public Library in Murfreesboro.
You can find the address at the library's web site.

"The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K Dick

July's selection is the Hugo-award winning classic, "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick.

It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. the few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some 20 years earlier the United States lost a war—and is now occupied jointly by Nazi Germany and Japan.

This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to awake.

The Obscure References SF/F Discussion Group will meet on Wednesday, July 23 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss this book. Meetings are held at the Linebaugh Public Library in Murfreesboro.

"The Gunslinger" by Stephen King

March's book is the first entry in Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series, "The Gunslinger."

Thirty-three years, a horrific and life-altering accident, and thousands of desperately rabid fans in the making, Stephen King's quest to complete his magnum opus rivals the quest of Roland and his band of gunslingers who inhabit the Dark Tower series. Loyal DT fans and new readers alike will appreciate this revised edition of The Gunslinger, which breathes new life into Roland of Gilead, and offers readers a "clearer start and slightly easier entry into Roland's world."

King writes both a new introduction and foreword to this revised edition, and the ever-patient, ever-loyal "constant reader" is rewarded with secrets to the series's inception. That a "magic" ream of green paper and a Robert Browning poem, came together to reveal to King his "ka" is no real surprise (this is King after all), but who would have thought that the squinty-eyed trio of Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach would set the author on his true path to the Tower? While King credits Tolkien for inspiring the "quest and magic" that pervades the series, it was Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly that helped create the epic proportions and "almost absurdly majestic western backdrop" of Roland's world.

To King, The Gunslinger demanded revision because once the series was complete it became obvious that "the beginning was out of sync with the ending." While the revision adds only 35 pages, Dark Tower purists will notice the changes to Allie's fate and Roland's interaction with Cort, Jake, and the Man in Black--all stellar scenes that will reignite the hunger for the rest of the series. Newcomers will appreciate the details and insight into Roland's life. The revised Roland of Gilead (nee Deschain) is embodied with more humanity--he loves, he pities, he regrets. What DT fans might miss is the same ambiguity and mystery of the original that gave the original its pulpy underground feel (back when King himself awaited word from Roland's world)

The Obscure References SF/F Discussion Group will meet on Wednesday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss this book. Meetings are held at the Linebaugh Public Library in Murfreesboro.

Soulless by Gail Carringer

February's selection is the first in a new series, "Soulless" by Gail Carringer. Here's a short description from GoodReads.

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

The Obscure References SF/F Discussion Group will meet on Wednesday, Febuuary 24 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss this book. Meetings are held at the Linebuagh Public Library in Murfreesboro.

"Caves of Steel," "Naked Sun" Links

Here are some links for January's selections. (Warning! Some entries may contain SPOILERS for future installments in the series)

Wikipedia:
Issac Asimov
Asimov Bibliography
The Robot Series
Caves of Steel
The Naked Sun
Three Laws of Robotics

2004 Retro Hugo Nominations
2004 Retro Hugo Winners

Reviews:
SF Review: Caves of Steel
SF Site: Caves of Steel
Fantastic Reviews Blog: Caves of Steel
SF Review: Naked Sun

Goodreads: Caves of Steel
Goodreads: Naked Sun