SF Bookclub

  Constituent Service by John Scalzi was just what I needed to chase off the winter blahs. Imagine being a civil servant working for a city government addressing concerns in your district. Now imagine that your constituents are aliens, with vastly different needs and preferences from the human standard. Ashley, who is new in her position, must figure out how to navigate the problems (both important and trivial) brought by her constituents.  Coming in at 154 pages, this novella is the perfect way to spend a dreary afternoon.  It reminds me a bit of Agent to the Stars.

     Brigands and Breadknive s is a continuation of the world introduced in  Legends & Lattes. However, it is a sequel to Bookshops & Bonedust and continues the story of the bookseller, Fern. I read the books out of order [the chronological order of the series is (0) Bookshops & Bonedust (1) Legends & Lattes (2) Brigands & Breadknives], which did not give me the full experience for this book, but I still enjoyed it. It does feel a bit like being in an RPG, though. (I just saw that Baldree is a former game designer, which explains it.) Maybe the descriptions push it that way for me?   Baldree is a good narrator & I found his reading to be enjoyable. In fact, I enjoyed him so much that I listened to Bookshops & Bonedust (which he also reads) instead of reading the print version. All in all, I've enjoyed this whole series. The sequels lack the surprise and originality of the original, but they are still quite a nice way to spend ...

  Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell Themes:  monstrosity, identity, love, family, and trauma . Monstrosity and Humanity How does the novel challenge the traditional definition of a "monster"? In what ways is Shesheshen more human than some of the actual human characters, and vice versa? Shesheshen often describes humanity and human customs from a confused, alien perspective. What did these observations reveal about everyday human life and behavior? The narrative centers on a creature that eats people. How did the book successfully make Shesheshen a sympathetic protagonist despite her monstrous biology? Did you ever struggle to root for her? Do you believe Shesheshen has a moral code? If so, what is it based on, and how does it compare to the morality of the human characters? What purpose does the body horror serve in the story? Is it just for shock, or does it contribute to the broader themes of identity and connection? Identity, Shape, and Truth Shesheshen...

We are reading Babel by R.F. Kuang for April and May. We typically choose Hugo nominees and winners, but it seems obvious by this point that Babel should have been nominated if it weren't for the hanky-panky . A lot of people seem to have felt the same way, because there are several pretty good resources for book club questions:  Teatime Reads Duranoco Bookclubs.com Worlds Smallest Bookclub And there was a very lively discussion on Reddit

Book Club Discussion Questions for Translation Slate by Leckie.  1. The Presger Translators are a VERY alien type of alien even though they have altered DNA and human mannerisms. What did you like about them? What did you find difficult to believe? 2. There are a number of very alien things in this book, from children eating one another to ship intelligences using humans as ancillaries, was there anything in particular that grossed you out or disturbed you? Anything you found particularly fascinating? 3. There are a lot of different pronouns used in the book and each group of people seem to use them differently; the Radch use “she” as a universal pronoun, the Presger Translators as a group seem to not consider gender at all and use “they” for everyone, etc. Did you find any of the ways pronouns were used to be interesting or jarring? 4. There are three Point of View characters, Enae, Reet, and Qven. Which do you find most interesting? Why? Were there other characters you ...

  January's Selection:  Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein.  Reactor Magazine features a review . This one is an old favorite, and for better or worse, has influenced my political beliefs and voting choices. The terrible idea that really stands out to me, though, on this re-read is the defense of capital punishment. Heinlein overlooks so many problems with capital punishment, including, but not limited to the fact that not all murder cases are completely obvious to all who know the victims. Somehow, without a surveillance state, all authorities instantly know who is guilty. And this guilt has nothing to do with accents, race, ethnicity, or religious background.