Coordinating reading books in groups

[Michael]

Maggie wrote: "...another group some of us belong to, it looks as though will be reading The Dispossessed in April...if we can switch ours to around the same time (either April or May) this would solve that problem..."

What do you think, Sarah? Is May too soon for your LeGuin schedule? I could move Dispossessed/Long Earth to May. That would make Snow Queen/Foundation in December. (I remember Dispossessed/Long Earth is a natural combo because no other books worked with The Long Earth without a conflict, including World is Forest.)

[Edited to add the 2015 Schedule up here at the top post...]

Here's the latest schedule proposal for the 22 "hot books" for the 2015 Challenge (4 or more people reading each book).

(reader count), title, (page count), reading start date:
(9) The Handmaid's Tale - (311pp) - January 15
(11) Fuzzy Nation - (303pp) - February 15
(6) Red Mars - (572pp) - February 15
(10) Ready Player One - (374pp) - March 15
(5) The Martian Chronicles - (182pp) - March 15
(8) Neuromancer - (271pp) - April 15
(5) Fahrenheit 451 - (227pp) - April 15
(6) The Dispossessed - (387pp) - May 15
(4) The Long Earth - (336pp) - May 15
(6) The City & the City - (312pp) - June 15
(5) Tigana - (676pp) - June 15
(7) Altered Carbon - (526pp) - July 15
(5) Promise of Blood - (545pp) - July 15
(7) American Gods - (656pp) - August 15
(7) 1Q84 - (925pp) - September 15
(4) Dawn - (248pp) - September 15
(6) Old Man's War - (314pp) - October 15
(6) The Word for World is Forest - (189pp) - October 15
(4) World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - (342pp) - November 15
(4) Warbreaker - (688pp) - November 15
(6) Foundation - (256pp) - December 15
(5) The Snow Queen - (448pp) - December 15

(And here is the raw data in case people need to see the books they originally voted for, or other people who voted for their books.)

Handmaid's Tale, The Han S X R B U E H J P 311pp
Fuzzy Nation Fuzzy Natio S X V L U E C J O P Z 303pp
Red Mars Red Mars Red Ma S R B D M U 572pp
Ready Player One Ready P S X R B M L U E J O 374pp
Martian Chronicles, The R B V E C 182pp
Neuromancer Neuromancer S X R B D E H Z 271pp
Fahrenheit 451 Fahrenhei S D M U F 227pp
Dispossessed, The Dispos S X R B M O 387pp
Long Earth, The Long Ear S B V D L 336pp
City & The City, The Cit S X R B M L 312pp
Tigana Tigana Tigana Tig S B V D Z 676pp
Altered Carbon Altered C S X R B V D H 526pp
Promise of Blood, The Pr R V E C J 545pp
American Gods American G S R B V L U A 656pp
1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 S X R B M L P 925pp
Dawn Dawn Dawn Dawn Dawn S V D O 248pp
Old Man's War Old Man's S V U C F Z 314pp
Word for World is Forest S X R B D L 189pp
World War Z World War Z S R L E 342pp
Warbreaker Warbreaker Wa R V J Z 688pp
Foundation Foundation Fo S R B V C F 256pp
Snow Queen, The Snow Que S B D M P 448pp

[Michael]

Valerie wrote: "Great work, Michael. It sounds like a good schedule to me. Now, I can try to track down copies through the library.

Thank you for the effort. I also like the inclusion of page counts...it helps..."

You're welcome! And thanks for being flexible with July!

[Sarah]

Michael wrote: "What do you think, Sarah? Is May too soon for your LeGuin schedule?..."

Nope, I'll just have to get a move on :) There's plenty of time.

[Maggie]

that would be great Michael! Thanks for all your work!

[Edwin]

Michael wrote: "Here's the latest schedule proposal for the 22 "hot books" for the 2015 Challenge (4 or more people reading each book)."

Outstanding. Do you hire out as a personal assistant?

[Sarah]

It looks great!

[Michael]

Okay, I popped the year schedule into the first post on this page (right up there. I'll add changes as they come up.

Thanks for all the kind words everyone! I'm glad the schedule is working out; I have enjoyed seeing all the enthusiasm...

[Maggie]

Sarah wrote: "Oh, and Maggie, if you have extra time do you want to do a buddy read of Zodiac?"

let's see-how about July or November???

or even April

[David]

I haven't been involved with the discussion on this thread but the co-ordinated reading schedule sounds really interesting and exciting- I will definitely be reading many of these books - sone will be a re-read - some only to be read list and others to purchase Dave

[Michael]

David wrote: "I haven't been involved with the discussion on this thread but the co-ordinated reading schedule sounds really interesting and exciting- I will definitely be reading many of these books - sone will..."

Excellent, glad to have you! Just keep an eye on this thread if you want to participate in any of the discussions...

[David]

Thanks for the welcome Michael

[Sarah]

Maggie, if it works for you I would prefer April. Those books are both short. Second preference would be July because of Thanksgiving in Nov.

[Maggie]

April is good :)

[Roland]

Perhaps I could come in on this group. Have never quite got round to Dirk Gently so would be a good kick up the derrière to get me started. Re Perdido Street Station, it is a great book, but if you fancy something less heavy by Mieville how about The City and the City?

[Roland]

Ahh helps if you get the right year.

[Maggie]

City and the city in june!

[Roland]

Ahh will be in for that one. Will start with Ready Player One.

[Roland]

Will put Fuzzy Nation on list for next month too.

[Roland]

Will put Fuzzy Nation on list for next month too.

[Michael]

Roland wrote: "Will put Fuzzy Nation on list for next month too."

Great, glad to have you! I try to keep the schedule at the top of each page as the thread gets longer, so just look on the last page and hopefully it will be up to date!

[Sarah]

Maggie wrote: "April is good :)"

Awesome! I'm so excited to finally read some Neal Stephenson.

[Michael]

I'm late to the party, but there's about a 60% overlap with my TBR list so I'm definitely going to jump in with some of these...

[Michael]

Michael wrote: "I'm late to the party, but there's about a 60% overlap with my TBR list so I'm definitely going to jump in with some of these..."

Excellent! (Hopefully your name won't confuse me, lol)

[Sarah]

Those profile pics become invaluable when you're talking to this many people. As much as I love Audrey Hepburn, I didn't exactly intend for her to be permanent.

[Michael]

It is strange when people change their profile pics, but I think it is fairly common and an expected part of the Internet age weirdness. No need to feel trapped! (Just don't copy and paste someone else's profile pic or we'll be really confused!)

[Michael]

Hmm, makes me think of a discussion point I'd like to make when we get to Ready Player One...

[Maggie]

true-avatar stealing could be a new offense. hmmmm Identity theft already comes in too many weird forms!

[Hank, Hankenstein's Modster]

Maggie, if you could just send me your ss number, address, etc. I could get started :)

[Sarah]

Hank, did you actually change your pic or is my phone screwing up?

[Hank, Hankenstein's Modster]

I actually stole and then changed my profile pic as a joke, however it might be less funny than I anticipated in my head and will change back shortly :)

[Michael]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! < brain explodes >

[Michael]

Poor Maggie. Hank, I think you may have invented a new form of cyber-bullying - the ultimate "repeat whatever you say" game that my kids are always doing to each other and then complaining to me about. Now they can keep repeating each other, and look like each other! (at least online) I guess it is a dubious honor and I hope no one has been traumatized by this...

[Edit: besides me!]

[Roland]

If people are changing profile pics I may as well go for a better looking profile.

[Hank, Hankenstein's Modster]

Michael wrote: "Poor Maggie. Hank, I think you may have invented a new form of cyber-bullying"

Acck! I changed back, no cyber-bullying for me.

[Sarah]

It was actually quite funny Hank.

[Maggie]

I didn't see it-did you steal mine?

[Sarah]

He did! It was creepy, but it was also the perfect one to mimic. It looked pretty eerie.

[Maggie]

I did kind of open myself up to that, didn't I<? lol

(no worries-I thought it was funny)

[Michael]

I cannot get that double-vision profile pic out of my mind! I don't know what it is, maybe I am just starting to truly get virtual reality. Can't wait for our Ready Player One, Neuromancer, and Altered Carbon discussions!

[Steve]

I was sorting through my shelves of books looking for some from the reading list and I saw Ready Player One next to Dreampark. If you liked the former, Dreampark is a great companion read. Niven was super prophetic in Dreampark. It's a fun read.

[Sarah]

Michael, you're not the only one. I think it was because it was on my phone and there's a small enough viewing screen that for a second it seemed like everyone had eyes. It was completely creepy. :)

[Michael]

lol Sarah.

Thanks for the recommendation, Steve; I tend to enjoy Niven's books but hadn't heard of that one.

[Michael]

Ah, now I see it was Larry Niven and Steven Barnes. (I loved The Legacy of Heorot where they collaborated with Jerry Pournelle). Looks like Niven has the advantage of yet another perk of being the first listed writer on a book - Niven's is the only name that shows up when you try to "add book/author" on Dream Park!

[Steve]

Dream Park has two follow ups. It's essentially a mash up of LARPing and VR. Very fun!

[Sarah]

Michael wrote: "Ah, now I see it was Larry Niven and Steven Barnes. (I loved The Legacy of Heorot where they collaborated with Jerry Pournelle). Looks l..."

Ah! Niven and Pournelle wrote Lucifer's Hammer. I think that may have been the first sci-fi book I read. It's probably completely and totally responsible for my obsession with post-apocalyptic stories.

I'll have to check out Dream Park, too. I'm not recognizing Barnes name.

[Steve]

I loved Footfall too. I haven't read Lucifer's Hammer yet...'add it to the list.'

[Sarah]

Steve wrote: "I loved Footfall too. I haven't read Lucifer's Hammer yet...'add it to the list.'"

Those TBR's can kill you.

[Michael]

Steve wrote: "I loved Footfall too. I haven't read Lucifer's Hammer yet...'add it to the list.'"

I really liked Lucifer's Hammer. It's been a long time, though...

I don't know much about Steven Barnes, either, since Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven are more famous/prolific, but I've been interested in trying him out lately, since stumbling on Tananarive Due's work, and realizing they are married. They have even collaborated on a few books. I always heard Barnes brought the "action" part of the Heorot book, but I'd have to read one of his own works to know if that is actually true.

I noticed this on his Goodreads' profile: "Barnes's first published piece of fiction, the 1979 novelette, The Locusts, was written with Larry Niven, and was a Hugo Award nominee." I'm wondering if Niven had as much influence on Barnes' development and work as that sounds like.

[Sarah]

I often wonder about people who only write with other, more famous authors. If you want to be a writer, is that enough?

[Hank, Hankenstein's Modster]

Maggie wrote: "I did kind of open myself up to that, didn't I<? lol

(no worries-I thought it was funny)"

Good, Maggie thought it was funny and I creeped Sarah and Michael out, job well done if I say so myself! I am done hijacking the thread, sorry for the interruption.

Hoping to join many of the add-on discussions this year and a couple of the extra books, thanks Michael, Sarah, Maggie, et al for the enthusiasm and organisation!