A Possible Reading List for 2016, January-April

[Amy, Queen of Time]

Honestly, the voting process here hasn't been so great because members tend to vote and then not read and discuss what they've voted for. Then the moderators + 1 or 2 other group members end up discussing the book alone. With over 1000 members in the group, we should have more participation. We've attempted to remedy this from time to time by having the moderators choose the books. We're going to try another approach in 2016.

Tor recently published a list of their 20 favorite time travel novels. We've read 8 of them, and we could read the other 12 in 2016 unless our members have some serious objections. If you've read one of these and found it horrible or found that it's wonderfulness decades ago doesn't translate very well to today, let us know that, too. For example, I gave The Big Time by Fritz Leiber a try a few weeks ago and put it down after a few pages. It won the Hugo back in 1958, but the writing style is so archaic that I just couldn't make myself read it (and I usually like Fritz Leiber). I'm going to veto that one unless at least 3 someones really want to read it. I also omitted the 2 short stories on the list ("The Color of Paradox" and "The Cartography of Sudden Death"), so that would leave us with 9 books ready to go for 2016 with 3 spots left for anything special that we want to insert.

The others on the list we've not read are as follows (GoodReads blurbs included and listed by year published):

The Technicolor Time Machine by Harry Harrison ~~1 vote~~

Why pay for costumes, scenery, props or actors when the most brilliant drama of all time is unfolding before your very eyes, in vivid color - in 1050 A.D.? Just the film crew of that stupendous motion picture saga Viking Columbus as they journey back in time to capture history in the making.

The story first appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine, where it was serialized in three parts in the March–May 1967 issues, under the title "The Time Machined Saga".

Time After Time by Karl Alexander (1979) ~~1 vote~~

H. G. Wells chases Jack the Ripper through time, via his infamous time machine, to current day San Francisco, Jack just happen to be a sociopath friend of dear H.G.'s. San Fran is a great back drop to the novel, and their battles. H.G. even finds love. This book went on to make a great film by the same title. In fact H. G. and Mary married in real life, McDowell still considers Mary Steenburgen his greatest love, though they divorced and remarried years ago, It is also his favorite film.

A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones(1987) ~~4 votes~~

Time City — built far in the future on a patch of space outside time — holds the formidable task of overseeing history, yet it's starting to decay, crumble .... What does that say for the future of the world ... for the past ... for the present? Two Time City boys, determined to save it all, think they have the answer in Vivian Smith, a young Twenty Century girl whom they pluck from a British train station at the start of World War II. But not only have they broken every rule in the book by traveling back in time — they have the wrong person! Unable to return safely, Vivian's only choice is to help the boys restore Time City or risk being stuck outside time forever...

A Bridge of Years by Robert Charles Wilson(1991) ~~4 votes~~ READING JANUARY 2016

Tom Winter thought the secluded cottage in the Pacific Northwest would be the perfect refuge—a place to nurse the wounds of lost love and happiness. But Tom soon discovers that his safe haven is the portal of a tunnel through time. At one end is the present. At the other end—New York City, 1963.

His journey back to the early 1960s seems to offer him the chance to start over in a simpler, safer world. But he finds that the tunnel holds a danger far greater than anything he left behind: a human killing machine escaped from a bleak and brutal future, who will do anything to protect the secret passage that he thought was his alone. To preserve his worlds, past and present, Tom Winter must face the terrors of an unknown world to come.

In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker(1997) ~~4 votes~~

This is the first novel in what has become one of the most popular series in contemporary SF, now back in print from Tor. In the 24th century, the Company preserves works of art and extinct forms of life (for profit of course). It recruits orphans from the past, renders them all but immortal, and trains them to serve the Company, Dr. Zeus. One of these is Mendoza the botanist. She is sent to Elizabethan England to collect samples from the garden of Sir Walter Iden.

But while there, she meets Nicholas Harpole, with whom she falls in love. And that love sounds great bells of change that will echo down the centuries, and through the succeeding novels of The Company.

Rainbow Mars by Larry Niven (1999) ~~2 votes~~

Hanville Svetz was born into a future to match the sorriest predictions of Greenpeace. Most of Earth's original life forms are extinct. It had been Svetz's job to go back in time and retrieve them but he's been transferred. He now must figure out why the Martian canals have gone dry and what that means for Earth's future, because Mars was inhabited. When Svetz learns how the sapient Martian species was wiped out, he realizes that Earth could soon fall victim to a similar fate. Together with his dog, Wrona, a visitor from the distant past, and Miya, an astronaut with her own complex history, Svetz must unravel a puzzle that will tax not just his rational mind, but the very limits of his imagination.

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes (2013) ~~3 votes~~

THE GIRL WHO WOULDN'T DIE HUNTS THE KILLER WHO SHOULDN'T EXIST.

The future is not as loud as war, but it is relentless. It has a terrible fury all its own."

Harper Curtis is a killer who stepped out of the past. Kirby Mazrachi is the girl who was never meant to have a future.

Kirby is the last shining girl, one of the bright young women, burning with potential, whose lives Harper is destined to snuff out after he stumbles on a House in Depression-era Chicago that opens on to other times.

At the urging of the House, Harper inserts himself into the lives of the shining girls, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He's the ultimate hunter, vanishing into another time after each murder, untraceable-until one of his victims survives.

Determined to bring her would-be killer to justice, Kirby joins the Chicago Sun-Times to work with the ex-homicide reporter, Dan Velasquez, who covered her case. Soon Kirby finds herself closing in on the impossible truth . . .

THE SHINING GIRLS is a masterful twist on the serial killer tale: a violent quantum leap featuring a memorable and appealing heroine in pursuit of a deadly criminal.

The Time Roads by Beth Bernobich (2014) ~~0 votes~~

Éire is one of the most powerful empires in the world. The Anglian Dependencies are a dusty backwater filled with resentful colonial subjects, Europe is a disjointed mess, and many look to Éire for stability and peace. In a series of braided stories, Beth Bernobich has created a tale about the brilliant Éireann scientists who have already bent the laws of nature for Man's benefit. And who now are striving to conquer the nature of time.

Time Salvager by Wesley Chu (2015) ~~3 votes~~

Convicted criminal James Griffin-Mars is no one’s hero. In his time, Earth is a toxic, abandoned world and humans have fled into the outer solar system to survive, eking out a fragile, doomed existence among the other planets and their moons. Those responsible for delaying humanity’s demise believe time travel holds the key, and they have identified James, troubled though he is, as one of a select and expendable few ideally suited for the most dangerous job in history.

James is a chronman, undertaking missions into Earth's past to recover resources and treasure without altering the timeline. The laws governing use of time travel are absolute; break any one of them and, one way or another, your life is over. Most chronmen never reach old age; the stress of each jump through time, compounded by the risk to themselves and to the future, means that many chronmen rapidly reach their breaking point, and James Griffin-Mars is nearing his.

On a final mission that is to secure his retirement, James meets Elise Kim, an intriguing scientist from a previous century, who is fated to die during the destruction of an oceanic rig. Against his training and his common sense, and in violation of the chronmen’s highest law, James brings Elise back to the future with him, saving her life, but turning them both into fugitives. Remaining free means losing themselves in the wild and poisonous wastes of Earth, somehow finding allies, and perhaps discovering what hope may yet remain for humanity's home world.

I'm especially excited about the one by Robert Charles Wilson since he's one of my favorite authors. I don't know how I missed this one. I've also been wanting to read In the Garden of Iden for a while.

(votes current as of 11/9/2015 at 11:22 a.m.)

IF WE WERE TO CHOOSE FROM THESE BOOKS, PLEASE LIST ALL THE BOOKS YOU'D BE WILLING TO READ WITH US. THANKS!

I'm interested in the following:
A Tale of Time City
A Bridge of Years
In the Garden of Iden
Time Salvager
Rainbow Mars

[Heather(Gibby)]

The ones that I would read and participate in a discussion areThe Shining Girls and A Bridge of Years

[Amy, Queen of Time]

Heather(Gibby) wrote: "The ones that I would read and participate in a discussion areThe Shining Girls and A Bridge of Years"

Ah. I like your answer. Better than a poll. Which books would members be willing to read along with us? (Revising my original question)

[Lincoln, Temporal Jester]

Assuming its not a bodice ripper...and the archaic language is so difficult that the read comes off as reading a text book, I would be down for any and all of them. The Shining Girls, Time Salvager, and A Bridge of Years is intriguing at first glance. I read A Tale of Time City back in grade school. It is a great book and might be ideal as a shorter book one of these months. (That book still has me craving 42nd century cheesecake)

[Amy, Queen of Time]

Lincoln wrote: "Assuming its not a bodice ripper...and the archaic language is so difficult that the read comes off as reading a text book, I would be down for any and all of them. The Shining Girls, Time Salvager..."

I read A Tale of Time City 15 or so years ago. It's definitely one I'd like to read again.

The mass murderer plots of Time After Time and The Shining Girls don't really appeal to me, so I'll pass on those two.

[Nate, First Tiger]

It would be good to get caught up on the classics.

[Amy, Queen of Time]

Nathan wrote: "It would be good to get caught up on the classics."

I'm not sure if these really are "the classics". But I guess we'll see. Tor has turned some of these into Kindle books, so that's a good sign of their endorsement of time-proven books ... hopefully.

I swore off Larry Niven, but maybe he was better in the 70s? We'll see.

[Samantha]

I would be interested in all of them, especially In the Garden of Iden. My biggest difficulty in participating in the group reads is 1. availability -- if my library doesn't own it I am unlikely to track it down, and 2. time. I am in three other book clubs, one of which I run, and with a busy schedule it is sometimes difficult to keep up with everything and I have to prioritize.

However, of my book clubs this is probably the one I enjoy the most so there is that. I've been trying to keep up with the Time Traveler's Almanac at least, although I've noticed a lack of new threads for the books on the schedule in the past month or so.

[Amy, Queen of Time]

Samantha wrote: "I would be interested in all of them, especially In the Garden of Iden. My biggest difficulty in participating in the group reads is 1. availability -- if my library doesn't own it I am unlikely to..."

I definitely understand that. I found that all my book clubs were cutting into personal reading time and I was reading some of the book club books out of a sense of duty rather than wanting to read them. So now I just pick and choose whether I read the book club books or not (including this one) rather than feeling obligated to read everything. I have far less free time than I've ever had before, so I'm having to cut where necessary.

Sorry about the Almanac. If you read one of the stories and want to discuss it, you're welcome to start your own thread. I'm bowing out of that project because I've found don't like reading short stories unless they're in the same universe and I'd really come to dread them. Just when I figured out the world and people and became involved with them, they're all whisked away. And most of the stories I'd read so far were 2- or 3-star stories, so maybe I'll wait and read the gems when everyone finishes.

[Nancy]

I haven't had a chance to look at the list to pick any that I would be interested in reading but I will and get back here to post.

I wanted to mention that some groups ask that if you vote for a book and it wins for the group read then you are supposed to read it with the group.

It also helps if the book is easily available at the library. It gets expensive to buy very group read especially when people belong to more than one group.

[Adrian]

Like many of you, I am also in a number of other groups, where I try to keep up with the "monthly" reads (I think I'm a few months behind in some cases), and having just recently found this group I'd love to catch up on my time travel genre.
So prioritising, I'd certainly take part in any discussions on
The Technicolor Time Machine
A Tale of Time City
Rainbow Mars and
In the Garden of Iden

As a slight aside, I'd never seen the Time Traveller's (oops UK spelling) Almanac, so although I'm a year behind it will be on my Christmas list

[Susan]

I've been a member for months but haven't had much time for book group reading until now. I'm in the same boat as Samantha - I depend mostly on availability at my library and I'll request a book via interlibrary loan if there's enough lead time. I LOVE the premise of In The Garden of Iden and A Tale of Time City sounds good too (I've enjoyed her other books.) Not so much into stories that include grisly murder, serial or otherwise.

[Robin P]

Technicolor Time Machine is very funny, though maybe not a lot to discuss. It's a satire of Hollywood movie making.

One question is whether all those books are generally available?

[Amy, Queen of Time]

Robin wrote: "Technicolor Time Machine is very funny, though maybe not a lot to discuss. It's a satire of Hollywood movie making.

One question is whether all those books are generally available?"

From what I've seen, they are. Since it's a list from Tor, it seems to be ones they've turned to Kindle books at the very least.

[Heather(Gibby)]

Just wondering if the book for January has been picked yet, I am in a book challenge, and if I can fit the group read into a task I will join in.

[Suzi]

i am also wondering if there is a January book yet. i usually get them from the library, so will take from a few days to a few weeks to get. i have time over holiday break to get a start on it!

[Nancy]

Here is my vote:

Time After Time
A Bridge of Years
The Shining Girls
Time Salvager

[Amy, Queen of Time]

Let's do Bridge of Years for January.

[Adrian]

Although it wasn't one I really wanted to read, I've just checked and Amazon UK have a cheapo copy, so hopefully I will join you when it arrives.
Happy Holidays all

[Nancy]

I just placed a hold for it at the library. Other libraries in the system have it so hopefully sometime next week I can pick it up.

[Amy, Queen of Time]

Let's go with Garden of Iden for February and A Tale of Time City for March. I'd prefer not to read any of the others without more overwhelming support.

[Nancy]

I picked up A Bridge of Years at the library today.

[Heather(Gibby)]

I got it on my kindle, should start reading tonight,

[Tej]

I got it too and just started on the prologue so looking foreward to discussing with you guys on the main groupread thread.

[Heather(Gibby)]

Can we do The Shining Girls for April or May?

It fits quite neatly into a book challenge I am doing that requires a book that is considered "genre bending".

[Jaime]

The grandfather of Time Travel is the Time Machine...With all of it's unanswered questions --"one cannot choose but wonder"...."Epilogue: Time Machine Chronicles" answers these questions--provides a bit of a sequel to the original and a satisfying conclusion to the original...It has received great reviews on Amazon as well as a few on Goodreads...Yes, it is my book, but check it out as a possible candidate for 2016..It was started in 1987 and FINALLY completed in 2010...MUCH effort and research was put into the story...Kind of disappointed that it hasn't been mentioned (although it was nominated by Linda in the past and received a glowing review on Paul's blog--"time to time travel")....Hope this post isn't deleted-if so, I am sorry to have broken any rules--Jim

[Heather(Gibby)]

Lincoln, Nancy and myself have indicated they would be willing to read The Shining Girls

Any other takers? I am volunteering to lead the discussion, and I would like to break it down into parts so that we are all discussing the same part of the book at the same time without unexpected spoilers.

Note to Jaime/Jim-Amy has suggested we get away from the nominations and polls as that was not working out too well, as people were voting for books and then not participating in the discussion. Instead we are looking for commitments from people in the group that they will participate.

[Nancy]

Heather(Gibby) wrote: "Lincoln, Nancy and myself have indicated they would be willing to read The Shining Girls

Any other takers? I am volunteering to lead the disc..."

Check your libraries if you don't want to buy the book. It's available at mine. Which isn't always the case.

It would be nice to get more people.

[Fabien]

Hello.

I' d like to suggest the urban time travelling fantasy Buckyball.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A...

Have a great day.

Fabien

[Kirsten]

Amy wrote: "Honestly, the voting process here hasn't been so great because members tend to vote and then not read and discuss what they've voted for. Then the moderators + 1 or 2 other group members end up dis..."

I'd happily read The Time Roads and A Tale of Time City. Not sure if its too late to add my two cents worth!

[Samantha]

Did we decide on our April read?

[Amy, Queen of Time]

That's a good question. Let's do The Shining Girls since we've got several people interested in discussing it. Everything from this list so far has been pretty good.

[Heather(Gibby)]

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August was the monthly read in November 2014. The discussion thread is here

[Nancy]

Is there a list of previous group reads?

Also, here is another suggestion: Passenger. It is another YA book so I am not sure if anyone is interested or not. Not many commented on last months book.

Ok, I was going to suggest Timeline but I went back to the group reads thread and scrolled through it and it was done already. As well as The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August.

[Lincoln, Temporal Jester]

If you go to the group book shelf and look at read books:

https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

[Fabien]

Hi! I`d love the readers of this group to give Buckyball a whirl. I`d send free Kindle copies to those interested in making it the month of May book!!!
http://www.amazon.com/BUCKYBALL-FABIE...

Have a great weekend!!!!