Nominations for June 2016!

[Nick]

Hi everyone,

It's time to open nominations for our June 2016 Books of the Month. Each group member can make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination in this thread. If you would like to make a nomination, please reply to this post with the title and author of the book(s) you would like to put forward for the group’s consideration. A couple of suggestions to keep in mind:

1. Telling us a little about the book and why you think it would be a good group read can help get other members interested in reading (and voting for) your nomination.

2. To see if your nomination has already been read by the group, you can check:

a. the group's bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

and/or

b. these threads:
Master List of Previous Books of the Month 2012-Present -- https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Master List of Previous Books of the Month 2006-2011 -- https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Books the group has read in the past 2 years are not eligible for current consideration. Being chosen as a past BotM prior to that time is not an automatic disqualification, but be aware that it may hinder your nomination’s chances at the polls.

General guidelines:
• Feel free to re-nominate a book that didn’t win in the polls in previous months!
• For questions regarding specifics such as book formats, books in series, self-nomination and various rules for nominations, please see the group FAQ.
• Seconding isn't necessary in this group.
• Friendly discussion & debate is strongly encouraged, but let's please keep things civil.


Poll schedule:
• Nominations will remain open through around Noon, EST, Sunday, March 20.
• The first round of polls will open later that day, Sunday, March 20, and will run through Friday, March 25.
• The run-off polls go up Saturday, March 26, and will be open through Thursday, March 31.

Thanks!


NOMINATIONS SO FAR:

FANTASY:

The Deep Sea Diver's Syndrome by Serge Brussolo (Justine)
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (Pickle)
Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti (Shel)
Scorched by Erica Hayes (Helen)
Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu (Kevin)
The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (Candiss)


SCIENCE FICTION:

Our Lady of the Ice by Cassandra Rose Clarke (Justine)
Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick (Pickle)
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (Shel)
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (Kevin)
High-Rise by J.G. Ballard (Candiss)
Kingdom of Cages by Sarah Zettel (Nick)

[Justine]

For Fantasy I would like to nominate The Deep Sea Diver's Syndrome by Serge Brussolo. Brussolo is an acclaimed French writer who has been around for a long time but his work is only now being translated more widely into English. This book is one that was just recently released and so is easily available both in print and ebook form.

For SF I would like to nominate Our Lady of the Ice by Cassandra Rose Clarke.

[Pickle]

for sf : Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick. Was going to go for A Maze of Death but this slightly appeals more just now.

fantasy: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud The front cover is what drew me to this book.

[Shel, Moderator]

For SF: let's go classic with The War of the Worlds, which I've somehow never read.

Fantasy: Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti, which I read several years ago and have been wanting to re-read. It's steampunky/romantic/fantasy and I remember really loving it, though I remember very few details. Which is why I want to re-read it!

[Helen]

For fantasy: Scorched, the blurb has caught my attention.

[Nick]

Helen wrote: "For fantasy: Scorched, the blurb has caught my attention."

It looks to me like "Scorched" is only available in a Kindle edition. Am I wrong?

[Helen]

I've found it on book depository as paperback. The kindle version is cheaper having said that.

[Kevin]

I like to nominate: Twelve Kings in Sharakhai for Fantasy.

And I'll nominate Alas, Babylon for SF

[Candiss]

Nick wrote: "Helen wrote: "For fantasy: Scorched, the blurb has caught my attention."

It looks to me like "Scorched" is only available in a Kindle edition. Am I wrong?"

Nick, I looked it up, and (as Helen says in message #7) it is available in paper form on Book Depository, which ships internationally: https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/97800...

It's a UK-published book, so we in the US find ourselves in the situation many others are often in - needing to get a book either in e-format or through an international source. Here's the publisher's page on the paperback, with links to places it's sold: https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/97800...

So...since we allow books readily available in the US that international members can only get in ebook or via places like Book Depository, it seems fair to me that it work the other way, too. :)

Edit: spelling

[Helen]

Thank you, Candiss.

[Candiss]

As we have a short slate of nominations this month, I'm going to throw a couple into the ring - one quite heavy and thinky (but not ponderous,) the other light and humorous (but not trite.)

For science fiction: High-Rise by J.G. Ballard. This dystopian work has, decades after publication, been made into a movie, starring Tom Hiddleston. It comes to theaters in May, and I'd love to read/discuss the book before seeing the film. (Here's the official trailer, for those interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LG80...)

For fantasy: The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. This is the first in Pratchett's Tiffany Aching cycle, dealing with the making of a young woman into a witch. It is, of course, part of the author's sprawling Discworld series. I miss Sir Terry very much. (RIP)

[Nick]

I'll throw this one in, as it was discussed favorably by more than one member in the "What Are You Reading in March" thread:

Kingdom of Cages by Sarah Zettel.

though she writes in both fantasy and sci-fi, this one has more votes in the "sci-fi" category, so that's where I'll nominate it.

[Nick]

Nominations are now closed.

Please go vote to see which two books will go on to the final round for June's BOTM's. We have some truly intriguing new nominees, as well as some old standards.

June Fantasy: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

June Science Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

[Nick]

Time for the Second Round of Polls. The top two vote-getters in each category are now up. Please go vote to choose which ones will be our June 2016 BOTM's.

Science Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Fantasy: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

The Race is on!