Cixin, Liu--The Three -Body Problem informal buddy read starts July 26, 2018

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

This thread is open to discuss The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin.



Synopsis
The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple award winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.

"Fans of hard SF will revel in this intricate and imaginative novel by one of China’s most celebrated genre writers. In 1967, physics professor Ye Zhetai is killed after he refuses to denounce the theory of relativity. His daughter, Ye Wenjie, witnesses his gruesome death.

"Shortly after, she’s falsely charged with sedition for promoting the works of environmentalist Rachel Carson, and told she can avoid punishment by working at a defense research facility involved with the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. More than 40 years later, Ye’s work becomes linked to a string of physicist suicides and a complex role-playing game involving the classic physics problem of the title.

"Liu impressively succeeds in integrating complex topics—such as the field of frontier science, which attempts to define the limits of science’s ability to know nature—without slowing down the action or sacrificing characterization. His smooth handling of the disparate plot elements cleverly sets up the second volume of the trilogy." —Publishers Weekly

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

      ~ Buddy Style Reads ~
    Three Ways to Enjoy a Book!

At NRBC we use three styles of buddy reads. These will be indicated in the thread title as “Buddy Read”, “Relaxed Buddy Read” or “Informal Buddy Read”.

A “Buddy Read” has a discussion leader and a reading date is set to start the book. A reading schedule is posted prior to the start date and discussion questions are posted each day regarding that section of the book. More information about these types of reads is below. An example is here, showing a reading schedule here.

A “Relaxed Buddy Read” is similar to our usual “buddy reads” except there are less questions and break points. For example, a book may be split into three sections and those reading the book should pause at the end of the section to answer some discussion questions, make comments, or ask their own questions to other readers. An example is here.

An “Informal Buddy Read” doesn’t have a discussion leader and participants are asked to consider some generic questions when making comments about the book. An example is here.

A “Read and Watch Buddy Read” may be set up as any of the above, but we will also watch the movie or T.V. series - or even go to a play! - and make comparisons, discussing what has been left out or changed as well as the actors and actresses. There is a long debate of what one should do first: read the books or watch the movie? We usually read first, but it isn’t essential. Also, if you would like to join in, but don’t want to watch the movie, show, or play, but only read the books, that is fine, too. An example is here.


MORE UNDER SPOILER
(view spoiler)[

“Buddy Reads” (“BRs”) include:

• A reading schedule which can range from 50, 75, to 100 or so pages a day.

• Discussion questions posted daily by moderators and occasionally group members
   who help one of us out. If you want to be a Discussion Leader, let us know.

• If the book is really long, we'll plan a break day.

• Members do NOT have to answer every question, they are meant to stimulate
   conversations about the books AND allow us to glance back upon them when the
   sequels come out. This helps us to remember what exactly happened in the previous
   book.

• We find the buddy style of reading to be more fun than just posting one or two
   sentences about a book. We feel this is what distinguishes us as being a ‘book club’
   rather than just another GoodReads ‘group.’

• If you can NOT start the book on time, feel free to join in at a later date. They are
   set up to make it easy to do so.

• Moderators are people too, so occasionally we get sick, have to work late at our real
   jobs, or have something that keeps us from writing the questions. Please forgive us;
   we're only human and we don't get any compensation for what we do--not even
   free books!

• Discussions and questions are set up to make you think, analyze, and see things you,
   or even we, may have missed. Feel free to add your own thoughts at any time, if you
   think we've missed something.

• If you've read the book, feel free to let us know what you thought about the book.
   You can do so at the end of the buddy read, or, if you can't wait, add spoiler tags
   before you comment like:

   **************BEWARE! SPOILER FOR THE END OF THE BOOK**************

   Or insert a (view spoiler)[spoiler (hide spoiler)]. If you do NOT know how to do so, just check out our
   GoodReads 101 explanation on how to Insert a Spoiler.

• If you are looking for a reading buddy, post an inquiry in our Buddy read requests thread. Use that thread, if you want to have a repeat read of a BOM
    or buddy read, too.

• Have fun! We always do when more than one person joins in. And we look less silly
   if someone else discusses a book with us. (hide spoiler)]

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

res

[Jenny]

Yay! My sister gave me this book, and I keep wanting to start it. Now I will.

[Sarah]

I'm in for Team Cedric Diggory. I was just thinking I would read this really soon, and a buddy read appeared. What a happy coincidence. :)

[Joanne]

Me too Sarah. I’ve had it on my up-next shelf for a while so when a buddy read was announced figured I’d jump on it. I’m first in line for it from the library so I should have it soon.

[Jenny]

I started this yesterday. Wow. No wonder this has made so many best of lists.
(view spoiler)[ The Chinese communist revolution weirds me out. Perhaps because I grew up and live in the US, I can't imagine having my very thoughts policed. If a scientific theory doesn't fit into Chairman Mao's worldview, then it must be renounced? And that part isn't fiction.

Then, perhaps physics isn't as real or constant as we thought? My mind is going crazy with this. (hide spoiler)]

I am reading four books at the same time right now, and this is the one I have at work to read during lunch and breaks, but it is about to be bumped up to the one I carry with me until I am done with it!

[Jenny]

Up to about page 200. The story keeps getting weirder, but I need to know what happens next!!!

Has anyone else started?

[Joanne]

I just started. Finished Chapter 1. Not sure yet what to think. I have heard people say this one was a bit hard to read, so I'm glad to see you're wanting to keep reading Jenny. I can see it being a bit slow-going especially at first, since there seems to be a lot of Physics in the first chapter and because I'm not that familiar with the Cultural Revolution in China. Maybe I need to do a bit of research first.

[Jenny]

I am a bit of a physics geek, but you really don't need to know anything about it to get the gist of the story.

My issue is I keep mixing up the names of characters in my head. I ended up dog-earing the page when a new character was introduced, so I could easily flip back to read the name again. Language blindness.

And yes, I dog-eared the pages. My book- I get to do that.

[Keli]

Checking in for team Moaning Myrtle. I'll have to start it a few days later than scheduled but hopefully will get stuck in tomorrow.

[Joanne]

Just finished Chapter 2.

I'm liking it so far! I haven't read the book synopsis so I don't know where exactly the book will go, but I hope we learn more about (view spoiler)[Radar Peak. There is some funky stuff going on there that sounds interesting. (hide spoiler)]

Poor (view spoiler)[ Wenjie. Her mother publicly renounced her father, and her sister has turned against him too. And now she's in trouble with the government. It would have been so easy for her to sign that document and save herself, since her father is already dead and can't be hurt by it, but she did the right thing refusing to falsify the documents. Things will get tough for her now I'm sure. (hide spoiler)]

[Jenny]

Yup. I didn't read the synopsis either. Makes it more fun.

On your spoilers yes, we will learn more, and right? How hard would that have been to go through?

[Jenny]

Almost done. I almost don't want to finish because I am enjoying it so much. At least there are two more books in this world.

[Joanne]

About to start chapter 12

(view spoiler)[ I know what you mean about having to go back with the names. I’m reading the ebook but I took a picture of the page at the beginning with the characters listed and I’ve been referring to it occasionally.

Im still liking it but it’s sooooooo weird. For awhile it seemed like we would get different stories but I couldn’t figure out how they connected. Now that Wang is visiting Wenjie it makes more sense. I’m excited that the next chapter is about her experience at that classified base. (hide spoiler)]

[Joanne]

Up to Chapter 16

(view spoiler)[I am loving this three-body game. So interesting how it's different every time and I love how Wang's theory, once he explained it, makes perfect sense and explains everything. Excited to see what will happen when he logs back in to play Level 2 (hide spoiler)]

[Jenny]

I know, right? I paused reading this yesterday to read something else. I kind of wanted to draw this out. But, I should finish it sometime today. So many brain twirling ideas in this book.

[Jenny]

Just finished. Wow. I am going to buy the next book this week.

(view spoiler)[ One woman potentially destroys the human race.
There are so many things going on in this story. The Adventists vs the Survivors vs the Redemptionists vs the people who know nothing about it vs the new coalition of people who just learned about it.
The fact that many people decide to blindly worship the Trisolarans doesn't surprise me. Nor does the fact that there are those who just want to be among the survivors- others be damned, but the fact that there are so many people who want to eradicate humans kind of does.

How insidious and brilliant is the Trisolarans' plan to defeat us? Make people not believe in science? Slowing down discovery? Discrediting science as being harmful? Sounds a lot like what is going on in American politics right now. Maybe they have been contacted! Hmmm.

The scene when Ye Wenjie sent the signal, and then found out she was pregnant was interesting. She doomed humanity with one stroke, and created a human with another.

And, how cool is Da Shi? Loved that character.

So much to think about. The Three Body Problem game, the microfiber boat cutting string, what the Trisolarans look like, what will happen next, etc.

(hide spoiler)]

Loved, Loved this book!!!

[Joanne]

Up to Chapter 25

(view spoiler)[Wow! Shocked that it's all Ye Wenjie's doing that they discovered life on another planet and that she is welcoming them to come to earth and take over the planet because she has given up on the human race. And here I was thinking she was a sweet old lady. Does this mean she had a hand in her own daughter's suicide? That's cold! (hide spoiler)]

[Keli]

Jenny wrote: "I started this yesterday. Wow. No wonder this has made so many best of lists.
The Chinese communist revolution weirds me out. Perhaps because I grew up and live in the US, I can't imagine having ..."

I'm quite late coming to the party. Just trying to get it finished before tonight! I know what you mean about not understanding. I'm thinking, how can these people do this to one another, they all know each other. But when revolution takes hold, it's not always for the best or the best people. Incredible premise to this story.

[Jenny]

Yup, Just wait. You are about to get your mind blown. I hope you like it.

[Joanne]

Finished!

Just in time for extra points too. I really liked it and will be continuing with the series, but I found some of the times when the author went on and on about something physics based, I did get bored. And I didn't feel right just skimming them because I didn't know if they would be important so I would try to understand, but would be annoyed when something was way over my head. The story parts of the book were very fascinating and that game was so neat. Can't wait to see what the next book has in store.