March Monthly Read

[[deleted user]]

This is the thread for you March monthly read nominations. The tread will remain open until February 25, after which the poll will be opened.

I look forward to your nominations.

Regards,

Declan. :)

[Sarah]

Okay, since this is an Irish-accented group, I'm going to assume that the "tread" was a slip of the tongue, so to speak :) That's funny. It's pretty common for people to spell words phoenetically (with their own accent) I'm not sure how come I always type "teh" though :)

Onto the point of the "tread" here, I'd like to nominate a SciFi / MilSF / romantic SF / Space Opera (like a cowboy/western story but in space). I don't know exactly how to categorize it--the entire series is "different," a kind of genre unto itself. It's because the author, Lois McMaster Bujold, is a phenomenal storyteller. I think the only other one who weaves intricate but easy-to-read stories like that is Jane Yolen (often called the Hans Christian Anderson of the modern age)

Lois's Vorkosigan Series officially starts with a major romance in Cordelia's Honor but the real fun of the series begins once that couple has a baby whom they name Miles--because his grandfather General Count Piotr Vorkosigan refuses to allow a mutant cripple to use his hallowed name. Lois had a lot of Great Man's Shadow to work out and she does it magnificently through Miles. The first book where his shennanigans begin is The Warrior's Apprentice which is basically Disney's Walt Disney's the Sorcerer's Apprentice a la science fiction, replete with exploding space ships and villianous aliens who are actually not so different from mean-spirited humans with a lot of face paint and big egos.

The series has over a dozen entries (I think it's 17 including novellas and shorts) so it's a good one to get hooked on. The Warrior's Apprentice is a complete package, a story worth enjoying unto itself. Lois develops rich characters and a future universe (or nexus inside a galaxy in the universe) where the handful of planets Miles goes hopping around through wormholes (the setting) becomes a character unto itself. It's pretty amazing world-building mostly because Lois focuses on the cultures and how the PEOPLE are affected by the technology more than she does on the technology and gadgets and "scifi" like so much of my beloved SF/F genre does. I like all the classic SciFi but Lois's stories are really something else.

The Vor Series (all books and most ominbus editions as well) have been translated into something like 29 languages and are available on every continent on Earth. Not sure about elsewhere (hee hee). Her fandom gathers on the dendarri.com email list and is actually UK-based so closer to you in Ireland than it is to me in the US. I'd love to suggest other books in the series, too. I have some favorites. I happened to have come upon / started the series past the halfway point, with one of the later books called Mirror Dance. That's the beauty of Lois's books. You can read them in any order at all but I recommend following Miles as he grows up. It's an interesting journey just to watch how the author changes the main character without really changing him. He GROWS UP over 20 years :)

-sry

[Colleen]

Tipperary by Frank Delaney

[M.]

I'm nominating
Book of Prophecies

it almost won last month lol :)

[I-like-to-read]

I would like to withdraw the above nomination, as I have started to read the book and it's S***

I would like to nominate The Sense of an Ending I have read this and there is quite a lot to talk about.

[Tara]

I would like to nominate Crooked letter, Crooked letter by Tom Franklin. I am currently reading this for my local book club and must say it is a very good read.

[Laura]

I would like to nominate The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This is perhaps the most interesting and disturbing non-fiction book I have read all year. The many themes involve, medical ethics, poverty/racism/ medical research. I learned so much from this book that I couldn't put it down. Despite the heavy subject matter it was engrossing and personal.
See http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science.... and http://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Life-H...

[[deleted user]]

A fine list, so far.

@ILTR I've removed your previous nomination for simplicity's sake.

@STWgW I'd like to verify which of those novels you're nominating.

[Susan]

Laura wrote: "I would like to nominate The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This is perhaps the most interesting and disturbing non-fiction book I have read all year. The many..."

We just read this book at my local book club and it was fascinating. We had a great discussion.

[Sarah]

Declan wrote: "A fine list, so far.

@ILTR I've removed your previous nomination for simplicity's sake.

@STWgW I'd like to verify which of those novels you're nominating."

The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold

[Annie]

I'd like to nominate Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn. It's an excellent work of historical fiction about the life of Brian Boru. It's a well-written and inspiring story. I felt like I actually knew him when I had finished it. I highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in Irish history who doesn't necessarily want to slog through a textbook. :)

[Susan]

Annie wrote: "I'd like to nominate Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn. It's an excellent work of historical fiction about the life of Brian Boru. It's a well-written and inspiring st..."
Wow, it looks great. I just read the reviews on Amazon and it got 4 1/2 stars from 91 reviews. Plus they have a copy for $4.52.

[Annie]

Susan wrote: "Wow, it looks great. I just read the reviews on Amazon and it got 4 1/2 stars from 91 reviews. Plus they have a copy for $4.52. "

Susan, it's one of my favorites. He really is a striking figure by his own right, but she uses incredible detail to paint a very vivid picture of what his life was like. Of course, some of the side stories are whimsical fiction that she's added to give it a bit more flare (not that his story needed it), but overall the information seems to be very accurate. I was very impressed with the way she handles the story. Even if it isn't chosen as the monthly read, I highly recommend it as something you might like to read on your own. :)

[[deleted user]]

The nominations have been gathered and this thread has now been closed to comments. Thank you all for your participation.

Declan. :)