60 posts tagged with Books.
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September YA Middle Grade Best Seller Bookclub Part 2
Here’s our place to chat about all things reading and life! [more inside]
Launching Middle Grade and YA Twice a Month Bookclub
I am launching a middle grade and YA bookclub on Fanfare and Fantalk. You can see the full schedule here. This month we will be reading: [more inside]
Book: All Fours
A semi-famous artist announces her plan to drive cross-country, from LA to NY. Thirty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, checks into a nondescript motel, and immerses herself in an entirely different journey. [more inside]
Book: The Most by Jessica Anthony
It’s November 3, 1957. As Sputnik 2 launches into space, carrying Laika, the doomed Soviet dog, a couple begin their day. Virgil Beckett, an insurance salesman, isn’t particularly happy in his job but he fulfills the role. Kathleen Beckett, once a promising tennis champion with a key shot up her sleeve, is now a mother and homemaker. On this unseasonably warm Sunday, Kathleen decides not to join her family at church. Instead, she unearths her old, red bathing suit and descends into the deserted swimming pool of their apartment complex in Newark, Delaware. And then she won’t come out. A riveting, single-sitting read set over the course of eight hours, The Most masterfully breaches the shimmering surface of a seemingly idyllic mid-century marriage, immersing us in the unspoken truth beneath. [Amazon blurb]
Book: The Sinister Booksellers of Bath
The Sinister Booksellers of Bath (which should be titled Maiden, Mother, Snail) revisits the lives of Susan and Merlin (from The Left-Handed Booksellers of London). Susan is being stalked by serial killer statues and her only hope is the secretive order of the Booksellers. [more inside]
Book: Grave Expectations
"When 30-something freelance medium Claire Hendricks is invited to an old university friend's country pile to provide entertainment for a family party, her best friend Sophie tags along. In fact, Sophie rarely leaves Claire's side, because she's been haunting her ever since she was murdered at the age of seventeen. ... Teaming up with the least unbearable members of the Wellington-Forge family - depressive ex-cop Basher and teenage radical Alex - Claire and Sophie determine to figure out not just whodunnit, but who they killed, why and when." [more inside]
Book: The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School / Sonora Reyes
"A sharply funny and moving debut novel about a queer Mexican American girl navigating Catholic school, while falling in love and learning to celebrate her true self. Perfect for fans of Erika L. Sánchez, Leah Johnson, and Gabby Rivera." -- HarperCollins [more inside]
Upcoming: What new media are you looking forward to in June 2023?
The title says it all, links to new media and few notes are inside! [more inside]
Book posts to include author name
Would it be helpful if the title of Book posts included the author? [more inside]
Book: Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir
Metafilter's own Wil Wheaton revisits his 2004 book Just a Geek. The result is two books in one, the original Just a Geek, and a book's worth of annotations with a happier, more content, more mature Wil wondering what the hell he was thinking when he wrote some of that stuff.
Movie: The Booksellers
A behind-the-scenes look at the New York rare book world. Official site, trailer. Trailer on YouTube. Streaming on Amazon Prime and elsewhere. [more inside]
Interest in the Earthsea Cycle?
Would anyone be interested in a reread of Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea cycle? [more inside]
FanFare Book Club?
I just went through the book posts for the last three months. There's lots of books I'm considering reading, and one book I read a while ago but don't remember well enough to do deep insightful commentary. In order to get more synchronicity on this, does anyone want to start a book club? Or even a couple in different genres? I would love a romance, science fiction, fantasy and/or nonfiction book club.
What books haven't you been posting?
I know there's an Amazon bug (or something), and they're working on it. But in the meanwhile, there's a Fanfare books DESERT out there! So: what haven't you been posting lately?
2020 Morning News Tournament of Books
The Morning News announced back in December the list for their 16th annual Tournament of Books. The theme is “The Future Is Getting Here Awfully Fast.” Last year tofu_crouton got this more timely post which resulted in a book club to organize everything.
Previously here.
Watchmen - the book?
With the new Watchmen HBO series airing, would this be a good time for a post about the original book? [more inside]
Alphabetical books
Where can I go to see all the books in alphabetical order?
Book: The Library Book
On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. As one fireman recounted, “Once that first stack got going, it was ‘Goodbye, Charlie.’” The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? [more inside]
Any interest in the Kinsey Millhone alphabet series by Sue Grafton?
As stated in the 2017 MetaFilter post, Sue Grafton was "a prolific author of detective novels known for an alphabetically titled series that began in 1982 with ‘A Is for Alibi’…” Her Kinsey Millhone books are quick, delightful and great fun to read. Would anybody be interested in finishing the alphabet with me? [more inside]
Interest in a Tournament of Books club?
The Tournament of Books is a March-madness style match up of contemporary fiction. The actual competition starts in March, but the longlist is already posted and the shortlist will be announced in January.
Would there be interest in a 2019 Tournament of Books book club? [more inside]
Book: White Tears
Two twenty-something New Yorkers. Seth is awkward and shy. Carter is the glamorous heir to one of America's great fortunes. They have one thing in common: an obsession with music. Seth is desperate to reach for the future. Carter is slipping back into the past. When Seth accidentally records an unknown singer in a park, Carter sends it out over the Internet, claiming it's a long lost 1920s blues recording by a musician called Charlie Shaw. When an old collector contacts them to say that their fake record and their fake bluesman are actually real, the two young white men, accompanied by Carter's troubled sister Leonie, spiral down into the heart of the nation's darkness, encountering a suppressed history of greed, envy, revenge, and exploitation.
Book: Dear Cyborgs
In a small Midwestern town, two Asian American boys bond over their outcast status and a mutual love of comic books. Meanwhile, in an alternative or perhaps future universe, a team of superheroes ponder modern society during their time off. Between black-ops missions and rescuing hostages, they swap stories of artistic malaise and muse on the seemingly inescapable grip of market economics.
Combining books and show only threads for The Magicians Season 3?
The show has deviated pretty dramatically from the books, to the point where I'm not sure we even need a Books Included thread. Season 3 may stick closer to the books but I'm not sure how?
Would a Books Included thread for the entire season would be good? Then we could have a master thread to discuss everything that's different or similar (whatever that might be). Any opinions yay or nay?
Movie: Paddington 2
Paddington, now happily settled with the Brown family and a popular member of the local community, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday, only for the gift to be stolen.
Game of Thrones: The Queen's Justice Books Included Season 7, Ep 3
Euron teaches about crowd-work. Sam levels up in medical skill. Dany makes a deal. Tyrion broods.
Discussion of 'The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.'?
Have enough people real the new Neal Stephenson / Nicole Galland collaboration The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. to make a book discussion worthwhile?
Steven Universe: Buddy's Book Season 4, Ep 3
Steven and Connie go to the public library and find a forgotten chronicle!
Book: The Slow Regard of Silent Things (Kingkiller Chronicle #2.5)
Deep below the University, there is a dark place. Few people know of it: a broken web of ancient passageways and abandoned rooms. A young woman lives there, tucked among the sprawling tunnels of the Underthing, snug in the heart of this forgotten place. Her name is Auri, and she is full of mysteries. The Slow Regard of Silent Things is a brief, bittersweet glimpse of Auri’s life, a small adventure all her own. At once joyous and haunting, this story offers a chance to see the world through Auri’s eyes. And it gives the reader a chance to learn things that only Auri knows.
Book: The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicle #2)
My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me... So begins the tale of a hero told from his own point of view—a story unequalled in fantasy literature.
Book: The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicle #1)
The riveting first-person narrative of a young man who grows to be the most notorious magician his world has ever seen. From his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, to years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime- ridden city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that transports readers into the body and mind of a wizard. It is a high-action novel written with a poet's hand, a powerful coming-of-age story of a magically gifted young man, told through his eyes: to read this book is to be the hero.
Book: The Return of the King
The armies of the Dark Lord Sauron are massing as his evil shadow spreads even wider. Men, Dwarves, Elves and Ents unite forces to do battle against the Dark. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam struggle further into Mordor, guided by the treacherous creature Gollum, in their heroic quest to destroy the One Ring…
Book: The Two Towers
Frodo and the Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in the battle with an evil spirit in the Mines of Moria; and at the Falls of Rauros, Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape the rest of the company were attacked by Orcs. Now they continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin – alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.
Book: The Fellowship of the Ring
Continuing the story begun in The Hobbit, this is the first part of Tolkien’s epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, featuring a striking black cover based on Tolkien’s own design, the definitive text, and a detailed map of Middle-earth. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power – the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring – the ring that rules them all – which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
Book: Storm Front (Dresden Files #1)
For Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child script?
I notice there are threads for all the Harry Potter books and films. The follow-up play has just opened in London and the script on which it is based has been published worldwide today. Any chance of a FF thread to discuss the script? Perhaps with comments by people who have seen the production?
Book: Realism With A Human Face by Hilary Putnam. Part I: Metaphysics
I'm starting the discussion about the first part of the Hilary Putnam book. The lengthy introduction discusses Putnam's influences, and the essays in Part I focus on metaphysics. [more inside]
Book: A Game of Thrones, Part IV
The first novel of the Song of Ice and Fire Saga, and the basis of the HBO Show. Part IV of our re-read of this book. [more inside]
Book: A Game of Thrones, Part III
Part III of our re-read of the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire. [more inside]
Book: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job was to find rogue androids, and to retire them. But cornered, androids tended to fight back, with deadly results.
Book: Realism With A Human Face by Hilary Putnam
Our first selection is a set of essays by Hilary Putnam that covers Metaphysics, Ethics and Aesthetics, and Studies in American Philosophy in its three parts. [more inside]
Book: A Game of Thrones, Part II
From a master of contemporary fantasy comes the first novel of a landmark series unlike any you’ve ever read before. Part II of our read of the first novel of A Song of Ice and Fire. [more inside]
New Group - Metaphysics and Entanglement
Is anyone interested in reading and discussing philosophy or philosophical fiction? [more inside]
Book: A Game of Thrones, Part I
The first novel of the landmark fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. This first part of the discussion will cover the events of the Prologue through to Catelyn IV. [more inside]
PKD Book Club Restart
I had proposed this before (http://fanfare.metafilter.com/5438/PKD-Book-Club), but now that I can actually post book posts, I'll get this started again. [more inside]
A Song of Ice and Fire re-read
Gauging nterest in getting a re-read (or first time read) of the Song of Ice and Fire books (the basis of the Game of Thrones HBO series) and discussion going here on FanFare. [more inside]
Podcast: Judge John Hodgman: Wrecks Libris
Jeanna files suit against her husband Craig. She insists that Craig mishandles books, by dogearing the pages and using them as doorstops around the house. [more inside]
Podcast: Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Episode 176: Shut Up, Fungus
Get your chlorophyll on as we enter a vine-choked version of the Gaming Hut to riff an alien species that feeds via photosynthesis. / Ken gets you started on your collection of books about maps in a bibliographic Cartography Hut. / It’s been a while since Ask Ken and Robin had a lightning round, so let’s have a lightning round. / Then the Eliptony Hut blows up real good with a look at the Martian nuclear armageddon theory.
Podcast: Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Episode 172: #notAllAstrologers
While in London in December, the Consulting Occultist got a sneak peek at key items of John Dee’s book collection. Join us in previewing the upcoming exhibit Scholar, courtier, magician: the lost library of John Dee, which runs Jan 18-July 29 at the Royal College of Physicians. [more inside]
Star Wars Aftermath discussion
Would anyone be interested in a discussion post for Chuck Wendig's "Aftermath?"
Historical Fiction Book Club
Welcome to Historical Fiction book club! I've chosen nine months of books, touching on a variety of historical periods, tending towards the more literary end of the historical fiction spectrum but trying to include a variety of styles. We will discuss each book over the course of a month; on the first day of the month spoilers are permitted, be forewarned. The major selection criterion for the initial set of books is that I've read them in the last calendar year and so remember enough about them to discuss them, and I think they'll appeal to MeFites. (If I left out your recent favorite, I probably just haven't read it yet, and I'm happy to do so!) Within, find out our upcoming books! [more inside]
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