Society of Speculative Fiction

July's book club meeting saw some schedule conflicts so our group was a small one. We did not get a chance to get to the discussion questions for Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? so Christie has posted them here on the blog via Slideshare. If you would like to share your answers, add them to the comments. It will be great to read everyone's thoughts!

The biggest surprise for our members was the revelation that Edward James Olmos was in Blade Runner and that Blade Runner was one of the inspirations for the remake of Battlestar Galcatica.

This will be our last book club for a while due to Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's adult programming reclassification according to new guidelines. We hope to resume in November 2011 when there will be an opportunity to add back focused programs to the library’s offerings. If you would like to show your support for our book club you can respond directly to Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's Adult Programming Team. We'll decide the next book selection once we know when we can begin again. Hope to see you soon! Keep reading!

Our next meeting will be:
Date: Monday, July 18, 2011 from 6:00-8:00PM
Age Range: Adults Ages 18+
Location: Independence Regional Library Community Room
No registration required.

We will discuss Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) written by Philip K. Dick.

Summary: The novel that was the basis for the movie Blade Runner. In 2021, 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.

Here are some typical discussion questions you may want to keep in mind as you read the book. You can place your hold on the book through the library catalog.

If you would like to bring food or drinks with an android, San Francisco, or noir theme (no alcohol please) to the next book club meeting feel free. I will have paper products, something sweet and something salty, coffee, tea, and bottled water available. See you at the next meeting!

Live TV by Ustream

Check out the book club live and in action! We certainly would like you to be with us but if you find that there are many miles between you and Charlotte, NC the live feed is the next best thing to being there. Posting your questions for Trevor before the event will increase the chances of it being asked since it will be incorporated into the program. You can post your questions in the comments section below this post, via the Meebo chat widget in the left column on the blog (no account required--you can change your MeeboGuest name), or you can use the twitter hashtag #AOVBookClub. See you soon!

Our next meeting will be:
Date: Monday, March 21, 2011 from 6:00-8:00PM EST
Age Range: Adults Ages 18+
Location: Independence Regional Library Community Room
Registration is required. Register Online or call 704-416-4800 opt. 4

We will discuss Angel of Vengeance:The Novel That Inspired the TV Show Moonlight (2011) written by Trevor O. Munson.

Trevor Munson will be joining the book talk via Skype.

Have your questions ready. Index cards will be provided if needed. You can also IM your questions to Christie via the Meebo widget right on the blog. No account or registration needed. You can send the questions whether she is logged in or not. You can edit your Meebo guest nickname if you like. Christie will post the questions in the meeting recap blog entry.

Costume contest for "Best Vampire," "Best Look-A-Like," and "Best Freshie" if enough participate! We have great prizes for the winners!

Check out the book review on The Daily Blam and his interview with World Wide Moonlighters. There is also a recorded interview with him, on Feb. 3, 2011 on BlogTalkRadio by The VRO.

Synopsis: The novel that inspired the TV series Moonlight puts a twist on the classic Dracula vampire tale and blends it with Chandler hardboiled P.I. detective fiction.

LA-based P.I. and vampire Mick Angel has been hired by a beautiful red-headed burlesque dancer to find her missing sister. But the apparently simple case of a teenage runaway is soon complicated by drug dealers, persistent cops, murder and Mick’s own past. Mick must learn the hard way what every vampire should know - nothing stays buried for ever, especially not the past.

Here are some typical discussion questions you may want to keep in mind as you read the book. You can place your hold on the book through the library catalog.

If you would like to bring food or drinks with a vampire or detective theme (no alcohol please) to the next book club meeting feel free. I will have paper products, something sweet and something salty, coffee, tea, bottled water and other liquid refreshment available. Think poker night @ Josef's! ;) See you at the next meeting!

We had a comfortable level of participants to make conversation fun and engaging including two new members. Some members had scheduling conflicts and could not come but were with us in spirit. We had people from 22 to 62 there! For one participant, it was the book that changed his life. He almost cried on the spot. Everyone enjoyed the “mistake” dog tags for party favors and our quiz show winners got to enjoy their commemorative “Dragon Army” pendants. The ultimate gamer food – pizza – and Mountain Dew was served along with Tang for the astronaut wannabes in the group.

Christie contacted Orson Scott Card’s assistant to see if he would be interested in Skyping in for the book club meeting. Unfortunately Mr. Card recently suffered a stroke on Jan. 1, 2011. Orson Scott Card’s assistant responded,”Thank you for writing and for your well wishes. Mr. Card has several Skype interviews he was supposed to do this semester, and unfortunately he asked me to cancel them all. So for the time being, he has asked me not to schedule any additional functions for him -- even if it doesn't require leaving the house. Sorry!”

We opened the discussion with how Ender’s Game was a title that many read when they were teens and they identified with many the characters and situations in the book. In Ender’s world, he is used to adults telling him lies. He goes along with the lies but he doesn’t have to accept them or believe them. In times of crisis, luxuries such as childhood are suspended for the greater good of survival of the human race. Many believed that if humans and buggars could have communicated that war could have been avoided. It was inevitable that war would happen if they couldn’t communicate. Xenocide was destined to happen considering how Ender was trained. The military commanders knew that he would take the offensive and solve the situation once and for all, like he did with the bullies in his life, so that the enemy could not hurt him again.

We wrapped up by voting for the May book club selection since March’s selection was already determined. For May the book club will be reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. It was the basis for the movie, Blade Runner.

Our next book club selection will be Angel of Vengeance: The Novel That Inspired The TV Show Moonlight (2011), by Trevor O. Munson. Our next meeting will be Monday, March 21, from 6-8PM. You can place a copy on hold to be sent to the branch of your choice in the library catalog.

Our next meeting will be:
Date: Monday, January 24, 2011 from 6:00-8:00PM
Age Range: Adults Ages 18+
Location: Independence Regional Library Community Room
No registration required.

We will discuss Ender's Game (1991) written by Orson Scott Card.

Check out the book review on Reader's Club.

Summary: A veteran of years of simulated war games, Ender believes he is engaged in one more computer war game when in truth he is commanding the last fleet of Earth against an alien race seeking the complete destruction of Earth.

Here are some typical discussion questions you may want to keep in mind as you read the book. You can place your hold on the book through the library catalog.

If you would like to bring food or drinks with a space or gamer theme (no alcohol please) to the next book club meeting feel free. I will have paper products, something sweet and something salty, coffee, tea, and bottled water available. See you at the next meeting!

November book club was a great fun! Everyone enjoyed the ice cream social and brought in lots of toppings. We ate plenty of ice cream while working through technical difficulties on the laptop. We had all returning members this time and it was a very cosy session.

We skipped the quiz show since we had only three persons so they became the winners! Everyone enjoyed the prizes. They were four-leaf clover Irish knotted bracelets. And the clovers were real! Everyone had their favorite quotes but we all agreed on Deirdre's thought: "Delia was an overbearing cake with condescending frosting, and frankly, I was on a diet."

Amy wrote the quiz show questions. They really made the meeting. Kudos Amy on a job well done!

James knew he could see faeries even before he told Deirdre. We wondered why he didn't mention it when he saw Deirdre at the competition. Since Deirdre was a cloverhand she was the only one that could pronounce Luke's name correctly. We thought that Dierdre's gift as a cloverhand is what you make it, a tool. It's how you use the tool that determines whether it's for good or ill. We also felt that Deirdre's trust in Luke was driven by both her intuition and her hormones. We felt that Luke truly loved Deirdre and didn't just try to use her to get out of his obligation to the Faery Queen. When Luke allowed Dierdre to look into his thoughts, they both made a connection. Dierdre sees the trapped dove that is Luke's soul and the bloody tasks he has had to fulfil to the Faery Queen. At that point Luke is at his weakest. When a muscian is very good it attracts the attention of the Fey. Sometimes it is not the sort of attention that you want. We all thought that Deirdre made the right choice by saving James, but were sad because we knew she was leaving Luke behind.

Our next book club selection will be Ender's Game (1991), by Orson Scott Card. Our next meeting will be Monday, January 24, from 6-8PM. You can place a copy on hold to be sent to the branch of your choice in the library catalog.