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Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed.
It’s happening! I’ve officially kicked off my See Ya Later, San Diego tour with numerous farewell activities planned throughout the week while also trying to work, and ya know, sleep? Before I start those “if I go to bed by X time, I can sleep Y hours and not die” calculations, let’s talk a little about book clubs + SFF.
To the club!!
The Hugo Awards were announced this week! Reading about the awards reminded me of our last Question for the Club; so many of you told me that science fiction and fantasy are the genres your book clubs are most reluctant to read. Let’s change that! This week I’m recommending some SFF reads great for sparking book club conversation.
The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie – In this latest from award-winning author Ann Leckie, the god known as the Raven protects the kingdom of Iraden. He speaks through a living bird called the Instrument and rules via a human agent known as the Raven’s Lease. The Lease is a powerful position, but comes at a price: when the Raven’s Instrument dies, so must the Lease. Bye bye birdie, bye bye you!
Everything is fine and dandy until someone finds a way to usurp the Lease’s throne, a feat that isn’t supposed to be possible. Feuding gods, a fight to reclaim the throne, blood sacrifice, invading forces… it’s so good.
- Book Club Bonus: I love how this book plays with the idea of fate and destiny; talk about that and whether the characters acted from a place of autonomy. Discuss the role of faith and sacrifice and how the plot mirrors that of other well known stories and myths. How did the identity of the narrator work (or not) for you?
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell – I listened to this audiobook while living in a gorgeous home in the English midlands that sat on 18+ acres of woods. I’d audio while I walked through them every morning, which started off a peaceful experience…
In the year 2019 (gulp!), Jesuit priest and linguist Emilio Sandoz leads a team of missionaries on a mission to make first contact with intelligent alien life on the planet Rakhat. In the year 2059, we witness the debriefing and interrogation of the ill-fated mission’s lone survivor, a broken human in the midst of physical and emotional recovery. Details of what occurred are revealed slowly in these alternating timelines. The ending made me stop dead in my tracks in those woods and say, “Oh… hell.”
- Book Club Bonus: Talk about the role of love and faith/religion in the story; do you see it as a parable for man’s search for God and/or meaning? Should we be looking for extraterrestrial life? Unpack the reasons for the survivor’s reticence to tell their story. Then there’s the missionary angle: discuss the parallels to this mission with missionary expeditions to other countries with disastrous implications. I COULD GO ON. This book, y’all.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi – This West African fantasy (and one of this year’s Hugo winners) is set in Orisha, where the maji were massacred by a ruthless king who wants all magic erased from the world. Zélie is a diviner with the power to restore magic to Orisha, but she must first outrun the prince who’s after her head. With her brother and a defiant princess by her side, Zélie sets out to defeat the oppressive monarchy and harness her newly awoken magical abilities for good.
- Book Club Bonus: If you don’t immediately pick up on the ways in which this book harkens to current events, Tomi Adeyemi makes sure to smack you in the face with that connection in her author’s note at the end. Discuss how the book addresses issues like racism, colorism, police brutality, and social justice within the framework of this lush and magical setting.
Suggestion Section
How Long Beach, California became a “book club superhub.” The LBC has 130+ registered clubs!
Current book club picks for BuzzFeed, PBS, plus a roundup of celebrity book clubs.
Barnes & Noble’s current national book club pick is Inland by Téa Obreht. Discussions are scheduled for September 10th in stores.
Thanks for hanging with me today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with your burning book club questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the Audiobooks newsletter, get it on the Read Harder podcast, and watch me booktube every Friday too.
Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa
More Resources:
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page