Join us for discussion of our current book as well as helping decide our next selection.

This is what you missed at our last bookclub meeting:

For January’s meeting we read Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey , who passed away recently. The first book in her most famous series, The Dragonriders of Pern, we found it a little too young-adult (though before the term was put to fiction often) for most in the group. Valuable in being able to see the source of inspiration for many other authors, but not really to our taste, for the most part.

When: Monday, February 13, 2011 – 6:30pm-8:00pm

Where: The Noble Tree Cafe 2444 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL (usually second floor)

Cost: Free

Join us for discussion of our current book as well as helping decide our next selection.

This is what you missed at our last bookclub meeting:

For December’s meeting read The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle. A fantasy children’s classic from 1968, some say its prose-poetry belongs alongside classics like The Hobbit and Alice in Wonderland.

Most liked it, though we questioned its anachronisms and were curious about its lack of classic “happy ending,” for something so teen-oriented and similar to classic fairy tales.

When: Monday, January 9, 2011 – 6:30pm-8:00pm

Where: The Noble Tree Cafe 2444 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL (usually second floor)

Cost: Free

From the book: “The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam, but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea…”

Join us for discussion of our current book as well as helping decide our next selection.

This is what you missed at our last bookclub meeting:

We read The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. A classic science fiction serial from 1956, we found it dated, but not as badly dated as we expected. Most found the protagonist hard to like (though that’s by design) and thus found events of the book difficult to believe.

When: Monday, December 12, 2011 – 6:30pm-8:00pm

Where: The Noble Tree Cafe 2444 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL (usually second floor)

Cost: Free

As the years have passed, the novel has been recognized by more and more authors as a seminal work. Delany wrote that it’s “considered by many to be the greatest single SF novel”, and Gaiman claims “the 1980s genre [cyberpunk] owed an enormous debt to Bester — and to this book in particular.”

Join us for discussion of our current book as well as helping decide our next selection.

This is what you missed at our last bookclub meeting:

We read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

We liked the novel overall: most found it a fast read, if a little more on the young adult side than expected—especially its simplistic motivations and good/evil representations, though those could be considered an homage to the 80s in the same way that homages exist in the action of the novel.

When: Monday, November 14, 2011 – 6:30pm-8:00pm

Where: The Noble Tree Cafe 2444 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL (usually second floor)

Cost: Free

Join us for discussion of our current book as well as helping decide our next selection.

This is what you missed at our last bookclub meeting:

We read Robopocalypse by Daniel H Wilson. Wilson holds a doctorate in robotics and uses that to his advantage while describing a war between humans and robots. It was overall an enjoyable action screenplay-esque novel, though many of us had issues with some of the robots’ actions.

When: Monday, October 10, 2011 – 6:30pm-8:00pm

Where: Second floor of the Noble Tree Cafe 2444 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL

Cost: Free

Join us for discussion of our current book as well as helping decide our next selection.

This is what you missed at our last bookclub meeting:

We read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, a young adult novel featuring historical photographs. Some found the photographs a prop or a writer’s exercise, in some cases poorly worked into the narrative, while others liked the effect they had. Despite some inconsistencies, a few vague points and some lack of characterization, people enjoyed the book and found it an easy read.

When: Monday, September 12, 2011 – 6:30pm-8:00pm

Where: First or second floor of the Noble Tree Cafe 2444 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL

Cost: Free

Selected by Amazon’s editors as one of the Best Books of the Year So Far, Miss Peregrine’s Home promises to be an atmospheric and twisty book. Watch the book trailer for more.

Join us for discussion of our current book as well as helping decide our next selection.

This is what you missed at our last bookclub meeting:

We read The Adventures of Guy by Norm Cowie. To summarize: a casual romp of a quest for a group of stereotypical slackers.

It’s super-cheap in the Kindle store and there was one cool concept in it. That, however, is about all we can say for it. To quote one bookclub member: “I’m glad it’s over.” I suspect we’ll be more selective in the future. Come help us be more selective!

When: Monday, August 8, 2011 – 6:30pm-8:00pm

Where: First or second floor of the Noble Tree Cafe 2444 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL

Cost: Free

Join us for discussion of our current book as well as helping decide our next selection.

This is what you missed at our last bookclub meeting:

We read Things We Think About Games by Will Hindmarch and Jeff Tidball. Less SF/Fantasy than generally nerd-related, Things We Think contains bite-sized snippets of gaming wisdom from the two authors as well as game designers and geek luminaries like Wil Wheaton, Robin Laws, Jon Kovalic and others. Another extensive review which came up during the discussion can be found here.

The zen form for the Things contained therein was both pro and con: getting us to think, but sometimes leaving us hanging. We found we couldn’t enjoy the form as well if we weren’t familiar with the game or form being referenced. That said, the suggestions and exhortations stuck, and were enjoyed by rank and file gamers like us as well as game designers, as we were told by Will Hindmarch, who was kind enough to attend this bookclub meeting.

When: Monday, July 11, 2011 – 6:30pm-8:00pm

Where: First or second floor of the Noble Tree Cafe 2444 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL

Cost: Free

A shorter selection for this month and less SF/Fantasy than generally nerd-related, Things We Think About Games contains bite-sized snippets of gaming wisdom from the two authors as well as game designers and geek luminaries like Wil Wheaton, Robin Laws, Ken Hite, Jon Kovalic, Fred Hicks, Michelle Nephew and others. Another extensive review can be found here if you’d like a sneak peek.

Join us for discussion of our current book as well as helping decide our next selection.

This is what you missed at our last bookclub meeting:

We read A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. The first book in the Song of Ice and Fire series and now a TV adaptation on HBO, this novel won the Locus Award in 1997. Following three storylines and eight major points-of-view, this book has royalty, intrigue, battles and a hint of fantasy.

Most enjoyed it, though found it heavy on the setup to the rest of the series. While it takes a bit to get into, some of the characters and situations are pretty riveting. Most seemed interested enough to read the next book, though some may save it until the next season of the HBO series.

When: Monday, June 6, 2011 – 6:30pm-8:00pm (new week this month due to conflicts!)

Where: First or second floor of the Noble Tree Cafe 2444 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL

Cost: Free

Join us for discussion of our current book as well as helping decide our next selection.

This is what you missed at our last bookclub meeting:

We read The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. A “biopunk” novel, this science fiction novel won the Hugo in 2010, tied with our last selection, The City & the City. The Windup Girl also won the 2009 Nebula Award, the 2010 Compton Crook Award and the 2010 Locus Award for best first novel. Here, a bleak 23rd-century Bangkok is threatened by rising sea levels and strange mutations. Agribusiness controls calories, this world’s greatest commodity, and Anderson Lee searches out new sources.

Most enjoyed it, though some had some trouble getting into the story. The setting’s strong, but the action takes awhile to start, and the title character isn’t terribly well integrated in some ways.

When: Monday, May 9, 2011 – 6:30pm-8:00pm

Where: First or second floor of the Noble Tree Cafe 2444 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL

Cost: Free