50 books to read before you die discussion

Dune, the SF classic, was voted to be our monthly group read for July 2017 from open nominations.

I was so pleased that this was this months group read as I had it on my old kindle but hadn't got around to reading it. I have finished reading it and thoroughly enjoyed it, I can see the influence it's had over so many sci-fi movies. I'm going to carry on reading the series as the ending left you wanting to know what happened next.


PS. I'm not that quick a reader but started reading before July 1st

I was just going to say that was impressive speed reading when I saw your P.S. lol

I have just started Dune. I have 3 books from the series bound together and its pretty heavy so I am not able to carry it along daily and read during my commute. Paul is yet to reach Arrakis.

I read Dune years ago when it was new. I don't remember much of it; It wasn't a particular favorite. Everybody else rates it so highly that I decided to read it again for this months group read. I put a hold on it at my library; I'm one of 11 waiting for 2 copies. It'll be weeks before I get it.

Still very popular for a book that was published in the 60s!

I read it when first in serial form in ANALOG sf magazine.

Finished it a few days back and it is the best science fiction book I have read. The characters, the setting, the plot - everything was amazing.

Felt sad about the path of destruction that Paul is on, even though the alternative with the Emperor and Baron winning is unbearable. Doomed life for such an incredible young man.

The Islamic influence of the novel was also intriguing, maybe because its a desert country like the middle east? Spice = oil? Plus there were a lot of words like jihad, hajra, padishah etc i recognized and probably many more that I didn't understand.

Will try and finish the next 2 in the series too this year.

I have finished the 2nd book now, which is set 12 years later in the aftermath of Paul's jihad. The pace is a bit slower but I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

Annie wrote: "Still very popular for a book that was published in the 60s!"
Wow! How long it did take for the book to complete in serial form?

Now I have read Dune a second time.

I read Dune years ago. I used to peruse the racks of paperbacks looking for books that had won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards. I probably read it not long after it won those awards and long before it achieved its widespread acclaim and pole position on nearly every list of SF books. What I remembered is the desert dunes and riding the sand worms, the spice that stained addicts' lips purple, and not a lot else. Boy, I had forgotten a lot.

The story put me in mind of Lawrence of Arabia. I rated it higher than I previously did on the basis of my spotty memory of my first reading, but I still don't put it on my personal list of best SF.