Beyond Reality discussion

Nominations for October 2020

Hi everyone,
It's time to open nominations for our October 2020 Books of the Month. I'm giving each round a bit more time this month, since July is (at least traditionally) holiday season.

Each group member may make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination in this thread. If you would like to make a nomination, please reply to this post with the title and author of the book(s) you would like to put forward for the group’s consideration. A couple of suggestions to keep in mind:

1. Telling us a little about the book and why you think it would be a good group read can help get other members interested in reading (and voting for) your nomination. If possible, please use a link to the book and author in your nomination post. Click on “add book/author" for an easy way to do that.

2. To see if your nomination has already been read by the group, you can check:

a. the group's bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month

and/or

b. these threads:
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2018 - Present
Master list of Previous Books of the Month (Apr-Dec 2017)
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2012 - 2017
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2006 - 2011

Books the group has read in the past 2 years are not eligible for current consideration. Being chosen as a past BotM prior to that time is not an automatic disqualification, but be aware that it may hinder your nomination’s chances at the polls.

General guidelines:
• Feel free to re-nominate a book that didn’t win in the polls in previous months!
• For questions regarding specifics such as book formats, books in series, self-nomination and various rules for nominations, please see the group FAQ.
• Seconding isn't necessary in this group.
• Friendly discussion & debate is strongly encouraged, but let's please keep things civil.

Poll schedule:
• Nominations will remain open through Friday July 17.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Saturday July 18 and will run through Friday July 24.
• The final run-off polls go up Saturday July 25 and will be open through Friday July 31.

Thanks!
Chris, Moderator

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:
SCIENCE FICTION:
The January Dancer
The Power
The Violent Century
Neuromancer
Salvation Day
The Long Earth

FANTASY:
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Way of Thorn and Thunder
The Night Raven
The Way of Kings
What the Cat Dragged In
Freedom and Necessity

For SF I nominate The Power by Naomi Alderman.

For fantasy I nominate The Way of Thorn and Thunder by Daniel Heath Justice.

SF: The January Dancer by Michael Flynn A tale of far-future intrigue, adventure, and philosopy.

Fantasy: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

For SF I'll nominate The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar


For fantasy, The Night Raven by Sarah Painter

Anthony wrote: "For SF I nominate The Power by Naomi Alderman.

My boss bought her entire team a copy of this book for us to read together. I haven't started it yet but it looks interesting!

For SF I'll nominate a creepy one in honor of October-- Salvation Day by Kali Wallace

And for fantasy I'll nominate a less creepy one but one that still has witches and ghosts in it-- What the Cat Dragged In by Molly Milligan

For SF I'll nominate Planetfall by Emma Newman. I'll ponder a fantasy nom!

I´d like to nominate Neuromancer by William Gibson, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards in Science Fiction.

and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson in Fantasy.

Rafael wrote: "I´d like to nominate Neuromancer by William Gibson, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards in Science Fiction.

and The Way of Kings by [a..."

The group read Way of Kings in May 2014. It is indeed eligible for a re-read.

Shel wrote: "For SF I'll nominate Planetfall by Emma Newman. I'll ponder a fantasy nom!"

Sorry, Shel, we read Planetfall in December 2018, which is within the last two years. You can re-nominate for December, if you'd like.

Well, shoot! I even looked at the spreadsheet, must have missed it! Oh well :)

For SF, I will again nominate The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. I have read a number of things by Pratchett and enjoyed them all, and have read nothing by Baxter but know he is well-regarded, so I am interested what this collaboration might be like. It is the first book of a series, but that shouldn’t deter us—we often seem to read the first book of a series and occasionally go on to read more in that series.

For Fantasy, I will nominate Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. Another collaboration, this time with authors I’ve read and enjoyed. It’s a stand-alone mashup of fantasy and historical fiction with some philosophy thrown in, from what I can gather. Certainly sounds different!

Preliminary polls are up for our October BOTMs, and will be open through Friday July 24. As usual, you've submitted some wonderful choices. Let's vote!

Science Fiction: Preliminary SF Poll

Fantasy: Preliminary Fantasy Poll

Chris, Moderator
Beyond Reality

Final polls are up for our October BOTMs, and will be open through Friday July 31. It was a close race, and we have some wonderful choices. Let's vote!

Science Fiction: Final SF Poll

Fantasy: Final Fantasy Poll

Chris, Moderator
Beyond Reality