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Selections from the Hoboken Public Library’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club 2015 Part 4: A Game of Thrones, Dune, and Jurassic Park

30 Sep

Fans of Sci-fi and Fantasy have a home at the Hoboken Public Library’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club.  We have continued to have some great discussions this year.  You can see previous book club posts at these links: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.  Along with the selected works, group members discussed other favorite science fiction/fantasy books, TV shows, and movies.  If you are a fan of the genres, join us for some great reads in the upcoming months!  We will be reading Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin in October (around Halloween each year we read a classic horror novel), Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut in November and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.  Come to the upcoming meetings and you can help decide what we read in 2016.  We will be showing film adaptations before some of the Book Discussions.  You can email hplwriters AT gmail DOT com to be added to the mailing list for the group and find out more information and get reminders about the books being discussed.

George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones

a-game-of-thrones
We were wishing winter was coming when we discussed A Game of Thrones, on one of the hottest days of the year in August.  A Game of Thrones interweaves several narrative perspectives from different characters living in a world similar to Eurasia during the Middle Ages that is about to experience both a physical as well as metaphorical epic winter.  The book is over eight hundred pages, but it moved quickly for me and I felt at the end that although many of the characters had complete story arcs in their own narratives, all additionally added up to a larger whole like a story of the larger chess game being played out with the various knights, kings, and queens in this fascinatingly developed detailed world.  There are elements of suspense, political intrigue, mystery, and romance that will appeal to those who are not typically fantasy fans.  The series is probably the most popular high fantasy series of this decade due to the popularity of the critically acclaimed HBO TV series.  Many of the group had read the entire series and seen the TV show.  I had previously watched the first and some of the second season of the TV show and though I had enjoyed it, I found that the book added a greater dimension and understanding to the characters and their motivations.  The group had a lively discussion about the characters and plot twists.  I served a special castle-shaped cake (lemon flavored in honor of Sansa’s favorite dessert) as well as other Game of Thrones themed refreshments.

Frank Herbert’s Dune

dune
In August, we discussed the 1965 soft science fiction classic Dune by Frank Herbert.  I was intrigued to read Dune since I had heard a lot about it over the years.  It is said to be an inspiration for the Star Wars series and a lot of other popular science fiction works.  It was a nice selection to follow A Game of Thrones since it dealt with some similar themes of the nature of family and political intrigue.  This is a good choice for those who like their science fiction more focused on plot and character and less on the scientific aspects of things.  It is set in a universe where higher technology like AIs have been banned and instead people use their minds to replace higher computing tasks.  A special spice, melange, only found on Arrakis enhances their abilities.  Paul Atreides, the prophesied savior of the desert planet Arrakis and chosen one of the Bene Gesserit religious order, is the main character, however, I found myself most drawn to the story of his mother who is a powerful figure in her own right.  Before the book discussion a screening of the movie adaptation of Dune was held.  We enjoyed spice cupcakes with sand (gummy) worms and other Dune themed refreshments.  It was great to hear from some of those who attended who were huge fans of the book.  Several people had read the whole series and were able to provide a great deal of insight.  One person even brought a Dune popup book based on the movie to share.

Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park

jurassic-park
In September, we discussed Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, which celebrated its 25th birthday this year.  Although some of the science is slightly outdated now in its view of the dinosaurs (they don’t have feathers and the Velociraptors are too big), the book still remains a suspenseful thriller.  It was amusing to see the characters surprised by encountering a touch screen on a computer for the first time, which has become ubiquitous now, but with tech like drones and smart homes in the news, fears of computer systems malfunctions seems more relevant than ever.  In contrast to A Game of Thrones there are some definite “good” and “bad” guys in the book, but the group felt that most of the characters were better developed than in the movie version and showed some complexity, rather than just have the book be purely plot driven.  One positive of the movie though was that it makes the female characters, especially Lex, less weak then they are depicted in the novel.  At half the page length of the previous two books we’ve read, I found myself quickly moving through it over the Labor Day weekend.  It was fun to see the original movie with the group, after this summer’s recent blockbuster success of Jurassic World.

I hope you’ll check out these great science fiction and fantasy works (all are available in print from our library or as an eBook on one our ereaders for loan at the reference desk) and join us in October for our next book discussion of the classic Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levine on October 19 at 6 PM!  There will be a special movie screening beforehand starting at 4 PM (email hplwriters AT gmail DOT com for more details).  If you can’t get enough of spooky reads you can also join the library’s other book group for a discussion of the new chilling thriller, A Head Full of Ghosts, by Paul Tremblay on Thursday, October 29 at 7:30 PM.  And for those that love to write as much as they love to read, consider joining our Writers Group which is meeting October 5 at 6 PM.

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

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Selections from the Hoboken Public Library’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club Part 3: Ringworld, Ghost Story, Frankenstein, and Hogfather

22 Dec

The HPL’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club started in January of this year.  We have had great discussions each month of a different science fiction or fantasy book picked by the group.  Along with the selected works, group members discuss other favorite science fiction/fantasy books, TV shows, and movies.    We would love to have you join us in the New Year!  We will be reading Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers for January’s discussion, the first three L. Frank Baum books for February, and David Weber’s On Basilisk Station for March.  You can also check out my previous two blog posts (Part 1 and Part 2) to see other books the group read this past year.

Ringworld, by Larry Niven

Ringworld
Ringworld resulted in a lively discussion amongst the group members and had the biggest turnout of any book discussion this year.  Several of the members of the book discussion group were huge fans of Larry Niven’s work and as a new reader to Ringworld it was nice to get their perspectives.  Niven’s work appeals to those who like hard science fiction and it is driven by ideas and science with characters and plot there to highlight these concepts.  Ringworld is a manmade ring shaped world which was abandoned by its creators who those left behind now worship as gods.  Four explorers: two humans and two aliens, make the journey to Ringworld.  I enjoyed the aliens that Niven created: the cat-like Kzin, and a Pierson’s Puppeteer who has two heads that it also uses as hands and whose brain is located at the top of its spinal column.  The group remarked Niven’s human characters also felt alien since they were living so far into the future and with the help of booster spice had the opportunity to live a long life of leisure.  It is a great adventure story.  The group did note though that the depiction of women was dated and would probably need to be updated if Ringworld was adapted in movie form for a modern audience.  The book has not yet been adapted to television or movies, but the video game Halo’s world was inspired by Ringworld.  If you enjoy Ringworld there are several sequels focusing on Ringworld, and Niven set several other works of his in the known space universe as well.

Ghost Story, by Peter Straub

ghost-story
The book club decided to read a classic work of horror for October’s book of the month, Peter Straub’s Ghost Story.  I’ve been known to have nightmares just from the commercials from horror movies so I decided this book would not be one I would be reading right before bed.  Ghost Story is the tale of “Chowder Society,” a group of friends that gather together to tell spooky tales, but the scariest tale of all is the one they are living through as a supernatural entity is out to seek revenge for an incident that occurred years earlier.  As well as his own works, Straub has also collaborated with friend and fellow horror great, Stephen King.  King has praised Ghost Story.  As is frequent in King’s works, one of the characters in the novel is an author whose own work informs what is going on in the small but not so idyllic town of Milburn, NY.  This book was not amongst the favorites overall of books we have read for the group.  Much of the group felt the pace was too slow and would have benefited from paring down the story significantly.  However, there were portions that were still riveting and the story holds up well even 35 years after initial publication.  Ghost Story seemed to the group to focus on the potential for evil to secretly lurk in those around us.  It also provides a meditation on the nature of long term friendships. The library showed the 1981 film that the book was based on for further discussion.

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

frankenstein
Frankenstein has become a part of modern pop culture with numerous reinterpretations like TV’s Herman Munster and even FrankenBerry, a cartoon character hawking sugary cereal.  The visuals of the iconic look of the character comes from Boris Karloff’s portrayal in the 1931, but the tragic story of man who sought create a life and instead created a monster came from the imagination of a young Mary Shelley. I read Frankenstein for a literature class taught by one of my favorite professors at Montclair State University.  The class centered on understanding the different types of literary criticism such as new criticism, feminist criticism, Marxist criticism, reader response and more using the text of Frankenstein to see how the book could be interpreted differently by each of these methods.  Having spent a whole semester so closely reading the book 15 years ago, I was looking forward to seeing how the members of the book discussion would react to Mary Shelley’s classic work.  And sure enough the insightful members of the group still had further interpretations of the novel including one unique perspective about the mystery elements of the work.  The wonderful part about book clubs is that they let you see books from not only your perspective, but also gives you the insights from other readers.  If you only are familiar with the films, you should definitely check out Shelley’s Frankenstein, which is often considered the first science fiction novel.

Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett

hogfather
Terry Pratchett is my father’s favorite fantasy author.  I can remember him passing along several of his favorites to me when I was a teenager.  Pratchett’s novels are hilarious and we thought his novel Hogfather (a Discworld version of Santa) would be the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season.  The Discworld is a magical realm filled with wizards, witches, and some magical creatures from Pratchett’s own imagination.  His work often pokes fun at other Science Fiction and Fantasy authors such as Tolkien and Lovecraft as well as satirizing modern daily life.  Hogfather takes a humorous look at the commercialism of our holidays.  As a fan of Nightmare Before Christmas, Death’s attempt to take over the part of the m.i.a. Hogfather reminded me and some of the other group members, of Jack Skellington’s similar efforts to replace Santa Claus in Tim Burton’s movie.  You can find many of Pratchett’s Discworld novels at BCCLS libraries and as eBooks for download for Hoboken Library cardholders from eLibraryNJ.  Group members noted that the novel has a more cohesive plot than much of Pratchett’s work and that although it features characters from other Pratchett novels, it is not necessary to have read the other books to enjoy this one.  The movie was adapted as a television movie in the UK and is available on DVD.  Although the movie’s special effects are not always the best, the acting is enjoyable.  Group members especially mentioned liking the portrayal of the villainous Teatime.

Hope to see you for our discussion of Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers in January!

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

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