Suggestions for my book club!

[Mangara]

Hello!

We are going to be hosting a book club, and there are going to be readers of non SF/F there, but I want to suggest something everyone can relate to but has SF themes (even if they are secondary to the main story). Can you think of any novels with a SF/F setting that will be appealing enough for non SF/F readers?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Females/ males/ age groups?

 

[Lenny]

How about Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke? It's a heavy tome, with lots of magic and fantasy elements, but spans enough genres to keep most people happy. There's more than enough content for discussions, too!

I'm basing this recommendation on me mam, who doesn't particularly like SFF books but really enjoyed JS&MR.

EDIT: Yeah, fair point - ages? JS&MN is probably suitable for the young adult and above. I read it not long after me mam, so I would have been 14, and I didn't have any troubles with it (though I probably had a more advanced reading age than the average 14 year old).

 

[Extollager]

Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go should have strong crossover appeal.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

For light spec with added weepiness, Time Traveler's Wife. If younger, maybe humourous - Prachett/ Adams are an easy read. Some Heinlein is very accessible, if dated. If a young crowd, Ender's Game is a short, easy read and topical. The Hobbit s another easy read.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Also, Frank Herbert's "Dune" is a classic that is a classic, has character, an exotic setting, and is generally held to be the best example of omniscient POV in the genre - if of interest.

 

[Rodders]

The Player of Games by Iain M. banks.

It's accessible SF in my opinion.

 

[Steven Dickson]

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. It's nominally science fiction in that it's set in a dystopian near future but it still appeals to a more literary minded audience due to its exploration of social issues. As an indication of the book's cross-genre appeal, it was nominated for both the Booker Prize and the Nebula Award and won the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

 

[Mangara]

Its going to be both sexes ages 22-40. Some great suggestions here.

 

[biodroid]

The Player of Games by Iain M. banks.

It's accessible SF in my opinion.

Wouldnt Brians Dune recommendation be less on the far fetched side than Banks? I havent read this book by Banks but Dune was fantastic, to me it had a more character centered story that so happens to be on a desert planet with huge worms. I stand corrected, I think I just need to knuckle down and get going on a Banks book.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Across the Nightingale Floor Lian Hearne went down well at the local book club here. But it is fantasy rather than sci-fi.

 

[Montero]

Anne McCaffrey - Dragonsinger.

It starts out very much as a historical type story - following life of Menolly in the sea hold, fishing, harper-ing and so forth - brings in the dragons of Pern as you go along. Relatively light on the genre elements and an appealing story. (Happens to be the book that got me started properly on genre fiction.)

Or possibly John Wyndham for "purer" sf. Everyone has heard of Day of the Triffids. I'd actually suggest The Midwich Cuckoos. One of those that you could almost believe was happening in a town just down the road from you.....

PS I know The Time Travellers Wife is very popular - despite being a keen sff person, I gave up on it.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Some more information might be helpful here. Does your club prefer classics? I'd suggest something by Wells. (My experience is that book clubs work best with shorter works, so we'd be talking about The Time Machine or The Island of Doctor Moreau.) Do they prefer more modern literature? I might suggest Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg, which is pretty much a contemporary literary novel with one speculative element. Do they prefer "light" reading? (Not necessarily comedy, but "beach" reading or whatever -- mystery/adventure/romance/etc.) I might suggest something like The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov -- the whodunit plot and Asimov's clear style would help readers not used to SF.

 

[alchemist]

Anything by Guy Gavriel Kay, particularly Tigana (has magic) or The Lions of Al-Rassan (no magic IIRC, so probably not really Fantasy). They would appeal to a broad audience.

Faerie Tale by Raymond E Feist. More contemporary fantasy than epic fantasy, and a cracking read.

 

[Randy M.]

Some more information might be helpful here. Does your club prefer classics? I'd suggest something by Wells. (My experience is that book clubs work best with shorter works, so we'd be talking about The Time Machine or The Island of Doctor Moreau.) Do they prefer more modern literature? I might suggest Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg, which is pretty much a contemporary literary novel with one speculative element. Do they prefer "light" reading? (Not necessarily comedy, but "beach" reading or whatever -- mystery/adventure/romance/etc.) I might suggest something like The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov -- the whodunit plot and Asimov's clear style would help readers not used to SF.

I agree about shorter, and those look like good suggestions, although I haven't read the Asimov and what I've read by Asimov wouldn't lead to much discussion.

Other (fantasy) titles you might want to look into,
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (don't judge by the movie, which took a lowest common denominator approach to the screen play)
The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
The Red of His Shadow by Mayra Montero (magic realism, kind of dark)
Twilight by William Gay (use of fairy tale forest location)
The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles Finney (again, don't judge by the movie)
Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin (taps into Jekyll/Hyde, since Mary is Jekyll's house keeper; not cheesy in spite of how that might sound)


Randy M.

 

[Extollager]

C. S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces is a superlative retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, with strong themes of woman's identity issues (father-daughter, ugly sister-beautiful sister, woman as a sovereign), teacher-pupil relationship, and of "dysfunctional family." It's a good read that is loaded with discussion hooks.

 

[Christopher Lee]

I would recommend the Time Traveler's Wife. Time travel element, but not entirely Sci Fi.

 

[bluenimbus]

how about something by Neil Gaiman, it's fantasy but verging on mainstream, (i think)
there's also Lavinia by Ursula Leguin, its kind of historical with mild fantasy suggestive themes. (gosh this sounds like a DVD rating: 'contains strong language and adult themes') sorry bout that

 

[bluenimbus]

but how could i forget? there is of course Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley a classic. the gormenghast trilogy is also considered mainstream

 

[Timba]

The Passage by Justin Cronin. I am not usually up for chatting about a book when I have finished reading it but this book had me wishing I had a group to chat with.