2025 Reading Challenge discussion

I'm going in blind; since I learned from book 2 that there is not a single storyline through the books, I have avoided any blurb or description of this book. No idea what it will be about, other than (I assume) more space kindness.

Ready for pickup at the library! I have another book with a hard due date to get to first though; I expect to start reading this early next week.

Has anyone started?

... and I have frightened away the other participants, it seems.

Anyway, I have begun the read! At page 75. The titles of this trilogy are so unique, and strange until you read the book, at which point they make complete sense. I contemporize them with another slightly newer space-based trilogy by Alex White, starting with A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe, and wonder if this is a new naming convention that we will see more of. (For the record, Alex White's books are very different, comparable only in that they both take place in space and make efforts to ensure inclusiveness) Can anyone think of other book titles that are in the same vein?

Awaiting delivery of my copy. :)

I read it before but wanted to participate in the discussion anyway. I found the sense of place interesting for what is supposed to be a fleet of traveling ships to be very interesting.

Also, the composting. Especially since Washington State just enacted their new law.

The two combined make me wonder if the book might be a way of trying to get us to start examining our attitudes toward the environment and the planet as a whole. I wonder what would change if we developed a "sense of place" when it came to the planet as a whole. Actually, now that I think of it, I do have an idea; it's what astronauts call the "overview effect," and I've never heard of anyone going to space and simultaneously holding a contemptuous attitude towards the environment after they return.

Jennifer wrote: "I read it before but wanted to participate in the discussion anyway. I found the sense of place interesting for what is supposed to be a fleet of traveling ships to be very interesting.

Also, the ..."

Okay, now I'm even more intrigued. :)

I also thought the attitude of "we're all in this together" was also especially pervasive in this one.

I'll share my thoughts on the ending as soon as more people finish (or at least start reading to begin with).

Jennifer wrote: "...Also, the composting. Especially since Washington State just enacted their new law.

The two combined make me wonder if the book might be a way of trying to get us to start examining our attitudes toward the environment and the planet as a whole...."

What is the new Washington law? Wait.. searching memory... is it something about coffins having to be degradable?

Jennifer wrote: "...it's what astronauts call the "overview effect," and I've never heard of anyone going to space and simultaneously holding a contemptuous attitude towards the environment after they return. ..."

Love it! New Green Deal addendum: send everyone into space.
...
...
Oh did I forget so say anything about bringing everyone back again? Oh well, forgot some of them, my bad.

Marc wrote: "What is the new Washington law? Wait.. searching memory... is it something about coffins having to be degradable?

In Washington State, human remains can now legally be composted as an alternative to either traditional burial or cremation. If memory serves, it was enacted only a few months ago.

Marc wrote: "Oh did I forget so say anything about bringing everyone back again? Oh well, forgot some of them, my bad."

LOL!

For a cheaper version, bring back Biosphere 2 and seal small groups of people inside. The initial Biosphere 2 team reported a somewhat similar effect.

The idea of the spaceships in the book being similar to Biosphere 2 is also worth thinking about.

Kristin wrote: "I was looking through the Goodread's Biggest Books of Fall list and saw this one: To Be Taught, If Fortunate. It is a standalone novella from Chambers that takes place in space but ..."

My library has this on order (September release date?), I would be on board for a buddy read of this in October.

Interestingly, the 3rd match on my library catalogue when I searched "to be taught" is a book titled "birth control" in teen non-fiction.

Kristin wrote: "I was looking through the Goodread's Biggest Books of Fall list and saw this one: To Be Taught, If Fortunate. It is a standalone novella from Chambers that takes place in space but ..."

I don't know if I'll be able to get it from the library or not, but if I can I'd be interested.

Alas, although I received the book a week ago I have not had the time to even start it yet. Although it is next on my list and I will begin reading it tomorrow, Sunday, September 1! Sorry I wasn't able to participate in this month's discussion. I am so happy though that Chambers just received this year's Hugo Award for Best Series!! YAY!!

Oh man what’s happened to the time?! For some reason I had planned on reading this in September!! I have just got the book from the library, although I have also just started Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson for a buddy read so I’m not sure when I’ll get to it! Sorry.

I finished this last night. I really loved the visitor's speech (view spoiler)[regarding who/what society is or is not qualified to be a part of the bigger organization, The GC (Galactic Commons). We all make mistakes but that doesn't mean we can't be rehabilitated! I particularly appreciated xyr description of the Harmagian society's past mistakes... (hide spoiler)]

Chambers also did a great job tackling the question of immigration/emigration, didn't she? It doesn't always work out for the best, as with (view spoiler)[poor innocent and naive Sawyer. Man, I saw that coming from the first words Oates spoke to him, did you? But I was so sad that he died...so unfair! (hide spoiler)]

I particularly liked Chambers' description of Tessa's (view spoiler)[challenges raising children basically by herself since George was always gone. I was happy for them once the emigrated planetside and seemed to be happier. At least they were together now and Aya seemed to be much more comfortable than she was in the Fleet. (hide spoiler)]

And the issues surrounding cultural artifacts. I thought it interesting (view spoiler)[regarding the apparent regarding reusing items or saving them intact for future generations. Basically Exodans saved everything in digital format, but no actual artifacts which were repurposed and/or remade to serve other purposes, whereas other societies retained items perfectly intact. I gathered this was to be determined mainly based upon the society's environmental limitations--Exodans had NO extra space and needed to use every bit of resources they had in the most effective way possible, whereas the other society has plenty of space and could spare items to be used as simply historical displays. (hide spoiler)]

As with the other two books I fell in love with all these characters! I sure hope she writes more in this series!

Lynn wrote: "I finished this last night. I really loved the visitor's speech [spoilers removed]

Chambers also did a great job tackling the question of immigration/emigration, didn't she? It doesn't always wor..."

Glad you liked it! I agree wholeheartedly with all of the standout moments you described. Clearly Chambers is an author to watch.

As to saving cultural artifacts themselves as opposed to saving everything in digital format, I think there are some interesting issues to address. One of the problems with only saving the digital recordings is that the technology to read it is also required; otherwise you've effectively saved nothing. If there's a choice between saving a physical bronze vase of archaeological significance or saving a picture/hologram/something representing the bronze vase and then melting down the vase to reuse the bronze, I'd lean toward saving the vase itself, simply because then you don't have to worry about having lost it permanently if there are permanent "technical issues."

Also, as long as I'm on bronze art and the topic of reuse/re-purposing, most of the world's bronze art has been permanently lost to history because it was melted down to be re-purposed as weapons. Which might lead to the question of what the Exodan fleet has lost by recycling everything, and also what their attitude toward art (especially sculptural art) might be. And also what their attitude toward the sense of touch might be - at least in theory, you can physically interact with the vase, but there's no way to do that with a digital representation (at least a non-Exodan one).

Maybe I'm a bit biased on this because I just had a hard drive completely die on me, with no way to retrieve any of the data on it, but it seems to me that relying exclusively on digital ways of remembering probably isn't the best policy.

Also, with the whole idea of re-use, the Exodans did this on a very large scale when it came to dismantling Earth's cities to build their ships. Which is fine so far as it goes, but it also suggests something else was lost in the Oxomoco disaster. The ships carry the traces of the Exodans' ultimate origins, and each time one is destroyed, parts of those traces are destroyed as well. I actually would have preferred the story of the ships to (view spoiler)[ to go full circle, with the Exodans dismantling the ships to build cities on a suitable planet, even as they retained most of their unique customs. Because as things stand now, the fleet is disintegrating and another Oxomoco-type disaster is only a matter of time. To me it would have been more satisfying for them to reach their "promised land" instead of "wandering in the desert" from here on out, and ultimately dying out as a culture because they can't re-purpose what they really need to. (hide spoiler)]

Jennifer wrote: "As to saving cultural artifacts themselves as opposed to saving everything in digital format, I think there are some interesting issues to address. One of the problems with only saving the digital ..."

I used to feel as if there was no substitute for saving "the real thing," no matter what that was. As I age, I see the value in repurposing, recycling, etc. Plus, the Fleet really had no choice, not as if they had a ton of storage room or could just "buy new"!

True, the Fleet's ships are deteriorating, slowly but surely, though (view spoiler)[I thought the Oxomoco was due to the attack at the end of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, not deterioration... (hide spoiler)]

I don't remember the book as being very clear as to what caused the Oxomoco disaster, but I read Ghuh'loloan's comments as saying that what happened to the Oxomoco was a matter of deterioration.

To me, the value of saving "the real thing" is that in some cases I don't think any adequate substitutes exist, or can be produced. Or if it is of such value that we can't afford to re-purpose it. An example might be the primordial forests of the world, which are being "re-purposed" at an alarming rate.