Beyond Reality discussion

While we all do our best to get through the rest of 2020, let’s look ahead! Nominations for our Books of the Month for January 2021 are now open! Each group member can make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination. 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 Beyond Reality Google spreadsheet of Previous Books of the Month, available at this link: Previous Books of the Month in Searchable Spreadsheet. To search for a specific title, use the "Find and Replace" option under the EDIT menu. Don't worry, you will be able to find a title but you will not be able to replace it since the spread sheet is in "View Only" mode.

b. the group's bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month
and/or
c. 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 is NOT necessary in this group.
• Friendly discussion & debate is strongly encouraged, but please keep things civil.

Poll schedule:
• Nominations will remain open through Monday, October 19.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Tuesday, October 20 and will run through Sunday, October 25.
• The final run-off polls go up Monday, October 26 and will be open through Saturday, October 31.

Thanks!
Kathi, for the Mods

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:
FANTASY:
The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson
Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner
The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster
The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham

SF:
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
The Myriad by R.M. Meluch
The Night Sessions by Ken MacLeod
The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Fool's War by Sarah Zettel

SF: It's a quick one, but I recently read Becky Chambers' To Be Taught, If Fortunate and I'd love to discuss it--the ending, especially. It's a standalone, and was a five star read for me.

Fantasy: I also recently picked up Sarah Beth Durst' The Queen of Blood which is on sale right now on Kindle for $2.99. I've been wanting to read something by Durst for a while, so this seems like a good place to start.

For SF Skyward by Brandon Sanderson. His Fantasy appears to very popular and I gather this is his first attempt at SF and has a rather good average Goodreads rating.

For Fantasy Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft. Cos’ of these:

'One of my favourite books of all time' Mark Lawrence

'An extraordinary debut that is well worthy of the hype. A beautifully written, highly engaging page-turning masterpiece' Fantasy Book Review

And cos‘ it sounds interesting.

Only a few more days for nominations! Nominations are open through Monday, October 19!

Sci-Fi
The Myriad by R.M. Meluch
looks like a fun read

Fantasy
Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson
classic fantasy and not too long

For scifi I'll nominate The Night Sessions by Ken MacLeod


and for fantasy Thomas the Rhymer byEllen Kushner

SF - The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Looks so good!

Fantasy - how about The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster? It looks like a fun light read and I need light reads these days!

For SF, Fool's War by Sarah Zettel. I have enjoyed her Isavalta fantasy series and found her stand-alone science fiction books very thought-provoking.

Still thinking about a fantasy nomination.

For fantasy I will nominate The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham. His Long Price Quartet was excellent, and this is the first book in his Dagger and Coin series. The group read it back in 2015, but I didn’t read it then and would like to read this series, so this would get me started on it.

Nominations close tonight!

Preliminary polls are open and will remain open through Sunday, October 25.

SF Preliminary Poll

FANTASY Preliminary Poll

You still have 2 days to vote. I won’t say it’s your “civic duty” but as we all know, voting is important! ;-) Preliminary polls close at the end of Oct. 25.

SF Preliminary Poll

FANTASY Preliminary Poll

Final polls are open for our January 2021 Books of the Month. Polls are open through the end of October. Please vote!

Final Poll for January 2021 SF BotM

Final Poll for January 2021 FANTASY BotM

Well, I debated writing about the full moon, Halloween, or the importance of participating in elections, but decided to keep it simple.

Only 2 days left to choose our January 2021 Books of the Month. Please vote!

Final Poll for January 2021 SF BotM

Final Poll for January 2021 FANTASY BotM