Beyond Reality discussion

Hi everyone,

I'm a bit later getting this posted than I should be, as it completely slipped my mind that this is a short 28-day month, and I've had an unexpected stint offline and ill. So let's get going!

It's time to open nominations for our May 2015 Books of the Month. Each group member can 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.

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 2012-Present
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 Thursday, February 19.
• The first round of polls will open Friday, February 20, and will run through 11:59PM PST, Tuesday, February 24 (closing Midnight PST February 25.)
• The run-off polls go up Wednesday, February 25, and will be open through 11:59PM PST Saturday, February 28 (closing Midnight PST March 1.)

Thanks!


NOMINATIONS SO FAR:

FANTASY:
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett (Pickle)
The Edge of the World by Kevin J. Anderson (Tani)
Watchmen by Alan Moore (Maggie)
Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Teanka)
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (Nicole)
The Element of Fire by Martha Wells (Helen)
Malice by John Gwynne (Bob)
The Gunslinger by Stephen King (Kurt)
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller (Kevin)
Smiler's Fair by Rebecca Levene (Justine)


SCIENCE FICTION:
Man Plus by Frederik Pohl (Pickle)
The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov (Tani)
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (Maggie)
A Darkling Sea by James L. Cambias (Teanka)
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (Nicole)
Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner (Kurt)
Creatures of Light and Darkness by Roger Zelazny (Kevin)
Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach (Justine)

ive checked the bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month and dont see these listed so would like to nominate:

Man Plus by Frederik Pohl. Ive read The Space Merchants which i loved and Gateway which i thought was ok, so interested to see how this fares.

Fantasy: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett.

I would have liked to nominate The Tommyknockers but unsure whether that fits into any category?

For science fiction:

I'd like to nominate The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov. Looks like it was a book of month back in 2008, but I'm trying to do a slow read through of Asimov's books, and this is both the first in the Robot series and next on my list, so it seems appropriate.

For fantasy:
I'd like to nominate The Edge of the World by Kevin J. Anderson. I added it to my to-read list forever ago because it was recommended as great epic fantasy, but I haven't gotten to it.

Since it came so close last month, i will nominate Watchmen byAlan Moore for fantasy.
I have really been tryingto get to Ursula K. Le Guin The Dispossessed, so i will nominate that for sci-fi.

I would like to nominate Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky for fantasy. I've heard a lot about this series and wanted to give it a try. It's fairly original, featuring various human races with specific insect adaptations and a good plot and worldbuilding.

For sci fi I'd like to nominate A Darkling Sea by James L Cambias, because the it's a first contact story with an aquatic species which sounds interesting.

Well I'm definitely readingThe Element of Fire over Whit so this week be your last chance to join me.

We read one of hers a few years back, City of Bones and The Cloud Roads (start of a trilogy) was one of the most interesting works I've recently visited.

Come join me. Fantasy nom

For fantasy, I'll nominate Malice by John Gwynne. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It goes down the stereotypical high fantasy path where a young boy of questionable parentage/heritage seems destined to save the world from some evil force. Not exactly anything new or exciting. While the book mostly stays that course, I found that by the 2nd half of the book, I had trouble putting it down. Some unexpected events and good story telling.

Warning: It is the first book of a series.

For Fantasy I'll nominate The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger by Stephen King. This is one of those books that will eventually be an HBO television show. So you might as well read the first book now.

For Science Fiction I nominate Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner. This book was said to be very close to what was predicted for our time. Why not see how true that is?

I will nominate The Innocent Mage for fantasy and Creatures of Light and Darkness for sf.

I would like to nominate Fortune's Pawn for SF. I haven't read any of the Paradox series, but it has been described as sci-fi written like urban fantasy - kind of a mash up. The main character is described as a Ripley-meets-Starbuck character, so that also sounds kind of intriguing to me.

For Fantasy, I would like to nominate Smiler's Fair. I haven't read this one either, but Fantasy Faction listed it as one of the Top 50 best Fantasy books of 2014, so I thought I probably should. :)

For anyone who is interested, the Fantasy Faction list is here: http://fantasy-faction.com/2015/fanta...

Nominations are closed, and the polls will be up soon.

Always an exciting time.

The first round of polls are open and will run through 11:59PM PST, Tuesday, February 24 (closing Midnight PST February 25.)


Science Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Fantasy: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Is the fantasy poll supposed to be Michael or Otis, who's the coolest?

Brenda ╰☆╮ wrote: "Is the fantasy poll supposed to be Michael or Otis, who's the coolest?"

Brenda - I am completely confused by your question. I clicked the link, and it sent me to the poll. Are you getting a weird redirect? Or are you making a joke I don't get? Or?

Must be getting a weird redirect.

Sends me here.
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

I didn't like to ask what you were talking about, link works for me. Yours however is much funnier ;)

Wasn't sure if it would show up when I copied it. LOL

I switched to a different browser and the link is woring in the proper manner.
Hehe. Joke's on me.

I get the Michael and Otis poll when I click it on the mobile app. I think I've seen it happen in other groups too.

Funny, who knew biting could be amusing.

John wrote: "I get the Michael and Otis poll when I click it on the mobile app. I think I've seen it happen in other groups too."

Im only having the problem with the app. I just asked an inquiry on the Goodreads group.

Happens with all polls I've clicked on.

Don't worry, I've voted for a good book. You'll love it!

The run-off polls are open. Hopefully those accessing them via the mobile app will get directed to the proper polls. If not, you can navigate to them via the "Polls" link at the top right of any page of this group. (Er...assuming you have that link available on the app. I don't use it, so I know next-to-nothing about it.) They should (hopefully...) be the first two polls listed.

Also, I posted this note in each of the first round polls threads but will copy it here in case anyone missed it:

"FYI: Just as last month, I had to manually close the polls. Searching the Goodreads Feedback group, I found that GR changed poll end times. Prior to 2015, if you set the poll to end on, for example, February 25 (as I had this poll) it would end the minute the date changed to Feb. 25, at midnight. Now polls run through 11:59 PM on the poll date - a full 24-hour difference from the old method, with no alert to mods and members of this change. So...

Sorry for any confusion. I'll know to move the date one day earlier next time."

We're having "fun" with Goodreads' quirks! ;)


Science Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Fantasy: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Pickle wrote: "ive checked the bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month and dont see these listed so would like to nominate:

Man Plus by Frederik Pohl. Ive read


Hi Pickle,

For future reference, The Tommyknockers would be a fine nomination for science fiction. Science fiction is listed above fantasy on its home page, and that is the criterion we use for determining the appropriate category.

Gothics usually fall under "Fantasy" first, so I can see your confusion. Also, be warned -- gothics do not tend to do well in the polls of this group. But if you want to nominate The Tommyknockers anytime in the future, I say go for it.