Book of the Month Official July/August Suggestion thread

Thank you to @dmj, @Helium_3, and @kewldude007 for showing up to June's BOM. Normally, @gearheadgirl27 is the one who runs the book club but because she hasn't appeared on the forums since May 9th, I will commandeer things until she comes back.

This is the suggestion thread for July/August Book of the Month. The rules follows:

  1. Suggest one book per post/comment so anyone who wants to vote your post will be voting a particular book. Please do not put multiple suggested books in one post/comment and I recommending writing a quick summary of the book you are suggesting as opposed to putting only a link so it will be easier for someone to make a decision.

  2. You can vote up to two books from other people by liking their post.

  3. The thread will close next week (July 10th) and the three most voted books along with "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" will go into a poll for three days.

Note: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams will be on that poll since it was in 2nd place on last poll.

Cannot wait to see everyone's suggestions.

Past BOMs.

  • January/Feburary: Neuromancer by William Gibson (Science Fiction)
  • March/April: Foundation by Issac Asimov (Science Fiction)
  • May/June: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Historical Fiction)
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Gonna think about my suggestion tomorrow.

Thanks for organizing this!

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We often call our modern society "orwellian", or at least describe it as moving towards an orwellian world. So let's talk about why.


Although I wouldn't object against THGTTG either, it may be a time for me to read it again. =)

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It's been more than a decade since I last read 1984 and my world view has changed drastically. It might be a good time to re-read it since I recently read Huxley's Brave New World and BNW:Revisited. Then I could compare the two in relation to what's going on today.

On a completely different note, I've also read Confessions Of An Economic Hitman, and as suggested in the Foundation discussion, I've put Currency Wars on my list, because it was said to offer a more in-depth picture into economic warfare. That's my suggestion for this month:

Remember when I said in the meeting that my library has huge demands for 1984, but not enough supply? I'm not kidding.

If 1984 somehow wins, I'll have to buy it.

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My non-fiction suggestion for this month is "So You've Been Publicly Shamed" by Jon Ronson

The book accounts for how shame is used in the modern era and how it speaks about our human nature. It takes accounts of highly shamed people that either made a mistake in their career or said something on social media that was taken the wrong way and how the information on that error quickly spreads. That being said, the book is mainly an entertaining investigation and not some scientific work.

My therapist recommends reading this. I figured some might be interested here too. It goes over the basis of the things successful people used as a framework in order to achieve their goals in life, and offers a unique interpretation of life as it is: https://www.amazon.com/Think-Grow-Rich-Napoleon-Hill/dp/0449214923/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0449214923&pd_rd_r=Q5M5Y2RBE9K3Q3E3G8QA&pd_rd_w=pgEu9&pd_rd_wg=qhRfs&psc=1&refRID=Q5M5Y2RBE9K3Q3E3G8QA

Buy a chocolate for the librarian and tell him/her to save you a copy for you. :smiley:

Thanks for the suggestion. I've heard good things about Tools of Titans, if anyone is interested in those sorts of books. It's on my list, but for the BOM I'd prefer reading some classic literature.

opens wiki page on author
"bankruptcies, fraud, blue sky violation, fairy tales about being a president's advisor..."
closes wiki page on author
Yup, pretty much what I expected.

I'm in a huge existencialist reading phase so yeah, take a bite.

So I have been trying to find a fanstasy book suggestion that I can just rent from my library but the ones I want typically have multiple holds on them. I'm not in the mood to buy a book save for 1984 or Hitchiker's if that wins. Going to end this thread probably by Friday and create a voting poll.

My one of two fantasy book suggestions: The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King. Fantasy would be anomalous to his usual forte of writing supernatural horror and suspense but I don't knock down someone for trying something different.

The book is about a mysterious character known as "The Gunslinger" and he is pursing a man in black as he may lead him to his eventual goal, The Dark Tower. The setting of the book takes place in some alternale Old West future that mirrors the real world we live in.

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Doesn't look like there will be anymore suggestions (probably either lack of interest or terrible marketing on my part. Likely the latter). Going to release the poll sometime tomorrow. Poll will have Hitchhiker's, 1984, and Dark Towers unless something changes.

I won't have time to participate, but I'll throw up a suggestion. I read this sci-fi/fantasy book several times as a young adult and obviously enjoyed it. I wouldn't mind someone else take on it.

Dhalgren by Samuel R. DeLaney

A drifter with a bad memory enters a seemingly post apocalyptic city. Memory is a key element of the story.

This is a great read, exploring society & culture from a scientific standpoint. It's been many years since I read it, but it is one of the most interesting & entertaining books that I have ever read.

1 Like