Kevin's Watch

Posted: **Mon Dec 24, 2012 9:10 pm**

As we have a little interest in at least giving this idea a try, it's time to pick our first book for the KW Book Club.

The poll for January has closed. Our first Book Club pick is Seized by Lynne Cantwell.

Maybe this is short notice for choosing a book to read in January and discuss in February, but pushing back to start in February seems too long.

Anyhow, first step is: Name a book you think we should read in January. Once we have a few nominations, I'll start a poll to decide the choice.

Don't feel like you have to all contribute a nomination - I'm hoping not to reach the poll with 1 vote per book from the person who nominated - but if you think you have a better idea than the ones suggested so far, go ahead.

For the convenience of all of us, nominations should be works that are currently widely available in print form.
(No disparagement of digital-only publications is intended, but not everyone has an ebook reader or is comfortable reading on screen.)

In future we'll have a full month to nominate and vote, rather than a week!

Posted: **Mon Dec 24, 2012 9:12 pm**

And I'm throwing in my own nomination to kick things off:

I nominate Redshirts by John Scalzi

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is even more delighted when he's assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better . . . although there are a few strange things going on . . . :

(1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces

(2) the ship's captain, the chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these encounters

(3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

Suddenly it's less surprising how much energy is expended below decks on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned an Away Mission. Andrew's fate may have been sealed . . . until he stumbles on a piece of information that changes everything . . . and offers him and his fellow redshirts a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives . . .

Disclaimer: I planned to read this book anyway; however, if it isn't chosen it'll likely fall much lower down on my to-read pile and take me months/years to get to.

Posted: **Tue Dec 25, 2012 3:01 am**

Life of Pi

Posted: **Wed Dec 26, 2012 3:10 am**

Scott Curtis' Beyond the Event Horizon

Posted: **Wed Dec 26, 2012 3:11 am**

M. Edward McNally's "The Sable City".

Posted: **Wed Dec 26, 2012 7:31 am**

Lynne Cantwell's Seized.

Posted: **Wed Dec 26, 2012 9:41 pm**

Menolly wrote:Lynne Cantwell's Seized.

I'll second this.

Posted: **Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:38 am**

rdhopeca wrote:
Menolly wrote:Lynne Cantwell's Seized.
I'll second this.

Hmmm...seems I've heard some words about this person SOMEWHERE I hang around...

Posted: **Thu Dec 27, 2012 4:30 pm**

I'll read Seized!! (and I haven't even read my signed copy of The Maiden's War yet...I hear that Cantwell chick is awesome!)

Posted: **Fri Dec 28, 2012 8:40 am**

Could we maybe make the nominations for a certain span of time a month or two in advance? For people like me, strolling into the nearest bookstore doesn't necessarily solve the problem of acquiring the novel in English, unless it's some top-chart new bestseller. Audible works as well (I don't own an e-reader at the moment), but not everything can be found in audio format. I usually order my paperbacks second-handed from Play.com, but still they may take 1,5 weeks to arrive (as opposed to American Amazon.com: 3-4 weeks and postage costs so high there's no point in utilizing that service for the sake of a single book). Haven't looked into Amazon.co.uk yet, but if the postage's as ridiculous as that of their mother company, no chances.

Seconding Life of Pi, since that's easily available on audio.

Posted: **Fri Dec 28, 2012 11:12 am**

Yeah, that's part of why I gave the "must be widely available in paper form" requirement. And in future we will have more time to obtain the chosen books.

Posted: **Fri Dec 28, 2012 5:57 pm**

Hmm, Amazon.co.uk has free delivery of orders over 25£ to Cold Farawayland. Which means I'd have to do a bulk order of items not available on Play.com.

What, I don't know. I just dragged a bunch of Estonian and Seto folktale books from Tallinn, and wasn't planning to buy anything new for a while.

Could we maybe move ali's book to March; I might have it by then?

(Or borrowed an e-reader from somewhere for my commute.)

Posted: **Fri Dec 28, 2012 6:16 pm**

We haven't even started voting for which book yet; people are just getting ahead of themselves

Posted: **Sat Dec 29, 2012 11:13 am**

Poll is up! You only have a few days to vote.

Unfortunately The Sable City appears to be eBook-only (and worse, only available from a single retailer), so has been disqualified from selection. Please check your nominations meet the requirements stated in the first post!

Here are synopses for all of the books nominated.

Beyond the Event Horizon - Scott Curtis

Skylar Rains has made a significant breakthrough regarding the future of time travel. Testing this theory however leaves him stranded 1100 years in the future with no hope of return. What he discovers is a frightening world devoid of all life. Now he must sift through the clues to learn what became of the world he once knew. Much to his surprise, he finds that these clues may lead him to another planet nearly 12 light years away. This novel, told in four parts, will show three different points of view that intertwine to shed some light on a not-so-bright future.

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan—and a 450-pound royal bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and beloved works of fiction in recent years.

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is even more delighted when he's assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better . . . although there are a few strange things going on . . . :

(1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces

(2) the ship's captain, the chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these encounters

(3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

Suddenly it's less surprising how much energy is expended below decks on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned an Away Mission. Andrew's fate may have been sealed . . . until he stumbles on a piece of information that changes everything . . . and offers him and his fellow redshirts a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives . . .

Seized - Lynne Cantwell

Naomi has a pretty sweet life. Respected as a skilled mediator, she has an almost uncanny knack for getting people on both sides of a dispute to agree. And her handsome boyfriend Brock has just proposed to her. But a white buffalo calf is bowing to her in her dreams. And who is the Native American man who has been following her around? Naomi doesn’t know it, but things are about to change....

Posted: **Sat Dec 29, 2012 10:50 pm**

But but but, if we do Seized, then I can't really participate. Unless you guys want to make a list of questions to lob at the author or something....

Seriously, I'm touched that youse guys want to read it.

Boo on The Sable City. Didn't realize it was only an e-book. I'll have to go kick Ed's ass, and then offer to format the bloody thing on CreateSpace for him.

Posted: **Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:18 am**

Less votes than we had people nominating so far!

Posted: **Mon Dec 31, 2012 4:03 am**

Hopefully they'll meander back...

Posted: **Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:38 am**

For some reason, my orange dot tree skipped over a whole bunch of posts from yesterday. Sorry for the delay in voting on my part.

Posted: **Mon Dec 31, 2012 6:20 am**

Can I join for Feb? (or jan if I decide to and get the book decided here in time?) Do not be afraid to hurt my feelings with "no" XD

(EDIT: I'm not voting because, well, maybe I'd get the book a week or two late, and things look fairly close right now.)

Posted: **Mon Dec 31, 2012 9:48 am**

Join in whenever you like. You'll have the whole month of January to read before we start discussing things, or you could wait for February's selection and start reading then.

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch Book Club - January's Pick: Seized

Kevin's Watch Book Club - January's Pick: Seized