OutReaders:2019-09
9/21/19 1-2:30 pm
Northwest Library at Scott’s Blvd.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
13 people attended. We had a few snacks and drinks. We went over these items:
- We have Bookmarks
- We have a Goodreads group
- We need a rating system for books
- Next meeting is Oct 19 at 2 pm at the Kirkwood Library
Book discussion recap
This year is the 50th anniversary of the publishing of this book. Although we did not choose this book because of that, we thought it was a fitting way to begin the book club. We talked a little bit about whether it holds up today.
It takes a long time to get into the book because nothing happens in the first 200 pages or so. But a few people liked the first 200 pages better than the last 150.
The separation of the sex drive from the rest of Gethenian society was interesting. So much of what humans/Earthlings do is informed by sex and sex drive, while on Gethen the opposite is true.
Use of the pronoun “he” to describe Gethenians: It was weird and hard to get used to. It dismisses the female aspects of Gethenians. Was it intentional by the author or out of necessity? Was it a reflection of the time (1969)? Was it because the narrator was biased against females? We discussed this a lot.
The Gethenians are not white. This is not talked about a lot in the book, but it does get mentions.
Why did the Ekumen send a male? Maybe because he can blend in more than a woman can? He can hide his sex organs under clothes while women have a bit more trouble with that. Also, Genly just looks a lot like a Gethenian but taller.
Talked about sci-fi and books in general: Can humans create something that is totally alien and not relatable? In books or in art? We discussed this and decided probably no because 1) When a human creates something it is filtered through the human brain, and 2) humans are programmed to recognize the familiar in everything. Like Jesus on a piece of toast.
We talked a little bit about Estraven’s death and whether it was suicide.
Rating: Mostly thumbs up. Some people had tried to read it before and couldn't get through it, so they were glad they had a reason to pick it up and finish it. However, some people said they would not read it again.
Byron is creating an app to let us vote online through our phones. It’s not ready yet. For this meeting we used a poll on the web.
November book nominations (winner in bold):
- The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Becky Chambers) - Sophie Binney nominated
- Old Man's War (John Scalzi)
- The Institute (Stephen King)
- The Golden Globe (John Varley)
- Tipping the Velvet (Sarah Waters)
- How Long 'Til Black Future Month? (N. K. Jemisin)
