OutReaders:2019-11

11/16/19 2-4 pm
Kirkwood Library
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Robert Allen was the coordinator. 13 people attended.

We went over these items:

• Rating system for books. Byron Altice is working on adding a rating system to the app he wrote that we use to vote on books. It’s not up and running yet so stay tuned.
• Book club name. Everyone seems to think that OutReaders seems fine. There was not a lot of input.
• Next meeting is Dec. 21 at 2 pm at Kirkwood Library. The book is Old Man’s War by John Scalzi.

Book discussion recap:
The book has multiple points of view did it work? In general yes. Because most points of view were confined to the same location (the ship), it worked in this book. In other books, with many scattered locations, that may not work as well. Looking at you, Game of Thrones. It also worked in the audiobook, one person said. It was not hard to follow. Plus with different alien races, you need different points of view. And it helped establish characters, families, relationships, etc.

The book feels like a TV show. Especially the pacing and perspective. The optimism in the book works for a TV show. The whole story could have been darker but wasn’t. Reminded some of us of Firefly. Some characters got better storylines than others. Ashby and Corbin’s stories were not particularly good or fleshed out.

What is the overarching theme? Is it the human exodus? Violence vs pacifism? When is violence necessary? It's so innate to humanity. Does it serve a purpose or thrust us forward? We are violent but smart too. Are we mature enough? Dr. Chef's race is a cautionary tale, but the lesson has no subtlety. Happiness as a goal is a common theme too, as is family. The different species are accepting of each other, but sometimes you want to be around your own species. You don't like their customs or oddities. But in the end, they are all family.

Speaking of family, Sissix's family structure is weird but some parts make sense. Letting old people raise children. Not getting attached to babies because they are not "people." Also the concept of egg family, feather family, hatch family. Feather family is somewhat like the gay/lesbian community - building a family not blood-related.

Did Lovey really die or was it just a form of brain damage? Is she really gone or just has another personality? We discussed what it means when an AI dies.

Was it ok to give Ohan the medicine against his will? We discussed the pros and cons. Corbin seemed like he was doing something to help the crew and Ohan, but it took away Ohan's right to choose.

Was Corbin on the spectrum? Seemed self-absorbed and aloof but at other times burst into interactions with others.

Characters: Sissix seems to be the most developed character and also would make a good companion with Rosemary. Their relationship would make an interesting story for future books. Jenks and Lovey's relationship somewhat mirrors the gay community - a love that is sort of forbidden or looked down on. Ashby is very compassionate and also demonstrated what a good boss is. Also, the author needed someone to get the story moving and on to the next scene, so she used Ashby to resolve scenes and propel the story, but that was felt like his whole role. Pei got better character development that Ashby did.

Food very prevalent in the book. It's in every chapter. Is that to reinforce the idea of family? We gather for food.

The book has some world-building but doesn't get heavy into galactic politics and history. In other books, some of the world-building is so long and detailed that it seems 'pointless" or does not propel the story. This book shows some background and culture but only as it relates to the characters.

The book is a warm and fluffy type of sci-fi. Did we enjoy that type of sci-fi? Most people said yes, and that things like scribs, smash, mek, and battle wizards added to the fun.

Ashby didn't arm the ship. Why? Maybe because it’s too expensive, maybe because it’s a civilian ship, or maybe because he thought there was nothing valuable on the ship to steal.

Rating: Mostly thumbs up!

January Book Nominations (winner in boldface):

• The Golden Globe by John Varley
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
• Child of Grass by David Gerrold
• Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
• Fires of the Faithful by Naomi Kritzer
• Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir

This month we voted on the book by raising our hands. Byron’s app was temporarily not working.