Keep reading to find the summary, reviews of the book, interviews with the author, and info about how to buy your book from us in various formats.
The Summary
When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions.
Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny.
If this sounds like something you would like to read, you can get your copy of the book from the store for 15% off when you order with us: online, over the phone (828.386.1219), or via email. This title is also available from our audiobook partner, Libro.fm, as a DRM-free audiobook--buy it here.
You can pickup your book using our pickup basket at the front door or the drive thru window. We also offer free media mail shipping & local delivery (within Boone town limits). Getting your book to you as conveniently as possible is important to us! Finally, you can RSVP on the Facebook event to get reminders & updates about any changes to the event! Do that here! Reviews & Interviews
Octavia Butler’s Prescient Vision of a Zealot Elected to “Make America Great Again”
-- The New Yorker Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (Book Review) -- Black & Bookish Parable of the Sower -- Publisher's Weekly An Interview with Octavia Butler, 2004 -- by Joshunda Sanders for Africana.com & In Motion Magazine Octavia Butler: Writing Herself Into The Story -- for Code Switch by NPR
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The Summary
A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand.
Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved--its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected. But some can never stop searching for answers. Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand's code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What's clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history's most perplexing discovery--and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?
If this sounds like something you would like to read, you can get your copy of the book from the store for 15% off when you order with us: online, over the phone (828.386.1219), or via email. This title is also available from our audiobook partner, Libro.fm, as a DRM-free audiobook--buy it here.
You can pickup your book using our pickup basket at the front door or the drive thru window. We also offer free media mail shipping & local delivery (within Boone town limits). Getting your book to you as conveniently as possible is important to us! Finally, you can RSVP on the Facebook event to get reminders & updates about any changes to the event! Do that here!
Keep reading to find the summary, reviews of the book, interviews with the author, and info about how to buy your book from us in various formats. The Summary
The Emperor needs necromancers.
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense. Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead.
If this sounds like something you would like to read, you can get your copy of the book from the store for 15% off when you order with us: online, over the phone (828.386.1219), or via email. This title is also available from our audiobook partner, Libro.fm, as a DRM-free audiobook--buy it here.
You can pickup your book using our pickup basket at the front door or the drive thru window. We also offer free media mail shipping & local delivery (within Boone town limits). Reviews & Interviews
"Smart, Snarky 'Gideon The Ninth' Swears Her Way Through The Stars" -- NPR Books
"Gideon the Ninth is about lesbian necromancers in space. Obviously, it's perfect." -- Vox "Wet Hot Necrogoth Summer: A Non-Spoiler Review of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir" -- Tor.com "Interview with Tamsyn Muir: The gay goth space opera of our dreams" -- BookPage "The Horror of it All! A Conversation with Tamsyn Muir" -- Clarkesworld By Katharine Brown Naomi Alderman was no stranger to awards before The Power won the 2017 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, the 2017 NY Times 10 Best Books, and was named one of President Obama's favorite reads of the year. In 2006 she won the Orange Award for New Writers for her novel Disobedience. In 2007, Disobedience won another accolade, the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award, and in 2013 Naomi Alderman was named one of the best Young British Novelists by Granta's once-a-decade list. In The Power, the world is a recognizable place: there's a rich Nigerian boy who lounges around the family pool; a foster kid whose religious parents hide their true nature; an ambitious American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But then a vital new force takes root and flourishes, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power: they can cause agonizing pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world drastically resets. From award-winning author Naomi Alderman, The Power is speculative fiction at its most ambitious and provocative, at once taking us on a thrilling journey to an alternate reality, and exposing our own world in bold and surprising ways. If this sounds like something you'd like to read, you can get your copy of the book from the store or online with a 15% discount through the end of April. This electrifying story is also available through our partner, Libro.fm and is narrated by the author herself! Reviews & Interviews"'The Power' by Naomi Alderman" -- The NY Times Book Review "What if Women had 'The Power?'" -- The Atlantic "What If Women Were in Charge?" -- Vogue Book Review "Interview with Naomi Alderman" -- The Guardian "Naomi Alderman on the World That Yielded 'The Power'" -- The NY Times "'The Power' Author Naomi Alderman Answers Your Questions" -- PBS We'll meet online via Zoom on April 30th @ 6:30 pm. You can follow this link to the meeting or find the meeting link and more information on our Facebook page. We want to know what you thought about the book, even if you didn't finish it! Be sure to RSVP and we will "see" you there. Read on!
Click Cover to Buy Online May's choice this year is The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden. This month, we decided to go a diverse route and give our members a refreshing twist to the kinds of fiction that they might be used to. Nicky Drayden is a Systems Analyst who dabbles in prose when she’s not buried in code. She resides in Austin, Texas where being weird is highly encouraged, if not required. This is her debut novel. We expect a very engaging meeting at the end of the month! But what is this book even about? In South Africa, the future looks promising. Personal robots are making life easier for the working class. The government is harnessing renewable energy to provide infrastructure for the poor. And in the bustling coastal town of Port Elizabeth, the economy is booming thanks to the genetic engineering industry which has found a welcome home there. Yes—the days to come are looking very good for South Africans. That is, if they can survive the present challenges: A new hallucinogenic drug sweeping the country . . . An emerging AI uprising . . . And an ancient demigoddess hellbent on regaining her former status by preying on the blood and sweat (but mostly blood) of every human she encounters. It’s up to a young Zulu girl powerful enough to destroy her entire township, a queer teen plagued with the ability to control minds, a pop diva with serious daddy issues, and a politician with even more serious mommy issues to band together to ensure there’s a future left to worry about. We love a good diva taking charge. If this sounds like something you'd enjoy reading, we really hope that you'll come grab a copy from the bookstore or from one of the local libraries, then join us at the book club meeting. You can buy your copy from Foggy Pine Books and get 15% off until the end of the month. The book club display is on the same shelf as the bestsellers! You can also buy it from us online, if you prefer to read a digital copy or listen to the audiobook: We'll meet at Hatchet Coffee on May 30th at 7:30pm. Hatchet Coffee has drinks & snacks available for purchase but we typically also have snacks to share with one another. Bring a friend and come discuss the book with us, even if you weren't able to completely finish it or if you didn't like it. You can see the Facebook event & RSVP here . Relevant Reviews & InterviewsA Madcap Debut: The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden - Tor.com
Q & A: Nicky Drayden Talks ‘The Prey of Gods’ - Fantasy Review Barn
We're ringing in 2019 with a classic science fiction story by Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Our group hasn't read a science fiction book in a while and we wanted something fun and exciting to read at the beginning of the year. Douglas Adams was a prolific author, script writer, humorist, satirist, and dramatist. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of his most famous works and has been turned into a radio series and a film. He also wrote the series Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and for the well-known time travel show, Doctor Who.
Let's learn a little more about our book club book though. Here's the summary from the publisher: Seconds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together, this dynamic pair began a journey through space aided by a galaxyful of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox—the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian (formerly Tricia McMillan), Zaphod’s girlfriend, whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; and Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he’s bought over the years. Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? For all the answers, stick your thumb to the stars!
So, if you want to go on a space adventure, learn the meaning of life, and figure out why you always bring a towel to space, join us at the new Hatchet Coffee lounge for the January meeting.
If this sounds like something you'd like to read, you can get your copy of the book from the store with a 15% discount until the end of January. If you'd like to purchase online, we have the following the formats available:
We'll meet at Foggy Pine Books on January 31st at 7:30pm. We'll have free wine and snacks for book club members to share. Bring a friend and come discuss the book with us, even if you weren't able to completely finish it or if you didn't like it. You can see the Facebook event & RSVP here.
Relevant Reviews & Interviews
The Guardian Review--"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams"
Kirkus Review--"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" BBC Radio 4 Interviews--"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" This month's Hatchet Coffee pick is The Left Hand of Darkness by the late Ursula K. Le Guin. After reading last month's book, Astrophysics for People In A Hurry, we decided to move into science fiction with our next book. With the recent death of Le Guin and the fascinating summary, it was a simple choice. Here's the summary:
While on a mission to the planet Gethen, a world whose inhabitants can change their gender, earthling Genly Ai is sent by leaders of the nation of Orgoreyn to a concentration camp from which the exiled prime minister of the nation of Karhide tries to rescue him, in this Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel. The last book club was very engaging and we're hoping to have another large gathering to discuss this month's title. Please join us on March 29th at 7:30pm at the Hatchet Coffee lounge. Until then, you can get your copy of the March choice in paperback at the bookstore for 15% off the list price of $9.99. You can also purchase it from us online in various formats and have it shipped to your home for free or available to download immediately. See below for links and prices. Paperback: $9.99 E-book: $9.99 Audiobook: $24.99 (or just $0.99 with your first month of membership on Libro.fm!) |
Where?Foggy Pine Books Archives
January 2021
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