Revenge of the Book People of the Planet Faustia

Votes for Snacks and Viewing

2008-07-09T10:03:00.001-07:00

OK!!
Thanks Alex - we have the first request!!!
Chocolate Eclairs, and the "The Arena" episode of Star Trek.
Eclairs are a definite go; I will track down the Star Trek - we might be able to YouTube it....
Anyone else? Anyone? Bueller?

Final hurrah?

2008-07-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

OK, so.
Those of you who were able to make the last meeting heard the sad news that the next session may be the last meeting of the SF/F Book Club I'll be chairing. I'll know August 1 whether or not I'll be gainfully employed here.....(which allows for a shameless plug - anyone got a good lead on a full-time job for a librarian? It doesn't have to be in a library, just something I might be good at....)
ANYWAY, in honour of our possible last hurrah, I thought we could vote on what kind of snacks people would like - I suspect it will involve chocolate of some kind, but let me know - and people can like to select a SHORT SF/F movie, or parts of a couple SF/F movie they'd like to see. I'm not letting you off the hook - you still gotta read Childhood's End by Clarke, and I'll try to get that movie, but if anyone would like to see, say, the final fight scene from "The Princess Bride" or Rutger Hauer's android solioquy from "Blade Runner", or the Death Star blow up from "Star Wars" let me know, I'll get those too.
If, come August 1st, I dodge the bullet, we'll just consider it a "Midsummer Fun Session".
If this is your first time coming, let me know, so I'll know to buy additional snacks. Actually, this would be a really good time to get as many people out as possible - the more people we have out, the more likely it is the group will survive after my "passing".
Thanks all!!!

Missed me?

2008-04-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

What with the MOFO emails, MichFandom emails and everything, I seem to have neglected the blog.....heheheh OOOPS, sorry.
So.
Tarzan of the Apes, Edgar Rice Burroughs, tomorrow night, 7 pm, at the library.
The link to which is over.....:::stretching to point::: there...on the left.
I also have the Weissmueller version, the Lambert version, and the Disney version of the movies.
OH, and there will be snacks - since we're watching movies, how 'bout popcorn? I'll get the good, cheesy kind...

Master of the World...

2008-03-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

I has it.
Two copies. Hopefully more should be coming - just ask to see me, and I'll fetch a copy from out back for you. If I'm not there.....someone at Reference can fetch it. Please don't forget your library card, 'kay?

Will update again closer to the date of the meeting.....

Tomorrow night...

2008-02-26T07:31:00.000-08:00

Chocolate cheesecake (if I can find a good one), or possible chocolate cake or possibly both....oh, and War of the Worlds. Same bat time, same bat station. We should be dug out by then.....I hope....otherwise, I'm borrowing my boss's dog and skijoring to work....work being at:
The William P. Faust Public Library of Westland,
6123 Central City Parkway,
Westland, MI 48185.
(734) 326-6123.

We're SET!!!

2008-01-31T07:45:00.000-08:00

Over doughnuts and muffins, we talked about A strange manuscript...., ooooed over the 1888 edition we managed to get from Wayne State (THANKS WAYNE STATE!!!), set the reading list for the year, and even bounced around ideas for next year (books made into movies, all humourous ones...) . Here's the list - thanks Alex!!!
1890 - 1900 - War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (1898)
1900 - 1910 - Master of the World by Jules Verne (1904)
1910 - 1920 - Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1912)
1920 - 1930 - When the World Screamed by Arthur Conan Doyle (1929)
1930 - 1940 - Slan by A.E. VanVogt (1940)
1940 - 1950 - Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950)
1950 - 1960 - Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke (1953)
1960 - 1970 - Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boule (1963)
1970 - 1980 - Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979)
1980 - 1990 - Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederick Pohl (1980)
1900 - 2000 - Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates (1995)
2000 - 2007 - The Dark Tower by Stephen King (2004)
I'll make sure we have at least one copy of all of 'em here, then start interloaning 'em too - hopefully, they'll get here quicker this time.....

First Book List In!!!

2008-01-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

WOOHOO!!!
Leave it to the retired teacher to have his homework done first - here's Alex's suggestions for our reading lists! THANKS ALEX!
1890 - 1900 - War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (1898)
1900 - 1910 - Master of the World by Jules Verne (1904)
1910 - 1920 - Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1912)
1920 - 1930 - When the World Screamed by Arthur Conan Doyle (1929)
1930 - 1940 - Slan by A.E. VanVogt (1940)
1940 - 1950 - Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
1950 - 1960 - Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke (1953)
1960 - 1970 - Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boule (1963)
1970 - 1980 - Ringworld by Larry Niven (1970)
1980 - 1990 - Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederick Polh (1980)
1990 - 2000 - Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates (1995)
2000 - 2007 - The Dark Tower by Stephen King (2004)
Discuss! Looks like a great list to me - some really pivotal authors, and some pivotal titles, and some pivotal authors with non-traditional works and even a lady - nice mix!
Sorry I've been late posting this, but we've been closed for the holidays and then painting....ish. But I'm back now....so....send those lists in!
FL
P.S. I ordered interloan copies of Strange Manuscript today - hopefully they'll start coming in at the start of next week for loan...I'll post.

Egg Nog Happiness.....

2007-12-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

..was had by all - don't worry, it was low-fat.....admittedly, the snacks weren't....but, hey, it was the last meeting of the year. We deserved a party. And it was. We didn't talk so much about Black Sun Rising, admittedly, but it was fun (particularly when it was pointed out that, in fact, we were reading about sexy vampires...... OH and here's the link everyone asked about: http://www.magicdragon.com/UltimateSF/timeline.html
Take a look. We're going to follow that dating system - break down by decades, starting with the turn, but we aren't restricted by the titles he lists - it just makes a good starting point. So, pick a book per decade, post it up here, and we'll vote. It should be pretty easy, if everyone makes up a lists, to see what books we end up having in common...the rest we'll have to debate a little. But no rush - we've got 'till the end of January to set up at least the first six...OH, but don't forget to read A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder. by James DeMille. You'll probably have to order it in if you'd like to buy it, and it may be easier to find in Canada, so you might want to try Chapters.ca....I'll see if I can bring some copies in too....

Tomorrow night...

2007-11-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

last meeting of the year.
I'll bring egg nog and something else....
7:00, at the Library...
Black Sun Rising, C. S. Friedman, and think about what we want to read next year...

Buuuummmpppp....

2007-11-21T08:23:00.001-08:00

A week today, November 28, Willie P. Library, read Black Sun Rising, C.S. Friedman.
And think about what we want to read next year.
And prepare to gorge on egg nog and possibly fruitcake.

Lovecraft File Released

2007-11-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

So, going through a video catalogue, I stumbled on this, which some of you may find interesting. Not sure how easy it will be to get...but...
"The Strange Case of Howard Phillips Lovecraft. A highly original film....Disgusted by life and uninterested in earthy subjects, Lovecraft intentionally avoided reality when writing, veering into the unknown and inspiring the fear that lurks in nightmares. Directors Patrick Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividec's unorthodox documentary re-creates the atmosphere of claustrophobia, anxiety and madness of Lovecraft's life and work." BW/C, 45 minutes, 1998. No rating. Facets Video. ISBN 9781565804870.

Edumacation....

2007-11-07T05:54:00.000-08:00

So, I'm writing this from a class on, you guessed it, blogging. I hope to learn a lot to improve this blog and make it interesting and fun for my readers. Watch this space!!!! Oh, and keep reading Black Sun Rising...and thinking about what you want to read next year....

Happy Halloween All!!!

2007-10-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

Remember, no meeting tonight - go out and hunt candy, or whatever....
Next meeting is November 28, 7 pm. We're reading Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman. Also, we'll be picking out what we'll be reading next year. Remember, we'd decided we wanted to do a chronological study of the genre....I've got a really nice timeline to suggest some breakdown, (approximately decade by decade, starting with the turn of the century...), so start thinking about specific authors or titles you'd like us to read. It'd be especially nice if they might be authors we haven't read before, but we can always work in some "old favorites" as well....possibly well known authors, but their lesser known works. Also, we'll figure out what we would like to do in December, if anything.....

OOOOPPSSS, sorry.

2007-10-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

I had the old blog for so long, and had posted the location of the discussion so many times, I kind of forgot to post it here....
The Science Fiction/Fantasy Book Discussion Group meets at the William P. Faust Public Library of Westland (yes, there's only one), at 6123 Central City Parkway, Westland, MI 48185. Central City Parkway runs perpendicular between Warren and Ford in Westland; we're right behind the big Kroger plaza, just west of Wayne, south of the mall.
Normally, we meet at 7:00 pm on the last Wednesday of the month. Since the last Wednesday this month is Halloween, we bumped up a week, so we're meeting on the 24th, in Meeting Room C. I'll put a link to the website up ASAP.

We're changing....

2007-10-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

As you can tell from our format, we're under some reconstruction. Please visit us again soon to see the exciting new format and content.
Meanwhile, don't forget we're reading the works of H.P. Lovecraft for the next meeting, focusing on the Cthulhu Mythos. Some links of interest include
The H.P. Lovecraft Archive or the Wikipedia entries H.P. Lovecraft and Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture .