Why Join a Book Club?

The Pleasure of the Text

In this latest podcast, Shannen and Gareth discuss why you should join a book club. This episode is filled with many wonderful gems, including discussions on what a good book club is, a tier system for ranking books that change us, Oprah Winfrey's book club, and excerpts from members from the Vicious Circle, I mean, The Algonquin Table. Enjoy!

Shownotes

J.R.R. Tolkien

The man, the myth, the legend, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) is best known for his high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Termed the “father” of modern fantasy literature, Tolkien wrote stories of Middle-earth to read to his children at night, yet he completed much more in his life. Additionally, Tolkien was a philologist, a poet, and an academic, a professor of English Literature at many Universities, including the University of Oxford, until his retirement in 1959. He was a member of the Inklings, an informal literary discussion group, which included his close friend C.S. Lewis. In 1972 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. After his passing, his son published his father’s extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, gifting us the Silmarillion amongst other works, including works on the invented languages for Middle-earth!

Ursula Le Guin

What could be termed a prolific writer, the late Ursula Le Guin (1929-2018) had a literary career spanning nearly sixty years, producing over a hundred short stories and more than twenty novels, as well as poetry and other works. Her works include speculative fiction, science fiction works set in her Hainish Universe, and the beloved Earthsea fantasy series. The Earthsea series saw her win both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel, making her the first woman to do so. But she didn’t stop there; in her lifetime, she received numerous accolades, including eight Hugos, six Nebulas, and twenty-two Locus Awards, and in 2003, Ursula became the second woman honoured as a Grand Master of The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. But wait, there’s more: in 2000, the U.S. Library of Congress named her a Living Legend! There is so much to be impressed by with Ursula, and others agree; she has influenced many other authors, including Salman Rushdie, David Mitchell, Neil Gaiman and Iain Banks.

• Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching
• The Last Interview
• Always Coming Home
• The Unreal and The Real
• The Dispossessed
• The Lathe of Heaven

Stanislaw Lem

Polish writer, Stanislaw Herman Lem (1921-2006), wrote predominately science fiction, but also essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology and literary criticism. Lem’s books have been translated into more than 50 languages, selling over 45 million copies, and his science fiction stories are deemed satirical and humorous (though that may have been lost in translation…). His most renowned novel is the 1961 Solaris, with most of his works exploring philosophical themes through speculation on technology, intelligence, human limitations and humanity’s place in the universe. An interesting fact, the Polish Parliament declared 2021 the year of Stanislaw Lem.

• The Truth and Other Stories
• Tales of Pinx the Pilot
• Solaris
• Fiasco
• The Cyberiad
• Return from the Stars

Ian Fleming

British writer Ian Lancaster Fleming (1908-1964) is famous for his spy novels featuring the roguish Mr James Bond. A writer at heart, Fleming moved through several jobs which didn’t stick before he started writing. Much of his inspiration came from his work for Britain’s Naval Intelligence Division during World War Two, where Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye, and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units, 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. Fleming was a heavy smoker and drinker for most of his life and died in 1964 at the age of 56 of heart disease. Fleming's creation has appeared in film twenty-seven times and has been portrayed by seven actors.

• Moon Raker
• Live and Let Die
• The Spy Who Loved Me
• For Your Eyes Only
• Dr No

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Numerous literary critics rate him as one of the greatest novelists in all of world literature; the late Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. Given the troubled political and social atmosphere of Russia in the 19th century, his works engage with the human condition under such conditions, and explores themes of religion and p...