SFBC Book Log and Meeting Minutes

2005-10-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

Complied by Club secretary Alisa Loftin

Book Number: #1
BOOK TITLE: To Say Nothing of the Dog
AUTHOR: Connie Willis
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1999
Suggested by: Andy
DATE: June 2001
LOCATION: Il Capricio restaurant, Los Feliz
PRESENT: Andy Alexander, Kathleen Johnson, Halsey Rodman, Alisa Loftin
NOTES on Book: Everyone hated the book, no one bothered finishing it, what a stinker.
Extra Discussion: N/A
NEXT BOOK: Lord of Light by Rodger Zelazney
ASSIGNMENT: N/A

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Book Number: #2
BOOK TITLE: Lord of Light
AUTHOR: Rodger Zelazney
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1967
Suggested by: Andy
DATE: July 2001
LOCATION: Kathleen’s House
FOOD SERVED: Pizza
PRESENT: Andy Alexander, Kathleen Johnson, Halsey Rodman, Alisa Loftin,
new member: Jennifer Lane
NOTES on Book: Jennifer loved the book. Alisa did not care for or finish it. Andy
and Kathleen liked the book, loved the Lords’ psychedelic adoption of the Indian
Pantheon.
Extra Discussion: Stephen Spielberg’s A.I.
NEXT BOOK: Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Reason selected: We wanted to read one of the 'classics' and also to make an attempt at reading a
trilogy.
ASSIGNMENT: N/A

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Book Number: #3
BOOK TITLE: Foundation
AUTHOR: Isaac Asimov
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1951
Suggested by: Halsey & Alisa
DATE: August 2001
LOCATION: Baja Fresh
PRESENT: all
NOTES on Book: Jennifer hated the book. Halsey & Alisa recommended finishing the trilogy as the
most interesting character is the mule, which only comes into play later.
Extra Discussion: Final Fantasy the Spirits Within & the Planet of the Apes.
NEXT BOOK: Einstein Intersection by Samuel Delaney
ASSIGNMENT: N/A

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Book Number: #4
BOOK TITLE: Einstein Intersection
AUTHOR: Samuel Delaney
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1967
Suggested by: Jennifer
DATE: October 2001
LOCATION: Casa Bianca
PRESENT: all, but member Halsey Rodman has moved to NYC & will participate by proxy
NOTES on Book: Everyone loved the book, first time the discussion lasted more than five minutes
Interesting descriptions of landscape, the main character’s physical traverse through it, and his physical characteristics (his feet, etc.) Truly weird, Kathleen’s favorite SF book to date.
Extra Discussion: N/A
NEXT BOOK: Dhalgren by Samuel Delaney. Reason selected: because we loved Einstein
Intersection so much
ASSIGNMENT: N/A

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Book Number: #5
BOOK TITLE: Dhalgren
AUTHOR: Samuel Delaney
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1975
Suggested by: all
DATE: December 18, 2001
LOCATION: Jennifer’s apartment
Food Served: Spanish Tapas
PRESENT: all
NOTES on Book: Progress meeting, everyone is having trouble getting through the book
Extra Discussion: N/A
NEXT BOOK: none selected; keep reading Dhalgren
ASSIGNMENT: Research short stories

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Book Number: #5.5
BOOK TITLE: Dhalgren con’t
AUTHOR: Samuel Delaney
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1975
Suggested by: all
DATE: January 3, 2002
LOCATION: Andy’s loft
Food Served: hummus, falafel, pita
PRESENT: all, plus special guest from NYC Halsey Rodman!
NOTES on Book: Only Kathleen and Halsey finished the book, they loved it, such a strange
description of this city, the environment, how people are getting on and coping in
such a changed world, especially the family dynamics. Interesting how you don’t ever know what has transpired (an apocalyptic event?) to result in such a changed place.
Extra Discussion: Exchanged short stories
NEXT BOOK: The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester. Reason selected: Highly
recommended by Alisa’s Sci-fi guru, Scott

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Book Number: #6
BOOK TITLE: The Stars My Destination
AUTHOR: Alfred Bester
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1956
Suggested by: Alisa
DATE: February 2002
LOCATION: Alisa’s apartment
Food Served: Fondue, yum
PRESENT: all
NOTES on Book: Everyone loved the book
Extra Discussion: Short stories were weird but interesting. Highlight was the Kubrick interview
NEXT BOOK: The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard. Reason selected: Wanted to check out a Ballard book and The Burned World was too hard to find.
ASSIGNMENT: Research books for future meetings; next book from 80’s or 90’s decade, then we go back to early sci-fi around the beginning of last century.
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Book Number: #7
BOOK TITLE: The Drowned World
AUTHOR: J.G. Ballard
PUBLISHED: 1962
DATE: May 21, 002
LOCATION: Kathleen's house
Food Served: Mushroom quesadilla's, chips & salsa
PRESENT: all
NOTES on Book: Everyone liked the book. Loved the detailed descriptions of the first half, in particular the scuba diving section down to the submerged planetarium. Alisa
was not so thrilled with the book, didn't like the long drawn out descriptive
sections.
Extra Discussion: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
NEXT BOOK: The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. LeGuin. Reason selected: Jennifer just
read the book & loved it, so the rest of us decided to read it as well.
ASSIGNMENT: Plan one-year anniversary celebration for June. Jennifer researches sound bath.
Kathleen researches Mars Society meetings. Upcoming movies: Minority Report, Imax 3-D: Exploring the Space Station
Next meeting date: Early July

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Book Number: #8
BOOK TITLE: The Left Hand of Darkness
AUTHOR: Ursula K. LeGuin
PUBLISHED: 1969
Suggested by: Jennifer
DATE: August 6, 2002: One-Year Anniversary Party
LOCATION: Lucy's El Adobe
PRESENT: all, plus special guests Halsey Rodman & David Hollander
NOTES on Book: Liked by all. Loved androgyny exploration, seems written from a male
perspective so as to not alienate the primarily male sci-fi audience of that era.
Extra Discussion: Minority Report, Alisa recommends Signs
NEXT BOOK: Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
ASSIGNMENT: Each member to e-mail 1-2 lines on the books read thus far and note why they
liked/ hated the book, or what they most remembered from it. Jennifer - laser print of T-shirt design; Alisa researches t-shirts; Silent Running at Egyptian Theatre; Andy to e-mail schedule of Sci-fi film festival.
Next meeting date: Early September

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Book Number: #9
BOOK TITLE: Childhood's End
AUTHOR: Arthur C. Clarke
PUBLISHED: 1953
DATE: September 18, 2002
LOCATION: Alisa's apartment
Food Served: Pupusas
PRESENT: all
NOTES on Book: Everybody liked the book. Though the writing is not that great,
Clarke is a great storyteller. Jennifer liked the fact that the human race came to an end but thought the book was too 1950s. Alisa thought the end was anticlimactic, but loved anticipation of what the overlords looked like. Kathleen liked the overlords’ relationship to the humans. Andy loved the idea of 'future memory' & 'time slips'.
Extra Discussion: Lathe of Heaven, Hyperion Series, Kama Sutra, Joy of Sex
NEXT BOOK: Hyperion by Dan Simmons; Reason selected: epic space opera!
ASSIGNMENT: Research on sci-fi field trips. Future book: Odd John, JPL Tour, Conversation with Bots, Roden Crater, Astrology & Science Fiction, Plan a sci-fi film night every three months or 3rd meeting, Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Cinespia), SFBC T-shirts. Members do research on new sci-fi books or on the fringe of sci-fi & bring to next meeting at Jennifer's
Next meeting date: October 16, 2002

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Book Number: #10
BOOK TITLE: Hyperion
AUTHOR: Dan Simmons
PUBLISHED: 1989
Suggested by: Alisa & Andy
DATE: October 23, 2002
LOCATION: Jennifer's apartment
Food Served: Homemade mushroom soup & mushroom turnovers, garlic bread & truffles
PRESENT: all
NOTES on Book: Everyone liked the book, Jennifer did not finish book. Alisa & Kathleen did.
Andy finished all four books! & Alisa working on last one!. Kathleen loved how the book had absolutely everything from past sci-fi decades all wrapped into one: A.I.'s, religion, politics, telepathy, time-continuum, space travel. We loved the Treeships. The best sci-fi aspects: Farcasters, Ousters, the Shrike, and Cybrids.
Extra Discussion: The Ring, Spirited Away (Highly Recommended "Amazing!" - Andy), Feardotcom.
Next Book Discussion: Dune, Odd John, Cyberpunk, and Frankenstein.
NEXT BOOK: Sirius by Olaf Stapeldon; Reason selected: Smart dog.
ASSIGNMENT: SFBC T-shirts: Alisa going forward with project. Colors & sizes agreed upon.
Sound bath field trip set for weekend of Nov. 16th & 17th.
All members research Cyberpunk books for next meeting also research non-western sci-fi authors.
Next meeting date: November

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Book Number: #11
BOOK TITLE: Sirius
AUTHOR: Olaf Stapeldon
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1944
Suggested by: Jennifer
DATE: December 11, 2002
LOCATION: Andy’s apartment
Food Served: Pizza, Wine & Truffles
PRESENT: all but Jennifer
NOTES on Book: Liked by all. Enjoyed the exploration of the human condition and alienation through the plight of Sirius, so tragic. Alisa loved the way Stapeldon explored the subject so thoroughly. Like much of SF, seems very much a period piece, full of 1940s anxiety about WWII.
Extra Discussion: Field trips: Integretron, Star Trek Nemesis, Turrell Crater, Snowboarding/Snow
Queen meeting, the miniseries Taken. Suggested to double up on reading two
books at once; Snow Queen, Neil Gaiman: American Gods.
NEXT Books: Frederick Pohl, Man Plus; Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age. Reason selected: Wanted to read a Cyborg story
Next Meeting: Kathleen’s house. February 5, 2003 5:30
ASSIGNMENT: Alisa to email list of everything we’ve read. Each member is to bring a list of all
sci-fi books they have read as well as a list of books that each member wants to
read.
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Book Number: #12
BOOK TITLE: Man Plus
AUTHOR: Frederick Pohl
PUBLISHED: 1976
DATE: February 5, 2003
LOCATION: Kathleen’s house
Food Served: Arugula salad, sautéed broccoli, butternut squash-roasted, pesto
PRESENT: all plus Jennifer’s bun in the oven
NOTES on Book: No one thought the book was very interesting. Kathleen & Jennifer thought the
book was pulpy. Alisa was bored by it. Consensus: the book reads more like a
1950s novel.
Next Book Discussion: The Diamond Age, Snow Queen, Star Tide Rising, a Phillip K. Dick book, J.G. Ballard’s Crash. Research a Japanese Sci-fi novel.
EXTRA DISCUSSION: Chicago, Bowling for Columbine, Jennifer is pregnant! Andy’s Trip to Australia,
the pending war with Iraq.
NEXT BOOK: Neal Stephenson’s: The Diamond Age. Reason selected: Seems like a must read.
Not sure if better than Snow Crash.
ASSIGNMENT: SFBC Trip to Mammoth sometime in March. Field Trip: The Core, The Matrix
Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Alisa is going to pick up T-shirts on Monday! Next meeting date: Wednesday, February 26th, 8PM at Alisa’s

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Book Number: #13
BOOK TITLE: The Diamond Age
AUTHOR: Neal Stephenson
PUBLISHED: 1995
Suggested by: N/A
DATE: April 5, 2003
LOCATION: Alisa’s apartment
Food Served: Monte Carlo Deli! antipasti platter, salami sandwiches, olives, tapenade
PRESENT: all plus special guest Joseph Julian
NOTES on Book: Andy, Kathleen & Alisa liked the book, Jennifer didn’t get to read it. Great
Victorian Sci-fi, discussion centered around SF’s use of historical eras or
styles to help describe a future world, and is the “Neo-Victorian” so popular in SF?
Next Book Discussion: The Kappa Child: Snow Queen
EXTRA DISCUSSION: The War, President Bush
NEXT BOOK: The Kappa Child, Hiromi Goto: Reason selected: Jennifer needs to read a sci-fi book with pregnancy theme and we are always trying to find female sci-fi authors. Also she is Japanese and we thought it might present a different viewpoint or style.
ASSIGNMENT: Finish up SFBC T-shirts.
Next meeting date: Tentatively set for April 10-13 in Mammoth

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Book Number: #14
BOOK TITLE: The Kappa Child
AUTHOR: Hiromi Goto
PUBLISHED: 2001
Suggested by: Jennifer
DATE: May 14, 2003
LOCATION: Andy’s loft
Food Served: Salad w/ apples, garlic pasta ala Trader Joe’s, Mochi ice cream
PRESENT: all
NOTES: Kathleen hated the book, everyone else was neither here nor there but
not too thrilled. Andy & Alisa finished it just to finish. Jennifer wanted
to read it because of the pregnancy theme but was disappointed.
EXTRA DISCUSSION: X-2 (X-Men United), The Matrix Reloaded field trip, we are all
going to see it on Monday at the Chinese. Our two-year anniversary is next month, plans for a sound bath at the Integretron, Yucca Valley.
NEXT BOOK: The Snow Queen, Joan D. Vinge, 1980. Reason selected: Sounds cheesy but fun, 1980’s decade, wanted to read a winter book for our Mammoth meeting (which never happened). A Hugo award winner.
Next Book Discussion: Hermann Hesse: The Glass Bead Game, Gene Wolf: Shadow of the Torturer,
Claw of the Conciliator (Nebula), Isaac Asimov: The Gods Themselves (Nebula),
Robert A Heinlein: Double Star (Hugo)
ASSIGNMENT: Alisa must finish up SFBC T-shirts for two-year anniversary trip!
Next meeting date: June 14th in the desert, Integretron Field Trip

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Book Number: #15
BOOK TITLE: The Snow Queen
AUTHOR: Joan D. Vinge
PUBLISHED: 1980
Suggested by: Alisa; it was one of her sci-fi window washer guru’s mild suggestions
DATE: July 23, 2003
LOCATION: Jennifer’s apartment
Food Served: Mandarin Deli scallion pancakes
PRESENT: all
NOTES: Andy did not finish the book, he couldn’t get into it. Though somewhat cheesy, Kathleen liked the book, thought the descriptions of the Queen’s palace, the Mer creatures, the sexuality of the Queen were all great. Alisa & Jennifer really liked the book, loved the environment she created. Alisa thought the love scenes were very “Harlequin Romance”
EXTRA discussion: Reality TV-shows, David Brin’s Sci-fi.com interview. Sister Wendy on PBS.
NEXT BOOK: The Age of Spiritual Machines: Ray Kurtzweil
Reason selected: Wanted to read a non-fiction sci-fi related book.
Next Book Discussion: Uplift Series; Startide Rising & The Uplift War by David Brin. Foucault’s
Pendulum
ASSIGNMENT: Come up with sci-fi reality TV show concept so Andy can pitch it. For example: Simulation situation, i.e. Victorian House etc. Research speculative history.
Next meeting date: Wednesday, September 10th, 8pm at Kathleen’s house
Field trip: Ursula K. LeGuin appearance at Sky Light books July 27th.

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Book number: #16
BOOK TITLE: The Age of Spiritual Machines
AUTHOR: Ray Kurzweil
PUBLISHED: 1999
Suggested by: Kathleen
DATE: September 18, 2003
LOCATION: Jennifer’s apartment
Food served: Pink Pepper thai food
PRESENT: all plus brand new super-baby-sfbc member, Izaak Hollander!
NOTES: Andy & Kathleen read the book. Alisa & Jennifer read some but not much but will read later. Everyone loved the concepts and ideas. The discussion lasted longer than usual for this book.
EXTRA discussion: Horror film genre. Andy’s screen writing class, Arcosanti, H.P. Lovecraft, Field trip: Mars Viewing in Griffith Park: Alisa & Kathleen went.
NEXT BOOK: Star Tide Rising by David Brin. Reason selected: Liked the concept of uplift,
especially the dolphins, also for Babylon 5 intergalactic community theme.
Next book list: n/a
ASSIGNMENT: SFBC T-shirts
Next meeting date: n/a
Field trip: High Desert Test Sites, October 25 – 26 (Kathleen’s “Grotto” project w/ architect Linda Taalman)

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Book number: #17
BOOK TITLE: Startide Rising
AUTHOR: David Brin
PUBLISHED: 1983
Suggested by: Andy & Alisa
DATE: December 4, 2003
LOCATION: Kathleen’s House
Food served: Quesadillas
PRESENT: all, plus baby Izaak!
NOTES: Kathleen finished, Alisa and Andy did not. Jennifer did not read the book at all.
We thought the dolphin stuff, them piloting the ships and their interaction with the human crewmembers, was the most interesting. Also the weird, metallic mound islands. But the book was pretty straightforward and pulpy. Andy thought the book was too disconnected.
EXTRA discussion: The Matrix Revolutions. Our 3rd year anniversary field trip.
NEXT BOOK: At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft, Dreams in the Witch House
also by Lovecraft. Reason selected: We wanted to read a classic sci-fi author.
Future book list: N/A
ASSIGNMENT: Field trips see below.
Next meeting date: Second week of January.
Field trip: Go see Lord of the Rings & The Two Towers extended editions at the ArcLight, then go see The Return of the King. Also Helen of Troy, Alexander the Great, Baz Luhrman

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Book number: #18
BOOK TITLE: At the Mountains of Madness
AUTHOR: H.P. Lovecraft
PUBLISHED: 1939
Suggested by: Andy
DATE: January 21, 2004 (Chinese New Year!) + new moon
LOCATION: Alisa’s apartment
Food served: Monte Carlo - salami sandwiches, cookies & smoores.
PRESENT: all plus baby Izaak and Joseph Julian
NOTES: Everybody loved the book! We read several passages aloud. Everyone loved the precise and descriptive style, esp. of the mountains, the ice caves, etc. Creeped out and wacky. Also how the author repeatedly states that some thing or another is just too terrifying to describe (and you would become insane if you ever laid eyes on it!) but then goes on to describe it. Creeped out and wacky, we love it!
EXTRA discussion: James Turell lecture from our previous field trip to the Getty. We want to take a field trip to the crater as soon as it opens.
NEXT BOOK: Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein and some short stories by Edgar Allen Poe: The Purloined Letter, Fall of the House of Usher. Reason selected: We have been talking about reading this for a while and wanted to continue our classic sci-fi author period.
Future book list: Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook, research Mary Shelly’s mother: Mary Wollstonecraft (early radical proto-feminist writer in England).
ASSIGNMENT: Kathleen will help write synopsis of future books for SFBC book logs. Alisa will compile list of all books we’ve read for possible posting on an SFBC section of Andy’s website. Joey will compose SFBC theme song for website.
Next meeting: Gyu Kaku on Restaurant Row
Field trip: N/A

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Book number: #19
BOOK TITLE: Frankenstein
AUTHOR: Mary Shelley
PUBLISHED: 1818
Suggested by: All
DATE: March 22, 2004
LOCATION: Gyu-Kaku
Food served: Japanese Barbecue
PRESENT: all
NOTES: Kathleen finished the book. Andy and Alisa almost did. Jennifer read some. Andy compared the book to some of the concepts about A.I. in the Age of Spiritual Machines. He compared Frankenstein to A.I. and its offspring. Alisa made observations on how Frankenstein and the monster paralleled Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. Kathleen thought the story was fantastic, plausibility stretched, but that the plight of the monster was poignantly and sympathetically described. All in all, we were happy to read perhaps the first sci-fi novel. Synopsis: the monster begs for attention, he’s artificial, electrical, striving, he longs to become a self-made man but knowing he is manufactured, we loathe and fear him and in the end he must flee. Very tragic.
EXTRA discussion: Bruce Sterling’s lecture at Art Center which Alisa and Kathleen attended. Kathleen was intrigued by the idea of “Blobjects.” Kathleen announced
she is going to participate in crew #28 of the Mars Desert Research Station project. On to Mars!
NEXT BOOK: For our 20th book we decided that each person would read a separate
book, and report back with a detailed account of the book. Reason selected: We wanted to try something different to commemorate our 20th book
milestone.
Future book list: Short stories by Edgar Allen Poe: The Purloined Letter and Fall of the House of Usher.
ASSIGNMENT: Research sci-fi books and authors we want to read. Kathleen will send us email updates of her adventures on Mars. Read copies of Bruce Sterling interview provided by Kathleen. Alisa will make copies of Samuel Delaney articles in Black Clock.
Next meeting date: N/A
Field trip: Movies to see: Dawn of the Dead, I Robot, Robot Stories

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Book number: #20
BOOK TITLE: Each member chose his/her own book
AUTHOR: Various
PUBLISHED: Various
Suggested by: N/A (who's brilliant idea was this?)
DATE: May 17, 2004
LOCATION: Andy’s Loft
Food served: Chinese food from Mandarin Deli
PRESENT: all

Books read:
Andy: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, a Hugo/Nebula winner that Andy says it is a
must read...better than Forever Peace.
Jennifer: Camp Concentration (author?) Existentialist, well written.
Kathleen: Tomorrow Now by Bruce Sterling - Another futurist viewpoint, quite different from Kurtsweil’s Age of Spiritual Machines and a better read.
Alisa: Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein - a 1956 Hugo award winner, a thespian impersonates a politician then becomes him.
EXTRA discussion: Van Helsing the movie - what a piece of crap! Andy’s show at China Art Objects. Kathleen’s Mars experience. Current political affairs: Bush, the war, Abu Grabe scandal, Air America, The Jesus Factor documentary.
NEXT BOOK: Star Maker by Olaf Stapeldon. Reason selected: Jennifer and Andy swear it’s the
best Sci-fi book ever written.
Future book list: Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre, The Sparrow by Maria Doria Russell, Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, Jack Faust by Michael Swanwyck, All Tomorrows Parties by William Gibson, Cryptonomicron by Neal Stephenson
ASSIGNMENT: Film night at Alisa’s apartment in June or July.
Next meeting date: N/A
Field trip: Movie - The Day After Tomorrow, Memorial Day weekend

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Book number: #21
This log missing

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Book number: #22
BOOK TITLE: Watchmen (graphic novel)
AUTHOR: Alan Moore
PUBLISHED: 1986
Suggested by: Alisa’s brother, Brad Loftin
DATE: December 10, 2004
LOCATION: Andy’s new apartment
Food served: pizza & cookies
PRESENT: all but Kathleen who is at home with a cold
NOTES: Andy and Alisa loved the book. Loved its complex layers and details. Jennifer read only two chapters but really liked it as well. Kathleen told us earlier that she had trouble reading this format. We hope to hear more from her later. This was also our first introduction to film night.
Film screened: The Quiet Earth - 1985
EXTRA discussion: The SFBC show at LACE in June.
NEXT BOOK: Light by John M. Harrison. Reason selected: We are always looking for good contemporary Sci-fi books. British sci-fi supposed to be interesting right now
Future book list: N/A
ASSIGNMENT: Go to Meltdown comic book store on Sunset.
Next meeting date: In January when Halsey is in town.
Field trip: N/A

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Book number: #23
BOOK TITLE: Light
AUTHOR: M. John Harrison
PUBLISHED: 2002
Suggested by: Andy
DATE: February 11, 2005
LOCATION: Alisa & Joey’s new apartment, Santa Monica
Food served: Bay City Deli: Italian salami sandwiches & antipasti platter
PRESENT: all plus special guest: Joseph Julian
NOTES: Everyone liked the book very much. Jennifer did not finish it but said she
would. Discussion on this book lasted at least 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. We loved the paranoia of the main character, his sense of foreboding, his murderous relationship with women which was very well explored, the Shrander (sp?) was very A. Crowley!, the foam coming out of the computer, the cat, the time slips, etc.
EXTRA discussion: The SFBC show at LACE in June. Kathleen, Jennifer and Andy met with Halsey (who could not make it tonight) to work on the show. Geoff M. might design a T-shirt for the show that would be available for sale at Aero & Co.
NEXT BOOK: A Phillip K Dick selection to be determined. Reason selected: P.K.D. has been on our list to read for a long time.
Future book list: Gravity’s Rainbow (Kathleen really wants to re-read with the group), Jennifer recommends the novella, Correspondence
ASSIGNMENT: Alien’s of the Deep Imax movie
Next meeting date: N/A
Field trip: N/A

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Book number: #24
BOOK TITLE: Now Wait for Last Year
AUTHOR: Phillip K. Dick
PUBLISHED: 1966
Suggested by: Jennifer
DATE: May 5, 2005
LOCATION: Jennifer’s apartment
Food served: TJ Pizza & salad ala Kathleen, strawberry Mochi ice cream
PRESENT: all plus super baby Izaak Hollander (the delirious monkey)
NOTES: Everyone liked it. Thought it was very pulpy. Andy thought the
paranoid aspects were done very well. Alisa decided she doesn’t like the first 50 pages of any book. Jennifer liked the character Virgil Ackerman and the idea of creating Baby Lands. Kathleen liked the first half of the book better than the second half; preferred not knowing whether they were actually time traveling or if it was just a hallucinatory effect of the drug. Andy compared Molinari to the JFK conspiracy. Kathleen brought up a comparison of Molinari to Roosevelt.
EXTRA discussion: Extensive discussions on next book for the public meeting for the LACE show; we considered River of Gods, Market Forces and Altered Carbon and Cloud Atlas. How imprinted the songs from Schoolhouse Rock are in our brains! (was playing in the background to entertain Isaak). Andy’s shows in Berlin and New Zealand. Sci-fi TV series: Xena, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Farscape, and Battlestar Galactica. We picked our favorite Geoff M. illustration for the LACE tee shirts. See attached drawings.
NEXT BOOK: Market Forces (next book is our 25th!!!) Reason selected: Sounds like fun. We thought the anti-globalization theme sounded good for our public meeting discussion, especially because we’re not anti-globalization! Note: This was later changed to Altered Carbon, as Halsey & Karin K. both said that this was the author’s better book.
Future book list: See attached reviews. Brian Aldus- the Trillion Year Spree; a non-fiction critical survey of Sci-fi. Motorman, Dreamtime, need to read more PKD, Martian Time Slip is a must read. Alisa - the 3 stigmata of Palmer Aldrich. Jennifer & Kathleen recommend Shikasta for Andy & Alisa. Alisa & Andy will read American God’s together.
ASSIGNMENT: Alisa - type the remainder of the SFBC logs for the upcoming show. 4th-year anniversary trip back to the desert for a sound bath at the Integretron, decided that this should be a yearly anniversary event, staying somewhere with kitchenettes and barbecue such as Emerald Springs, the Beat Motel, or the Harmony. Our anniversary trip will be scheduled whenever we can work it out. Late Aug., early Sept., when Jennifer is back from Texas.
Next meeting date: July 15, 7:30 at the LACE show
Field trip: Rock making extravaganza all weekends in May in Kathleen’s backyard

SFBCLA

Venusia Rocks

SFBC Book Log and Meeting Minutes