TEST Book Club - FREE BEER! Year in review AND January Nominations CLOSED

August

Space Marshal
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August-TEST
To read.
Here.
Yes.
No.
Goodreads is a bit weird.
Yes.
This is the same question.
Yes monthly.
Yes, of course.
 
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Printimus

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I have to admit, I didn't quite get it.
We nominate books for what? And where? Here? And you vote on goodreads.com? Or is that just optional? Can I also nominate book series e.g. a trilogy? Or just one of a trilogy (and tell the others that they should read the other books no. 1 and 3 as well)?
And submitted and voted is monthly, i.e. can I propose a different book every month?
All are great questions! I will try to answer in the order you ask:

I run the book club here in TEST (until a coup or i get voted out 😂).
Every month, I write a new "TEST Book Club" thread regarding nominations, voting, or the monthly selection. You can find all previous threads for our book club in the Forums > Off Topic area.
We have a club on goodreads.com where we like to discuss spoilers about the books. Spoilers and general information about any book is all goodreads.com is good for and thus is optional, all other business is conducted here.

You may nominate one book at a time, even if there is a series of books. Example: The Fellowship of the Ring from Lord of the Rings. I cannot nominate the whole trilogy as some series are much much longer than others. So to keep things simple, we stick to one book (series or no series) per month. And, if that books seems to do well enough, anyone can nominate the next book in the series if they choose to.

You can nominate one book every single month. Feel free to stay up to date with us as we usually nominate 2 weeks before a coming month and vote on the nominations 1 week before the new month. As an example, people are nominating novels for January right now in this thread.

I hope I answered your great questions adequately and I also hope you participate with us! Always good to have more of us together.
 
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AstroSam

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The Passage Trilogie
by Justin Cronin.

I read these books in a rather unusual order: first book no. 2 in 2014, then a year later - no. 2 again, combined with an attempt to shed some light on the thicket of the many characters.
It was only last year that I realized that my confusion came from the fact that there was a first part - and a third part which was published in 2016.

That being said, the second part, "The Twelve," I devoured:
Cronin has a fantastic writing style, very fluid and peppered with metaphors that not only let the reader be there, but right in the middle of it. You don't just see what the protagonists see; you taste, smell, feel with them, yes, you breathe the same air as them. Seldom has a book so captivated me.

Since I usually don't expect so much quality from writing beginners - the first Harry Potter was terribly written - my expectation of the first part of the trilogy, "The Passage", was rather restrained. I was all the more surprised when the first book turned out to be just as good, if not even better!
I want to compare Cronin with Stephen King: he can vary the tempo, go into detail slowly and endlessly, so that you are inclined to skim lyrics - but never (okay: seldom) boring - and then again with a tempo that takes your breath away! Since he takes his time in the "slow" sections to develop his characters, very interesting, three-dimensional personalities with weaknesses and strengths emerge, which make you cheer, laugh and mourn; people you fear for, people you hate and people you shed honest tears of sadness over their loss.

The basic structure of the content is as simple as it could hardly be simpler: Virus breaks out, living dead, vampires, world becomes hell, survivors...survive...partly.
But in the third book "City of Mirrors" Justin Cronin runs out of breath. One clearly notices that a publisher now swings its whip, plus that Cronin actually doesn't have much to tell anymore, but has a guideline on how many pages he has to write. Nevertheless, of course you are interested, because it's time to slowly say goodbye to the remaining beloved characters. Furthermore, the "Zero of the Twelve" is introduced, which also has its own, quite interesting story to tell. Once you've worked your way through the first 800 pages, often tormenting pages, the reader can expect a brilliant heartbeat finale, which I don't want to spoil.

I can warmly recommend this trilogy to friends of entertainment literature and an end-time vampire dystopia mix. I am already looking forward to more books by Justin Cronin and therefore
hereby nominate for January the

Passage trilogy, consisting of the books
The Passage (2010)
The Twelve (2012)
The City of Mirrors (2016).


[edit]Ooops, just read your post @Printimus thanks a lot for explanation. Then I nominate the first book for sure ^^
 
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Printimus

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Printimus
The Passage Trilogie
by Justin Cronin.

I read these books in a rather unusual order: first book no. 2 in 2014, then a year later - no. 2 again, combined with an attempt to shed some light on the thicket of the many characters.
It was only last year that I realized that my confusion came from the fact that there was a first part - and a third part which was published in 2016.

That being said, the second part, "The Twelve," I devoured:
Cronin has a fantastic writing style, very fluid and peppered with metaphors that not only let the reader be there, but right in the middle of it. You don't just see what the protagonists see; you taste, smell, feel with them, yes, you breathe the same air as them. Seldom has a book so captivated me.

Since I usually don't expect so much quality from writing beginners - the first Harry Potter was terribly written - my expectation of the first part of the trilogy, "The Passage", was rather restrained. I was all the more surprised when the first book turned out to be just as good, if not even better!
I want to compare Cronin with Stephen King: he can vary the tempo, go into detail slowly and endlessly, so that you are inclined to skim lyrics - but never (okay: seldom) boring - and then again with a tempo that takes your breath away! Since he takes his time in the "slow" sections to develop his characters, very interesting, three-dimensional personalities with weaknesses and strengths emerge, which make you cheer, laugh and mourn; people you fear for, people you hate and people you shed honest tears of sadness over their loss.

The basic structure of the content is as simple as it could hardly be simpler: Virus breaks out, living dead, vampires, world becomes hell, survivors...survive...partly.
But in the third book "City of Mirrors" Justin Cronin runs out of breath. One clearly notices that a publisher now swings its whip, plus that Cronin actually doesn't have much to tell anymore, but has a guideline on how many pages he has to write. Nevertheless, of course you are interested, because it's time to slowly say goodbye to the remaining beloved characters. Furthermore, the "Zero of the Twelve" is introduced, which also has its own, quite interesting story to tell. Once you've worked your way through the first 800 pages, often tormenting pages, the reader can expect a brilliant heartbeat finale, which I don't want to spoil.

I can warmly recommend this trilogy to friends of entertainment literature and an end-time vampire dystopia mix. I am already looking forward to more books by Justin Cronin and therefore
hereby nominate for January the

Passage trilogy, consisting of the books
The Passage (2010)
The Twelve (2012)
The City of Mirrors (2016).


[edit]Ooops, just read your post @Printimus thanks a lot for explanation. Then I nominate the first book for sure ^^
Terrific! We are now up to 10 nominations! Keep them rolling in folks!
 
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Printimus

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Today, tomorrow, and Saturday. That's all you got left to submit your best nomination to kick off our new year for the Book Club!
 

Salakavala

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THE NEXT PERSON THAT NOMINATES A* BOOK WILL RECEIVE A FREE** CASE OF BEER!















*Promotion is only valid on valid submissions as determined by the rules of nomination.
**Taxes, shipping, and acquisition fees still apply.
 
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Oberstleutnant

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NOMINATION INCOMING
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/12952/demons-sinistra-arc-1

A deep and complex love story from a misunderstood author that explores boundaries no other book explores. Experience emotions you didn't even know you had, in a fantastical worlds with characters with deep personalities.
 
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Printimus

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Printimus
NOMINATION INCOMING
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/12952/demons-sinistra-arc-1

A deep and complex love story from a misunderstood author that explores boundaries no other book explores. Experience emotions you didn't even know you had, in a fantastical worlds with characters with deep personalities.
Did you seriously just nominate Nkato's book? I'm a little hesitant to add this one only because I know what event in the story is considered "Sexual Content" & "Traumatizing Content" and do not consider this novel appropriate for the book club.
@Oberstleutnant please let me know if this is your serious nomination or if you are just being a troll. Until then, its not going on the list.
 
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Oberstleutnant

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Did you seriously just nominate Nkato's book? I'm a little hesitant to add this one only because I know what event in the story is considered "Sexual Content" & "Traumatizing Content" and do not consider this novel appropriate for the book club.
@Oberstleutnant please let me know if this is your serious nomination or if you are just being a troll. Until then, its not going on the list.
This is a serious nomination. NKato's book is an instant classic on the level of books such as Lord of the Rings, 1984, and other famous works.
 
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Printimus

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This is a serious nomination. NKato's book is an instant classic on the level of books such as Lord of the Rings, 1984, and other famous works.
Now I know for sure you are trolling. Either way, I do not find the content of the book appropriate for the club.
 
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