Dusk Witch's Book Club Book Report (Part 1)
Recently, your witch here completed a book club. The other members felt we had read enough, and so we wrapped, put a bow on it, and evolved the club into an artist's social gathering.
We read quite a few works in the couple of years it ran; some good, some alright, some dogshit. I want to get all my thoughts on those works in one place, and give others my recommendations on whether or not to read them in their own book clubs. Some of my opinions on these books changed with time, as I reevaluated what I had already read in the context of what I was reading. I know some of the other members of the book club made fun of me for changing positions, but the honest truth is that I did just changed my mind. Sometimes, when you let something sit, you begin to appreciate it more; sometimes, when you properly expand your horizons, something you enjoyed becomes dull and trite in comparison.
Do note my categories are not necessarily indicative of the overall book's quality, but rather their quality in the context of a group that wants to examine and discuss.1 Some books might be excellent reading, but might be best read on your own. Some books might be good for discussion, but not necessarily rip-roaring reads, etc.
This is also not a full list of all the books I've read, loved, hated, or am currently working through (that'd be far longer and I'll do that some other time.)2 Additionally, I've ordered the books alphabetically, as befits written work. A few entries are series of books rather than the individual books, because it's my list and I do what I want.
Excellent Reads
17776 ā Why do we play football, in like a cosmic sense? 17776 is a deeply felt and excellently written love letter to the concept of sports, and all of the wonderful things that go with it. Iām not really a sports person, and Jon Bois managed to communicate to me why sports (and by extension, play of all kinds) is fundamentally important for our humanity.
Area X/Southern Reach Trilogy/Quadrology ā These books turned a friend of mine trans. This is peak sci-fi and speculative fiction. Despite featuring very few āscience factoidsā, these books betray an interest in humanity, society, technology, and the war between mankindās grasping control of its environment versus the inherent chaos of the universe putting most āsci-fiā authors to shame. Even that is a poor, reductive summary of the scope of the work. The characters are compelling. The narrative plants seeds within you which bear strange fruit. Thematically rich, a book to genuinely change you.3
The Black Company (book 1) ā I liked it and the unique perspective it gave on a somewhat typical fantasy world. I enjoyed being with the characters; I think the author is good at pulling the reader into the comradery of the mercenary company. My book club hated it so YMMV.
Canticle for Leibowitz ā One of the best post-apocalyptic novels Iāve read. Asks tough questions about morality, the role of religion in society, the relationship between science and power, the struggle between politics and religion, and the ethics of the end of the world. (It comes to very orthodox Catholic conclusions on those subjects, but the book is rarely preachy and includes genuine introspection.)
Dune ā It has a long legacy for a reason. I donāt think anything quite beats the books. Frank Herbert had a very idiosyncratic view on humanity and it comes through the best in this book. It becomes especially interesting when placed in the context of other midcentury science fiction. Another fun exercise it to trace its legacy into modern science fiction through works like Star Wars and Warhammer 40,000.
Dune Messiah ā In my opinion, necessary reading for the themes of the first novel to land properly.
Earthsea (whole series) ā Ursela K. LeGuin is one of the best to ever do it. I canāt even summarize what I love about this series, except to say that it is one of the most human set of books I have every read. It is achingly empathic, above and beyond its many other qualities. I have philosophical disagreements with Mrs. LeGuin but even that doesnāt stop me from loving this book.4
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell ā One of the best stories about magic, bar none. Because itās not actually about the magic, itās about two very flawed men, artās place in society, Victorian class dynamics, the simultaneous omnipresence and invisibility of women, and the value of all human life. It is a spell worked well. The book also is dense and full of nuances, providing lots of good fodder for discussion.
Left Hand of Darkness ā Another classic for a reason. Like any good sci-fi novel, it balances investigations of ideas with exploration of themes and characters. While it has aged a little oddly in our modern day, I think itās still an immensely valuable text and one worth discussing.
The Lord of the Rings (trilogy) ā They are not perfect. But my God, there is a reason every single hack author (and plenty of decent ones) try to capture what Tolkien caught so easily. There is a lightness and poetry to the prose that some could find tiresome but I found beautiful. It is a fantasy novel concerned with kings, rings, and orcs, but itās so much more than that, and itās beating heart of humanity carries through the whole thing. You donāt have to be an eleven year old with too much time on your hands to enjoy it; it is perfectly good for all ages. Refreshingly for the fantasy genre, it has the full complex adult emotional spectrum on display (a trait it shares with the Earthsea series). It grapples with death, hope, morality, and homesickness and a dozen other trite themes that every hack fantasy author has included in their books. Unlike them, however, Tolkien stands tall enough to actually tackle these large topics. The books have their philosophical and thematic problems, but they are rich enough to be well worth reading.
Mason & Dixon ā I bounced off this book three times. On the third time, I read it in about a week, the second half within a day, the last quarter within one continuous session of reading. When I closed it, I felt emotions that I cannot put a name to and have only rarely felt since. The book is dense. The first part is admittedly quite slow, but after getting through that everything picks up. Unless you have a degree in 18th century literature and 18th century history, get a companion reader for this. The book is excellent but it demands you pay attention and think.
A Series of Unfortunate Events ā I might have knocked it down one category because it is a very light read and intended for children, but I just didnāt have the heart. For a well-read adult, itās amusing, not necessarily revolutionary. But itās still engaging, thoughtful, and subversive in ways much adult fiction often struggles to be and which many āyoung adultā novels utterly fail to be.
This Is How You Lose the Time War ā A love story, one of the best Iāve read. But more than that, itās an epistolary romance for the internet age. In a world where people are increasingly divided and atomized, itās a novel that posits real connections can be formed, and we can push free of the false binaries imposed on us. Queer in a meaningful way.
That Insidious Beast ā How the fuck did Mr. Parsons completely destroy (almost) everyone else in the āAnalog Horrorā genre eight years before it became a thing?5 And entirely through a textual medium? Itās very Bush-era, but it still has a lot of themes that are resonant today. Instructions for a Help is a similar (though unrelated) work by the same author, if youāre looking for more.
Watchmen ā This graphic novel has been dissected to death for a reason. While some of the ideas are passe now, the character examinations in this book are still interesting to read. Thereās thematic depth here, and things you will put together on a second or third read-through. It is a graphic novel that demands just as much of your attention as a good textual novel, and rewards you accordingly.
Part 2 continues here.
However, it is true that higher-quality books will be in this post; and that the books I say are dogshit really are terrible.↩
It's also not a full list of works we read and examined in the book club. In addition to these lists, we read all of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere works that had been published up to this point, One Piece (which I have complex feelings on and cannot summarize well), Journey to the West (again, complicated feelings on its suitability for book clubs), the 2019 Watchmen TV show, and Doki Doki Literature Club Plus. Yes, we dabbled in texts that aren't traditional books.↩
I have only read the first three books. Absolution, the fourth book of the quadrology, sits next to my desk waiting to be read.↩
When I say the whole series, I mean the whole series. There were some I loved more, some I loved less, but they were all at minimum good.↩
Kris Straub's (Local58) work is still genuinely great and on the same level. I'm more referring to the sludge that poured out of YouTube after Local58 and Five Nights at Freddie's.↩