Reading Modern Literature

Join us as we continue our tour through speculative fiction by discussing this collection of Lovecraft's classic tales of cosmic horror!

Publisher's description:

"A definitive collection of stories from the unrivaled master of twentieth-century horror

"I think it is beyond doubt that H. P. Lovecraft has yet to be surpassed as the twentieth century's greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale." -Stephen King

Frequently imitated and widely influential, Howard Philips Lovecraft reinvented the horror genre in the 1920s, discarding ghosts and witches and instead envisioning mankind as a tiny outpost of dwindling sanity in a chaotic and malevolent universe. S. T. Joshi, Lovecraft's preeminent interpreter, presents a selection of the master's fiction, from the early tales of nightmares and madness such as 'The Outsider' to the overpowering cosmic terror of 'The Call of Cthulhu.' More than just a collection of terrifying tales, this volume reveals the development of Lovecraft's mesmerizing narrative style and establishes him as a canonical- and visionary-American writer."

If you don't have a physical copy of the book, you can find a copy of it here:

Join us as we continue our tour through speculative fiction by discussing the epic cycle of myths Tolkien crafted over the course of his entire life.

Publisher's description:

"The Silmarillion is the core of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imaginative writing, a work whose origins stretch back to a time long before The Hobbit.

The story of the creation of the world and of the First Age of Middle-earth, this foundational epic fantasy is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. The three Silmarils were jewels created by Fëanor, most gifted of the Elves. Within them was imprisoned the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor before the Trees themselves were destroyed by Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. Thereafter, the unsullied Light of Valinor lived on only in the Silmarils, but they were seized by Morgoth and set in his crown, which was guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth.

The Silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of Fëanor and his kindred against the gods, their exile from Valinor and return to Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all their heroism, against the great Enemy. As a cornerstone of the fantasy genre, this work is the bedrock of Tolkien’s entire legendarium."

If you don't have a physical copy of the book, you can find a copy of it here:

Join us as we discuss Delany's Nebula award winning novel!

Publisher's description:

"Winner of the Nebula Award: In a war-riven world, saving humanity will require . . . a poet?

At twenty-six, Rydra Wong is the most popular poet in the five settled galaxies. Almost telepathically perceptive, she has written poems that capture the mood of mankind after two decades of savage war. Since the invasion, Earth has endured famine, plague, and cannibalism—but its greatest catastrophe will be Babel-17.

Sabotage threatens to undermine the war effort, and the military calls in Rydra. Random attacks lay waste to warships, weapons factories, and munitions dumps, and all are tied together by strings of sound, broadcast over the radio before and after each accident. In that gibberish Rydra recognizes a coherent message, with all of the beauty, persuasive power, and order that only language possesses. To save humanity, she will master this strange tongue. But the more she learns, the more she is tempted to join the other side . . ."

If you don't have a physical copy of the book, you can find a copy of it here:

Join us as we discuss the first half of Jemisin's short story collection! For this meeting, we'll be discussing stories from the beginning up through "The Evaluators".

Publisher's description:

Three-time Hugo Award winner and NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption that sharply examine modern society in her first collection of short fiction, which includes never-before-seen stories.

'Marvelous and wide-ranging.' -- Los Angeles Times
"Gorgeous" -- NPR Books
"Breathtakingly imaginative and narratively bold." -- Entertainment Weekly

Spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story "The City Born Great," a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis's soul."

If you don't have a physical copy of the book, you can find a copy of it here: