eMusic Book Club
It’s just about time to kick off the first eMusic book club. Yay! I’ve narrowed down our choices to four undeniably dark but incredibly juicy books–two are science fiction and two are true crime. None are what you’d call light reading (or listening, as the case may be), but I think their profundity will make them all the more fun to dissect and debate. Without further ado, the nominees are:
1. A Scanner Darkly
Philip K. Dick’s 1977 thriller that details the downward spiral of a narcotics agent who becomes addicted to a dangerous futuristic drug and loses his grasp on reality. You might have caught last year’s Richard Linklater film adaptation, but nothing beats revisiting the original source material. Added bonus: Paul Giamatti narrates.
2. Oryx and Crake
Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood takes us into a near distant future in which, to quote Publishers Weekly, “the triple whammy of runaway social inequality, genetic technology and catastrophic climate change, has finally culminated in some apocalyptic event.” How did we get here? Snowman, who may just be the last human left on the planet, attempts to explain by recounting his life story, including his friendships with the beautiful Oryx and the brilliant Crake.
3. In Cold Blood
The 1966 Truman Capote masterpiece that revolutionized the true crime genre. Capote spent years meticulously researching the 1959 slaying of a Kansas family and the effects of the murder on their small farm town. Capote’s startlingly thorough psychological portrait humanizes the two killers and also demonstrates his own intense personal investment in the case.
4. The Devil in the White City
Back when I was an editor it seemed like every other nonfiction book proposal I read wanted to emulate the structure of The Devil in the White City. With good reason. Erik Larson has created a winning formula for suspense by interweaving the story of the man who architected the construction of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair with the story of a serial killer’s horrifying path of destruction near the fair grounds.
I’m hoping to reveal the winning title early next week, so please let me know which of these books calls out to you. I’ll post some initial thoughts about our selection on the main eMusic Audiobooks page Monday, October 29th, and from there we’ll use the message boards to hold our discussions. Your feedback is vital, of course. As much as I’m looking forward to scintillating conversation with Yancey and my father (hi, Dad!), I’d much rather round out our group with your brilliant input.
I vote for In Cold Blood, the classic that invented a genre. Also provoked a lot of recent nonfiction writers to blur the lines into fiction, which bugs the crap out of me, but still a great book.
I vote for A Scanner Darkly. I’m also happy to see wine, cheese, and m&m’s will be provided.
The Devil and the White City
The Devil and the White City!
Another vote for The Devil in the White City.
oooh… and miss an opportunity to learn more about philip k. dick’s bona fide drug experiences, as interpreted through the voice of PEVG? a scanner darkly, for sure!
BTW, Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is a huge sci-fi fan.
added bonus!
In Cold Blood, definitely.
I’ve never listened to an audiobook, nor do I subscribe to emusic’s audiobook service, but I do like to read. Can I still participate?
I’d vote for the first two because I’ve never read them.
In Cold Blood is one of my favourite books evah, top two or three, and I love “Devil” too — just finished reading (hard copy) Larson’s “Thunderstruck.” But I’m not going to download either and don’t really want to go back and read them again just so I can contribute.
Devil in the White City looks so good. I vote for that.
A Scanner Darkly is an absolute classic. I wouldn’t mind re-reading it.
Oryx and Crake is probably my favorite book I read last year. I’ve never read anything else by Atwood, but I’ve been meaning to.
Are you just going to do “book club” in this thread?
I’ve wanted to read In Cold Blood for a while so I vote for that.
I what music retnow…