Geek Books Club @ MK Cafe, New Farm

For geeks who enjoy reading science fiction, fantasy, and tech-focused books

For this month's (August) book meetup is Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore(2012) by Robin Sloan. Its a mystery novel that intertwines books and technology.

Questions to think about when reading the novel:

1. If you had to choose between preserving an old way of doing something and using a faster new method, how would you decide which one deserves your trust?
2. What does it mean for a tool or technology to help you understand something instead of simply making it easier to store or copy?
3. Think about a time when working with other people helped you solve a problem that you could not handle alone; what made that teamwork effective?
4. If a person wanted to leave behind a meaningful legacy, what would matter more: being remembered by many people or deeply affecting a few?
5. When new technology can do almost anything, why might patience, curiosity, and careful thinking still be necessary?

Discussion questions at meetup group:

1. Does the novel suggest tradition and technology work better together than apart?
2. Is chasing immortality shown as inspiring, or does it seem like a dangerous distraction?
3. Why do you think friendship matters more than the mystery itself in Clay’s journey?
4. Does the book make the Unbroken Spine feel wise, or stuck in the past?
5. Is the ending more hopeful about books, or about the people who share them?

Contact the host(Steve) if you have problems obtaining a copy of the monthly book. Attendees of the meetup can choose the book for the following month.

Venue is MK Cafe, corner of Sydney St & Brunswich St, across from New Farm park. Please support the cafe by purchasing its drink and food for the use of its tables.

Suggested book reading List:
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
The Martian by Andy Weir.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Dune by Frank Herbert
Armada by Ernest Cline
Masters of Doom by David Kushne.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Children of Men by P.D. James
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

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