Calling All Readers: Book Club - Week 1/4 - Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky

Welcome to Calling All Readers Book Club!
Week by week, we'll discuss sections of the book we were assigned as a group to read. Our book club is described as "episodic" since we do not read as a group, instead we read on our private time the sections we were assigned to read, and the following week we have an open discussion. We'll note theories, questions, concerns and predictions, until we reach the end.

About the book-
Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those young rebels who are compelled, in spite of extreme danger, to venture illegally into the Zone to collect the mysterious artifacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the place and the thriving black market in the alien products. But when he and his friend Kirill go into the Zone together to pick up a “full empty,” something goes wrong. And the news he gets from his girlfriend upon his return makes it inevitable that he’ll keep going back to the Zone, again and again, until he finds the answer to all his problems.
First published in 1972, Roadside Picnic is still widely regarded as one of the greatest science fiction novels, despite the fact that it has been out of print in the United States for almost thirty years.
145 pages, Paperback, First published January 1, 1972

Meeting ID: 811 8675 1599

Schedule:
Week 1: November 25th - Due before the meeting: TBD (To be determined)
Week 2: December 2nd - Due before the meeting: TBD
Week 3: December 9th - Due before the meeting: TBD
Week 4: December 16th - Due before the meeting: TBD

Page count: 145
Price: $14.75
Genre: Science Fiction, Fiction, Russia, Classics, Dystopia

Where to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Roadside-Picnic-Rediscovered-Classics-Strugatsky/dp/1613743416

About the Author: The brothers Arkady Strugatsky [Russian: Аркадий Стругацкий] and Boris Strugatsky [Russian: Борис Стругацкий] were Soviet-Russian science fiction authors who collaborated through most of their careers.
Arkady Strugatsky was born 25 August 1925 in Batumi; the family later moved to Leningrad. In January 1942, Arkady and his father were evacuated from the Siege of Leningrad, but Arkady was the only survivor in his train car; his father died upon reaching Vologda. Arkady was drafted into the Soviet army in 1943. He trained first at the artillery school in Aktyubinsk and later at the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow, from which he graduated in 1949 as an interpreter of English and Japanese. He worked as a teacher and interpreter for the military until 1955. In 1955, he began working as an editor and writer.
In 1958, he began collaborating with his brother Boris, a collaboration that lasted until Arkady's death on 12 October 1991. Arkady Strugatsky became a member of the Union of Soviet Writers in 1964. In addition to his own writing, he translated Japanese language short stories and novels, as well as some English works with his brother.

Things to note:
1. This book was voted on by fellow readers of Calling All Readers.
2. Before each meeting, make sure you've read the assigned pages.
3. The author is always notified that our group is reading the book. We'll try to connect with them for an interview.
4. It's okay if you arrive late.