Originally posted here.
Day One: Complete. Did you start Ender’s Game today? (Full disclosure: I didn’t. Maybe I’ll get to it at bedtime…) I’m pretty stoked about this book group. Please tell your friends and get them in on our club!
People have asked why I chose Ender’s Game for the December Book Club this year. I had toyed with the idea of doing the second Dune book or reading some Philip K Dick or William Gibson before I settled on Ender’s Game. The reasons I ended up choosing Ender’s Game are similar to the reasons that I chose Dune last year:
- It’s a science fiction classic.
- It’s a book that most people haven’t read or haven’t read for years.
- It’s easy to find.
- It requires little prior knowledge.
- It’s hugely influential.
Arguments can be made for plenty of Gibson or Dick stories for most of those points (and I am not beyond choosing, say, Neuromancer, for another book club choice), but I felt like Ender’s Game was a good populist choice. Plus, it’s a relatively easy read compared to the slog that Dune can be, and I wanted to have fun with this (and finish the book in ONE month).