July 31 - Grunt by Mary Roach
At our June 26th meeting, we had a great discussion regarding John Scalzi's book, Lock In. Some readers felt overwhelmed by the technology but others felt the book addressed all kinds of issues pertinent to today's society (people with disabilities, gender identity, treatment of the Navajo, government subsides in medical research, accommodation issues, discrimination, and community culture to name a few). It also had great character development and an interesting mystery too! For our refreshments, we had coconut oil chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookie bars with buttercream frosting and our famous cheese ball dip.
Summary: 'Grunt' tackles the science behind some of a soldier's most challenging adversaries-- panic, exhaustion, heat, noise-- and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them.
June 26 - Lock In
At our May 22 meeting, we had 9 members in attendance. The book we discussed was House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. Most members liked it and appreciated the continuity of style between Arthur Conan Doyle and Horowitz. We had donuts from Village Foods, Salted Caramel Gooey Bars from Colts (Nashville, TN), and jello with fruit.
Summary: "Fifteen years from now, a new virus sweeps the globe. 95% of those afflicted experience nothing worse than fever and headaches. Four percent suffer acute meningitis, creating the largest medical crisis in history. And one percent find themselves "locked in"--fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. One per cent doesn't seem like a lot. But in the United States, that's 1.7 million people "locked in"...including the President's wife and daughter. Spurred by grief and the sheer magnitude of the suffering, America undertakes a massive scientific initiative. Nothing can restore the ability to control their own bodies to the locked in. But then two new technologies emerge. One is a virtual-reality environment, "The Agora," in which the locked-in can interact with other humans, both locked-in and not. The other is the discovery that a few rare individuals have brains that are receptive to being controlled by others, meaning that from time to time, those who are locked in can "ride" these people and use their bodies as if they were their own. This skill is quickly regulated, licensed, bonded, and controlled. Nothing can go wrong. Certainly nobody would be tempted to misuse it, for murder, for political power, or worse....John Scalzi's Lock In is a novel of our near future, from one of the most popular authors in modern science fiction"
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