Nominations for April 2021

[Baxder]

The April 2021 RPGX Book Club Selection is...

Dice Roll:

d2

2

Accepted Nominations

#	Title*	Author	Nominator
1	On Writing	Stephen King	Bothers
2	The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy	Douglas Adams	Baxder

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy by Douglas Adams, nominated by Baxder!

You can support RPGX by picking up a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy from the linked image above, or here for the Kindle version, or get it from your favorite vendor at Goodreads.

You can begin reading right away, but please refrain from discussing the book's contents until the first section's discussion thread opens on April 1st. You can find the complete discussion schedule in the Schedule post.

Thanks to Bothers for the competition, and don't forget your towel!

[bothers]

Nomination → On Writing by Stephen King 351 pages Non-fiction Synopsis: This book is one part memoir, one part writing-about-writing by one of the most well-known authors in the world. It describes some of the events in his life and his journey as an author, and offers advice to readers who aspire to be writers themselves. A brief thought on why it would be a good book to discuss: Stephen King is legendary as a writer. Almost no living writers today can claim the same degree of consistent success and popularity. I've often seen this book popping up as a recommendation to people who want to improve their own writing, and since we're all hanging out on a forum dedicated to prose-based roleplay, story, and characterisation, this seems like the kind of thing that might interest some people. Discussion questions: At what age do you remember thinking you wanted to write? What do you remember writing when you were young? King believes that stories are "found things, like fossils in the ground." Let’s discuss King's extended metaphor of "writing as excavation." Do you agree with this theory? How would you describe writing if different from his point-of-view? According to King, good story ideas "seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky," and often don't ignite until they collide with another idea that also comes unbidden. Do you find that ideas for stories or writing projects come to you out of the blue, or do you have to search for them? King's self-imposed "production schedule" is 2,000 words a day and he suggests that all writers set a daily writing goal. What kind of discipline, if any, do you impose upon your own writing efforts? Do you always write at the same time of day? If so, when and why? Do you try to maintain a steady pace? Does adherence to a strict routine help your writing efforts? Whether or not you have read the book: I have not yet read this book. I plagiarised every single one of the questions from other people on the internet. I hope none of them catch me! Where to get it: Very widely available in paperback, hardback, ebook, and audiobook formats. Goodreads has a list of vendors in your local country.

[Baxder]

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
208 pages
Satirical Science Fiction

Synopsis: The Hitchhiker's guide chronicles one of the last surviving human's adventures after the Earth is destroyed to make way for a galactic highway. It's a ridiculous and hilarious romp through a cosmos of translating fish, "improbability drive" hyperspace travel, a clinically depressed robot, and nihilistic galactic leadership.

Why this book: I just turned 42. And if anyone, anywhere, hasn't read this then they are simply missing out on one of the greatest works ever written.

Discussion questions:
1 - Hitchhiker's Guide makes fun of a lot of things, but are there any things that this book takes seriously? Are any of the characters treated seriously? Are any institutions (like businesses, governments, or churches) treated seriously? Or is everything made fun of here?

2 - Who do you think is the most important character in this book? Is there a hero/heroine here? Is there a character that you care about more than the others? Are there any villains? Another way to ask this question is: "Is there a conflict in this book and if so, between whom?"

3 - Adams flippantly depicts the destruction of the planet Earth as a casual, everyday sort of occurrence. Why do you think he does this? What impact does it have on the emotional development of the narrative, specifically on Arthur Dent?

4 - What might Adams' message be about science in this novel?

5 - There is a tremendous amount of seemingly random/arbitrary destruction and upheaval in The Hitchhiker's Guide, yet Adams' perspective seems optimistic. Is the latter in spite of the former? Or does Adams find a way to harmonize the two? Are there any points where the two seem irreconcilable?

I did read The Guide once, probably 20 or so years ago. I remember enough to be able to explain all the popular references but that's about all.

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