Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we consider Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. You may have seen the movie.

In 1968 Stanley Kubrick released one of the all-time classic movies, "2001: a Space Odyssey". Until recently I had thought that this movie was based on the book of the same name. That is not the case.

What actually happened is that Arthur C. Clarke was writing the novel and also working on the screenplay with Kubrick simultaneously. The novel wasn't actually published until after the movie was released.

It would be impossible to maintain our pride as geeks without having read one of the most well known sci-fi novels of all time. It will be fascinating to see how it differs from the movie. I'm especially interested to see how the more psychedelic parts of the movie translate to written language.

Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss Frank Herbert's classic Dune. Love it or hate it, it is a formative part of the wider world of speculative fiction, and its influences are vast. In finally reading it, we have a greater understanding of its place in modern literature.

Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller. It was definitely worth reading as an example of one of the first modern post-apocalyptic stories. It reads like an author exploring an idea (the idea being nuclear holocaust and the nature of man and technology), and presents ambivalent, sometimes contrary themes. In the news, New York failed at time capsule, we consider stealing the Westinghouse Time Capsules, you should check out the Hatsune Miku Expo, as well as this SECRET BURGER CRAWL, and Ghibli's The Tale of Princess Kaguya (assuming you're in New York).

Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we review (spoilers) Hugh Howey's Wool. It was a solid book (or set of five short books, which are really just two short books and one longer book). Mixes of Paranoia (the RPG), Logan's Run, Fallout, and other similar stories, it had a lot more nuance than we expected. Definitely worth reading.

Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss William Gibson's Idoru. It's a product of its time - the 1990s - showcasing both the promise and the dystopia projected from that era. Wildly inconsistent in its treatment of technology (fax machines, disposable cameras, and IR remote controls exist alongside city-building nanotechnology and true AI), steeped in the cyberpunk aesthetic, it is typical of Gibson and of its era. If we had to say what it's truly about, it's fame, information, and adolescence. The Idol herself, as AI, is not the core of this book: don't read it expecting to be blown away with a deep look at at the Sharon Apple story. The side details, the setting, the meta, are what make this book worthwhile.

In the news (related in some way to the book), Max Martin is the man behind the idols, and Google Glass prescription frames are allowing Rym to take one more step toward cyberization.

Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss Iain M Banks' The Player of Games. If ever there was a novel that was in our wheelhouse, it's this one. We also talk briefly about some of our more recent Kickstarter backings, and enjoy the "that guys" we poked on Reddit after one fifth of our Anime Boston performances.

Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we review Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. It's catching like wildfire, and dubious as we were, we had to see what all the fuss was about. The verdict? It's pretty good. Not great. Not particularly memorable. But, an enjoyable read well worth its short length and engaging story. Also, Rym hipstered up with some PBRs at Control-Flow.

The next book (Scott's choice) will be 1Q84 by Haruki-Murakami.