Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

Stranger in a Strange Land is the story of Michael Valentine Smith. Born of human parents on Mars and raised by Martians, he comes to earth with different powers and no understanding of humans. This is science fiction about humans and what it means to be human, and change and what causes change. The book has never been out of print and is considered a classic. People who would never read Science Fiction have read this book.

The original copyright to Stranger in a Strange Land was 1961. I probably read it soon after it was published. I included it on my list of favorite books for a long time. When I first read the book I loved the story and I loved the strong women. Today, the women are still strong, but limited by the restrictions of the time. That if nothing else dated the story. However the elements “of individual liberty, self-responsibility, sexual freedom and the influence of organized religion on human culture and government” from Wikipedia that are the heart of the story have kept it relevant. This book caused more discussion than Journey to the Center of the Earth. Again we read different editions of the book. Some people read the original version which was 160,000 words and others read the uncut version which had 220,000 words. All of us who read the uncut version agreed that it needed editing. The extra did not add anything and made the reading drag.

This is a different take on Science Fiction and worth the read even today.

Science Fiction Book Club Members

There is a great variety in all writing. You have fiction and nonfiction, novels and short stories, narrative stories and poetry. We all have our favorite. Within fiction you have further classifications; mystery, romance, adventure and science fiction are just a few. I read across the classifications but my favorite is Science Fiction. Within the area of Science Fiction there are further unique divisions. Those divisions range from fantasy to hard science fiction. Many readers roam between the different areas but some like only one division. In our book club we have both kinds of readers. I tend to roam between different divisions with space opera my favorite. We have one member who loves paranormals, another likes alternate history, still another member likes cyber punk, one member is a hard science fiction fan and one just loves book clubs and had never read Science Fiction before joining. A group this diverse makes choosing books to read and discuss a challenge. We started with a Stephen King book. Not an author I would read, but hearing the thoughts of his fans was interesting. We decided that we would continue by concentrating on some of the classics in Science Fiction. For the next few days I am going to share some of the group thinking on Journey to the Center of the Earth, Stranger in a Strange Land, and Downbelow Station. If you have read any of these books post a comment and add to the discussion.

Science Fiction Book Club (not the one where you buy books)

Our library started a Book Club devoted to Science Fiction. We have been meeting for 5 months and are still a small and select group. At our last meeting in addition to the book we were reviewing we talked about was why we were staying so small. The library has a large number of people checking out Science Fiction books and a high percentage are women. That was the main reason the library started the book club. After sharing our experiences as Science Fiction readers we came to some conclusions about why we are not attracting more members.

First; Science Fiction readers hide their addiction. I know in my case I never talked about what I was reading. I discovered Science Fiction around the age of 9. I found The Trouble on Titan in our library, read it and was immediately hooked. However, I quickly found that sharing what I read caused people to look at me like I had 2 heads. I quit admitting my favorite books were Science Fiction. To this day when my Mother sees me reading Science Fiction she says, “Oh, you are reading one of those books!”

Second; Science Fiction readers are loners. Being a loner means you do not join groups. Does that fit you? To a certain extent it is a fit for me. I do join some groups but I don’t want to commit too much of my time. Don’t get me wrong. I am not a hermit. I like to be around people but I also treasure my time alone. After non-stop socializing I like to find a good book and spend time reading. I had rather spend time reading than join most groups. I can disappear for days at a time. I don’t miss other people because I am reading and my friends are in the book. After all that time alone with my books I come up for air and want to see people again. I join friends before I disappear again to read.

So our book club is staying small because people do not want to admit they read Science Fiction and Science Fiction readers would rather read than join a group.

Even though we are small we are dedicated to keeping the group going. Tomorrow I will share a little about the group and how we choose the books we are reading.