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The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Discussion

Number_6

Number_6

beer, I want beer
As promised long ago, Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is the next book we'll be reading and discussing. Since I've actually assigned the book in my course, I will have to finish it, unlike Dune, which still sits with a bookmark on page 141.

However, I've just pushed the due date for one of the papers in this class back by a week, which means I need to make a few adjustments in the syllabus in order to make sure we're doing a film the week I'm supposed to be grading the papers (and I might have to move a few things around in one of my other classes, too--boy is the writing quality of students poor this year). Give me until tomorrow, and I'll set a definite week for the book (I know Mike is waiting).

Most likely we're talking the week of Halloween.

So, let me know in this thread if you're interested. It's one of Heinlein's best, and it will change your mind about him if you've only read For Us, the Living.

Oh, and somebody sticky this. I ain't payin' for it.
 
Deal Me In

This is one that I think everyone is going to enjoy and if you've let this get by you, well now's your chance to find out what Heinlein is really about.

A creative giant at his absolute here. I think as you go along you'll be impressed, if not amazed, at the casual prescience RAH throws around in the book.

And don't worry there will be plenty of fireworks because there are some assumptions RAH makes along the way that will be sharply challenged.

This is a great read and I hope everyone will join in.

By the way, my contribution this time will be substantially different since I do have a copy of the book, instead of the Dune situation where I had to work from memory and had to lay back at times for fear of dropping spoilers.
 
I'll have to pick up a copy - it's been years since I read this, and now I can't remember much about it. By Halloween should be enough time for me to find one. :)
 
Could I get this stickied? I can't pay for it, anyway, as it says my usergroup can't use that function.

Looks like the week of Halloween it is, barring one small problem: my copy of the book has gone missing. And I'm pissed, because I bought the TOR reprint hardcover back in the mid-90s. Fuck. Somewhere in the last seven moves over the last 6 1/2 years, I've lost about 10 books and 5-6 CDs.

Anyway, I've ordered a copy of the British hardcover off abebooks.com, which looks to be illustrated. I paid extra for 4-6 days shipping, and expect it to be here well in advance of the time both we and my class will be reading it. But, if there's a problem, I may have to push the novel back a week.

And before anyone asks, yes, I could have requested a desk copy after the fact, but the publishers are often slow with the desk copies, particularly once you've already made the book order and they don't stand to lose any business.
 
I would like to be in, assuming this isn't a noob-free assignment.

I'll admit that I've already read it once, but it was long enough ago where I'm looking forward to this.

So, is it two weeks-ish that we're going to have it read by?
 
Yeah, in my class we'll be covering the book on MW of the week of Halloween.

As soon as my new copy arrives, I'll break it down by chapter rather than by page, because there are so many different editions of the book out there.

I'll break down our reading a bit differently than my class, if you want to discuss it from day to day in sections.
 
I might be interested, if I can find a copy in eBook format (damned eyes, gotta read in a special color scheme, grumble grumble).

Oh, and sorry to hear about your students' lackluster writing abilities. If I ever say something politically correct -- just for a larf, you understand -- feel free to rub their noses in it.
 
The Question said:
I might be interested, if I can find a copy in eBook format (damned eyes, gotta read in a special color scheme, grumble grumble).

Oh, and sorry to hear about your students' lackluster writing abilities. If I ever say something politically correct -- just for a larf, you understand -- feel free to rub their noses in it.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure whether or not this exists in eBook format. How do you go about looking for such a thing?

Still waiting on my new copy, and then I'll break it down into chunks.

For the class, I've just basically cut the book into three--we do a third of the book for each of three class meetings (yeah, I extended it from two, because they have more to say than I expected). So we can either mirror that (which would mean you'd have to have 1/3 of the book read by 10/31), or we can adjust so that we are proceeding through the book starting on 10/31.

If most of you are heavier readers on the weekend, then perhaps having 1/3 of the book finished on 10/31 would be a good idea.
 
Peter Octavian said:
I've had my copy since "For Us The Living".

This one's better than that one, yes?
Click to expand...


Oh yeah. One is the work of a raw beginner. The other is the work of a master writer at the top of his game.
 
So I ordered this fucking book on Saturday, paid for expedited shipping, and got an email today telling me that the goddamned bookstore didn't get the book into the mail until YESTERDAY.

What the fuck?
 
Okay, so here it is, a week later. What a beautiful copy, though it's not illustrated, as I thought it said it was.

So, the book breaks down into three parts, which in my copy go from 9-184, 185-304, and 305-382.

If we did Part I on Monday, II on Wednesday, and III on Friday, we'd be mirroring what we're doing in my class. However, that leaves a big chunk of reading for some people between Monday and Wednesday.

We could also do Part I for Monday 10/31, Part II for Friday 11/4, and Part III for Sunday 11/6. That would give a full four days for reading Part II, and then most of a weekend for the shorter Part III.

Post your preferences. In the meantime, I'll start three threads. Feel free to post early, and everyone entering those threads does so with the understanding that they will contain spoilers.
 
OK, my copy of the book finally arrived... and I will catch up my reading. Don't get too far ahead of me. Prety please?

Edited to add: Well I can see the schedule is way ahead of me, but I can catch up in like two days [maybe less] and contribute something to the discussion.
 
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