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Opening nominations and poll for classic book group/buddy read. Suggestions:
Solaris by Stanisław Lem
Off On A Comet by Jules Verne

This September, the Sci-fi Afficionados group is reading Tau Zero, a wonderful time travel classic from the prolific Poul Anderson.

It's November peeps. Time to start the group read - Solaris. Then watch the movie version!

I've got the audiobook, now I need to get the movie! :)

Solaris makes for one of my all-time bizarre personal film-watching / book-reading stories. Years back I tried and tried to get the picture on video. Finally, I located a copy that had the original Russian dialogue, subtitled in Japanese and with a lady doing a voice-over in English!! The story is hard enough to follow...so, I then decided to track down the book in order to understand things better only to find that the only written copy available at the time was translated from Polish into French and then into English!!!!!
The kicker is that after later marrying a gal from Lodz, Poland, we already did kind of a "group read" of Solaris (she read it directly, of course).
Anywho, I'm looking forward to re-re-reading Solaris and this time finally via a direct translation even if I have to borrow my wife's Kindle (another 1st; I prefer paper)....

Wow, Steve! It will be interesting to see if you have different thoughts about it this time - and I do wonder how the translations compare ... lol!

Per Wikipedia - quite funny:

"Solaris has been filmed three times:
Solaris (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg.
Solaris (1972 film), directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. The film loosely follows the novel's plot, emphasizing the human relationships instead of Lem's astrobiology theories � especially Kelvin's Earth life, before his space travel to the planet. The film won the Grand Prix at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival.
Solaris (2002 film), directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring George Clooney and produced by James Cameron, also emphasizing the human relationships � and again excluding Lem's scientific and philosophical themes.

Lem himself observed that none of the film versions depict much of the extraordinary physical and psychological "alienness" of the Solaris ocean:
� ...to my best knowledge, the book was not dedicated to erotic problems of people in outer space... As Solaris' author I shall allow myself to repeat that I only wanted to create a vision of a human encounter with something that certainly exists, in a mighty manner perhaps, but cannot be reduced to human concepts, ideas or images. This is why the book was entitled "Solaris" and not "Love in Outer Space"."

Okay, now I *have* to get the movie! I'd love to see a film of the book, but I can handle "Love in Outer Space" too, lol ... hopefully I can start the book this week and then I'll have a clue what he's talking about. :)

The Tarkovsky film is the definitive one for me (and most others). It's often been referred to as the Russian answer to 2001 - A Space Odyssey. Very textured and subtle. Far superior to the George Clooney flick.
But WOW! Who ever knew about a 1968 version? I have GOT to hunt that one down. Thanks for the post!!!

BTW, Lem is a character. Somewhere around I have a book of his which is nothing but a series of reviews...about other books that do not exist!

Hmmmm I loved 2001. Looks like I'll have to be content with the newest version for a bit though; I just checked prices on the 1972 version and yikes! I'll have to wait for a discount coupon! Then again, Christmas is coming ... :) Steve, that book sounds like a hoot!

The 1968 film can be found here:

(you might have to fiddle with the CC)

It probably best tells the story of the 3 films (But! NO Cheating!)

BTW, I've never done one of these group reads before. Do we post our thoughts and discuss in this thread? ... or write a review and comment on each others reviews? ...or?

Thanks for the link, Steve. Adding the movie to my queue.

Unless the header says no spoilers, you can post your thoughts and impressions at any time. Or you can write a review and provide a link to it on this thread.

Here's a link to purchase ($3) the audio of BBC's Solaris full cast radio production. It's got some additional soundtracks that expand on the book's themes.

Here's what I cooked up:
/review/show...

Steve wrote: "Here's what I cooked up:
/review/show..."
Nice review, Steve. I liked the personal sharing and agree with your overall characterization. I must confess I have struggled to finish the book; maybe need to skip a chapter or two to get to the part about the true nature of the planet. Very PKD (Philip K. Dick), this book.

Yeah, Ric. It is kind of Dickian (see below), now that you mention it. I didn't quite exactly say so in my review, but it's easier to read the 2nd time. Solaris can get obscure at times and I recall had the same reaction ('bout skipping pages) that you did the 1st go 'round.

MILD SPOILERS
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Lem plays on some of Dick's themes quite a bit like "what is reality?" & "what does it mean to be human?". (Along those lines tho', I liked the way that the main character, Kelvin, "proves" to himself that what he is experiencing is real...something Dick would probably never do.). Of course, Harey's (or "Rheya" in the Polish-French-English version) existence is very akin to the "human-ness" of non-humans raised in Blade Runner / Do Androids ... ?

Random quotes from Solaris reviews (out of 900+ GR reviews):

Nataliya says "What I think is fascinating about this story is that we never get answers."
/review/show...

thegift, "this is not sci-fi but lit of ideas, ideas that could not be otherwise examined for we would lack the world-view, the necessary literary techniques to even ask the questions posed. what sf can do at its best."
/review/show...

Kay, " The writing is stodgy at times; Lem’s style reminded me of academic papers written decades ago by professors locked for far too long in their ivory towers. The story behind the writing, however, hooked, lined, and sinker-ed me."
/review/show...

Mariel, "I would be afraid to meet Solaris, to meet the other person made of what comes from me. I knew he would go on living in this way."
/review/show...

Solaris, the Definitive Edition (new translation) is part of 3 for 2 sale at Audible today.