ECONOMICS SCI-FI BOOK CLUB
Spring 2025 Winner
Moving a little away from strict Sci-Fi - but very much sticking with their revealed preferences of (a) length; and
(b) some academic tie-in - the voters have chosen to go with:
BABEL
by R.F. Kuang
Babel started out clearly ahead on first place votes, but the gap between it and second-placed Neptune's Brood shrank with every subsequent round as preferences were redistributed. In the end, Babel squeaked through ended up only one vote ahead of Neptune's Brood - which was also a contender in Spring 2023 when it finished behind Children of Time (among others).
At least we've decided this one early, and have warned you it's not the shortest, so get cracking on it now.
And we look forward to seeing you near the end of June or so!
Matt, Alberto and Christine
List of Spring 2025 Options
Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune%27s_Brood
Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkaway_(Doctorow_novel)
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan_Wakes
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Matter_(Crouch_novel)
Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_End_(Vinge_novel)
Babel by R.F. Kuang
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babel,_or_the_Necessity_of_Violence
We'll be meeting to chat in late June, at our usual time of 3-4:30pm ET on Zoom
(or drop in for however long you have to spare). If you want to join us and get emails, sign up below if you haven't already.
ABOUT US
The Economics Sci-Fi Book Club started off with Matt Clancy bringing together a group of like-minded people on Twitter to chat in about books. We’re a group of people interested in economics (many practicing economists), who enjoy reading sci-fi books and thinking about the economics issues they raise.
We meet up on-line twice a year – once in the Summer and once in Winter, typically around Northern Hemisphere university break times – to discuss a book that we've voted on as a group. Choices so far have been:
· Vernor Vinge, A Deepness in the Sky (July 2021)
· Neal Stephenson, Termination Shock (July 2022)
· Ursula Le Guin, The Dispossessed (Dec 2022)
· Liu Cixin, The Three Body Problem (July 2023)
. Robert Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Dec 2023)
. Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Time (June 2024)
. Olaf Stapledon, Last and First Men (December 2025)
. R.F. Kuang, Babel (June 2025)
You can still find some of us at least on Twitter, at the EconTwitter Sci-Fi Book Club community.
We’d love to have more people join in our book clubs. If you’re interested in being on our mailing list (which has only a few emails per year), please sign up!