2018 Reading challenge book 4.

I've been doing the 2018 reading challenge. Just finished book 3 - a book in translation. The Dark Forest, by Liu Cixin.

Next book is a book nominated for an award in 2018.

I want to avoid any of the obvious popular ones such as the Booker.

I could just go for a Hugo nomination, but part of the idea here is to broaden my reading, and that doesn't really. The Dark Forest was one that was on my to-read list for a while as well. The other problem is that half of them are part of a series, and I can't be bothered starting any new series just yet.

Another option is a book from the 1943 retro Hugos.

What other awards could I go for?

Book hunting.

Decided that the book nominated for an award should be from the 1943 retro Hugos list. For those who aren't aware, if Worldcon didn't have an award ceremony 50, 75 or 100 years previously, the worldcon can elect to hold Retro-Hugo awards.

So I looked, and decided the next book on my list should be Islandia by Auston Tappan Wright.

Looked on Amazon. They want 20 quid for a paperback copy.

As far as I can tell, since the author died before it was published, and it was published in 1942, it should have been out of copyright for the last 25 years. And therefore should be easy to download. Sadly, Gutenburg doesn't have a copy. Not do the various download sites. Googling for a pdf or ebook copy leads me to a large number of very dodgy looking sites that want my credit card details.

I give up. There are 5 other nominations, all of which are easier and cheaper to get hold of.

I think Heinlein's Beyond This Horizon is more likely to irritate me.
Darkness and the Light, by Olaf Stapledon doesn't really speak to me.
Donovan’s Brain, by Curt Siodmak isn't available on kindle or next day delivery.

So, it's a choice between Second Stage Lensmen, by E.E."Doc" Smith and The Uninvited, by Dorothy Macardle. Both seem to have very good reviews. E.E "Doc" Smith is one of those authors I've heard of but never read. The Uninvited does seem to have a lot of positive reviews, with one person saying "This is one of the BEST ghost stories I’ve ever read.".