Some Books I Loved

 **A fantastic collection by, and great introduction to, simply put one of the greatest to ever put pen to paper** So, to start with.  Octavia Butler is a true master.  Not just of science fiction (and in general, she seems to have made the jump from the "SciFi/Fantasy shelves to the "Literature" shelves in a lot of stores), but of writing in general.  Her insight into the nature of humanity and human society is incredible, she pairs it with razor-sharp prose . . . like I said, she's a master Although I've not written about Ursula K. Le Guin on this blog yet (saving it for a special occasion!), she's one of my all-time favorite authors.  I consider Butler to be her closest successor, the heir to her throne.  While some authors of science fiction like to speculate about what kind of technology we can invent . . . Le Guin, Butler and a select few others choose instead to use the medium to speculate on what kind of people we can become.  And for me, wow, ...

Hi everyone!  Sorry the blog has been on hiatus while I'm traveling.  But at the very least, let me get this up.  It's been a fantastic year of reading for me, I hope for you all as well Not a ranking, not even a comprehensive list of my favorite books.  I like reading, I like writing, I like writing about reading, and I love being able to share.  Just what it says at the top:  Some books I loved this year * * * "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013) I always feel like I have to put out a weird explanation of, "I don't only  read speculative fiction.  Just mostly," whenever I want to talk about a book that's more "serious" literature.  But yes, although not in line with much of what I read, "Americanah" was not only one of the best books I read this year, it's the one of the best books I can recommend, period.  It is without question a masterpiece This book is a portrait of the immigrant experience, from Nigeria to bo...

 **Is it a near-future tech scifi novel?  Is it a dark academia magic school novel?  Yes** The premise is simple.  Elegant, really.  We have two childhood best friends, Patricia and Laurence.  Patricia realizes that she has magical powers, she can speak to birds and has other abilities.  Laurence is a supergenius in the classic scifi sense, building advanced gadgets as a young kid.  They get split up, and at this point the novel diverges into basically two completely different books told in alternating chapters:  Patricia ends up in a dark academia story, sent to a magical school where she learns magic and the secrets of the world; meanwhile, Laurence ends up in a day-after-tomorrow scifi story, where he invents increasing fantastic technological marvels Patricia ends up part of a cabal dedicated to protecting the Earth:  “When the whole world turns chaotic, we must be the better part of chaos,” (man I love that line).  Laurence end...

 **Not just one of the most heart-rendingly good queer coming-of-age books I've ever read, but one of the best coming-of-age books I've ever read, period** This post will be short, because I don't want to spoil anything.  Let me just say that this book has my very highest of recommendations This book is fascinating, because it's firmly in the Young Adult category.  It's a story about a 16-year-old, growing up and grappling with the pressures of school and family and just trying to grow up.  Solidly Young Adult It's also one of the most soul-crushing, depressing, dark novels I've read recently.  I would absolutely recommend this book to a 13-year-old . . . but I'd also make sure to add, "and hey, I'll be around if there's anything you want to talk about".  And while I don't, for this blog, give specific content warnings, just rest assured that it has just about everything that can possibly be included while still being rated "Gr...

 **A discussion of America's prison-industrialism complex and our near-fetishization of carceral solution to our society's problems, wrapped up in a blood-soaked adrenaline rush of a book** The Rightful Choice Act, commonly referred to as Bobby’s Bloodsport Bridge, or BBB, B3, or B Three (passed under President Robert Bircher), states that under their own will and power, convicted wards of the state may elect to forgo a state-administered execution or a sentence totaling at least twenty-five (25) years’ imprisonment, to instead participate in the (Criminal Action Penal Entertainment) CAPE program. After three (3) years of successful participation in said CAPE program, said ward may be granted clemency, commutation of sentence, or a full pardon. And that's the setup for this novel.  Convicted felons, the worst of the worst, can elect instead to participate in gladiatorial fights to the death.  One a week for three years, and you earn your freedom The obvious point of this ...

 **A vision of near-future America that is chilling, but also so obvious that I'm almost wondering why we don't do this already** I'm tagging this as "Dystopia", but frankly it's close enough to what we have now that it barely counts.  Or at the very least, brings up some pretty bleak questions about current American society.  Which is, obviously, the whole point that the author is trying to get at Set in near-future America, the "specfic" idea is that the country has added a new feature to the insurance system:  After your claim is rejected, your final appeal has been denied, you have one last option:  A duel to the death versus a representative of the insurance company And of course, these fights are broadcast on live television.  Because, duh, America.  The fights are shown in bars across the nation, people gamble on the outcomes (if this book had been written only one or two years later as sports gambling has truly taken over the industry, I guar...

It's been a good year!  I read a ton this year, a lot of time on trains and in cafes.  Starting this blog has been a ton of fun, and I'm happy to move my annual tradition of listing some books I loved over to here So here we are.  Not a ranking, not even a comprehensive list of my favorite books.  I like reading, I like writing, I like writing about reading, and I love being able to share.  Just what it says at the top:  Some books I loved this year * * * "I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself" by Marisa Crane, 2023 This is a heavy one, this was a tough one.  This was a very good one.  This one felt too close to home, at times On a scifi level, this is about an all-too-imaginable future in which the technology exists to mark criminals with a second, or third or fourth, shadow.  These "Shadesters" are allowed to live their normal lives, but everyone they meet knows instantly that they are a convicted criminal.  And it does that scifi thing of ...

 **A post-apocalypse in which the new world looks sadly all too much like the old one** This book is a modern classic, gritty and dark with William Gibson and Blade Runner vibes, a near-future vision of a world where human history changes but humanity can't defeat its demons.  Loved it from the vibe to the pointed messages that have only gotten more and more relevant in the six years since its publication Set in a floating city in the North Atlantic purpose-built following climate disaster, this story juggles multiple viewpoints across the city.  Each narrator lives in a different area of the city and belongs to a different social class (a child of privilege, a queer sex worker, a blue-collar washed-up fighter . . .) and the book tells the story of the city as a whole.  The obvious implication is that the city itself, this new society itself, is in fact the main character:  " This city contains so many cities, he thought . So many lives I’ll never get to live, s...