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Friday Reads & Progress
Jun. 30th, 2018 08:15 amSo I've managed to read something every night since my last post. Not a full chapter last night but a good chunk of one.
So I've been back at work a week and a half and am getting back into the swing of things. I even managed choir practice last night. However, I am still ridiculously behind on my Hugo reading, and probably haven't madde much progress on my various reading goals in a while eaither. I also have far too many books on my currently reading shelf on Goodreads because I keep picking things up and then getting distracting, either by crime shows or by fanfic. Not even new fanfic so much as rereading old stuff.
So, here's the plan.
A chapter a day of something that is not fanfic. A short story counts as a chapter, as does an issue of a comic. I can take Tuesday nights off if I want, because that's choir night.
I managed a chapter of Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn (nominated for the Campbell not-a-hugo award) on Monday night and it's sitting in front of me now.
I don't even have uni until the next semester starts at the very end of July.
So I'll see how I go and try and keep myself accountable.
So, here's the plan.
A chapter a day of something that is not fanfic. A short story counts as a chapter, as does an issue of a comic. I can take Tuesday nights off if I want, because that's choir night.
I managed a chapter of Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn (nominated for the Campbell not-a-hugo award) on Monday night and it's sitting in front of me now.
I don't even have uni until the next semester starts at the very end of July.
So I'll see how I go and try and keep myself accountable.
Review: Uncanny Magazine Issue 2
Jan. 25th, 2015 04:43 pmFull disclosure: I backed the Kickstarter campaign for Uncanny Magazine. After a slow start to the month, I spend a few hours this afternoon devouring issue 2.
As I have already come to expect from the team, everything about this issue was high quality and full of the diversity that I love. As a starting point Julie Dillon’s cover art is absolutely gorgeous. It makes me think of Arabian Nights, Aladdin and the glorious look and feel of my old bellydance costumes, whilst still being a completely individual image.
My favourite story was probably Pockets by Amal El-Mohtar. There is a lyrical quality to the story that I can’t quite pin down, but the words near danced through my head. While I understood the fear the protagonist felt at items randomly appearing in her pockets, I couldn’t help but feel a thrill at the concept. The letter at the end was truly beautiful.
Ann Leckie’s Nalender was a fun story with a fairytale warning. The Heat of Us: Notes Toward An Oral History by Sam J. Miller felt like an all too truthful picture of the treatment of homosexuality in the recent past, wrapped in a supernatural occurrence and journalistic style. I feel the urge to look into history books on the subject now.
I found Love Letters to Things Lost and Gained by Sunny Moraine an absolutely fascinating look at the emotions and trauma involved in becoming an amputee and gaining a prosthetic, not to mention that the ‘science fiction’ element could very easily become science fact.
The stand out essays for me were The Politics of Comfort by Jim C. Hines and Age of the Geek, Baby by Michi Trota. Both made excellent points that I completely agree with about the SF/F community.
Go! Read!
(cross posted at Goodreads)
As I have already come to expect from the team, everything about this issue was high quality and full of the diversity that I love. As a starting point Julie Dillon’s cover art is absolutely gorgeous. It makes me think of Arabian Nights, Aladdin and the glorious look and feel of my old bellydance costumes, whilst still being a completely individual image.
My favourite story was probably Pockets by Amal El-Mohtar. There is a lyrical quality to the story that I can’t quite pin down, but the words near danced through my head. While I understood the fear the protagonist felt at items randomly appearing in her pockets, I couldn’t help but feel a thrill at the concept. The letter at the end was truly beautiful.
Ann Leckie’s Nalender was a fun story with a fairytale warning. The Heat of Us: Notes Toward An Oral History by Sam J. Miller felt like an all too truthful picture of the treatment of homosexuality in the recent past, wrapped in a supernatural occurrence and journalistic style. I feel the urge to look into history books on the subject now.
I found Love Letters to Things Lost and Gained by Sunny Moraine an absolutely fascinating look at the emotions and trauma involved in becoming an amputee and gaining a prosthetic, not to mention that the ‘science fiction’ element could very easily become science fact.
The stand out essays for me were The Politics of Comfort by Jim C. Hines and Age of the Geek, Baby by Michi Trota. Both made excellent points that I completely agree with about the SF/F community.
Go! Read!
(cross posted at Goodreads)
