Space Station Mir

2014 was a fantastic year for SFF Lit, and I think my choices this year may be less controversial than in previous years. 1. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie Unusual, ambiguously-gendered-and-identified character; feminine pronouns for all; great big morally ambiguous concept (people=parts of ship); epic scale; and alien cultures reflective of our own failings. Win. 2. Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie See above, with extra servings of novum (estranging device that allows us to look as detached observers at aspects of our own culture). 3. Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and Day Al-Mohamed Vivid re-imagination of ancient tale; realistic investigation of Islamic and Victorian cultures; feminist implications; comments on wonders and dangers of technology. 4. "Sultana's Dream" by Rokheya Shekhawat Hossein South Asian. feminist. sci-fi. utopia. Short, but sweet.

First, let's see how I did on last year's goals: 1. Post to the blog at least 5 times a month-It looks like I did pretty well on this one. Some months I did less, some months I did more. 2. Read more short stories-I definitely accomplished this one. I read far more short stories this year than possibly any other year of my life, and I read Vampires in the Lemon Grove , which I helpfully pictured in last year's post. 3. Read more poetry-I probably did, thanks to the Missouri Reviews , but I didn't read Dispatch to the Future , which I'd pictured. 4. Write every day-I'm not sure if I wrote EVERY single day, but I definitely wrote a lot, including blog posts, personal writing, and lesson plans. 5. Go for a walk at least three times a week-Definitely not. I'll have to rectify that this year. 6. Go to more bookish events-Last year, I only made it to the National Book Festival. Hopefully, I can do better this year. 7. Read at least one book for a boo...

Happy Top Ten Tuesday ! Again, I switched this week's and last week's, since tonight is the last night of Hanukkah (Happy Eighth Night, y'all). 1. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie Obviously a Hugo award winner for a reason, Leckie is a new and exciting writer in contemporary science fiction. 2. Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and Day Al-Mohamed Although less widely recognized and certainly not "new," the writers' retelling of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is a compelling reflection on the ancient tale, and modern sensibilities. 3. The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir Weir's narrative voice and methodical structuring are perfect for this most troubling of historical mysteries. 4. The Lost Girls by Jennifer Baggett, Holly Corbett, and Amanda Pressner I read this twice this year. To any young, single woman who dreams of travel, it's irresistible. 5. The Best American Travel Writing 2013, edited by...

Happy Top Ten Tuesday! 1. Ann Leckie I'm probably not the only one who has Ann Leckie on their list this year, and I only found her after everyone else did. But I will be following her output very closely from now on! 2. Danielle Ackley-McPhail and Day Al-Mohamed I was truly blown away by Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn , it's definitely one of my favorite books of 2014. I only found it because the authors asked me to review it, but I will definitely be seeking out the sequel. 3. Rhett C. Bruno I had never heard of Bruno before he queried me to review his novel, The Circuit: Executor Rising , but I was very impressed with this not-quite-dystopian space opera, and look forward to the sequel. 4. Anchee Min Her books were some of the few of my local library's relatively small audiobook collection that interested me. Her fictional memoirs of China's last empress are exquisite, and Min herself is fascinating. I heard her speak (and sing!) at the National Boo...

This week's Top Ten Tuesday at the Broke and the Bookish is Top Ten Books on My Winter TBR List--but I don't feel like making another TBR list I'm not going to fulfill. Instead, I want to take a moment in honor of Thanksgiving and think about all of the things I'm grateful for, and I'll attempt to make it bookish. 1. Junot Diaz, and my students I'm thankful that many of my students really strongly responded to the Junot Diaz short story I assigned them, it's clear that they've taken ownership of the material and feel like it "belongs" to them. They've even shown interest in reading more of his work! 2. The growing popularity and abundance of short stories, sci fi and fantasy in particular I usually read novels growing up, but I think it was less of a conscious decision than that was just what was around. Now, everywhere I turn, authors are releasing short story collections, and more and more anthologies are gaining attention. Tor....

Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Bookish and Not Bookish Goals for 2014 1. Post to the blog at least 5 times a month 2. Read more short stories 3. Read more poetry 4. Write every day 5. Go for a walk at least three times a week 6. Go to more bookish events, like this one 7. Read at least one book for a book club/discussion 8. Host a literary gathering of some sort 9. Read at least two books translated from a different language 10. Read at least three non-fiction books I didn't meet many of my goals last year, so again this year, I am aiming to be as reasonable as possible, with the added caveat that it's totally okay if I don't meet all of my goals as long as I enjoy another year of reading and writing! What are your goals, and are you worried about meeting them or not? Do you try to make goals that are easy to fulfill or ones that will really challenge you?