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Tag Archives: you should read this
You Should Read This: Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy
I’m timing this post to come out before I’ve finished the last book of the Southern Reach trilogy, ACCEPTANCE, so I haven’t read the entire trilogy yet. But I recommend the overall trilogy based on my utter enthusiasm for the … Continue reading
Reading for the Road
Last night in North America for a while. Here’s some of the books I’ve packed onto the Kindle. Jeff VanderMeer’s ANNIHILATION and AUTHORITY. Carol Beg’s DUST AND LIGHT. Several free books in Spanish, including DONA PERFECTA. QUANTUM ENGIMA by Brice … Continue reading
You Should Read This: An Appreciation of Maya Angelou
I first read Maya Angelou as a teenager, with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I was a white Midwestern girl and the world Angelou described was different to me. I read Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus around the same time and in each case, the narrator stayed with me for years, was like a friend I’d met at summer camp or some other event, never seen again but loved all the same.
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You Should Read This: An Appreciation of Andre Norton
My high school years were steeped in reading from several F&SF authors. Among them, the most influential was quite probably Andre Norton. In arranging my book collection in those early days, Norton was always satisfying, because she wrote a gazillion books and I had most of them. I know three fantasy landscapes well because I wandered them so often as a young reader: Narnia, Middle Earth, and Norton’s Witch World.
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You Should Read This: The Past Through Tomorrow by Robert A. Heinlein
A blog post I read recently used attitude towards Robert A. Heinlein as a measurement of a person’s…I’m not quite sure what, but it seemed to be connected to their worthiness to be part of the F&SF community.
I don’t care so much about that. There are problematic aspects to Heinlein’s writing, yes, and one fascinating thing about that is that they span the range of the political spectrum. But regardless of attitude, if you want to be well-read in science fiction (by which I mean you have read much of the significant material in the field and understand at a rudimentary level where it fits in relationship to other significant works), you need to have at least a nodding acquaintance with Heinlein. And if you are looking for one work that shows his range and also includes some stories that show how marvelous a wordsmith he can be, I recommend The Past Through Tomorrow: Future History Stories.
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You Should Read This: The Dictionary. Any Dictionary.
I love the dictionary. I have, in fact, been known to dip into it for pleasure, to swoon with delight at a new word like lacustrine or neritic. When I was in grad school, we played a version of Balderdash that far predated the boxed set, using an American Heritage dictionary that still sits on my shelf.
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You Should Read This: The Moomintroll Books by Tove Jansson
I found these books as part of the reading list in the back of Jacqueline Jackson’s Turn Not Pale, Beloved Snail. They are why I’ve always wanted to go to Finland.
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You Should Read This: The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
The Narnia books changed the way generations of young readers would look at wardrobes. Their importance in the field of children’s fantasy literature cannot be overstated. I came to them early and had a boxed set which was, by my teen years, grubby and well-worn.
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You Should Read This: More Notable Young Adult and Middle Grade Speculative Fiction of 2013
I blogged last week about some of my favorite YA of 2013 and I wanted to add some more books to that list. These are all books that I wold’t have run across if I hadn’t been reading for the Norton jury, and I’m very pleased to have found them. With each I’ve identified both the genre (fantasy vs. science fiction) and the gender of the lead character, since I know that may affect some buying decisions.
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You Should Read This: The Complete Drive-In by Joe R. Lansdale
The Drive-In by Joe R. Lansdale has two sequels, The Drive-In 2: Not Just One of Them Sequels and The Drive-In 3: The Bus Tour. Underland Press did a collected edition a few years back that is terrific, but it looks as though it’s out of print now. The story begins when a few friends go to the All Night Horror Show at a drive-in theater and find themselves transported to an alternate dimension, forcing the theatergoers to live on popcorn, fountain drinks, and eventually each other. Then it gets weird.
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Tagged horror fiction, joe r. lansdale, you should read this
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