I’m back from MileHiCon, the oldest literary sci-fi and fantasy convention in the Rockies! Since I’m fairly new to Colorado, this was my first MileHiCon. I found the convention very friendly, intellectually stimulating, and fun! My first panel, Mad Scientists, was on Saturday. I knew in advance that we were in for a great time, […]
Category Archives: Reading
Wiscon 37 Convention Report
So, I’m back from Wiscon 37! What is Wiscon? It’s the World’s Leading Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, for one thing. It’s also the place where writers and scholars and SF/F fans get to talk about ideas and books that they love. Every time I go to Wiscon, I come home with a huge list […]
Stories, Steampunk and Surreal
For a long time, I’ve been meaning to read Karen Russell’s short story collection St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. But somehow, every time I reached for it, a novel of some sort got in my way. I love short fiction, but it seems I have to be in a certain mood to […]
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
In January, when we were driving across the swamps of the Yucatan, I found myself thinking about James Tiptree Jr.’s delightful story “The Women Men Don’t See.” (Spoiler: the women in question are a nondescript mother and daughter who hide in the swamps of the Yucatan, waiting for the arrival of aliens who will free […]
The Fault in Our Stars
This is just a short post to say that I have read John Green’s exquisite and heartbreaking novel The Fault in Our Stars, and I am now completely gutted. Seriously, I have not wept so hard over a fictional character since the time my disbelieving sister found me surrounded by dirty Kleenex, clutching a dog-eared […]
Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina
One cannot fly in two directions at once. I cannot perch among those who think that I am broken. A lyrical novel about music, art, philosophy, and prejudice, Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina has got to be one of the most ambitious YA fantasies I’ve recently read. Seraphina‘s protagonist is a brilliant young musician who must conceal […]
Rereading The Hobbit
I’ve loved J.R.R. Tolkien fiercely for many years. When I finally got to see The Hobbit on the big screen, I was simultaneously entranced, delighted, and dismayed. Very mixed feelings. I think I’ll have to see the film at least three more times before I’ll know how I REALLY feel. I got home from the […]
2012, The Year in Reading: Part 2
I’m back with Part 2 of my 2012 Year in Reading review. In my last post, I discussed some of the YA I loved most in 2012, and naturally I forgot to mention one of the best YA fantasies of the year: Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Such a great story! Though not […]