It’s time for a new (and mostly random) feature on this blog: the reading game! Basically, I tell you what I’m currently reading and then hope everyone will do the same in the comments!
How about you?
Sometime near the end of the Spring semester, I decided it was time to take another crack and reorganizing my life. I’ve gone through years of on again / off again burnout, some of it my own fault (I’m disorganized and try to do too much) and some of it a consequence of things about which I have no control (my former university essentially bankrupted itself, forcing me to find a new job in my field, and I’ve since moved twice — the short version). All that burnout and overfilled plate-ism has made it harder to keep up with grading and find the energy to complete tasks on time. So it seemed only logical to use my university library privileges to borrow a variety of recommend productivity and project management books to see what advice, systems, etc. are out there.
Why would someone make a list of important and interesting works of dystopian fiction? Or a suggested reading list of works that are relevant to those dystopian works? There is absolutely no reason other than raw interest. There’s nothing going on to compel this. There is nothing in particular one making such a list would hope you’d learn. The lists below are not an exhaustive list. There are bound to be texts I have forgotten or texts you think folks should read that are not listed. Feel free to make your own list and tell me about it OR leave a comment. I’ll add things I’ve missed! Anywhoodles. Here goes:
And so it came to pass that I finished up my annual Best of EDM [Insert Year Here] lists. I used to do these on Spotify before switching to Tidal, and I continued doing them on Tidal because I listen to an absurd amount of EDM and like keeping track of the tunes I love the most. Below, you will find a Tidal playlist that should be public. You can listen to the first 50 tracks right here, but the full playlist is available on Tidal proper (which has a free version just like Spotify does). For whatever reason, the embedded playlist breaks the page, and so I’ve opted to link to it here and at the bottom of this post. Embeds are weird. Or you can pull songs into your preferred listening app. It’s up to you. Some caveats before we begin:
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8 Responses
I'm reading the rather strange and wonderful number9dream by David Mitchell…
I am reading Iron Council by China Mieville. About half way through, I'm convinced it's his best of the Bas-Lag books.
I did a narration of a short story of James L. Sutter's over at StarShipSofa called Faithful Servants. I believe it's a companion piece. The premise seemed pretty cool. I'll be curious to know how a full length novel reads.
I am halfway through The Diviner by Melanie Rawn.
It is supposed to be a prequel to the novel The Golden Key, but I'm enjoying Diviner just fine without having read Key first.
I'm reading The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion was absolutely brilliant) and Embassytown by Mieville. God that man is God.
Currently reading The Zen Gun by Barrington J. Bayley (totally random used book store find, the title sold me), the Count Brass omnibus by Michael Moorcock, and The Strange Tale of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder.
In audio: Earthbound by Joe Haldeman.
In print: Zone One by Colson Whitehead.
I'm reading Fenrir by M.D. Lachlan and Bossypants by Tina Fey. Next up on the list is the new Mark Hodder, Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon.
I really want to read After the Apocalypse by Maureen McHugh, I'm really looking forward to your review!
AmyTree: Is that one of his new ones?
Jonathan: Oh! Mieville is wonderful. Oh, and that's cool about the narration!
Greyweather: I've never heard of The Diviner. Will have to check it out!
Adam: You would read those books 😛
Dave B.: Those sound like fantastic books. I'll check out The Zen Gun for sure.
Sam M-B: Haldeman = amazing. Oh, and let me know what you think of the Whitehead.
redhead: If you can get After the Apocalypse now, I would. Don't bother waiting for my review. Buy it. It's amazingly good! So far, I've only felt "meh" about one story, but almost all of them are sheer brilliance.