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#specfic

4 posts4 participants0 posts today
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Michael Shotter

Love paperbacks?

Love shopping online but don't love using Amazon?

Love supporting local bookstores?

Visit my mini-store at Bookshop (dot) org, where you can find all 8 volumes from The Nod/Wells Timelines speculative-fiction universe, and more!

bookshop.org/shop/michaelshott

@specfic @scifi @horrorbooks

#specfic #speculativefiction #scifi #sciencefiction horror #thriller #paranormal #books #paperbacks #reading #readingcommunity #AmazonAlternative #AmazonAlternatives #bookstodon #booktodon

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Reading Recluse

📘 "Under the Eye of the Big Bird" by Hiromi Kawakami, translated from Japanese into English by Asa Yoneda

When I saw this was placed on the IBP longlist, I wasn't looking forward to reading it. I've read two novels from the author before: "Strange Weather in Tokyo", which I didn't like, and "Record of a Night Too Brief", which I thought was just okay. But this book pleasantly surprised me, I enjoyed it a lot!

Is there a word for something in between a chapter and a short story? This is a collection of short stories, but ones that can only exist together. They intertwine in a very pleasant way, and the reveals made along the way will probably make a second read even more satisfying than a first read. The journey from not understanding a thing to being completely in the loop is very neat.

Sometimes, no matter how important I think the human arts are, there are days on which reading literature feels empty. Wars are raging on, genocides are being kept up like it's a necessary 9-to-5, societal collapse seems well on its way. Here I am, absorbing all this text like it matters a great deal. Because this book is about human extinction, I felt like that even more. But at the same time, also way less. We can even turn dying off into an art. Isn't that ironic?

I think you'll enjoy this book if you feel hopeless about humanity and you don't want others' toxic optimism about the future shoved into your face. But oddly enough, I also think you'll like this if you're a hopeless romantic and want to see people beat the odds.

I'm glad I gave the author another chance, this book was well worth it. Are there any other titles of hers you'd recommend that I might appreciate?

PS, this is a bit of a side journey, but : Has anyone ever written a paper about (quirky, odd, necessary, funny, scary) alternatives to 'regular' human reproduction in Japanese literature? There must be enough novels out there to fill a book on its own about that, and I'm not complaining.

Book cover of 'under the eye of the big bird'. It's white, with an illustration of a 2D bird. The bird is made up of abstract forms in the colors blue, black and a gradient of pink-yellow. The author name is in the top left corner, the title is in the bottom right corner.
#AmReading#SpecFic#WomenInTranslation
Public
Michael Shotter

A fine speculative-fiction author, my podcasting partner Ronald McGillvray has several books worth checking out, "Cutter's Deep" being my personal favorite. ❤️🙂👍

ronaldmcgillvray.com

@specfic @horrorbooks

Ronald McGillvrayHome - Ronald McGillvrayMy short horror film Storm ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ An audio version of my short story Big Boy https://pseudopod.org/2007/08/04/pseudopod-049-big-boy/ Available Now – Click Cover Available Now – Click Cover My children’s fantasy novella My short horror story collection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ03gBPk2r4https://youtu.be/S6vFjfEGw-Uhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyXBKlgCyWI Thanks for dropping by! Ronald McGillvray is a writer from Ottawa, Canada. He’s […]
#specfic#horror#book
Public
Reading Recluse

📘 "Look to Windward" by Iain M. Banks

My seventh Culture series novel. They can all be read out of order, but I don't recommend reading this one before "Consider Phlebas", and I don't recommend reading that one before any other one. If you're considering getting into this fantastic sci-fi world, I'd suggest starting at "Player of Games".

This space opera focuses on the aftermath of war: the trauma, the guilt, the blame, the desire for revenge, the hopefully even bigger desire for peace that will finally last for everyone. Like every Culture novel, it's dense, but worth the focused read. For me it's a perfect mix between a contemplative slow pace and sitting on the edge of your seat until you're pushed off by a twist you didn't see coming.

If you've read any other Culture books, you've experienced the high highs of the Culture: a utopic intergalactic society in which people can live without any scarcity, do as they please, travel anywhere, become who they want to be and live as long as they wish to. This text shows the downsides to the Culture's craving for positive change through forced involvement with other species. I want to defend the Culture at every turn, but like its citizens, this book made me feel embarrassed to do so.

There's intrigue, action, multiple points of view, ethical questions that keep you up at night, great characters, endless lore... If you have any interest in sci-fi, give this series a go. I feel like it's still a bit niche, a bit difficult to get into, its fans unfortunately a bit too dudebro male (blegh), but if you love it you will love it deeply.

Book cover of 'look to windward'. It's a picture of a yellow atmosphere with some brown/yellow ground visible, possibly a planet or a plate. The author name is in bold black lettering at the top, the title is below it. The top right corner says 'a culture novel'.
#AmReading#SpecFic#SciFi
Public
Reading Recluse

📘 "The Book of Disappearance" by Ibtisam Azem, translated from Arabic into English by Sinan Antoon

A speculative fiction about the Israeli occupation of Palestine: What would happen if one day all Palestinians were to disappear? The few hours before and after that event are explored through short chapters, mostly from the perspective of an Israeli citizen and his Palestinian "friend's" journal.

If this doesn't become a modern classic, I don't know what will. This book would be so good to dissect and discuss in schools, but I'm afraid in many places it will go straight from the printing press into the banned books bin.

I read it slowly. Two chapters in particular made me put the book down for a while to breathe. This book has elements that sneak up on you and chapters that punch you in the gut full force. So often I switched between anger, grief, nausea, stress and warmth. I think the novel is incredibly well-crafted with the different perspectives and sources of information we get as the reader, but go in preparing for an emotional read that will keep haunting you.

I strongly wish this will make the IBP shortlist. I might cry if it won't!

Book cover of 'The Book of Disappearance'. It's a white page with the first few sentences of the book. It reads: My mother put on mismatched shoes and ran out of the house. Her curly hair was tied back with a black band. The edge of her white shirt hung over her gray skirt. Fear inhabited her face, making her blue eyes seem bigger. She looked crazed as she roamed the streets of Ajami, searching for my grandmother. Rushing, as if trying to catch up with herself. I followed her out. When she heard my footsteps, she looked back and gestured with her broomstick-thin arm: go back!
#AmReading#WomenInTranslation#FreePalestine
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