Fugitive Telemetry, by Martha Wells
Stone Speaks to Stone, by Victoria Goddard
Blackcurrant Fool, by Victoria Goddard
The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi
Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, by Kim Fu
Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths, by Natalie Haynes
The House of Shattered Wings, by Aliette de Bodard
Point of Hopes, by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett
The Cloud Roads, by Martha Wells
Bitter, by Akwaeke Emezi
Realm of Ash, by Tasha Suri
Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott
Fevered Star, by Rebecca Roanhorse
Elder Race, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro
Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age, by Annalee Newitz
Zero Sum Game, by S.L. Huang
This month featured a heap of escapist fiction as well as some great nonfiction reads that were suggested at the latest book club meeting. I was delighted by Four Lost Cities, which examined the archeological record to explore how civilizations adapted to change; and also by How the Word Is Passed (still in the middle of this one), which is an absolutely beautifully written treatment of how America is dealing with the legacy of slavery. Both feel very germane to the current state of affairs in America, in which I feel there is a fundamental clashing of visions of what the country ought to be, and the role of certain peoples in it. Almost sad that I voted for Pandora’s Jar over both of them, except that Pandora’s Jar is about how the women in Greek myth were simplified and edited down over time, molded to reflect the priorities of those in power, which ALSO feels relevant to current events.
Anyway, in case it helps you, because it helped me: here is a quote from How the Word is Passed, from a veteran who came back to be a tour guide at the Monticello plantation: “…I believe in the idea of America. I don’t believe this country was perfect. I don’t believe it is perfect. I don’t believe it’s going to be perfect. I believe that the journey to make this a better place is worth the effort and that the United States, if you conceive it not so much as a place to be in but an idea to believe in, it is worth fighting for.”