Shel Graves' Sensorium

Taste: Bloody Mary; Pina Colada Sight:  Barred Owl; fog in the early morning; "She and her Owl," Catrin Welz-Stein Sound: "Ode to the Ugly Colors," Molly Tenenbaum Touch: Acorn burrs, green spires and brown prickles - cold pricklies Smell: Purell Extra: the sudden onset of fall; "you alone on the new planet, nothing to do but start civilization over. Maybe you'll do it your way this time. Maybe you'll see what your way is. Maybe a system" — " Brewing Green Tea in the Glass Percolator after the Regular Brown Teapot Has Broken ," Molly Tenenbaum Grateful for: orchids

Taste: watermelon salsa Sight: disintegration, stars Sound: Peter Murphy, " Cuts You Up "; estranged; Dad' splaining Touch: burning jalapeno right hand Smell: spoiled cheese, Aunt Bertha's house Extra: subtext, unreliable narrators; If something's worth doing it's worth doing right, but now he can't make coffee. "The world rushes on over the strings of the lingering heart making the music of sadness."  "Sorrow is hushed into peace in my heart like the evening among the silent trees."—Stray Birds, Rabindranath Tagore  Grateful for: the possibility of memoir, hugging my purring cat

Why it springs to mind: Love! Astronauts! Oz! I love stories about older women and the authors who write them. The protagonist in this story, Elma, is 63. Where read: Free e-book from Tor and it's online here . Length: 8,000+ words Summary: A retired astronaut has another chance to go into space. Memorable: Kowal's descriptions of inner conflict ring true. And the very touching scene that leads to the observation that astronauts also wear adult diapers. The end left me in tears. Notable:  I read this just before it won the 2014 Hugo Award Winning for Best Novelette  — always so delightful when a story I love is loved by others and earns recognition. Quote: "Because I wanted to be in the sky, weightless, and watching the impossibly bright stars. Because I didn’t want to watch Nathaniel die." Particularly lovely: How our bonds of love for each other transcend family ties or genetic links. How we are not alone. Personal connection: As a hospice volunteer a...