Shel Graves' Sensorium

This is not true. And if it were, that headline would read: Why I Only Read Science Fiction and by Women Authors. However, I don't only read science fiction. I read a lot of science fiction, but not exclusively.  But recently, I was wrapping up a conversation with my mom and as usual I had to tell her about what I was reading ( The Book of the Unnamed Midwife ). Afterwards, she asked, "Do you only read science fiction?" It's not the first time she's asked/said something like this and I always hear it as criticism. "No, Moooom," I replied using a tone of voice that should have been abandoned in my teen years, but which resurrects zombie-style whenever I am talking to my mom about certain triggering subjects. "I don't only read science fiction." Then, as usual, I wracked my brain to come up with a book that I had recently read that wasn't science fiction. This time it was easy, The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller is a YA LGBT no...

Taste:  popcorn, potatoes, mustard sriracha, vegan ranch Sight: violet sky; silver moon sliver Sound: scrunching, crunching; cock crow; roosters Smell:  dog food Touch:  wrinkled foreheads; floppy silky ears Extra:  "But chains can be snapped, O best beloved mooncalf." — Brooke Bolander, The Only Harmless Great Thing Grateful for: books and stories

dikobo tsa Basotho Taste:  rosemary cornbread, blueberry cornbread; carrot raisin muffins Sight: the silver of moon; the bright orange sunset on the first sunny day in February Sound:  drums, windstorms, rainstorms Smell:  lack of Touch:  fingers burning with cold Extra: "Solarpunk is a type of optimistic science fiction that imagines a future founded on renewable energies." — description of Glass and Gardens: Solar Punk Summers via World Weaver Press Grateful for: a glorious day; solarpunk

Don't let the cover fool you, this book  is way better than The Road . OK, in theory, I don't like dystopias. ( 5 stars to The Book of the Unnamed Midwife !  Author Meg Elison is attending Norwescon *waves muppet arms*, March 29-April 1, Seattle ) I think we need more utopias and optimistic science fiction. Like this . We need to imagine the future we want, the people we would like to be. I love science fiction for its power (I believe!) to create the future. People read stuff, get ideas, they make it happen. But utopias offer a writing challenge. If everything is so great, where's the plot? I loved  Ursula K. Le Guin 's excellent essay on writing utopias "Utopiyin, Utopiyang" in her collection No Time to Spare . Now dystopias could be useful as warnings, as cautionary tales as, "No! Wait! If this, then that..." and they are fascinating as "What if?" and "What would I do in this world?" scenarios. But sometimes it ...

Taste: roasted Saigon cinnamon Sight:  points of bright green lichen, alien plants Sound: thinking; pouring rain Smell: nutty, roasted Saigon cinnamon, compost, "organics" Touch: pages of a book; misting rain; wet hands Extra: “I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.” ― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar    "We were both broken, but we were both getting better. Which maybe everyone is." — Sam J. Miller, The Art of Starving Grateful for: solarpunk, friends, The World of Wakanda, "a lifelong advocate for social change," spices, pepper, salt

Taste: cinnamon, vanilla; imagined chocolate; cocoa; vanilla almond crème Sight: cat's paw Sound: rushing creek Smell: cottage cheese Touch: drool; swallowing hot cocoa Extra: memory, sorrow; betrayal; when she stops eating, the beginning of hospice; how deep the world's sickness runs; when even ostensibly well-intentioned people cannot rise above corruption of culture; Tha — providential god who expects nothing in return for the good he provides in the universe and Attegghei — people dwelling in the mountains near the sea — Sochi 2121, The Capital of Circassia , Ecotopia 2121 Grateful for: Ursula K. Le Guin; women's voices