It's a Jumble

It's hard to believe that summer is nearly over. I've been traveling and working, talking walks and binge-watching anime with my kids. I haven't read as much as I would like, but then there is not nearly enough time in the world for that.  Here is a list of some stories I’ve read. If you can, I recommend that you read them, too. Liminal Stories Each issue of this new magazine has impressed and moved me. Here are my favorites from Issue 3. Lares Familares, 1981 by Rebecca Campbell  “Lares Familares,” according to Wikipedia, were household guardian spirits of the ancient Romans. In Campbell’s story, a similar spirit may be watching over (or not?) a troubled Canadian logging family. This is a deeply atmospheric, unsettling work, beautifully evoking history and place. Campbell excels at capturing the unspoken tensions that can run through a family, the unspoken hurts and demands. The birthday dinner party described in this tale is certainly one of the most unc...

August has only begun, yet I feel the summer ending. The evening sky darkens too soon. I’ve heard geese honking overhead at night, and tonight Youngest One and I saw two flocks of them passing overhead—like harbingers of the first migrating waves, pressed dark against the blue twilight.

I’m late with this, but here are some books I’ve recently loved. I hope that you, dear reader, might love them, too.  The House of Binding Thorns  by Aliette de Bodard A year ago I read Aliette de Bodard’s The House of Shattered Wings, her first book in the Dominion of the Fallen series. I fell in love with her Gothic-tinged world of fallen angels and Parisian ruins. The sequel, The House of Binding Thorns, is a worthy successor that—dare I say it?--may be even better than the first. The first novel was a taut, atmospheric murder mystery set in House Silverspires. In the follow-up novel, the action shifts to Silverspires’ rival, House Hawthorn. A few characters from the first novel make their reappearance. Philippe, an outcast Vietnamese Immortal, is trying to resurrect a dear (and dead) friend. Madeline, a mortal alchemist addicted to angel essence (a drug which is the distillation of angel magic), has been dragged reluctantly back to service in House Hawt...

For those who may be interested, I wrote something for the speculative fiction magazine, The Future Fire! Head over here for my recommendation of Ken Liu's The Dandelion Dynasty, and check out the other great recommendations for works of feminist science fiction/fantasy with characters who are "people of color."

There is so much good fiction coming out this May that I’m already buried! So, before I plunge into more reading, here’s a quick roundup of some of my favorites from March and April. . . Nevertheless, She Persisted--a flash series at Tor As an homage to Senator Elizabeth Warren and women persisting everywhere, Tor commissioned this series of flash pieces by women. The entire series is worth your time, but these three struck me particularly hard: God Product by Alyssa Wong Everything by Alyssa Wong strikes hard. And this one of her hardest yet—absolutely horrific, heartbreaking, and stunning. Anabasis by Amal El-Mohtar Prose-poetry that slices with light and pain. Borders, belonging and not belonging, and a woman who persists. The Ordinary Woman and the Unquiet Emperor by Catharine Valente A gorgeous, rich fairy tale in miniature—and with an uplifting end that will have you cheering. Flash pieces at Arsenika Arsenika is a new magazine of...

Today science fiction and fantasy  writer Mary Fan    graciously  interviewed  me at her blog, Zigzag  Timeline. I ramble about writing and my novelette, The Lilies of Dawn. I also fangirled hard for writer Sofia Samatar, one of my writing heroes, and a major influence and inspiration for The Lilies of Dawn. If you're curious, you can check out the interview here: 

I have been listening to sad songs in languages I cannot understand. It started when I stumbled on a Twitter link to  this song . I cannot understand Mandarin; I had not, until recently, ever followed either of the musical artists featured in the video. I am not in exile, far from home and family. And yet I’ve been obsessed with this song of homesickness, listening over and over to the ache in the vocals, the clear longing in every line.* There is a word in Portuguese for longing. Months ago, I stumbled upon  this BBC travel article   describing it:  saudade . Saudade is untranslatable, writer Eric Weiner asserts before translating it thus: Saudade is a longing, an ache for a person or place or experience that once brought great pleasure. It is akin to nostalgia but, unlike nostalgia, one can feel saudade for something that’s never happened, and likely never will. At the heart of saudade lies a yawning sense of absence, of loss. Saudade, writes scholar Aub...