“Getting Off Right Safety Manual” by Harm Reduction.org. Research for Persephone. This document had a great tone, even if Ed disagreed with some of the content.
LHC #59: “Stars in my Pocket like Grains of Sand” by Samuel R. Delany. This one must be meant to improve me. I feel like too many of the books on my list lately have been someone else’s taste, which is not quite the same as my own. It also seems so skew very male, which seems odd. This book went way better for me when I sat down and just punched through. There’s a fantastic scene towards the end where they’re having a dinner party and the guests of honor have a conversation amongst themselves about what barbarians their hosts are that the hosts just do not understand even a little bit even though the POV character is an expert in etiquette. Worth the read though I’m a little tired of stories about gender identities.
“Asymmetry” by Lisa Halliday. My sister asked for it for Christmas. A light palette cleanser, I thought. I would have been very angry with this book if I hadn’t read a spoiler-filled review of it first, but I really liked how she handled the dialog and passage of time. I can’t wait for my sister to read it, so she can tell me what she thinks.
LHC #60: “The Star Fraction” by Ken MacLeod. Another off the Jo Walton list. This was a fun read.
LHC #61: “Icehenge” by Kim Stanley Robinson. Another off the Jo Walton list. A really neat book. I was sort of annoyed by the title because they don’t actually even discover Icehenge and no one even seems like they’re going there until about 120 pages in, but in retrospect it’s right. What KSR did with my expectations here was really cool. I think better than the Lisa Halliday which also had a three sections thing going on. But then this one has survived for more than 30 years on library shelves for a reason.