Organizing my favorite books of the year is always a challenging task. How to sort through so many remarkable books, particularly when preferences are so subjective? How to make some sort of sense or cohesion out of such a disparate array of texts? Ultimately, the books that made the final cut are the ones that … Continue reading 2021 Reading List – The Final
Climate Crisis
‘The Midnight Library’ is Low-Key Cli-Fi
Matt Haig's The Midnight Library scratches a lot of itches—speculative fiction, reckoning with life choices, learning how to human. But amongst those threads, I propose that The Midnight Library functions as low-key cli-fi, a.k.a. "climate fiction," a narrative exploring the impacts of global warming. *barely spoilery spoilers for The Midnight Library and mild content warning … Continue reading ‘The Midnight Library’ is Low-Key Cli-Fi
Notions, January 2021 Edition
This is the time of year I realize just how much dark time we still have to go. Work is busy. The outside is dark and dreary. And I mostly want to just curl up with a book. Alas. While we wait for spring, here are some of the fun, interesting, and/or gorgeous things I've … Continue reading Notions, January 2021 Edition
Reading During Difficult Times
In the last couple weeks I have found myself pinned between the return to work and busyness after the relative quiet of the holiday season and a national crisis. I hit a point last week staring at a stack of partially-read books feeling the existential anxiety of not having enough time to read all the … Continue reading Reading During Difficult Times
Going Off Book: I kind of want a ‘Neverending Story’ remake?
I stare at the boxed faces of 60 traditional-aged college students. I speak to them about David Foster Wallace and Audre Lorde, urging them to pay attention to this precious, weird, fleeting time period, to determine how they will use their power—collective and individual—to improve the world. It is impossible to know if I am … Continue reading Going Off Book: I kind of want a ‘Neverending Story’ remake?
Where the Sidewalk Ends: Four Writers on Climate Change and Understanding the Overarching Crisis of Our Time
Exactly one month ago, the sustainability teams at UO hosted WOHESC, a regional sustainability in higher education conference. Attendees included a mix of professionals and students, spending two days talking about everything from putting social justice into practice to the feasibility of widespread nuclear power in the US. That conference moment happened right before everything … Continue reading Where the Sidewalk Ends: Four Writers on Climate Change and Understanding the Overarching Crisis of Our Time
‘Gideon the Ninth’ and Food Metaphors for Genre Fiction, a.k.a the Delicious Delights of Lesbian necromancers … IN SPAAACE!!!
I have been reading a lot of books about the climate crisis lately, mostly because three separate work projects have put me in their path. These books are less about the science, per se, and more about how we should respond—emotionally, actionally, narratively. I'm grateful for these books having deadlines because, despite how much attention … Continue reading ‘Gideon the Ninth’ and Food Metaphors for Genre Fiction, a.k.a the Delicious Delights of Lesbian necromancers … IN SPAAACE!!!
Of Doors and Thresholds, Magic and Stories and Change
Very, very mild spoilers for The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Starless Sea, and The Magicians. I have been thinking a lot about doors and thresholds. We pass through them all the time, entering and exiting buildings and rooms without thought. Metaphorically, doors represent beginnings or endings or changes, and thresholds represent the in-between … Continue reading Of Doors and Thresholds, Magic and Stories and Change
Notions, December 2019 Edition
I don't intend for this blog to become a links dumping ground but sometimes I do get overrun with fun, interesting, thought-provoking things to share! So here goes. Lists Not only are we nearing the end of a year but also the end of a decade so I expect we'll see double or triple the … Continue reading Notions, December 2019 Edition
Dogs, Coffee, & Books 