Tell Me a Differently Shaped Story: SFF That Plays With FormSometimes, it helps to outsource your reading selections. A few days ago, deep in a reading slump, I texted two friends a photo of my alarmingly overfull TBR bookcase and asked for advice. (I have been trying to only read books I already have, so I… Mar 13 25March 13, 2025Article at Reactor
Taking the “Shoulds” Out of Reading“Woman Reading” by Torajiro Kojima, c. 1921 The other week I came across one of those posts about what you should be reading. I’m sure you’ve seen them, too: You shouldn’t read smut. You should read the classics. You shouldn’t read books for young… Feb 27 25February 27, 2025Article at Reactor
Reading Writing About Reading and Writing - ReactorGetting happily lost in books about books — and also about community and creativity and frustration and life. Jan 30 25January 30, 2025Article at Reactor
Trying and Failing to Figure Out "Escapism" in Books - ReactorWhat is escapist lit? Every answer I’ve read is incomplete, because it’s not one thing... Jan 09 25January 09, 2025Article at Reactor
Small Press SFF Might Sometimes Be Harder to Find — But It's More Than Worth the Effort - ReactorIt's a classic underdog tale, and who doesn't love rooting for that? Dec 12 24December 12, 2024Article at Reactor
It's a Really Good Time to Get Loud About the Books You Love - ReactorSome ideas to help keep literature and the book community alive. Nov 21 24November 21, 2024Article at Reactor
A Modest Request for a Little More Genre Chaos - ReactorGleefully mixing genres can create something magical and powerful, and sometimes it’s a hot mess. Either way, I want MORE. Oct 24 24October 24, 2024Article at Reactor
In Praise of Things Being Just Plain Good“The Reader” by Frank Weston Benson (1906) Lately I have been reading a lot of books that don’t quite bowl me over. They’re solid, they’re nicely written, they’re entertaining, they have things to say. They are, in a word, good. But they’re not… Sep 26 24September 26, 2024Article at Reactor
Coming to Terms With Climate FictionWhen I first encountered the label “climate fiction,” in the late 2000s, I hated it. It didn’t help that it was shortened into “cli-fi,” a term that still gives me an ick response that I can’t entirely justify. But beyond that, it seemed unnecessary:… Sep 12 24September 12, 2024Article at Reactor
The Road Goes Ever On: When Fantasy Sends You on Your Own JourneysFantasy may be a means of escape, but it is also an education in, and encouragement toward, traveling itself. The things I remember best from the fantasy novels I encountered as a youth are journeys. Ged leaves Gont, eventually leaves Roke, visits… Aug 15 24August 15, 2024Article at Reactor
When It’s Time To Change Your Reading Habits“Old Woman Reading” by Yehuda Pen, 1907 It’s funny, sometimes, to step back and look at your own reading habits. They can seem thoroughly unremarkable—so much so as to be unnoticeable—until something shakes them up. Left to my own devices, I am as… Aug 01 24August 01, 2024Article at Reactor
What Happens After the World Gets Saved?What does day-to-day life look like in the future brought about by all those battles and conflicts? Different, right? Hopefully better? “St Catherine Reading a Book” by Carlo Dolci, 17th C. Once upon a time—as the stories often start—there were some… Jul 11 24July 11, 2024Article at Reactor
The Joy of Reading Books You Don’t Entirely UnderstandWoman Reading in the Studio by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (c. 1868) At present, I have an alarming number of tabs open. I’m absolutely not going to tell you how many, or how many are open on my phone. There are 15 pages of notes in my now-finished… Jun 27 24June 27, 2024Article at Reactor
In Search of Big Feelings“A Wife” by John Everett Millais (c. 1860-3) Lately, I’ve been in limbo. Entertainment limbo, a modern purgatory for a Goldilocks who has too many options, none of them quite right. This show is too slow. This show came out all in one drop and now… May 30 24May 30, 2024Article at Reactor
To Write or Not to Write (In Your Books)Portrait of Emile Verhaeren by Théo van Rysselberghe (1915) I have always wanted to be a person with a magic bag. You know the kind—they dump their tote/purse/satchel/bag of holding out on a table, and everything you’d ever need and 15 things you… May 02 24May 02, 2024Article at Reactor
Can a Book Really Be For Everyone?“Children Reading” by Pekka Halonen (1916) Last week, I went to see Gabrielle Zevin speak in a very, very large and very, very fancy theater. It was the first time in decades that I went to a book event that was in the kind of room that plays host to… Apr 11 24April 11, 2024Article at Reactor
On Letting Go of the Idea of “Keeping Up”“So, what have you read lately?” It sounds like an innocent question, but it came with a pile of expectations. Photo by Jean Vella [via Unsplash] The first time I felt the tiniest spark of competition where books and reading are concerned, I was… Mar 28 24March 28, 2024Article at Reactor
Bookish Death Cleaning: On What We Keep, and What It MeansHave you ever been concerned that you'll never read all the books on your shelves, let alone everything else you want to read? Most days, I look at my books and find a whole mess of positive feelings: Memories of the experience I had reading them;… Mar 14 24March 14, 2024Article at Reactor
Coming to Terms With “Cozy” FictionCategories and genres are weird things. Sometimes they make perfect sense; sometimes they feel like mental sandpaper. If you say the word cozy to me I will, without any intention whatsoever, immediately picture the Sleepytime bear. Pajamas, a… Feb 15 24February 15, 2024Article at Reactor
Mark Each Year in Books: Thoughts on Reading TraditionsSo this is the new year, Ben Gibbard sings in my head for a number of days (or weeks) around New Year’s Eve. The holiday season means a million different things, and to me it is strange and weird and personal, not full of gifts but specific,… Jan 11 24January 11, 2024Article at Tor.com
