Reviews and Comments

This is the first Le Guin I've read and the foreword strongly suggests that it's not her favourite of her works, but I really enjoyed it; a morality tale is not necessarily a bad thing! I'll definitely read more of her books.

This is a weird book, which is what the author was going for, but it's very effective

This was a gift and isn't my normal style, but I enjoyed it. It's cute, not as low-stakes as the well-intentioned gifter (who doesn't know that the founding peril of the story is really quite relevant to my own life... no, not the being on a reality show bit) thought it would be, but enjoyable.

I read this entire short story in an airport check-in queue, but it's stayed with me nonetheless. Visceral and strange, like all of Rivers' work, but in a very good way.

Honestly, you don't know what you're missing in fantasy until you read this book. An author who genuinely succeeds in not recreating patriarchy in a fictional world, and then it's a fantastic, gripping story to boot.

This is a really interesting book. The essays were collected in 2017, I think, so they don't address the current ungodly union of anti-LGBTQ+ activism and resurgent fascism; but they provide a really interesting insight into the history of trans activism in the UK, and some of the tensions between different generations and their different goals.

This book is well worth reading. If you're not familiar with the experiences of gay women refugees - especially in many African countries - it will be difficult to read (well, difficult for anyone, but shocking too if you didn't already know) - but these are ultimately stories of hope and of building safety in a world that doesn't want you to have it. Read this book before you have an opinion about immigration.

I started reading this book because someone online said it was the book they asked conspiracy theorists to read in an attempt to bring them back to reality. Their reasoning was that the book, even if you don't get very far in, demonstrates a really valuable type of critical thinking, and I agree. Although it's dated now and much of the science has moved on, the whole framework and way of thinking about the world is great. It would be a fantastic read for someone wanting to learn more about the scientific method, in a way that's entertaining and carries you along with it very effectively.

I loved Lagoon so was very excited to read this. It's a short story (which I didn't realise when seeing it online) but very, very good - Nnedi Okorafor is very good at using strangeness in a way that reinforces humanity.

Suitably impressed to get this for christmas from a relative, I don't normally read much poetry but I'm looking forward to making my way through this.