Awards season is the most terribly fraught time to read. I put in my votes for the Nebula and the Locus; the Hugo packet still awaits. This month’s list is shorter than usual, but as bright as a meteor shower.
“Them Doghead Boys” by Alex Jenkins is an unforgettably original and trenchant way to remind yourself of those videos where Snoop Dog’s face morphed into that of a doberman, and to remember how you felt the first time you saw it. Read it here.
Louis Evans gave us the song of robot unionization, and it is a toe-tapper. Read it here and get it stuck in your head.
In books this month, I am going to join the choir of people who have no doubt told you to read Madeline Miller. Both “Circe” and “Song of Achilles” knocked me sideways. I ran to the store to get figs and wine, I wanted to make offerings to gods I’ve never even whispered to. These books are so incredible; the hype is not overselling them. The hype may not be enough.
As we watch the Supreme Court whittle away our rights to bodily autonomy, “The New Handbook for a Post-Roe America” is a book you may want to have on the shelf. It contains detailed information about your rights, the law, the necessity of people with privilege to do illegal things when the chips are down.
Dr. Jen Gunter is both a friend and a role model of mine, and I’ve recommended her “Vagina Bible” to many. Her follow-up, “The Menopause Manifesto” is just as necessary, just as accurate and important as her last. It might not be time yet, but being prepared is half the battle.