Litsy

shortsarahrose

Starter Villain | John Scalzi

“‘So,‘ Morrison said. ‘You want in, Desmondo?‘”

Well so far, this is delightful 🐈

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BkClubCare

Sea of Rust | C. Robert Cargill

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Okay. OKAY! Did I almost tear up 😢 at the end and then laugh at myself for it? Yep.

#TeamBrittle and even some #TeamMadKind❗️
I just like the term “madkind”, I think. #bookclub #scifi #existentialism

NOTE: the narrator is a woman, female, so to me Brittle is she/her. Does it matter?

BkClubCare #July2025 Book62 (edited) 23h

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KathyWheeler

Lord of Light | Roger Zelazny

Listening to Lord of Light for #ClassicLSBC — it‘s the first Zelazny book I‘ve ever read. #audiowalk

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Rachel.Rencher

All Systems Red | Martha Wells

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This is such a surprisingly sweet story told by Murderbot, a Security Unit who hacked his own system so he could no longer be a killer. He just wants to be left alone to watch his soap operas until shit hits the fan on a distant, unmapped planet. How far will he go to protect his humans and not repeat past mistakes all while maintaining his cover?

I'm already eagerly waiting the next books from the library! 🤓

CoffeeK8 Did you watch the show yet? 2d

Rachel.Rencher @CoffeeK8 I haven't! Is it good? 2d

Texreader Excellent review! Daughter has been telling me to read this one. Now I know why! 1d

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ImperfectCJ Interesting that you use masculine pronouns for Murderbot. My elder kid and I have an ongoing discussion about why some readers see Murderbot as "he" and some as "she" even though it has no gender (my kid and I think Murderbot feels more "she"). 1d

CoffeeK8 @Rachel.Rencher yes! Not quite the same but very good! 1d

CoffeeK8 @ImperfectCJ I also felt that murderbot was “she” when reading the book. Someting in the way she spoke, but that doesn‘t correlate to the audio book narrator or the show. 1d

CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian @ImperfectCJ I'm not sure which book makes it clear, but Murderbot itself says at some point its pronoun is "it", connected i think to the idea it's not human! 1d

Rachel.Rencher @ImperfectCJ I hadn't even caught that I did that! I think the crew in the book referred to Murderbot as "It", but my brain was picturing just a sexless being, as it described itself when fast-forwarding through the sex scenes in the serials. I think I typed "he" as a default which is unfortunate because that's definitely not accurate. 1d

ImperfectCJ @CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian I do recall Murderbot being quite clear about the "it" thing. My elder kid and I view it as almost a kind of Rorschach test, seeing which pronoun human readers default to. 1d

ImperfectCJ @CoffeeK8 That's part of why I'm not interested in watching the show (not happy with the casting). While I prefer to read this series in print, I actually don't mind Kevin Free as narrator for the audiobooks. His narrating voice reads more on the androgynous side to me, at least in this series. 1d

ImperfectCJ @Rachel.Rencher I think it's really interesting what our brains default to with this. Murderbot seems so human to me (or at least so relatable), I have to make a conscious effort to use "it." 1d

Clare-Dragonfly My book club had a good discussion about Murderbot‘s pronouns too! I figured with the new show (which I am not caught up with, but have been enjoying), more people will be using “he,” since it appears decidedly masculine. (I‘m grumpy about the casting too.) 16h

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Rachel.Rencher

All Systems Red | Martha Wells

This week's library haul! Starting with All Systems Red 🤖

Jess Hanif! Fantastic. 2d

wildwoodreads Awesome haul 😍 2d

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Karisa

Death of the Author: A Novel | Nnedi Okorafor

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So. Freaking. Good. The Death of the Author has a beautifully layered story (stories within a story). It‘s gorgeous, imaginative, and full of heart. I appreciated its hopeful take on tech and her characters that leap off the page.

Bonus: the B & N hardcover is a stunner. If you love Africanfuturism or just like a good Sci-fi with a ton of heart, this one‘s a must. Go read it! #CampLitsy25

AmyG Excellent book. 2d

Texreader Perfect post right here. 11h

Karisa @Texreader @AmyG I loved this one so much! 11h

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HettyG

The Sparrow: A Novel | Mary Doria Russell

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Fascinating novel that has been occupying my thoughts for a week now after I finished it, which in my rating system means it's a 4 star book. One thing I wish I could discuss with others is the choice the author made to center Emilio's rape as the apex of his shame, rather than his decision to eat the flesh of beings he had come to believe were ensouled, rather than starve/die as Marc did. I wish this was a book club book!

ChaoticMissAdventures I loved this book and need to read it again. But I think it is the idea of masculinity and religion. He was not religious (if I remember correctly) but was raised around religious people where sex was more taboo, mixed with the feelings of out of control. As opposed to doing something (cannibalism) that was for survival - eating. This felt very real to me based off how I hear the men on the Internet speak. 2d

HettyG That is so insightful, thank you! and also fits in with the other thing that puzzled me which was the focus on his forced prostitution, assuming he consented rather than assume he was taken prisoner, it's a powerful critique of patriarchal religion, to your point. 2d

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