Aliya Whiteley is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. After devouring The Beauty earlier this year, I was thrilled to see this re-issue of an old book of hers. Skein Island invites women to a week-long retreat, free of men and normal responsibilities. It‘s free. Payment is in the form of a declaration - a life story that each woman writes and that‘s put away in a secret library never to be seen again. *cue creepy music*

Please help me welcome my good friend @Jennsie to Litsy! Also, today is her birthday so WOOT WOOOOOOT!!! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🥳🎂🎈#welcomewagon #newmember #newlittens

Totally engrossing story about a young woman who survives the apocalypse. I loved how the book‘s numerous themes (capitalism, work culture, immigration, nostalgia, relationships, city life, family, etc etc) were woven together - it felt like it honestly and accurately reflected the current zeitgeist. I‘ll be following Ling Ma closely - I‘m excited to see what she writes next!

Loved this graphic novel! I thought the play on Frankenstein‘s Monster was very clever. How do we define the monstrous? How have Black bodies been defined as monstrous and what has the impact of that social delusion been? The book presents those heavy ideas, but it‘s also just a good story!

This was a spooky retelling of the Donner Party incident. I‘m kind of a sucker for retellings of historic events that offer a supernatural twist, so this was definitely in my wheelhouse. Not terrifying, but definitely creepy and unsettling! A fun read!

Spent the last six weeks finding a new apartment and moving. Stressful! But I‘m finally settled in and can get back to reading and Litsy-ing. Read this one for bookclub. I couldn‘t get past how selfish and misogynistic the main character was. I know this is partially due to the time in which the book was written, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. That being said, the concept was kind of interesting, but not interesting enough to save it.

Real talk - I‘m not sure I completely understand everything I just read. But my god - it was beautiful! Douglas weaves Jamaican history, music, and Rastafarianism (something I knew nothing about and had to look up as I went along) into a story about Bob Marley dying then returning to Earth for seven days in the body of a homeless man. Totally strange and brilliant and glorious. Very experimental in format, so it‘s not for everyone, but I loved it.

This was such a disappointment! It started out strong, focusing on scientists during the Cultural Revolution in China. Then it jumped to modern times, and a series of mysterious incidents. But somewhere towards the back third it completely fell apart for me, with a “big” reveal that was corny, flat characters who never developed, awkward dialogue, and long, boring sections of exposition. To say the least, I won‘t be continuing the trilogy.

I wasn‘t totally blown away by this one, but I enjoyed it well enough. It‘s an alternate history Western in which hippos are used very similarly to horses. There are wacky characters and a caper at the center of the story. I feel like it could‘ve used a longer treatment - I didn‘t bond with the characters as much as I liked. But the world building was good and zany enough to keep things interesting!

As always, I had a blast reading Hendrix‘s book. They‘re just fun! This one was no exception, with a storyline centering on aging rock stars and a pact with dark forces that has potentially terrible consequences. I also loved that Hendrix describes one‘s soul as “the best of us” and ties it to our ability/desire for originality and creative ingenuity. A fun read!

Oy. This was a tough read about the women who painted glow in the dark dials and clock faces, initially for WWI. The paint contained radium, and they were instructed to “Lip...dip...paint” in order to make the brush tips as pointed as possible. These women withstood immense suffering and the actions of the companies they worked for were unconscionable. Their fight for justice paved the way for the rights workers enjoy today.

Another bail. This one started out really strong, and then I lost interest. May return to it one day (may not) but for now I‘m putting it to the side!

Another bail. Couldn‘t get into the characters or the story.

I‘m currently on a bail spree. For some reason, not much is holding my attention these days (I‘m in a bit of a stressful period, so it‘s probably more about me than the books themselves). And while I adored Chiang‘s last collection of stories, these didn‘t keep me engaged.

I‘d never read any poetry by Nikki Giovanni before, but found my way to her work via a mention by poet Fatima Asghar. My favorite poems and essays were the ones where she wrote about her family and what life was like growing up. The way she writes about the simple pleasures in life feel like home.

A collection of powerful essays about being a black woman. Cottom is a wonderful thinker and writer, and I flew through this collection in one sitting! Her essay Dying to Be Competent, which is about the loss of her child, was especially hard-hitting, and the way Cottom is able to connect the personal and the political throughout this book is striking.

I enjoyed these odd little stories! The opening one was especially strong. Many of the tales in this collection feel a bit unresolved, but I kind of appreciated that. They felt more haunting that way, as if the larger horror (and in many of these, we‘ve already been faced with the unsettling) is just around the corner.

A sweet quick read detailing the biggest mysteries in physics. It‘s written in a way that‘s easy to understand, but still mind-blowing. The universe is amazing!

This just wasn‘t for me. The writing was solid and I liked the idea of shipminds (though I‘d come across a similar concept before in Iain Banks‘ Culture novels), but I couldn‘t connect with the characters and the murder mystery at the center of this novella fell a bit flat for me.

Gorgeous poetry! Love, loss, family, friendship...Asghar is able to capture so much in so few words. I also learned a little about The Partition of India (1947), into India and Pakistan, and how this sudden split sowed chaos and ripped families, cultures and lives apart. An estimated 14 million people were displaced. I felt ashamed that I knew nothing about this part of history and am grateful to Asghar and others who do the labor of teaching.

One of the strangest books I‘ve ever read, and I read some weird stuff! In it, a fungal plague has killed all of the women, leaving only men. The story follows a small band of men in a village who come into contact with new life - mushroom women who emerge from the graves of those lost. This was VERY weird and very disturbing, but it‘s brilliant and the writing is stellar - absolutely LOVED this novella!

Picked this one up because I realized I‘d only read and knew of a few Black women horror writers. Addison is the first Black winner of the Bram Stoker Award for horror writing. Some things in this collection were stronger than others. But overall I enjoyed the poems, and I thought the stories were interesting and had a unique perspective.

Somewhere between a so-so and pan, but closer to a pan. Despite my seething hatred of every single family member in this book, I found it oddly unputdownable. But overall, it felt too long, and the writing in Hanna‘s chapters didn‘t feel age appropriate. One thing I did like was the honest depiction of the mixed feelings the parents had towards parenthood. I suspect many couples feel this way, but it‘s rarely portrayed in popular culture.

This was a fun, fast read! It reminded me a lot of Blake Crouch‘s Dark Matter in terms of compulsive readability - I couldn‘t put it down! The wealthiest of the dead can temporarily upload their consciousness into a “husk” - a living person who essentially puts their body up for rent. With this body clients can do (and DO do) just about anything. One husk finds himself at the mercy of a horrific client, and must race against time to stop him.

I really enjoyed this short, creepy read! The question of whether Amanda‘s problems are of supernatural origin or otherwise was captivating (IMHO, its a little bit of both - sometimes very high emotional states or transitions can result in a rebirth of sorts...) Regardless of what side of the argument you fall on, all in all I thought it was a great look at female rage and desire, and how we don‘t really know how to deal with them.

Perhaps it‘s due to my state of mind right now (feeling a lack of being seen and/or heard), but I related to a number of these stories. Many of them feature lead characters who are being stalked or tormented by something indescribable. What makes Davila‘s writing so haunting is her use of language - it‘s the language of concrete reality. So when the uncanny occurs, it feels all the more frightening and disorienting. Loved this collection!

Unpopular opinion, but I had trouble with this one. The writing was fine, but the main plot was stretched out across the book in such a way that I lost interest. I also had difficulty envisioning the mechanics and layout of the ship, and being able to visualize things when reading SFF is hugely important, IMHO. I almost feel like this would‘ve worked better as a collection of short stories - vignettes of the various characters and their lives.

Edugyan can write! Loved this one. The story revolves around Wash, a boy born into slavery in Barbados. He‘s taken under the wing of an English scientist, and from there we follow Wash as he travels around the globe, ultimately seeking a wholeness he realizes is missing. There‘s a tinge of magical realism to the story, giving it the feeling of an adult fairy tale, and I found it hard to put down.

I remember seeing the PBS adaptation of this in high school and loving it. It‘s about a man named George who has “effective” dreams - in other words, his dreams actually change reality. George‘s interactions with a manipulative psychiatrist eventually leads to chaos and the book shows the dangers of having a God complex, even if one‘s intentions seem “good” on the surface. A great read!

I read according to my mood, and this one isn‘t quite hitting the spot for me right now. I may return to it eventually when the mood strikes, but for now... bailing!

Håkan is a young boy when he‘s sent to America with his older brother. Almost immediately they‘re separated and Håkan, who was supposed to land in New York, finds himself in San Francisco at the height of the Gold Rush. He traverses the US in search of his brother, crossing paths with strange people and finding himself in nightmarish situations. Reading this felt like being trapped in a fever dream. Some of the imagery will never leave me!

Second book of the trilogy. I liked this (only slightly) less than the first book, partially because it felt all over the place. But it was exciting to be back in Thompson‘s rich world, and learning more about the alien presence that has taken up residence in Rosewater. I can‘t wait to see how it all ends!

An interesting trip (ha!) through the world of psychedelics, going back to their history as a class of drugs studied at universities for their therapeutic potential, to their downfall and rebranding as a menace to society, to today where they‘re slowly creeping back into the halls of psychotherapy. It was a topic I didn‘t know much about, but I thought this was really well-researched and written. Fascinating and I learned a lot!

Samantha Irby is one funny lady! I found her writing hilarious and heartbreaking and unflinchingly honest. Towards the end I did get a bit of memoir fatigue (generally speaking, memoirs aren‘t my thing, so there‘s some inherent bias there), but overall I liked this one.

I couldn‘t emotionally connect with this one, and I found some stylistic things a bit grating. There‘s definitely an audience out there for this one, I‘m just not one of them. Not a terrible book, just one that‘s not for me.

Man. I just love the Murderbot series! This one takes us on another zippy adventure with everyone‘s favorite misanthropic robot. The ending of this one felt sadly abrupt, like there was a bit of unfinished business. At the same time, I couldn‘t have seen it end any other way. How is it possible to get such feels about robots?!??

I‘m so impressed by Clark‘s writing. Nothing I‘ve read by him so far has been anything less than totally engrossing and magical! This novella is no exception and I‘m hopeful, once again, that he‘ll write more stories set in this universe.

This book is set in the same universe as The Haunting of Tram Car 015, a world I really love! This is actually the first story in the series, so I‘ve gone a bit backwards, but it didn‘t make *too* much of a difference. I really love Clark‘s writing and hope he sets more stories in this alternate history version of Cairo.

This book is insane. A scientist invents a process by which blacks can become white, and before you know it, scores of blacks in the US change their race, throwing the country‘s racial anxiety into high gear. Schuyler places the blame for racism in squarely in capitalism‘s hands, and thus skewers EVERYONE - white and black. No one is safe from his critical eye, and while funny the book is also uncomfortable. I enjoyed it but...YIKES. 😳😳😳😂😂😂

This was so much fun! Wonderful world-building (an alternate history set in a never colonized, technologically advanced Egypt), a fun mystery and interesting characters. Hoping that Clark writes more stories set in this world!

Love love love Gay‘s writing! This is a gorgeous book of poetry focused on gratitude for the small things, which, when placed together, comprise the large arcs of our lives. I love the way his poems pivot - they often start at one point and meander, ending at a different place from where they started, but somehow maintaining a beautiful cohesiveness. Gay is definitely a new to me favorite writer!

This book should be essential reading for anyone who identifies as a feminist. Cooper writers with intense clarity about the myriad ways in which mainstream feminism fails to address the unique hardships of Black women. I wish I had had this in college when, as a young woman minoring in Women‘s Studies, I often experienced discomfort and sometimes outright hostility - much of it at the hands of women who professed to be feminists. A must read!

For some reason, this was confusing to me. Things happened that didn‘t seem central to the plot, it felt disjointed, and the middle lagged. The main story - a satire about a black man trying to save enough money for an operation that will make his son look Caucasian - felt lost in the shuffle. There were moments of clarity, so it wasn‘t a total miss for me, but yeah...it‘s a strange book! I think it might have worked better as a short story.

I really enjoyed this collection of stories. I think Collins‘ writing is beautifully nuanced - there‘s a lot under the surface. It was interesting to read about middle class, highly educated Black women in the 1960s and 1970s, when the US was in the midst of so much upheaval re: civil and women‘s rights. A few of the stories didn‘t *quite* work for me, but the ones that did blew my mind. My favorites: The Uncle, Lifelines, and the title story.

A solid collection of short stories, many of them focused on familial relationships. The title story was one of my favorites, simply for the fascinating/terrifying future presented (US and Europe are completely underwater, forcing white majorities to resettle in brown/black countries; a biological weapon that targets melanin; tattoos that denote class and restrict or expand where you travel), and I hope she develops them into a full-length story!

This book is a mixed bag. I found myself frustrated with a few threads that were left open, and some ideas that would have been fascinating if they were more fleshed out. I also didn‘t quite understand the purpose of a few plot points. But the writing is terrific and overall I enjoyed this one!

It took me a minute to get into the language of this book, and its various POVs. But in the end I was really impressed by the way Bolander was able to weave together three historically-based storylines to create an alternate history in which elephants and humans can communicate via sign language. Very inventive and well-written!

A short book but I‘m finding that I don‘t really care about the family at the center of the story, making it a slog for me. Bailing on this one...at least for now.

This was *just* shy of a pick for me. While the writing was lovely, the story felt a bit bare bones and at times I was a bit bored. Had the story been a bit meatier, this would‘ve been a clear win. I‘m excited to see what the author does down the road (this is her debut), because I think she‘ll only get better and eventually produce something really special!

Based on the strength of the first story in this collection, I thought I would love it. Unfortunately, the rest of the stories didn‘t grab me in the same way. Adjei-Brenyah writes beautiful prose but the stories, with a few exceptions, didn‘t work for me. That being said, I‘ll be interested to see where he goes from here as his craft develops.