1. Acacia: The War with the Mein by David Anthony Durham
A bit of an older one that I’ve had on my shelf for half of
grad school, but I knew when I first read the opening chapters that I was going
to be hooked SO HARD. I’m excited to dive into this secondary world and the
politics of Acacia. As a writer who
hopes to publish in multiple genres, I’ll be looking at how Durham, first known
as a literary writer, turns his talents to an epic fantasy. Plus, I need some
800+ page epic in my life as a celebration for finishing my MFA (thank you,
thank you, no applause is necessary). It was a close call with rereading LotR
for the Xth time, but I want to break some habits this summer.
2. Humankind by Timothy Morton
This philosophy book ends up on my list after Dark Ecology, which was an inspiration
for Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach
Trilogy. Humankind analyzes and
dissects what it means to be human when human biology is made up of so many
other things, and I’ve been thinking
a lot about humanity’s relationship with other-than-humans. Morton has an
interesting mind to dig into on such topics, often included pop culture
references as much as scholarship. I’m not really sure what I’m in for, but I
think it will be a good brain stretch.
3. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge
and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Again, this is a bit more of a research book than for fun.
I’ve only heard good things about Braiding
Sweetgrass and I expect this essay collection to shift some worldviews in
the best way. It came up several times at WisCon this year, so I believe it’s crossing
over into the SF community, too. Since my PhD will be focused on environmental
literature, I always want to expand my views beyond the straight, white,
colonizer cannon, so I’m trying to grow my research beyond the white academic
cannon. Her essay “The Grammar of Animacy” is one I’m probably most looking
forward since I’ve heard a lot of chatter for it.
4. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Back to the fun stuff! I really, really want to write about Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. It’s
been on by TBR pile for a while, but my book buying budget does not agree with
my reading wish list. I’m hoping to snag a copy for the library and stay up
late reading it (as one does). It’s got everything—a female protagonist taking
down the monarchy, magic, snow leoponaires (which just sound awesome). A YA set
in a secondary world inspired by Africa, yes please!
5. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Since I heard of this book—a post-climate-apocalypse about a
Dinétah monster hunter—I’ve been excited. Monster hunter alone would be enough
to interest me, but one thing I’m half-heartedly tracking right now is books
that are coming out with a reference to climate change. It always seems
slightly easier and more popular to take current events and reinterpret them in
science fiction, but I love to see fantasy takes on current events and the
political situation. Personally, I’d argue that fantasy is the perfect place to
comment on climate change due to the heavy nature aspect so often built into
the narrative. Regardless, I’m interested to read Rebecca Roanhorse’s novel and
I suspect it will interact with my reading of Braiding Sweetgrass and Humankind
in interesting ways.
6. Tahoe beneath the Surface: The Hidden Stories of America's
Largest Mountain Lake by Scott Lankford
This book is the odd one out, obviously. I’m attending
University of Nevada: Reno this fall for a PhD, and I’ll be living in Virginia
City, an old silver mining town. I’ll be subletting at a place where wild
horses munch the weeds in the front yard, so I’m excited to get a break from
the Monsanto-green cornfields of Iowa. My landlord recommended this book in
order to learn about Tahoe, which is not far off. In my writing, I love to use
local folklore and history so I’m excited to learn about the area and most
likely, write about it!
Posted by Phoebe Wagner
