Dec. 23rd, 2018
I get some of my book (& other media) recommendations from friends and other individuals, but I take great pleasure in a good recommendations list, especially when they're thematic or otherwise curated. So, in a moment of meta:
A Recommended List of Recommendation Lists
for speculative novels, with an emphasis on minority authors and/or characters, in precisely no order & non-exhaustive
Tor.com's Five Books About series (the official lists can be repetitive and white male heavy; I have better luck with post comments)
Jo Walton's OK, where do I start with that? series (this is nearly exhaustive, but where there's gaps: again, check the comments)
Nisi Shawl's A Crash Course in the History of Black Science Fiction
K Tempest Bradford's Mindblowing SF by Women and People of Color
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oursin's The massive mega consolidated SF mistressworks list
perplexingly's LGBTQ+ Fantasy Book Rec List (see also)
The list of Wizard Schools (pre-Harry Potter)
kate_nepveu's Fantasy of Manners reading list (includes & differentiates between Mannerpunk; see comments)
Further Reading (About Reading)
rachelmanija's Sirens Panel: Women who Run with Wolves and Dance with Dragons (companion animal stories, uncollated, but with commentary)
Tor.com's Queering SFF series (more discussion than simple lists but, again: check comments)
Terri Windling's essays, both on her website and in introduction to her many short fiction anthologies, have phenomenal references and further reading lists
If you can narrow down your interest to a specific (sub)genre or trope, Wikipedia and TV Tropes have exhaustive (sometimes to their detriment) lists; Goodreads lists are equally exhaustive, but less curated
Awards and award nominees are fruitful sources for lists, especially if you ignore big names (Hugos, etc.) and look towards smaller awards (e.g. Gaylactic Spectrum Awards)
Authors that write books about books are fruitful sources of reading material, see: Jo Walton (Among Others), Caitlin R. Kiernan (The Red Tree, The Drowning Girl), Diana Wynne Jones (Fire and Hemlock), Pamela Dean (Tam Lin), Ray Bradbury (Farenheit 451)
A Recommended List of Recommendation Lists
for speculative novels, with an emphasis on minority authors and/or characters, in precisely no order & non-exhaustive
Tor.com's Five Books About series (the official lists can be repetitive and white male heavy; I have better luck with post comments)
Jo Walton's OK, where do I start with that? series (this is nearly exhaustive, but where there's gaps: again, check the comments)
Nisi Shawl's A Crash Course in the History of Black Science Fiction
K Tempest Bradford's Mindblowing SF by Women and People of Color
oursin's The massive mega consolidated SF mistressworks listperplexingly's LGBTQ+ Fantasy Book Rec List (see also)
The list of Wizard Schools (pre-Harry Potter)
kate_nepveu's Fantasy of Manners reading list (includes & differentiates between Mannerpunk; see comments)Further Reading (About Reading)
rachelmanija's Sirens Panel: Women who Run with Wolves and Dance with Dragons (companion animal stories, uncollated, but with commentary)Tor.com's Queering SFF series (more discussion than simple lists but, again: check comments)
Terri Windling's essays, both on her website and in introduction to her many short fiction anthologies, have phenomenal references and further reading lists
If you can narrow down your interest to a specific (sub)genre or trope, Wikipedia and TV Tropes have exhaustive (sometimes to their detriment) lists; Goodreads lists are equally exhaustive, but less curated
Awards and award nominees are fruitful sources for lists, especially if you ignore big names (Hugos, etc.) and look towards smaller awards (e.g. Gaylactic Spectrum Awards)
Authors that write books about books are fruitful sources of reading material, see: Jo Walton (Among Others), Caitlin R. Kiernan (The Red Tree, The Drowning Girl), Diana Wynne Jones (Fire and Hemlock), Pamela Dean (Tam Lin), Ray Bradbury (Farenheit 451)
These are, and I swear it's (almost definitely) true, the final crossposts. Hurrah! Hurray!
( Are the Fuddles nice people? )
( Talking Cats: The Musical with my family. )
( Interpersonal relationships, trauma, hurt comfort, and socio-political commentary in Cherryh )
( Are the Fuddles nice people? )
( Talking Cats: The Musical with my family. )
( Interpersonal relationships, trauma, hurt comfort, and socio-political commentary in Cherryh )