dystopian

Top Ten Books Recently Added to My TBR List

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8a00a-toptentuesdayI’ve been off my writing game lately. Busy week/weekends, work, and life all distract. I even passed on last week’s Top Ten! For Shame!!  So, briefly, I’ve compiled this week’s list from The Broke & The Bookish which is Ten Books recently added to my TBR List. I’d love to hear your suggestions!

1.  On Immunity: An Inoculation, by Eula Biss.  I just picked this audiobook up on a whim, so it will be one of my next listens.  She has good reviews for what appears to be a well rounded discussion/argument for vaccines.

2.  A Madness So Discreet, by Mindy McGinnis. Historical Fiction Thriller set in 1890 following a main character struggling with her own sanity. McGinnis’ book isn’t out until the fall, and I cannot wait!  Plus, look at that lovely cover art!

3.  Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days Book #1), by Susan Ee.  Another blogger recommended this series to me and warned me not to be put off by the angels.  Since I love post-apocalyptic fiction, I decided to listen to her suggestion!

4.  Partials (Partials Sequence #1), by Dan Wells.  More Post-apocalyptic YA and another blogger recommended read.  The blurb had me at “for fans of The Hunger Games, Battlestar Galactica, and Blade Runner.”  It piqued my interest further with the concept of war between humans and genetically engineered beings.

5.  Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch #2), by Ann Leckie.  I just finished the first one in this series, and I can safely place it somewhere in my all time favorite top ten books.  Good sci-fi with themes of culture, identity, social norms, and gender.  I’m looking forward to the second with the third due out sometime this year.

6.  Blood Red Road (Dust Lands Trilogy #1), by Moira Young.  More post-apocalyptic fiction with strong female characters. I’ve had two different people recommend this book to me recently, so it should probably be tackled sooner rather than later.

7.  Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality, by Christopher Ryan & Cacilda Jetha.  Yes, this one totally switches gears! I love studying gender, relationships, and how/why we are built the way we are.  After a good discussion with one of my friends, she told me about this book which she too had just put on her To Be Read list.

8.  Shift (Silo #2), by Hugh Howey.  I reviewed Wool about a month ago. This is the follow up, though it is more of a prequel.  I already have the audiobook, so it’s just a matter of time before I listen to it.

9.  The Good House, by Tananarive Due.  This was one of those “on a whim” purchases on Audible (it was on sale). It looks good though! Supernatural thriller…haunted house…good reviews…I’m in!

10.  Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, & the Body, by Susan Bordo.  I’ve read selections from this book. Correction, I’ve TAUGHT a selection from this book.  However, I am ashamed to say I’ve never read it! I forgot about this one until recently, and so, I’m making it my goal to read it before the year is out! Bordo always has a good way of analyzing culture and the body, both male and female.

Book #10 – The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

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It should be no surprise to anyone that I’m writing about this book.  It should surprise you that it has taken me this long into my life to actually read Atwood. What have I been doing with the last 30 years of my life?!

The Handmaid’s Tale is one of those landmark texts, the kind that generations upon generations of inspired readers share, handing you their well loved, worn copy. Looking at you with gleaming, affected eyes, they eagerly push the book into your hand with a smile that reads of change and opened minds.

Maybe I’m being too sentimental and overselling Atwood.  Still, my point is that The Handmaid’s Tale was written with an important purpose, and 30 years later it still excels at that purpose. (Well I’ll be damned…I just realized that this year is the 30th anniversary of the book…huh…perfect!).

The premise is as follows:

In the not so distant future, the United States has erupted into a completely different world known as Gilead.  In response to increasing liberalism, feminist movements, changing views on religion, etc., Gilead has restructured the entire nation, issued total control over the remaining society, and outlawed anything and everything from women in the workplace to wearing makeup to printing books,  Only one state religion is allowed and women possess only 3 jobs: Wife, Martha, or Handmaid (though you could count the Aunts as a fourth, but they’re an extension of the Handmaid).  Women exist to serve their roles as related to their house and man. This is how they contribute to the greater good of society.

Atwood focuses on the Handmaid, Offred (Literally Of Fred). Most of her days are spent alone, in silence. She is not allowed to read. She leaves the house once a day to purchase food at the market.  Monthly she goes through the Ceremony where she has sex with the Commander (aka Fred), hoping to conceive by him. Offred is one of the valuable women who still have viable ovaries in this transitional society. If she cannot conceive, she will be deemed worthless.

First Edition Cover (source Wikipedia)

Atwood fills Offred’s days with monotony, reflections on her life as it as, and dreams of her life before. We are given glimpses of her lost hopes, her missing family, the horrors of the transition into the Handmaid’s role, and her struggles in her current household where she just wants to survive a little longer. She can barely even hope to find a way out. The story is structured to make us feel the sluggish, oppressive, passing of time, the tense fear of committing the slightest sin. The whole society, not just women, are controlled and stifled to an extreme.

In the extremeness of her story, Atwood creates a lens through which we can critique our current culture.  The world of Gilead is just a funhouse mirror version of our own, twisted, curved and quite cracked.  Still, its basic structure comes from our world’s very real issues with gender roles (male as well as female), religious influence, political power, and the domestic space of the home.  The norm of the world is a blanket we wrap around ourselves.  Atwood’s ability to tear it away through her close scrutiny is why The Handmaid’s Tale remains a phenomenal unconquerable text.

Obviously, I’ve touched on perhaps my favorite discussion point, so I’ll share a few texts below if you’re interested in further reading. Many more exist, but these are ones I’ve found particularly enlightening.

Of Woman Born: Motherhood by Experience, by Adrienne Rich.*                  *This one above all closely relates to Atwood’s work.

The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan.

The Second Sex, by Simone de Beauvior.

Sexual Politics, by Kate Millett.

I’d love to hear your thoughts or any books, articles, (non-fiction or fiction), you would like to share!

Ten Books for Readers Who Like “Female Action/Heroines/Dystopian” topics (ie Hunger Games)

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Another Top Ten Tuesday brought to us by The Broke and the Bookish.  How I love them so! I’ll admit though, that this week’s Top Ten is a bit of a challenge. For Readers Who Like….a certain Genre? A certain Character? A specific book/series? Yogurt? I dunno…the possibilities are endless (though I doubt I can recommend books based on Yogurt).

I’m going to bite the bullet and go the easy route, since this is only my second “Top Ten Tuesday” list.  Therefore let me present:

The Top Ten Books for Readers Who Like:

Let me clarify a bit before we get to the list.  These are Dystopian or female-action oriented reads. It’s all about the heroines kicking ass.   Honestly, we could leave the Dystopia out of it!  I chose this, because it’s been on my mind lately, and because, though I enjoy The Hunger Games trilogy, I get bogged down by the end (in other words, I HATE IT), and I think there are other books out there tackling the subject matter in better ways. So, enjoy. Tell me what you think! Any others you think should also be included? I’m certainly not an expert, and I know there are tons out there that I have yet to read.

1-3.   The Graceling Realm Trilogy by Kristin Cashore (Graceling, Fire, & Bitterblue).  I have to include the entire series, because they are just that good.  It isn’t a Dystopian series but the heroines are all strong, realistic characters (book two even features a female archer).  It is action oriented, in a broken world, with strong character development, and of course, romance.  Cashore’s heroines deal with relationships in a decidedly more adult and less trivial manner than many young adult books treat love (including Hunger Games).  She provides alternative ideas of what expectations a person should have in a relationship, and her characters are well rounded and ever evolving.  Of course, you also have the battle for freedom, rebellion, and some intense dark moments throughout the three stories. Really, I can’t recommend the series enough.

4.  Wool, by Hugh Howey.  I just reviewed this book, so of course it’s at the front of my mind.  Howey creates an amazing and mysterious Dystopian world in his Silo Saga.  I’ve only read book #1, so I can’t speak to the rest of the series, but it boast a strong female character who is logical, intelligent, determined, and strong.  It has rebellion, and truth seeking, and yes, a little romance.  One of the best Dystopian books I’ve ever read.

5.  The Glass Arrow, by Kristen Simmons.  

Okay, I can’t REALLY  recommend this one since I only just bought it and haven’t read it but come on…it looks like it will fit and I can’t WAIT to start. Seriously, the only reason I haven’t opened it up yet is because I have to finish this book club book first.  Just read this (and the rest of the description) and you’ll understand: “The Handmaid’s Tale meets Blood Red Road in Glass Arrow, the story of Aya, who lives with a small group of women on the run from the men who hunt them, men who want to auction off breeding rights to the highest bidder.”

6-9. The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce. Really, you could count ANYTHING by Pierce. I also recommend Wild Magic from The Immortals quartet, which directly follows the events of the first series. They are for a slightly younger reader, but all of them have strong female heroines who we watch grow up throughout the series.  Alanna, our main heroine, must hide her gender and true talents, battle her way into becoming a respected knight, and help save her kingdom from upheaval.  All of this of course takes place while she is turning into a woman and trying to decide who and how to love.  Yes, we get a love triangle here, but it doesn’t bother me like the whole Peeta/Gale debacle.  Also, the relationships are realistic: troubled but not over-dramatized, physical as well as emotional. And her choices might just surprise you.

10.  Cinder and the entire Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer (though I can’t vouch yet for Fairest and Winter isn’t out until November).  Back to Dystopian fiction here, though really it’s just straight sci-fi and not a Dystopia. Meyer writes an entirely addicting series.  We have a futuristic world with yes, fairytales, and our Cinderella is, of course, a cyborg (part human/mechanical-tech parts…not to be confused with AI or full robot from other futuristic tales).  We have romance, action, and even a bit of a whining heroine. Really though, the little bit of whining, which is expected with Cinderella in my opinion, is my only complaint. I started to get annoyed with the romantic story, but Meyer fleshed it out so startling well and realistically in Scarlet and Cress (yes also fairy tales), that it has become one of my favorite examples of HOW you do romance in fiction (nearly up there with Cashore).

Book #8 – Wool: Omnibus (Silo #1) by Hugh Howey

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Well, I promised to get caught back up on the books I’ve finished this last month and here I am!  I can’t think of a better place to start than with perhaps one of the best pieces of dystopian fiction to emerge in recent years.  The popularity of Hunger Games started a surge on the market of dark, futuristic worlds where “ordinary folk turned heroes” fight for justice, equality, etcetera, etcetera…I’ve always enjoyed dystopian tales, so I’m OK with this trend.  However, as with all fads, the true gems of the bunch are few and far between.  Wool by Hugh Howey is one of these diamonds.
Howey started this series as a novelette, self published on Amazon. It received such high praise that fans clamored for more, and the book was born.  Wool is actually a collection of these first 5 short stories and is book #1 in the Silo Saga (you can rest assured I’ll be reading the other two soon enough!).  The 5 stories tie together into one nearly seamless tale about living within the strict boundaries of a highly controlled society. When those rules are challenged, and the the lies that built them addressed, everything and everyone must either change or ultimately be destroyed.

Without giving too much more away, the story is essentially set on Earth, sometime in the distant future, where society lives underground after some unknown long-ago disaster destroyed everything on the surface and filled the air with toxic chemicals.  This space underground is a huge silo, 144 floors deep.  Every once and a great while, someone breaks the law by saying they want to go outside. They are sent outside to Cleaning, an act in which they clean the sensors/cameras on the top of the silo (which give the upper levels a view of the bleak landscape outside) and summarily die from exposure (even in their cleaning suits).  One Cleaning sets a series of events into motion which bring the lies to the surface and the Silo to it’s knees.

Art by Jasper Scheurs

The dystopian idea of people left to survive underground indefinitely is a great sociological exercise. Howey uses this experiment to his advantage to explore how society and culture is constructed or created; how the pieces work together but eventually wear around the edges to create gaps.  What happens when the entire world is built on falsehoods? Who do you trust and how do you deal with the sudden confrontation of this altered world?

Character development in Wool is also very solid. You probably know by now, I’m big into strong, or at least realistic, female heroes.  Howey succeeds at this as well.  Jules is a wonderful character: strong, believable, and vulnerable in the right ways.  She is a born leader with clear morals and beliefs about building and maintaining her community. Her rise, fall, and dangerous adventures in the silo unite all the stories. Jules is the vehicle for change who is believable for her imperfections as well as her honorable actions.

In the end, go read this book. It may stand for a long time near the top of my favorite books.