@collex: Hi. I'm neither a man, nor your buddy (and the contraction you were looking for is "you're"). I do find the question of the use of the term "trope," which seems to be evolving, an interesting one and I learned from the conversation in these comments. I thought your response, however, was jerkish,…

@Ozzieball: Yeah. I think they're more common themes than they are tropes. Tropes tend to indicate an element of cliche and lazy thinking.

I'm looking forward to your Shteyngart review. I finished the book last weekend, and I thought it was very very good (his best to date). I had quibbles with some things, though, and am curious what others liked/disliked and why.

@Poodle_Heart: Evidently. Who knew?

@taosaur: right. because issues that pertain to half the population (more if you recognize that gender is other than binary) have no relevance to how society responds to change. I would argue that gender issues need to be part of most science fiction—I marvel at how much is written that imagines our society…

@Annalee Newitz: I would totally arm myself with that and head to the library (first) and bookstore (second, to get what the library lacked)

@old88: Hmm. I count 24 books. I count 9 female authors (I could be off on my count, but not too far). Maybe 6 texts I might read as feminist (not all by women), and only two that take it as their primary focus. I suppose 3-4 dealing expressly with gender roles/themes (depending on how you code Dhalgren). No…

An excellent list. It has got me trying to remember what my undergraduate Science Fiction in Literature syllabus had been. But that's hard to do, since it was nearly two decades ago and I get the books we read for the class confused with those I borrowed from others in the class and books I think should have been…

Wow, Gibson's agent/publisher sure has him hopping. I think the U.S. release of Monsters of Men is Sept 28, too. At least that's what the nice man at the bookstore told me last weekend.

Short and very very sweet. Thanks, Annalee

@Therru: I'm guessing you've read "The Day Before the Revolution" Sniff.

@Oxygengrrl: oh, also, have now reread Delany's essay. I agree with him that some of the gender discussion is problematical and has always rubbed me the wrong way, reflective of Le Guin still not having figured some of this stuff out. Agree that's bad. I think Le Guin would agree it's bad, too.

I loved the Dispossessed. Like other commenters, I had trouble with the Left Hand of Darkness the first time I read it (though it got better as I got older), and was bored to guilty tears by Always Coming Home (cassette tape included). But I must have been in my early teens when I read The Dispossessed (so it would…

I don't generally like graphic novelizations of pre-existing novels (except when done as satire—saw a great Anna Karenina once), but this looks very well done. A genuine homage.

@Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H.: What man?

@lorq: Yes. This. We eat, read, write, sleep, talk, and live in a political world. Accept.

@RizzRustbolt: Well, of course you eliminate some of the worst, too. But you know, if you eliminate books whose titles start with A, you also eliminate some best and some worst.

Fluevog! They're not cheap, but they do go on sale, and they combine cool with comfort like no one else. Plus, while they have pretty pretty heels, they also have fantastic work-appropriate flats.

If you eliminate politics, you eliminate some of the best fiction (and science fiction) out there. I think the key is not to preach or appear to preach. This is often, but not always, about subtlety, and it's always about good writing. When in doubt, give it to others to read and ask them.

Katniss is just a fantastic literary creation. Her character is realistic in the context of a difficult, overly-responsible childhood, and her instinct for rebellion is rooted in that inherent sense of justice sometimes found in those who grow up in the least just societies. She’s also the very rare fictional…