2010 Reading #55: Two or Three Things I Know for Sure

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
51. Kitty Pryde: Shadow & Flame by Akira Yoshida and Paul Smith.
52. Best Short Novels 2006, Edited by Jonathan Strahan.
53. All Star Superman Volumes One and Two by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant.
54. Fearless Jones by Walter Mosley.

55. Two or Three Things I Know for Sure by Dorothy Allison. Lyrical, circular autobiographical sketch of the author and her family. This is brief enough to be a long essay, really, but it packs a fair wallop. I definitely recognized a literary kinship here between Allison (whom I have not read before, alas) and Nicola Griffith, one of my favorite writers. Sometimes raw, but at times a bit distant.

2010 Reading #56: Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
51. Kitty Pryde: Shadow & Flame by Akira Yoshida and Paul Smith.
52. Best Short Novels 2006, Edited by Jonathan Strahan.
53. All Star Superman Volumes One and Two by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant.
54. Fearless Jones by Walter Mosley.
55. Two or Three Things I Know for Sure by Dorothy Allison.

56. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor. A speculative novel about a post-apocalyptic Africa (specifically the Sudan) that is really about present-day Africa, and more by extension. Okorafor confronts issues of genocide, female genital mutilation, and gender attitudes with a perfectly measured mix of rage and empathy; at the same time, she writes about magic and wizardry with a deftness rare outside of, say, Le Guin's Earthsea books. This is a smart, frank, and engaging novel, and an important one too, although I hasten to say that it never feels self-important. Highly, highly recommended.

"The Somnambulist" Live at PodCastle

My first audio treatment, in fact. Check it out here.

ETA: Having just listened to it, I need to add in a mention for Elizabeth Green Musselmen's reading. Something about the way she reads the story makes me like it even more than I did before!