If You Haven't Been to A Fan Run Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, You Are Missing Out!

My family thinks I go to the big commercial conventions that get a quick story on the TV news, but they are not the conventions I love and regularly attend. I go to conventions that are for the fans, run by the fans, and are joyous, inclusive, and multifaceted celebrations. 

What’s the difference? 

My science fiction and fantasy (SFF) conventions are not for profit. They are run by a team of amazing volunteers. They are not marketing or sales events. These conventions are usually much smaller, a few hundred to a few thousand people, and are held in a hotel, not a conference center. These conventions are local and connected to their cities, towns, and states. They feature a wide variety of activities instead of one or two big stages. They have panels, of course, but also music, art shows, gaming, films, exhibits, performances, food, costumes, activities for children, demonstrations, and a dealers room. These dealers rooms are smaller than the massive rows of merchandise at for-profit conventions, but they feature local small businesses, booksellers, authors, and craftspeople. 

Local conventions are focused on movies, television, games, and books! In fact, many local conventions are part of a network called the World Science Fiction Society that sponsors an annual World Science Fiction Convention (usually called Worldcon). This summer it is in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2025, it will be in Seattle, Washington. At Glasgow, the attendees will vote on where Worldcon will be in 2026! 

At Worldcon, in addition to all the activities above (and more), the annual Hugo Awards are given. This is the science fiction and fantasy community’s Oscar night; the awards given by the fan community. It is a splendid and spectacular event – and if you are part of Worldcon, you can vote! 

Community is one of the key features of a local not-for-profit convention. The larger events are done by professionals and used as marketing vehicles for studios and networks. Smaller, local conventions invite participation, conversation, and community. Newcomers are welcomed and become part of the family. Sure, you can purchase stuff, but the fandom community is the center of the celebration – not the selling or marketing of products. 

Do you enjoy reading or watching science fiction or fantasy? Do you want to discuss your ideas with others? Do you long not to be told that “you are the only one interested in that?” Then these conventions are for you. 

Oh, yeah, they are way less expensive than the cons that have to pay stars, rent huge exhibition halls, and advertise in the media. They are the best convention value around -and they might just change your life! 

I like going to an occasional Comic Con like C2E2 in Chicago or Wizards World or Creation’s Star Trek conventions. There is a place for both kinds of conventions. However, if I had to choose one, I would go to my local conventions without hesitation. My people are there. My friends are there. I am not merely an audience member, I am part of the family. I don’t spend my entire weekend sitting in a seat in a huge auditorium watching something far away. I go to panels about books, television shows, and topics like science, humor, music, and games. I wander through a wonderful art show and talk to strangers (who become con friends) and have a nosh at the con suite. I listen to poetry and singers at the café (and see others enjoy the coffee). I might learn about constructed languages and get a basic Klingon lesson. I reminisce about books, movies, and TV series that I cherished from long ago. I participate in book club discussions. 

Join us! There are local cons everywhere. I regularly attend the two Chicago area conventions: Windycon in November and Capricon in February. In July, I travel to Minneapolis for Convergence. I try to go to the Worldcon in the late summer. Come join the celebration! Come have those wonderful discussions you can only have with people who share your love for these special genres. And if you really like it – volunteer and make it even better! 

And if you see me, please come over and say, hello!

Reading for Treasure: Articles I Can't Stop Thinking About

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

My theme this month is articles that have taken up residence in my head, that I cannot stop thinking about. I strongly recommend you read them. Many of them will probably end up being the seeds of my own writing on this blog. 

Lifehacker contrasts two thinkers who have confronted evil: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Donald Ewen Cameron. The piece asks what is the difference between being evil and stupid: “Why Stupidity Is More Dangerous Than Evil.”

When I was first hired as a teacher, I told my department chairman that I wasn’t going to give grades. He said I had to, so I said I would give everyone A’s. He said that wasn’t going to work either. So, I tried to make the idea of grades fit with real student-centered education. These two pieces about how institutions of learning are rethinking grades are excellent discussions of this issue: KQED’s “Some colleges mull the idea of 'Ungrading' for freshman students” and Wired’s “The End of Grading.”

Similarly, I struggled with kids’ use of their smartphones in the classroom. I ended up hanging a shoe tree near the door and requiring my students to relinquish their phones during class. This also made taking attendance quick and easy. This wonderful article in The Atlantic looks at “The Schools That Ban Smartphones.” 

This quick article from The Daily Herald addresses a question I have been asking since I moved next door to the school at which I taught and my children attended: “It’s Good For Kids and the Environment. So Why Aren’t More Students Walking to School”

As a follow-up to several sets of articles about gun violence, The Chicago Tribune addressed a part of this issue that does not receive enough attention. While we hear about people killed and injured by shootings, we don’t hear about how those who are shot cope afterward: “Doctors: A firearm-related injury is a chronic and expensive condition, but many victims are forgotten.” 

Two very political articles from The Atlantic fascinated me. As a former debate teacher, the “Gish Gallop” technique that the former president uses is both effective and highly problematic. “How To Beat Trump in a Debate” is a great analysis of more than Trump’s rhetorical style, but the philosophy behind it. Similarly, “Why Fox News Lied to Its Viewers” looks at how ratings and pandering to the desires of an audience were more important than journalistic ethics on the Fox News Channel. Is there a connection here? 

Finally, two more articles from The Atlantic (can you tell that I am a huge fan of that magazine?) about reading. First, “The People Who Don’t Read Books” looks at some high-profile people who are proud that they don’t read. Second, “A New Way to Read ‘Gatsby’” was fascinating to me as I finished Nghi Vo’s magical spin on Fitzgerald’s classic, The Chosen and the Beautiful. Read them both and you will see why this book has staying power. 

Besides The Atlantic, I am reading Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel Delany. 

Reading Makes Us Better

Can you remember a book that really stayed with you? Can you remember reading something that shaped the way you saw the world and yourself? Can you point to a piece of writing that opened your eyes and transformed your vision? Some of us can, but I am willing to bet that more of us cannot.

For some of us, that book is a form of scripture. For some of us, it is a work of non-fiction or science fiction, or one of the classics we studied in school. However, I am willing to bet that the books that stick with us, the books we hold dear, are mixes between seeing ourselves in the text and seeing the world in a new light. 

I taught high school for thirty-three years. When I selected literature to teach or plays to direct, there were many criteria. Of course, the work had to be accessible and appropriate for the age and reading level of the students. That doesn’t rule much out. It would also be great if it was something that would hold my students’ attention. That rules almost everything out. 

The truth is, most kids are not readers. Most people are not, either. There are a beautiful group of students who read for pleasure, but most high school and middle school students read only some of what they are assigned. Some of those books stick with them. Most of them wash away before they even turn to the next chapter. 

Being a high school English teacher is challenging  - for this and other many reasons. 

So to maximize student engagement, make reading more appealing, and help students grow intellectually, I chose books that both reflected my students’ experiences and gave them insights into the world outside our little suburb. 

I should probably also note that I taught in an overwhelmingly white school. There were non-white students, but no more than a few in each of my classes. Unlike many schools in America, my school had a significant non-Christian population, primarily Jewish. But we are far from diverse. Most teachers were white. A few, like me, were Jewish, but most were Christian. 

I grew up in a similar nearby community. I went to a local college that was more diverse than my high school but still primarily white and Christian. I taught briefly in a very diverse middle school and then took the first high school job I was offered: back in an affluent white suburb. 

It is critical that students learn to see the world through another person’s perspective and be able to take another person’s point of view. It is a mark of maturation. Small children only see things their own way. That is one of the reasons why it is futile to argue with a toddler. 

Yet, my high school students often struggled to articulate multiple sides of an argument. They sometimes could not understand why someone would interpret literature differently than they did. They could only see the world their way. Thus, the critical role of reading and analyzing narratives. 

Stretching that perspective is powerful and sometimes challenging, difficult, and stressful. We talk about growing pains when our children’s bodies mature. Their minds and intellectual capabilities also grow. Just as their bodies can be damaged if they are not eating nutritious foods, their abilities to think critically, and see others’ perspectives must also be nurtured and supported. Some growth happens no matter what we do. Some growth won’t happen unless we water and cultivate the soil. 

Literature is a great vehicle to foster this kind of maturation. When a story is compelling and well written – and the reader is engaged – we are transported to another point of view. We see a new world and experience it from the inside out. We can’t claim that we didn’t know those words would hurt, the narrator both tells and shows us their effect. We get a kind of guided tour of other people, fictional, real, and shades in-between. We truly walk around inside another person for a while. It goes much further than, “How would you like it if they did that to you?” 

This is why some groups see certain books as dangerous. Books immerse the reader in the complexity of personhood. They complicate hate. They provide vicarious experiences and give them context. They are more powerful than any slogan or dogma. This is one reason why many religious figures taught using stories and parables. 

A professor with whom I studied said that human beings should be classified as homo narras because we are the creatures who tell stories. Telling stories, trying them on, living inside them, and learning their meanings and messages makes us better humans and makes us more humane. Movies, television, and other forms of stories can do this, too, but they lack the inner voice, without the perspective and feeling from our point-of-view character, they will never be able to reach our hearts and minds like a good book! 

This is why reading stories, whether they are children’s books, fiction, biography, scripture, or other forms of written narrative, helps to develop us into more empathetic and mature people. It is certainly not the only way to foster these critical skills, but it is a tool we must promote and protect!

Reading for Treasure: Books for the Holidays!

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

I love books! For people like me, the best holiday gift is a book – or a book recommendation! One of the things I love about holiday travels is having the time to sit down and read, read, read. Of course, this is also one of the best things about being retired! 

Although I read all sorts of literature, my go-to genre is science fiction. However, I read just about everything. So here is a long list of book lists. A few of these are focused generally and most are of science fiction, fantasy, and genre fiction. 

Don’t know what that book lover in your life might want to read? Look at these lists and descriptions and then head to your nearest indy bookstore or library. Feel free to make some recommendations in the comments! 

Literary Hub presents “Our 38 Favorite Books of 2022”

I know it is a little old, but I don’t know the difference between a holiday read and a summer read? “WIRED’s Picks for the 15 Books You Need to Read This Summer”

Lifehacker focuses on  “10 of the Most Banned Books (and What We Can Learn From Them)”

“The Greatest Sci-Fi Authors Of All Time, According To Ranker” - Screenrant

“50 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time - What Is The Best Science Fiction Book Ever Written?” - Esquire

“The Most Influential Sci-Fi Books Of All Time” - Book Riot

“100 Speculative Fiction Titles to Add to Your Reading List”-  tor.com

NPR did a really cool survey: “We Asked, You Answered: Your 50 Favorite Sci-Fi And Fantasy Books Of The Past Decade” 

“2022 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists”

“2021 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners” – Locus Online

“Here’s the shortlist for the first Ursula K. Le Guin Fiction Prize”  -  Literary Hub

“Nebula Award finalists and winners” Science Fiction Awards Database 

2022 Hugo finalists and winners

2022 World Fantasy Award nominees and winners- tor.com

I am reading Noor By Nnedi Okorafor  

Reading For Treasure: Education Issues

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

Earlier this month, I spent two days back at school working with teachers and librarians and talking to kids about books. It was wonderful, rejuvenating, and exhausting! One of the reasons I started this list of articles was I didn’t want to keep sending my not-yet-retired colleagues articles that I thought they would find interesting or useful. So I post them here instead. My mind is on all the different aspects of education: grading, social and emotional health, classroom practices, athletics, safety, and many other topics. Since my list is long this month, I am limiting myself to a very short description of each article.  

First, some articles that focus on teaching and the teacher experience: 

“I No Longer Grade My Students’ Work — And I Wish I Had Stopped Sooner” in Blavity. “I’ve been teaching college English for more than 30 years. Four years ago, I stopped putting grades on written work, and it has transformed my teaching and my students’ learning. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.” 

“The Case Against Zeros in Grading” in Edutopia. I am shocked that some teachers still need to hear this argument. This article and the accompanying video make it clear: zeros demotivate students and count more than their successes! 

“Why So Many Teachers Are Leaving, and Why Others Stay” in Cult of Pedagogy.. Jennifer Gonzalez shares eight teachers’ stories: four who are leaving and four who are not. These are critically important voices that need to be heard.  

“Stress, Hypervigilance, and Decision Fatigue: Teaching During Omicron And, no, “self care” isn’t the answer” in Education Week. Katy Faber paints a vivid picture of what it is like to teach during this difficult time in America. 

"Why is America the Only Country in the World With Regular School Shootings?" in Eudaimonia and Co via Medium. Umair Haque has gone to school all over the world and shares how American schools are horribly unique. The issues we are having are not functions of adolescent development but of American culture. 

"Pandemic Shadow Syllabus" in Sonya Hubor's blog. This is a short and wonderful teacher struggling with the pandemic point of view piece. Teachers – if you read only one of these, let it be this one. 

A few articles that deal with education’s social context: 

“Young people need power.' Southern students on safety, accountability, and what they need from adults” in Scalawag.  This is a series of statements from young people about what it is like to be in school now. Read what the kids say about their experiences! 

"Is Your Child Too Popular for Their Own Good?" in Lifehaker. While some parents are clueless and others are ruthless, there are many kinds of popular in school and this article explores what some studies say about how popularity in middle and high school translates into adulthood. 

“OP-ED: When It Comes To Book Bans, America Could Learn From Apartheid South Africa” in NewsOne. The comparison is eerie and frightening – and right on the money: book challenges in America today are frighteningly similar to those in South Africa during Apartheid. 

Two pieces that focus on equity in college admissions from The Atlantic: 

"College Admissions Are Still Unfair" Colleges are eliminating legacy admissions, but this will not make things much better. At Amherst, there is a greater percentage of white athletes than in the general student body – and many play sports like crew and squash. Sounds like white affirmative action to me. 

"Colleges Can Fix the Broken Admissions Process They Created" This is a great list of ways colleges could improve the admission process to benefit everyone! 

Two very different focuses on kids and youth sports: 

“Do youth sports really build character? What kids gain from sports depends on adults”  in KQED Mindshift. The benefits of sports participation for kids are entirely dependent on coaches and contexts. This article spells out clearly the nature of adult’s influence, for better or worse, on children. 

“Guys, I Swear I’m Only Transitioning So I Can Cheat at Girls’ Sports” in McSweeny's. This older McSweeny’s satire makes the point well: the controversy over trans students in sports is an invented issue that fans the flames of hate at the expense of kids who really need to be part of the team!  

I am currently reading House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds 

Reading for Treasure: Banned, Burnt, Beautiful Books

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

Too many people want to control the books that are taught in classrooms or available in libraries. I saw a meme that read, “If you’re afraid that books might change someone’s thinking, you’re not afraid of books, you’re afraid of thinking.” While these challenges may also be attempts to prevent children from learning about specific issues, that is not their main objective. There is no doubt that the rise in book challenges and restrictive legislation is not about learning, protecting children, age-appropriate texts, or making kids uncomfortable. Children can find these books and ideas so easily. Banning books is political, manipulative, and a dangerous attack on our open and free society. Here are some articles about the issue, the politics, and the books. 

What do we know about banning books? Here is a list of articles from Literary Hub to help you learn about the history, purpose, and politics of trying to censor literature. “Recommended Reading for Banned Book Week.” 

In a second Literary Hub article, Deborah Applebaum explores ways that teachers can approach controversial or challenged texts in the classroom and make the questions about them part of the lesson: “Teaching Literature in the New Culture Wars: Some Alternative Approaches.” 

In this fascinating NewsOne Op-ed, Helen Kapstein compares the techniques and purposes of censorship in Aparthaid South Africa to what is happening in the United States now: “When It Comes To Book Bans America Could Learn From Apartheid South Africa.”

Clarence Page, of the Chicago Tribune, writes about his love of banned books: “Here’s why I celebrate banned books.”

Are you surprised I have a third article from Literary Hub on this topic? This spot-on article addressed a key issue: “The Purpose of Book Bans Is to Make Queer Kids Scared.” There is no doubt that challenges to books that deal with BIOPOC and LGBTQ+ topics are a form of bullying. It is designed to further marginalize these communities.

A high school student in California, Sungjoo Yoon, writes about how her liberal community banned books and why she opposed it in this New York Times Op-ed: “I’m a High School Junior. Let’s Talk About ‘Huckleberry Finn’ and ‘Mockingbird.’”

Finally, not exactly banned books, but books that explore the restrictions on woman’s reproductive rights. This article from CNN has some great titles on it, “6 books beyond 'The Handmaid's Tale' that explore the loss of reproductive rights.”

I am currently reading War for the Oaks by Emma Bull. 

Thank Goodness for Teachers!

The school year is starting. Some of us welcome the “back to school” sales, while others see them as the death knell of summer’s freedom. And even though they are not paid during the summer, schoolteachers have spent an unfair and disproportionate part of it getting ready to receive our children. 

Professors, teachers, and especially public school faculty have become political punching bags recently. Not only is it disgusting and unfair, but it is also sharper than a serpent’s tooth! Public schoolteachers are the masons of success and, as we continue to learn from the pandemic, the foundation of our economy. When the schools stopped, the great machinery of business and industry stalled and sputtered. 

So let us give thanks for those wonderful souls who teach our children. Let us give thanks to those who have earned enough education to join the upwardly mobile and the moneyed upper middle classes, but eschew just earning a living and instead choose a vocation of giving. 

Let’s face it; those who teach could have been bankers, lawyers, doctors, scientists, artists, and all manner of professionals. Instead, they chose service to the children and our communities. They deserve our gratitude – and support! 

Get off their backs! If you don’t like the book, read your child another one. If you don’t like the ideas, discuss your beliefs with your children. While what happens in school certainly shapes children, it pales compared to what happens at home. If what you, as parents, are teaching your children can be so easily washed away by school lessons or activities, that speaks to what is going on at home far more than what is happening in the classroom. 

Consider this: teachers receive and welcome your children, even on the days when things have not gone well, even on the days when your kids were upset with you or you with them, even when you thought that maybe this whole parenting thing was a big mistake, even on the days when your children wondered if you still loved them. To whom did they turn? Their teachers. And their teachers reassured and supported them. You’re welcome. 

I have been concerned about using the term love here because it has been dirtied and maligned by those who cheat on their spouses, swindle their customers, lie to their constituents, and then tell you that you can’t trust teachers. It has been sexualized by those who pay hush money to sex workers and similarly would silence teachers who want to help our children make this a safer and saner society –for our kids and all of us. 

Because, like good parents, teachers love our children. They sacrifice for our children. They are not perfect. Like parents, they range from stellar to so-so. Like politicians, they make mistakes, even in service of larger goals. Yet, like good shepherds, they lead our children to find nourishment, comfort, community, and enlightenment. 

Stop beating up teachers and start extolling and exalting them. They hold our country together. They love our children even when we falter. 

And frankly, some of your children have questions they are afraid to ask you. Some of your children are curious about the books you have stolen from the library and destroyed. They want to talk to you about the concepts you want teachers to hide from them. Banning these ideas from the classroom will not prevent this exploration. It will not stop kids from thinking. It will change their view of their parents.  

Do you want your children to realize that, sometimes, their teachers have their best interests at heart even when their parents are silent and afraid? Thank goodness their teachers are there even when their parents want to shut down the conversation. In the age of the internet, banning books and forbidding discussion will never stop the ideas. Teachers know this. Some folks fear this. There is no stopping it. 

Teachers are the support structure and safety net of our society. As we send our children back to the classrooms, let us be grateful. 

Time Enough for Heinlein

There are books that we treasure. There are books that live in our minds. There are books that shape our identities. For me, the writing of Robert A. Heinlein, but especially Time Enough for Love and Stranger in a Strange Land were formative reads. I read them as a high school student and, time and again, I keep coming back to them. 

I have reread Stranger several times since high school, but recently, I reread Time Enough for Love for the first time in decades. I had forgotten about the novel’s almost uncomfortable exploration of love taboos. What I remembered strongly were two other aspects of the novel: The character and wisdom of the main character, Lazarus Long, and his wonderful list of aphorisms in his “notebooks.” 

I have quoted these aphorisms from memory ever since. I have posted them on my dorm room door in college and used them as sample belief statements in my Sunday school class. One, in particular, formed the basis of final exam essay question, and another has justified adjourning congregational committee meetings for more than two decades! I will list some of these wonderful, wise, and clever statements a little later. 

Time Enough For Love argues that, “The more you love, the more you can love — and the more intensely you love. Nor is there any limit on how many you can love. If a person had time enough, he could love all of that majority who are decent and just.”

That majority includes everyone – and this book explores that in-depth. Everyone means that you could love, passionately and sexually, the people our society says you can only love in a platonic non-physical way: your family! I had forgotten how this novel took the idea that long-lived people might eventually fall in “Eros” love with their children, siblings, and parents. In fact, Heinlein’s lengthy and obsessive exploration of our main character’s affair with his own mother was at times both excruciating and cringe-worthy. It made the point – and then kept making it. 

What stuck with me as a teenager was not the incestual nature of the book, but the wisdom the oldest man alive shared. His thoughts about love, for sure, but also about religion, politics, and plain old not-so-common sense. 

So here are only a few of the wonderful aphorisms from “The Notebooks of Lazarus Long.” 

Heinlein was clearly a religious skeptic, another point that would have made this book a winner for teenaged (and later) me: 

“History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.”

“God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent-it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks, please. Cash and in small bills.”

“The most preposterous notion that H. Sapiens has ever dreamed up is that the Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of all the Universes, wants the saccharine adoration of His creatures, can be swayed by their prayers, and becomes petulant if He does not receive this flattery. Yet this absurd fantasy, without a shred of evidence to bolster it, pays all the expenses of the oldest, largest, and least productive industry in all of history.”

“Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other sins are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is not sinful - just stupid.)”

Several of Lazarus Long’s statements might be commentary on today’s political issues: 

“What are the facts? Again and again and again-what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what “the stars foretell,” avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable “verdict of history”--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!”

“Does history record any case in which the majority was right?”

“A generation which ignores history has no past—and no future.”

“The two highest achievements of the human mind are the twin concepts of “loyalty” and “duty.” Whenever these twin concepts fall into disrepute--get out of there fast. You may possibly save yourself, but it is too late to save that society. It is doomed.”

“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity!”

Most of the wonderful aphorisms are just plain good advice:

“Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks.”

“Yield to temptation, it may not pass your way again.”

“If you don’t like yourself, you can’t like other people.”

“A motion to adjourn is always in order.”

“Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy.”

“Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget; awareness of debt eats up domestic felicity.”

“Another ingredient for a happy marriage: Budget the luxuries first!”

“To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of the ability to unlearn old falsehoods.”

“Money is truthful. If a man speaks of his honor, make him pay cash.”

“Anything free is worth what you pay for it.”

“Pessimist by policy, optimist by temperament--it is possible to be both. How? By never taking an unnecessary chance and by minimizing risks you can’t avoid. This permits you to play the game happily, untroubled by the certainty of the outcome.”

There is no doubt that some of Heinlein’s writing has not aged well. Many of his ideas were chauvinistic and sexist. His portrayal of women is deeply problematic. Yet, unlike some of the other important writers of the golden age of science fiction, his work is still engagingly readable and shockingly relevant. 

That may be why, once I finish reading the Hugo nominees, I am going to read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls! 

Reading for Treasure: June is the Start of Summer Reading

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

Summer is an opportunity to pick up good books and read, read, read! June is important for many reasons. Now that I am retired, I love having more time to read all sorts of things. Here is a list of articles about books and reading and a few lists of titles you might want to pick up. 

Should the character or views of an author influence our reading choices? Some of my friends will not read books by certain writers because of these writers’ behavior and political involvement. I must say that The Color Purple was one of those few books I read in one sitting. I was dismayed to learn about the author’s anti-Semitism and even more about how the New Yorker treated it differently than another author’s racism: “What The New Yorker Didn’t Say About a Famous Writer’s Anti-Semitism”

I am so glad that I am not the only person who thinks that giving graduates the Dr. Seuss book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go is problematic. Please take a look at the Chicago Tribune opinion piece, “Time to Turn the Page on Children’s Books as Graduation Gifts.”

Two wonderful pieces about reading from The Atlantic.  We have all had books that stuck with us, moved us, and shaped us. For Lauren LeBlanc, that book was I Never Promised You A Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg. In her article, “The Book That Said the Words I Couldn’t Say,” Ms. LeBlanc talks about the power of this book and the power of reading. Secondly, here is a snarky fun piece from last summer, “Please Don’t Read at the Beach.” 

I am volunteering with Chicon 8: The 80th World Science Fiction Convention coming to downtown Chicago Labor Day Weekend. So I thought it would be fun to think about books set in Chicago. Better yet, you can use this site, recommended by this Lifehacker article to find books set in any location: “This Site Helps You Find Books Set Where You Live.”

Juneteeth comes in June, so here are two Juneteenth reading lists: one from NewsOne and another from Facing History. 

June is Pride Month. Here is a list of the finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards. CNN provided a useful article for LGBTQ+ reading for younger readers: “A guide to LGBTQ summer reading for kids and teens -- from authors themselves.” 

Two good articles from Lit Hub. First, their choices for summery summer reading: “Our 15 Favorite Summery Novels for Summer Reading” as well as their “The Ultimate Summer 2022 Reading List.”

Of course, we must have some genre summer reads! Here are some recent genre award finalists and winners: 

The shortlist for the Nommo Awards, given annually by the African Speculative Fiction Society

The Nebula Winners from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA): 

The fan’s choice: the Hugo finalists! The winners will be announced at Chicon 8: The World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago! 

The books honored by Locus Magazine: Locus Top Ten Finalists

I am currently rereading Time Enough For Love by Robert Heinlein 

Reading for Treasure: Looking for a Book to Read?

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

What book should I read? I often use award nominees and journalist recommendations as a way to find good books. So here several lists of books you could read. Many, but not all, are genre lists (my favorite catagory). Many, but not all, come from Tor.com (which is a great source for genre-based information). 

Of course, you could also look at my list of favorite books, but most of these lists are of books written more recently. 

The Hugo Awards are nominated and voted on by the science fiction and fantasy fans through the World Science Fiction Convention. I have found Hugo nominees to be one of the best sources of new authors and works to read. 

The Atlantic has a variety of book lists. Here is their summer reading list. 

The Nebula Awards are given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. These are the awards given by  (and to) the writers themselves. 

The African Speculative Fiction Society’s Nommo Awards recognizes science fiction, fantasy, and horror authors and editors who are “part of the African diaspora.” This is their long list. 

Locus Magazine focuses on the profession of science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing. They have their own awards and provide a very inclusive reading list of books written each year. These lists are wonderful shopping lists for your next book! 

President Obama is a voracious reader. Here is what he recommends. 

Here are the nominees for the World Fantasy Awards. 

The LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize “honors and extends Bradbury’s literary legacy by celebrating and elevating the writers working in his field today.” And, of course, Bradbury is from Waukegan, Illinois! 

The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society along with the Phillip K. Dick Trust give the Philip K. Dick Award to ““distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States during the previous calendar year…” This article lists the nominees. 

Finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards which are for the best LGBTQ science fiction, fantasy, and horror literature. 

The Shirley Jackson Awards are for  “outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic…”

NPR published this article on "Your 50 Favorite Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade" on the same day I published this list!  

Of course, there are many other awards - and awards in many genres! There’s a lot to choose from! Pick one and READ! 

I am currently reading Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark 

Reading For Treasure: Hey, Educators! Read This!

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

While I was teaching, my colleagues and I would send articles to each other about things related to parts of our personal and professional lives. When I retired, I continued to find these reading gems (call them treasures), but I didn’t want to be that voice from beyond that keeps assigning busy working folks more things to read! That is one of the reasons I started posting Reading for Treasure. 

Yet, I’ve been finding wonderful things I want to send my friends who are still in the classroom. Some of them are for a broad educational audience and some are extremely narrow. I have lost track of the number of times a week (or a day) that I think to myself, “Oh! I know what I would do with that in the classroom!” So here are a few pieces of summer reading about education for anyone interested! 

KQED Mindshift shared an article reprinted from Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education that expresses one of my core teaching tenets: every student should feel that they are the teacher’s secret favorite. Teachers, please read this. New and pre-service teachers, you must read this!  “How Unconditional Positive Regard Can Help Students Feel Cared For”

KQED Mindshift also republished an NPR article titled,  “Colorado Becomes 1st State To Ban Legacy College Admissions.” When we discuss affirmative action, can we also discuss legacy admissions, elite sports, and other ways that the college admission game is not based on students’ merit and is rigged in favor of affluent mostly white students? One of the pandemic side effects has been this kind of shaking up of college admissions! 

Speaking of ways that affluent, usually white, students get advantages in education, can we talk about private education? The Atlantic’s cover makes the statement, “Private Schools are Indefensible.” This highly detailed and very powerful piece argues that private schools not only give students a leg up, but they also have a detrimental effect on everyone! The actual title of the article is “Private Schools Have Become Truly Obscene.” 

This past year was not easy for teachers, students, parents, or anyone connected to schools (or anyone in general). So the argument that many classrooms were only just getting by before schools closed feels harsh. However, the pandemic pushed these teetering teachers over the edge. Jennifer Gonzales, writing in Cult of Pedagogy, asks teachers not to hit the “easy button.” “No More Easy Button: A Suggested Approach to Post-Pandemic Teaching” makes highly specific recommendations about what school should look like next year. I would argue that Ms. Gonzales’ suggestions are just what school should look like – always. 

I love Math With Bad Drawings. If you haven’t looked at that blog, please do. It is magnificent. In this satiric entry, “Kafka Explains Math Education,” Ben Orlin is specifically talking about math education but his points apply to many (if not all) subject areas. He even uses real Kafka quotes!   

American Lit teachers, look at this! A new book takes a magical new look at The Great Gatsby. It focuses on Jordan Baker, who in this telling is a Vietnamese adoptee who was raised by a wealthy white woman. She is also queer! Read the review from Tor.com:  “A Greater Gatsby: The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo”

I am currently reading Think Again by Adam Grant

Computer Wimp Forever!

I started saving for my first computer when I was a freshman in high school in 1978. My friend introduced me to playing simple Star Trek games on the school VAX. He taught me BASIC so we could go to our local Radio Shack and torture the salesmen by programming infinite loops into the TRS (we called them trash)-80s. 

I was hooked. When my school purchased Apple IIe computers, I started playing with simple programs to create animations and do simple data processing. I wanted one of these! 

By the time I got to college, I was still saving for my own computer. No one in my dorm had a personal computer. My first programming courses made me use cards and sent me to the sub-basement of the tech building to run them. I knew there were other approaches. 

Finally, a friend gave me the first issue of MacWorld and suggested that, instead of an Apple IIe, I might want to buy the brand new Macintosh. Almost simultaneously, our college made an agreement with Apple and student prices for the tiny personal computer made it time to spend my savings. Of course, there was an eight-month wait. I plunked down my savings and bought my first Mac in 1984! 

In some ways, I was quite different than who I am today. However, my desire to research the hell out of everything was already in place before I turned twenty. So even before I had my computer, I was reading books about personal computing, programs (not yet called “applications”), and the still infant concept of communicating with other computers via a telephonic connection called a modem. 

My favorite guide and the book that became my bible was called Computer Wimp by John Bear. The subtitle was “166 things I wish I had known before I bought my first COMPUTER!” I would quote Dr. Bear to my parents, friends, and family when they questioned me about this “computer business.” 

Bear introduced me to the idea of buying a computer based on the software rather than the hardware. He talked me out of my “but wait” paralysis that some better and cheaper computer or program would appear on the market as soon as I purchased something. 

Bear’s writing style was accessible and his tone was light. The book didn’t take the heavy technical approach that many people used when they learned the amount of money and time I was spending on my computer. 

Computer Wimp made me a backup fanatic. This lesson has saved me, my grade, my work, my class, my students, and my sanity. I became a back-up-alholic! Recently, my computer crashed and my multilayered backups made the recovery nearly painless! 

More than the list of lessons, the book suggested that computers were not going to be the exclusive domain of engineers. Communications majors like me could make good use of them. Bear didn’t get everything exactly right. He thought that, “The free standing computer may fade away as small computers are built into various household tools and appliances.” He was partly correct. He didn’t predict the rise of the Internet, but he gave me the tools to find it myself. 

Computer Wimp was my starting point. It was the beginning of a lifelong computer connection. My little Mac followed me through college. By the time I got to senior year, I had an account on both Compuserve and America Online. One winter break, I blew the lid off my roommates’ and my phone bill with all of my online time. Going online at that time meant tying up the phone line and being charged by the phone company by the minute. It was easy to overspend. Who knew that I’d spend so much discussing Star Trek with people all over the world! 

I became a personal computer person. I became the computer wimp! I upgraded that old Mac and moved on to the MacPlus and to a PowerBook (which I still have), eMacs, iMacs, Macbooks, and Macbook Airs. I have used other types of personal computers both at home and at school, but I have found PCs (I call them pieces of c) far less human-friendly to this computer wimp than my Macs. 

Computer Wimp introduced me to the questions, issues, and attitudes that have shaped me as a computer user. Although I did not become an engineer or programmer (yet), my computers have been an integral piece of my teaching and my life. I can’t imagine working without them. 

Call me a nerd, a geek, or some other fine term of endearment, my love for computers can be traced back to my dear high school friend’s intervention and the wonderful writing of John Bear. I will forever be a computer wimp!

Reading for Treasure: Fighting Racism

This is a longer than usual Reading for Treasure entry due to recent events. I have been reading, researching, and reflecting on how White people like me can fight racism beyond posting on social media. I am listening, learning, and taking action – and I want to do so in a way that really helps. Here are links to articles, resources, and lists that may help anyone, but especially White people, find productive ways to join the fight.

 

 

A great place to start might be with “Dear White People This is What We Want You to Do.” This blog post is a clear do and don’t list along with some great links including this link to a much more complete resource and reading list than this one.

 

If you want many options, this list article from Medium may help. Don’t be overwhelmed.  The title is clear: “75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice.” I first encountered it when it was far fewer items. The suggestions are excellent. Take it in bite-size pieces and use it as a springboard for action.

 

Similarly, “26 Ways to be in the Struggle Beyond the Streets” gives some clear suggestions that are different but complementary to the Medium list above.

 

“Dear White People: Do Something” is a blog post on #Morethan:a movement. It is a short and very clear discussion about why you should go beyond an empathetic response and do something, even if it is a small step forward.

 

This column from the Chicago Tribune called “White America, if you want to know who’s responsible for racism, look in the mirror,” lays this squarely at the feet of White people. It is a powerful indictment and one that you must read before you react defensively.

 

Although it is aimed at White women, this blog post talks about the language we use to respond to issues of race. “5 Racist Anti-Racist Responses “Good” White Women Give to Viral Posts” looks at statements people make online, why people might make them, why they are problematic, and provides some alternatives.

 

Kareen Abdul-Jabbar’s OpEd piece in the Los Angeles Times is a highly articulate framing of the protests, the violence, and the background. Please read it.

 

Lifehacker has a few short pieces that deal specifically with protesting: First, “How To Support the Protests if You Can’t Attend.” They have advice about “What to Do If You’ve Been Pepper Sprayed” and “The Phone Settings You Need to Know Before Protesting.”   They also published a succinct article entitled, “How to Fight for Justice for George Floyd.” It lists four clear ways you can do more than just watch the news. Finally, they have a great list of “Where to Donate to Help People Fighting for Racial Justice.”

 

Although my children are older, it is critical that White people have conversations about race with their children. Here is a list of “27 Books to Help You Talk to Your Kids About Racism” that was posted on social media by a librarian. Most of the books fall into the elementary or early middle school age range, but these books can be fantastic conversation starters with anyone.

 

Commonsense Media has a broader piece about “How White Parents Can Use Media to Raise Anti-Racist Kids” that would complement the list of books above.  

 

Finally, if you are buying books, why not support a Black-owned bookstore. Here is a list of the “Black Owned Bookstores in the United States” with links, addresses, and contact information.

 

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction.  

 

I am currently reading The Deep by River Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Huston, and Jonathan Snipes.

Reading for Treasure: The Hugo Awards!

 

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction! 

 

Looking for something fun to read, but not ready to start a long book? This month’s Reading For Treasure has some award-nominated short fiction that is outstanding and free!

 

The Hugo nominations were announced last month. The Hugos are the fan nominated and selected awards for science fiction, fantasy, and related genres. To learn more about the Hugos, click here. Fans who are attending or supporting the World Science Fiction convention each summer may nominate and vote for these awards. I try to do this every year, even if I am not traveling to the actual convention. This year, the convention, which was going to be hosted in Wellington, New Zealand, has gone virtual. So you won’t have to travel to participate – or vote for the Hugos!

 

The Hugos have many categories. Here is the official list of all the nominees. Since there were no science fiction conventions during World War II, many worldcons also have RetroHugo awards for a year in which the awards were not given. This year, the RetroHugos are for 1945. Here is the list of Retro nominees.

 

If you register and become a member of the convention (either supporting or attending), not only can you vote for the Hugos, you can also download a reading packet with many of the nominated works in it. Click here to become a member; an attending membership will allow you full access to the online convention. A supporting membership means you will receive all the updates and publications (including the reading packet), be able to vote for the Hugos and the site selection of the 2022 World Science Fiction Convention.

 

However, you can read many of the nominated works without doing anything! Here is a list of nominated short stories and novelettes that are only a click away. Since all of the short story nominees are available online, if you read them all, let me know which you think should win. I am voting!

 

Short Stories:

 

·       “And Now His Lordship Is Laughing” by Shiv Ramdas

·        “As the Last I May Know” by S.L. Huang

·       “Blood Is Another Word for Hunger” by Rivers Solomon

·       “A Catalog of Storms” by Fran Wilde

·       “Do Not Look Back, My Lion” by Alix E. Harrow

·       “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island” by Nibedita Sen

 

Novelettes:

 

·       “The Archronology of Love” by Caroline M. Yoachim

·       “Away With the Wolves” by Sarah Gailey

·       “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye” by Sarah Pinsker

·       Emergency Skin, by N.K. Jemisin  (you have to be a Prime member to read the whole story).

·       “For He Can Creep”, by Siobhan Carroll

·       “Omphalos”, by Ted Chiang  - this one is not available for free

 

 

I am currently reading the Hugo nominated short fiction (short stories, novelettes, and novellas).

 

 

Reading For Treasure: Thinking about Learning

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

Stop Trying to Raise Successful Kids: Kids learn more from what we do and how we behave than what we say. This article from The Atlantic argues that kids know that, although parents say they want their kids to be kind and caring, achievement and happiness is far more important – but in ways you might find surprising, kindness will serve them better in the long run.

I was a Low-Income College Student. Classes Weren’t The Hard Part: Professor Jack of the Harvard Graduate School of Education shares his powerful experiences about being a low-income first generation college student. It is clear from both his story and his experiences as a college professor that our university system neither understands nor adapts to this important population.

How Revising Math Exams Turns Students Into Learners, Not Processors: Thinking about our thinking is metacognition. It is not enough to just solve the problem, we want students to really understand the process and think behind problem-solving. This article from MindShift talks about how a math teacher upended her teaching based on the ideas from writing revision. Math teachers, what do you think of this?

New Study Finds Gifted Programs Favor Wealth Over Ability: There are more wealthy students in gifted programs? Really? I don’t think any of us are surprised. Here is the opening line from this article, “A new study confirms that lower-income elementary students are far less likely than their wealthier counterparts to be placed in gifted programs. That’s even when those students go to the same school and display the same levels of academic achievement.”

Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers: The Atlantic’s article focuses on what parents can do to help their children develop a true love of reading and not merely see it like eating their veggies.

I am currently reading Brand by Henrik Ibsen.