Welcome to Litsy!

I'm trying out the #BookSpin for the first time in June! The named books are ones I own or am borrowing and have not read yet. I'm also trying to read more internationally, so for the “Country“ options - if picked, I'm going to try to read a book written by an author living in a country that matches the first letter.

This was an outstanding collection of short stories. A mix of historical fiction, magical realism, speculative fiction and sci-fi. The overarching themes include: colonialism, racism and human need to evolve. I absolutely loved it and took a long time to read to savor each story. My favorites are:

The Paper Menagerie, The Perfect Match, The Literomancer, Simulacrum, All the Flavors & The Waves. ⬇️

The biggest thing that stands out to me about this collection is how varied the stories are. There's fantasy/sci-fi, alternate history, crime drama, Old West, and sometimes all of that mixed together. Listening to this on audiobook, I sometimes had to backtrack when a new story began so I could get my bearings, especially on the alternate histories. Favorites are probably the title story, "State Change," "Good Hunting," and "All the Flavors."

#pop22 #hugoawardwinner @Cinfhen @Abailliekaras @Kalalalatja @Cortg @KarenUK @Megabooks @RaeLovesToRead @squirrelbrain @Laughterhp

I think this would be a good intro to Ken Liu's work if you were unsure whether you'd like him or not.

Thanks @Leniverse for sending it me in the #speculativespringswap!

#squirrelquotes @squirrelbrain

(Context: the girls are prostitutes).

#readingretreat @CGainor3 @julesG @RaeLovesToRead @Mitch @scripturient @Susanita @rockpools @TrishB @Leniverse @Oryx

Thank you @Leniverse for everything in my #speculativespringswap - I love it all! I'm going to use the tagged for #tigeronthecover #pop22. And After 8's are my favourite chocolates so they'll be saved til last!

Thanks @Avanders for organising!

Tagging #pop22 crew - @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @Laughterhp @Kalalalatja @Cortg @KarenUK @Megabooks @squirrelbrain @RaeLovesToRead

1. Yes. I have several short story collections on my TBR shelves.
2. No. I've never participated in any book clubs.
Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday
Wanna play? @audraelizabeth @Buechersuechtling @ReadingIsMyHobby @Onceuponatime @TheBookDream @Daisey @Bookishlie @Sharpeipup @Cuilin @ReadingFeedsTheSoul @Lucy_Anywhere @Onepageatatime88

“I am also a translator, and translation offers a natural metaphor for how I think about writing in general.
Every act of communication is a miracle of translation “❤️💔 Ken Liu.

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description or reason for wanting to read the book. Some are old and some will be new. Don't judge me - I have a lot of books.
Day 230

#tbrmountain #bookbuyingdiet

“There are many ways to say I love you in this cold, dark, silent universe, as many as the twinkling stars.”

📖 Tagged
📖 Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. Also any of his other collections, Trigger Warnings or Smoke & Mirrors
📖 Stand-alone

#sundayfunday @ozma.of.oz

I finished my library's summer reading program, reading eight books. All were good to excellent, though I think my favorite of the bunch was The Calculating Stars.

Sometimes I'm amazed by the serendipity of what ends up side by side in my commonplace book.

Going with a collection of short stories for my next book.

Some stories were fantastic, others good, but I am so happy I finally read this book. It was on my TBR for ages. But I really needed time between the stories, some were quite heavy.

Highly recommend this short story collection.

Current mood.🧡

“And finally, thank you, dear reader. It is the possibility of our minds touching that makes writing a worthwhile endeavor at all.”

This preface made me feel so loved??

Strong take on immortality: “It‘s a myth that we must die to retain our humanity. . . We stop being human at the moment we give in to death.”

“The truth is not delicate and it does not suffer from denial—the truth only dies when true stories are untold.”

Reviewing this while my foreign exchange roommates from China and Hong Kong throw an early Chinese New Year Party. How fitting! Liu is for sure a skilled writer, evident in the way he switches between narration styles. This book was FRESH. I felt like I was getting exposed to new content and ideas I hadn‘t considered before (or even thought to consider). Didn‘t ~love~ all the stories, but it deserves a pick for ‘The Man Who Ended History‘. #bfls

Can you spot all the owls? Thanks so much for all of the adorable goodies in this #StuffedStockingSwap, @BeckyRoy - I love everything!

“Fiction is about prizing the logic of metaphors-which is the logic of narratives in general-over reality, which is irreducibly random and senseless.”

#QuotsyOct18 Day 29: Tangled in the #Web of other people‘s lives. This book is absolutely brilliant.

I‘d enjoyed Ken Liu‘s DANDELION DYNASTY novels a lot, which eventually led me to the title story of this collection, and then to the collection itself. The stories here look at history and identity and culture through the lens of science fiction, and not just Asian identity but American identity. Many of them feel highly relevant to me, and I do recommend this book.

“Just the same, my grandfather is part of who I am ... I am responsible for his sins, in the same way that I take pride in inheriting the tradition of a great people, a people who, in my grandfather‘s time, committed great evil.”

I loved Ken Liu's Dandelion Dynasty fantasy trilogy so I was excited to check out this collection of short stories. They range from speculative fiction to time travel to alternate history to fantasy, but share common themes of loss and identity. Liu draws on Asian history and mythology; the most horrifying elements are atrocities that occurred in real life. A fascinating and sometimes devastating collection.

Next

A 24-hours book fair where I can get all these in $30 sounds pretty amazing, isn‘t it? 😎

This was quite a mixed bag for me. Some of the stories, including the title one, were mind bogglingly great. Others didn't really hold my interest and others felt like really cool concepts that hadn't quite been transformed into effective fiction. The ones that hit, though, are some of the best short stories I've ever read. Incredible imagination (whether in a science fiction or magical setting) and hard-hitting emotion. #ShortStories

Poetry is like "a gentle kitten licking the inside of my heart."

"We have always lived on a boat, you know? That's what Earth is, a boat in space."

Better than Black Mirror, I promise.

Got crappy work-related news today so am hoping this collection of speculative short stories, chocolate chip cookies, and plum cider will cheer me up.

I couldn't resist taking this out of my library today. I walked right by it after finishing my shift. The title story was so good when I heard it on the Levar Burton Reads podcast! #ScienceFiction

I listened to the title story in this short story collection this morning at the gym on the Levar Burton Reads podcast and it was amazing! Beautiful and heart-breaking and imaginative. I'm definitely going to get my hands on the book and read the rest.

(Also, if you're aren't listening to that podcast, you definitely should. He picks great stories and reads them out loud in his beautiful soothing voice. Reading Rainbow for grown-ups!)

A really beautiful collection of stories. There are so many ideas to pull here about being human, and how that means forgiving ourselves in each other we make mistakes. At the same time Liu teaches us about learning from history, he shows us glimpses of the future, and the risks and possibilities that lie there. I personally reflected a lot about parenthood, daughterhood, and the associated responsibilities. A pleasure to read.

This book was emotionally THICK. My first dive into speculative fiction, this was very introspective, a lot sad, and very thought provoking. Overall, I'd definitely recommend but prepare yourself for some heaviness.

Multitasking 😄

I know there's #catsoflitsy and #dogsoflitsy but what about #babiesoflitsy hmmm?

Starting this today for one of the topics on my #popsugar reading challenge. I've heard good things so I'm excited. #catonthecover

Ken Liu is Love Love Love.

Ken Liu is Love Love Love.

One of those books when even the Preface made me cry. Seriously, Ken Liu is a genius. A few stories I had trouble really getting into, but just stay on with it, and he leads you to dark yet enlightening places filled with beauty.

Can‘t wait to attend Ken Liu‘s sessions for the #SWF2017 Singapore Writers Festival this weekend. Whee! Have to catch up on my reading, like, stat!

I have only read "The Paper Menagerie" and not the other stories. I loved this story. How can a be story be 13 pages long but still hold as much sadness and longing like any other full length novel. I loved it! An ode to great mothers out there.

So excited for this short story collection!!

#diversebooks #ownvoices #sff #litsygram

Cheese omelette for breakfast with grilled portobello mushrooms and corn galette, and carrot cake with glazed chocolate and orange creme anglaise to wash it all down. Nuts and apple spritzer while reading Ken Liu. Posting this while on air. Loving the synchronicity and my pod which stretches out into a full snooze-inducing bed. Enroute to Dubai from Sao Paolo. Obrigada, Brazil.