Literature of Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction

OMG! FUN! I absolutely love Italo Calvino’s work. For my concept class, sophomore year, our final project was to create a visual excerpt from one of his novels, Cities and Signs. I focused on an isolated city that he described in his book called Zoe. Here’s a link to that animation if you're interested in checking it out. This week I read Italo Calvino’s short story, The Distance of the Moon . I thought it was very cute. It reminded me a lot of Pixar’s short animated film, The Moon (La Luna) . It also gave me The Little Prince vibes. The story was told in a somewhat fantastical way. What I gathered from the reading was the overwhelming theme of desire and longing but I didn't see it as a requinted love story. The narrator, Qfwfq, speaks openly about his ‘lust’(more like unhealthy infatuation) for the Captain’s wife. He only sees her for her body. Not once did he mention anything about her personality. Even at the end Qfwfq states, “I could distinguish the shape of he

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read? Reading Bloodchild by Octavia Butler, was confusing. The story is so complex. It took me a while to understand that the Tlic were an alien species. I had a lot of ‘Wait. Woah. WHAT?!’ moments. I was also taken aback when I realized that certain gender roles are switched. It made me really uncomfortable when I realized that Gan, a male human child, was going through all sorts of traumatic stuff at such a young age. 2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss what elements of the story with which you were able to connect? I see the story as a statement. Butler Plays with themes of power dynamics. The historical connections that the story alludes to remind of child marriages in the 1800’s. In addition to all that, the story also weirdly reminded me of the YouTube animated series Don’t Feed the Humans . Don’t Feed the Humans is a comedy about a group of humans who have been abducted and brought to an alien

This week I decided to read Ready Player One written by Ernest Cline. Although the description for Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson was fairly interesting, I felt far more comfortable reading Ready Player One. I absolutely adore the film. Ever since I watched it, I'd been meaning to get my hands on the book. It's been in the back of my mind for a while, but I hadn't had the time to read it... UNTIL NOW. It was an enjoyable read. I was surprised by how much of the book was felt out of the film. I have to say that I enjoyed Samantha’s/Art3mis’s character wayyyyyy more in the book. She had much more self-assurance than in the film, she is a cyberpunk heroine; a protector and a complete badass. Sure, Samantha describes herself as ‘hideously deformed’ in the book but her sassy personality never ceases. The film, on the other hand, shows her confidence being severely affected by the birthmark. In the film, Samantha’s speech pattern is more hesitant and she appears to be visu

This week I decided on reading Samuel R. Delany ’s short story, Aye and Gomorrah (1967). I visited its Wiki and read its synopsis… I read the word ‘androgonous’ and that’s all I needed. I'm all about androgonous characters. I LOVE EM’! Samuel R. Delany , you have grabbed my attention. Sign me up. So anyway, yeah, I read it and WOW. It was a SUPER short read. I finished it in just 15 min. And, sadly, I ended up wanting more. I was so immersed in the world, I just want to know more about it; how things work. What I found most interesting within the short story is how homosexuality is accepted in this universe. Delany is very much open to the themes of sexuality and gender within his works. Though, upon first reading the short story, the topic of sex had caught me by surprise. I’ve read a lot of queer works but never would I have thought that Delany’s short story would be so progressive for it’s time. It was published in the 60’s, WHAT?!?!? That’s INSANE! I'm just wonderin

I remember watching Ridley Scott’s film, The Martian , in 2015, but I don't remember much of its contents. I decided to read The Martian (2011) written by Andy Weir for this week's reading anyway. I’m only on Log Entry Sol. 82 at the moment. It’s a nice read. A bit long for my taste. Well, not long, per say, but really ramble-y. But, given the situation, how can you not be ramble-y when you're alone... in space. I really liked how the book felt personal, much more intimate than the film in my opinion. A comparison I made between the novel and the film was the contrast between science and action. The film cares more about thrill and drama; keeping the audience on edge. However, within the novel, Weir notably cares more about the scientific factors and goes into depth about how the character is able to survive on a desolate planet. Andy Weir’s, The Martian , plays with themes relating to science and technology. We, the readers, are given the lesson that technology ca

I attempted to read the recommended reading, Neil Gaiman’s Ananzi Boys, but I just couldn't get into it. In fact, I couldn't get into ANY of this week’s recommended readings. So, I decided to search on Goodreads for more reading options under ‘contemporary urban fantasy’ and found the books, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale written by Holly Black and May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson. I immediately recognized them. A friend of mine owns both. So, I called them up and asked if I could borrow them and they could care less. So, this week I decided I would do a personal reading. I settled on reading May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson. May Bird and the Ever After is the first book out of the May Bird series. The May Bird series takes into account of German and Slavic folk tales of fairies and mythical beasts. I really enjoyed reading the first few chapters of May Bird,... but life had other plans. Special thanks to the Coronapocalypse for making