One Geek Girl’s Reading List for 2017
Ah, the transportive joy of reading. It is frequent geek girl companion, and one of my favorite topics in the whole world.
Many geeky people use the new year as a time to set reading goals, make lists, visit bookstores and libraries, and decide how many books they can cram into their brain before the ball drops on another year.
Although I’ve never been the kind to set a physical book goal, I love to journey into new realms of reading, filling my mind and my bookshelf with undiscovered worlds and new pockets of thought, feeling, and idea.
Choosing what to read next is similar to journeying through the wild west: limitless paths with distractions, surprises, and discoveries around every corner. While this “shoot-from-the-hip” style certainly keeps things interesting, it doesn’t make for very intentional explorations of genres, authors, or themes.
That’s why this year it’s my goal to focus on female writers with an emphasis on science fiction (shocking for me, I know) and nonfiction. I also plan to spend some time with female authors from the recent past. After all, if we don’t learn from history. . . well, you know the rest. These female authors of the past forged the path that we now tread. I want to learn from their work, absorb it, and let it grow inside me.
Below is a partial list of the authors who will guide me through 2017.
LEIGH BRACKETT
Remember that little film Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back? Well, Leigh Brackett’s final contribution to science fiction was the first draft of this classic science fiction film.
Although script writing was a departure from Brackett’s usual science fiction work as a novelist and short story writer, it was not a departure in terms of genre. Referred to frequently as the “Queen of Space Opera,” Brackett’s stories often depict interplanetary romance and exploration bursting with detail.
While her operatic work is definitely worth the read, I would suggest starting with The Long Tomorrow. This little story packs a powerful punch with speculative commentary on science, faith, and the complex reality of living.
EILEEN GUNN
If you like your sci-fi with a nice dose of historical fiction or enjoy stories that could be described as Kafa-esque, you’ll love Eileen Gunn.
This Seattle-based author won the Nebula Award for her story “Coming to Terms” and has been nominated for the Hugo Award for “Stable Strategies for Middle Management” and “Computer Friendly.”
Gunn’s work places the fantastic and the mundane in juxtaposition in a way that is uniquely her own. This is a working writer that you’ll be thrilled to add to your bookshelf.
CARRIE FISHER
In wake of such a monumental loss, I hope to honor Carrie Fisher by looking past her most famous contributions and learning more about the woman behind them.
Although she will never be forgotten at the rebel princess who helped save a galaxy far, far away, she was also a prolific and poignant writer. She spent a good deal of her lengthy career as a script doctor for other Hollywood writers while also writing several books and screenplays her experiences with addiction, recovery, and mental illness.
Her most recent book The Princess Diarist was released in 2016. I have my copy and I look forward to reading the words of such an incredible woman.
NORA EPHRON
I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t she the woman who wrote… ? The answer to that question is almost without a doubt, “yes.”
Ephron is best known for her screenplays such as When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, and Sleepless in Seattle. But even if romantic comedies aren’t your thing, there’s something for everyone in her prolific body of work.
Before making the transition to the big screen, Ephron was a journalist and author with an impressive work ethic. Her frank, personable style lended itself to nearly any topic, and her philosophy that “everything is copy” meant that her writing covered vast swaths of the female experience.
If you’re looking to see the world through the eyes of a real woman, look no further than Nora Ephron.
JAMES TIPTREE JR.
I’m new to the work of James Tiptree Jr.
Born Alice Bradley, this former CIA employee decided to use the pen name “James Tiptree Jr.” to keep a low profile in her writing. She has been quoted as saying that she was tired of being the first woman in the fields she worked in, and felt that she would be more likely to go unnoticed if she wrote under a male name.
Tiptree’s work is reminiscent of the space opera subgenre, but often deals with darker themes. Her characters may find transcendence, but at a deadly cost, or find that their beliefs leave them alienated from those around them.
The largest theme in Tiptree’s work is feminism, a cause she stayed devoted to throughout her work. Her story “‘The Women Men Don’t See” is often cited for its feminist themes. In fact, The James Tiptree Jr. Award is given “in her honor each year for a work of science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender.”
Ready for more authors to add to your 2017 reading list? Here are a few more to check out: Rachel Pollack, Joanna Russ, Ann Leckie, and Janet Mock.
Who is on your reading list for this year? I’d love to know!
