The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I talk about books I got over the last week–old or new, bought or received for review consideration (usually unsolicited). Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included. It’s been quiet here since […]

Since the beginning of 2016, I have been reading and reviewing one book a month based on the results of a poll on Patreon. All of these monthly reviews can be viewed here. The May theme is books featuring dragons. Reading time has been scarce until recently, but I’ve been reading Aliette de Bodard’s The House of Binding Thorns and Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Fate—and enjoying the dragons in both of them so much that I wanted to read more books featuring dragons this month! The May […]

It’s difficult to believe that the final week of the month is over—thank you so much to all of last week’s guests! Here’s a brief overview of last week in case you missed any of their essays: Fran Wilde (Bone Universe Trilogy, “The Jewel and Her Lapidary”) discussed shifting perspectives in books within a series, both in general and within Updraft, Cloudbound, and Horizon. She also asked the authors of some of her own favorite series to share their reasons: N. K. […]

Octavia E. Butler’s Wild Seed became the fourth Patternist novel upon its publication in 1980, though it is first in chronological order. A total of five Patternist novels were released, and all but one of these (Survivor, which the author did not want reprinted) comprise the omnibus Seed to Harvest: Wild Seed, Mind of My Mind, Clay’s Ark, and Patternmaster. This collection begins with 1690 and ends in the distant future, although many believe it’s best to read these in publication order instead: Patternmaster, Mind […]

Today I’m thrilled to welcome Bridget McKinney from SF Bluestocking! She writes about science fiction, fantasy, and feminism, and she not only covers books but also movies and television shows such as Game of Thrones and The Expanse. SF Bluestocking is one of my favorite sites because of her thorough, thoughtful, well-written reviews and commentary—and it is quite deservedly one of this year’s Hugo nominees for Best Fanzine! The Future Is Female Let’s not be coy. 2016 was a garbage year, for […]