How Long til Black Future Month?

author: N.K. Jemisin

This anthology collects fantasy and science fiction short stories by author N.K. Jemisin. Many of these stories involve resistance of some kind. All feature protagonists of color, and all are challenging, uncompromising, and delightful.

Several of these stories, like “The City Born Great” and “The You Train,” explore the spirits of and in cities. “Red Dirt Witch” takes place in rural Alabama, where the Fey can be fought off with the traditional rowan and ash, but also with sage, rosemary, fig, and the iron in the soil. There are fairy tales and space stories and a story that takes place entirely in cyberspace. Yes, there be dragons.

Jemisin’s beautiful writing continues to stun, and her stories continue to challenge and inspire. The introduction is wonderful all by itself. In it, Jemisin revisits 2002, the year when she decided to try writing professionally. She talks about how impossible it was to publish stories about Black women in science fiction and fantasy at that time, and how much (and how little) has changed since then. At the end of the introduction she says:

Now I mentor up-and-coming writers of color wherever I find them…and there are many to find. Now I am bolder, and angrier, and more joyful; none of these things contradict each other. Now I am the writer that short stories made me.

So come on. That’s the future over there. Let’s all go.

This book should resonate with fans of character-based science fiction and fantasy, as well as people who enjoy high concept stories. They will also resonate with people who like stories that confront social justice issues and stories about diverse characters. Enjoy!

– Carrie S

Science Fiction/Fantasy

Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit

author: Amy Stewart

Having raved about the first book in the Kopp Sisters series, Girl Waits With Gun, I found the sequels (Lady Cop Makes Trouble, Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions) to be disappointing. I’m pleased to say that the series returns to form with the most recent book, Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit. As always, most of the story is either completely true or inspired by real events, and the title was the headline of a real news article.

In this book, which is set right before America enters WWI, Miss Kopp is a Deputy Sheriff working for Sheriff Heath. It’s an election year, so Sheriff Heath’s job is in jeopardy and so is Miss Kopp’s. In an afterword, the author ruefully reminds us that the election stuff is all historically accurate and not invented to be eerily similar to Trump’s election campaign and results.

While the campaign is going on, Miss Kopp involves herself in the case of one of her prisoners, who is transferred to an insane asylum at the request of her husband. When Miss Kopp goes to the woman’s house to collect her, she finds no signs that the woman is insane. Neither has the woman seen a doctor. The husband doesn’t seem at all upset about his wife being dragged away to the asylum. Miss Kopp decides to find out why the woman is being admitted, and what she can do to either help the woman or free her outright.

The ensuing mystery not only sheds light on the lack of legal resources for women, but also brings Miss Kopp into a new circle of friends: the women in the police force, a female lawyer, and of course her own strong-willed sisters, who are increasingly concerned about the Great War. The book explores victimization, powerlessness, and grief, but also explores strength and resilience and hope. Above all, it’s incredibly exciting, funny, and entertaining. You could easily read this book as a stand-alone, or start with Girl Waits With Gun and skip the middle two books (or, of course, read all four).

– Carrie S

Historical: American, Literary Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Off the Clock

author: Laura Vanderkam

My love of books examining productivity and time management is no secret, but I’ve been leaning away from books that want to tell me how to cram more activity into the house I have, and looking eagerly for books that examine how to be efficient and selective about the work I’m doing with my time. This book focuses on the idea of being “off the clock,” or, more specifically, “time freedom,” the expanse of schedule where there is no immediate next thing to do:

Being off the clock implies time freedom, yet time freedom stems from time discipline. You must know where the time goes in order to transcend the ceaseless ticking.

So I have to know where my time is going to be a better manager of it. On it!

Vanderkam recommends a few different methods of rethinking one’s attitude about time, and, if you’re into data, keeping a time log for a day or a week, recording exactly where one’s time is going. As always, “What gets measured, gets managed.” Part of the book examines the time records of a collection of volunteers, and examines what folks are doing with their time, and which folks say they feel like they have enough of it. That part, though necessary at the outset, grew into a section or topic I’d skim quickly.

The other part is prescriptive and structured with questions and reframing exercises which encourage readers to examine and rethink their usage of their time. This part I liked a LOT. One key message Iam still thinking about: “What would it be like to have nothing on your schedule that did not ‘spark joy’?” Just as Marie Kondo’s decluttering method is about making deliberate choices of what to keep and surround yourself with, this book explains methods that allow one to make deliberate, mindful choices about what one can choose to do, and choose not to do.

My favorite idea from this book is the concept of a calendar “jubilee year,” wherein, if possible, one removes all commitments and scheduled activities from a calendar. Then, starting from scratch, add back in activities and commitments deliberately, asking “why am I doing this?” or “does this activity make me happy?”

If you think a lot about the time you have, and how to enjoy more of it or how to enjoy that time more deliberately, this book might really work for you. I’ve already been focused intently for awhile on being more mindful of the time I have and how I spend it (hence Organization Academy, which is all about calendar decluttering and automation) and I really like exploring books, especially those written by women, which examine the same thing.

– SB Sarah

Nonfiction