Task #6: A book by an AOC set in or about space

[Emily]

Hebah wrote: "Oh, hey, I forgot that The Tea Master and the Detective would fit the bill for this. Bought it when it came out and haven't gotten to it yet. Perfect!"

Ooh, that's getting added to my list of possibilities! :)

[Nancy]

Like many others, I read Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. This trilogy and several others she has written have been on my to-read list for a while, and I wasn't even sure what it was about. After I read it I realized it worked perfectly for this task, and I'll be reading the rest of the trilogy just because. Almost everything I've read this year has fit some task on this or the Pop Sugar challenge, and I didn't even choose them for that reason!

[Helene]

I'm going in a different direction for this one and choosing Spatializing Blackness: Architectures of Confinement and Black Masculinity in Chicago. Not about outer space, but about space.

[Antony]

I’ve just started Ninefox Gambit, but have Binti on my list to read too.

[Candace]

I suggest Binti to anyone thinking about reading it. I read it last year for the Read Hard Challenge and loved it. Does anyone know if Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand would work for this task?

[Sarah]

Would How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77...) work for this task? Its not clear exactly where it's set...

[Allie]

Sarah wrote: "Would How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77...) work for this task? Its not clear exactly wh..."

The description says it's set in a minor universe, but I'm pretty sure that Book Riot included it in their recommendations, so I'd say it counts.

[Karin]

wouldn't this count as a nonfiction book for this prompt?

[[deleted user]]

I'm going to read Neil deGrasse Tyson's "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" for this one.

[Mandie]

Karin wrote: "


wouldn't this count as a nonfiction book for this prompt?"

Absolutely. It's what I plan to read.

[Mya]

I don't think anyone has mentioned Ascension, by Jacqueline Koyanagi. The author is a queer person of color, & the protagonist is a black woman of color, a mechanic, who stows away on a space ship.

[Carolina]

I jumped on sci-fi and forgot the space part of the prompt - oops. What about Mirage by Somaiya Daud?

[Mandie]

Carolina wrote: "I jumped on sci-fi and forgot the space part of the prompt - oops. What about Mirage by Somaiya Daud?"

In reading the synopsis, even though it's set in a star system, it doesn't seem like it takes place in space or is about space.

[Lavanya]

I feel so sad that fifth season won't work. I am going with Dawn.

[Stina]

I think I'll try An Unkindness of Ghosts instead of Ninefox Gambit. The latter was a real struggle for me the first time I tried to read it, and AUoG is a book club pick later this year.

[Octavia]

I read Dawn by Octavia Butler for this, and it was excellent. Cant wait to read the rest of the series now!

[Megan]

I'm reading Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson for this one. It may take me a while though. Neil might think he is writing for people in a hurry but this is complicated enough that I really need to take my time (and google some stuff) before I really understand it.

[Amber]

I just finished Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza. It was good, but I felt like there was so much going on that it stayed very surface-level. It hinted at depth, but didn’t go there. However, as it is the first in a series, it’s possible that more about the characters and their motivations will come out later. Left off wanting more.

[Lavanya]

I read three body problem for this. It was really good

[Whitney]

Three Body Problem is one of the best hard science fiction books ever! I've already read it twice, or I'd use it for this challenge.

[Melissa]

I’ve been meaning to read The Three Body Problem for a while now. I’m glad it fits. Binti was good, and The Fifth season by NK Jamison was great, but not set in space. This genre of writing is very interesting to me.

[Karen]

Illuminae is written by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Amie is white and Jay is black. Does this count if half of the author team is a POC?

[Alexis]

I feel like I copped out if I just go off the Book Riot rec list, but Dawn by Octavia Butler sounds intriguing to me, and Indigo had the entire series on sale, so....

[Whitney]

Dawn is a great book!

Also a very promising looking television series in development.

[Kate]

I feel awful saying this, but I'm about two-thirds of the way through the Hidden Figures audiobook and I'm not loving it. For every engaging, absorbing anecdote about the subjects' lives, there are about twenty aimless, repetitive ones about the structure of NACA/NASA and the physics of aeronautics. I'm close enough to the end that I'll just finish it, but I watched the movie and based on how good it was, I was expecting a lot more from the book.

[Monica]

Sometimes it pays to reread the tasks! I thought this was primarily a scifi task. Now that it's science as well, I can cross off another book! I will use Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier for this one. I listened to this one, it was a poor quality audio book, but very interesting perspectives on NASA and space even though deGrasse Tyson was a bit repetitive.

[Melissa]

Kate wrote: "I feel awful saying this, but I'm about two-thirds of the way through the Hidden Figures audiobook and I'm not loving it. For every engaging, absorbing anecdote about the subjects' ..."


Hi Kate! I hope you don't feel too bad about not loving this particular title. I find it helpful when someone is both honest and detailed about what they didn't enjoy about a book. You owned your opinion, you described what you did and didn't like very well, and you didn't attack the author or any one else, so I don't think you should feel bad at all. And thanks for the mini-review!

[Jennifer]

Karen wrote: "Illuminae is written by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Amie is white and Jay is black. Does this count if half of the author team is a POC?"

Um. I'm not 100% on Jay Kristoff's heritage but I do not think he is black.

[Sheri]

I read How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe which took place sort of adrift in the space-time continuum. I thought it was a really interesting take on time travel, usually it's one of my least favorite sci-fi tropes.

[Jane]

Does this meet the requirement of AOC?

[Megan]

I recently finished Dawn by Octavia E. Butler for this prompt. While this isn't my usual genre, I really enjoyed the story and writing, and am interested to find out how the story continues in book two of the trilogy!

[Chrissy]

I'm halfway through An Unkindness of Ghosts and really enjoying it!

[Shannon]

Same! I’m also halfway through An Unkindness of Ghosts and loving the characters and the evolving story.

[[deleted user]]

I already have a short list of books I might choose for this prompt, but out of curiosity, does anyone have any graphic novel/comics recommendations that fit this category?

[Nikki]

Leah wrote: "I already have a short list of books I might choose for this prompt, but out of curiosity, does anyone have any graphic novel/comics recommendations that fit this category?"

Would Artist of Color count? If so, I'd recommend Descender, Vol. 1: Tin Stars. The story is great but it's Nguyen's art that really shines.

[Karen]

Leah wrote: "I already have a short list of books I might choose for this prompt, but out of curiosity, does anyone have any graphic novel/comics recommendations that fit this category?"

I've had s hard time finding a graphic novel/comic for this one too. I finally went with a short manga series -- Planetes by Makoto Yukimura. It's on hold at the library so I haven't read it yet.

[Teresa]

Webtoons has Valkyrie Squadron by Jules Rivera.

[Lindsey]

I know Binti is an obvious choice, but so far it's great! I'm listening to the audiobook version. It's short and entertaining - a really good option for this task.

[Milena]

Lindsey wrote: "I know Binti is an obvious choice, but so far it's great! I'm listening to the audiobook version. It's short and entertaining - a really good option for this task."

I agree. I am finishing up the audiobook right now. I like it a lot more than I expected to, and will probably continue with the series.