Science fiction for the win

This year has not seen a marked improvement in the quality or quantity of my writing on this blog. I had kinda hoped I'd be writing more, but didn't really commit to any metric. But there was at least one goal that I seem to have succeeded in: reading more. Not much more, and not impressively so, but still: more.

I've averaged almost a book a month, all science-fiction*. I wanted to get back in the habit of reading for fun and leisure. I'd say it's been a success. Here's a quick list:

• Neal Stephenson "The Diamond Age"
• Ursula Leguin "The Dispossessed"
• Ursula Leguin "The Left Hand of Darkness"
• Marge Piercy "Woman on the Edge of Time"
• Margeret Atwood "Oryx and Crake"
• William Gibson "Count Zero"
• Neal Gaiman "American Gods"
• Cixin Liu "The Three-Body Problem"
• William Gibson "Mona Lisa Overdrive"

Definiteley feeling the cyberpunk and anarchist/feminist speculative fiction genres. I suppose it makes sense: we are living in crazy times; why wouldn't I turn to narratives of grit and subversion.

It's worth noting that most of these are classics. I suppose I've been avoiding contemporary writing, thinking there's no way they can compare. Well I was definitely wrong about that -- "The Three-body Problem" is hard sci-fi of epic proportion, masterfully written and translated. Can't wait to continue with the next two in the series.

* Alright, I suppose "American Gods" can't qualify as science-fiction. Fantasy, I suppose?