Enthusiastically Ambiverted Hopepunk
📚 three of 2020: Dune, by Frank Herbert ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1966 Hugo Best Novel
This one (mostly) holds up well; still an excellent book, with its mix of SF adventure, ecological messages, political maneuvering, and religious themes. Well worth the re-read after many years.
📚 sixty of 2019: The Wanderer, by Fritz Leiber. ⭐️⭐️ 1965 Hugo Best Novel
Veers wildly between interesting concepts (a planet the size of Earth appears in Earth’s orbit, affecting tectonics, tides, etc.), and incredibly dated plots that do not age well.
📚 fifty-seven of 2019: Way Station, by Clifford D. Simak. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1964 Hugo Best Novel
Excellent book, mostly quiet and contemplative, as one man struggles with both his and humanity’s place in the galaxy. An introspective and ultimately hopeful piece.
📚 fifty-five of 2019: The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1963 Hugo Best Novel
Fascinating partly for the primary alt history, but also for other alternatives and the ruminations on those, an author’s intent, and the characters’ realizations.
Book fifty of 2019: Conjure Wife, by Fritz Leiber. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1944 Retro Hugo Best Novel
I enjoyed this one more than I expected when I started it. There’s an entertaining story in here, you just have to deal with the very mid-40s gender stereotypes.
Book forty-five of 2019: Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1962 Hugo Best Novel
Good story, and this was very likely one of my earliest introductions to any sort of consensual non-monogamy ideas, but gender role and sexuality issues bother me.
The announcement of the 2019 Hugo Awards winners means that I’ve had to readjust my progress on my Hugo “best novel” reading project, and am now at only 21.33% of the way through.
As I said when I started, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Book thirty-nine of 2019: A Canticle for Liebowitz, by Walter M. Miller, Jr._ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1961 Hugo Best Novel
Not terribly optimistic in its outlook towards humanity’s ability to learn from our mistakes, but an excellent and far-reaching post-apocalyptic tale.
Status check: I’m now 20% of the way through my project of reading (or re-reading, for those I’ve read before) every Hugo Best Novel award-winning book. 📚
Book thirty-five of 2019: Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1960 Hugo Best Novel
Finally, a Heinlein Hugo winner I enjoyed! He still has issues with women’s roles, and I’m not on board with all the political philosophy, but it’s still a good read.
