So, if you haven’t found bookshop.org yet, you absolutely should. You get to support your favorite local bookstores (mine is the Neverending Bookstore) while still shopping online. Yeah, it’s not as cheap as Amazon sometimes, but I feel a whole lot better about using it! You can either shop by stores’ curated lists, or you can just buy individual books and attribute the sale to the bookstore. I’m working on curating some lists of my own on it to share with y’all so when you’re in the mood for something new to read, you’ll have my suggestions front and center! (full disclosure, if you buy off one of my lists, I get a small percentage of the sale)

But on to the books I have recently found awesome!

On the Nonfiction side:

• Putting the Science in Science Fiction – a collection of very short essays about various subgenres of science to help you get a handle on those particular fields for writing science fiction.
• Puget Sounds; A nostalgic Review of Radio and TV in the Great Northwest – out of print, but a great historical review of the history.
• Story Craft; The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction – This guide is geared towards helping reporters make the transition to narrative nonfiction, but is super useful for anyone looking to hone that genre.

Plays, since I’m studying up on that form:

• Maize by Judith Pratt
• Smoke & Dust as well as Blood, Water, Paint by Joy McCullough
• Ada & the Engine as well as Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson
• The Female of the Species by Joanna Murray-Smith – make sure you get the right playwright! There’s a few different ones floating out there.

Speculative Fiction:

• I’m in love. I have a new absolute favorite author, and her name is Rebecca Roanhorse. Rebecca, if you read this, I totes want to take you out for drinks anytime you’re in Seattle! A native creative, she has two different series up and running, one based in a post-apocalyptic, mad-maxish Navajo nation (Trail of Lightning), and another that uses native mythologies to write far-reaching fantasy epics the same way Tolkein used British (Black Sun). SO FRIGGIN GOOD! I need the next ones, pretty please!
• A Dream So Dark – second in the series, just as good as the first!
• Fledgling – Finally getting around to reading all that Octavia Butler goodness, all thanks to Ada’s Feminist Science Fiction Book Subscription.
• Time Pieces – a collection of poetry by Michael Bishop, currently out of print, but most of them will be appearing in his upcoming collection from Fairwood Press!
• The Relic – a blast from the past that surprisingly is still a really good read.
• Nevermoor and The Wundersmith – A trippy YA alternate world that is just a hoot to read.
• White is for Witching – my first Helen Oyeyemi, so wonderful

Otherwise, I’ve been working on several projects, the Seattle Prohibition project has take a sharp left and split into two very different beasts, so I’m working on both of those, I applied for a grant for one of them. I’ve got an anthology idea I’m shopping around (watch for a call!) and the illustrations for the last two Oz novellas are almost done, woo!! On top of all that, I’m getting a certificate in non-profit management so I can actually start making the differences I want to see in this world. TTFN!