Eugene Fischer

Tag: Carola Dibbell

The Coode Street Podcast with Jo Walton and Me

itunescoodestreet

At WorldCon in Kansas City I got the chance to join Jo Walton on the Coode Street podcast, hosted by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe. We talked about writers that characterize different eras of science fiction, how science fiction differs rhetorically from fantasy (more detail on that here), and whether there’s a difference between the kinds of literary experimentation in the past and what is pursued today. As tends to happen, I fell a little bit into just listening to Jo be enviably clever, but I did get a chance to talk about the Iowa Writers’ Workshop’s modern support for genre writing, and contemporary writers who inspire me (going on for a bit about  Carmen Maria Machado and Meghan McCarron and Carola Dibbell). You can listen to the episode on the Coode Street site, on your podcast player of choice through iTunes, or via the embedded player below.

Reading 2016: April

OnlyOnes

April was an overwhelmingly busy month, and I only finished one book. But what a book it was.

  1. The Only Ones by Carola Dibbell – I had been recommended this book by enough people I trust that I already owned a copy when the Tiptree Honor list came out, with Dibbell’s novel featured. That was enough to bump it up to the top of the stack. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in years, tackling favorite themes like the compromises of parenthood, or the intersection of biology and identity, with such an assured voice and a slow-burn thoroughness that I was left in awe. My envy that someone else wrote this book instead of me is surpassed only by my gratitude that it exists at all. This is Dibbell’s debut novel, and it’s perfect. I feel honored to share an award list with her. I’m on to my next book now, but I keep being tempted to put it down and read The Only Ones again from the beginning. It’s that good.