Welcome to Interrobang?! Book Club’s Feminist Sci-Fi Shorts winter series. We will read five contemporary short stories by authors from a variety of backgrounds. All of the stories are available for free online, highlighting how easy it is to find (good) sci-fi today! Some of the authors you may have heard of, but others are still somewhat anonymous, writing to an unknown audience, looking for a following. All of these stories have a feminist or progressive message, focusing on themes such as self-determination, found family, feminine friendship, disability and aging, self-acceptance, emotional connection, and the gaps between lived experience and social systems of expectation and control. Come read with us!
Schedule:
February 9, 2025 - "The Lady Astronaut of Mars", by Mary Robinette Kowal
March 9, 2025 - “Six Months, Three Days”, by Charlie Jane Anders; “Non-Zero Probabilities”, by N. K. Jemisin
April 13, 2025 - "The Spindle of Necessity", by B. Pladek; "Madeleine", by Amal El-Mohtar
"The Spindle of Necessity", by B. Pladek
Topics: Time travel, trans identity, the past, self-determination and acceptance
http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/the-spindle-of-necessity/
"Andrew was convinced the writer had been trans. By this point his friends were tired of hearing about it, but he had no one else to tell besides the internet, and he was too smart for that. That would be asking for it."
"Madeleine", by Amal El-Mohtar
Topics: Time travel, parent/child relationships, memory, medical experimentation, friendships
https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/madeleine/
"Madeleine remembers being a different person. It strikes her when she’s driving, threading her way through farmland, homesteads, facing down the mountains around which the road winds. She remembers being thrilled at the thought of travel, of the self she would discover over the hills and far away. She remembers laughing with friends, looking forward to things, to a future."
General overview of a meeting
Our meetings start with an icebreaker question and a chance for each person to introduce themselves. We then move to rating the story with a thumbs up/down/sideways. We spend most of the meeting discussing the story, including strong opinions, questioning why the author made the choices they did, personal reactions to the story and characters, and wondering how it could have been improved. You don't need to finish reading the whole story to come to the meeting! However, if you haven't finished it, please be OK with hearing spoilers.
To find us, look for the group with a sci-fi book displayed on the table.
