Great summary Claudia, and great to see the reading list ahead, both fiction and factual.
I hated How High We Go in the Dark. I thought it was massively overhyped when it came out. The first story was very good, but then it just descended into drivel. I think it's probably one of the books I've rated lowest on my Goodreads. 🙊 Perhaps I was too harsh. I don't know. Let me know your thoughts when you get to it.
I don't know all of the others, so thanks for the links.
A Land of Milk and Honey has been on my list for a while. Excited to see it comes recommended by Elle. Bumping it up on my to-be-purchased list for this year!
A typically thorough and expansive review from you, Claudia - I need to read it again! You might consider 'Termination Shock' by Neal Stephenson and/or Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Ministry of the Future' for your fiction list.
Very late in coming to this, but I'm looking forward to getting into your cli-fi recommendations! I also had a look at your ones from last year and was intrigued by The Windup Girl. I'm revisiting Philip K Dick's books, so the comparison with Bladerunner caught my eye. What did you think of it in the end?
Speaking of climate non-fiction books, have you ever heard of/read The World Without Us by Alan Weisman? I'm only about a third of the way through it myself, but what I've read so far has been really eye-opening and, in a way, weirdly escapist. It describes in detail, based on scientific suppositions and data from our current climate, as well as informed by pre-human climates, what the world might look like if humans were to disappear completely right now. The point of the book is not to advocate for condemning humanity or arguing that the only way for the earth to heal is for humans to be wiped out. Instead, it's an expose on the magnificent resilience of our planet, even after all this time, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in climate literature. Hopefully I'll find time to continue reading it soon!
[Edit] Also, thank you so so much for the shoutout! I can't tell you how much it means to me that you loved my post and want to share it with others💖
Stephen Markley's "The Deluge" is a must. Really gets at what's happening now and in the near future and tackles the issue from many different angles, politically, characteristically, thematically. And is super fun to read.
Also, I read KSR's "Green Mars" without reading "Red Mars" and had a great time with it. Lots of really fascinating science and political approaches to a situation not unlike ours.
Barbara Kingsolver's "Flight Behavior" is also quite lovely though perhaps not what you're looking for. Not very speculative, more about the human psychology aspect of things.
I have to say I enjoyed "How High We Go In The Dark" as an part piece but thought the book lagged on the idea-side of things. Climate change really is not part of the story.
Thanks Claudia for the list! I read a bunch from last year and looking forward to a few from this years...and more importantly your next installments and the next collab piece on Dune!
Such a good reading list. And I haven’t heard of any of that fiction! Excited to check them out. I’d also be curious to know your thoughts about Land of Milk & Honey.
I had similar difficulties with plastic. And you’re right, takeout is an issue, though I’m glad that many places have paper takeout containers now. And when we visited Germany everywhere wrapped our food up in foil which was good. But it did inspire me to get creative: for instance, I couldn’t find any floss that wasn’t in a plastic container, but I COULD find a reusable floss container that only needs to be refilled with floss. Some things like that will stick with me. I do still believe plastic use should be regulated by the government though rather than by the individual user. But it was good to be aware of personally.
Great summary Claudia, and great to see the reading list ahead, both fiction and factual.
I hated How High We Go in the Dark. I thought it was massively overhyped when it came out. The first story was very good, but then it just descended into drivel. I think it's probably one of the books I've rated lowest on my Goodreads. 🙊 Perhaps I was too harsh. I don't know. Let me know your thoughts when you get to it.
I don't know all of the others, so thanks for the links.
A Land of Milk and Honey has been on my list for a while. Excited to see it comes recommended by Elle. Bumping it up on my to-be-purchased list for this year!
A typically thorough and expansive review from you, Claudia - I need to read it again! You might consider 'Termination Shock' by Neal Stephenson and/or Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Ministry of the Future' for your fiction list.
I'm coming in very late for the climate fiction list, but I've been wanting to read Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Ministry of the Future" (was that on your list last year?). I'd also recommend Annie Proulx's "Barkskins": https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/19/books/review/barkskins-by-annie-proulx.html
Very late in coming to this, but I'm looking forward to getting into your cli-fi recommendations! I also had a look at your ones from last year and was intrigued by The Windup Girl. I'm revisiting Philip K Dick's books, so the comparison with Bladerunner caught my eye. What did you think of it in the end?
https://stirlingnewberry.substack.com/p/half-a-star
Climate Change neo-noire.
Speaking of climate non-fiction books, have you ever heard of/read The World Without Us by Alan Weisman? I'm only about a third of the way through it myself, but what I've read so far has been really eye-opening and, in a way, weirdly escapist. It describes in detail, based on scientific suppositions and data from our current climate, as well as informed by pre-human climates, what the world might look like if humans were to disappear completely right now. The point of the book is not to advocate for condemning humanity or arguing that the only way for the earth to heal is for humans to be wiped out. Instead, it's an expose on the magnificent resilience of our planet, even after all this time, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in climate literature. Hopefully I'll find time to continue reading it soon!
[Edit] Also, thank you so so much for the shoutout! I can't tell you how much it means to me that you loved my post and want to share it with others💖
Stephen Markley's "The Deluge" is a must. Really gets at what's happening now and in the near future and tackles the issue from many different angles, politically, characteristically, thematically. And is super fun to read.
Also, I read KSR's "Green Mars" without reading "Red Mars" and had a great time with it. Lots of really fascinating science and political approaches to a situation not unlike ours.
Barbara Kingsolver's "Flight Behavior" is also quite lovely though perhaps not what you're looking for. Not very speculative, more about the human psychology aspect of things.
I have to say I enjoyed "How High We Go In The Dark" as an part piece but thought the book lagged on the idea-side of things. Climate change really is not part of the story.
The Overstory by Richard Powers.
Thanks Claudia for the list! I read a bunch from last year and looking forward to a few from this years...and more importantly your next installments and the next collab piece on Dune!
I loved Migrations, by Charlotte McConaghy. (Sometimes titled The Last Migration)
Such a good reading list. And I haven’t heard of any of that fiction! Excited to check them out. I’d also be curious to know your thoughts about Land of Milk & Honey.
I had similar difficulties with plastic. And you’re right, takeout is an issue, though I’m glad that many places have paper takeout containers now. And when we visited Germany everywhere wrapped our food up in foil which was good. But it did inspire me to get creative: for instance, I couldn’t find any floss that wasn’t in a plastic container, but I COULD find a reusable floss container that only needs to be refilled with floss. Some things like that will stick with me. I do still believe plastic use should be regulated by the government though rather than by the individual user. But it was good to be aware of personally.
Excellent list, good chart. I will add to the Climate Change shortly.
Vale.