I’ve procrastinated writing Five Good Things. It’s true. The other day I read a provocative (as in provoking thought—and controversy) article about the continued existence in speculative fiction of sexual violence against women. The author made some excellent points. So did the commenters.
I wandered off in a cloud of philosophical debate.
Someone in the discussion suggested reading Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. My To-Be-Read list is already huge. I can’t say what made the reading of this one so necessary, and so urgent.
I read it.
It is a powerful commentary on humanity (male and female, individual and government).
It is also starkly beautiful in its prose.
I would like to take a week off to savor the language, the setting it portrayed, and the emotion it evoked.
So I’m listing it as the first Good Thing…
The Good Stuff
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
http://amzn.to/2bN2JuM
“A radical and brilliant departure for Margaret Atwood, it is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast.”
3 Ways to Use Scene Cards to Help You Write Your Novel
http://www.shesnovel.com/blog/scene-cards
Scene cards usually encapsulate a summary and pertinent details of the scene. Kristen Kieffer shows how to put some muscle on those suckers by using them in your pre-writing, drafting, and editing.
100 Must-Read Sci-Fi Fantasy Novels by Female Authors
http://bookriot.com/2016/05/02/100-must-read-sci-fi-fantasy-novels-by-female-authors/
The Handmaid’s Tale features on this list, along with nine others I’ve read. Have I got my work cut out for me or what? I may have to re-think some of my choices for the A-Z Challenge I’m participating in on Goodreads—except I actually like reading books by male authors, too. In the interest of equality, is there a list of 100 Must-Read Sci-Fi Fantasy Novels by Male Authors? (I know, I’m entering dangerous territory with that question, but please, I just want a good story!)
Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Cheesecake
http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/menu/chocolate-hazelnut-crunch-cheesecake
Okay, I don’t actually know if this is good, but it’s chocolate (my favorite) cheesecake (my other favorite) and comes from the Cheesecake Factory. It’s a win-win-win!
Project Snowstorm by Djekspek
http://djekspek.deviantart.com/art/Project-Snowstorm-384143115
I love maps—especially fantasy maps. This one particularly appeals to my eye, from the beautiful color palette to the geographical artwork itself. Commissioned by Snowfury Studios, “Project Snowstorm is the first game in a planned trilogy in which you become a character at the center of the collision of four realms. As the barriers that separate the realms begin to break, creatures from the other realms force their way into your reality…and everything you’ve come to think of as normal begins to change.”
Purdy, ain’t it?
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What good things have you seen in your world lately? SHARE below!