Tag: fantasy

What I Read: May 2022

I’ve been having a blast in the “fairy tales and other speculative fictions” class I’ve been taking at BYU this term. In fact, it’s almost over! Most of my reading this month was for the class. I have a good stack of books I’m halfway through but can’t seem to make progress in because of all the assigned reading. I forgot how much time college courses absorb. But no regrets, because I’ve also done of lot of reading on theories of speculative fiction, which doesn’t show up here, as it’s mostly articles, but will no doubt help me in future research.

Writing updates: I didn’t make the cut for the Mormon Lit Blitz this time, but I’m very intrigued by the titles of the finalists. If you’re reading along, join me on social media to chat about the entries. For my class’s final project, I’m working on a paper about Piranesi and the power of stories in the pandemic. And this weekend I’m presenting at the Mormon History Association conference about Mormon colonialism in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive. This builds off of last year’s paper on Mormon theology in the series. If you missed it, also make sure to check out the latest episode of Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree about films and faith crisis based on an essay by Chris Wei. I think it’s our best episode yet!

Book reviews after the cut.

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What I Read: April 2022

It’s a speculative fiction blitz this month with only four book read. I’m a little surpri My nonfiction reading has been tied up with a couple projects including finishing my presentation for the Mormon History Association conference in June. I’m going to be talking about Mormon colonialism in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive, which has been fun but exhausting to research. I also started my reading for the graduate class in speculative fiction I’m taking on a post-baccalaureate basis. This is one of my goals for 2022; I’m hoping it will help me decide whether I really want to go back for an MA or MFA in the next few years.

I’ve also squeezed a little fiction writing in, submitting to a couple flash fiction contests. I didn’t make the cut for the Mormon Lit Blitz, but I’m excited by the titles of this year’s semifinalists. Tune in on May 30 to start reading with me!

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What I Read: March 2022

opened book in hands of person against floral background on sunny day
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March was a busy month with the launch of Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree (subscribe please!), and now I’m entering a really busy time for writing in April, which is why this review post is late. I’ve also got several pieces out on submission that I’m hoping to hear back from soon, so cross your fingers for me.

When I started compiling this list, I felt like I hadn’t been reading a lot recently because of all this busy-ness. But pulling in all these reviews reminded me of the great stuff I’ve actually read. Yet another advantage to looking back on things.

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What I Read – January 2022 & 5×5 Challenge

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New year, new reading challenge! This year, I’m trying out the 5×5 Challenge (via the Scholé Sisters homeschooling community). The premise is to pick 5 categories or topics you want to read about more in-depth this year, then select 5 books for each category over the course of the year. It comes out to about 2 books a month. I’m hoping this will be a way to balance my need for structured reading with the ability to still pick up random books from the library (or more realistically, the new Brandon Sanderson novel).

My five categories for 2022 are:

  1. Old Testament Context – Our church’s Come Follow Me curriculum this year is on the Old Testament. In addition to reading a new translation, I want to get some background on how to get your head around the Old Testament. Some of these will be LDS-specific and some more generally Christian or even Jewish (I hope to pick up Robert Alter’s Psalm translation.)
  2. Mormon Lit Backlist – Filling in some works by Mormon authors that have been on my TBR pile for a while that I need to get to.
  3. Stoicism – It’s been a rough year for me coping with the new political environment in Utah (really, several years and the whole country would also work here). I’m hoping that reading about stoicism will give me some tools to both act according to my conscience while not drowning in anxiety and anger.
  4. Reading the Hugos – Working my way backwards through the novel winners that I haven’t read yet.
  5. Books Becoming Movies – Because I like to have read the book first, plus my other categories are so serious that I felt like I deserved a break.

Now on to the reviews!

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Author’s Note: The 37th Ward Relief Society Leftovers Exchange

Read “The 37th Ward Relief Society Leftovers Exchange” on the Mormon Lit Blitz blog. And if you’re reading this before November 13th, don’t forget to vote for your top four!

This story originated from a phrase in When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller. A character says that some of her “leftover anger” spilled over onto someone who didn’t deserve it. I thought this phrase was very apt: sometimes emotions leftover from other encounters spill over into our interactions with innocent bystanders. The phrase also gave me the hilarious image of people boxing up their leftover emotions to store in the fridge for later.

lunch table
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During a discussion in a writing class, I connected that image with the idiom of “eating your feelings” and the scriptural idea of “mourning with those that mourn,” and this story was born. I have never participated in a leftovers exchange, but I have been a part of many potlucks, taste tests, cooking demos, and recipe exchanges, so this felt like something a Relief Society might do.

For non-LDS readers: a ward is a congregation in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Relief Society is the church’s women’s organization. Food is a central part of most cultures and Mormons are no exception. It’s not a church activity without a spread of tasty calories, and bringing meals to each other is one of the most basic ways that we show that we care. See this fabulous book on Utah food culture for more stories and examples of LDS/Mormon foodways.

I see the lack of empathy for others as a huge problem both within the church and in the world generally. I was recently in a meeting where several Relief Society sisters expressed how they didn’t feel that they fit in and that no one understood their problems. But secretly everyone feels this way, at least part of the time. How much easier it would be if we could transfer the experience of our hearts to each other! If we understood one another that deeply, we would be more understanding of each other’s faults and foibles. Bearing one another’s burdens is in fact what Christ has called us to do; it is, I believe, the main purpose of practicing religion as part of a church, rather than as individuals.

I hope you enjoy the story and that it inspires you to find a way to share in someone else’s leftover feelings and make the world a more peaceful place.