Students! Summer is right around the corner (if you, like Professor Jason and Professor Ashley, are based in the Northern Hemisphere). When we turned over seasons the last time we published a Geeky Spring Reading List blog post with the idea of giving you a Reading Week List to enhance your literary collection. Summertime is a semester at the Mind University and at more traditional learning institutions can be practicum, intern, or preparation time for the fall semester.
Where we are based in Los Angeles the summer weather has been well underway for most of the year and the rest of the country and the hemisphere as well. We mention cocktails in every Geek History Lesson episode intro, so make up your cocktail or mocktail (if, like Ashley, you don’t drink), as long as it’s refreshing and catch some rays poolside with these reads as company.
In celebration of Summer we have compiled a list of 5 geeky prose books to sunbathe to.
As a bonus, because all good reading breaks deserve a good playlist, please enjoy Unladylike Theatre’s playlist The Bearer of Bad News filled with tunes which inspired the first production put on by Professor Ashley’s new theatre company.
For the Geek History Lesson historians reading we believe The Bearer of Bad News was first mentioned in our Obi-Wan Kenobi episode.
“Enough of this jibber-jabber!”
as OG Youtube Jason would say … onto the list!
**don’t forget to click on the title to read in your format of choice!
5. Parable of the Sower
Written by: Octavia E. Butler
The works of Octavia E. Butler have been on both your Professors’ TBR lists for a long time. Not only is she a Southern California local, but along with Mary Shelley, who invented the genre, Butler is considered to be one of the most important science fiction authors of all time. Parable of the Sower (and The Earthseed Trilogy it kicks off), are set in what is now modern day, but was initially meant to be the near future. It examines what America looks like under the ravages of climate change and social upheaval which have combined to usher in the downfall of society as readers think of it. Lauren, the protagonist, is a teenage girl and the only person in the world who has dreams, hopes, and plans for the future. An autodidact, Lauren’s youth does not betray her comprehension of how the world needs to be. After she’s forced to flee her home and walk North along the freeways in search of work, safety, and water, it’s convincing her elders to build a new community together - Earthseed. The further you read into Parable of the Sower the more you will appreciate both Butler’s prose and level of scientific research she put into her fiction. You may also find yourself confronted with a frightening deconstruction of the world we now live in. Lauren’s faith in Earthseed - “faith” being the key word here - reveals in the formatting of the prose exactly what type of community Earthseed was always meant to be. TL;DR Parable of the Sower is amazing on so many levels and touches on many geeky tropes we love. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you don’t crack it open.
By the by, if you live in Southern California consider visiting the Huntington Gardens who has pages from Bulter’s original manuscript on display. We went earlier this year - it was amazing to behold!
4. Legendborn
Written by: Tracy Deonn
We’ve spoken extensively on Geek History Lesson about our shared love of Arthurian Legend. Deonn and Legendborn love the mythos at least as much as we do! It can easily be distilled down to “a modern day twist on the King Arthur legend” by centering a young Black woman rather than the typical blonde Englishman, but it is so much more than that. Deonn weave together Euro-centric magic traditions and American low country folk magic as a mirror to the structural take down protagonist Bree Matthews undertakes simply by existing. In the world of Legendborn the Knights of the Round Table are a Skull and Bones-esque society tied deeply to familial lines and academia. When Bree emerges with strange powers a-typical of the Legendborn she is not supposed to belong to. If you are looking to be swept away by an epic tale this summer then Legendborn is an absolute must-read!
If you’re looking for a long range read book two in the Legendborn series release in November.
3. Where the Crawdads Sing
Written by: Delia Owens
For Students who thrive on homework you simply must pick up Where the Crawdads Sing! It’s slated for a Hollywood adaptation and will be in cinemas worldwide July 22 of this year. Read the book before the movie the comes out. Owens spins a Southern mystery rooted in old affections when her “marsh girl” protagonist finds herself embroiled in the events of a murder tied back to a man she was once in love with. The dueling storylines make for a compelling story where as a reader you are unspooling the mystery along with the characters in the book. Where the Crawdads Sing gives you the feeling of the muggy summer Professors Jason and Ashley grew up with - though, admittedly, not in the Deep South - and all the angst which can be tied up in the hottest season of the year.
2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
Written by: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Admittedly, this is in our TBRS - The Daughter of Doctor Moreau doesn’t come out until July of this year - and expands upon the classic H.G. Wells The Island of Doctor Moreau. With Strange Things season four kicking off our summer viewing and Thor: Love and Thunder coming up on the horizon it appears we’re heading into a summer of nostalgia. An inventive take on one of the most frightening science fiction adventures we’ve ever had set in Mexico? The Daughter of Doctor Moreau appears poised to slide right into those same familiar vibes we’re all seeking. Professor Ashley is particularly excited to meet Carlot Moreau, the book’s protagonist, and get a real sense of where The Hybrids have wound in the intervening years since Doctor Moreau’s experiments first came to light.
1. Queen’s Hope
Written by: E.K. Johnston
Long live the Queen! Queen’s Hope is the third installment in E.K. Johnston’s Star Wars novels about the life of Padmé Amidala and her handmaidens - most particularly Sabé, who was portrayed by Keira Knightly in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - after Padmé’s perm as Queen Amidala has come to an end. This third book focuses on now Senator Amidala during the events of Clone Wars and sets out to provide a level of depth to her private marriage to Anakin Skywalker. As is the standard with this series do to certain circumstances unfolding Sabé has to step into the role of Senator Amidala and continue her duty as handmaiden even outside the palace at Naboo. Johnston has excelled at giving all the handmaidens (Sabé, Rabé, Eirtaé, Saché, and Yané), incredibly distinct personalities and flushing out Sabé to give her as much depth of character as the young Queen we first met her serving. If the Star Wars Celebration hangover is still upon you or Obi-Wan Kenobi has you wanting more from a galaxy far, far away Queen’s Hope will transport you to the magical dreamland we remember summer being from our childhoods.
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