Five SFF titles with dogs as key characters

Vanessa Armstrong is a book lover and writer with bylines at the LA Times, SYFY WIRE, StarTrek.com and other publications. She lives in Los Angeles with her dog Penny and her husband Jon.

At Tor.com Armstrong tagged five SFF books with dogs (and dog-adjacent individuals) as key characters," including:

Dol in the Villians Duology by V. E. Schwab

Many people, including myself, don’t enjoy reading anything where a dog dies. Dol is a unique exception to this rule—because although he does die (more than once, actually) in V. E. Schwab’s grippingly dark duology about two best-friends-turned-enemies with supernatural powers, he is brought back to life by his loving owner, a young girl named Sydney who can bring once-living things back from the dead. Dol, despite dying multiple times, is the closest on this list to being a regular pup—he’s just a big old black dog with floppy ears who loves his owner Sydney. He is a great friend, and keeps her company while her world is threatened by the supernatural machinations going on around her.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten top mentors in fiction

Benjamin Myers was born in Durham, UK, in 1976. He is an author and journalist, translated into several languages.

His new novel is The Offing.

At the Guardian, Myers tagged ten top mentors--"inspiring, sometimes ambiguous figures [who] are a perennial flint-spark for storytelling"--in fiction, including:

Cardinal Wolsey in Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Sharing weighty intellect and lowborn status that mark them out in the court of Henry VIII, Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell make for a classic mentor/protege coupling. Long after the cardinal’s death, Cromwell still defers to his advice. In time, he too adopts the role of mentor by nurturing all manner of disadvantaged orphans and urchins in whom he sees potential.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Wolf Hall made Jessie Burton's list of eleven of the best books about/with cats, Pete Buttigieg’s ten favorite books list, Ruby Bentall's six best books list, Rula Lenska's six favorite books list, Deborah Cadbury's top ten list of books about royal families, Peter Stanford's top ten list of Protestants in fiction, Melissa Harrsion's ten top depictions of British rain, the Telegraph's list of the 21 greatest television adaptations of novels, BBC Culture's list of the 21st century’s twelve greatest novels, Ester Bloom's ten list of books for fans of the television series House of Cards, Rachel Cantor's list of the ten worst jobs in books, Kathryn Williams's reading list on pride, the Barnes & Noble Review's list of books on baby-watching in Great Britain, Julie Buntin's top ten list of literary kids with deadbeat and/or absent dads, Hermione Norris's 6 best books list, John Mullan's list of ten of the best cardinals in literature, the Barnes & Noble Review's list of five books on dangerous minds and Lev Grossman's list of the top ten fiction books of 2009, and is one of Geraldine Brooks's favorite works of historical fiction; Matt Beynon Rees called it "[s]imply the best historical novel for many, many years."

--Marshal Zeringue

Six heroic women in literature

Candice Carty-Williams is a British writer, best known for her 2019 bestselling debut novel, Queenie.

Queenie has been described as "vital," "disarmingly honest," and "boldly political," and has been shortlisted for the Waterstones, Foyles and Goodreads Book of 2019, as well as selected as the Blackwell’s Debut of the Year.

At the Waterstones blog, Carty-Williams tagged "six characters who taught me all of the different but powerful faces that heroism can have," including:

Rachel Samstat in Heartburn by Nora Ephron

I myself have been described once or twice (or countless times) as neurotic, and that’s fine because so is Rachel Samstat, the autobiographical imagining of Ephron herself. One of my best friends forced me to read this on a train while she slept opposite me (probably so that I could stop disturbing her with my neurotic questions) and I laughed so much at the relatability of the main character that I disturbed her anyway. Sorry, Lettice, maybe you should get some more boring friends???

Read about the other entries on the list.

Heartburn is among Jeff Somers's ten books to read before getting divorced, Diana Secker Tesdell's top ten memorable meals in literature, and Anna Murphy's top ten lesser-known literary heroines.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five recent novels about climate catastrophe

Anne Charnock won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2018 for Dreams Before the Start of Time. Her latest novel is Bridge 108.

At Tor.com, Charnock tagged five recent novels about climate catastrophe, including:

Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh

A must-read novel for me because Amitav Ghosh, in his non-fiction book The Great Derangement, lamented that mainstream realist fiction has failed to incorporate climate change in its narratives. How has Ghosh himself tackled the subject of climate in Gun Island? The answer, partly, is by setting for his story in a region of the world under great threat from flooding and rising sea levels—the Sundarbans in the delta of the Bengal River—and by engaging with the problem of population displacement and people trafficking. In The Great Derangement he questions the legitimacy of realism in a climate-ravaged world, calling on scientists to embrace the improbable in an age of highly improbable weather events. Though Gun Island is set in the present day, Ghosh incorporates Bengali legend and departs from realism in the latter part of the novel through a number of unlikely coincidences. His novel spans from the US to India and Italy, and his characters range from a rare book dealer to a marine biologist and a trafficker. In doing so he presents climate change as a hyper object—one that brings together a continuity of experiences across the globe. A highly readable novel.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five happy literary novels

Jojo Moyes is a novelist and journalist. Her books include the bestsellers Me Before You, After You and Still Me, The Girl You Left Behind, The One Plus One and her short story collection Paris for One and Other Stories. Her novels have been translated into forty-six languages, have hit the number one spot in twelve countries and have sold over thirty-eight million copies worldwide.

Me Before You has now sold over fourteen million copies worldwide and was adapted into a major film starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke.

A Guardian reader set a challenge for Moyes: "I'm tired of sad and depressing themes, but want something that’s not a romcom in book form. Are there any happy novels that are also literary?"

One of five books Moyes offered in reply:

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez is funny, sad, sly and pragmatic. This is a love story that never goes quite where you think it will and ends with two elderly people being simultaneously in love and quite cross with each other. Blissful.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Love in the Time of Cholera also made Isabella Hammad's list of six top books of correspondence, Sameer Rahim's list of five essential works by Gabriel García Márquez, Jill Boyd's top six list of memorable marriage proposals in literature, the Christian Science Monitor's list of six novels about grand passions, Ann Brashares' six favorite books list, and Marie Arana's list of the best books about love; it is one of Hugh Thomson’s top ten books on South American journeys.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven psychology books that explore why we are who we are

Sarah Butcher is an assistant marketing manager for Oxford University Press. At the OUP Blog she tagged "seven books about a range of issues within social psychology—identity, gender and sexuality, radicalism, social assumptions and biases—address just a few of the questions about who we are." One title on the list:

Strange Case of Donald J. Trump: A Psychological Reckoning Dan P. McAdams

In the summer of 2016, Dan McAdams wrote one of The Atlantic’s most widely-read pieces on the soon-to-be-elected 45th president—The Mind of Donald Trump. In his new book—a collection of stand-alone essays that each explore a single psychological facet of the president—McAdams makes the startling assertion that Trump may just be the rare person who lacks any inner life story. More than just a political and psychological biography, this book is a vivid illustration of the intricate relationship between narrative and identity.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five nautical SFF novels to read when you’re far from shore

Vanessa Armstrong is a book lover and writer with bylines at the LA Times, SYFY WIRE, StarTrek.com and other publications. She lives in Los Angeles with her dog Penny and her husband Jon.

At Tor.com Armstrong tagged "five books [she's] read at sea that have the ocean as an integral part of their stories," including:

The Mermaid by Christina Henry

Christina Henry is best known for her dark fairy tale retellings. The Mermaid, however, is less grim than her other works and follows Amelia, a mermaid who falls in love with a Maine fisherman and then, when he is taken away from her by the sea, decides to become an attraction in P.T. Barnum’s American Museum in New York City. Amelia is a wonderfully strong character who, as a creature of the ocean, is unburdened by the societal constraints placed on women in the mid-1800s, especially the expectation that she should be quiet and demure in public. She knows who she is, and she knows who she loves, and her story is an engaging yet soothing one that also made my heart ache in the best way.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven of the best books about dysfunctional rich families

Joseph Finder is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozan suspense novels.

His latest Nick Heller novel is House on Fire.

At CrimeReads Finder tagged seven of his favorite books about screwed-up rich families. One title on the list:

Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians

An American-born Chinese woman from modest circumstances goes with her boyfriend to Singapore to meet his family—who turn out to be stratospherically rich—in a novel that’s part rom-com and part soap opera with a little Mean Girls thrown in. This is a world of private jets with yoga studios on board and Matisses hanging in the cabins. There’s a controlling mother, blood-curdling snobbery, questionable paternity, vicious gossip, hostile relatives, and lies. It was the basis for a lively 2018 movie adaptation.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten bone-chilling books featuring fictional pandemics

At BookRiot, Anna Gooding-Call tagged ten fictional pandemics that will make you sweat, including:

The Fireman by Joe Hill

There’s a spore going around that makes people burst into flame. Every day, something new burns: a forest, a hospital, a school, and countless people. Yet there’s a contingent that isn’t burning. They’ve solved the spore’s secret and learned to survive. Of course, that depends on the uninfected leaving them alone…

Read about the other entries on the list.

Also see Laura Spinney's best books about pandemics and Claudia Gray's five essential books about plagues and pandemics.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten of the best books about imaginary friends

Camilla Bruce was born in central Norway and grew up in an old forest, next to an Iron Age burial mound. She holds a master's degree in comparative literature, and has co-run a small press that published dark fairytales. Bruce currently lives in Trondheim with her son and cat.

You Let Me In is her first novel.

At the Guardian, Bruce tagged ten top books about imaginary friends, including:

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Most people are familiar with Joe, his enigmatic friend Tyler Durden and their secret basement clubs, if not from Chuck Palahniuk’s book then from the 90s movie starring Brad Pitt. I may not find the novel as philosophically interesting as many others do, but I think it is a highly entertaining take on an unravelling mind. Joe is a very unreliable narrator, and I questioned absolutely everything by the end, which is just the sort of thing I like.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Fight Club is among Catherine Steadman's six favorite books that feature unreliable narrators, Sarah Pinborough's top ten unreliable narrators, Richard Kadrey's top five books about awful, awful people, Chris Moss's top 19 books on how to be a man, E. Lockhart's seven favorite suspense novels, Joel Cunningham's top five books short enough to polish off in an afternoon, but deep enough to keep you thinking long into the night, Kathryn Williams's eight craziest unreliable narrators in fiction, Jessica Soffer's ten best book endings, Sebastian Beaumont's top ten books about psychological journeys, and Pauline Melville's top ten revolutionary tales.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eight books that will make you never want to look at your phone again

Kathleen Barber is a former attorney, incurable wanderer, and yoga enthusiast. Originally from Galesburg, Illinois, she is a graduate of the University of Illinois and Northwestern University School of Law. She now lives in Washington, DC, with her husband and son. Her first novel, Truth Be Told (2017, originally published as Are You Sleeping), has been adapted as a series for Apple TV+ by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine media company.

Barber's new novel is Follow Me.

At CrimeReads she tagged "eight books that will make you consider logging off—permanently." One title on the list:

The Hidden Things by Jamie Mason

Not all social media fame is sought-after…and some of it can be downright dangerous, as fourteen-year-old Carly learns after security camera footage of her defending herself against an attacker goes viral. Most viewers focus on Carly’s impressive self-defense moves. Yet, to some members of the criminal element, Carly is not the only thing of interest in the frame. As the video sweeps the country, these dangerous individuals begin circling Carly’s home and soon disrupt the life she knows.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Six SFF books featuring women on the high seas

Adalyn Grace's debut novel is All the Stars and Teeth.

At Tor.com she tagged six sci-fi & fantasy books featuring women on the high seas, including:

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

“Never underestimate the girls of this world.”

Pitched as Mad Max: Fury Road meets the feminine power of Wonder Woman, Seafire is a feminist pirate book I fell head over heels for. Not only does the action sinks its teeth into you and refuse to let go, but the entire cast is so fresh and the novel is abundant with diversity. Caledonia and her crew are some of the fiercest pirates you’ll ever meet, but they’re also incredibly loyal to one another. It was so refreshing to read a story about a group of young women who love and support one another, and who really try to build each other up. Yes! More of that, please! The Mors Navis crew is one I can definitely get behind, and I’m looking forward to reading more about their adventures in the sequels.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue