Tagged Sci Fi
Afrofuturism: Still Moving Black to the Future
Modern media can leave the impression that the African American experience, as depicted primarily in television and film, functions on a timeline illustrated as a backward-moving ray. Many of the stories are either contemporary,…
Dena's Favorite Books of 2023
It's the 12th annual list of my favorite books — the 2023 edition! This year was a good reading year; I read over 300 books for the first time since 2019 (although my TV watching decreased dramatically). There's…
Dena's Favorite Books of 2022
Welcome to Year 11 of my annual list of favorite books and the third year of pandemic reading! I've started getting my reading mojo back and have been spending a bit more time reading than watching tv this year—268 books read…
Dena's Favorite Books of 2021
It's that time of year again for my annual list of favorite books from the Philbrick Hall Fiction Department at Parkway Central Library ! Welcome to the tenth anniversary of this yearly list and the second year of pandemic reading!…
Hugo Award Nominees Announced for 2021
The Hugo Awards are science fiction’s most prestigious prize. Books (and other media) nominated for a Hugo are always a stellar read, and you can read (and watch!) many of 2021's Hugo Award nominees for free through the Free…
March Monster Madness: Godzilla vs. Kong
Dracula vs. Frankenstein Alien vs. Predator T-800 vs. T-1000 These are just a few of the most over-the-top sci-fi b-movie fight scenes ever filmed, but the main event will finally take place when Godzilla squares off against King Kong…
Women's History Month | Ursula K. Le Guin Honored with Commemorative Stamp
Ursula K. Le Guin 's award-winning writing often depicted futuristic alternative worlds steeped in the themes of politics, the natural environment, gender, religion, sexuality, and ethnography. Now her legacy will live on in a…
Dena's Favorite Books of 2020
It's that time of year again for my annual list of favorite books from the Philbrick Hall Fiction Department at Parkway Central Library . It's been a hard year for a lot of people, and although I usually read around 350 books a…
This Is The Way... to Mandalorian and Star Wars Reads
Space western adventures! Out of this world creatures! And one cute green baby (Yoda)! We're talking about The Mandalorian , the latest installment in the ever-expanding Star Wars universe of characters and stories. The season 2…
Dena's Favorite Books of 2019
It's that time of the year again! Working in the Fiction Department of the Parkway Central Library means that I am always surrounded by excellent books to read. I read over 330 this year, and in narrowing it down to my top 30…
New Star Wars Teen Fiction to Read Before The Rise of Skywalker!
Hey everyone, it’s that time of year again – time for a new installment in the Star Wars movie universe! I’ve written before about my Star Wars excitement (that I’m sure you share!): Back in 2015, it was about…
Black Girl Magic
If Blk Girl Soldier by Jamila Woods has been your anthem for the past few years... then you might be ready for the following booklist! Feeling telepathic? Step into this selection of *Black Girl Magic* featuring Black women authors and…
Imagining the Moon
(note: play these songs in the background while reading this blog post : ) In honor of this week’s very special Lunar Landing anniversary , I’ve been thinking a lot about how our gorgeous, mysterious, predictable, and still…
Hugo Awards Finalists Announced for 2019
Dublin 2019: An Irish Worldcon announced the finalists for the 2019 Hugo Awards on April 2. The awards are the most prestigious in the science fiction genre, honoring literature and media as well as fan activities. Named for Amazing…
Computer Overlords: YA Fiction in the Shadow of 2001: A Space Odyssey
Released on April 3, 1968, the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey set a new standard for the science fiction film medium. I know that there are those who would talk about the cinematography or the existential ending or a host of…
The Pop Culture Apocalypse of Ready Player One
Just in time for Easter, perhaps the largest collection of "Easter Eggs" to ever be assembled on film debuts in theaters today— Ready Player One . The film is adapted from Ernest Cline's 2011 novel , a nod to all…
Dena's Favorite Books of 2017
Every year I read a lot of books. Out of the 339 that I read in 2017, I've picked out the 36 that I liked the best . 2017 was a hard year, and I found myself looking for books that were happy and not particularly difficult or…
Pro-Porg and Proud: A Discussion on Star Wars Creatures Cute and Small
So it’s almost time for another installment of the Star Wars franchise, an event which many of us are treating as a holiday. It’s been a roller coaster ride for fans these last two decades since The Phantom Menace . I…
Star Wars: The Return of Carrie Fisher
Forty years after it left theaters, 1977’s Star Wars ranks as the second top-grossing film of all time (adjusted for inflation). Its impact on pop culture is immeasurable—from a pretty consistent stream of weird knockoff…
May the 4th Be With You!
So... I love Star Wars. I have always loved Star Wars. My friends and I would routinely marathon Star Wars , The Empire Strikes Back , and Return of the Jedi at sleepovers when we were younger. (Or maybe we still do - who among you…