Forward: Stories of Tomorrow

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This year I’m aiming to read at least 35 books! That might not sound like much, but with a grand total of 25 last year, it’s hopefully going to be an achievable target. Recently i’ve struggled quite a bit to find the time to sit and read, with distractions, social meetings, and other responsibilities all vying for attention elsewhere, so recently i’v been dabbling more with audiobooks. Along with weekly podcasts I usually have one on the go and, this last month, I downloaded and listened to Forward: Stories of Tomorrow.

This appeared on Audible as a personalised recommendation and consists of six sci-fi short stories curated by Blake Crouch. All the authors were entirely new to me, and the six stories have a Black Mirror style future warning plausibility about them, which is how I interpreted them at least. I read about the stories briefly before listening, but for the most part with all of them went in blind (deaf?). Absolutely everyone has ranked them and picked their favourites in blogs, reviews, and fansites, so I thought I would do similar here, with spoiler-free thoughts. Forward is by no means the most complete or accomplished collection of this genre, but I think it’s worth a read or listen; all of the stories have some kind of charm.

Ark, by Veronica Roth, read by Evan Rachel Wood

I listened to the stories in order, and this was the first. The story is set two weeks before an asteroid destorys Earth, and having already evacuated the planet, a small team remain to catalogue and store plant samples. This was enjoyable enough with some interesting ideas, but ultimately it didn’t feel like the concepts or narrative had much drive. Things were very slow- despite the seemingly obvious urgency of the situation- and the story doesn’t really get a chance to perform. This was a very soft, melancholic story, but it did feel a little hollow.

Summer Frost, by Blake Crouch, read by Rosa Salazar

This was an excellent short story, expertly paced, and probably my second favourite of the collection. The story deals with work-life balance, artificial intelligence and free-will in pretty big ways, and does a lot thematically in such a short time. I really don’t want to talk too much about the plot with this one, but I found it so madly captivating, it really hooked me. I feel Summer Frost could be expanded to become an entire novel, but it’s definitely an interesting read that will linger in my thoughts for sometime. Really enjoyable.

Emergency Skin, by N. K. Jemisin, read by Jason Isaacs

Emergency Skin was the only story I was aware of going into the collection, after the title previously having won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2020 and winding up in my “to read” pile. The story is about an explorer returning to a previously-doomed earth for materials and the discoveries they make along the way. As someone currently mega-disillusioned with work culture, politics, climate change, society, and hell, where the world is heading in general, this resonated with me a lot! The themes might be a bit too on the nose for some, but I found this short story excellently paced as the reveals emerged, and the character’s discoveries progressed. It ended at exactly the right time. This was easily my favourite of the six stories and my introduction to N. K. Jemisin as an author. I’m looking forward to reading lots more.

You Have Arrived At Your Destination, by Amor Towles, read by David Harbour

David Harbour (Hopper from Stranger Things) was great narrating, but overall ‘At Your Destination did not click for me. This was conceptually clever, with fertility, genetic engineering, and future outcomes all as major thinking points. Structurally however, the story didn’t really land, with the opening feeling pretty loose, and a third act that -to me at least- was quite disappointing. Im not really sure I arrived at the destination at all. Probably my least favourite of the six.

The Last Coversation, by Paul Tremblay, read by Steven Strait

This was just okay. The narrative really hinges entirely on the ending that, while having some excellent symmetry with that of the beginning, was very predictable from the outset. This is easily the most abstract of the collection conceptually and narratively, and I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I hadn’t sussed the ending as quickly as I did. I refuse to divulge any more. Tonally and through its language I enjoyed this quite a bit, and it feels raw, sharp, and honest throughout, but as an idea I feel this has definitely been done before, and better.

Randomize, by Andy Weir, read by Janina Gavankar

Andy Weir was, in my opinion, the most “household name” of the authors in the collection. There’s lots of dismissing reviews of this on Goodreads but I thought this was fun! Sci-fi wise this is definitely the lightest (and shortest) of the short stories included in the Forward collection, but the idea of quantum computing meeting casino heists is interesting and more importantly, narratively enjoyable. With changing protagonists up until the very end I wasn’t really sure how the story was going to land; in some ways it’s a story that truly reflects the ‘randomness’ and binary win stakes of gambling as a concept. Pretty neat!

Faves in 2020

Normally year-ends are marked with numerous rundowns, “…of the year” posts, and favourite picks. This year has been a bit different release-wise across various media, so I wanted to do something different other than obvious game/film etc of the year and enthuse instead about my late discoveries or personal entertainment highlights from the year. Stuff I’ve missed or not fully posted about yet. Catch-up year!

‘Trail of Dead live, The Mash House in Edinburgh

In March before everything went tits up we were very fortunate to get a mini break in Edinburgh . Two weeks before UK Lockdown was even a remote possibility I was lucky enough to get to see one of my favourite bands play live in quite possibly the most crowded, loudest environment ever. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead have been a band that I’ve been a big fan of for close to 20 years now, so it was incredibly rewarding finally getting to see them live after all this time. The band played lots from their back catalogue as well as plenty from their new album this year -X: The Godless Void and Other Stories- and the gig was probably one of the most thunderous and booming shows I’ve ever been to. Volume is subjective and usually with hyperbole, but I’m not lying when I say I didn’t know bands were allowed to play so loud…legally. I had extra tinnitus for days, annnd declaring that now makes me older than ever. Sorry.

Spotify and BBC Radio 6 Music

This year I started listening to BBC Radio 6 Music in a big way and after defaulting to Apple Music for years, this year I rejoined Spotify as streaming provider. These are quite small things, but both changes resulted in me discovering and listening to a lot more bands, artists, and genres than I have in any other year. I listed to 241 new artists this year(!) and 327 total, a lot more than my usual standard plays and go-to favourites. So lots more diversity this year- here’s my playlist of my favourite songs from this year.

Lots of Films!

With lockdown and being off work earlier this year I watched a LOT of films. In total this year I watched 81 Films For the First Time, and 140 films overall. In the absence of cinema trips here were plenty of rewatches of past favourites instead, and Christopher Nolan, Michael Caine, and Peter Jackson all featured quite heavily- here’s my stats in full. Next year I’d like things to be a bit more diverse, cult, and overall varied. Any recommendations let me know!

Lots of Books!

This year I aimed to read 25 books and while I quite havent reached that target yet (there’s still tiime) I’ve read a lot more this year than normally and spent more time actively reading accordingly. My favourite audiobook this year is Pet Sematary by Stephen King, I’ve posted about that already, and one of my favourite books was We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson. Again, I’ve already posted about that, so let me offer up my other favourite instead…

Ice by Anna Kavan

I picked this up at random earlier in the year, and I read through it pretty quickly. It’s set in a distopian post-apocalyptic landscape where the cold stings and a chill bites throughout. Things happen, and there are scenes and events, but I wouldnt say there is plot, if that makes sense. It’s a maddening blizzard of a journey where things and narratives happen in paralell to each other but you’re never really sure what it real and what isnt. It’s magical in places with it’s language, sometimes feeling like a bleak fairytale in others, but it’s a piece of media that’s really stuck with me throughout the year. It’s not for everyone, but it’s definitely something I want to reread slower and even more thoughtfully next year.

Nintendo Firsty-Party Games

Animal Crossing: New Horizons released earlier this year and over lockdown and in the absence of structure, was something that I enjoyed and played immensely. The game really helped me relax and switch off, and ultimately give me something to obsess over instead of doomscrolling. Nine months later i’m still playing frequently. Also helpful and fun, my friend group started playing Mario Kart 8 online most sunday nights. In a time where couch-multiplayer is disappearing from games (regardless of social disctancing) these nights really felt old-school fun, and again, something good to distract and break up the week.

Online Dungeons & Dragons

Something that equally kept me ticking over was voice chat D&D, and playing over Roll20. I’ve probably played more this year than any other year combined with near weekly precision. In one campaign i’m heist happy halfling Panwick, in the other i’m dashing, dumb, dentist half-orc Henk. Both campaigns have been great distractions, and good burst escapes from reality.

Airiel

This year I listened to so much shoegaze and dreampop, and Airiel were one of my early discoveries through Spotify. BAND OF THE YEAR! Admittedly they only released one single this year and the stuff I did listen to was mainly from 2017-2004, but band of the year! I really enjoyed playing their dreamy/floaty, lets be honest, lovely discography and zoning out especially during the height of lockdown/2020 doom hell. The band are one of my favourite things this year- definitely on the list to see live once things are okay again.

Dishonored

The Last of Us Part II came out in June and really blew me away with it’s bold narrative choices and heavy story consequences, but after completion I bounced off it pretty hard and revisited my backlog. The original Dishonored came out pretty late in one console generation and early into another so it was something that like lots of things I never really got round to. I played through the base game and all it’s DLC this year and I fell in ove pretty much straight away with its open-ended gameplay and the world narrative that it’s all set against. I jumped into it’s sequel shortly after and it was the same here, but with even more polish and gameplay options to be had. I had so much devious stealthy fun with this series I really regret sleeping on the franchise for so long, especially now that it seems finished. I would still definitely recommend playing the games even now

2020 Reading Goals

Back in January I made a lot of New Year Resolutions and things I wanted to do this year, but with 2020 being the absolute worst, few of these have have actually been acheievable or even realised. Things like travel plans and running have been big no-gos as global pandemic and backache continue on, but one resolution this year was to read more and it is actually on track!

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I set myself the goal of reading 25 books before the year was out, and while initially that doesn’t sound like much, it’s five times more than what I would normally get through in the same period. I never read as much as I’d like to (lets blame nights out, doom scrolling and social media) and while lockdown and distancing have been absolutely terrible it’s been quasi-good at partially eliminating some of those distractions. With eight weeks now left this year I’ve now got only five books left (see above) to hit my target- they’re an odd mix of books started last month, earlier this year, and even from a few years ago during house and job changes. What I want to do is get everything finally wrapped up ahead of next year. I am notorious for starting things and never finishing them, having backlogs, and slow progress on media across the board so I’m looking forward to completing this self-challenge and more excitingly, looking forward to doing even better next year.

A list of everything I’ve read so far this year is over on my Goodreads page. Once the year is over I’m planning on doing a post here summarising them all with my thoughts and faves, potentially another looking for 2021 recommendations too (if I actually get my backlog cleared)!

October Status Update

2020 has been a scary year, and I wouldnt be lying if I said I’ve been a bit overwhelmed by it all at least ten times this year already. With a second wave of Covid_19 hitting Europe and the UK now (or just a continued first wave?) for me personally this month there’s not much to report. With venues and shops closing earlier due to restrictions, darker and stormier nights, and NO SOCIALISING WHATSOEVER it’s been a very quiet month, and one with very little respite from the ongoing Monday to Friday 9-5 work drudgery. Again, scary stuff, so with everything hellishly terrible I decided to lean into it all a bit more and made a point of really doing nothing this month except consume horror books/tv and film.

For the longest time Horror media of any sort was just a big no-no for me. Cowardice, confusion, a lack of…risk taking? I’ve read Stephen King as a teenager and forever since, but I was always aware of my limits and sensitivity. As I’ve gotten older it’s something that I’ve found myself enjoying more and more, particularly in film and literature. My favourite thing about the genre is that invariably it has some of the most human themes and characters compared to absolutely everything else and that it rewards looking inwards at self, identity, and just humanity in general. Not always of course, but a great number of stories look at what makes us human, what our relationship is with each other and then makes a horror or fear out of something that is the opposite.

Two years ago Netflix produced and released The Haunting of Hill House, a one-off miniseries inspired by the Shirley Jackson book af the same name. I loved it. It was tense, dark, it was about love, it was about hope and light, and it really opened up the genre for me, both series and book. The show was one of the most complete, satisfying, and absolutely whole things I’ve ever watched. This year it’s follow-up released -again a miniseries- this time inspired by The Turn of The Screw by Henry James. I wasn’t familiar with the source material but I was very excited to watch the show as a spiritual follow-up with the same cast and creative team. The first night we watched three episodes, another three the second, and the final three on the third, closing the entire show out within one weekend. Thematically it’s very different to ‘Hill House with a horror and darkness that sometimes feels altogether more frightening. It’s a lot lighter on tension and jump scare set pieces, but it was incredible at studying humanity, life, death, and the transition thereof. I really want to watch it again and think and talk about it a lot more- a revisit is guaranteed once I’ve finished reading the book.

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I made a point of watching only Horror films this month and things that kind of came under that genre, so yes, Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family and Practical Magic were all allowed of sorts. I finally watched Halloween (1978, John Carpenter) this month, having ignored/missed/avoided the franchise my whole life. It was incredible! A real old-school practical slasher flick with lots of scares and jumpsightings of famous stabber Michael Myers throughout, and so really well done. A whole 42 years later(!) I think the film has aged phenomenally and I really regret missing out on it for so long. My other big film fave was Us by Jordan Peele. Get Out, his directoral debut, was critically lauded and while I could recognise it’s brilliance upon watching it, it wasn’t really something that I admired. Against the majority, I much preferred Us. An absolutely stellar, bold, and complex piece of both narrative and filmmaking. It’s not without it’s flaws, but it has buckets of allegory to unpack throughout and really taps into some very nasty unnerving human fears.

As with Halloween this month I went back to another genre-definer classic and I listened to Dracula by Bram Stoker. I knew going in that this was perhaps going to be a bit of a difficult one, but I really didnt enjoy this much at all. It puts all the pieces on the board with a creepy castle, stakes, garlic, bats and fangs, inspiring everything forever afterwards but I found it really dry. The opening chapters are enjoyable and engrossing -Tense! Creepy! Dramatic!- but the second half of the story meanders and dithers so much. The protaganists think, and observe, and ponder which is great, but it’s all with very little urgency. There’s lots of exposition but the story just felt unecessarily long. Not for me. Conversely, I really enjoyed -and I really can’t believe I’m comparing the two- listening to Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I find with Gaiman he’s generally really good at creating unease from the simplest of childhood fears and anxiety, and Coraline does this so well. A dark twisted fairytale about things that are different, changing circumstances (which are just the scariest at any age), and uncertainty through younger eyes. I’ve seen the film before but this was my first time with the book and I liked it a lot.

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Going forward there’s still lots to do. At the moment it seems like some of the scariest stuff is on the news and there for us all to see whether we like it or not, but I’m in the process of reading The Turn of the Screw and i’ve started reading the numerous short stories by Shirley Jackson too. In an ideal situation it would be proper lockdown again with all the time in the world to read and watch so much more and already I feel like I really missed plenty of other great stories I could have done. As the horror that is 2020 continues, I’m sure there’s going to be plenty of dark winter nights to get stuck into some of them.

August Status Update

August was a month of books, boardgames, and “back to normal”.

I’ve been posting here a lot less than what I’d like to recently, and the main reason for that is that things are finally going “back to normal”. With lockdown fully eased in Scotland (wear your damn mask please), shops are open, schools are open, and I’m now back at work, five days a week. It’s good to get out of the house and do things a bit more regularly again, but the whole thing so far feels a lot like a dream: honestly, where the hell have the last few months gone? I’m finding the days having a similar effect, and after doing not much for so long it’s bizarre suddenly having responsibility, appointments, and an actual sense of time again. Night times are a crazy spin of dinner, TV, bed, and days are frequently over before they feel as if they’ve even begun, my energy levels mysteriously depleted. I’m hoping this will all balance out soon.

With businesses, places, and venues opening back up, this month I went for a few lunches, got a haircut, went shopping, and even later in the month, went to the cinema. The first outing was on a sunny Sunday to Forse of Nature, where we sat outside to eat, sat on the (sometimes wet) grass, and had a wander round the grounds. Lunch and company were great, we saw ducks, and I may have fallen in a ditch in the woods, but the best feeling about it all was just how relaxed and normal everything felt- some very long overdue reassurance for me and my doom mentality the last few months. Equally great was getting to drive to Inverness and go shopping later in the month, buying lots of books, having lunch, visiting friends and then heading home. It feels good to break up things again with such days, but arrows, facemasks, and distancing in shops are of course a constant reminder that things aren’t perfect quite yet, and might not be for a while.

This month -and year, if i’m honest- I’ve been trying to read a lot more than what I would normally. After reading the first in the His Dark Materials trilogy late last year -Northern Lights- this month I jumped into the follow-up The Subtle Knife. Against consensus, I found the first book in the series as just okay, but could see the enormous potential of both the world and the series. The second book opens up a lot faster and vastly expands the world(s) of the series by introducing some really great characters and concepts from the outset. With initial world-building and introductions from the previous book out of the way I far preferred it’s pacing and focus enormously, and got through it with enthusiasm quite quickly. The third and final book in the trilogy The Amber Spyglass which i’m reading now expands with possibility and wonder, but so far it’s taking me a lot longer to get through. The other book I read this month was On Writing by Stephen King, and after reading plentiful amounts of his work over the years, I found this incredibly rewarding. There’s a lot of good advice in here for aspiring story tellers -I have post-it notes on pages to prove it- but I far preferred the more autobiographical sections and passages, which were often just as interesting.

In August I continued playing in two Dungeons and Dragons campaigns with my two very different characters. Panwick the Pilfer is an agile and sneaky heist Halfling extraordinaire trying to stay alive while Henk is a Half-Orc Barbarian who often misses the point and lacks subtlety. I enjoy both characters and games, and next month i’m looking into starting some solo rpgs and journalling on the side, for even further escapism. With us largely house bound these last few months there’s been frequent online D&D sessions but my partner and I have been playing lots of boardgames too. This month I bought Santa Monica for us to play together, and initial impressions are pretty good. The game is an easy breezy card drafing operation where you build a beach front and then attract tourists to gain victory points, mini engine-builder style. We need to play more and especially as part of a group but so far I can safely say I LOVE THE THEME AND ART SO MUCH.

While I know lockdown, and Covid, and 2020 are all far from over it’s good to be feeling a lot better about things, and optimism is something I’m feeling a bit more now both mentally and physically. The year, and holiday, and all the weddings we were going to and so much more are written off, but I’m feeling creative and ambitious and have plenty of ideas and projects lined up for the coming months and winter ahead. It’s time to try and get things back on track!