Perfect Audiobooks, Multi-Dimensional Mothers, and Jewish Mythology

To view this email as a web page, go [here.]( [Tor.com Newsletter]( [Forward to a Friend]( [A photo of headphones lying on top of an open book]( LISTEN UP! [Five Sci-Fi Books That Are Perfectly Suited to Audio]( Lorna Wallace loves reading physical books, but she also found quite a few tales that work even better as audiobooks, whether it’s because of the structure of the story itself or a particularly great narrator (or cast of readers). Here are five relatively recent books that you might want to check out in audio format, with plenty of further suggestions in the comments! [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a photo of a person looking up at a vast starry sky]( TO THE STARS [Eleven Books That Changed How I Think About Space Opera]( Are we living in a new golden age of space opera? Charlie Jane Anders thinks so: “People have proclaimed the death of this vital subgenre many times over the decades—but like a deep space probe upgraded by godlike aliens, space opera keeps coming back... I wouldn’t be writing space opera if I hadn’t read some incredible examples of the genre and had my brain exploded.” Here are her recommendations for eleven books that expanded her understanding of what space opera can be... [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a collection of book covers]( STRONG WOMEN [Five Mothers in SFF Who Are Dynamic, Multi-Dimensional Characters]( It’s depressingly rare that mothers are allowed to be whole, human characters in literature—far more common are cardboard saints, baby-devouring monsters, or, of course, the countless dead mothers who haunt so many stories. To push back against those sad tropes, Lilith Saintcrow rounds up five women who are living breathing characters as well as moms, from the woman whose actions kick-off the entire plot of the Dune series, to Wendy Torrance, fighting back against abuse and catastrophes both natural and supernatural. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [A painting of a young girl reading]( MARK AS READ [Beyond “Guilty Pleasures”: When Reading Is Weird, or Hard, or Personal]( At some point in her twenties, Molly Templeton broke up with the concept of a guilty pleasure. “I decided that I was going to like what I liked, without feeling guilty about that enjoyment.” But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have complicated relationships with some of the things she loves—and lately the books she’s most drawn to feel...squirmy. In her latest Mark as Read column, Templeton talks about adventures in weird reading. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a collection of book covers]( FOR YOUR BOOKSHELVES [Five Fantasy Books Featuring Jewish Mythology]( Recently, there’s been an uptick in Jewish representation in the fantasy genre— which makes sense, because Jewish mythology has a long history and a vast range of mythological creatures and elements to work with! Author Kalyn Josephson looks at five fantasy works (three newly published and two upcoming) that draw on everything from the legend of the Golem to a community of friendly ghosts in Prague to protective angels emigrating to America. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a collection of tv show intro screenshots]( TELL THE JUDGE [Five SFF Works Featuring Draconian Laws and Legal Systems]( Many authorities believe (and have believed, throughout history) that order and tranquility are best assured by draconian laws inflexibly applied. Here, James Davis Nicoll looks at five SFF stories that explore what rigid laws do to societies and the people within them, including a tale of political intrigue from Aliette de Bodard, the horrific biological bureaucracy of Ninni Holmqvist, and the sword-and-sorcery of Charles R. Saunders’ Imaro. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [A photo of book pages curled up to look like a heart]( ESCAPE INTO READING [Nine (Very) Short Fantasy Stories With Happy Endings]( Is there anything better than a super short story you can read in one sitting on a rainy day, cup of chai steaming on a table beside you? Particularly if those super short stories are also optimistic tales. Ratika Deshpande is here with nine stories that will make your day brighter. [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( [a screencap of a man holding a camera from Wes Anderson's Asteroid City]( POETIC CINEMA [Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City Tests the Boundaries of Dreams]( “You can’t wake up if you don’t fall asleep.” Wes Anderson’s latest film, Asteroid City, is one of the most enigmatic (and, some of us would say, best) films of 2023. Dan Persons explores the movie’s use of framing devices, stop-motion artifice, and dream logic to try to get at what Anderson was trying to say with his latest film, and to ask one of the most profound questions of all: “What is art’s superpower?” [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( ORIGINAL FICTION [“FORM 8774-D” by Alex Irvine]( It’s just business as usual at the Bureau of Metahuman, Mutant, and Occult Affairs until an employee for the government agency begins to wonder if work is following her home... [Read more]( SHARE THIS: [Publish to Facebook]( [Publish to Twitter]( Follow Tor.com to get updates on all of our original fiction. FOLLOW US: [Follow Us on Facebook]( [Follow Us on Twitter]( [Follow Us on Tumblr]( [Follow Us on Pinterest]( This email was sent by: Macmillan 120 Broadway New York, NY, 10271, US We respect your right to privacy - [view our policy]( Macmillan believes piracy hurts writers, readers and everyone who loves books. Learn more and report suspicious activity [here.]( To subscribe to this or other email communications from Macmillan, please click [here](. Visit our [profile center]( to update your email address and/or other information. If you no longer wish to receive this email communication, click [here]( to unsubscribe.