“Distancing, the pulling back from ‘reality’ in order to see it better, is perhaps the essential gesture of [science fiction]. It is by distancing that [science fiction] achieves aesthetic joy, tragic tension, and moral cogency.” – Ursula K. LeGuin
It’s time for a date – a real date during the month of Valentine’s Day and during the era of social distancing – it’s time for our annual Blind Date with a Book. Each staff member has picked out some of their favorite books. Most of the ones I picked are Science Fiction, or affectionately called SciFi.
Don’t let the genre of SciFi intimidate you. You may actually find the stories to be a wonderful escape into imaginary worlds and situations, and surprisingly thought-provoking. Perhaps when my mom first read Dr Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who to me the seed (pun intended) for a lifelong passion for SciFi was planted. Dr. Seuss used a Microscopic world to encourage us to look at how we deal with people who are different from ourselves. What a great introduction to the world of SciFi.
You may not have liked Star Trek – too farfetched. But, I bet many of you remember the Jetson’s. They lived 100 years in the future – when there were things like smart homes and video calls. Impossible! Hmmmm, anyone heard of video chatting, programmable crock pots, talking refrigerators? Go figure. And which came first? Star Trek or reality? Star Trek’s world of fantasy has, in many cases, become a reality – from CAT scans and smartphones to 3D printers. I wonder if today’s inventors were, at one time, kids hooked on SciFi? I am still waiting for my meal to appear out of thin air.
SciFi authors, are often the visionaries of a different tomorrow. They write about fantastical worlds that could exist one day – for better or for worse – depending upon the decisions we make today. Every action in their worlds causes some type of reaction. Their fantasy often serves as a strong reminder that every word we speak, every action we take, can change our world.
SciFi asks us to look deeper and ponder things that we’ve often never thought about. Some of my favorites include:
- I, Robot by Isaac Asimov explores the human dilemma by exploring the ethics of artificial life to make us ask, “what does it mean to be human?”
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes we are asked what makes life worth living? How important is intelligence? How far would you go to become smarter?
- In Veronica Roth’s Divergent series, which takes place in a dystopian society, the reader is challenged to look at the world from different perspectives, and then, perhaps, it challenges your assumptions and biases.
- Could Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale truly come to pass? Her series of events and how they unfold makes one pause and consider what could lead a society down the dark path she describes.
So, let me encourage you to take a look at our collection of SciFi books or ask me for a recommendation. You may just discover that SciFi is something you find interesting and engaging. And it may very well prove to be one of your most memorable blind dates ever!