"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." – George R. R. Martin
Continuing this week’s theme of AI, what happens to a robot that reaches the end of its useful life?
Cheaper to Replace by Marie Vibbert (2023) — 3,370 words (about 13 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine issue 202, July 2023.
Is this where AI storytelling is taking us? I certainly hope not.
Tell Them a Story to Teach Them Kindness by B. Pladek (2025) — 4,146 words (about 16 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #176, January 2025.
A touching story of a mother caring for her teenage son with ALS.
Still Water by Zhang Ran translated from Chinese by Jay Zhang (2025) — 9,090 words (about 22 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine issue #223, April 2025.
I listened to this wonderful time travel story on the first episode of Wil Wheaton’s new podcast, It’s Story Time with Wil Wheaton.
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Love, Death by Caroline M. Yoachim (2015) — 5,385 words (about 22 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #66, November 2015.
This is one of the stories I read as a kid in a volume of Hugo winners that kindled my love for short science fiction.
Or All the Seas with Oysters by Avram Davidson (1958) — 3,539 words (about 14 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, May 1958.
A poignant story about a mother doing her best for her daughter and the challenge this creates.
The Letters They Left Behind by Scott Edelman (2023) — 7,461 words (about 30 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed Magazine issue #159, August 2023.
For March my book club reads women’s fiction or a book written by a woman. We selected this book. It was published in 2018 and proceeded to win numerous awards including the Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Awards for best novel. I finished it the night before our book club meeting this past Wednesday.
The book is an alternate history. In the spring 1952 with Dewey as president (not Truman), a meteor strikes and wipes out the entire east coast of the United States. The damage to the whole planet is so bad that the world immediately starts making plans to get off of it. Elma is the main character and narrator, a female computer (one who does math, not a machine) and former WASP pilot who dreams of becoming an astronaut.
The book starts with a bang, literally. You are dropped right into the action as the meteor hits in the first few pages. A number of the computers in the new space agency are former WASPs eager to get into space. The male leaders are eager to maintain the status quo while Elma’s husband is the image of support. In this way, it was a bit cliché for me. And certain aspects of the story seemed a bit drawn out. Overall I really enjoyed the novel. It always kept me wanting to find out what happened next. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.
My rating: 4/5
On the dangers of making your small child an internet video star.
Starpoop by Sandra McDonald (2023) — 3,244 words (about 13 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed magazine, issue #158, July 2023.
This Hugo award winner in 1960 is a bit long but well worth the time invested.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes — 12,349 words (about 49 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Volume 16, No. 4 (April 1959)
Let’s start the week off with this Hugo award winning short story, a cautionary tale of algorithms and AI.
Better Living Through Algorithms by Naomi Kritzer — 5,610 words (about 22 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine, Issue #200, May 2023