dystopias
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Pandemic Post-Apocalyptic Podcast
It was amazing, astounding, this loss of communication with the world. It was exactly as if the world had ceased, been blotted out. …With the coming of the Scarlet Death the world fell apart, absolutely, irretrievably. – The Scarlet Plague, by Jack London Just a handful of years after the novella quoted above came out,… Continue reading
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Beyond The Handmaid’s Tale: Feminist Dystopia & Utopia
We always love it when worthwhile, interesting books are adapted to film or TV, as it invariably means that a multitude of readers will be drawn to the source. As sales figures and waiting lists and libraries attest, this has been quite a year for Margaret Atwood’s landmark 1985 dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale, owing largely to… Continue reading
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The Science Fiction Checklist Challenge: Beginning with Endings
~posted by Lindsay S. While the words ‘science fiction’ still bring to mind spaceships and alien invaders, the genre has grown over the years. We at SPL have designed a science fiction checklist to help you navigate this expansive genre and all its facets. We hope you’ll explore the many worlds of science-fiction and find a favorite… Continue reading
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Cult Classics: Nightmare Visions
Dystopian fiction is all the rage at the moment, but grim visions of the world as it might become, or as it already is, are nothing new. Here are some masterful views of our world glimpsed through a glass darkly that are perennially popular with our readers, and with good reason. Atwood, Margaret The Handmaid’s Tale A… Continue reading
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It’s the End of the World As We Know It
The leaves are falling, the bubble has been popped for awhile now, and the holidays are right around the corner, which means it’s the best time to read dystopian fiction! Knowing these characters have it worse of then we do definitely puts a spring back in my step. In Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde… Continue reading
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After The Hunger Games
I just love a good dystopian nightmare. I’m not sure what this says about me, but some of my favorite books take place in future worlds shattered by environmental apocalypse or ruled by terrifying and mysterious dictators. What is it about these books that’s so appealing? I think it might be the fun of seeing bits of our own present in an… Continue reading
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Teen books are hot with adults
I’m a teen services librarian and lately I’m delighted to find that I’m serving more and more adult patrons. Many teen book virgins feel some trepidation, but there is no need, there is something for almost everyone in the Teen section. Teen books are often fast-paced reads, but don’t let that fool you: They are not simplistic. Teen publishing… Continue reading
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Banned Book-of-the-Month Club presents: Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
Each September, libraries observe Banned Books Week, celebrating the freedom to read. How about the rest of the year? Welcome to Shelf Talk’s Banned Book-of-the-Month Club! Our inaugural selection is a novel about banning books: Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Why read banned or challenged books? Yes, to affirm your right to read and think as you please,… Continue reading