BooktubeSFF Awards discussion

Hello everyone, Thomas here! Sorry to set this up so late. (I was out of town and away from my computer all weekend. Bad Thomas!) So this will be the thread for Mary Robinette Kowal's The Calculating Stars, the first full novel set in her Lady Astronaut alternate history. It's a brisk read, so there should be plenty of lively discussion!

I'm about halfway through. I will say it is an ambitious task to try and pull together all the elements this story seems to want to address. Probably too ambitious.

I'm starting shortly!

Just started, I have really high hopes for this one.

I'm nearly a quarter in, and so far enjoying the book.

This was one of my favourites from last year and I loved it! Kowal just writes such a compelling story and really addresses a lot of realistic issues. It just really warmed my heart and made me hopeful? It was a 5 star read for me.

I will be reading this after Circe. I had not heard of this book before the sff award weekend announced. I hope it will be good!

I finished this a few weeks ago and flew through it. It was a 5 star read, the anger I felt toward Parker’s treatment of women was intense... that’s some darn fine writing!

I'm halfway through, and it's shaping up to be a 5-star read for me.

IBMs and punch card programs keep making me remember my childhood, and playing with those weird, nifty cards with holes all over the place that dad used to bring home for me and my sister :D they came in so many nice colours too :D

I'm almost done, on page 404. I also think that it has too many elements it's trying to pull together, but I appreciate what it's trying to do.

(view spoiler)[ I like that while it's a novel about breaking gender boundaries, when there are instances when Elma is forced to inspire or soothe children instead of playing a more active role in the IAC (such as during the bomb scare), she never views it as beneath her. I appreciate depictions of strong, capable women who are ALSO wives and mothers. Being a wife and/or mother is not a weakness or a distraction from a career.

I also appreciate the strong marriage between Elma and Nathaniel. At times, though, Nathanial seems too understanding. Especially for the '50s.

I hate to say this, but I'm also skeptical that white women in the '50s would be as understanding and concerned with injustices faced by women of color. I think it's great it's discussed, but would women at that time would be more understanding than men? Maybe I'm cynical about human nature, but it took me out of the story. It wasn't believable to me. It's almost as if modern people were imported into '50s America (except for the occasional sexist guys, like Parker).

And finally, I wish overworking wasn't as glorified. It seems to be a point of pride that Elma and Nathanial work so hard that it leaves room for little else in their lives. And in fact, it makes Elma literally ill with anxiety. While I appreciate hard work and destigmatizing mental illness, there's a way to be passionate about your work without killing yourself. Or ignoring your long lost aunt. Perhaps this bothers me because it's an issue I face, but I wish there was more boundary setting between professional ambition and personal happiness. (hide spoiler)]

I've just finished it and it's a definitive 5 stars for me.
More thoughts about it tomorrow, I still have some work to finish right now... :D

Final note: the portions related to flight are fantastic. I love Kowal's writing at (view spoiler)[ the end especially. I've always longed to go into space. (hide spoiler)]

Finally found a copy of this in the library, so I'm aiming to read it next week! Really looking forward to this one.

Currently at chapter 34, had to take a break to calm down my anger at the (view spoiler)[astronaut "training" the women receive (hide spoiler)]. Enjoying it a lot so far though the first half of part II felt a bit slow at times (but it is a fast-paced and easy read). I like the alternate history, and the math, and the anxiety issues, and the fight against sexism, and space obviously.

What I like less is mostly the characters. Apart from Elma and Nathaniel I feel like I still, 350 pages in, do not know them at all; I keep getting the names mixed up (and I usually never do in books) and know very little about their personalities. And while I get the idea that Nathaniel does not quite understand Elma's experience (which makes sense since he is a man in the 1950s), that does not show in his actions. It is great that he is supportive, but I just want him to say or do something half stupid every once in a while and then apologise. It makes no sense that he never fails when nearly all other men in the story do - even Elma makes mistakes when it comes to black people.

Just a few things to add -

I loved both books, gave them 5 stars. There were times I didn't like Elma's decisions in the second book, but many women make those choices and I still respect them even though they're not what I'd do. Those particular decisions are well-handled within the character of Elma and reflect Kowal's feminist perspective.

I met Mary Robinette Kowal recently at the Tucson Festival of Books. She was fantastic in a panel discussion titled "Spaaaaace!" She talked a lot about the Mercury 13 program, which actually happened in the 1950's and involved women who went thru the same training as men for space travel. They actually performed better overall! However, they were denied participation despite some compelling testimony in Nasa and congressional hearings. There's a documentary on Netflix that really captures the misogyny of the time and includes some of the women who participated. And of course Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space is a non-fictional account of the same kind of story as The Calculating Stars. Kowal didn't base Elma on any of those women but again, they all deal with discrimination of women in the '50's in the space program.

Mary also said that Parker's character was based on a real person. She was quite serious when she said that, and I was surprised to find that she hadn't exaggerated him at all. Yikes!

Meeting her was a treat. She's really intelligent and honest and her books are extremely well-researched. Plus she's really nice! And she's an excellent narrator of audiobooks. She recommended one she just finished called Amberlough. There was a lot of raving. She also narrates Seveneves and several other books - she has a whole library listed on Audible.com.

I was on the fence about this book, since it's not my genre, but I am liking it so much!
I'm am listening to the audiobook and I think that it really add to the story.

finished it. 4.5 stars. voting is going to be hard!

I just finished it. Overall, I think I like it, and think books like this are important in this age where science denialism is rampant. That said, I think this book may have been too ambitious. It tries to address science denial and climate change, as well as all the racism and sexism that come with a book set in the 1950s. And that is before we get to whether or not it’s a well written and engaging story. There were enough good pieces there that I gave it 3 stars, but it didn’t all come together that well for me.

I really liked this one, so I think it will get my vote. The audiobook narration was such a great experience. I actually thought the second book, The Fated Skies, was better, but I understand why the first book got nominated. Does anyone else think the sequel was even stronger?

Am I the only one struggling with this book? I like it when I'm reading it, but I don't feel any urgency to pick it up again when I put it down. I thought I was going to love this one, and I still might, but I feel like it's a bit too in-your-face with its messages? I love that it looks at sexism and racism and antisemitism and climate change, but it's also not really saying anything new. We all know these things are bad and that climate change is something we need to take seriously, but I'm still waiting for this novel to say something different about it. Hopefully it'll start picking up for me soon!

I just finished this tonight. I enjoyed the acknowledgement and historical part of the book. I didn’t know Brandon Sanderson helped her with this book. I liked her explaining who gave her tips on the technical jargon of the computers and pilots. I was thinking while I was reading these scenes that she must of been a pilot or an astronaut. The detail was so precise. I have read hidden figures but found it was more of a biography then a novel like the movie showed it as. This was exactly what I was looking for in Hidden Figures. The sci fi and factual parts all mixed into one.

I started this yesterday evening. I'm only in the second chapter, but I'm already a fan of the relationship between Elma and Nathaniel.

Sadly, I ended up DNFing this one - also at 62%, funnily enough! I love what Kowal was trying to say, but I think that was also part of the problem for me. Somewhere along the line she stopped telling a story and started writing what I call an "issues book". That doesn't mean the issues she discusses aren't important, because they so are, but I felt a little like I was being beaten over the head with it. Very sad this one wasn't for me!