#the calculating stars

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

#scifi #books #The Calculating Stars #Mary Robinette Kowal #Lady Astronaut #poll #result: no #l: English

[the-final-sentence]

I am sitting in a capsule, on my way to the moon.

Mary Robinette Kowal, from The Calculating Stars

#lit #prose #submission #the Calculating Stars #Mary Robinette Kowal

[dragoninatrenchcoat]

I FIGURED IT OUT

I kept wondering how mary robinette kowal managed to telegraph that the main character spoke up without using ANY dialogue tags at one point in Calculating Stars. I took a picture of the page when I saw it, but then I forgot to find it again/look back on it when I had time, and I wondered about it on and off for YEARS.

Today I found the picture I took of the book and I can see the trick she used!

See: other characters were the focus of the scene and they were engaged in dialogue together. (I don't remember how long they'd been talking; I just remember it was a crowded room and a lot had been happening. My copy of Calculating Stars is somewhere.)

Then, interrupting their conversation, the main character thinks some indirect speech in a way that reminds you that she’s the narrator of the scene, and then her dialogue STAYS INSIDE that new paragraph!

Since it’s a general rule that dialogue never changes during a paragraph, and indirect speech is like dialogue, the reader knows from context that the main character is speaking--AND because the dialogue is grouped into the indirect speech, you get the effect that she just said it without meaning to, & evokes the exact feeling you see in the next paragraph.

I LOVE WRITING

#mary robinette kowal #the calculating stars #writing #writeblr

[alagaisia]

Holy fucking shit why did nobody tell me to read the lady astronaut books sooner

I mean it’s been on my list for ages, so long that it got to the point it almost felt like a chore and I kept putting it off, so this is 100% on me

But wow. Got the first one two weeks ago from the library on a whim, read it in one day, put holds on the next two immediately, picked them up this morning before work and finished one by the end of my shift (slow day, thank goodness) and the other just now, at 3am, for anyone whose counting.

I will be thinking about these books for a LONG time. Please someone else read them also so that I have someone to gush with.

#mary robinette kowal #the calculating stars #the lady astronaut #mine

[why-be-social-when-you-can-read]

Why you should all read the lady astronaut novels by Mary Robinette Kowal:

feminist

historical sci-fi

great characters

funny

marriage between Dr. & Dr. York with “that’s my wife” energy

JUST READ THE DAMN BOOKS!!!

#please i’m begging you #I need people to talk about those books #the lady astronaut #the calculating stars #the fated sky #the relentless moon #mary robinette kowal

[hatshepsut9]

There’s no way I’m finishing another book tomorrow, so here’s a tiny wrapup:

Mini reviews below the cut (non-spoilery as much as possible!) 

The Calculating Stars: I read this because of booktube and enjoyed it— sometimes the internet can be trusted! This is an alternate history 1950’s space program book about a pilot/calculator becoming one of the first female astronauts. Overall it’s short, sweet, and smart. It does feature female and minority characters navigating typical 1950’s identity politics, but it’s not so frustrating as to be unreadable (of course it should be frustrating, but sometimes you’re just not in a patient enough mood that you’re willing to watch white men complain about the existence of women and black people when there is an actual global crisis looming over their shoulders!) If you can overlook some very cheesy flirting of the “rocket in your pocket” variety (yes, we get that you’re in the space program, you don’t have to use that fact in all your pickup lines) and you liked Hidden Figures, read this.

The Jasmine Throne: I’d never heard of this before but I got it for Christmas via a bookseller’s recommendation. I could see some people finding the writing style to be a little... affected(?), but I didn’t mind it. This is an Indian-inspired fantasy world with political rivalries, an old magic returning, and characters confronting fate. The cast isn’t huge, but there are enough characters that you get to explore things through comparisons. Trying to avoid spoilers here, but you get two characters in the exact same boat re: what happened when one of their family members got caught up in some royal family succession drama, and how each of them reacts completely differently with respect to how they view the royal character involved. And you also have 3 people who came from the same place who are dealing with colonization in 3 different ways. I really love the magic system(s) in this and I can’t wait to see what happens in the rest of the series. There is a plant/human magic system that is related to a kind of curse (that I suspect is really a power a la Elantris), a prophecy-based magic system/religion, and probably more aspects of magic that will come into play. The magic seems very localized, with religions that are tied to their locations. Halfway through the book I finally googled the series and only the first 2 books are out... I’m hoping it’s a trilogy but whatever it is, I’m in for the ride now. I would recommend this to fans of Baru Cormorant, The Poppy War, and maybe ASOIAF (but I haven’t finished any of those series so take that with a grain of salt). 

The Origin of Satan: I picked this up one night because I was at the house of a religious studies major with nothing to read, and it was interesting enough that I took it home and finished it. This book goes through internal drama between Jewish groups, then once Christians became a group made up of mostly gentile converts the dramas between them and pagans (mostly Romans), and then back to internal drama between different Christian groups. It traces the way people in these conflicts would use the idea of Satan-- first meaning an angel sent to challenge a human or stop humans from doing something bad, later meaning a sort of evil angel or evil god-- to talk about their conflicts with their various opponents both internal and external. (Side note: this book is why I noticed the localized religions/magic systems in Jasmine Throne, because it talks about how before Christianity, everyone took it for granted that your religion was determined by where you live). Overall this book is interesting but it just pointed me towards related topics that I now want to read about. For instance, it’s hard for me to imagine a time when people didn’t regularly frame their conflicts as part of a battle between the forces of good and evil, because that concept is so ingrained in popular culture even though we don’t usually think of it as coming from the idea of angels and demons/God and Satan, so I’d really be more interested to get immersed in examples of how people talked about their conflicts and their opponents before all this happened. The book also just made me want to read up on gnostic Christians (luckily she also wrote a book on the Gnostic Gospels, so that’d going in my list.) 

#books #booklr #book wrap up #book wrapup #tasha suri #mary robinette kowal #elaine pagels #the calculating stars #the jasmine throne #the burning kingdoms #the origin of satan #sci fi #alternate history #fantasy #history #religious studies

[thisisstarfleet]

Recommend me some sci-fi fluff

I need a light and hopeful palate cleanser and I don’t have anything in my TBR that looks appropriate.  Recent completions are:

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (very good but too true to its 50s setting to be comfortable - I’ll be reading the sequels but I needed a break first)

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (well worth the read but there was a lot of hard stuff to get through - worth it in the end, a very strange and enjoyable book)

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (almost DNF this one and I’m still not really sure how I feel about it, but it was pretty bleak and frustrating at times)

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (extremely gothic and dense, reading it was like digging a hole on the beach at high tide, and there was no satisfaction at the end - I’m sure it blew their minds in 1818 though)

Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis (just finished an hour ago and boy do i feel desolate - it was engaging for sure but did not leave me feeling hopeful and elevated)

I unfortunately did not space out the Murderbot books or Becky Chambers’ stuff so right now my TBR is Baru Cormorant book 3, the Lady Astronaut sequels, and a couple of things that don’t come out until later this year (TLT book 3, Monk and Robot book 2).  I could really use some suggestions for sci-fi/space opera or hope punk/solarpunk books that might help me feel uplifted before I dive back into the heavy stuff.  Possibly also some fantasy stuff, but I am just not feeling any epic deeds right now.  Character driven >> action driven for me.

Send me an ask or drop a comment!  Thanks

#books #not trek #truth of the divine #frankenstein #lindsay ellis #mary shelley #the calculating stars #lady astronaut #mary robinette kowal #six wakes #mur lafferty #light from uncommon stars #ryka aoki

[book-quotes-and-moodboards]

I laughed, because sometimes you have to, even when things aren’t funny.

The Calculating Stars (by Mary Robinette Kowal)

#the calculating stars #mary robinette kowal #the lady astronaut series #quote #book quotes #books

[youmaycallmeyourhighness]

Maybe it's because I'm bitter, but it's been days and I do not forgive Betty. If I hate a bitch I hate her for life sorry not sorry

#the calculating stars

[badrockbookrecs]

The Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal. (Link to first book on bookshop.org)

I just found out a new book is in the works!?! About the Mars colony? I’m so excited.

But anyways. The author described this series as “punchcard punk” which as somebody who makes a living working in archaic computing languages makes my brain happy. And the books make my brain happy. (And sad. And other things. The MC has anxiety and the author does a great but intense job of describing it. And the MC of the third book is anorexic.)

The gist is, an extinction level asteroid impact hits the planet in the 1950s just as the space race is gearing up. Specifically, it hits Washington DC. (Did you know Chesapeake Bay is actually part of an ancient impact crater? Anyways.) This results in an impact winter and then a gradual global warming — because water vapor is a greenhouse gas. (I really, really want to run some models for this myself. But the science of it very much does check out!!!)

Worried about humans becoming extinct, space travel gets kicked into gear. The characters deal with the reality of sexism and racism and fight for women and people of color to be included in the astronaut program and space colonies. It’s so meticulously researched and well done.

I love this series so much. I would literally read an encyclopedia about it. More on the evacuation, models and projections for the climate changes, the construction details of the moon and Mars colony, everything. I am OBSESSED. Please read it!! <3

#book recs #climate guy stuff #lady astronaut series #science fiction #book review #of sorts #the calculating stars #mary robinette kowal

[readingthief]

Calculating the Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

3.75/5 Stars

This book starts off with a bang. The first part focuses on a meteorite striking Washington D.C. and it’s immediate aftermath. The main character is a former air force pilot, has a doctorate in physics, and is a computer and her husband is the lead engineer of a space exploration program, so it’s really interesting to read about their knowledge as everything unfolds.

Then, however, we skip ahead and the action slows down to a near-halt at times. It changes from surviving an extinction-level event to dealing with politics and navigating stigmas related to mental health issues. The ending was also, in my opinion, very abrupt.

Overall, I found the plot interesting but I do not plan on continuing this series.

Trigger warnings include: vomit, natural disasters, heavy mention of anxiety, racism, sexism, antisemitism, and mentions of self harm and suicide.

#the calculating stars #scifi #reading #books #books books books #book review #mine #kindle #space #space exploration

[desdasiwrites]

– Mary Robinette Kowal, The Calculating Stars

#book quote of the day #mary robinette kowal #the calculating stars #scifi books #alternate history #astronauts #lady astronaut #Elma York #beautiful cover #50s #nebula award winner #hugo award winner #locus award winner #book quotes

[rootsinmydream-land]

reviving this account to say that no book could ever compare to the lady astronaut series. just wow idk what my life was before that book. I will definitely be thinking about this book for a loooong time. the rocket puns were funny i thought i was going to cringe on those parts but it was definitely fitting. they’re such dorks i love them

#the calculating stars #lady astronaut universe #lady astronaut #scifi #the fated sky

[littlekhada]

Headshots Artblock is not real, I am consciously choosing to draw simple things to gain quick dopamine.

.......

That is what artblock is

#star wars #eli vanto #eli n vanto #thrawn #thrawn 2017 #thrawn books #thrawn trilogy #my art #eli just uh #brings me comfort whenever i draw him #i have a sketchbook i have almost finished #if you open a random page in it there is about 9/10 chance that the page will contain at least one (1) sketch with eli #i calculated #thranto #thrawn x eli vanto

[aueua]

hair dryer dad

#[art #.jpeg] #[2023.zip] #honkai star rail #hksr clara #hksr svarog #1. first time drawing svarog. forgive me. 2. busy! the brain-rot has its clutches on me however! #3. i Had to give this poor girl more layers please. she's so cold to look at. i hope she learns to wear her new shoes one day. OTL #ANWAYS. :thumbsup: THE DYNAMIC!!!! ARGRGRGHH... ''family'' through at least 55 calculations & no hesitation from her either. gosh

[meebles]

codywan suddenly making it to #9 on the top fandom ships for this week after never being in the top 20 is SO fucking funny because i’m almost certain it’s just because of that star wars reddit migrant post

#mia.txt #star wars #codywan #i’m curious how these stats are actually calculated #but it HAS to be that because what else happened lmao