Hugo, Girl!

In honor of her birthday, please enjoy this reading of Haley's middle school Star Wars fanfiction. There are twins, a quest, an evil guy who definitely isn't just the Emperor, an underwater eatery, 35 minutes of nonstop giggling, cameos by Kevin - you name it, we've got it! This episode is dedicated to our nice friend Juan, who appreciates our giggling. Read along with us and view the author's ori...

Episode 29 is here, and now with 50% more podcast! This month we read Hyperion by Dan Simmons, winner of the 1990 Hugo for best novel, and we took a whopping hour and a half to discuss it. This is a very good book, rife with problems and problematics, and a HEAPING helping of boob talk.  CW/TW: sexualization of underage girls Music by Eon: https:/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbvE0PJyss

This month we read A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, winner of the 2020 Hugo for best novel! This was a fun, steampunky romp. Don't forget to tweet us your Teixcalaanli name! CW/TW: brief discussion of death by suicide at 41:20-43:00. Music by Eon: https:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbvE0PJyss Links: https://www.npr.org/2019/04/07/710356506/questions-for-arkady-martine-author-of-a-memory-call...

This month we went back into the bunner tuggles as we discussed Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. Music by Eon: https:/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbvE0PJyss

BIG NEWS! We're jumping on the true crime train. For our inaugural episode, we discussed the sensational jewelry heist of approximately 3,070 years ago, popularly known as The Lord of the Rings. These events were originally covered by true crime reporter JRR Tolkein in the 1950s. Music: Sir Fireheart by Ean Grimm https://youtu.be/8DCvn484bXw?t=1146 Links: Cinema Therapy: Aragorn vs. Toxic Masculin...

This month we discussed Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey. We didn't like it. CW: rape, intimate partner violence Music by Eon: https:/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbvE0PJyss Links: http://corabuhlert.com/2021/01/20/fanzine-spotlight-nerds-of-a-feather-flock-together/ http://corabuhlert.com/2021/02/24/fancast-spotlight-hugo-girl/

Hitch a ride on the nearest vehimal and join us for the conclusion of NK Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy! It's been a wild ride, and everyone is either dead or turned to stone or both. CW: everyone's dead or dying; medieval torture mastectomy (you read that correctly) Music by Eon: https:/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbvE0PJyss Links: https://www.npr.org/2017/08/19/542469223/in-the-stone-sky-some-worl...

WE WERE KIND OF CONFUSED BUT MOSTLY LIKED THIS BOOK AND ALSO GEORGIA IS BLUE!! IT'S BLUUUUUUUE!   Music by Eon: https:/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbvE0PJyss

For this supersized super special episode, we were joined by Ginger Lee Thomason, who is currently writing her thesis on food in fiction and knows every snack in the book! Join us as we geek out over everything from lembas to roach jello to seared krayt dragon. Sound quality is always a crapshoot when recording remotely, so this time around, Lori and Haley are coming to you from the bottom of a we...

This month we discussed the 2015 Hugo winner for best novel, The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin.  There's a lot going on in this book, so our plot summary is longish. If you don't need a plot summary you can skip 5:48-14:35. CW/TW: LANGUAGE and sexual content that you REALLY probably do not want your kids to hear in the car and chant over and over during Zoom school, but if that does happen please t...

We're taking a break from recording this month, so we're releasing the crossover episode we recorded back in January of 2020 with Seth Heasley, creator and host of the Hugos There podcast. This book is wild - all of humanity (and humanoid...ity??) is dead and in a bizarre, harsh afterlife. Actually now that I write that out, it feels familiar. Is 2020 just Riverworld?? CW/TW: suicide, sexual assau...

It's our Halloween Spooptacular! In honor of Spooptober, we bring you a special episode on Fritz Leiber's 1944 retro Hugo winner for best novel, Conjure Wife. Big thanks to Seth (@hugospodcast)  for suggesting this 180-page Misogynist Moment, which asks (over and over and over) if witchcraft might be real. Warning: major digressions ahead. Topics include Elvira and whether or not spit is water.  M...

This month we discussed A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter H. Miller, winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for best novel. It has lots of men, lots of death, and almost no women - and we all loved it! We loved it so much, we forgot about our Boob Talk segment, but there are no boobs in this book anyway.  CW: discussion of the author's death by suicide Music by Eon: https:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbvE0PJ...

Welcome to our inaugural Hugo Babygirl episode! These are shorter episodes (hence the "baby") where we read and discuss Hugo Award-winning short fiction (and other stuff if we feel like it). For this episode we read Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™ by Rebecca Roanhorse, which won the Hugo Award for best short story in 2018. Spoiler: we all thought it was excellent. Apologies for some w...

To borrow a term from our friend Seth at the Hugos There podcast, this was a comfort read chosen by Haley. As far as we know, it won no awards, but it is composed of many words printed on paper and is definitely a book. Plus, there are Force witches! We also announce our fundraiser/book drive in support of the Women's Prison Book Project ( https://wpbp.org/ ). Details are on our social media. The...

This month we bring you a supersized episode for a supersized book. We read (and read and read) the 2004 winner for Best Novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. We also recorded the day after the Hugo Awards, so we discussed that for a while. If you'd prefer to skip straight to the book talk, start at 14:15. CW: Discussion of Clarke's antiquated racial language at 48:20-49:30  Am...

This month we discuss Ancillary Justice, winner of the 2014 Hugo for best novel, and the first book in Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy. It's got sentient ships, zombie soldiers, tons of tea, and no he/him pronouns, which threatens a lot of men on Goodreads, apparently! We were also thrilled to have special guest Colette Fozard, co-chair of DisCon III, the 79th World Science Fiction Convention,...

This episode we discussed The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (Lori's new bff). We had no complaints, and we digressed often. This one was great fun! CW: sexism, racism, anxiety, brief reference to suicide attempt

TW/CW: racial violence, police violence A few days ago we learned about the Podcast Blackout, started by Cult 45 Podcast. In solidarity, we are not releasing our planned episode today. Instead, we are sharing some thoughts on how to be a better white ally, and speaking the names of 100 black victims of police violence. Black lives matter. Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh Rachel C...

On day 5,000 of shelter-in-place, we discussed The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel in 2010. We would have voted differently.  CW: rape, rape, and more rape, sexual slavery, colonialism Music by Eon:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbvE0PJyss

This month your podcasters discuss Bloodchild by Octavia Butler, winner of the 1985 Hugo Award for best novelette, and a boatload of other awards. We also make a special announcement at the top of the episode. CW: forced pregnancy/birth, colonialism, giant insects Music by Eon:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbvE0PJyss

We got together (remotely!) to responsibly record a pandemic special for these weird times. We discuss Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2015 winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Toronto Book Award), elephants, and why you should stay inside! CW: mention of rape/sexual assault   Music by Eon:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbvE0PJyss

In this month's episode, we revisit Ender Wiggin, perennial Mary Sue, 20-ish (but also 3,000-ish) years after the events of Ender's Game. Ender is thirty(-five), flirty, and thriving in his career as an intergalactic funeral director. But drama abounds when Ender gets caught in a love rhombus with an adolescent AI, a troubled teen on a faraway planet, and his own sister. Will Starfleet blow up an...

February's selection is Philip K. Dick's Man in the High Castle . You've probably seen the Amazon TV series, which is based loosely on this novel.     Ever wonder what would have happened if Germany and Japan had won World War II? You can kind of find out in this novel, in between lengthy discussions about the state of American antiques, Colorado shopping trips, and awkward dinner parties. 

Happy 2020! This episode, your three favorite space witches tackled Frank Herbert's magnum opus — Dune! This book has everything: jedi ladies, poop suits, misogyny, and a main character from the year 10,191 named JESSICA.      Show notes: Frank Herbert interviewed by W. McNelly in 1969