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American Gods

The myth of the story "American Gods" was made relevant to the contemporary world by bringing in very well known mythical gods and giving them a new sense of personality. Now they live in a world that is much more familiar to us as we read through the main characters life and personal problems once he is out of jail and trying to figure out his next move. The gods are given strength in their words and also a sense of purpose as they develop personal relations and also create chaos. This is another way of saying that the myth was recreated to a more familiar context that we can relate to in this contemporary novel. We even get to sympathize for shadow and his loss of his wife, which creates a bigger opportunity for larger character development for the gods.
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The Left Hand of Darkness

The most interesting mind experiment in this novel would absolutely have to be the fact that nobody on Gethen has a fixed gender. This makes it very hard for the main character, Ai, to understand their culture. Therefore he cannot do what he was sent to do, make the planet of Gethen join the Ekumen. This arose many ideas for the feminist movement at the time and still does today. What I loved most about reading this what the major theme of the effect of sex on society and traditional culture on the individuals of Gethen. This idea is explored through the relationship of Ai and Estraven.
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Cyberpunk & Steampunk

What is interesting about the effects of this particular reality in "The Anubis Gates" is that he does not expect to be jumped by the gypsies that also desire the key to time travel. This sets worry for the reader and intrigues us even more as it is beyond our grasp in our small reality because we cannot even fathom an issue like this in our normal lives. This reality has to do with Doyle finding himself kidnapped and unable to return back to a certain moment in time. I particularly enjoy reading time travel books because they are quite stressful and one minuscule move could have a life-changing effect. This is very different than the other books that we normally read that move on an A to B timeline and we never jump back and forth as we do in this novel.
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Future Tense

I have an extremely hopeful outlook for the future ahead of myself and the world around us. My largest concern as of right now is the recovery of our environment from the toll that it has taken in the past fifty years. I hope that we can reduce plastic waste and restore our oceans of its natural beauty. As a native Floridian, this is an extremely important concern to me. I see how conscious the world is becoming of our waste and I envision the lifetime after me to be even more aware of our carbon footprints.
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Idiocracy - April 29th

The setting of Idiocracy takes places in the future when Earth is trashed by humans beyond belief by our overuse of resources. People live in plastic huts and there are no "nice" areas of the world any longer. The part that is laughable but also the worst is that there is no drinkable water only electrolyte water or Gatorade. Commonly known as "what plants crave" and even the plants drink Gatorade. This idea that we humans have created something "superior" to water is common in futuristic storylines. The figures in charge brainwash the world to believe that this actually is the best liquid you could possibly consume.
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BLOODCHILD

What is your reaction to the text, Bloodchild? - My reaction to the text is mostly uncomforting. I did not enjoy the gruesome concept as an overall plot. I think it is a good idea to think about- men serving as carriers, but I did not enjoy the way the eggs were treated. I think it is an interesting read and overall good for men to read to understand how woman feel, but as a woman, it was gut-wrenching. The text wasn't written in a grotesque way by any means I personally just hate the thought of childbirth and pregnancy on its own so I would not pick to read this if we haven't in class. What connections did you make with the story? - As a woman, I can understand the weight and responsibility of holding the child as we are expected to do so according to society. But I cannot relate to wanting to carry the eggs. The future of the Tlic species depends on the cooperation of the Terrans. Similar to how woman are depended on to continue the population on Earth for men and our f
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The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir was an interesting read. It is humorous that he takes being stuck on Mars lightly and doesn't lose his mind. This is a technique used in other novels in and out of this genre to relate to the main character, having them act calmly in a dire situation so that we can become emotionally attached to them. Futuristic space stories such as these deal with character development in this way majority of the time, this creates a baseline story for their dramatic situations. It also makes these genres seem evil in some way when things begin to go wrong.
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