What Are You Reading the Week of 24 August 2013?

Alice Bradley Sheldon (24 August 1915 – 19 May 1987) was an American science fiction author better known as James Tiptree, Jr., a pen name she used from 1967 to her death. She also wrote occasionally as Raccoona Sheldon (1974–77). She was most notable for breaking down the barriers between writing perceived as inherently "male" or "female" — it was not publicly known until 1977 that James Tiptree, Jr. was a woman.

"Tiptree" was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2012.

Bradley came from a family in the intellectual enclave of Hyde Park, a university neighborhood in Chicago. Her father was Herbert Bradley, a lawyer and naturalist, and her mother was Mary Hastings Bradley, a prolific writer of fiction and travel books. She travelled the world with her parents from an early age. In 1921–22, the Bradleys made their first trip to central Africa, which later contributed to Sheldon’s short story, "The Women Men Don't See". She was a graphic artist and a painter, and — under the name "Alice Bradley Davey" — an art critic for the Chicago Sun between 1941 and 1942. She met and married William Davey, her first husband, at age 19 because she felt as if it was her duty as a daughter. They were married from 1934 until 1941.

In 1942, she joined the United States Army Air Forces and worked in the Army Air Forces photo-intelligence group. She later was promoted to major, a high rank for a woman. In the Army, she "felt she was among free women for the first time." In 1945 she married her second husband, Huntington D. Sheldon, at the close of the war. They met on her assignment in Paris and after she was discharged from the military in 1946, she set up a small business in partnership with her husband. The same year her first story ("The Lucky Ones") was published in the November 16, 1946, issue of The New Yorker, and credited to "Alice Bradley" in the magazine itself, but to "Alice Bradley Sheldon" in the magazine's DVD index. In 1952, she and her husband were invited to join the CIA. She resigned from the job in 1955 to return to college.

She studied for her Bachelor of Arts degree at American University (1957–59), going on to achieve a doctorate in Experimental Psychology from George Washington University in 1967. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on the responses of animals to novel stimuli in differing environments. She submitted a few science fiction stories under the name James Tiptree, Jr., to protect her academic reputation.

Unsure what to do with her new degrees and her new/old careers, Sheldon began to write science fiction. She adopted the pseudonym of James Tiptree, Jr., in 1967. The name "Tiptree" came from a branded jar of marmalade, and the "Jr." was her husband's idea. In an interview, she said: "A male name seemed like good camouflage. I had the feeling that a man would slip by less observed. I've had too many experiences in my life of being the first woman in some damned occupation." Her first published science fiction short story was "Birth of a Salesman" in the March 1968 issue of Analog Science Fiction, edited by John W. Campbell. Three more followed that year in If and Fantastic.

The pseudonym was successfully maintained until the late 1970s, partly because, although "Tiptree" was widely known to be a pseudonym, it was generally understood that its use was intended to protect the professional reputation of an intelligence community official. Readers, editors and correspondents were permitted to assume gender, and generally, but not invariably, they assumed "male". There was speculation, based partially on the themes in her stories, that Tiptree might be female.

"Tiptree" never made any public appearances, but she did correspond regularly with fans and other science fiction authors through the mail. When asked for biographical details, Tiptree/Sheldon was forthcoming in everything but gender. Many of the details given above (the Air Force career, the Ph.D.) were mentioned in letters "Tiptree" wrote, and also appeared in official author biographies.

After the death of Mary Hastings Bradley in 1976, "Tiptree" mentioned in a letter that his mother, also a writer, had died in Chicago — details that led inquiring fans to find the obituary, with its reference to Alice Sheldon; soon all was revealed. Several prominent science fiction writers suffered some embarrassment. Robert Silverberg had written an introduction to Warm Worlds and Otherwise arguing, from the evidence of stories in that collection, that Tiptree could not possibly be a woman. Harlan Ellison had introduced Tiptree's story in the anthology Again, Dangerous Visions with the opinion that "Kate Wilhelm is the woman to beat this year, but Tiptree is the man." Silverberg's article in particular, by taking one side, makes it clear that the gender of Tiptree was a topic of some debate.

Only after the public debate ended did she complete her first full-length novel, Up the Walls of the World (Berkley Books, 1978), which was a Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club selection. Up until then she built a reputation only in the field of short stories.

Sheldon had a complex sexual orientation, which she described in different terms over the years. "I like some men a lot, but from the start, before I knew anything, it was always girls and women who lit me up." A major theme is the tension between free will and biological determinism, or reason and sexual desire. "Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death", one of the rare SF stories in which no humans appear, describes an alien creature's romantic rationalizations for the brutal instincts that drive its life cycle. "The Screwfly Solution" suggests that humans might similarly rationalize a plague of murderous sexual insanity. Sex in Tiptree's writing is frankly portrayed, a sometimes playful but more often threatening force.

Before the revelation of Sheldon's identity, Tiptree was often referred to as an unusually macho male (see, e.g., Robert Silverberg's commentaries) as well as an unusually feminist science fiction writer (for a male) — particularly for "The Women Men Don't See", a story of two women who go looking for aliens to escape from male-dominated society on Earth. However, Sheldon's view of sexual politics could be ambiguous, as in the ending of "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?", where a society of female clones must deal with three time-traveling male astronauts.

Tiptree/Sheldon was an eclectic writer who worked in a variety of styles and subgenres, often combining the technological focus and hard-edged style of "hard" science fiction with the sociological and psychological concerns of "soft" SF, and some of the stylistic experimentation of the New Wave movement.

After writing several stories in more conventional modes, she produced her first work to draw widespread acclaim, "The Last Flight of Doctor Ain", in 1969. One of her shortest stories, "Ain" is a sympathetic portrait of a scientist whose concern for Earth's ecological suffering leads him to destroy the entire human race.

Many of her stories have a milieu reminiscent of the space opera and pulp tales she read in her youth, but typically with a much darker tone: the cosmic journeys of her characters are often linked to a drastic spiritual alienation, and/or a transcendent experience which brings fulfillment but also death. John Clute, noting Tiptree's "inconsolable complexities of vision", concluded that "It is very rarely that a James Tiptree story does not both deal directly with death and end with a death of the spirit, or of all hope, or of the race". Notable stories of this type include "Painwise", in which a space explorer has been altered to be immune to pain but finds such an existence intolerable, and "A Momentary Taste of Being", in which the true purpose of humanity, found on a distant planet, renders individual human life entirely pointless.

One of the themes prevalent throughout Tiptree/Sheldon’s work is feminism. In "The Women Men Don’t See" she gives a feminist story a unique spin by making the narrator, Don Fenton, a male. Fenton judges the Parsons based on their attractiveness and is agitated when they do not "fulfil stereotypical female roles", according to Anne Cranny-Francis. In addition, Fenton's inability to understand both the plight of woman and Ruth Parson's feelings of alienation further illustrate the differences of men and women in society. The theme of feminism is emphasized by "the feminist ideology espoused by Ruth Parsons and the contrasting sexism of Fenton". The title of the short story itself reflects the idea that women are invisible during Sheldon’s time. As Francis states, "‘The Women Men Don’t See’ is an outstanding example ... of the subversive use of genre fiction to produce an unconventional discursive position, the feminist subject".

Sheldon's two novels, produced toward the end of her career, were not as critically well-received as her best-known stories but continued to explore similar themes. Some of her best-regarded work can be found in the collection Her Smoke Rose Up Forever.

On May 19, 1987, at age 71, Sheldon took the life of her 84-year-old, nearly blind husband, and then took her own. They were found dead, hand-in-hand in bed, in their Virginia home. According to biographer Julie Phillips, the suicide note Sheldon left was written years earlier, and saved until needed. In an interview with Charles Platt in the early 1980s, Sheldon spoke of her emotional problems and previous suicide attempts. Much of her work contains dark and pessimistic elements, which in retrospect can be seen as reflective of her troubled emotions.

The James Tiptree, Jr. Award is given in her honor each year for a work of science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender. The award-winning science fiction authors Karen Joy Fowler and Pat Murphy created the award in February 1991.

I love the fact that KALIMPURA, likely Jay Lake's last published in his lifetime, expresses better than any I've read in a long, long time the simple truth that, "In the end, so is the beginning. In the beginning, so is the end."

Hail and farewell to Jay Lake. My ninth and final Jay Lake Pre-Mortem Read-a-thon review is posted at Shelf Inflicted, and posted here on the book's page.

#2 Richard -all I can say is wow!! What a life and what a story

Thanks for another interesting start-off, Richard. I reach Brightness Falls from the Air a million years ago and remember finding it fascinating, but I just went to that book's page on LT and do not recognize any of the story that is discussed by the reviewers, except a bit about the Dameii.

Between books just now, but I think I'll be starting a couple of Jack Reacher short stories that I downloaded in eBook format from the library the other day.

I'm reading Valdez Is Coming by Elmore Leonard in honor of his passing.

I had not read any of his novels before and this book was recommended to me as one of his best non-crime fiction novels.

Marion

Just finished listening to Giraffe by J.M. Ledgard and The Butler: A Witness to History by Wil Haygood.

Starting to listen to Sleepless by Charlie Huston.

I continue reading Clarissa: The History of a Young Woman.

Thanks once again, Richard!

I'm still reading The Plantagenets by Dan Jones. I'm up to Edward I now, and it's a bit of a mental adjustment to view him from an English perspective. Despite having English as well as Scottish ancestors (not to mention Swedish, French, Native American, and a few other nationalities thrown in there), I tend to view the era through a Celtic lens and see Edward as a villain.

I downloaded and started Another Insane Devotion: On the Love of Cats and Persons by Peter Trachtenberg to read while on vacation. I usually don't have time to read on vacation as I am always trying to beat the clock to see all the sights, so we'll see how much I can get through.

I finished Mark Slouka's Brewster. It will take me awhile to let go of those characters and that place and time. It is an intense read, and a sad one -- but so beautifully told and such a moving reminder of what is true, what really matters. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Next up: Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine

Finished Freaknomics this morning. Some parts I found riveting, others not so much. I'm glad I read it, but I have to admit I was a bit underwhelmed. I guess I'd just expected more from it.

Still reading Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Thanks for another interesting start to the week, Richard! I did know that Tiptree was a woman, but I knew nothing more than that., except that she wrote sci-fi. I love how she had readers and especially critics fooled! As if a woman can't write a certain way, or certain subjects or genres.

I am reading the fascinating little book, When Asia Was the World by Stewart Gordon. It seems to me that even though it's under 200 pages and covers the history of Asia exploration and travel from 500 A.D. to 1500 A. D., (excluding the West, AKA Marco Polo), it manages to hit on all the main details. I'm somewhat of a Silk Road buff, so I'm very much enjoying it. Of course that subject always focuses on the spread of trade, knowledge, religion, etc., but I think this more concise book throws those things into sharper focus.

Hemlokgang, how did I not know that The Butler was a book, as well a movie!? I'm glad you mentioned it!

I'm still plugging along with Steve Coll's Private Empire: Exxonmobil and American Power, about a third of the way through. The book is very good, clearly written and interesting. It's just long, and my reading time is quite pinched these days.

I recently finished a very good, first in a series police procedural, Tilt A Whirl - humorous, and surprisingly, pretty dark. Now, I'm continuing on with Too Close to the Falls and The Longest Road. I also picked up Ivan Doig's latest, Sweet Thunder, from the library yesterday and am looking forward to starting it.

I'm reading Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish for my What's in a Name Challenge. I needed a book with a party or celebration in the title and that was about the best I had in my tbr pile. So far it's a nice friendship story.

I also plan to start reading Unions For Beginners by David Cogswell this weekend. I just became the president of my union so I thought it would be fun to get a little more history.

>14 Copperskye: Hi Joanne, I just dropped by to tell you that I hate you inexpressibly for Tilt A Whirl appearing on my Kindle for only 99 cents.

Inexpressibly.

There are 1319 books on the said Kindle now. Aren't you ashamed. That first chapter is a doozy.

Bit off more than I can chew this week. I've got three books on the go which is really not the way I like to read but I was too impatient to finish one before I started another. So I am reading We are Water, The Valley of Amazement and The Last Train to Istanbul. Thank goodness I am enjoying all of them.

(7) @susanna.fraser, try reading some Thomas Costain: his works on the Plantagenets are engrossing!

I'm reading a little gem by a new-to-me author, Miss Buncle's Book.

>18 fuzzi: I'll keep an eye out for his books.

I finished up War Propaganda and the United States last weekend. A terrific book. I was planning to start Those Angry Days afterwards, but I recieved my July ER book, Lincoln in the World, so I've started that instead. It's well written, but not really the book that I had hoped that it would be. The coverage of the foregin policy issues facing Lincoln are rather shallow in my opinion. I had hoped for more detail.

I forgot to add that James Tiptree/Alice Sheldon is one of my favorite science fiction authors. I was recently reading Her Smoke Rose Up Forever, and I'm just awestruck by her writing. Her stories are unlike anything else you will read in the field.

Eagerly picked up the second installment in the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day, called Reflected in you. It's a Fifty shades type of book, but without the spanking basically. I loved Bared to you and couldn't wait to start this one. So far it's riveting, I couldn't put it down even though I was really tired and needed to get some sleep. This bodes well.

I am reading Half as Happy by Gregory Spatz.

Finished Beautiful Ruins in one day. I had saved it for vacation, and am glad I did. Now what to read next? Five more days of reading by the lake...

#24
A friend of mine just finished Beautiful Ruins and really liked it. Maybe I should put it on my list.

I finished reading Southwestern Homelands by William Kittredge. It is part of the National Geographic Directions series of travel books. I ran across this series by accident and liked the first one of it that I read so have decided to slowly make my way through the other books in the series. I visited my sister last year in El Paso and purchased a copy of this book to read for myself and then pass on to her. Unfortunately the book didn't live up to my expectations. I think I got more out of the Tony Hillerman and Louis L'Amour books set in that region, but it still had some insights about the land and people of that area. Even though this wasn't the best of the series I intend to keep reading them off-and-on. Two hits out of three read really isn't a bad average.

I'm now starting Healing, Romance, and Revolution: Letters from an American Nurse in 1926 China complied by Carolyn and Dennis Buckmaster, who so graciously offered this as a member giveaway, and graciously signed the copy I won. This should be right up my alley, and I'm looking forward to it!

I've finished reviewing Camptown Ladies in my Orphans thread...post #203.

The book is a riot!

Stopped at the local independent near the lake where we're vacationing. I worked with one of the booksellers there at a different shop for over 20 years. It was good to see him again. And of course he hand sold me some books. So when I got back I immediately started Tell The Wolves I'm Home.

Just finished Orphan Train. I had no knowledge of this chapter in American history.

In one day I've read 70% of Gone Girl. A good story well told. Can't wait to finish.

>16 richardderus: I think you expressed yourself pretty darn well there, Richard! :) And I know we're still friends even though that book is going to get dark and then darker still.... On a lighter note, Danny's narration kept reminding me of Chet, from the Chet and Bernie books. Do you see it or is it just me?

>16 richardderus: I'm not sure you're in a position to complain about other people adding to your reading list, Richard: you just added Tiptree to mine. Thanks for the kick-off, and the education!

Halfway through Monkey Mind, which is indeed proving to be a good & fairly light read. Have also started one that I found on the clearance rack at the local independent bookstore (possibly the only one we've got left in Central Calgary): A Man and His Meatballs. It's not really hilarious, but it is good reading, and I'm enjoying it.

>29 KarenGriska:. I read Orphan Train a couple of weeks ago, and also found it fascinating.

Finished Tell the Wolves I'm Home. Now starting The President's Hat (touchstones not working).

Hello alphaorder,
What did you think of Tell the Wolves I'm Home?I enjoyed it but thought the niece/uncle relationship didn't quite read as real.

I finished Nicholson Baker's hilarious and so well written The Mezzaine. It's not for everyone, I suppose, and its obsessive narrator and his footnotes may drive you to the brink of madness, but you'll also find many, many -- oh, so many -- instances when you realize he's describing your own inner thoughts and obsessions, memories and phobias! Walking the aisles of the CVS pharmacy -- or riding an escalator -- with our hero is an experience not to be missed.

Next up: Tracy Chevalier's The Last Runaway

#35 hi mollygrace. I read The Ladt Runaway and t was really really good

>34 Rayaowen:. I hear you, but I enjoyed it. I was thinking the same about lack of parental oversight... Since I am on vacation and read it mostly for an engaging story, it fit the bill.

I've started The Telling Room, a tale of "the world's greatest piece of cheese" and yes, much more. I may have to break away from it if the new Louise Penny comes in, as she left me gasping with the last one.

I decided to return In a Dark Place because the writing was so irritatingly amateur. Life is too short to read irritatingly amateur novels. My boyfriend convinced/pushed me into picking up The Passage again, so I'm about 400 pages in and enjoying this middle section much more than I did a month ago.

I bought Where'd You Go Bernadette as a bargain eBook through Barnes & Noble a couple months ago, and now I'm getting around to reading it. It's absolutely delightful so far!

36 cdyankeefan - Hi, I started The Last Runaway today, meaning to read only a few pages before cooking dinner, and -- well, needless to say, dinner was a tad late. I managed to get 60 pages into the book and I'm very eager to get back to it.

I am reading The Grapes of Wrath.

# 40 hi mollygrace- it does kind of suck you in but so worth it

I'm reading Seabiscuit.

I read the time travel novel The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells and found it worked very well. I wasn't a fan of The Time Traveler's Wife so approached this one with some trepidation but the author did a very good job and transported me easily to 1918, 1941 and 1985.

Finally read Miss Buncle's Book and was enchanted so am now immersed in Miss Buncle Married which is another winner.

I just read Miss Buncle's Book too, @NarratorLady . Miss Buncle Married has been ordered and is on the way.

I'm just starting The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka. It is a very short historical novel about Japanese mail-order brides adjusting to life in the U.S..

45>Lovely reading, isn't it, fuzzi? I don't think of books as "summer reading" but these light novels on a summer's day have been delightful.

starting Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King

(47) It is lovely reading. I especially enjoy the light humor just below the surface of the pages. :)

Finished the LTER book Lincoln Dreamt He Died which attempted to look at dreams as a way of exploring the emotional history of Americans, 1750 to 1900. It represents good and novel research which lost some of its edge in its lengthy presentation.

40mollygrace - have added The Last Runaway to my TBR pile... thank you! :) Currently I am reading the pre-release of The Wishing Thread - :)

Just started Collected Stories of Carson McCullers, the author of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

I downloaded and read the Kindle novella The Goodreads Killer: A Revenge Fantasy today...not one single misspelling, faulty parallelism, or non-Oxford comma!...review is in my thread, post #195.

I finished and REVIEWED Barbara Pym's wonderful novel of village life A Few Green Leaves.

When I was perusing my shelves looking for something to read I grabbed a very appropriate read for the 50 year anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech---Hellhound on His Trail: the Stalking of Martin Luther King and the International Hunt for His Assassin by Hampton Sides. About 80 pages in and it is riveting.

I have only 10 pages to go in The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka. It took me longer than it should have because I had to get a CT scan yesterday, and I got sick from the idodine contrast and from the barium I had to drink.

Anyway, I desperately want to go to BN and get a copy of Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson, but I don't know when I'll get the chance, so I'm not sure what I'll be reading in the meantime. It' going to be hard to settle on something else, I'm afraid. It was already on my private wishlist, and all the glowing talk in this thread has really pushed me to want to read it NOW! LOL!

Bonnie - I am picking up A Few Green Leaves on your recommendation. This will be my second Pym.

I read a lovely gem of a book yesterday: The President's Hat. Touchstones aren't working, but you can learn more here: http://gallicbooks.com/title/presidents-hat-the/9781908313478/

I finished Reflected in you yesterday, the second installment in the Crossfire series. It wasn't as good as the first part, but I still enjoyed it, so I will read the last book as well just to know how it all ends.

In the meantime I've started Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. It has a similar feel to it as The lovely bones, which I loved, so I'm really happy with this one. Even though I've just started it, it has almost made me cry several times.

~ #54/brenzi ~ That is one of my favorite non fiction books of all times. It is outstanding - all the way until the end.

I'm happy to say that I had a few moments this morning to run by BN, so I will be starting Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson.

ETA: I'm already 70+ pages in, and having the greatest time with the residents of Silverstream/Copperfield! What fun!

I'm just starting NoViolet Bulawayo's We Need New Names. Should be good!

>14 Copperskye: Started Tilt A Whirl yesterday and am almost finished. It is an excellent start to what I hope is a good long series! Also loving the slightly unreliable (I think) narrator, at least unreliable to the extent he isn't always quite sure what is going on around him, though he seems pretty quick on the uptake.

ETA thanks to you and Richard for recommending it.

I am now reading Illusion of Separateness. Only in the beginning, but great so far!

Just finished Monkey Mind, should probably dive back into Letter Perfect, as it's been on the go for way too long (and it'll qualify as a ROOT book!).

Say, can anybody direct me to LibraryThing technical advice? I only just realized that all of my books are going into "My Library" when they really belong in "Read but Unowned", and not sure how to batch-transfer things over (only how to change individual records, but switching 200+ records would suck). Thank you!

I believe that everything you post on LT automatically goes into "My Library." That's the catch-all for your entire collection. Then you break everything down additionally into the various collections you select for them.

In the "Your Books" view, you can click the lightning bolt to go into power edit. Then you can choose the "collections" tab and check the books you want to move.

Also, on the Add Books page, you can change your default collection for books to go into (on the left side, there's a checkbox).

Whoot - all transferred! Thank you, rocketjk & ursula! (and Wow, many moments of 'ooo, I meant to read more by...' as was going through them...)

And it turns out my next book is Prince Harming Syndrome. Normally, I consider relationship books to be kinda 'slumming', and wouldn't mention them, but this one starts off with Aristotle.

So, Thursday, August 22nd was my birthday - and to celebrate, where did Mareena and I go - to the library! :) We raided the perpetual Library Book Sale - yep, we just needed to replenish our TBR piles! :) Anyway, I immediately started reading The Sky is Falling: A Novel by Sidney Sheldon as soon as we got home from the library. I finished reading the book on Saturday, August 24th and thoroughly enjoyed it! :)

Sunday night, August 25th, I started reading Sweetwater Creek by Anne Rivers Siddons. It was a good book, but I was slightly disappointed by the story - it promised so much, that I think the book kind of oversold itself; or maybe that was just me, expecting too much from the story. Anyway, I finished the book by Tuesday, August 27th.

By Wednesday, August 28th, I began reading From a Buick 8: A Novel by Stephen King - so far, a great book! I just hope the story holds up. I'm also reading One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity by Debbie Macomber, which is sort of slow going for me at the moment.

I finished Exceptional Acrostics to Keep You Sharp by Charles Preston on Thursday, August 29th. Technically, it's a book of mind puzzles to keep my brain sharp; not a reading book, but I just purged the book yesterday because I had done all the puzzles.

I'vr just finished the oh-so-delightful Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson. I am just sorry I couldn't eek it out any longer! I've added it to my favorites.

Now, because I'm still rather in the mood for small, English villages, I'll be starting Terror on Tuesday by Ann Purser. Of course, this will be an entirely different aspect of small, English villages!