The Gwen Araujo (sic?) case out here is getting a lot of press. If she's not using that as a reference she should.

Just googled Gwen Araujo. Looks like the case is about a year and a half old--is there new evidence that's just come up?

Anyway, I think part of what she'd like to do is to write a trans character that doesn't, you know, die or have horrible things happen to them. She's going to interview a tranny friend of mine for his perspective and experience, and go from there.

Pynchon's always had his funny bits and pieces, but this was practically a standup act about the sixties and seventies. In some ways, he was sending himself up without getting explicit about it.

The self-parody is the best part about it, I thought.

And just randome details: I mean, the Japanese insurance investigator and the assassain who came to love him? Great stuff!

No kidding! Especially since we meet him during an unexplained mid-air hijacking, discover that he's a look-alike for the villain Brock Vond, never learn about the Godzilla prints he's investigating, and never quite get to the point of his karmic adjustment job, because it's just, y'know, not germane. That's some bad-ass writing right there, like watching a magician pull a 15-ft crocodile out of a top hat.

Was this non-fiction?

Nope, My Sister's Keeper is fiction. Jodi Picoult's newest. Usually, I adore her. This one, I'm on the fence.

Kate, I'd read your mom's book with a trans gender character. That sounds like something that should be out there on the shelves.

I do appreciate wanting to present the story in a framework without horrible death; but the Araujo case does have some interesting stuff, like how the court has granted a posthumous name change, so Eddie can legally be buried as Gwen. Tell her I want her to write about what could have happened if things had gone better.

Hey, all. Opinion question. For those of you who read Ursula K. LeGuin, which of her short stories -- short stories only -- would you say is her best, or her most still-relevant-today? I am trying to create a Greatest Hits list for someone who is totally clueless about SF, and her name's on the list.

Off the top of my head I have "The Masters" from 1963, and "Things" from 1970, but I am trying to think of one that specifically touches on feminism. Ideas?

That's some bad-ass writing right there, like watching a magician pull a 15-ft crocodile out of a top hat.

Love this analogy.

I can say I made it through V and Gravity's Rainbow, but I can't say I actually read them, if you know what I mean. I've been meaning to give them another go. Vineland, though, I've read twice - I liked it the second time even better. Lot 49 I've probably read a dozen times, and I love that too (it's definitely more in the Vineland school of Pynchon, though).

I've got a copy of Mason & Dixon, and haven't had quite the energy to start in on that.

I can say I made it through V and Gravity's Rainbow, but I can't say I actually read them, if you know what I mean. I've been meaning to give them another go.

Do it. I've been saying for ten years that I hated V., couldn't get anything out of it, etc., but I re-read it last month and loved the hell out of it. It's an extended prologue for GR, sure, but the esoteric structure made a lot of sense this time, and the different set-pieces, which I found annoyingly disconnected on the first read, I found illuminating, funny, and flat-out brilliant.

Vineland, though, I've read twice - I liked it the second time even better. Lot 49 I've probably read a dozen times, and I love that too (it's definitely more in the Vineland school of Pynchon, though).

I'm re-reading Lot 49 now for the 15th time or so. All part of my warm-up to retake GR.

I've got a copy of Mason & Dixon, and haven't had quite the energy to start in on that.

Yeah, I read it a few years back, but not much stuck in my head. I figure that I'll tackle it again after GR, if there's anything left in me to do so.

The LeGuin short story that hit me hardest is, I think, "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas".

Betsy, you've read Orsinian Tales, right? Do you think one of those would be appropriate, or would the whole "this is a country that doesn't really exist" problem get in the way?

Although, the Orsinian stuff is not really explicitly SF, and SF is what I am trying to demonstrate. So, maybe never mind.

Omelas is very strong.

Also the stuff from The Wind's Twelve Quarters, although I can't think of any particular story. Perhaps the one about the box? I'll have to reread, but I don't recall it being explicitly feminist.

Her more recent stories are more clearly feminist than the older stuff, but I'm not nearly as well-read in her recent short stories. The only collections I have are Orsinian Tales, Twelve Quarters, and Compass Rose.