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This was linked in the comments of a blog post: It's 50 works of dramatic and epic literature everyone majoring in German Language and Literature should read (in the opinion of the Uni Bielefeld). I think I'll work on reading all of these, most of them seem interesting.

( Don't you just love lists? )

Since it's a Uni list there's almost no contemporary literature and - as seems common to book canons - too few women. Two? Seriously? Makes me want to make a list of women authors...

Still, it's stuff I've wanted to read for a while, so why not?

ETA: Nothing to do with reading, but since this is a German-centric entry, it's sort of fitting: Youtube in Deutschland: the reason I won't click on your Youtube links.

I finished some Hugo categories! I figured since I got to read them, I should vote, too. This is hard, since the voting works on this complicated system I seem to remember from the LJ elections (and whatever happened to legomymalfoy?).

First things first: If you're interested in the things that are nominated, go here. Most of the stuff I've read (mainly shorter forms) are available for free and linked from there.

So without further ado: Hugo Nominees. (Spoilerish things will be cut, of course.)

Best Short Story

My favorite is 26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss by Kij Johnson: Aimee's big trick is that she makes 26 monkeys vanish onstage.

This is everything I want from a short story: An interesting idea (vanishing monkeys!), great writing, likeable characters. And an ending that actually made me tear up.

Second place: Evil Robot Monkey by Mary Robinette Kowal. Two monkey stories in one category! And this one is really the opposite of "26 Monkeys". It's harsh, it's monkey POV, it's more scifi than fantasy, it's really short, and it packs a punch.

Third: Exhalation by Ted Chiang. This one's what I assume is classic science fiction: It's pure world-building based on scientific principle. Really interesting, though a little hard to get into for me.

Fourth: Article of Faith by Mike Resnick. A robot story. It's a good read with a good character voice, but it's a little too on the nose for me. A basic ( spoiler! ) Rather predictable.

Fifth: From Babel's Fallen Glory We Fled by Michael Swanwick. A cool SF story with an interesting take on human/alien interaction. The reason it's number five? ( cut though it's in the first few paragraphs of the story )

So short version: You should totally head over there and read these. And if you want to vote, you have to buy a membership for Anticipation for 50$/35€. So far I have to say it's worth it - the Voter Package you get has a lot of great stuff.