Blue Tile Skate

Mario Kart fans, get pumped!

In honor of the April 28 launch of Mario Kart 8 for Nintendo Switch, Target has unveiled themed shopping carts, entrance music and more. 

On April 20, over 650 Target stores across the country went into “full game-on mode” with Mario Kart carts featuring Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach. This is the first time Target has decorated its iconic red carts.

The stores also feature big round Mario and Luigi bollards, and the entrances have been transformed into starting lines. “As you walk through, motion sensors fire up flashing lights and play Mario’s catchy theme song,” states a press release for the video game festivities.

“Experience counts—it’s what keeps guests coming in and coming back to our stores,” senior vice president of merchandising, Scott Nygaard, notes in the press release. “So we’re delivering the fun like only Target can, giving generations of Mario fans a shopping trip they won’t soon forget.”

Indeed, both parents and kids who love Mario Kart have been enjoying the new additions.

But not everyone is a fan. Writing for Scary Mommy, Valerie Williams noted that while mothers love Target for its breastfeeding policies, empowering clothing options and more, this latest innovation may not be ideal for all parents. 

“Ugh. So that means if we have our kids with us, they’re going to beg for one of the few Mario Kart carts and then possibly mow people down while we mull over our face wash options?” she wrote. “And that’s assuming we can get one and they aren’t throwing a fit because there are no Princess Peach carts left.”

If you share Williams’ concerns, fear not! The Mario Kart elements are part of a limited-time experience expected to last only a few weeks.

So for everyone else, get your fix while you can.

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While other teens spent their time navigating the frustrating social hierarchies of high school, S.E. Hinton deigned to write about them. The result ― the classic, best-selling novel The Outsiders ― was published in 1967, 50 years ago today.

The coming-of-age book, which is often studied by young readers in school, follows Ponyboy Curtis and his friends, who are jumped after leaving a movie theatre. Ponyboy’s a member of the Greasers, and the kids who jump him are Socs; he thinks it’s impossible for members of the different gangs to get along, until he spends time with one of the Socs’ girlfriends, Cherry Valance.

This breach has consequences, though. Ponyboy and his friend Johnny find themselves in increasingly dire scenarios, culminating in a church fire.

Hinton was only 15 when she started writing the book, which was later turned into a film, and 18 when it was published. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she said, “There was nothing realistic being written for teens at that time. It was all, like, Mary Jane Goes to the Prom. And I’d been to a few proms, and that was not what was happening. I really wanted to read a book that dealt realistically with teenage life as I was seeing it.”

So, instead of penning what was essentially an instruction manual for how teens ought to behave, Hinton took a critical look at how kids did behave, where she lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Outsiders examines class, and the role it can play not only in how students interact, but in their ability to put their best foot forward in school.

By the end of the book, it’s revealed that Ponyboy’s story is being told for an English paper. He’s at risk of failing the class, but his teacher has allowed him a shot at passing if he’s able to pick a compelling topic. So he chooses his own experiences.

In the EW interview, Hinton said her book is “basically” responsible for creating the entire genre of YA. While the book wasn’t an immediate hit ― “my success was slow,” Hinton said ― her publisher noticed that it resonated with a certain market.

“Teachers were using it in classrooms and kids were passing it along by word of mouth. All of a sudden it was like, ‘Oh, there is a market we can specifically tap into there.’” Hinton told EW.

Before that, books about young protagonists weren’t necessarily written for young readers; Hinton cites Catcher in the Rye, but there’s also Twain and Dickens, and others whose language is suited to adults.

Today, realistic YA is a huge genre, with authors like John Green, Nicola Yoon and R.J. Palacio getting their work turned into popular movies. Those writers may have Hinton to thank ― her classic book has, thankfully, stayed gold.

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(Warning! Minor “Guardians of the Galaxy 2” spoilers below.)

“Guardians of the Galaxy 2” is just about as eggs-cellent as the first movie.

Everything down to the logo on Star-Lord’s shirt appears to be a surprise Easter egg or reference, but before we can focus on the new installment, there’s still one mystery remaining from the original. And Chris Pratt wants to get to the bottom of it.

After the first “Guardians of the Galaxy,” director James Gunn teased one big Easter egg that no one had been able to find. Since then, the conundrum has given the internet conniptions, with countless heroes failing to figure out the secret. Thankfully, Pratt wants to tell us exactly what it is. The only problem is he doesn’t know “shit.”

“[Gunn] won’t tell me what it is. I asked him. He won’t tell me. I’m like, ‘C’mon, man. Don’t you trust me?’ He’s like, ‘No.’ He thinks I’ll spoil it. He won’t tell me shit,” Pratt told The Huffington Post in a recent interview.

Yeah, not even Star-Lord knows.

Pratt added of Gunn, “He won’t tell me stuff. There are certain elements that he just won’t tell me. He loves to withhold information from me. That pisses me off so much. But I totally trust him, and he’s really smart too, because I would be blabbing all over the place.”

Pratt continued chatting with HuffPost about the stuff he could blab about, such as getting a “Jurassic World” meme sent to him by Robert Downey Jr., how he now gets his life advice from Iron Man, and why Star-Lord would get his “ass kicked” by The Avengers.

You said your shirt was an Easter egg for a candy bar. Is that candy ever going to be on “What’s My Snack?”

Oh my God. Well, if it does, I’ll give you credit, Bill. That’s amazing. That’s exactly what should happen. From my understanding, it’s a logo from a piece of candy or candy bar, some sort of snack, from the first movie; this space candy, maybe like these little gummy drops or something. James [Gunn] really loved the font, this made up alien font, and they ended up using that image on the shirt … I pictured it as a guy who would wear a Reese’s Pieces shirt ironically. He’s like wearing space candy on his shirt. He knows that other people know what it is and think it’s funny.

Kurt Russell plays your dad in the movie. What’s it like playing catch with him and an energy ball?

It feels so great. It’s like “Field of Dreams” in real life. We had that moment, and they’re shooting it on a beautiful, big, 65mm digital camera, and shooting it at 60 frames. I’m playing like slow-motion catch. I’m playing catch with a dude who literally was a pro baseball player, like an icon of my childhood, in a film that was costing a couple hundred thousand dollars a day, and I was like the center of it. Honestly, I don’t have the words to express how cool it was. 

Robert Downey Jr. sent you a meme of your “Jurassic World” character holding back the Avengers …

Oh, man. That was so surreal. It was really cool. It is one of the many examples of what a class act Downey is. He is so great. On set, when we were working on “The Avengers,” he’s the captain. He takes care of everybody. He has experience in a realm that very few people on the planet do, and he’s open to share that for the benefit of me and other people who have that in common with him. That’s really cool because there are very few people I can turn to for advice in certain avenues of my life now, and he’s become one of those people. He let me know that immediately. He said, “Listen, you’re gonna have some questions, and I’m the guy you call.” It’s pretty fucking cool. 

How would Star-Lord do in that position? We know the Guardians of the Galaxy are in the upcoming “Avengers” movies. What do you think about possibly bringing that moment to life in the future?

I know that the fans have really wanted to see the Avengers and the Guardians together. I’ve heard it basically since the first movie came out and was a success. The fans are gonna get that. I don’t know how he’d fare. Peter Quill’s not Thor. He’s not Hulk. He’s not a god. He’s not even a superhero. He’s a part of a family. He’s a part of a team, which is a little bit what sets the Guardians apart from the Avengers. So, I think he’d probably get his ass kicked, unless he had a lot of help from his team. He probably would always have a lot of help from his team, so maybe he’d fare all right. If it’s mano a mano, he’d get his ass kicked. 

”Guardians of the Galaxy 2” hits theaters May 5.

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Kendrick Lamar’s biggest fan could not keep it together after listening to K. Dot’s latest album, “DAMN.”

On Saturday, Lamar posted an album review that only a mother could write to his Instagram account. In an emoji-riddled text message, his mother, Paula Oliver, made it clear that she was in awe of her son’s latest work.

“OMG. This cd is bombbbbb!  ,” his mom’s praise begins. “You should of put me and your daddy on this one too     j/k.” 

(In Lamar’s “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City,” a duo posing as his parents make a comical appearance toward the end of “Money Trees.”)

”This your best one to me, no bullshit  ,” she continued. The text also relays that his mom isn’t the only fan of the album. Someone else whom Oliver refers to as “lil ken ken” is said to have been milly rocking to “DAMN.”

Lamar’s studio work isn’t the only reason the rapper has been making rounds in the news. As one of this year’s Coachella headliners, he wowed fans as he closed last weekend’s performances with a midair rendition of “Money Trees.” 

While mama Oliver wasn’t able to watch the performance, she said she heard about the set from Lamar’s fans, whom she refers to as “diehards.” 

The “Humble” rapper acknowledged his mother’s acclaim with the praying hands emoji. But he seemed to be most intrigued by Oliver’s own use of emojis. 

“You going emoji brazy. Who taught you ‘ ’? Lol,” he responded. 

Who knows, K. Dot. They’re getting so advanced these days.

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I first began writing poetry when I was in high school to escape the constant and merciless torture inflicted on me by the homophobic monsters I called my classmates. My biology teacher, bless her, let me hide out in her lab during lunch or other free periods so I could avoid whatever living nightmares awaited me in the school hallways, and I began to write as a way to process the agony I was living through.

20 years later, I’m alive and thriving, and I credit poetry as playing a large part in me still being on this planet. Today, I have an MFA in poetry from New York University, and while my job as editorial director of HuffPost Voices makes it hard for me to dedicate the kind of time and energy I’d like to my poetry, I still write ― often to work through confusion or pain or other emotions in the same way I did as a 14-year-old.

Last year, in the midst of a particularly bad bout of depression, I wrote a poem entitled “This Might Not Make Sense Now, But Don’t Worry, It Will.” The poem deals with the strange and devastating feeling of being so distanced from the things that made me happy that, while not being suicidal, I worried that I had become so apathetic about my life that it now held little meaning for me.

After reading the poem, Carina Kolodny, a creative director at HuffPost (and a friend of mine) asked if Ji Sub Jeong, one of HuffPost’s talented multimedia producers, could have a go at animating it, and I was incredibly moved by the poem’s transformation from written word to animated short. 

Today we’re sharing the piece as part of National Poetry Month. Check it out above and read the poem below.

 

This Might Not Make Sense Now, But Don’t Worry, It Will
for Paolo Fanoli

When I ask Paolo how to draw the line between 

not wanting to live anymore and wanting to die, 

all he’ll quietly commit to is “that isn’t funny.”

 

I’m worried I worry him.

 

He says if I ever left him he would keep my body 

under his bed and drag it out once a day to remember me, 

prop up the less and less of me that’s left of me 

and remind me of the world I left behind me — just look! 

Some people can wake up every morning, open their 

eyes and recognize something beautiful, even if it’s 

just the sun slobbering across the bedroom floor with its 

hot black tongue, 

 

so, why can’t you?

 

He’s right, of course, but when I was 14, nothing was 

more beautiful than the thought of the heavy gray 

garage door guarding the far edge of my family’s driveway 

and how sweetly, how surely it could kiss my head

apart from the rest of my body if only I asked it sweetly 

enough.

 

Things were different then —

 

I still was afraid to ask for what I wanted then and I 

spent my lunch hours holed up in the biology lab hiding 

from the other boys, sobbing into my sandwich, another 

pickled frog prince bobbing in his embalming fluid, one more 

never-born piglet day-drunk on the useless daydream of 

one day living someone else’s life on the other side of the glass 

 

but we both know how that story ends.

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On Nov. 4, 2016, artist Gelila Lila Mesfin posted a digital drawing she created on Instagram of Michelle Obama as an emerald-clad Egyptian queen. 

Fast forward to April 2017, when a strikingly similar, if not identical, image was mounted as a mural in Chicago’s South Side neighborhood ― just two blocks from the former first lady’s childhood home. Chicago-based artist and urban planner Chris Devins installed the piece, presumed to be his own, after raising $11,785 on GoFundMe.

“The purpose of this mural,” Devins wrote, “is to give today’s children someone they can literally look up to and to celebrate Mrs. Obama’s life and accomplishments during the last 8 years as First Lady of the United States.” 

Devins launched his crowdsourcing campaign on Nov. 8, 2016, just days after Mesfin posted her image. Yet Devins never acknowledged whether or not Mesfin provided the source image for his outdoor mural or served as any sort of inspiration for his work.

In an interview with DNA Info, published on April 21, Devins described the reasoning behind his portrait of Ms. Obama, making no mention of Mesfin or her work. “I wanted to present her as what I think she is, so she’s clothed as an Egyptian queen,” Devins said. “I thought that was appropriate.”

It wasn’t long before Mesfin’s DMs were filled with links to Devins’ story on DNA Info, from others who recognized Devins’ alleged artwork as hers. Mesfin expressed her disappointment in a statement published on Instagram.

“I wouldn’t mind if he had given me credit or said he took the design from another artist but saying you designed it is just wrong!” she said. “The man is a teacher for God’s sake and said he was doing this to create positivity for his students and community… but he didn’t think that stealing a young girl’s artwork and making a profit out of it does more damage than good.”

On Friday, Devins emailed DNA Info responding to the claims of plagiarism, admitting: “It was sloppy.” The artist explained that he encountered Mesfin’s image on Pinterest and was influenced by her work, which he described as a “found image.” 

“We were blown away by a wonderful image we stumbled on,” Devins said, “and only found out after the fact who the source of our inspiration was. We in no way meant to [infringe] on anyone’s creativity.”

The artist also expressed that he’d reached out to Mesfin to offer her a licensing fee, though he did not disclose the amount. 

Devins also posted a less gracious message on GoFundMe yesterday, calling out Mesfin for her use of Collier Schorr’s photograph of Obama as source material. “Um. People,” he said, linking to Schorr’s portrait as it appeared in The New York Times. “If you want to go there, the so called ‘original’ is ‘stolen’ from photographer Collier Schorr. The broader conversation is one about authorship in the re-mix culture we live in.”

In response, Mesfin posted another message on Instagram, in which she thanked her followers for their support and implored them to send only positive vibes Devins’ way.

“I preach love, not hate or anger of any kind,” she wrote. Talk about taking the high road. 

Hopefully Mesfin receives the compensation and credit she’s due. And, to all the artists-slash-urban-planners of the world: Don’t rip off the work of emerging artists, especially young women of color, because the Internet has a way of uncovering these shady endeavors. 

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Warning: This article contains erotic illustrations that might not be appropriate for your workplace.

Clara Tice was an illustrator with an eye for the erotic.

Her drawings and etchings conjure explicit fantasies from the vantage point of a woman ― complete with nude bodies, lavish settings and playful intimacy. Her bold artworks, loaded with an appreciation for female sexuality and unapologetic visualizations of all kinds of copulation, might seem like the work of a contemporary artist with a sizable Instagram following. Tice, however, made her mark on the art world in the early 20th century. 

Born in 1888, Tice was encouraged by her parents to draw from a young age, a rarity for women at the time. As a young adult, the New York-based artist briefly attended Hunter College but dropped out to become the mentee of painter Robert Henri. Through independent work with Henri, she honed her visual style, which combined elements of art nouveau with a graphic minimalism way ahead of her time. 

Tice got her big break in 1915 when her friends organized an exhibition of her work in a popular bohemian restaurant in Greenwich Village, which was soon interrupted by a visit from the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, an institution devoted to the upkeep of public morality. Luckily, an editor present at the show purchased Tice’s more explicit works, so none were confiscated during the Society’s raid.

The controversy actually ended up working in Tice’s favor. According to Francis M. Naumann Fine Art, when Vanity Fair editor Frank Crowninshield caught wind of the raid, he decided to publish photos of Tice’s nudes alongside an announcement of a satirical mock trial. “She will be tried,” the announcement proclaimed, “and therefore acquitted of the charges of having committed unspeakable, black atrocities on white paper, abusing slender bodies of girls, cats, peacocks and butterflies.”

The publicity brought a surge of attention to Tice’s work. From then on, she was known as “The Queen of Greenwich Village” among her circle of New York creatives. Despite the moderate celebrity she experienced during her lifetime, though, Tice’s work fell into relative obscurity following her death in 1973. 

Thankfully, her work is now available for viewing on Honest Erotica, a new website compiling erotic illustrations past and present, from big names like Egon Schiele and Auguste Rodin to lesser-known gems like Tice. The site is run by two individuals who publicly identify as “John and Rosie,” who have both worked in the publishing industry for decades. 

In an interview with The Huffington Post, John explained that he has long had an interest in historical books and the illustrations housed within them. Erotic work, in particular, illuminates truths about gender, sexuality, power and relationships that give fascinating insight into the time and place in which they were created. 

“I think illustration and intimacy go very well together,” he added. While photography, at least traditionally, documents the world around it, illustration leaves space for the imagination and play. This, as John put it, allows “people to be really turned on by things they wouldn’t expect.”

Although Honest Erotica specifies many times on its site that it features erotica, as opposed to pornography, John noted that the distinction is not about judgment. “We’re not anti-porn in the slightest,” he said. “We’re just concentrating on illustration rather than photography, mostly because it’s an under-represented medium.”

The delightful site is best used for discovering the many women artists who translated their dirty desires onto the page centuries ago, yet for many unfortunate reasons remain lost in obscurity today. Stay tuned for more introductions to the naughty visionaries of yore, courtesy of Honest Erotica’s NSFW vintage vault. 

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In just a few weeks, we’ll see the new popular baby names list for the U.S.. The official list is always packed with surprises, as everything from pop music to sports stars influence what we name our children. Other names rise and fall without any obvious cultural connection, buoyed by style and sound alone. Usually it’s both ― a promising name plus a positive association ― that makes a baby name soar.

Here are our bets for some of the names to watch.

Fastest Rising Vintage Names: Oliver & Hazel

Once musty and fusty, Oliver and Hazel are now the freshest vintage names on the block. Celebrities have embraced them ― Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas have an Oliver, while Emily Blunt and John Krasinski went with Hazel. Part of their appeal? They’re vintage gems that boast high-value Scrabble letters in their names ― z and v.

Nature Names to Watch: River & Briar

River Phoenix was once the only person we could list with this nature name. Now it’s a mainstream pick for boys, and rising for girls, too. Likewise, Briar ― once mostly associated with Sleeping Beauty’s Briar Rose ― debuted on the U.S. Top 1000 for both genders in 2015. Parents have embraced –r ending names, and our affection for borrowing from nature continues.

Coolest New Names: Fox & Sylvie

We’re always looking for names outside the current top 1000 that seem likely to debut in future years. Sweet Sylvie could follow Sophie and Sadie into wider use, while Fox feels like a logical successor to Max and Knox. In 2015, both names ranked just beyond the official list ― but not by much. Two dozen more girls would put Sylvie over the top, along with 15ish boys for Fox.

Hottest Celebrity-Inspired Names: Remington & Luna

With John Legend and Chrissy Teigen’s adorable Luna Simone in the spotlight, this Harry Potter heroine should keep rising. Ditto for Remington, a surname name chosen by Kelly Clarkson for daughter River Rose’s little brother. Remington is poised to join tough-guy names like Hunter and Ryder near the top of the charts ― plus it comes with built-in nickname Remy.

Mini Names to Watch: Axl & Liv

They’re short, they’re Scandi, and they’re finding favor with American parents. Axel is a Danish spin on the Biblical Absalom. Drop the ‘e’ – as in rocker Axl Rose – and it takes on an edge. Liv comes from Old Norse, but matches up with a modern word meaning life in several Scandinavian languages. Both names pack a lot of sound and substance into just three letters. 

Pop Culture Powerhouses: Bowie & Ophelia

Music ― and musicians ― have put dozens of names on the charts, from “Hey There, Delilah” to John Lennon. Bowie, as in the late David, and Ophelia, from The Lumineers’ song, could be next. The early 2016 passing of legendary singer Bowie is likely to inspire more namesakes. As for Ophelia, the Lumineers’ chart-topping song makes the tragic name seem light and new.

Comeback Classics: Harvey & Louisa 

Henry and Sophia, meet Harvey and Louisa. Long-neglected, these names are perfectly poised to make a big comeback in 2017. Suits gave the name Harvey to a handsome character, played by Gabriel Macht, nicely updating it for the new century. And Louisa is every bit as literary as Emma, but with the same flowing, feminine, but still substantial, style of smart Sophia.

Meaningful Monikers: Bodhi & Sage

Looking for a meaning-rich name for your child? You’re not alone. Bodhi, from the Sanskrit word for enlightenment, is a new favorite for boys, along with spellings like Bode. Meanwhile, Sage means wisdom but also brings to mind the spice, as well as the familiar girl name Paige. Spelling Saige is trending, but only for girls, while the Sage spelling feels more unisex.

Biblical Names to Watch: Ezra & Ruth

For ages, Ezra seemed too out there, a name reserved for a few historical figures. Lately, the name’s edgy sound has taken it into the U.S. Top 100 – the most popular the name has ever been. Loyal Ruth, on the other hand, dominated the early 20th century popularity charts before fading. In recent years, parents are rediscovering the Old Testament name.

The New Emma & Noah: Asher & Nora

We don’t think the number one names will necessarily fall out of favor anytime soon. But which names are poised to take their place someday? Like Emma, Nora is brief but complete, and feels sweet on a child, serious on an adult. Biblical boy Noah might pass the baton to Asher, a fast-rising possibility with a great meaning: happy.

Names Berries Bank On: Milo & Isla 

Not only do we keep the U.S. Top 1000 on our site, we track the most popular names specific to Nameberry. Two choices that readers love that could catch on everywhere? Milo and Isla. Milo combines the sounds of Miles and Leo, but has a quirky charm all its own. Isla seems like a successor to girl names like Ella, Lily, and Mila.

Which names are you watching? Are you hearing more of any of these names?

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Ali Solomon has been drawing cartoons since she was a child. As she grew up, her characters have aged alongside her, so once Solomon became a mom, it was only natural they would become parents as well.

A middle school art teacher and freelance illustrator, Solomon lives in Queens, New York and has two daughters, ages 3 and 5. She draws comics about the trials and tribulations of parenting for her blog, Wiggle Room. 

“I was way too tired to create a baby book, but my cartoons and blog became a sort of record of my kids’ life moments, from heartfelt to completely bonkers. Also, it gave me an outlet to help manage the insanity of having a newborn,” Solomon told The Huffington Post. 

“I’d love to be able to capture not just the relatable everyday stuff, but the absurd, undignified, or magical aspects of parenting,” she added. “For example, recently my daughter stamped red ink all over me, which, contrary to the product’s claims, doesn’t wash off skin. For days, people avoided me, thinking I had a face tattoo, a contagious rash, or had applied my make-up blindfolded. Naturally I turned it into a comic. “

Solomon said she hopes other parents relate to her cartoons and feel entertained. “Parenting can be exasperating and isolating. There’s comfort in knowing that other people have similar experiences.”

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The end of 2016 brought with it a spike in classic dystopian book sales. George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale ― which will be released as a Hulu show this month ― each piqued the interest of book buyers, who might’ve drawn uncomfortable parallels between the stories and the world around them.

These books, of course, are not the only dystopian titles resonating with readers. The science fiction subgenre has enjoyed a long period of popularity thanks to YA installments like The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner and The 100, each with its own onscreen offshoot.

There are those in the sci-fi genre who are tired of dystopia’s proliferation; there are, after all, many ways to speculate about the future, and not all of them need be pessimistic. Still, as the subgenre grows, its capacity for holding a mirror to today’s problems ― climate change, stringent definitions of gender, and discrimination based on race or gender or nationality ― persists.

If you still see the worth in dystopian stories ― for social change or for entertainment value ― there are, luckily, loads to choose from. Climate-fiction, or cli-fi, has emerged as a sub-subgenre of dystopian fiction, with authors like Lidia Yuknavitch and Jeff VanderMeer ― both of whom have upcoming film adaptations ― leading the charge. Other titles explore cryonics, religion, gender and more.

We’ve included a few we’re excited about below. Just note that our definition of dystopia is a broad one; any vision of the future that could go awry qualifies.

1. American War by Omar El Akkad

Fought amid a changing climate, America’s second Civil War ― lasting nearly 20 years ― was fought with homicide bombings and drones. An academic born during this period remembers the story of a girl who lived through it.   

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore. 

2. The Book of Etta by Meg Elison

In a town outside of Estiel ― what was once St. Louis ― a girl named Etta fulfills her duties as a forager, but must venture to face a tyrant called Lion when women from her community are kidnapped.  

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore. 

Read Meg Elison on the possible future of reproductive health.

3. Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch

Lidia Yukanavitch is skilled at writing poetically about the human body, and about nature, so this book ― her first foray into science fiction ― makes sense. It’s a retelling of the story of Joan of Arc, but in a world ravaged by radiation, and with few land-based survivors. 

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

Read Lydia Yuknavitch’s thoughts on writing in the time of Trump.

4. Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

Rachel and Wick live in a city destroyed by drought and terrorized by a giant bear, doing what they can to prioritize their survival ― until Rachel finds Borne, a plant-animal she’s immediately attached to. 

 Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

 Read Jeff VanderMeer on sci-fi solutions to climate change. 

5. New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson

When two coders go missing, an entire future society is at risk. Robinson’s work may not be squarely dystopian, but he has a knack for drawing imagined worlds and their societal problems. In his latest, rising tides leave New York partly submerged. 

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore. 

6. Void Star by Zachary Mason

If the future of the ever-growing tech industry has a physical home, it’s San Fransisco, where Mason’s novel is set. Life extension, artificial memory and rising waters converge in a sprawling future epic. 

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore. 

7. Proof of Concept by Gwyneth Jones

Kir has been asked to join a project working towards the possibility of humans inhabiting another planet ― a project designed to give Earthlings, living on a planet that’s overcrowded and climate change-wrecked, a chance at survival. Will her brain ― wired for optimism ― be able to heed the warnings of the artificial intelligence she hosts? 

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

8. Tender by Sofia Samatar

Sofia Samatar’s stories are more fantasy than sci-fi, and she’s more likely to chronicle an alternate or parallel reality than a possible future. Her story “How to Get Back to the Forest” earned a spot among the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories 2015.

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

9. The Ship by Antonia Honeywell

Lalla’s father plans to escape the increasingly dangerous world of future-Britain via ship, but the boat turns out to be eerily different than expected. 

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

10. All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai

What if the world we’re living in now was the dystopian version of some happier, more progressive alternate reality? That’s the premise of Elan Mastai’s debut, which is centered around protagonist Tom, who has to make a tough choice between a thrumming, messy world or a neat and perfect one.

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

11. The Weaver by Emmi Itäranta

On the surface, Eliana’s life is a pleasant one. She lives on an idyllic island where she works as a weaver, but she is forced to hide the fact that she’s capable of dreaming, lest she be cast out. The cracks in her perfect world begin to show when a young girl washes up on the shore, bearing a tattoo of Eliana’s name.

 Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

 Read Emmi Itäranta on sci-fi solutions to climate change. 

12. Zero K by Don DeLillo

Jeff’s father, Ross, has always been somewhat absent from his life; he’s a billionaire and he’s happily remarried. But when Ross’s second wife Artis gets sick, he invites his son to visit him at a mysterious cryogenics facility, where pseudo-science meets spiritual practice.

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

Read our review of Zero K.

13. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

Patricia’s a witch. Laurence is a tech wunderkind. Their star-crossed relationship is a love story for the 21st century, where spirituality and intuition are at odds with scientific advancements. 

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

14. Thirst by Benjamin Warner

Eddie and Laura’s suburban life devolves amid an ecological disaster, one that forces them each to reconsider what it is that they cherish most. 

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

15. Black Wave by Michelle Tea

The world, it turns out, is ending. That doesn’t stop Michelle from dating, from writing, from relocating to a new city to distance herself from her drug-addled past, or from proceeding more or less as normal, except that now, the apocalypse looms. 

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

16. Not Dark Yet by Berit Ellingsen

For Ellingsen, the personal is political. His story’s hero, Brandon, retreats to the wilderness after his professor and lover makes him commit an act of violence. From there, he fosters hope for a future threatened by rising temperatures and the attendant damage done to the environment. 

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

17. Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer

Near-future sci-fi may be all the rage; it would seem that it’s more capable of shedding new light on present dangers, anyway. But Palmer’s novel ― set in the 25th century, when society’s perceptions of gender and religion have morphed considerably ― gives those stories a run for their money. 

Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.

Read Ada Palmer on sci-fi predictions for the future of sports.

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