Decided to try to boost my speaking stamina before Dragon*Con in an effort to not lose my voice as I have every other year. I typically sound like a toad with a cold by day two. So I’m reading Tanith Lee’s Black Unicorn to fosteronfilm at night. It’s a charming book and quite short—it’s usually classified as either children’s lit. or YA—which makes it ideal for this sort of exercise.
When Matthew and I first got together, we used to read aloud to each other regularly, but we got out of the habit over the years. I’d forgotten how pleasant it is to share a story with the hubby like that. It’s an excuse to turn off the television, slow down for an hour or so from our frenetic schedules, and just enjoy each others’ company. Also, kinda romantic. Makes me want to make a real effort to reincorporate it as a regular part of our lives.
On the other hand, I’ve only been at it for two days, and my voice is already cracking. Would sort of defeat the purpose if I end up toad-with-cold-voiced before Dragon*Con. Sigh.
Tangent: I don’t remember for sure if you’re the one who linked to Jason Sanford’s entry on SciFi Strange, which I found interesting. I wondered, however, if you think of “Sinner, Baker…” as an SF story. When I read it, I thought it was *distinctly* fantasy. (It was also utterly fascinating. Navigating that world to start was bewildering and lovely and oh-so-bleak, and it’s a very powerful piece!)
At any rate, do you think of it as SF or F? Or somewhere in the middle?
Good luck with your read-aloud project!
Hi Alana, thanks for your kind words about “Sinner, Baker, etc.” I’m delighted you enjoyed it! I do consider it to be a SF story, although I think it very much falls into the “science fantasy” end of the SF spectrum.