It Gets Even Better

[psocoptera]

I enjoy a themed anthology, and manage to read about one a year. It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility is a fun 2021 anthology edited by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Sabin with a mix of reprints and originals. My favorite story was definitely Amy Griswold's "Custom Options Available", which is not surprising given that it was one of my favorite stories of all of 2020. A bunch of the other stories by authors I had already heard of were also good - Charlie Jane Anders has one about transitioning at 100, Nibedita Sen has one about going to prom on an animatronic dinosaur, and Zen Cho has one about past versions of yourself (that I had also read before). Of the new stuff, I think the standout was Kristen Koopman's "Frequently Asked Questions About the Portals at Franks' Late Night Starlite Drive-In". I also liked Swetha S.'s "uncharted territories", where a leaf is a ticket to an unusual kind of travel, and Ben Francisco's "The After Party". (I don't think of myself as usually a fan about stories about an afterlife, but I found this one moving.) Anyways, good stuff; maybe I will manage to read the 2022 anthology from the same editors while it's still 2022??

Comments

[oracne]

Go you! I shall not tell you how far behind I am on anthologies....

[glynhogen]

I am approaching the point with Kickstarted anthologies that I used to be in with magazine subscriptions: they're piling up and making me feel guilt over not reading them (as opposed to the pleasure of looking forward to them). I've started reading a couple stories rather than plowing through cover-to-cover.