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A review by goldandsalt
An Informal History of the Hugos by Jo Walton
3.0
Well, this wasn't as wonderful and affirming as What Makes This Book So Great, which arguably helped me go from feeling a little embarrassed about my sci-fi reading habit, to fully and loudly embracing my love of the genre. However, my "to-read" list was finally, almost going to be shorter than my "read" list, and this book totally ruined that possibility for several more years. So it's still a win, I'd say.
Also, adding so many books to my "to-read" list in such a short period of time exposed to me some of my preferences that I wasn't aware of before. For instance, I realized that I'm a sucker for first contact and time travel, but I just can't get excited about clones or androids.
It was nice that it's organized by year and award, largely in list form, so it lends itself to skimming through and slowing down just on the parts that catch your eye. I'd still recommend What Makes This Book So Great first, but this is also a very fine read and worth your time if you want to be exposed to some more names from the genre.
Also, adding so many books to my "to-read" list in such a short period of time exposed to me some of my preferences that I wasn't aware of before. For instance, I realized that I'm a sucker for first contact and time travel, but I just can't get excited about clones or androids.
It was nice that it's organized by year and award, largely in list form, so it lends itself to skimming through and slowing down just on the parts that catch your eye. I'd still recommend What Makes This Book So Great first, but this is also a very fine read and worth your time if you want to be exposed to some more names from the genre.