The Astronaut's Library
I’ve started tagging my Library Thing books “In My Fiction” for books that have a character named after a character in that book, or for books mentioned (or quoted) by the people in my fiction. (Not always favorably: the mention of the Star Trek book Final Frontier
and certain Heinlein
works do not mean my future civilizations are Libertarian utopias. See the "The World In His Throat" 
for why that is not the case.)
and certain Heinleinworks do not mean my future civilizations are Libertarian utopias. See the "The World In His Throat" for why that is not the case.)One of the main premises in my series set in the future is that an astronaut bequeaths his library to the colony world he helps settle. Since the equipment taken on such voyages tends towards water purifiers and construction robots, any new world with more than one or two paper books is a rarity. These books become the basis of the world’s culture (they are largely Science Fiction, not works on philosophy or government). I don’t mean that people go around speaking a patois of Science Fiction words or do what they read in books (with the exception of a few cranks they understand the difference between fiction and non-fiction) but they use these books instead of Mill
or Locke
to talk about how their society should be shaped and what the obligations of its citizens are. I’ve put Library Thing tags on the books the astronaut (or his descendents) mention but I’m in the slow process of deciding what books are in the library which no one happens to mention. (Think of how often you explicitly mention the books you read in school. They’re back in there … but even in a conversation about school reading you’d only mention a few titles.)
or Locketo talk about how their society should be shaped and what the obligations of its citizens are. I’ve put Library Thing tags on the books the astronaut (or his descendents) mention but I’m in the slow process of deciding what books are in the library which no one happens to mention. (Think of how often you explicitly mention the books you read in school. They’re back in there … but even in a conversation about school reading you’d only mention a few titles.)Worse, I could go into crinkly details: the astronaut inherited his library from two family members, certainly he and his spouse added books to it, and his descendents argue about whether certain books were inadvertently (or purposefully) left on earth due to weight and volume restrictions. The astronaut does consider whether certain titles might make dangerous reading for his fellow colonists and descendents, but he is a liberal soul who tends to think people have good sense. (Even if he has seen the Star Trek 
episode "A Piece of the Action
".)
episode "A Piece of the Action".)I could turn the tags into a commentary about the astronaut’s family, thought process, reading history, and all the influences that shaped what books ended up on the new world … but I have at least three novels and two novellas left to type up, a novella to revise, fiction submissions to keep track of, and a 3-Day Novel Contest novel to plan and research. (This mostly consists of talking to the narrator, explaining what the 3-Day Novel Contest is, getting him to agree to three days with me, securing assurances that what happened to him is worth reading and will cover 3 days of writing, and setting out certain reference books and idea-joggers in case either of us are at a loss for words on the alien savannah where we will both be spending 3 days.) This world is set in the same universe as “The Astronaut’s Library” but on a different planet with its own history and problems. If the narrator of the 3-Day Novel-to-be has ever read a Science Fiction novel, it would be a Looking Backward
-type work written on his own world, not anything from ancient Earth. He’s a busy man and it’s been a long time since he had to light a fire without an electron manipulator (or indeed any sort of fire: the servants light the lamps and the fireplaces.)
-type work written on his own world, not anything from ancient Earth. He’s a busy man and it’s been a long time since he had to light a fire without an electron manipulator (or indeed any sort of fire: the servants light the lamps and the fireplaces.)I have another, older, series (set in an alternate history 1950's New England) also has a library and I’ve spent years trying to get the characters in that series to tell me what was in it. (It both was, and was not, important to how the series turns out. Once it is published, see my novella “Narrator the Golden” for why.) It is another case of a society shaped by reading (in this case by books donated by townspeople who had no intention of shaping a society) but with very different results.
Of the 12 novels and 5 novellas set in the alternate New England, none has yet been published.
Of the 7 novels and 4 novellas in the “Astronaut’s Library” universe, only one “The World In His Throat ” (a stand-alone excerpt from the first novel) has been published. (A major figure in the astronaut’s life makes an appearance at the end, but this is set on a different world. If you can’t imagine Olaf being a great reader, you’re right.) “The World In His Throat” appears in:
The short story I have published is Fantasy, and writing it was a great surprise to me. If you wish to read it, track down issue 20 of Aoife’s Kiss: http://www.genremall.com/zinesr.htm.
-Lisa Shapter
Posted by Lisa Shapter at 8/20/2010 5:10 PM 
Categories: Narrator the Golden, Star Trek, The World in his Throat, The Astronaut's Library, Gilvaethwy, Things We Are Not, 3 Day Novel, LibraryThing, Looking Backwards, Inspired by The Ebony Frame, Fantasy, My Fiction, Science Fiction
Tags: Narrator the Golden My Fiction The Astronaut's Library Gilvaethwy The World in his Throat 3 Day Novel LibraryThing Looking Backwards Things We Are Not Inspired by The Ebony Frame Fantasy Star Trek Science Fiction
Categories: Narrator the Golden, Star Trek, The World in his Throat, The Astronaut's Library, Gilvaethwy, Things We Are Not, 3 Day Novel, LibraryThing, Looking Backwards, Inspired by The Ebony Frame, Fantasy, My Fiction, Science Fiction
Tags: Narrator the Golden My Fiction The Astronaut's Library Gilvaethwy The World in his Throat 3 Day Novel LibraryThing Looking Backwards Things We Are Not Inspired by The Ebony Frame Fantasy Star Trek Science Fiction
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