Monthly Archives: October 2015
New Books and ARCs, 10/30/15
Posted on October 30, 2015 35 Comments
It’s the last book and ARC roundup for October, and this stack has at least a couple of surprising and unexpected titles in it. See anything you like? Let me know in the comments!
In Which We Debate One of the Great Issues of Our Time
Posted on October 30, 2015 41 Comments
This is from Nerdcon:Stories, in which we debate the Very Important Topic of which is the correct way to put on foot apparel: “Sock, sock, shoe, shoe” or “Sock, shoe, sock, shoe.” Pay attention: What you learn here could save your life.
The $50 Fire Tablet: First Impressions
Posted on October 30, 2015 40 Comments
In its continuing bid to attempt to take over the world so no one ever will buy anything from anyone but them, Amazon a couple of weeks ago released a $50, 7-inch Fire tablet, designed, one presumes, to entice the curious, the cheap and those on limited incomes. Well, it worked on me; I was […]
On the Occasion of Reaching 90,000 Twitter Followers
Posted on October 29, 2015 54 Comments
I noticed I was less than 30 followers away from 90K Twitter followers a little bit ago, and said if we reached 90K in 20 minutes I would murder an 80s song (in retrospect I should have murdered a 90s song, but, well, whatever). I had barely tweeted that when I crossed the 90k threshold. […]
The Big Idea: Ellen Kushner
Posted on October 29, 2015 17 Comments
If you’re a fan of Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint, then you’re going to be very happy with Tremontaine, a prequel serialized story that takes place in the same world, fifteen years earlier. Kushner, who is spearheading the novelization with co-writers Alaya Dawn Johnson, Malinda Lo, Joel Defner, Racheline Maltese and Patty Bryant, is here to talk […]
On My Way Home
Posted on October 28, 2015 13 Comments
Soon I will be on an airplane heading back to home, and when I get there, that is it for the year. Which is to say, no other public events and (for the moment at least) no other planned business travel. This makes me slightly giggly. I hardly know what to do with myself! Maybe […]
The Big Idea: Lila Bowen
Posted on October 27, 2015 24 Comments
The author of Wake of Vultures, Lila Bowen, does whatever the hell she wants (so does Delilah S. Dawson, who is Lila Bowen when she’s not being Delilah Dawson). And what the hell does she want to do now? Tell you her big idea for her book. LILA BOWEN: Did you ever see that episode […]
Here’s the Egregious, Mealy-Mouthed Clump of Bullshit That is the 2015 World Fantasy Convention Harassment Policy
Posted on October 27, 2015 184 Comments
It is thus, complete with shoddy copy editing (which I learned about via this tweet by Natalie Luhrs, and subsequently confirmed via two WFC members emailing me copies of the program they had been sent): As a compare and contrast, here’s the New York City Comic Con policy on harassment, which for the last two […]
View of a Hotel Window, 10/25/15: LA
Posted on October 25, 2015 15 Comments
My hotel room is on the first floor, which means that the view out of it is a little on the nose for where I am, so instead here is a view of the window itself, with some of the outside world visible from it. It’s a very nice hotel room, though, so. No parking […]
Fall From the Air
Posted on October 23, 2015 17 Comments
Taken as I was taking off from O’Hare to Seattle/Tacoma this morning. Just a few minutes ago, in fact. Yes, I am posting this from the middle of the sky. Right now it’s just all clouds and blue. How are you? Remember Tacoma, I’m doing an event for you tomorrow at the Tacoma public library […]
New Books and ARCs, 10/22/15
Posted on October 22, 2015 30 Comments
I’m traveling tomorrow, so I’m getting this week’s new books and ARCs up a day early — lots of novellas in here! See something that looks interesting to you? Tell me about it in the comments.
Reminder: Writing Workshop and Reading this Saturday, October 24, at the Tacoma Public Library
Posted on October 22, 2015 7 Comments
The headline pretty much says it: I’m coming to the main branch of the Tacoma Public Library this Saturday for a whole day to do a writing workshop in the morning, and a reading/Q&A/signing in the afternoon. The workshop will cover some of the practical and creative aspects of being a writer in today’s world, […]
The Big Idea: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Posted on October 22, 2015 14 Comments
In their novel Illuminae, authors Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff decided to break stuff. What stuff? And why? They’re here to explain. AMIE KAUFMAN and JAY KRISTOFF: The Big Idea behind Illuminae? Break the idea of what a book could be. Epistolary novels aren’t a new concept. The conceit of telling a story through documents—be […]
Get Steppin’
Posted on October 21, 2015 84 Comments
I needed a new bathroom scale (contrary to what I wrote on Twitter and Facebook, I did not kill the last bathroom scale with a hammer for the crime of informing me I was overweight; in fact one of its battery contacts had corroded, rendering the electronic scale useless), so I went looking for one […]
Why I Don’t Drink Coffee, Featuring Maureen Johnson
Posted on October 20, 2015 52 Comments
*sits down next to you**hands you a coffee**takes your coffee*Well.What do you do now. — Maureen Johnson (@maureenjohnson) October 20, 2015 @maureenjohnson Thank you, because I don't like coffee. — John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 20, 2015 @scalzi You've never tried MY coffee. *coffee fizzes* — Maureen Johnson (@maureenjohnson) October 20, 2015 @maureenjohnson COFFEE IS NOT […]
The Big Idea: Catherynne M. Valente
Posted on October 20, 2015 19 Comments
I could write a lot about Catherynne Valente and her new novel Radiance, but instead let me just say two words: Space whales. Space whales, people! CATHERYNNE M. VALENTE: Radiance doesn’t have a big idea at its heart. It has about six. It’s a decopunk alt-history Hollywood space opera mystery thriller. With space whales. Over-egging […]
Always and Never
Posted on October 19, 2015 26 Comments
Here’s a question I’ve been sitting on for a while before I answered, mostly because of travel and other commitments but also because I was waiting for a good time to answer it. It comes from Avdi Grimm, who writes: A question for if you’re ever bored and out of anything else to blog about […]
The 1% of Problems
Posted on October 18, 2015 123 Comments
Today’s Thing About Rich People Appalling the Internet: “Wealth therapy tackles woes of the rich: ‘It’s really isolating to have lots of money,’” an article in the Guardian about therapists who help the rich deal with the apparent loneliness and isolation of having a shitload of money. Here’s one of the more choice quotes from the […]
A Tale of Two Tablets
Posted on October 18, 2015 46 Comments
I’m doing some work on a project that requires iOS, and my ipad 3 is now sufficiently out of date, processor-wise, that it makes no sense to use it for the project (and anyway, the home button stopped working, too), so I went and ordered an iPad Mini 4, which arrived about a week ago. I’ve […]
New Books and ARCs, 10/16/15
Posted on October 16, 2015 41 Comments
A double stack this week, for your pleasure (if for some reason you’re finding it hard to read the titles, here’s a bigger picture). What looks like a nifty read to you? Tell me in the comments!
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying