Monthly Archives: May 2017
One Week Break
Posted on May 30, 2017 25 Comments
Hey there, folks — I’m going to take off until next Tuesday on account of work and travel. Yes, travel, again, to BookCon in New York, and also to the Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley. I’ll be on one coast one day and the other the next. And they say the age of the […]
Sugar and Daisy Pause and Contemplate the True Meaning of Memorial Day
Posted on May 29, 2017 12 Comments
And hope you will too, between the relaxing and grilling and enjoying the of the traditional start of the American summer.
Athena’s Graduation, in Pictures
Posted on May 28, 2017 28 Comments
Yup, she did it, and here is the photographic proof — a photo set with her (and Hunter, her boyfriend) before, during and after the graduation ceremony. Enjoy it as if you were there your very own self! (And for those wondering, it was a fine ceremony, and very quick, since Athena had a graduating […]
We’re the Ones Who Wrote the End
Posted on May 27, 2017 12 Comments
Athena’s high school graduation ceremony is today and this is the song running around in my head about it. Big day, folks. Pictures later, perhaps.
New Books and ARCs, 5/26/17
Posted on May 26, 2017 15 Comments
As we ease into a long weekend, here’s a very healthy stack of new books and ARCs that might ring your bell. Call out the ones you’re interested in down in the comments!
The Poverty “State of Mind”
Posted on May 25, 2017 102 Comments
Ben Carson, our HUD Secretary of somewhat dubious expertise, recently burbled on about how he thinks that “poverty, to a large extent, is a state of mind,” a statement which earned him some well-justified push-back and which prompted several people, knowing of my general thoughts about poverty, to wonder if I had any thoughts on […]
New Books and ARCs, 5/24/17
Posted on May 24, 2017 22 Comments
Suddenly, books! What in this particular stack is catching your interest? Let everyone know in the comments.
And Now, a Trenchant Glimpse Into My Dream Life
Posted on May 24, 2017 26 Comments
In my dream last night, I was annoyed at my cats for not sufficiently appreciating the in-ground pool I had installed specifically for them. Can you blame me? I think not.
The Big Idea: Dan Moren
Posted on May 23, 2017 2 Comments
Travel expands the mind — or so they say. What would Dan Moren, author of The Caledonian Gambit, have to say about that particular truism? As it happens, he has a story on the topic, one that has bearing on the story he tells in his novel. DAN MOREN: In January 2001, during my junior […]
Taking a News Break
Posted on May 22, 2017 23 Comments
The last couple of weeks have been genuinely and literally amazing as far as news goes — so much happened every day, of such importance to the nation, that it’s been hard to keep up or to process it all, or (and this is important) to get into a frame of mind to do a […]
Cory and I Talk at Goodreads
Posted on May 22, 2017 9 Comments
Because when we were on tour together, we went to Goodreads and talked! Here’s the interview. (Interestingly but not entirely surprisingly, what they didn’t put in this interview transcript was the question where we were asked to offer our opinions on Amazon, which is the parent company of Goodreads. My answer to that was, basically, […]
New Books and ARCs, 5/19/17
Posted on May 19, 2017 21 Comments
Heading into a very fine weekend, and what better way to do that then with some very fine books and ARCs? Tell us what in this stack is beckoning you to read it!
Once Again News is Coming in Too Fast to Process Intelligently, So Here, Have a Picture of Krissy
Posted on May 19, 2017 15 Comments
And she’s happy to see you. And a little squinty, as I took the picture in full daylight and she prefers her sunglasses for that. But, you know. Good squint, I’d say.
The Big Idea: Alan Smale
Posted on May 18, 2017 13 Comments
Creating alternate histories are no small matter, especially when your series of books features a different version of the Roman Empire landing in North America. Now in Eagle and Empire, the third book of his Clash of Eagles series, Alan Smale talks about the challenges of writing different past — and making more history as […]
My Trump Quandary
Posted on May 17, 2017 87 Comments
I’m not writing about Trump and his party pals as much as one suspects I might here, and honestly, here’s the reason for it: Everything is happening so damn fast these days. Hard as it may be to believe, if I’m going to write something more than a snarky tweet, I want to be able […]
My Boring Shoes
Posted on May 17, 2017 53 Comments
Behold the Sketchers Men’s Diameter Slip-on, size 8.5, which just arrived here at the Scalzi Compound. This is the third pair of these that I’ve gotten, the first having been purchased more or less on a whim three years ago at Sears, back when you could still go into Sears without being crushingly depressed at […]
The Big Idea: James Kakalios
Posted on May 17, 2017 7 Comments
Physics happens — today and every day. But how much do you think about the physics of your ordinary day? James Kakalios thinks about it a lot, and after this Big Idea piece for his latest book The Physics of Everyday Things, you might think about it more often, too. JAMES KAKALIOS: My motivation to […]
The Big Idea: Megan Whalen Turner
Posted on May 16, 2017 16 Comments
Sometimes the Big Ideas for books have their origin in other books, and how those books inspire us when we write our own. For her new book Thick as Thieves, Megan Whalen Turner reaches back to a favorite author and how that writer’s big idea laid the groundwork for hers. MEGAN WHALEN TURNER: Back in […]
Robots vs. Fairies: I’m In This
Posted on May 15, 2017 14 Comments
Saga Press today announced a new anthology called Robots vs. Fairies, in which, as you might expect, there are stories about robots, and stories about fairies, and perhaps a few with robots and fairies. The anthology includes a story by me, entitled “Three Robots Experience Objects Left Behind From the Human Era for the First […]
Mother’s Day 2017
Posted on May 14, 2017 3 Comments
This is my Wonder Woman. To mothers and the people who love them, have a fantastic day.
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying