Monthly Archives: April 2021
New Books and ARCs, 4/30/21
Posted on April 30, 2021 4 Comments
We’re on our way out of April and are moving toward May, but there’s still enough time to get in this stack of new books and ARCs that have arrived at the Scalzi Compound. What here is attracting your interest? Let us know in the comments!
The Big Idea: Jonathan Glancey
Posted on April 30, 2021 9 Comments
Today’s Big Idea is a little different, with a large visual component. That’s because today’s big idea is about visual ideas. Jonathan Glancey, co-author of Logomotive: Railroad Graphics and the American Dream, walks us through the images of railways through the years, and what they mean for the companies who used them, and the people […]
Biden at 100 Days: Boring as a Secret Weapon
Posted on April 29, 2021 73 Comments
It is a little odd to me that the very best thing about Joseph Biden in his first 100 days is that he is boring. First and most obviously, that’s in contrast to his predecessor, a narcissistic chaos engine who essentially held the nation’s attention hostage for four years; the idea that one might not […]
The Big Idea: Corry L. Lee
Posted on April 29, 2021 2 Comments
Are you the hero or the villain in your own life’s story? How about in someone else’s story? This is a key question in Corry L. Lee’s newest addition to The Bourshkanya Trilogy, The Storm’s Betrayal. Dive in to her Big Idea to see just how morally grey a protagonist can be. CORRY L. LEE: I […]
Corona Leaves A Bad Aftertaste
Posted on April 28, 2021 60 Comments
You may remember I had corona back in December. In the post over it, I told you all I was totally fine other than losing my taste and smell for a couple days. I was so happy it was a mild case and that nothing else was wrong with me. Surely, I was, and am, one […]
The Big Idea: PJ Manney
Posted on April 28, 2021 1 Comment
Can we rewrite our culture? Author PJ Manney asks the tough questions about humanity and society in the Big Idea for her newest novel, (Con)science. Follow along as she explains what it means to be human in an ever-evolving world PJ MANNEY: I’m not great at following directions. In theory, I should write my Big […]
The Big Idea: Bruce Sterling
Posted on April 27, 2021 14 Comments
Science fiction writers dream of different worlds… and sometimes miss the complexities of the one they’re on. Can we imagine this world, and who we might be somewhere else on it? It’s something Bruce Sterling has given more than a little thought to, and how his new book Robot Artists & Black Swans came about. […]
A Charlie Moment
Posted on April 26, 2021 7 Comments
This is a happy dog, y’all. Hope you’re having a great Monday. — JS
About Being “Great”: A Twitter Thread
Posted on April 25, 2021 63 Comments
Context: Someone out on the Internet was helpfully explaining to someone else that I was “No [Harlan] Ellison,” no matter how many blogs or witticisms I had. I naturally had some thoughts about that. This was a tweet thread, which I am posting here for archiving and for those of you who stay away from […]
Revisiting Conan Gray
Posted on April 23, 2021 19 Comments
Back in August, I recommended some songs to y’all by an artist named Conan Gray (which you can find here). Though I generally like all his songs, I recommended four that I particularly loved, and today I’m here to talk about just one. The one I want to recommend and discuss today is called “Generation […]
The Big Idea: Katherine Cowley
Posted on April 23, 2021 9 Comments
Appearances are deceiving. This is especially true in Katherine Cowley’s newest novel, The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet. Dive in to her Big Idea, and learn how there can be more to a person than shows on the surface. KATHERINE COWLEY: The first time I read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, I was eleven years […]
A Quick Musical Interlude
Posted on April 23, 2021 6 Comments
I found the record label called Daptone Records, based out of California, which records bands in a very 60s sort of way, particularly via its Penrose imprint. I’m enjoying what I’m hearing and thought you might as well. Here’s a couple tracks for you. — JS
The Big Idea: Elly Bangs
Posted on April 22, 2021 1 Comment
People often say that we, as a species, need to come together. To put our differences aside and work as one. Elly Bangs weighs in on this opinion in her Big Idea for her newest novel, Unity. Follow along with her as she tells us about different kinds of unity, and how it affects individualism. ELLY […]
The Big Idea: Cavan Scott
Posted on April 21, 2021 2 Comments
For today’s Big Idea, writer Cavan Scott looks at his own past favorites in pop culture and how they inform the stories he is telling, none more so than the new collection of his indie comic, Shadow Service. CAVAN SCOTT: “A man is the sum of his memories, you know. A Time Lord more so.” […]
Dogs in Snow, 4/21/21
Posted on April 21, 2021 11 Comments
Snow fell last night (boo!), but that did give a chance to snap some pictures of Charlie and neighbor dog Buckley playing in the snow (yay!). Enjoy, even if you can’t possibly enjoy as much as they did. — JS
Sakuraco April Box Review
Posted on April 20, 2021 20 Comments
First off, I’d like to say thank you to everyone that commented on my last post about my reviews. You all said such nice and reassuring things! So I decided to go ahead and write up that review over the latest Japanese snack box I got. Without further ado, let’s jump into Sakuraco’s April box! […]
The Big Idea: J.S. Dewes
Posted on April 20, 2021 2 Comments
Science fiction can take its inspiration from unlikely sources, but for The Last Watch, the debut novel from author J.S. Dewes, the inspiration came from what might seem an especially unlikely source. And yet, that inspiration took the author to the very edge of the universe. J.S. DEWES: “I’ll fly a starship across the universe […]
What’s With All The Reviews?
Posted on April 19, 2021 42 Comments
Good question. I’m glad you asked. Just kidding, I know you didn’t ask, but my paranoid brain has made me believe that some of you are questioning why a lot of my posts are reviews or recommendations. In fact, I got so paranoid about it that I was supposed to post a review last week […]
Love Death + Robots Volume 2 Trailer is (Officially) Up
Posted on April 19, 2021 18 Comments
I saw that it had leaked over the weekend but now it’s up on the Netflix YouTube account, so: Here you go. I think it looks pretty cool, myself. Also: Update: — JS
The Big Idea: James Fell
Posted on April 19, 2021 11 Comments
Sometimes, things don’t turn out the way you want them to. But as James Fell tells us, that’s not always a bad thing. Follow along as he explains how failure can be for the best in his Big Idea for his newest book, On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down. JAMES FELL: I thought […]
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