Monthly Archives: May 2022
The Big Idea: Jeff Macfee
Posted on May 17, 2022
Life is full of choices… and not all choices will make you happy. But they might move the plot along. In today’s Big Idea for Nine Tenths, author Jeff Macfee talks about choices and protagonists and how the matters how the latter performs the former. JEFF MACFEE: Most of us live on the edges. There […]
Whatever News: The Return of Athena
Posted on May 16, 2022 44 Comments
A housekeeping note that makes me pretty happy: Athena is coming returning to the regular rotation here at Whatever, for the summer at least. You can expect more of her particular brand of writing, with reviews of products and entertainment, personal essays and various other things she’s thinking about and wants to share. You know, […]
This Cat Represents Where My Brain Is At This Friday Afternoon
Posted on May 13, 2022 13 Comments
Seriously, I could so totally take a nap right now. Maybe I will! But before I do, a reminder to people in and around Chicago that I am taking part in the American Writer’s Festival this this weekend, specifically on Sunday, where I will be interviewed by my friend and noted SF/F editor Michi Trota. […]
The Big Idea: David Towsey
Posted on May 13, 2022 5 Comments
There are times when you feel not quite yourself, and David Towsey gets what you mean. In fact, in Equinox, you could say he’s written a book in which not being quite yourself — just like everybody else — is a remarkably common occurrence. DAVID TOWSEY: Most of us have experienced moments when we’re in […]
An Observation on Audiobooks
Posted on May 12, 2022 49 Comments
Over on MetaFilter, there’s a conversation thread about this opinion piece on audiobooks in Vulture, where the author has a personal preference about how audiobooks should be performed, and wishes to suggest their preference is actually the best way, which it isn’t really (as with many things in life, the answer is not clear cut, […]
RIP, Pixelbook
Posted on May 11, 2022 28 Comments
I regret to say that after four and a quarter years, my Google Pixelbook has up and stopped working. I suspect it might have something to do with the battery, but it’s difficult to tell without cracking it open to have a look, and even if I did that I would have no idea specifically […]
53
Posted on May 10, 2022 60 Comments
Not the birthday portrait I intended to post, but thanks to American Airlines, I’m still stuck in transit instead of at home with family and pets. It’s not actually the first time I’ve spent at least part of a birthday at an airport, but those other times were not because a plane had an engine […]
I’m Trapped in Travel Hell So Here’s a New Love Death + Robots Trailer For You
Posted on May 9, 2022 12 Comments
Enjoy while I’m suffering through the incompetence of American Airlines. For those who will ask, the Three Robots episode is mine. — JS
View From a Hotel Window, 5/8/22: Berkeley
Posted on May 8, 2022 6 Comments
I’m here in town for the Bay Area Book Festival, and as always happy to be back in my original home state of California, if only for a day or two. Berkeley is lovely, and it’s a lovely day. My event, with Charlie Jane Anders and Mike Chen, will be a 2pm at the San […]
Hello From Cincinnati
Posted on May 6, 2022 20 Comments
I am here to be in conversation with author Holly Black tonight at the Joseph-Beth bookstore, which is great, because Holly Black is a genuine delight. And then tomorrow I am off to Berkeley, California, where I will be part of the Bay Area Book Festival, on a panel with Charlie Jane Anders and Mike […]
In Which I Try the Latest Coca-Cola Creations Flavor
Posted on May 5, 2022 21 Comments
It is the Byte Limited Edition Pixel Flavored Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which you cannot get in the stores; you have to order it off the Coca-Cola Web site, where it comes in a specialty boxed package (which you can see in the background) featuring two cans, a sticker and a QR card for a video […]
The Big Idea: Liz Michalski
Posted on May 5, 2022 1 Comment
A dream about a well-loved fantasy world brings attention to what’s not being paid attention to… and from there, Liz Michalski tells a story in Darling Girl from a point of view long left underappreciated. LIZ MICHALSKI: My first draft of my book Darling Girl came from a dream, in which boys in Peter Pan-green […]
Notes on the Ohio Primary Election Results
Posted on May 4, 2022 27 Comments
Because we had a primary election yesterday (here are a link to the results, from the Columbus Dispatch), and I have notes: 1. The big news, such as it is, is that Trump-supported JD Vance won the GOP primary for US Senate, beating Josh Mandel and Matt Dolan, who were his immediate runners-up, and a […]
The Big Idea: Mark Matthews
Posted on May 4, 2022 3 Comments
Editor Mark Matthews has experience with the world of horror, and the terrors of addiction. In the anthology, Orphans of Bliss, both are explored, with the help of a host of authors who craft stories with both in mind. Here’s Matthews to get under the skin of the anthology. MARK MATTHEWS: Orphans of Bliss: Tales […]
Today Is the Day I Discovered Reuben Kaye
Posted on May 3, 2022 20 Comments
And holy shit, these are amazing. Australia’s been holding out on us. — JS
Spice Watches You From Above
Posted on May 3, 2022 10 Comments
She’s totally not judging you, though (spoiler: She absolutely is). Also, yes, I intend to write about the draft decision from Alito, but I have a lot of thoughts about it and I will need a little bit of time to organize them into something more than venting. Soon. In the meantime, you have Twitter […]
The Big Idea: Dan Koboldt
Posted on May 3, 2022 9 Comments
When I decided to write science fiction, one of the things I thought was, well, I won’t have to do a lot of research because I can just make things up! I was, shall we say, quickly disabused of that notion. In fantasy, it’s a very much a similar situation, as Dan Koboldt, the editor […]
I Haven’t Checked the News Today and Frankly May Not For the Rest of the Day, So Here, Have a Couple of Dogs Hanging Out in the Shade
Posted on May 2, 2022 10 Comments
After, of course, they ran around like puppies. That’s Charlie, obviously, on the left, and Buckley, the neighbor dog, on the right. They enjoy each other’s company, until one of them inevitably annoys the other. Then they get a time out until they’re happy to see each other again. This is also how people work […]
May Flowers and Plans
Posted on May 1, 2022 16 Comments
To begin, first of May magnolias. Because they’re pretty, and that’s really the only excuse they need. Second, I have plans for May! Like: 1. Appearances in Berkeley, Chicago and Gaithersburg, MD, which you can catch up with here. If you’re in any of those places, come see me. After May, I have no public […]
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