That’s right, folks, we badgered Alice into hosting another readalong! And I confidently anticipate that we will badger her into more in 2016, but for now let’s focus on Matthew Gregory Lewis’s Gothic classic The Monk, because the Monkalong has officially begun! The titular MONK (an official readalong style guide has not yet been released, but I have to assume that it will stipulate the word MONK must appear in all caps when referring to the eponymous one) is Ambrosio, a man of mysterious background and flawless morals who is basically the One Direction of eighteenth-century Madrid, except he uses…
24 CommentsCategory: Misc.
Because this fall is exciting, I’m doing a joyous meme for you guys! The good people at The Broke and the Bookish have asked everyone to say what books they are looking forward to this fall, and I am looking forward to A LOT of things this fall. Onward! The Rest of Us Just Live Here, Patrick Ness – How many years has it been since I had a new Patrick Ness book to scream about? TOO MANY. TOO MANY IS THE ANSWER. This one is about all the high school kids who aren’t Chosen Ones, who are just trying…
27 CommentsA slightly shorter links round-up this week, team, sorry about that! Things have been happening; I just haven’t been remembering to save the links about them. The wonderful Linda Holmes lists five shows that TV execs will never stop making. My favorite is “The Adventures Of Mr. Superabilities And Detective Ladyskeptic.” Beyond “diversity in SF”: Some ideas for (awesome-sounding) panels on diverse topics, for SFF conventions to take under advisement. The latest issue of Open Letters Monthly carried a report from the Romance Writers Association convention. The more I think about romance novels and their place in society, the more…
23 CommentsFranzen’s new book is out soon, and every joke the internet makes at its expense is music to my ears, yet also I sort of wonder if Franzen and his publisher and The Atlantic and The New Republic are pranking us. They must be, right? This can’t really be real? Anyway, for now let’s just enjoy making fun of Jonathan Franzen, as the founding fathers intended. Fantasy author NK Jemisin on disrupting the status quo. Note that the author of the interview refers to “stereotypical fantasy series like Lord of the Rings,” which is sort of insane because Lord of…
12 CommentsOh, have I mentioned I’m excited about Zen Cho’s Sorcerer to the Crown? WELL I AM. Here’s Zen Cho on writing three novels and throwing two of them out. Eliding the horrors of American slavery. The development of American English and the new London dialect that’s replacing Cockney. Literary blind spots from famous authors. Writing letters to trees. “I don’t see gender/color/difference” is bullshit, and let’s not ever forget it. An appreciation of Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye, which recently (sob!) ended its run. What women write about when we write about the apocalypse. This article about Auroville is shocking because this…
4 CommentsIn case you missed Shirley Jackson Week, about which I admit I was rather slapdash, I’ve put together a lovely round-up of the posts we were treated to last week! We Have Always Lived in the Castle Words for Worms Harriet Devine A Striped Armchair The Sundial (my fave!) Desperate Reader Emerald City Book Review Gaskella Life among the Savages & Raising Demons Shiny New Books The Road through the Wall Stuck in a Book Short stories! a gallimaufry on “Paranoia” ChrisBookarama on “The Daemon Lover” things mean a lot on “The Daemon Lover” The Cheap Reader on The Lottery…
4 CommentsAn infographic to explain how you should deal with your anger on the internet. At first blush, I think these rules are pretty solid! You? It’s about ethics in book reviews. On Twitter the other day someone tweeted that “Strange Fruit” was by two white dudes, and I thought, “On the Nina Simone tribute album, you mean?” Nope. She meant there is a new comic book called Strange Fruit featuring an enormously strong mute alien who looks like a black man, and the two authors of it are both white dudes. So, worse than my first thought. A story about…
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