Here we so again. I can’t believe it’s been three weeks since the last one. I’ve been slowly reading The Hundred Towered City by …. and Superpowers by . Apart from that not too much book related stuff going on. I’ve had some lovely looking review copies that I need to get reading and the July releases post needs doing. But before all that lets take a look at my RSS feeds.
The Torque Control always has some great links and these two are no exception:
- An interview with David J Schwartz on Bookslut. I guess Superpowers really is fan fiction.
- A reminder that I really need to get a copy of Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff for the cover if nothing else.
More links this time from SF Signal:
- The demise of the newspaper book review? Are book reviews in papers really there to sell books? As I’ve said for a while. Newspapers rarely feature books that I’d want to read with the rare exception of poetry collections and the odd one I’ve missed elsewhere.
- Two pieces of cover art that make me glad I get UK editions! (on the OF Blog…)
- An interview about genre with Michael Chabon in the LA Times. A comment I’d like to explore more is the source of tradition between Britain and America with this side coming from Mythical roots and the other having Puritan origins. I wonder if that’s why we have such different traditions?
- OF Blog again, this time raising the question, Do SF/F authors have to be SF/F fans in order to be good writers? Short answer is no, but you’d better be bloody good. Short short answer, of course you do!
- A short and sweet interview with Joe Abercrombie. I am going to read him I am!
- They have a 4.5/5 review of The Affinity Bridge by George Man. I want to read a book with zombies, airship disasters and an unsafe Victoria London.
- I wonder if I need a manifesto. Solar Flare has a 5 Point Manifesto for Positive Fandom
- Fantasy Book Critic has a review of An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham which reminds me that I have a copy of the first of the series to read!
- To ebook or not to ebook that is the question? I’m still undecided but I still tend to buy CDs rather than download them, I read only a small percentage of emags and ebooks (non-fiction) and I like the feel of a book and seeing the book mark move. Plus I’m with Nick Hornby who rightly said, to paraphrase, if they ain’t buying books for £4.00 what’s going to make them spend £400 on an ebook reader?
- Some wonderful thoughts for all writers by Neil Gaiman
- Charles Stross wades into an analyse of his own writing.
- More Joe Abercrombie. This time with more Advice for Budding Fantasists.
- More ranting about genre writers as readers….
- And more the subject from Mysterious Outposts.
Moving on I think.
Reading Matters has a review of The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Inidridson, which I got sent recently so looks like moving back to crime for at least one book, though I was also sent Sideways In Crime, which mixes sci-fi and detective fiction.
SF Diplomat asks, Is Online Book Reviewing Sustainable? I really don’t know.
I’ve spent some time reading and replying to some really deep discussions and I’m just under halfway. Look for more in part 2.
