| Top 10 Best-Sellers as of 2009/7/12 |
[Jul. 17th, 2009|06:12 am] |
From USA Today's best-seller list (you can find out their basis here):
- Glenn Beck's Common Sense by Glenn Beck
- Black Hills by Nora Roberts
- My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
- New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
- Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
- Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
- Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
- Sooner or Later by Debbie Macomber
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| Feature: Speculative Fiction Books That Dare to Be Different |
[Jul. 15th, 2009|08:34 am] |
Every Wednesday, I have an essay or feature article on any topic that catches my fancy!
When we talk about books, there's usually a conventional form that people expect from the text, even from genres such as speculative fiction. Occasionally, we might run into books that present a new paradigm and alter how we read literature. Classic examples are Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Vladmir Nabokov's Lolita. While such texts are acknowledged by the canon, here are texts from genre that elevate--in my opinion--literature to another level.
 Griffin and Sabine trilogy by Nick Bantock I'm probably cheating here as Nick Bantock isn't someone you'd associate with speculative fiction, but I want to draw attention to his Griffin and Sabine books. In certain ways, he steals a page from children's literature by making reading more than just a visual experience. There's the tactile element and joy of discovery in each page. If there's any experience that can't be replicated by eBooks, it's this.  The Orphan's Tales series by Catherynne M. Valente
Not that we haven't seen nested-stories done before (Arabian Nights) but what modern author has both the boldness and the skill to actually pull it off? What's impressive with Valente is that her nested stories goes deep several levels and is sustained in such a lengthy format.
 City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer You've probably heard of the mosaic novel and what's spectacular with Jeff VanderMeer is that he takes that concept to a different level. Why settle for the "short story" or individual chapters format when you can do with so much more: dry histories (complete with footnotes), appendices, illustrations...  Thieves World anthologies created by Robert Asprin Here's a disclosure on my part: I haven't read any of the Thieves World books. Having said that, I've heard great things about the anthologies. Much like the mosaic novel, what's interesting with this series is that several authors get to play in the same world, featuring the same characters and locale. That might be a staple of the genre right now, especially with media tie-ins and the numerous RPG books, but back in 1979, Asprin and company were pioneers.
 The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Disease edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Mark Roberts
 A Field Guide to Surreal Botany edited by Janet Chui & Jason Erik Lundberg Again, as far as disclosure is concerned, I haven't read the former yet but heard great things about it. What both anthologies do is they present fictional non-fiction, remaining faithful to both the form (i.e. encyclopedic entries) and the tone. |
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| July 15, 2009 Links and Plugs |
[Jul. 15th, 2009|07:58 am] |
Readers might want to grab a copy of the July issue of Locus Magazine where Philippine Speculative Fiction IV and A Time for Dragons gets reviewed (thanks for the review Rich!).
Interviews
Advice/Articles
News
And from PS Publishing: |
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| July 10, 2009 Links and Plugs |
[Jul. 10th, 2009|07:37 am] |
Happy birthday Ekaterina Sedia! And to those at ReaderCon, enjoy!
And for writers, just reminding you of John Joseph Adam's call for stories in his upcoming anthology The Way of the Wizard.
Here's your zen photo for the day for those curious what I do for work:
Interviews
Advice/Articles
News
So I couldn't resist posting a pic...
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| Top 10 Best-Sellers as of 2009/7/5 |
[Jul. 10th, 2009|06:49 am] |
From USA Today's best-seller list (you can find out their basis here):
- Glenn Beck's Common Sense by Glenn Beck
- My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
- Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
- Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
- New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
- Hidden Currents by Christine Feehan
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
- Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
- Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
- Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
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| Essay: How Long Does It Take You to Finish A Book? |
[Jul. 8th, 2009|06:13 am] |
Every Wednesday, I have an essay or feature article on any topic that catches my fancy!
“I am a reader.” It’s such a weird statement to say, especially when you’re surrounded by literate people. Surely, everyone who’s learned English—or whatever your national language happens to be—knows how to read. But just like that not every person who’s taught to play the piano becomes an actual musician, or anyone who’s taken photography classes becomes a professional photographer, there’s a big difference between being able to read and actually becoming a reader. There will be people who’ve genuinely finished an entire novel but can’t genuinely be called a reader. They betray their ignorance with a simple and common question: how long does it take you to finish reading a book? I’ve been asked this question a thousand times, usually when people spot me reading a paperback in public. In retrospect, it’s a question I dare not ask other readers, because it’s unfair. Books have no formula and come in all shapes, sizes, and content. Reading a novella is very different from reading The Bible. Or a collection of poems compared to a collection of short stories. Authors use various techniques and styles, some of which require meticulous reading, others so superficial than one can get by glossing entire paragraphs. Even the most formulaic of writers will make distinctions between their books so that it’s really difficult to say whether Book A will take as much time for me to read as Book B. There is also the reader’s temperament to consider. A lot of factors will intrude into my life that affect how I read a book. There are days when I barely pick up a book and spend a minute or two reading a page. But there are also times when I am inspired and devour the most dense of texts in a matter of hours and eager to consume the next title I come across. One might attempt to quantify the question by stating “the average.” While I might have an average temperament, there is truly no average book, a rule that dictates most books should be written in Style X and contains XX number of pages. If reading were a competition, I might compare my reading speed to someone reading the same book (i.e. how long did it take you to read Book A?). Or sometimes, we compare notes with fellow readers, asking them how long it took to finish reading that book. But that’s seldom the situation I find myself faced with. What’s more common is someone asking me how long it took me to finish the book I'm currently reading and there’s a part of me that wants to reply I'll be done with it when I’m done. Before then, I don’t know how long it’ll take me. To answer such a question requires me to know the actual contents of the item in question and if I knew that, why would I be reading it in the first place? |
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| July 7, 2009 Links and Plugs |
[Jul. 7th, 2009|04:20 am] |
Currently suffering from a fever so if my posts aren't lucid coherent...
Anyway, even though I won't be attending, I'm excited about Readercon. There's the Shirley Jackson Awards, and the Prime Books both will be having copies of Philippine Speculative Fiction IV and A Time for Dragons (just sent them around 5 copies though so...).
Interviews
Advice/Articles
News
For your book plug:
 Moxyland by Lauren Beukes |
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| Top 10 Best-Sellers as of 2009/6/28 |
[Jul. 3rd, 2009|04:59 am] |
From USA Today's best-seller list (you can find out their basis here):
- Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
- My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
- Glenn Beck's Common Sense by Glenn Beck
- New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
- Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
- Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
- Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
- The Shack by William P. Young
- Catastrophe by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann
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The Painting and the City by Robert Freeman Wexler
