Tag: John Scalzi

Our #FridayReads + a Pop Quiz!

Our #FridayReads + a Pop Quiz!

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Ali Fisher

Happy #fridayreads, librarians! Talia and I are lost in some seriously excellent books this week...

Talia's reading:

BAD HAIRCUT: Stories from the Seventies by Tom Perrotta

I'm reading:

WITHOUT A SUMMER by Mary Robinette Kowal

THE HUMAN DIVISION by John Scalzi

And because I'm feeling fangirly I've got a tricky, little quick draw pop quiz/galley giveaway for ya...

Is the following quote from WITHOUT A SUMMER or THE HUMAN DIVISION?

"[S]he was of the opinion that if one was going to issue an invitation, one should be prepared to have it accepted."

I'll send a galley of both books to the first librarian to correctly guess in the comments below! (One winner. U.S. only.)

You can also download the WITHOUT A SUMMER e-galley from Edelweiss (here's how) and start reading THE HUMAN DIVISION in serial (would you like to know more?)!

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The Big Idea: Steven Gould on Whatever

The Big Idea: Steven Gould on Whatever

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Ali Fisher

Steven Gould's latest novel in the world of JUMPER is now available! It's called IMPULSE and the story follows Cent, Davy's daughter, who is a second generation Jumper.

There are few things I love more than listening to two fantastic authors chat it up (this is also why I love all of the events at the Pop Top Stage during ALA conferences so freaking much). So I'm aggressively directing you (think stuttering neon arrow sign) toward Whatever, John Scalzi's blog, where Scalzi extended his soapbox to Gould for a quick rundown of the scientific revelations in the Jumper universe and how they magnify the drama of the stories.

Gould starts with the science,

"In the first book we learned a few things about Jumping: 1. Jumping does not conserve momentum. Davy can jump off a cliff or a tall building and, as long as he jumps before he goes splat at the bottom, he carries none of the acquired downward velocity with him when he appears elsewhere."

Then gives us a sneak peek of how Cent will manipulate that in IMPULSE,

"Cent [...] takes this to another place, exploiting rule 1: Momentum is not conserved."

And comes around to his personal journey through the series,

"I was that teenage boy with the alcoholic father. I was the reluctant parent unsure whether my own childhood would poison my ability to parent well. And, now with IMPULSE, I have daughters who amaze and surprise me."

Go read more in The Big Idea: Steven Gould!

On IMPULSE Kirkus Reviews says, "Mr. Gould, please write faster."

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Monday Fun Day! (9/10/2012 Edition)

Monday Fun Day! (9/10/2012 Edition)

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Ali Fisher

We're kicking off the week with some award-nominee announcements (yay!) and a few articles by some of our favorite science-fiction authors.

- The 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize jury has announced the 2012 longlist and we're excited to see the following titles on their list:

RU by Kim Thúy (Bloomsbury, 11/2012)

THE IMPOSTER BRIDE by Nancy Richler (St. Martin's Press, 2/2013)

Finalists will be announced in October. See the full longlist here!

- The Crime Writers' Association shortlisted GOOD PEOPLE (Minotaur Books, April 2013) by Ewart Hutton for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Award! The winner will be announced on October 18th. See the full shortlist here!

- Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross spent nine years working together on what ultimately became THE RAPTURE OF THE NERDS and there's a great article on the Tor/Forge blog in which they interview one another. Read it now!

"So we began emailing the story back and forth, adding around 1000 words each time, building on each other's work (and, I think, trying to provoke each other by periodically adding preposterous elements—'here, write your way out of this!'). And at the end of the day we wound up with a novella, which Ellen Datlow bought for SciFi.com. And there matters rested in 2003 or 2004 or thereabouts, until..."

- John Scalzi was interviewed in Locus and you can read part of that interview online.

"I’ll be blunt about it: humor is one of the great taboos of science fiction. It’s not just an issue of being able to write it well. When I first started writing, I was told, 'You can’t sell a humorous science fiction novel.'"

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Monday Fun Day! (6/11/2012 Edition)

Monday Fun Day! (6/11/2012 Edition)

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Ali Fisher

We're giving you a totally exclusive, never before seen, behind the scenes look into our twitter feed this week (you lucky librarians, you!). So much good stuff is going on, so instead of paraphrasing, we're serving it all up fresh straight from the tweeters' mouths. Enjoy!

We'll start with some tweets about the 4th Annual Librarian Shout 'n Share:

 

 

 

 

And here are some people we really like tweeting about books we really like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here are a few things to read on your lunch break:

 

 

 

 

And, of course:

 

 

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Wednesday Fun Day! (5/30/2012 Edition)

Wednesday Fun Day! (5/30/2012 Edition)

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Ali Fisher

It's Wednesday already?! Oh, Time, you sure are a fickle creature!

I hope you all had a beautiful Memorial Day weekend. I'm sure you all set aside at least one of the days to properly celebrate MY BIRTHDAY!! I know I did!

Here's a few fun links to get you excited for the rest of this short week:

- The New York Times Books Section recommended some Books for Basking including GRANDAD, THERE'S A HEAD ON THE BEACH by Colin Cotterill, BRING UP THE BODIES by Hilary Mantel, MOST TALKATIVE by Andy Cohen, and LOVE, LIFE, AND ELEPHANTS by Dame Daphne Sheldrick

"This year 'GRANDAD, THERE'S A HEAD ON THE BEACH' is the best beach title around, and its author, Colin Cotterill, isn’t even pandering." Ha!

chuck - Debut mystery writer Chuck Greaves, who will be livin' it up at the Pop Top Stage at ALA Annual, wrote a heartfelt love letter to libraries and librarians. He writes in part about his impressionable years checking out copies of Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein and also about the twenty years he served on the board of directors of the Pasadena Public Library Foundation. Read his post here. 

- The GeekDad section of Wired.com featured John Scalzi talking about his latest novel, REDSHIRTS. 

"So how can we take these tropes that everybody knows, jump through all these hoops that everybody knows... and still put something in there, structurally speaking, that does the job that we’re supposed to do as storytellers? The real challenge for a storyteller is to take that ‘nudge-nudge-wink-wink’ thinking and simultaneously subvert and fulfill it." See the full article here.

- Also, if you're going to be at ALA Annual in Anaheim, don't forget to pack your Unshelved swag because Saturday is officially Unshelved Day @ ALA!

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Starred Review for Redshirts

Starred Review for Redshirts

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Ali Fisher

If you notice any of your patrons loitering around the stacks wearing something like this or this or definitely this, stop them at once and give them REDSHIRTS! It's what they're looking for anyway. 

It's the future and Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the prestigious Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid. Andrew is thrilled with the assignment... that is, until he discovers that low ranking crew members such as himself have an suspiciously high mortality rate during away missions. If he doesn't figure out what's causing the deaths and stop it, he might be the next to die!

Booklist gave REDSHIRTS a starred review and said, "Scalzi takes the reality-versus-fiction idea in a new and decidedly mind-bending direction. It’s hard to imagine a reader who wouldn’t enjoy this one."

Library Journal called it "humorous and thought-provoking" and said it will "appeal to fans of sf (especially Star Trek devotees) who like a good laugh along with their big ideas and space action."

Sound like something you want to start now? Download the first four chapters for free! 

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Library Journal’s Spring Adult Book Buzz!

Library Journal’s Spring Adult Book Buzz!

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Ali Fisher

This afternoon during Library Journal's Spring Adult Book Buzz (3pm Eastern, #ljadultbuzz), I'll be discussing all of the super fabulous upcoming titles listed below!

Join me, Virginia from HarperCollins, Kelly and Erica from Random House, Elenita from Perseus, and moderator Barbara Hoffert from Library Journal for an hour-long book buzz webinar party today! Register now! 

A LADY CYCLIST'S GUIDE TO KASHGAR | Suzanna Joinson | 978-1-60819-811-5

SHINE SHINE SHINE | Lydia Netzer | 978-1-250-00707-0

BENEATH THE SHADOWS | Sara Foster | 978-0-312-64336-2

THE LAND OF DECORATION | Grace McCleen | 978-0-8050-9494-7

A SIMPLE MURDER | Eleanor Kuhns | 978-1-250-00553-3

DEAD SCARED | S. J. Bolton | 978-0-312-60053-2

KILL YOU TWICE | Chelsea Cain | 978-0-312-61978-7

THE OTHER WOMAN | Hank Phillippi Ryan | 978-0-7653-3257-8

BRING UP THE BODIES | Hilary Mantel | 978-0-8050-9003-1

WHERE WE BELONG | Emily Giffin | 978-0-312-55419-4

MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND | Matthew Dicks | 978-1-250-00621-9

THIS IS NOT A TEST | Courtney Summers | 978-0-312-65674-4

REDSHIRTS | John Scalzi | 978-0-7653-1699-8

GLAMOUR IN GLASS | Mary Robinette Kowal | 978-0-7653-2557-0

THE WITCH'S DAUGHTER | Paula Brackston | 978-0-312-62168-1

AMONG OTHERS | Jo Walton | 978-0-7653-2153-4

CHINESE WHISKERS | Pallavi Aiyar | 978-1-250-01448-1

PAW PRINTS IN THE MOONLIGHT | Denis O'Connor | 978-0-312-66829-7

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Aaand We’re Back!

Aaand We’re Back!

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Ali Fisher

Well, ladies and gentlemen, Austin was a blast!

I'm delighted to report that there wasn't a single disaster, fiasco, or catastrophe and all the Texan librarians I met were sweet as peaches! We hosted some fantastic author events and signings. A huge thanks to C.C. Hunter, Jason Goodwin, David Levithan, Linda Castillo, Jonathan Maberry, and John Scalzi for joining us in the booth and on our discussion panels.

Talia got the opportunity to chat about her favorite upcoming Spring titles during the publishers' Book Buzz event and she also hosted a riotous adult mystery panel. Our old buddy Ben hosted Beyond Earth's Boundaries, a sci-fi panel that turned into a thorough discussion about the function and nature of genre.

We gave away a ton of stellar galleys at the booth, the most fun of which were the YA ARCs picked up by high schoolers on Teen Day. And after all that? We were (and still are) exhausted!

Our schedule may have been jam-packed with TxLA awesomeness, but don't worry, we still managed to grab some amazing carnitas tacos and a pile of the most delicious ribs I'll ever have the pleasure of inhaling.

TxLA 2011

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io9’s Spring Title Parade!

io9’s Spring Title Parade!

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Ali Fisher

io9, that great hub of all things science and science fiction, announced which spring titles are making them wiggly with anticipation. Six of the must-haves are available from Tor:

      THE GRAVITY PILOT, by M.M. Buckner
      DEATHLESS, by Catherynne M. Valente
      AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE, by Carrie Vaughn
      ALL THE LIVES HE LED, by Frederik Pohl
      FUZZY NATION, by John Scalzi
      THE QUANTUM THIEF, by Hannu Rajaniemi

Having just finished Carrie Vaughn's AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE, I can only agree that this modern heroine story is an April must. It's the kind of book that lives in front of your face making getting off the bus at the right stop or pouring coffee in the cup, instead of all over the counter, impossible. Next up for me from this list is Hannu Rajaniemi's debut, THE QUANTUM THIEF, a hard sci-fi May release handed to me by our old buddy Ben. [...]

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