Cause Celebre
Or cause for celebration, anyway. The latest issue of Strange Horizons includes a new Gavin J. Grant short story, "We Are Never Where We Are." (Via.)
Welty Stories
Roger Mudd writes for the NYT about the restoration of Eudora Welty’s home, divulging a charming anecdote involving bourbon and a dinner catastrophe along the way. Mudd’s emergence as the Expert Friend of Eudora Welty would be a little annoying, if it wasn’t clear just how much he adored her:
Always close at hand was her favorite reference book, "Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable" and in it her favorite entry — "Assemblage, nouns of" — as in, "a clutch of eggs," "a muster of peacocks," "a bench of bishops." Eudora once challenged me to play the game. She won hands down with "a stack of librarians" and "a plastering of politicians."
Okay
I realize this likely reveals just how out of touch I am, but:
WTF is Sudoku?
Wherefore the insanity? Can you explain the appeal? Anybody?
Monday Hangovers
- Two posts of interest at The Valve: early Bengali SF and thoughts inspired by the short film of Terry Bisson’s "They’re Made Out of Meat".
- Chris McLaren recommends Jeff Ford’s new short story collection.
- Justine wants to know why we want so much love in books.
- The NYT Magazine piece on talent.
- Jeff VanderMeer’s 64 favorite fictions.
- And stop by the LBC this week, where a bunch of us will be discussing Gina Frangello’s My Sister’s Continent.
Woo!
A tardy post (hey, Wild Kingdom let us sleep in this morning), but can I just say Best Nebulas EVER!!!
Of course, it would have been nice to see Air win for Best Novel, but otherwise: YAY!!!
Congratulations to three fabulous ladies: Kelly Link (twice), Holly Black* and Carol Emshwiller!
Full list of winners at that link or behind the cut.
…
Derby Hangovers
Well, we’re not actually celebrating The Derby (TM), because that’s way more fun if you’re much further from it than we are. But we like Derby hats and good bourbon, so it’s not like this makes us communists. Nothing against communists (we like them too, actually). Plus, yesterday Christopher made the Best Biscuits EVER, in honor of the occasion. (Seriously, they were this spectacular mix of angel and cathead biscuits. The yum.)
Calm The Fuck Down Weekend 2006 is off to a good start. Miss Emma, Enemy of Squirrels and Manholes, and I have been for a couple of walks in la perfect weather. I’ve somewhat tidied the house. C’s still down with the virus, but if his course follows mine he should be better in an hour or so. Then we’ll go get some sort of spray for the outside of the windows, which are suddenly home to ants, and visit the wine shop before The Melissas come over to hang out.
Oh, and I finally went ahead and got my BEA plane tix. I’ll be there most of Friday, Saturday and flying out early Sunday and I want to meet you all.
A few little links.
- Henry Alford on bookselling in the NYT. (Via the excellent new The New York Observer on Alloy and Viswanathan. (This one’s worth reading; thanks, J!)
- Theresa Duncan points to an article on writing for Hollywood, but it’s only fun if you go there and follow her cue.
- An interview between Ann Patchett and Elizabeth McCracken. Rumor is there’s audio as well. (Via Babies Are Fireproof.)
- The YA Review exists over at LJ.
- I liked it better when the English were throwing things at him.
- If you’re going to mint julep, do it with Woodford Reserve. But, really, why?
Little Veronica Mars Link
Almost certainly coming back for season 3, which we knew, and switching next season to three long mysteries rather than one season-long one, which I didn’t. That Kristin person talks to Rob Thomas.
I might also say that it sounds like Chance called the return of George Michael and Maebe. Maybe.
He also says everything from Season 2 will be tied up in the finale.
(Yes, sorry for the proliferation of TVness this week, but soon we’ll all be lost in the Rerun Desert.)
Little Veronica Mars Link Read More »
Girl Tired
Yet another hellaciously busy week. (Though I was thankful of the diverting fun of spending so much of it talking about The Girl in the Glass. Not to mention, we discovered this delicious wine.) And I am beat, if not beaten.
There’s still one more freelance assignment to finish before Monday, but it’s a small one and the interviews are done. And the virus that laid me lowish the last couple of days seems to have departed (for other climes, unfortunately). The snooze alarm no longer exists, according to Le Cat and Le Dog; it may as well never have been invented. Pre-Derby lunch just makes me sleepy, it turns out.
This weekend, I plan to do next to nothing, except read the books I’m reading. I might update the sidebar. I’ve been engaging in promiscuous book behavior, rather than just reading one at a time; this is highly unusual for me. At the moment, it’s three excellent books, Alan‘s story collection Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead (the fucking A-bomb), Fernanda Eberstadt’s Little Money Street: In Search of Gypsies and Their Music in the South of France (beautifully written and charming), and James Morrow’s The Last Witchfinder (delightfully funny and I realize now I heard him read from this lo many years ago at an ICFA — in 2000 maybe?). And the other run of research books with plain cloth covers, footnotes and amazing contents, dominated by Christopher Faraone‘s stuff.
Oh, and yeah, I must get the butt back in the Real Writing chair and bang out some new book pages. I’ve been researching and thinking lots about it and, frustratingly, know exactly what happens next, but I haven’t actually written anything new since I got a mini-flood of smallish freelance assignments. I have to figure out how to balance that better.
But the weather is beautiful, the dog and cat are happy, and life seems long. No worries. Happy Cinco de Mayo.
So Crazy It Just Might Work
Editor Gordon Van Gelder is trying a unique (as far as I’ve seen) promotion of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction:
I just got a box of fifty advance copies of the July 2006 F&SF sitting here.
I’m looking to give away these copies to the first fifty people who ask for one.
The catch is this: if you want one of the copies, you’ll have to blog about the issue.
Your blog can say anything, even "I’m only writing this blog entry about F&SF because I said I would to get a free copy of this sucky magazine."
If you’re interested, go here or drop an email to fandsfATaolDOTcom. I’d do it, but we already subscribe. (Via shortform.)
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Slammed (Updated)
Okay, I am beyond busy and have a little bit of a cold. But I have to say that Jeff Ford’s first guest post at the LBC is FABULOUS. You must go read it. It’s all about his experiences researching historical periods for his novels. A taste:
Here’s a little fact I found that will give perspective as to women’s standing at the time. Women in mental institutions of the day were, each night, administered a warm whiskey douche. Now, I may be wrong but I’m pretty sure this was not a treatment conceived of by a woman. Seems like an awful lot of trouble for one thing, and crazy in a kind of sexually perverted way for another.
Updated: And the second one, about mystery and the meaning of life, is just as good.