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kestrellSo we missed Readercon this year
I organized a virtual Readercon with some friends so we could discuss what books we had been reading lately. Here's the list, with some additional comments by me. Note: ssorry I only began mentioning Bookshare/NLS availability starting around halfway through the list.
A Song for a New Day by Pinsker, Sarah
Available on Bookshare.org, and on NLS as an audiobook
Fritz Lieber "Coming Attraction", Our Lady of Darkness
Story about a man who gets caught up with occultists in San Francisco? and has a scene which explains why we no longer sleep with piles of books in our beds.
Available on Bookshare.org (Kes recommends geting the ebook which also includes "conjure Wife"), also available on NLS as an audiobook
Podcast "Our Opinions are Correct"
Audiobook Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi Audiobook
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
"dashing geneticist vampire" [it says so on the book jacket]
Enthusiastically panned by Kestrell, who had to review it when it first came out
The Magnus Archives
Enthusiastically recommended by three of us. The narrator has a *great* voice. This is like the old-school M. R. James/Algernon Blackwood kind of horror, with no violence toward women and only a few passing references to sex. Kes loves the evil books.
All sorts of ways to listen, including asking Alexa to play it for you, or listen to it online at
http://rustyquill.com/the-magnus-archives/
Does the dog die.com
doesthedogdie.com
Because we all hate stories where the dog dies.
Darcie Little Badger
Along with Rebecca Roanhorse, Little Badger writes great speculative fiction that integrates Native American myth and culture. Highly recommended by Kes.
You can read both of the following short stories on Darcy Little Badger's short fiction page at
http://darcielittlebadger.com/published-fiction/
"Skinwalker, Fast Talker" Coyote story in _No Shit, There I Was_ (available on Bookshare.org)
"Owl versus the Neighborhood Watch"
The latter short story is also available in _Mythic Journeys_ edited by Paula Guran (available on Bookshare.org and NLS as an audiobook)
_Mythic Journeys: Retold Myths and Legends_ anthology, ed. Paula Guran (available on NLS)
Recommended by Kes, who also mentioned the following stories:
"How to Survive an Epic Journey" - the tale of the Argonauts told by Atalanta, by Tansy Rayner Roberts
and
"A Wolf in Iceland is the Child of a Lie" - a woman meets one of Loki's children, by Sonya Taaffe
You can read this story online at
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/a-wolf-in-iceland-is-the-child-of-a-lie/
Rebecca Roanhorse
This is Kes's favorite new (to her) author: she recommends a duology:
_Trail of Lightning_ and _Storm of Locusts_, and the commercial audiobook versions are wonderful (available on NLS, and ebook versions are on Bookshare.org)
Check out her GoodReads page
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15862877.Rebecca_Roanhorse
for a list of her books, including her upcoming _Black Sun_, and a link to Levar Burton reading one of her stories.
The Years of Rice and Salt_ by Kim Stanley Robinson (available on Bookshare.org and NLS)
a world in which Buddhism and Islam are the dominant religions and New World settlers sail from China, as envisioned by the reincarnation of the central characters. 2002.
Kes also recommends: The Memory of Whiteness_ (1985), available on Bookshore because she scanned it
This story features a musician-physicist who is visually impaired and gets involved in traveling to new worlds.
_The Dons: Mentors, Eccentrics and Geniuses_ by Noel Annan
Kes is currently proofreading her scan of this book, which describes famous Oxford and Cambridge dons from the Victorian period to the 1960s or so, including commentary on homosexuality at Oxbridge.
Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers
Followed mention of _The Dons_, a number of us have read and recommend this book, mention of lesbianism at Oxford in the 1920s/30s?
_Decline and Fall_ by Evelyn Waugh
1928 satire about Waugh's university days at Oxford and his time as a teacher at a public school in Wales.
The Assimilated Cuban's Guide to Quantum Santeria by Carlos Hernandez
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, by the same author
_Mexican Gothic_, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Fiction, on Kes's to be read list and recommended by another reader
_The Road of Ice and Salt_ by José Luis Zárate
Originally in Spanish, but an English translation has just been completed and will be released late this year or early next,
Read about it here
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-road-of-ice-and-salt#/
Victor LaValle, The Ballad of Black Tom, Changeling, Big Machine
All of his books are available on Bookshare.org, most are available on NLS in audiobook format.
LaValle Will be participating in the virtual con, Reconvene, which Kes mentioned, and then babbled on about what a great voice he has, and how during his acceptance speech for a Shirley Jackson Award, he spoke about horror in nonfiction, and read from
Shirley Jackson, Life Among the Savages, Raising Demons
Both of the above-mentioned books are available on Bookshare.org, and _Life Among the Savages_ is available in web braille on NLS
You can read about the most recent Shirley Jackson Awards, announced just this past weekend, here
https://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/
For the benefit of my blind friends, the Shirley Jackson Award is an inscribed rock, a reference to Jackson's most famous short story, "The Lottery."
Sarah Pinsker "Two Truths and a Lie"
You can read it on tor.com
https://www.tor.com/2020/06/17/two-truths-and-a-lie-sarah-pinsker/
Naomi Kritzer
tor.com "Little Free Library",
https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little-free-library-naomi-kritzer/
_Catfishing on Catnet_,
Kes *loves* this book, even though she doesn't have a cat, or cat pictures, but she does love AIs who are not evil.
Available on Bookshare.org, and available as an audiobook on NLS
_Cat Pictures, Please_
You can read it on the Clarke's World site at, which also has an audio version
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_01_15/
Martha Wells, Murderbot series
_Network Error_ just came out earlier this summer. Martha Wells will also be participating in ReConvene. The Murderbot series is available on both Bookshare.org and NLS, but NLS doesn't have _Network Error_ yet.
Questionable Content webcomic
I organized a virtual Readercon with some friends so we could discuss what books we had been reading lately. Here's the list, with some additional comments by me. Note: ssorry I only began mentioning Bookshare/NLS availability starting around halfway through the list.
A Song for a New Day by Pinsker, Sarah
Available on Bookshare.org, and on NLS as an audiobook
Fritz Lieber "Coming Attraction", Our Lady of Darkness
Story about a man who gets caught up with occultists in San Francisco? and has a scene which explains why we no longer sleep with piles of books in our beds.
Available on Bookshare.org (Kes recommends geting the ebook which also includes "conjure Wife"), also available on NLS as an audiobook
Podcast "Our Opinions are Correct"
Audiobook Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi Audiobook
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
"dashing geneticist vampire" [it says so on the book jacket]
Enthusiastically panned by Kestrell, who had to review it when it first came out
The Magnus Archives
Enthusiastically recommended by three of us. The narrator has a *great* voice. This is like the old-school M. R. James/Algernon Blackwood kind of horror, with no violence toward women and only a few passing references to sex. Kes loves the evil books.
All sorts of ways to listen, including asking Alexa to play it for you, or listen to it online at
http://rustyquill.com/the-magnus-archives/
Does the dog die.com
doesthedogdie.com
Because we all hate stories where the dog dies.
Darcie Little Badger
Along with Rebecca Roanhorse, Little Badger writes great speculative fiction that integrates Native American myth and culture. Highly recommended by Kes.
You can read both of the following short stories on Darcy Little Badger's short fiction page at
http://darcielittlebadger.com/published-fiction/
"Skinwalker, Fast Talker" Coyote story in _No Shit, There I Was_ (available on Bookshare.org)
"Owl versus the Neighborhood Watch"
The latter short story is also available in _Mythic Journeys_ edited by Paula Guran (available on Bookshare.org and NLS as an audiobook)
_Mythic Journeys: Retold Myths and Legends_ anthology, ed. Paula Guran (available on NLS)
Recommended by Kes, who also mentioned the following stories:
"How to Survive an Epic Journey" - the tale of the Argonauts told by Atalanta, by Tansy Rayner Roberts
and
"A Wolf in Iceland is the Child of a Lie" - a woman meets one of Loki's children, by Sonya Taaffe
You can read this story online at
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/a-wolf-in-iceland-is-the-child-of-a-lie/
Rebecca Roanhorse
This is Kes's favorite new (to her) author: she recommends a duology:
_Trail of Lightning_ and _Storm of Locusts_, and the commercial audiobook versions are wonderful (available on NLS, and ebook versions are on Bookshare.org)
Check out her GoodReads page
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15862877.Rebecca_Roanhorse
for a list of her books, including her upcoming _Black Sun_, and a link to Levar Burton reading one of her stories.
The Years of Rice and Salt_ by Kim Stanley Robinson (available on Bookshare.org and NLS)
a world in which Buddhism and Islam are the dominant religions and New World settlers sail from China, as envisioned by the reincarnation of the central characters. 2002.
Kes also recommends: The Memory of Whiteness_ (1985), available on Bookshore because she scanned it
This story features a musician-physicist who is visually impaired and gets involved in traveling to new worlds.
_The Dons: Mentors, Eccentrics and Geniuses_ by Noel Annan
Kes is currently proofreading her scan of this book, which describes famous Oxford and Cambridge dons from the Victorian period to the 1960s or so, including commentary on homosexuality at Oxbridge.
Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers
Followed mention of _The Dons_, a number of us have read and recommend this book, mention of lesbianism at Oxford in the 1920s/30s?
_Decline and Fall_ by Evelyn Waugh
1928 satire about Waugh's university days at Oxford and his time as a teacher at a public school in Wales.
The Assimilated Cuban's Guide to Quantum Santeria by Carlos Hernandez
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, by the same author
_Mexican Gothic_, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Fiction, on Kes's to be read list and recommended by another reader
_The Road of Ice and Salt_ by José Luis Zárate
Originally in Spanish, but an English translation has just been completed and will be released late this year or early next,
Read about it here
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-road-of-ice-and-salt#/
Victor LaValle, The Ballad of Black Tom, Changeling, Big Machine
All of his books are available on Bookshare.org, most are available on NLS in audiobook format.
LaValle Will be participating in the virtual con, Reconvene, which Kes mentioned, and then babbled on about what a great voice he has, and how during his acceptance speech for a Shirley Jackson Award, he spoke about horror in nonfiction, and read from
Shirley Jackson, Life Among the Savages, Raising Demons
Both of the above-mentioned books are available on Bookshare.org, and _Life Among the Savages_ is available in web braille on NLS
You can read about the most recent Shirley Jackson Awards, announced just this past weekend, here
https://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/
For the benefit of my blind friends, the Shirley Jackson Award is an inscribed rock, a reference to Jackson's most famous short story, "The Lottery."
Sarah Pinsker "Two Truths and a Lie"
You can read it on tor.com
https://www.tor.com/2020/06/17/two-truths-and-a-lie-sarah-pinsker/
Naomi Kritzer
tor.com "Little Free Library",
https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little-free-library-naomi-kritzer/
_Catfishing on Catnet_,
Kes *loves* this book, even though she doesn't have a cat, or cat pictures, but she does love AIs who are not evil.
Available on Bookshare.org, and available as an audiobook on NLS
_Cat Pictures, Please_
You can read it on the Clarke's World site at, which also has an audio version
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_01_15/
Martha Wells, Murderbot series
_Network Error_ just came out earlier this summer. Martha Wells will also be participating in ReConvene. The Murderbot series is available on both Bookshare.org and NLS, but NLS doesn't have _Network Error_ yet.
Questionable Content webcomic
