S&L Podcast – #135 – Wrap-up Among Others, Kick-off Ringworld

Tom blows Veronica’s mind, she implies dirty things, I imply them back and we all look forward to Ringworld.  It’s like going to camp.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Murphy’s Irish Stout

Veronica: Hendry Ranch Pinot Gris

QUICK BURNS

Science Fiction and Fantasy Author Richard Matheson Dead At 87

2013 Science Fiction Hall of Fame Inductees

WINNERS: 2013 Locus Awards

Your First Look at the Epic Fantasy Novel Everybody’s Raving About

Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman’ prequel launching October 30th, first image and plot details emerge

Online Voting is Open for The 2013 Hugo Award and John W. Campbell Award

Why Big Publishers Think Genre Fiction Like Sci-Fi Is the Future of E-Books

Pop Culture References You Probably Didn’t Know Were Created by Science Fiction Writers

CALENDAR

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: exclusive excerpt

OUTLANDER TV series greenlit

BOOK KICK-OFF

Kick-off Ringworld by Larry Niven

Ringworld Wikipedia article

Larry Niven Wikipedia Article

Official Larry Niven site

The Guide to Larry Niven’s Ringworld

Interactive guide to Ringworld (includes a kind of Google Maps for the Ring)

Don’t forget : ‘Ringworld’ miniseries in the works at Syfy

Alternate Pick – Redshirts by John Scalzi

BOOK WRAP-UP

Wrap-up Among Others by Jo Walton

Anyone else get this through Interlibrary loan? – Erik

Who Died? – Paulo

Magic In the book – Nathan

The books! All those books! – Rob

Novels mentioned in Among Others

ADDENDUMS 

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers. For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.  

And by: Squarespace, the all-in-one platform that makes it fast and easy to create a professional  website, blog, portfolio, or online store.  For a free trial and 10% off your first purchase on new accounts, go to Squarespace.com, and use offer code SWORD7.

Direct download link for the show here!

July Book Pick: Because you are so awesome

Wow. That was a more exciting election since Iran’s last week. We even got insinuations of voter fraud! We’ve made it!

So right down to the wire Larry Niven’s Ringworld just barely edged out John Scalzi’s Redshirts.

Neither is a perfect choice for everyone. We’ve done Mr. Scalzi’s books as a main pick recently and as an alternate book previously so he’s had lots of coverage. on the other hand there does not seem to be a legit ebook of Ringwolrd (there are print copies and audio copies) which is a deal killer for some.

So here’s what the electoral commission has decided. Ringworld got the most votes. It’s our pick for July. But for the first time since before we went to a strict monthly schedule, we will have an OFFICIAL alternate pick. The votes were just too damn close.

So get out there and read whichever one you like. I’ll be diving into both and I know Veronica already has read Redshirts.

And remember no book pick is ever going to please everyone in this club. It’s not meant to. It’s meant to expose you to books you might not pick up otherwise. And if you’re grumbling about not having an ebook, remember the people who often grumble that the book is not in the library and they don’t have ereaders. We’re all in this together.

Now go enjoy some reading!

*In absence of Veronica who is on vacation electroal commission consisted of Tom and his two dogs. 

  

S&L Podcast – #132 – Get out the vote!

It’s a record pronunciation day for Veronica but then Tom gets picky about the space-time continuum. Also, new sponsor! And July book vote!  Yay!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Bitburger
Veronica: Urban Legend

QUICK BURNS

Iain Banks, 1954-2013
We’ve lost another one of the greats: R.I.P. Jack Vance, 1916-2013
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Update on THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE 
Hugh Howey on why he favors self-publishing
Online demand boosts market for rarest books, expert says
Clarion Write-a-Thon: sponsoring writers to raise money for the Clarion science fiction and fantasy workshop
Famous Scifi And Fantasy Authors In Their Workspaces
Kristian Nairn (Hodor!) podcast

CALENDAR

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES
Game of Thrones’ team on series future: ‘There is a ticking clock’ 
THE SHINING GIRLS by Lauren Beukes To Be Adapted For Television
Trailer for The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug
Crytek’s Ryse: Son of Rome demoed for Xbox One, available as launch title

BOOK CHECK-IN

Among Others by Jo Walton
Aaron whiteboard video about ‘Among Others’
A 1982 Video Interview with Isaac Asimov, Harlan Ellison and Gene Wolfe Wherein They Discuss the Label “Science Fiction” 

BARE YOUR SWORD

Book Vote for Jul ends June 23

EMAIL

Hi, Veronica! Hi, Tom!

This article is not conclusive or very scientific but it makes us think about why we do lem some books and the guilt that comes with it:

Why Leaving a Book Half-Read Is So Hard (by Heidi Mitchell).

Maybe you can share the link with your listeners or use it as a starting point for a discussion on the topic. These are just suggestions, of course.

I hope everything is well with you guys and that you’ll have news about the return of the video show soon.

Bye!

ADDENDUMS

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers. For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.  

And by Squarespace, the all-in-one platform that makes it fast and easy to create a professional  website, blog, portfolio, or online store.  For a free trial and 10% off your first purchase on new accounts, go to Squarespace.com, and use offer code SWORD6.

Direct download link!