Science fictional survival guide – The S&L Podcast #48

This week we officially kick off How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe: A Novel by Charles Yu, even if half of us are halfway through it. That’s got to be some kind of asymptote. We also discuss a little Terry Pratchett, a dash of Joe Abercrombie and a helping of Patrick Rothfuss.

 

QUICK BURNS    
    
Greg Bear, Others Cry Foul on Project Gutenberg Copyright Call 
    
The December Adventure: io9’s Guide To The Month’s Science Fiction Awesomeness!   
    
    
BARE YOUR SWORD – feedback from the audience    
    
The Thread in Which We Suggest Books for Future Consideration   
    
Similarities With Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy   
    
Two Word Review(s?) no spoiler   
       
Book Kickoff/Wrapup    
    
Wired review of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe: A Novel by Charles Yu     
    
    
Tom is also reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Veronica just read some Terry Pratchett and both finished Joe Abercrombie’s The Last Argument of Kings.

EMAILS:  
 
Hi Veronica & Tom,
I was very excited when my friend told me about your show. I’d been looking for a podcast about written science fiction and had started to despair. (We are, of course, awash in those discussing movies and TV, but as science fiction goes, that’s a different animal altogether. So when my friend Chris told me about you, I was very happy, and so far, you have not disappointed.

That said, I’m sure you get all kinds of book suggestions, but I just have to throw my 2¢ in here. Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy is an amazing set of books. His descriptions are precise and vivid, his characters are involving, and his plotting is stunningly intricate. I got to the end and was shocked looking at how well he had planned the whole thing, and how tiny things that have been present from the start become of amazing significance in unexpected ways.

Since you’ve already had Mr. Sanderson on for an interview, I thought you might be receptive to this suggestion. I hope you pick this one soon, and if not . . . well, I’ll probably still keep listening anyway.

Shawn Smith
a.k.a. Zaklog the Great

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About a month ago I found http://www.fictfact.com/ , see print screen below.  It tracks the series you are reading.  Once you mark the books in the series you have read or are following it sets up a list for the next book in the series.  If will show a list of the books that will be released soon.  They will email you if a book is added to a series you are following.  You can sort your Next Books in any order you prefer.  One other interesting thing, you can view your friends books if they use fictfact as well.  They just need to have a public profile.
 
I like it and I think you will too.
 
Thanks,
 
Craig, a S&L fan

    
ADDENDUMS    

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