Catching Up
February 12th, 2007 by Alan Chudnow
My apologies for the extended silence this last week. I was struck down with the creeping-crud which quickly transformed into the knock-you-down-and-sit-on-your-chest wretchedness you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy’s dog.
Recovery is not complete but progressing so here, to kick things off again are a few items of note and a random thought.
- Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie has a growing collection of great SF art by stellar artists, many on plates used by notable authors. See his Feb. 3 & 07 entries. Looking forward to more, Lewis!
- Currency of Souls by Kealan Patrick Burke got the nod from Publisher’s Weekly saying, “…a gripping horror novel whose motley cast of characters drink the evening away in a seedy bar, Eddie’s Tavern, in a dying town called Milestone. Each is stained by–and may even have caused–an ugly death that still haunts him or her… At the haunting conclusion, escape proves only a brief respite from damnation.” Subterranean Press is offering the limited edition at $40.00 and the lettered edition at $250.00.
- Matthew Cheney reports that finishing touches are being completed on the first Best American Fantasy, edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer. Pre-orders are available from Amazon†
and Clarkesworld Books.
- Locus Online has posted its Recommended Reading List for 2006. Oddly, they included Tim Power’s superb Three Days to Never as a fantasy title. At least it made it on the list.
Now riddle me this, Batman: Shelf Awareness reports that a bookshop in Hudson, Ohio is offering free food to anyone who comes in and reads for half an hour as part of a county wide program to get people to read for 30 minutes this Valentine’s Day. It’s bad enough that there has to be a city, county or state sponsored “special event” to get people to read (and 30 minutes one day a year is hardly what I call reading), but now the offer of free food has to be proffered to entice people to participate. Is reading that much of a lost pastime? Sometimes I despair.
