SF Tidbits for 1/4/08

• The Truth About Books interviews Matt Ruff (Bad Monkeys). “With all of my novels, I try to have strong opening and closing paragraphs, so if I’m asked for favorite lines those are the ones I think of.”
• At SciFi Wire, John Joseph Adams profiles Sarah Monette, co-author of A Companion to Wolves with Elizabeth Bear.
• Lit Lists recalls this Powell’s interview with George R.R. Martin in which he names 5 novels That Should Have Won the Hugo Award. Good call on Ken Grimwood’s Replay.
• The Book Stacks lists Thirteen SF/F Books Mr. Book Stacks Recommends.
• Benjamin Rosenbaum offers 2 Corollaries to Sturgeon’s Revelation that 90% of everything is crap. (This is one of those legends: Sturgeon actually said “Ninety percent of science fiction is crud, but then, ninety percent of everything is crud.” But we aren’t picky.)
• Fred @ Texas Best Grok sent us a link to this list of fictional chemical substances, where you’ll find such items as Carbonite, Corbomite, Ephemerol, Plasteel, and Balonium.
• Niccola Griffith is blogging about her new novel.
• Free Fiction:
  • Elizabeth Bear has posted of her short story “Tideline” (from the March 2007 Asimov’s) at her website.
  • Audible offers “Could Be Worse” by James Patrick Kelly. [via SFFAudio]
  • S.L. Viehl is using Scribd to host all her free-to-read fiction. [via Tobas Buckell]
  • Recently free fiction at ManyBooks.net: “As Long As You Wish” by John O’Keefe (1955), “We Didn’t Do Anything Wrong, Hardly” by Roger Kuykendall (1959), “Make Mine Homogenized” by Rick Raphael (1960), and “Pushbutton War” by Joseph P. Martino (1960).
• Cover pr0n: Scott Westerfeld has the new Midnighters covers.
• Michael May draws our attention to the fantastic artwork of David Wenzel.
• The New York Review of Science Fiction is having a reading with Judith Berman and Michael Swanwick on Tuesday, January 8th at South Street Seaport Museum’s Melville Gallery. [via Tachyon]
• Awards news:
  • The Hugo Nominating ballot is now open.
  • Science Fiction Awards Watch is collecting links to pimpage pages for Award considerations.
  • Albedo One (Ireland’s premiere magazine of speculative fiction) has now launched the International Aeon Award 2008 short fiction contest. Check the site for details.
  • Author Jon Scieszka (The Time Warp Trio series) was named first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
• Larry Ketchersid (Dusk Before the Dawn) envisions problems with implementing Asimov’s Three Laws.
• Cosmos lists their Top 10 Favorite Real-Life Robots.
• YesButNoButYes lists Ten things they hope the Cloverfield monster really is. I think Jesus is the longshot. But, the Jolly Green Giant is another matter entirely.
• Cynical-C points shares this scene-for-scene remake of Star Wars.
• StarWars blog lists Star Wars references in The Simpsons. [via Star Wars Blog]
• Are you a Dickhead or a Hubbardite? See Red Meat’s latest comic strip for whether it matters.

Related posts:

1. SF Tidbits for 5/25/07 – Special Star Wars Edition!
2. SF Tidbits for 11/20/07
3. SF Tidbits for 5/9/07
4. SF Tidbits for 10/1/07
5. SF Tidbits for 5/10/07

Filed under: Tidbits

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