It’s been a while since the last News & Notes, so I have more than usual for you today!
Bookish News
- Translation Pays Off for Amazon, whose Amazon Crossing imprint has become “the most prolific publisher of translated literature in the U.S.” (Publishers Weekly)
- Sandler, Krasznahorkai, Sze, Broom, Choi Win 2019 National Book Awards (Publishers Weekly)
- The Smell of Old Books Could Actually Help Experts Preserve Them using a new “electronic nose” that can determine whether a book’s pages are deteriorating based on the chemicals it gives off. (Martha Stewart website)
- HMH to Launch Children’s Graphic Novel Imprint (Publishers Weekly)
Worth Reading/Viewing
- ‘Your throat hurts. Your brain hurts’: the secret life of the audiobook star (The Guardian)
- Which is greener, books or e-books? Neither. Turns out that borrowing (paper-based) library books is the greenest option. (TreeHugger)
- Shelf mythology: 100 years of Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company (The Guardian)
- Why I’m Addressing Toxic Masculinity in My Romance Novels (Read It Forward) I wasn’t actually planning to read the contemporary romance The Bromance Book Club (because I seem to be leaning toward other genres these days) — but after reading author Lyssa K. Adams’s essay, I’ve changed my mind.
- Billie Lourd on Becoming the Keeper of Princess Leia (Time) Carrie Fisher’s daughter talks about her mother, Leia, and carrying on the legacy.
- Science Fiction vs. Fantasy: The Choice Is Clear (James Davis Nicoll, Tor.com) A satirical take on the SF-is-better argument.
- The Science, Fiction, and Fantasy of Genre (Alexandra Erin, Uncanny Magazine) A serious, thoughtful essay on genre boundaries and conventions and who gets to define, police, and transgress them.
- How Linguists Are Using Urban Dictionary (JSTOR)
Free Fiction
- “A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies” by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine) This short story won a Hugo Award; I really liked it.
- “Mono no aware” by Ken Liu (Lightspeed Magazine). Another Hugo Award-winning story, not only titled but filled with mono no aware, a Japanese term meaning “a sense of the transience of all things in life.” Beautifully written and bittersweet.
TV and Movie News
- Beverly Jenkins novel to become TV movie or miniseries. The author announced on Facebook that rights to Forbidden have been bought by Sony Pictures Television. I can’t wait to see this wonderful historical Western romance on the screen!
For Writers and Bloggers
- NASA Makes Their Entire Media Library Publicly Accessible and Copyright Free. That means you can use their amazing photos of Earth, the Moon, the planets, and the universe for free. Their searchable catalog makes it easy to find a photo of Saturn’s rings, the Crab nebula, or a supernova… though you may have to wade through a lot of photos; my search for “Saturn” turned up 4175 hits.
- History of the Mourning Dress: Black Clothing Worn During Bereavement (Bellatory) Essential information if one of the characters in your historical novel is “in mourning.”
Awesome Lists
- 10 YA Fairy Books for Fans of Holly Black (Book Riot)
- Best Romance 2019 (Library Journal) Some good picks on this list!
Bookish Quote
Support your local library.
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits
I love both of the free short stories that you included! I’ve been reading a fair amount of short stories this year, and those two are among my favorites.
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…My Name in TBR Books
Lark_Bookwyrm
I think it was a post of yours that reminded me where to find each of them, actually. I’d read them and loved them, but had lost the links and in one case, forgotten the title.
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits
Ah, well then you’re welcome! I’m always happy to share links to fiction I enjoyed. 🙂
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…My Name in TBR Books
Lark_Bookwyrm
Thank you for doing so!
Nicci @ Sunny Buzzy Books
Lots of articles I’m curious about here!
– ebooks vrs print on the green debate
– Billie Lourd / Princess Leia’s legacy
– The secret life of audiobook stars
– Translation paying off for Amazon
Time to dive down the rabbit hole…
Nicci @ Sunny Buzzy Books recently posted…9th Annual Book Bonanza!