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Daniel José Older is the award-winning and best-selling author of middle grade, young adult, and adult books, including Shadowshaper, Half-Resurrection Blues, and Dactyl Hill Squad. Daniel speaks with Theo Baker about craft, process, diversity, the “secret heart” of a story, and much more!Support the show (http://scbwi.org/join-scbwi/)
Sharifah and Jenn discuss an Octavia Butler adaptation, Letter To The King, a goth in need, urban fantasy and science fiction, and more. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot Insiders, the digital hangout spot for the Book Riot community, Bloomsbury USA, and Tor Books. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS here, Apple Podcasts here, Spotify here. The show can also be found on Stitcher here. To get even more SF/F news and recs, sign up for our Swords and Spaceships newsletter! News Amazon picks up Adaptation of Dawn by Octavia Butler Help This Goth Become A Hot Topic Ambassador Diverse! Magical! Medieval! Teen! Squad! Has Adventures!!!! in Letter To The King New Practical Magic prequel coming Stress science and hopepunk Books Discussed Famous Men Who Never Lived by K Chess (tw: assault, bigotry, separation from a child, elder harm) Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi (all the trigger warnings) The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Amanda and Jenn discuss LGBTQ comics, books about camping, motherhood, and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked. This episode is sponsored by the Read Harder Journal, Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed, and The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Questions 1. You mentioned books on how food, habits, etc affect the brain. I am focusing on changing habits in 2019, and interested in the link of food/diet and anxiety. Can you give some New Years resolution-type book recommendations for January? There are so many gross lifestyle-y books out there, but I’m more interested in pop-science finds. I’ve personally read “Off the Clock” by Laura Vanderkam, the Brene Brown suite, I just picked up “Rest” and “Bored & Brilliant” (per this episode). I haven’t read Gretchen Rubin, but she’s on my radar. –New Year New Me 2. Hi Ladies! I LOVE this podcast, and you’ve led to me to so many books that I have loved and otherwise never would’ve found (finishing up Half-Resurrection Blues now, big thumbs up.) Next year (February 2019) I’m taking a cruise of the Mexican Riviera that leaves out of LA, and I’m spending a week in the city beforehand. I’ve never been to the West Coast, and would love some books to familiarize me with landmarks or history of the area–things that I can walk by and feel like I’m in on some secret, you know the deal. I’m a genre fiction lover–mystery, SFF, historical fiction (ideally intersecting with the former two) and I’m trying to get into romance right now. LGBT is a huge plus
Amanda and Jenn give more holiday recs and discuss some wintery reads in this week's episode of Get Booked. This episode is sponsored by the Read Harder Journal and our True Story Giveaway. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS here, or via Apple Podcasts here. The show can also be found on Stitcher here. Feedback The Maze at Windermere (Sibyl from Insiders) Strange Practice (Sara M from Insiders) Questions 1. I’m looking for a wintertime book that is atmospheric and immersive that will make me feel the harshness of winter and want to cuddle up with my book and hot chocolate. I’m not looking for something heartwarming, just something reflective of the cold weather and set during Christmastime if possible. The only book I can think of that is similar to the reading experience I’m thinking of is The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Thanks! --Kathleen 2. Just want to say I love the podcast and also love “All The Books!” too and listen to both religiously. My to-read list has now exploded exponentially so thanks. So much so that I’m considering taking a less interesting but better paid job just to fund my girlfriend’s and my reading and library building obsession. After a brief year or so hiatus from reading, my now girlfriend got me back into reading in a big way. I’m hoping to find a book for her for Christmas (or whenever) to inspire her in return. Her favourite books are: The Magicians Trilogy by Lev Grossman, World War Z – Max Brooks Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman And (of course): Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban She also really likes the look of quirky horror books like Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero and is really into books with realistic female portrayal and which aren’t washed with male only lead characters. Other than that she’s hoping to write a thesis on apocalyptic fiction, so obviously she loves that too! Thank you in advance! --Henry 3. I am looking for a book for my father in law and my father in law's partner. My father in law likes inspirational books that can also be applied to business. His partner is kind of a Cowboy, I was thinking of a book about the outdoors or a contemporary book about cowboys. If you could help I would greatly appreciate it, especially for the cowboy. --Gene 4. I am starting to look for book gifts for the holidays and need help finding a book for one friend in particular. She really loves jigsaw puzzles, so I'm wondering if there are any books you've enjoyed that include a female character who loves jigsaw puzzles. Something like The Friday Night Knitting Club but for puzzlers maybe? Does such a thing exist? Thanks! --Jeanne 5. I am a newish listener. I discovered the book riot podcasts this summer and I have been loving them. Recently I have been making my way through your archives. I love listening to your recommendations and always secretly hope to hear books I also recommend or have at least read. Finally my request. I have been meaning to do this request ever since I started listening to your podcast. If this is too tight of a deadline, I could always use your recommendations for next Christmas. As you might have guessed I am obsessed with books. I love sharing what I am reading or hearing about what others are reading. Christmas is a great time to share this passion. My dad and my twin niece and nephew are the ones that I have a request for. Dad: A lot of my conversations with my parents are around the books we are reading. My mom is part of a book club but I feel through the years my dad and I have sort have started our own informal book club. One of the times my dad visited me he borrowed one of my many bookmarks and wrote a recommendation list on the back, some of those books were "Trinity" Leon Uris, "Sometimes a Great Notion" Ken Kesey, "Dune" Frank Herbert, "Steppenwolf" by Herman Hesse, and "Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver. One of our favourite authors is Richard Wagamese and we both admire Wab Kinew but my dad struggled with his memoir. He enjoys books that spark conversation and he has an interest in First Nations as he is living in an area that is dominantly First Nations (hence Richard Wagamese and Wab Kinew) but he is also interested in other topical issues. He has read Naomi Klein (found it a bit dense), The Best Laid Plans Terry Fallis andI got him Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari once for Christmas (he read it but had to take breaks). This year my dad is turning 70 (on Christmas) and I am getting him Richard Wagamese's final book but I am hoping through this jumbled paragraph that you might have another recommendation. The twins: The not as long list. My niece and nephew are 6 turning 7 late January. They are still at an age where I feel comfortable buying books instead of giving them gift cards for books. Last year for their birthday I gave them Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer. They loved both these books. They love story time and interacting with the books (asking questions, making observations, telling stories). I was wondering if you had any other books along this vein with kids being creative and building or being artistic. My nephew likes to draw and has a vivid imagination. My niece likes to ask deep questions. Thank you for your amazing show --Jennifer 6. Hi I’m looking for some help, choosing a Christmas present for my Mum. She loves Patricia Briggs and Kelley Armstrong and has also really enjoyed Carrie Vaughn, Ben Aaronavitch, Kim Harrison and Rachel Vincent. Illona Andrews, Melissa Marr, Jim Butcher, Holly Black and Karen Chance got a meh reaction. JR ward and Laurel Hamilton are a no go (too much sex before you get any plot) Over the last decade I’ve also covered Cassandra Clare, Sarah J Maas, Charlaine Harris, Lilith St Crow, Rachel Caine, Julie Kagawa and Richelle mead to varying degrees of success. She has just spent August devouring Seanan McGuire’s Toby Daye series and has moved on to the Cryptozoology set for the autumn. In order to pay her back for introducing me to Anne MacCaffrey when I was 12 I’m looking for something that may have slipped under the radar that she will enjoy. Bonus if there are lots of back catalogue for the author. Thanks for your previous excellent recommendations for my Vegas trip. Fingers crossed you can help me find some new reads for my Mum. --Bex 7. I am looking for recommendations on what I call low urban fantasy. Stories where wizards and golems and all manner of weird things exist in the contemporary world, but rather than being a separate secret world with large-scale organizations, they exist in isolation and largely in secret on the fringes of society. The magic isn't some separate, arcane practice, but rather comes from or integrates everyday practices like poker or watching TV. The wonders themselves tend to be less spectacular and more like fudging reality a bit. The protagonists tend to be morally grey and less than savory. I've only found a couple of works that have scratched this particular itch (the work of Tim Powers, the roleplaying game Unknown Armies), and I would really appreciate any suggestions you could give. I would really like any suggestions that incorporate history into the magic (e.g. the death of Bugsy Siegel as an arcane ritual in Powers' Last Call). Also, books that do not feature straight white guys as the protagonist would be a nice change of pace. Thanks! --Alex Books Discussed Gunsmoke & Glamour by Hillary Monahan The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf Two Old Women by Velma Wallis Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield (tw: suicide, domestic violence, harm to children) Fledgling by Octavia E Butler (tw: pedophilia, sort of) Severance by Ling Ma Essentialism by Greg McKeown The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt The Death Safe by Edgar Wallace The Pattern in the Carpet by Margaret Drabble Grace for Gus by Harry Bliss Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch Borderline (The Arcadia Project #1) by Mishell Baker (tw: suicide, self-harm) Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger "Low fantasy" post
Author Daniel José Older stopped by to chat with us about his latest novel Half-Resurrection Blues. He discussed the story about a man named Carlos who is an in-betweener that is dealing with the duality of life and death. We also chatted about diversity in fantasy fiction and its relevance in contemporary literature. If you are an author, publisher, or fan of fantasy fiction this is one podcast you do not want to miss! Co-hosted by Connie Hosted by Jamie Broadnax
Half-Resurrection Blues is the first book in a speculative series created by Daniel José Older. If you've read HRB definitely listen in on how Daniel went about creating his characters and the entire world that stretches beyond this series and into his other work. Even if you haven't read the book you can tune in, but warning there may be some spoilers.
Jenn speaks with Daniel José Older--author of Salsa Nocturna, Half-Resurrection Blues, the upcoming Shadowshaper, and articles for Buzzfeed & The Guardian--about the need for community for writers of color, how his plan for writing helped him persevere, and also about how the industry needs to change in order to embrace more stories by writers of color. (Note: There's a quick Selma spoiler at the 40 minute mark if you haven't seen the film yet.) In a separate episode posting today (Episode 13.5) Daniel and Jenn discuss the first book in his Bone Street Rumba series with Penguin, Half-Resurrection Blues. Whether you have or haven't read HRB definitely listen in on how Daniel went about creating his characters and the entire fantasy world that stretches beyond this series and into his other work.
Live from New York Comic Con, Lindsay chats with HALF-RESURRECTION BLUES author, Daniel José Older. Read more: http://bit.ly/1xTt5wL