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Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Benjamin RosenbaumTitle: Fire Logic by Laurie J. MarksHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Ben's novel, The Unraveling, and latest game, The Ghost & The GolemThe Mohanraj & Rosenbaum Are Humans podcastGennaRose Nethercott's ThistlefootKelly Link's The Book of LoveAnn Leckie's Ancillary Justice & sequelsEvan Dahm's The Last Delivery & Harrowing of HellFlyaway by Kathleen Jennings (who also illustrated the Elemental Logic covers)Myers-Briggs personality testOrson Scott Card's The Tales of Alvin MakerAvery Alder on queer game mechanicsUrsula K. Le Guin's “The Day Before the Revolution”George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and FireSmall Beer PressSofia Samatar's A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged HistoriesSeth Dickinson's The Traitor Baru CormorantA Meal of Thorns 07 – THE TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT with Amal El-MohtarNelson Mandela wearing the Sprinbok jerseyDavids Graeber & Wengrow's The Dawn of EverythingLe Guin's Five Ways to ForgivenessIsaac Asimov's FoundationJohn W. Campbell & Joseph CampbellMaimonides & SaladinCoffee & the “Europe Sobered Up” theoryIsaac Bashevis Singer's “Yentl” & adaptations
Jordan chats with Sofia Samatar (The Practice, The Horizon, and the Chain and Opacities) about having two books out this year, doing everything twice (once in non-fiction, once in fiction), and her growing sense of an ongoing overarching project to her work.MENTIONED:A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia SamatarMonster Portraits by Sofia Samatar and Del SamatarThe White Mosque by Sofia SamatarTender: Stories by Sofia SamatarTone by Sofia Samatar and Kate ZambrenoQuicksand by Nella LarsenSeasonal Associate by Heike Geissler, tr. by Katy DerbyshireSofia Samatar is a writer of fiction and nonfiction, including the memoir The White Mosque, a PEN/Jean Stein Award finalist. Her works range from the award-winning epic fantasy A Stranger in Olondria to Opacities, a nonfiction book about writing, publishing, and friendship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ancillary Review editors Jake Casella Brookins and Misha Grifka Wander discuss Susanna Clarke's PIRANESI: epistolary realism and the novel, numinous personhood, and glimpses of utopia in rejecting capitalist expectations. Notes, Links, and Transcript A Meal of Thorns is a podcast from the Ancillary Review of Books.Credits:Guest: Misha Grifka WanderTitle: Piranesi by Susanna ClarkeMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Misha's interviews with Sofia Samatar and Vajra ChandrasekeraExordia by Seth DickinsonArrival (Villeneuve's adaptation of Ted Chiang's “Story of Your Life”)Weird Black Girls by Elwin CotmanDisorientation by Elaine Hsieh ChouStarship Troopers (Paul Verhoeven's film adaptation)The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia SamatarJonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna ClarkeThe Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. LewisThrough the Looking Glass & Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis CarrollChristopher Nolan's MementoPhilosopher's including John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John RawlsAugustine's ConfessionsHouse of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski“The Library of Babel” by Jorge Luis BorgesAnathem by Neal StephensonA Stranger in Olondria by Sofia SamatarThe Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. WellsDavid Lynch's Twin PeaksNic Pizzolatto's True DetectiveContactRSS feed | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | +lots of other platforms (let us know if it's not on your favorite)You can follow A Meal of Thorns on Twitter and Bluesky.Email us at mealofthorns@gmail.com.Support the Show!You can support the podcast (and the Ancillary Review of Books) by joining our Patreon. For $5 and up, you get access to ARB's exclusive monthly newsletter, our Discord community, and more to come.Interested in purchasing a book we mentioned on the show? Check the show notes for Bookshop links; we get a cut if you buy them through our Bookshop!It seems small, but it really does help: like and share our posts! Leave a comment or review wherever you find us. The internet's kind of broken, but that kind of thing really does help people hear about the work we're doing.
In the late 19th century, a group of Mennonites leave Russia for what is now Uzbekistan. Driven out by Russian demands that the pacifist group make themselves available for conscription, and pushed forward by prophecies of the imminent return of Christ, over a hundred families travel in a grueling journey, eventually building a settlement and church that locals still remember fondly today. Over a century later, the author Sofia Samatar comes across this story when exploring her own Mennonite heritage–and learns that there's an organized tour. Thus begins a pivot key to her latest book, The White Mosque (Catapult, 2022), combining both historical narrative and travel writing, as Mennonites past and present make the journey to Central Asia. Sofia Samatar is the author of the novels A Stranger in Olondria (Small Beer Press: 2013) and The Winged Histories (Small Beer Press: 2017); the short story collection Tender (Small Beer Press: 2017); and Monster Portraits, a collaboration with her brother, the artist Del Samatar. Her work has appeared in several 'best of the year' anthologies, including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. Samatar holds a PhD in African languages and literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and she currently teaches African literature, Arabic literature in translation and speculative fiction at James Madison University. In this interview, Sofia and I talk about both the Mennonite travels to Central Asia, her own journey alongside it–and how that connects to her own experience as someone with multiple backgrounds. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The White Mosque. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/central-asian-studies
In the late 19th century, a group of Mennonites leave Russia for what is now Uzbekistan. Driven out by Russian demands that the pacifist group make themselves available for conscription, and pushed forward by prophecies of the imminent return of Christ, over a hundred families travel in a grueling journey, eventually building a settlement and church that locals still remember fondly today. Over a century later, the author Sofia Samatar comes across this story when exploring her own Mennonite heritage–and learns that there's an organized tour. Thus begins a pivot key to her latest book, The White Mosque (Catapult, 2022), combining both historical narrative and travel writing, as Mennonites past and present make the journey to Central Asia. Sofia Samatar is the author of the novels A Stranger in Olondria (Small Beer Press: 2013) and The Winged Histories (Small Beer Press: 2017); the short story collection Tender (Small Beer Press: 2017); and Monster Portraits, a collaboration with her brother, the artist Del Samatar. Her work has appeared in several 'best of the year' anthologies, including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. Samatar holds a PhD in African languages and literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and she currently teaches African literature, Arabic literature in translation and speculative fiction at James Madison University. In this interview, Sofia and I talk about both the Mennonite travels to Central Asia, her own journey alongside it–and how that connects to her own experience as someone with multiple backgrounds. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The White Mosque. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies
In the late 19th century, a group of Mennonites leave Russia for what is now Uzbekistan. Driven out by Russian demands that the pacifist group make themselves available for conscription, and pushed forward by prophecies of the imminent return of Christ, over a hundred families travel in a grueling journey, eventually building a settlement and church that locals still remember fondly today. Over a century later, the author Sofia Samatar comes across this story when exploring her own Mennonite heritage–and learns that there's an organized tour. Thus begins a pivot key to her latest book, The White Mosque (Catapult, 2022), combining both historical narrative and travel writing, as Mennonites past and present make the journey to Central Asia. Sofia Samatar is the author of the novels A Stranger in Olondria (Small Beer Press: 2013) and The Winged Histories (Small Beer Press: 2017); the short story collection Tender (Small Beer Press: 2017); and Monster Portraits, a collaboration with her brother, the artist Del Samatar. Her work has appeared in several 'best of the year' anthologies, including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. Samatar holds a PhD in African languages and literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and she currently teaches African literature, Arabic literature in translation and speculative fiction at James Madison University. In this interview, Sofia and I talk about both the Mennonite travels to Central Asia, her own journey alongside it–and how that connects to her own experience as someone with multiple backgrounds. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The White Mosque. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-review
The stories we tell about the past can determine the way we understand the present. But what happens when we combine tales of magic and fantasy with some of the most traumatic chapters in history? I talk with novelists P. Djeli Clark, Nisi Shawl, and Zen Cho about how speculative fiction can be a useful tool to reimagine the legacy of colonialism and imperialism. Plus, we hear readings from actress Nneka Okoye. Books mentioned in this episode: A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark Everfair by Nisi Shawl Sorcerer to The Crown by Zen Cho Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R. F. Kuang (author of The Poppy War series) A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine Nisi also recommends: A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar The Dominion of the Fallen series by Aliette de Bodard The works of L Timmel Duchamp and Margaret Killjoy This episode is sponsored by Aspiration Zero credit card. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you're interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This episode we're talking about 2022: The Year of Book Two! (And sequels!) We discuss why we read (or don't read) sequels, favourite book twos, reading series out of order, and more! Plus: Shocking reveals that don't leave an impact because we've forgotten who the character is... You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | RJ Edwards 2022: Year of Book Two Book 2 challenge on Storygraph Goodreads shelf (use “2022 Year Of Book 2”) Twitter hashtag: #2022BookTwo Instagram hashtag: #2022YearOfBook2 Media We Mentioned The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (The Invisible Library #1) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1) Goosebumps by R.L. Stine (Wikipedia) Animorphs by Katherine Applegate (Wikipedia) Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal (Wikipedia) Hogfather by Terry Prachett (Discworld #20) Doki Doki Literature Club! Cover Her Face by P.D. James Featuring Adam Dalgliesh Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane (Young Wizards #2) Info about New Millennium updates of the books Lirael by Garth Nix (Old Kingdom #2) The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente (Fairyland #2) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games #2) Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent #2) A Million Suns by Beth Revis (Across the Universe #2) Prodigy by Marie Lu (Legend #2) Witch Baby by Francesca Lia Block (Weetzie Bat #2) The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins The City We Became by N.K. Jemison (Great Cities #1) Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente (This used to say it was book one of the “Leningrad Diptych,” but that finally got removed as the second book doesn't exist.) A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers #2) Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #2) Startide Rising by David Brin (The Uplift Saga #2) Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb #2) The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood (The Serpent Gates #2) Supernova by C.A. Higgins (Lightless #2) Authority by Jeff VanderMeer (Southern Reach #2) How We Die: Reflections of Life's Final Chapter by Sherwin B. Nuland How We Live by Sherwin B. Nuland Short Circuit (1986 film) (Wikipedia) Links, Articles, and Things Sequel Rights: A Review of Locus Reviews “The absolute gall of any reviewer to start with the second book in a series and then complain that they don't understand what's going on, as though this is somehow the fault of the text!” Desert Island Discworld - Diane Duane and Jingo Episode 058 - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making 12 Weird Fiction books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors to help our listeners diversify their readers' advisory. All of the lists can be found here. Hell Screen by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark The Houseguest and Other Stories by Amparo Dávila The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany Darker Than Night by Owl Goingback Hammers on Bone by Cassandra Khaw Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno The Famished Road by Ben Okri Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar Also check out our booklist of 12 New Weird books by BIPOC authors! Give us feedback! Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read! Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email! Join us again on Tuesday, February 1st when we'll be talking about Amish Romance! Then on Tuesday, February 15th we'll be discussing “What is a book?”
Smelling faintly of roses and holy words, Eden conjures forth this solo episode. He tackles one of the most beautiful, delicate, and magical books he's read in the last few years, Sofia Samatar's A Stranger in Olondria. FEATURED MUSIC: serpentwithfeet - Amir https://serpentwithfeet.bandcamp.com/album/deacon
Amanda and Jenn discuss non-boring literary fiction, books set in Jamaica, unreliable narrators, and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked. Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. This post contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Book Riot may earn a commission. Feedback Old Man’s War by John Scalzi (rec’d by Ericka) Questions 1. Hi Jenn and Amanda, I set a challenge last year to read a book set in each state. I’ve read 23/52 (Don’t worry, I know there are 50 states, I’m counting DC and Puerto Rico). I wanted to wait to submit a question until I was closer to finishing, but I’ve hit a slump on this challenge. Could you recommend books with a strong sense of place set in any of the states I’ve listed? I’m open to most genres, but my favorites are: historical fiction, literary fiction, travel/food writing, and SFF (which is hard for this challenge). I love stories that focus on intergenerational families, coming of age, subcultures, and female protagonists. My favorites so far have been Molokai for Hawaii and The Seed Keeper for Minnesota (thanks for posting that on your IG, Jenn!!!). Please no graphic novels, middle grade, or horror. Here’s my shelf for the challenge (you’ll see that you’ve already had a strong influence!) and here’s my overall Goodreads: Alabama Arkansas Indiana Iowa Kansas Michigan Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada Rhode Island South Dakota Tennessee Wyoming Thanks for keeping my TBR full and my library card active! I love the show and all the ways you’ve impacted my reading! -Stephanie 2. Hi! I’ve recently realized a certain type of series I enjoy and am hoping for more suggestions. Two series I loved are the Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier and the Samaria series by Sharon Shinn – fantasy romance where each book tells its own complete story and the successive books in the series stay in the same world but with a new cast of characters of the next generation. It’s the opposite of ending a book on a cliffhanger (WHICH I HATE) so it really works for me. Also want the series to be complete so I can binge read the whole thing at once. No YA please. Thank you!! Other series I’ve read: All of Octavia Butler (mostly loved, especially Earthseed) Robin Hobb (too long omg but sign me for abridged version if that’s ever an option) The Broken Earth series (doesn’t quite have the generational thing I want, but really liked the writing) -Lindsey (She/her) 3. Hello.
On episode 85, we welcome writer Sofia Samatar to discuss her chapter in Philosophy Through Science-Fiction Stories titled “The New Book of the Dead,” our obsession with and love of Artificial Intelligence, the persistent human quest for immortality, the process of uploading human consciousness, what a techno-topian future would look like, whether we’d still be ourselves if we were disintegrated and teleported to another world, how literature and technology unite but can also divide us, moving with the technological advances instead of resisting them, what life could look like if most of our jobs become automated, and the invariable link between philosophy and science-fiction. Sofia Samatar is the author of the novels A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged Histories, the short story collection, Tender, Monster Portraits, and The New Book Of The Dead featured in Philosophy Through Science Fiction Stories. Her work has won several awards, including the World Fantasy Award. She teaches African literature, Arabic literature, and speculative fiction at James Madison University. | Sofia Samatar | ► Book | https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QZ97R5T/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 ► Website | http://www.sofiasamatar.com/ Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Website | https://o4lonlinenetwork.com/seizethemoment ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment #SofiaSamatar #Futurism #Philosophy #ScienceFiction #Philosophy #A.I. #Immortality #NewBookoftheDead #Technotopia #SeizeTheMoment #PhilosophyThroughScienceFictionStories #PhilosophyInScienceFiction #HelenDeCruzInterview #JohanDeSmedt #EricSchwitzgebel
Heavy Pod Is Heavy Cast! This week we go back to our regular programming. New music/stuff/whatever from Ingested, Cytotoxin, Gojira, Defeated Sanity, In Flames, DVSR, John Petrucci, Let Us Prey, and Question. Also, Eden talks about some cross-talk with the Steel Legion Podcast. Then, cool people time with An American Pickle, Hellpoint, A Stranger in Olondria, the Death // Sentence podcast, and Blaseball. Enjoy!
Olondria is a wonderfully complex and beautifully crafted fictional world created by Sofia Samatar, who was kind enough to answer all of Moiya's burning questions about her creative process. HOSTED by Moiya McTier (https://twitter.com/goastromo (@GoAstroMo)), astrophysicist and folklorist GUESTS Sofia Samatar is a professor of English at James Madison University and the author of award-winning books like A Stranger in Olondria, The Winged Histories, and Tender. She's also written several short stories and poems. You can learn more about her and her work on her website: http://www.sofiasamatar.com/ (http://www.sofiasamatar.com/) FIND US ONLINE - patreon: http://patreon.com/goastromo (patreon.com/goastromo) - twitter: https://twitter.com/ExolorePod (https://twitter.com/ExolorePod) - instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exolorepod/ (https://www.instagram.com/exolorepod/) - website: https://exolorepod.wixsite.com/exolore (https://exolorepod.wixsite.com/exolore) CREDITS - Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/ (https://www.purple-planet.com) - Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/ (http://stephenjreisig.com/) ABOUT US Have you ever wished you could travel to a different world? Exolore can help with that! In each episode, astrophysicist/folklorist Moiya McTier explores fictional worlds by building them with a panel of expert guests, interviewing professional worldbuilders, or reviewing the merits of worlds that have already been built. You'll learn, you'll laugh, and you'll gain an appreciation for how special our planet really is. Support this podcast
Sharifah and Jenn discuss Anne Rice and Rick Riordan adaptations, Middle Earth boyfriends, classic SF, and reread two favorites. This episode is sponsored by TBR, Book Riot’s subscription service offering Tailored Book Recommendations, Amazon Publishing, and Little Bee 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 Anne Rice literary catalog acquired Snowpiercer premieres this week on TNT and next week online Classic SF With Absolutely No Agenda Whatsoever… Middle-Earth Bad Boyfriends Percy Jackson TV Series Mad Max: Furiosa prequel has already been written & is in casting Books Discussed A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar The Conjure Woman and Other Conjure Tales by Charles W. Chesnutt
This week on the Handsell, Jenn recommends A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot Insiders. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher.
Episode Notes About the author: Sofia Samatar is the author of the novels A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged Histories, the short story collection, Tender, and Monster Portraits, a collaboration with her brother, the artist Del Samatar. Her work has won several awards, including the World Fantasy Award. She teaches African literature, Arabic literature, and speculative fiction at James Madison University.About the reader: Derek Johnson is a Queer, multi-ethnic POC and member of the African diaspora. Writer, comic book artist, cartoonist, documentary filmmaker and co-host of several past and current podcasts: The Authority Smashing! Hour, TASH: Radical Report, Critical Mass, and Where’s My Jetpack?! He identifies as a libertarian socialist and anarcho-syndicalist and does labor organizing through the IWW. He has been an advocate for children with mental illness, a civil liberties/human rights and homeless rights activist, and has volunteered at his local community radio station. He is a Philosophical Taoist and Spinoza-leaning non-theist/ agnostic/ freethinker under the Unitarian Universalist umbrella currently working on a series of speculative/ science fiction novels and graphic novels centering on Sci-fi, suspense, horror, weird fiction, noir, and fantasy, genre styles and Afrofuturism, Steampunk, anarchistic, humanistic, and Taoist themes. About the host: Margaret Killjoy is a transfeminine author and editor currently based in the Appalachian mountains. Her most recent book is an anarchist demon hunters novella called The Barrow Will Send What it May, published by Tor.com. She spends her time crafting and complaining about authoritarian power structures and she blogs at birdsbeforethestorm.net.
Welcome to our first episode of "Not Another Book Podcast". This week, BooksandRhymes, bookshy and Postcolonialchild discuss their overhyped books and underrated writers to look out for and Postcolonialchild drops the mic on Chinua Achebe and African literature.Key takeaways:Are some African writers being overhyped ?Overhype vs quality of writing?How literature festivals contribute to the hypeWho is behind the hype of some these overrated writers?The contribution of the school curriculum to hyping the western canons of literatureOverrated white writers that we are ready to say "Boy Bye" Overrated books:From Postcolonial ChildHomegoing by Yaa Gyasi: debut novel beginning in 18th century Ghana, and following the descendants of two half sisters until present day.Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue: debut novel following the lives of two very different families living and working in New York during the 28 financial crisis – one’s an immigrant family from Cameroon and the other a wealthy American family.From bookshyTwilight Series by Stephanie Myers: Bella. Vampires. Edward. More Vampires. The Cullens. Werwolves. Jacob. More Vampires. Vulturi.From BooksandRhymes:White Tears by Hari Kunzru: A trust fund hipster and a suburban nobody united by a love of music.Underrated books we recommended:From BooksandRhymes:What it Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah: strange and wonderful debut short story collection with stories centred on the lives of women and girls, parents and children, lovers and friends – all told with elements of the fantastical. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: debut YA fantasy in a world of magic and danger inspired by West Africa and the African Diaspora.From bookshyA Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar: fantasy fiction following the son of a merchant making his way for the first time to the distant land of Olondria.The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson: every time Molly bleeds, a new version of her is born. A horror novella with a twist.Speak Gigantular by Irenosen Okojie: a weird and wonderful debut short story collection. There are tales of suicide and ghosts haunting the London underground; twin sisters, impersonation, and inner demons coming to life; deadly foot fetishes and more.From Postcolonial ChildPachinko by Min Jin Lee: an epic historical novel following characters from Korea who eventually migrate to Japan.Confessions of a Lioness by Mia Cuoto: a dark, poetic mystery about the women of Kulumani and the lionesses that hunt them - through two interwoven diaries.Other books mentioned in the episode - in order of appearance:Idu by Flora NwapaForeign Gods, Inc. by Okey NdibeLonely Londoners by Sam SelvonNo Place to Call Home by J J BolaSmall Island by Andrea Levy 50 Shades of Grey by E. L. JamesThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldWilliam Shakespeare – in generalOf Mice and Men by John SteinbeckWinged Histories by Sofia SamatarLondon, Cape Town Joburg by Zukiswa Wanner Reflecting Rogue: Inside the Mind of a Feminist by Pumla Dineo GqolaButterfly Fish by Irenosen OkojieTweet us @@NABookPodcast with the hashtag #NotAnotherBook your thoughts about our first episode, the books we mentioned and more importantly your wild reactions Postcolonialchild mic drop.Rate, Review and Subscribe to us on iTunes, Spotify, and Acast.
The Storyological Pocket Interview series features conversations with amazing short story writers about stories and life and everything. In this episode, we interview Sofia Samatar, author of the World Fantasy award winning A Stranger in Olondria. Her latest book, a memoir illustrated by her brother, is called Monster Portraits. Last year, we spoke to Sofia about, among other things, jazz, identity, belonging, feeling lost in life and in stories, and how we might use language to build, and remember, home.
Sharifah and Jenn discuss Starbucks secret menus, Octavia Butler opera, a possible new Merlin series, and small press sci-fi and fantasy. This episode is sponsored by Heart on Fire by Amanda Bouchet and The Night Market by Jonathan Moore. News Harry Potter Starbucks secret menu! Parable of the Sower becomes an opera Gritty Robin Hood movie coming Ridley Scott in talks to direct Merlin origin story for Disney Books Discussed An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, Akashic Press Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett, Aqueduct Press Djinn City by Saad Hossain, Unnamed Press Small Beer Press, Sofia Samatar (A Stranger in Olondria, Winged Histories, Tender: Stories) Falling in Love With Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson, Tachyon MEM by Bethany C. Morrow, Unnamed Press, May 22, 2018 In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan, Big Mouth House (Small Beer Press imprint)
"A Stranger in Olondria" von Sofia Samatar "Protektorat" von Dirk van den Boom "Daughter of Eden" von Chris Beckett
Epigraph On this episode we discuss ALL THE ROMANCE BOOKS with Bea & Leah Koch, owners of The Ripped Bodice—America’s only Romance bookstore. The Ripped Bodice is celebrating their one year anniversary this month! This episode is sponsored by Books & Whatnot, the newsletter dedicated to books, bookselling, and bookish folk; check out the newsletter archive here. Follow Books & Whatnot on Twitter at @booksandwhatnot. We now have an email newsletter! If you want to get our show notes delivered directly to your inbox—with all the books mentioned on the podcast and links back to the bookstore we’re interviewing PLUS GIFs—sign up HERE. Introduction In which we feel real fancy, learn more about geography, and can’t stop asking for recommendations. We’re drinking French 75s and feeling classy as fuck. We’re Reading Bea is reading Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose (out June 27). And she recently finished An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole, which she thinks will be a great gateway romance (out March 28) about a female spy posing as a slave. Fun fact, Alyssa Cole lives in Martinique, and Kim and Emma’s geography lessons continue. Leah is reading Kiss Me That Way by Laura Trentham and Flirting with Disaster by Victoria Dahl. Emma is reading Hot Dog Taste Test by Lisa Hanawalt—a graphic foodie memoir that is weird and delicious. She also just started Kim & Kim by Magdalene Visaggio, which is a comic about punk rock bounty hunters in space. Kim is reading Love Is Love a graphic anthology written in response to the Orlando shooting curated by Marc Andreyko; an important, but difficult read. All proceeds for the book go to the victims, survivors, and families affected by the Orlando Pulse shooting. Which is to say, everyone should buy this book. She’s also reading The Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch (out April 18) a futuristic space Joan of Arc story, which hits weirdly close to home in its political content. We’re Excited About: Bea and Leah have so many frontlist romance novels to tell you about: An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole (more than worth a second mention and out March 28) Full Mountie (#3 in the Frisky Beavers series) by Ainsley Booth & Sadie Haller (out April 4) First in the Frisky Beavers series is Prime Minister “and is basically about if Justin Trudeau weren’t married and liked kinky sex.” Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy (author of Dumplin’; out May 9) The Thing About Love by Julie James (out April18) Julie James will be making an appearance at Ripped Bodice on her author tour! The Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas (#3 in The Ravenels series, with the kids of characters from her Wallflowers series) Emma is excited for Tender by Sofia Samatar (writer of A Stranger in Olondria and out April 11 from Small Beer Press) and Next Year, for Sure by Zoey Leigh Peterson, which is the only book about polyamory she has read so she asked for more recs... SIDETRACK: Polyamory Recommendations Laid Bare by Lauren Dane (#1 in the Brown Family series) Maya Banks Glutton for Pleasure by Alisha Rai Back to frontlist... Kim is looking forward to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Whereas: Poems by Layli Long Soldier The Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Chapter I [19:00] In which we discuss Bea & Leah’s Romance Origin Story, Talk Vaginal-Looking Covers, and Get ALL THE ROMANCE RECOMMENDATIONS Bea loved historical fiction (and historical fashion) and introduced Leah to The Bridgertons series by Julia Quinn (which is great for people who want to test the waters of regency romance) First in the series is The Duke and I Leah ultimately came to love contemporary romances and became a hardcore romance fan with the help of Nora Roberts—The Bride Quartet series is one of her favorites First in the series is Vision in White Also mentioned: Julie James, whose newest book is The Thing About Love (mentioned earlier and out April 18) and Susan Elizabeth Phillips whose newest book is First Star I See Tonight Where to Start with Contemporary: First, what level of heat are you looking for? Super graphic and dirty? Or cloaked in metaphor? Not Quite As Dirty Nora Roberts It Had to Be You (Chicago Stars #1) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. You know, the one with the boobs on the cover: Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn (for geek fandom readers) Really Dirty Recs Beautiful Bastard (Beautiful Series #1) by Christina Lauren Vampire Romance Recommendations (because we love Buffy) Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1) by J.R. Ward (super dirty) Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs (Jane Jameson #1) by Molly Harper (funnier romance) The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires (Half Moon Hollow #1) by Molly Harper Famous people make appearances as vampires—people like Dick Cheney Witchbian Romances (because we love Willow) Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon (Vampire Sorority Sisters #1) (lesbian vampire sorority) Dance Upon the Air (Three Sisters Island Trilogy #1) by Nora Roberts Dark Witch (Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy #1) by Nora Roberts Lunatic Fringe by Allison Moon (Kim rec: werewolf lesbian feminist) Two Sexy Nonfic Picks Girl Sex 101 by Allison Moon Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski Side note: Send us a pic of your favorite vaginal cover (via email or Twitter)! Like this: Non-Paranormal Queer/Diverse Recs Rebekah Weatherspoon (also has non-vampire lesbian romances) For Real by Alexis Hall (author of some gorgeous MM romances) Damon Suede writes super hot romances, which are frequently about firemen; his newest title is Lickety Split (out March 17) The Prince’s Psalm by Eric Shaw Quinn (a Biblical gay romance) First Position by Melissa Brayden (lesbian ballerinas) I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (MM YA) Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown (FF YA) The Soldier’s Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian (gay regency) K.J. Charles (also writes gay regency, but they’re not all dukes) Wanted, A Gentleman is one of her newer titles The Spare and the Heir (Lords of Time #5) by Jenn LeBlanc (gay victorian) LeBlanc is also a photographer and illustrates many of her romances with super hot photos. Glutton for Pleasure by Alisha Rai (mentioned earlier as poly rec) Trade Me by Courtney Milan (Cyclone #1) (contemporary romance with POC characters) The Countess Conspiracy (Brothers Sinister #3) by Courtney Milan Beverly Jenkins writes African American historicals Breathless (Old West #2) is her newest release Daughters of a Nation by Alyssa Cole, Piper Huguley, Lena Hart & more (an anthology of stories about black suffragettes) Silk, Swords, and Surrender by Jeannie Lin The Tang Dynasty series by Jeannie Lin (about the ancient Chinese Tang dynasty & recommended if you liked the Netflix show Marco Polo. This series is even better with intrigue and sword fighting) Butterfly Swords is the first in the series Originally posted by l231 Chapter II [36:50] In which we chat about The Ripped Bodice, the romance community, and what it means to be feminist. -Fifty Shades of Gray, why they don’t sell it (it’s not a good representation of BDSM), and how they help customers find their next read after Fifty Shades -Ripped Bodice looks like a very fancy lingerie dressing room (yes, they have a fainting couch). The store is separated into 5 Zones, which are decorated to reflect their genre: Historical, Contemporary, Paranormal, Erotica, and Everything Else -Sidelines: bookish things, but also things that will appeal to romance readers like stuff about feminism. Solid rec for Juniper & Ivy’s nerdy wood laser cut pieces. “Part of being a romance bookstore is being unapologetically feminist and sex positive” Chapter III [48:35] In which Bea goes hardcore practical for her Station Eleven pick, people are kinda boring (in a good way), and we talk sexy nonfiction. Bea’s Station Eleven pick is Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry Robert. Leah is bringing “the most comprehensive survival guide [she] can find.” Originally posted by batesmotel On a desert island, Leah is bringing Happy Ever After Nora Roberts (#4 in the Bride Quartet) and Bea is bringing A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare. On their Wild adventure, Bea would bring one of Alison Weir’s “crazy tudor histories” and Leah would bring The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg Anne Boleyn, a King’s Obsession (one of Weir’s newest books out May 16) Bookseller Confession: “Your tawdry thing that you think is super scandalous is really boring...” The Dirtiest Romance You’ve Read Olivia Cunning’s Sinners on Tour series First in the series: Backstage Pass J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series First in the series: Dark Lover Impossible Handsell Self-published titles with god-awful covers and non-fiction i.e. Come As Your Are by Emily Nagoski and Playing Well with Others: Your Field Guide to Discovering, Exploring, and Navigating the Kink, Leather, and BDSM Communities by Lee Harrington and Mollena Williams The Romance Books Every Bookseller Should Recommend Daughters of a Nation by Alyssa Cole Beyond Heaving Bosoms by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan Also, have more than two romances and don’t laugh (or sneer) at your customers who are buying romance novels. Come on. Originally posted by yourreactiongifs Favorite Bookstores LA Bookstore: Diesel Childhood Bookstore: Women & Children First Not-Yet-Open Bookstores: The Queens Bookshop and Books Are Magic European Bookstores: Persephone Books (London) and Shakespeare & Co. (Paris) Favorite Literary Media The romance/life blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and their podcast Smart Podcast, Trashy Books Book Riot Girls at Library Heroes and Heartbreakers Romance Twitter—follow all your favorite authors on Twitter Epilogue [1:02:20] The Ripped Bodice can be found so many places on the internet the store’s website Instagram Twitter Facebook You can also sign up for the Ripped Bodice newsletter on their website—they’ve got events, recommendations, and a thing called Fitzwilliam’s Corner (that’s Fitzwilliam Waffles; he’s their dog, he is awesome, and he has his own Instagram). You can find us on Twitter at @drunkbookseller and everywhere else as DrunkBooksellers (plural). Emma tweets @thebibliot and writes bookish things for Book Riot. Kim tweets occasionally from @finaleofseem, but don’t expect too much. BONUS CONTENT We always have more content than we can fit into one hour and this time said content was extra interesting. So for all the people who read our show notes and/or subscribe to our newsletter, here are a few more recommendations from Bea & Leah Romances That Are Library/Bookstore-Adjacent Broken Resolutions (Lovestruck Librarians #1) by Olivia Dade Taking the Heat by Victoria Dahl (Girls Night Out #4) Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh (Rock Kiss #1) (librarian falls in love with a rockstar) Romances About Publishing/Writing The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (publishing romance) Temptations of a Wallflower by Eva Leigh (#4 Wicked Quills of London) (historical where the woman writes erotica) How to Woo a Reluctant Lady by Sabrina Jeffries (#3 Hellions of Halstead Hall) (main character writes gothics)
Welcome back to Midnight in Karachi, a weekly podcast about writers, publishers, editors, illustrators, their books and the worlds they create, hosted by Mahvesh Murad. World Fantasy Award and British Fantasy Award winner Sofia Samatar is on the podcast this week, talking about her award winning novel A Stranger in Olondria, its companion novel The […]
Bookrageous Episode 86; The Best of 2015 & An Update Music: The Rain by Missy Elliott; We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn What We're Reading Josh [0:49] The Sellout, Paul Beatty [2:25] The Rap Yearbook, Shea Serrano Preeti [5:40]Gena/Finn, Hannah Moskowitz, Kat Helgeson (April 2016) [7:55] Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones Paul [8:40] Christine, Stephen King [11:00] The Shining, Stephen King [11:45] I Am Slaughter, Dan Abnett [12:40] Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s, edited by Sarah Weinman [13:30] Star Wars the Force Awakens: Before the Awakening, Greg Rucka [15:00] Star Wars the Force Awakens: Smuggler's Run, Greg Rucka [15:35] Star Wars: How to Speak Wookiee, Wu Kee Smith, Jake Rebecca [18:00] Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist, Sunil Yapa [21:00] Hall of Small Mammals, Thomas Pierce [21:40] Down the Rabbit Hole (Audio), Holly Madison [24:50] Playboy Mansion up for sale Jenn [27:05] The Winged Histories, Sofia Samatar (April 2016); A Stranger in Olondria [29:05] All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders The Best of 2015 [31:45] Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee [32:05] Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates [34:10] Josh: Street Poison: The Biography of Iceberg Slim, Justin Gifford [36:18] Preeti: A History of Glitter and Blood, Hannah Moskowitz; The Rest of Us Just Live Here, Patrick Ness [39:50] Paul: The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison [42:10] Rebecca: The Fishermen, Chigozie Obioma [45:00] Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates [45:45] Jenn: The Tusk That Did the Damage, Tania James [47:45] Josh: The Witches, Stacy Schiff [50:10] Preeti: The Making of Asian America, Erika Lee [51:45] Paul: The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson [55:30] Rebecca: Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho [1:00:45] Jenn: The Fifth Season, NK Jemisin [1:04:25] Josh: Hammer Head, Nina MacLaughlin [1:06:55] Preeti: Loki: Agent of Asgard, Al Ewing, Lee Garbett [1:09:15] Paul: Darth Vader, Kieron Gillen, Salvador Larocca [1:15:01] Rebecca: H is for Hawk, Helen MacDonald; Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, Carrie Brownstein; Dear Mr. You, Mary Louise Parker [1:19:28] Jenn: The Wake, Paul Kingsnorth [1:24:35] An update on Bookrageous ---Find Us! Bookrageous on Tumblr, Podbean, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, and leave us voicemail at 347-855-7323. Find Us Online: Josh; Preeti; Paul; Rebecca; Jenn Get Bookrageous schwag at CafePress
StarShipSofa is proud to present all four nominees in the “Best Short Fiction” category of the British Science Fiction Association! You can vote for the BSFA awards here by Monday, April 14. Main Fiction 3: “Selkie Stories are for Losers” by Sofia Samatar 02:00 I hate selkie stories. They’re always about how you went up to the attic to look for a book, and you found a disgusting old coat and brought it downstairs between finger and thumb and said “What’s this?”, and you never saw your mom again. Sofia is the author of the novel A Stranger in Olondria (Small Beer Press, April 2013). She edits nonfiction and poetry for Interfictions: A... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The Unheard Voices of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror panel from Arisia. Catherine Lundoff moderated this panel, with K. Tempest Bradford (standing in for Nisi Shawl), Julia Rios, Trisha Wooldridge, Andrea Hairston, and Victor Raymond. Listening to this doesn't give you the visual cues that people in the room had, so a note up front: Nisi was in the audience, but wasn't up for sitting on the panel. There was an ongoing joke about Tempest being Nisi, and about Nisi being Nalo Hopkinson, who was not at the convention. Awards season!*Lambda finalists include lots of OA members like Nicola Griffith, Sacchi Green, Mary Ann Mohanraj, Alex Jeffers, Alaya Dawn Johnson, The editors and contributors to Ghosts in Gaslight, Monsters in Steam Gay City: Volume 5, Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold, Richard Bowes, Lee Thomas, and more. Full list here: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/features/news/03/06/26th-annual-lambda-literary-award-finalists-announced/*The Nebula nominee list is also out, and lots of OA types are there too, including Sofia Samatar, Nicola Griffith, Ellen Klages and Andy Duncan, Vylar Kaftan, Catherynne Valente, Christopher Barzak, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Sarah Pinsker, Rachel Swirsky, Karen Healey, and Nalo Hopkinson. Full nominee list here: http://www.sfwa.org/2014/02/2013-nebula-nominees-announced/The Galactic Suburbia Award and Honor List is out now, and the joint winners are N.K. Jemisin and Elise Matthesen. Full Honor List here: http://galactisuburbia.podbean.com/2014/03/23/episode-96-19-march-2014/*Carl Brandon Society is a group for fans and writers of color. They give out the Kindred and Parallax Awards for fiction by and/or about people of colors, and also administer scholarships for students of color to attend Clarion.*Broad Universe is a group for women who write and publish science fiction and fantasy. They have a website, a podcast, and many promotional and support networking opportunities for members, including organizing group readings and book sale tables at conventions. *WisCon is a feminist science fiction convention held each year at the end of May in Madison, Wisconsin. The Carl Brandon Society and Broad Universe both have strong presences there. *Con or Bust is an organization that raises money to send fans of color to conventions. The Carl Brandon Society administers the funds. *Gaylaxicon and Outlantacon are conventions specifically for the QUILTBAG SF fandom community. Gaylaxicon is a roving con (like WorldCon), and Outlantacon happens each year in May in Atlanta. This year's Gaylaxicon will be hosted by Outlantacon.Work by people on the panel:*Filter House is Nisi Shawl's Tiptree Award Winning short story collection (Tempest joked that her collection would be called Filter House 2).*Redwood and Wildfire is Andrea Hairston's Tiptree Award Winning novel (for which she had also just received a Carl Brandon Award on the day of this panel).*Silver Moon is Catherine Lundoff's novel about menopausal werewolves*Catherine writes a series about LGBT SFF for SF Signal.*Julia is an editor for Strange Horizons, which is always interested in publishing diverse voices.*Kaleidoscope is an anthology of diverse YA SF and Fantasy stories Julia is co-editing with Alisa Krasnostein, which is scheduled to launch in August of 2014.*In Other Words is an anthology of poetry and flash by writers of color Julia is co-editing with Saira Ali, which is scheduled to launch at WisCon in May, and which will benefit Con or Bust.Other things mentioned: *Lorraine Hansberry was an African American lesbian playwright, best known for Raisin in the Sun, but Andrea pointed out that she also wrote a lot of science fiction plays. *The SFWA Bulletin incited a lot of pushback in 2013. Here is a timeline: http://www.slhuang.com/blog/2013/07/02/a-timeline-of-the-2013-sfwa-controversies/. It has since changed editorial staff and has just put out the first of the new team's issues, which seems to be a lot more favorably received, as evidenced here: http://www.jasonsanford.com/jason/2014/03/the-new-sfwa-bulletin-is-blowing-my-mind.html.*"The Serial Killer's Astronaut Daughter" by Damien Angelica Walters was written partly in response to the SFWA bulletin's sexism. *A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar came up as an example of a novel by a person of color put out through an independent (not one of the big New York houses--Andrea argued for calling these sorts of publishers independent rather than small) publisher, Small Beer Press. Since the panel, A Stranger in Olondria has won the Crawford Award and been nominated for the Nebula. *Crossed Genres, Twelfth Planet Press, and Papaveria Press are independent presses that publish diverse voices.*Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, and Apex are magazines Tempest sees publishing diverse stories. Tor.com is also publishing more diverse stories now, like "The Water That Falls on You From Nowhere" by John Chu. *The Tiptree Award celebrates work that expands our notions of gender.*Dark Matter is an anthology exploring a century of SF by black writers. *Blood Children was an anthology put out by the Carl Brandon Society in 213 to benefit the Octavia Butler Scholarship, which sends students of color to Clarion. *Bending the Landscape, Kindred Spirits, and Worlds Apart were brought up as examples of QUILTBAG anthologies from more than just a few years back. All of these were mentioned as early examples, but the panel agreed we need more. *Daughters of Earth is a collection of stories by women from the early 1900s to 2000 with accompanying critical essays. This collection is edited by Justine Larbalestier. Andrea wrote a critical essay about an Octavia Butler story in this book. *The Cascadia Subduction Zone has a feature where an established writer recommends and reviews an older work that might be obscure. Andrea and Nisi have both done this. *Lethe Press publishes best gay SF stories each year in Wilde Stories, and best lesbian SF stories each year in Heiresses of Russ. Nisi and Julia are both in Heiresses of Russ 2013.*From the audience, Saira Ali recommends Goblin Fruit and Stone Telling as diverse poetry magazines, and Aliens: Recent Encounters (edited by Alex Dally MacFarlane) as a good anthology.
This week Jonathan and Gary are joined in the Gershwin Room by Sofia Samatar, author of the brilliant debut fantasy novel A Stranger in Olondria, which was published by Small Beer Press this April. In a wide-ranging discussion, we look at the origins of A Stranger in Olondria, re-encountering genre fiction, the power of language and how we encounter it, and much, much more. As mentioned in the podcast, you can read more of Sofia's fiction here:Dawn and the Maiden (Apex Magazine, 2013) Selkie Stories Are for Losers (Strange Horizons, 2013) Another new story is coming up shortly at Lightspeed, and a sequel to A Stranger in Olondria is in the works. As always, we would like to thank Sofia for taking the time to join us, and hope you enjoy the podcast.