The winners of the World Fantasy Awards have been announced.
The winners of the British Fantasy Awards have been announced.
The winners of the Gemmell Awards for fantasy have been announced.
It’s already the time of year when “year’s best books” lists start getting published, with Publishers Weekly being the first out of the gate. Amazon has its lists out, too.
GoodReads is looking to anoint its own bests, and is offering choices for votes in a large number of categories: horror; fantasy; paranormal fantasy; science fiction; young adult science fiction and fantasy; mysteries and thrillers; fiction; and debut authors, just to mention a few most likely to interest the readers of this column. Go vote for your favorite — or make notes of what GoodReads thinks are the best of the year and start reading.
Of course, the reason all these lists are coming out now, and not at the end of the year, is because everyone wants you to buy books as Christmas and Hannukah gifts. There’s even a house on my block that had the Christmas lights all lit up by the day after Halloween. The seasons are swiftly passing by, aren’t they? A newish website called “Gone Reading” has some gift ideas for the reader in your life that aren’t about books themselves, from prints to journals to shelving to sandwich plates.
Barnes & Noble gives us nine reasons why this might be the best fall ever for books. And Book Riot suggests some books to watch for in November. I’m looking forward to Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch. What catches your eye?
Wouldn’t it be fun to read a horror novel from the monster’s point of view? I seem to remember someone doing that with the creature from “The Thing” — anyone remember who wrote that? Book Riot calls for ten monster memoirs. I’d read ‘em.
If all these new reading suggestions sound like they’re really too much fun and not enough work, FlavorWire has some “incredibly tough books for extreme readers” to offer. And I, for one, will confess that I’ve only made it through three of them, though I’ve attempted quite a few. Perhaps I’ll make my way through one or two during my staycation at the end of the year, when I’ll have days to while away on the couch with nowhere I have to be. David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, anyone?
Lionel Shriver says it’s harder than ever to be a writer, mostly because one must spend so much time attending book festivals, giving interviews, and attending signings. It may seem like a joy to get an invitation to speak in Bali, but that means days away from the new novel! Shriver is gracious enough to admit that the unpublished or unsuccessful writer isn’t exactly going to offer her sympathy, but it’s an interesting take on the state of publishing today.
Tim Krieder backs Shriver up, noting that authors are expected to do a lot of writing for free these days in exchange for the precious commodity of “exposure.” How much writing can you do for free before you’re not entitled to the sobriquet of “professional”?
Some authors are so in demand that they’re even asked to give cameos in television series. My guess is that the living authors mentioned in these programs were delighted to make an appearance on the small screen; certainly they’re fun to watch.
If you need some inspiration after all those demands that you write for free, get your photo taken, or sign so many books that you have to immerse your writing arm in ice, these quotes about writing might be just the ticket.
And lest we forget: the 23 best parts of being a book lover.
