- The latest Metafilter catch-all thread discussing the state of US politics here at the beginning of 2019.
- 1.4 Million Floridians Just Got Their Voting Rights Back Today, Whether Republicans Like It or Not.
- Five upcoming short story collections by Arabic writers. In particular I am looking forward to Palestine +100, since Iraq +100 was an excellent book.
- David Bowie’s 100 Favorite Books, of which I have read 17.
- Arundhati Roy explains How to Think About Empire in an interview up at The Boston Review.
- A useful tip for managing complex writing and worldbuilding: Create a Wiki.
- From the brilliant journal N+1: The Best of a Bad Situation. Or, what extinction looks like from the inside.
Author: John Winkelman
Big Books for Cold Weekends
The first full week of the year brings four new bound piles of printed pages to the library at Winkelman Abbey. On the left is Kolyma Stories by Varlam Shalamov. I heard of this one when The Paris Review published “Forty-Five Things I Learned in the Gulag“. Finally ordered it. Apparently this is the first of two volumes to be published (the second to be released this year). I will probably dive into it after I complete the current few books on my “currently reading” shelf.
The next one over is the December 2018 issue of Apex Magazine which, if I have my dates correct, is the last to be published in physical format. From now on the magazine will be digital only, which is fine, as it is well worth the cost of subscription in any format.
The last two are The Uploaded and Fix by the excellent Ferret Steinmetz. I hope to get them signed at ConFusion 2019 next weekend.
In reading news I am still working my way through Ada Palmer’s Too Like the Lightning. I’m in the home stretch and should be through by the time I leave for ConFusion.
Selah!
ConFusion 2019 Schedule
Next week I head across the state to attend ConFusion 2019. This year I will be participating in three panels, all on Saturday, January 19. Here they are:
- AI for Better or Worse – There’s no doubt that Artificial Intelligence will play some part in our future, but is it good, bad, or both? Panelists will discuss the future of AI, some of its uses, and some of its dangers.
- Time: Saturday, 19 January, 2019 – 13:00
- Room: Warren
- Panelists: Anthony W. Eichenlaub (M), John Winkelman, Derek Kunsken
- Let’s Talk Season 2: Computer Science! – A lighthearted talk on a hard science topics with smart and funny people. Let’s Talk: Computer Science will chuckle through the collapse of society as we know it. Come hear how silicon makes better decisions than carbon, protons as data, why you don’t need to be Slytherin to study Python, and what we are going to do with the leisure time we will have in 2025.
- Time: Saturday, January 19, 2019 – 16:00
- Room: Warren
- Panelists: Daniel Dugan (M), John Winkelman, Anthony W. Eichenlaub
- If you liked that, try this! – Our well-read panel will give you personalized book recommendations based on things you’ve read and loved.
- Time: Saturday, January 19, 2019 – 18:00
- Room: Dearborn
- Panelists: Merrie Haskell (M), John Winkelman, Andrea Johnson, Karen Osborne, Sarah Hans
Between now and then I am spending my free moments gathering books I hope to have signed by other attendees, and getting everything around home squared away so I can focus on enjoying the experience. Hopefully one year I will be able to sign books of my own.
Links and Notes for the Week of December 30, 2018
- W00t! Bruce Sterling and Jon Lebkowsky’s annual State of the World discussion has just begun over at The Well.
- January 1 was Public Domain Day 2019.
- As one of my goals for 2019 is a serious study of economics and Left politics, I am listening to an audiobook of Marx’s Capital. Here are the YouTube links:
- Capital: Critique of Political Economy, 1 of 4
- Capital: Critique of Political Economy, 2 of 4
- Capital: Critique of Political Economy, 3 of 4
- Capital: Critique of Political Economy, 4 of 4
Reading at the Start of the Year
An excellent start to a year of reading, despite the expression on Chateaureynaud’s face. A couple of weeks ago I subscribed to Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, a journal published by the excellent Small Beer Press. They surprised me by sending along a free copy of A Life On Paper, which I have added to my ever-growing to-read stack.
In reading news, I am still working my way through Ada Palmer’s Too Like the Lightning, which I might have done before the start of ConFusion 2019. It is an excellent book, but not one which can be read quickly. After that, I will tackle something lighter. Perhaps Crime and Punishment.
2019 Books and Reading List
And here we are all of a sudden in calendar year 2019. This is the fifth iteration of my reading material acquisition list, and I plan to keep doing it much the same way as I have in previous years. For my complete catalog of books which I own, please visit LibraryThing. For the list of books I have read, with the occasional rating and review (I know, I know. I need to be better about reviewing things I read), please visit GoodReads.
One change from previous years – instead of linking to their pages on GoodReads, I will from now on be linking book titles directly to the appropriate pages on the websites of their publishers or, where publishers do not sell directly to customers, I will link to resources such as IndieBound and the like. Keep the money in the hands of the writers and publishers.
And now, The List.
January (49)
- Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #38
- Châteaureynaud, Georges-Olivier – A Life on Paper (Small Beer Press)
- Steinmetz, Ferret – Fix (Angry Robot Books)
- Steinmetz, Ferret – The Uploaded (Angry Robot Books)
- Shalamov, Varlam – Kolyma Stories (New York Review Books)
- Apex Magazine, #115, December 2018
- Palmer, Ada – Seven Surrenders
- Hartmann, Ivor W. (ed.) – AfroSF: Science Fiction by African Writers (StoryTime)
- Smith, Tracy K. – Life on Mars (Graywolf Press)
- Long Soldier, Layli – Whereas (Graywolf Press)
- Groskop, Viv – The Anna Karenina Fix
- Eveland, Erin – Darkness (Selladore Press)
- Andrade, R.A. – The Field Trip (Selladore Press)
- Greylock, T L – The Blood-Tainted Winter (Grass Crown Press)
- Tucker, Phil – Death March
- Reckoning #1
- Tomlinson, Patrick S. – Gate Crashers
- Flohr, Mackenzie – The Rite of Wands (BHC Press – Indigo)
- Eichenlaub, Anthony W. – Justice in an Age of Metal and Men
- Eichenlaub, Anthony W. – Peace in an Age of Metal and Men
- Filak, Stacey – The Queen Underneath (Page Street Publishing Company)
- Hughes, Keith – Timehunt: Borrowed Time
- Kuppers, Petra – Ice Bar (Spuyten Duyvil)
- Künsken, Derek – The Quantum Magician
- Matulich, Josef – Camp Arcanum (Post Mortem Press)
- Matulich, Josef – Power Tools in the Sacred Grove (Post Mortem Press)
- Snyder, Lucy A. – Garden of Eldritch Delights (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
- Snyder, Lucy A. – While the Black Stars Burn (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
- Bán, Zsófia – Night School: A Reader for Grownups (Open Letter Books)
- Poetry #213.5 (February 2019)
- Palmer, D. Thourson – Ours is the Storm
- Broaddus, Maurice – Buffalo Soldier
- Durham, David Anthony – Acacia
- Lowell, Nathan – Quarter Share (Durandus)
- Tucker, Phil – Nightmare Keep
- Tucker, Phil – The Path of Flames
- Greylock, T L – The Hills of Home (Grass Crown Press)
- Greylock, T L – Already Comes the Darkness (Grass Crown Press)
- Sullivan, Michael J. – Age of Myth
- Sullivan, Michael J. – Theft of Swords
- Shel, Mike – Aching God
- Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame – Friday Black
- Sartori, Giacomo – I Am God (Restless Books)
- Arden, Katherine – The Bear and the Nightingale
- Clark, P Djèlí – The Black God’s Drums
- Chakraborty, S.A. – The Kingdom of Copper
- Poniatowska, Elena – Mephisto’s Waltz (Deep Vellum)
- Campbell, Bill (ed.) – Sunspot Jungle, Kickstarter-exclusive 2-volume hardcover set (Rosarium Publishing)
- Rain Taxi 23.4 (Winter 2018)
February (27)
- Duffy, Damian and Jennings, John – The Hole: Consumer Culture (Front Forty Press)
- James, Marlon – Black Leopard, Red Wolf
- LaValle, Victor, and Adams, John Joseph (eds.) – A People’s Future of the United States
- Noll, João Gilberto – Lord (Two Lines Press)
- Hines, Jim C. – Terminal Uprising
- Sullivan, Susan Abel (ed.) – Cursed: Wickedly Fun Stories (World Weaver Press)
- Wolford, Kate (ed.) – Skull & Pestle: New Tales of Baba Yaga (World Weaver Press)
- DreamForge #1
- Rosenthal, Olivia – To Leave with the Reindeer (And Other Stories)
- Jacobin #32
- Deleuze, Gilles and Guattari, Felix – A Thousand Plateaus (University of Minnesota Press)
- Willow Springs #83 (Spring 2019)
- Poetry #213.6 (March 2019)
- Emergency Index #7 (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- Berenguer, Amanda – Materia Prima (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- González, Wingston – No Budu Please (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- Ponce, Liliana – Diary (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- Montalbetti, Mario – Language Is a Revolver for Two (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- Feinstein, Rochelle – Pls. Reply (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- Cope, David (ed.) – Song of the Owashtanong: Grand Rapids Poetry of the 21st Century (Ridgeway Press)
- Harris, Bill – Birth of a Notion, or The Half Ain’t Never Been Told (Wayne State University Press)
- Evans, CJ – A Penance (New Issues Press)
- Upton, Lee – Undid in the Land of Undone (New Issues Press)
- Kocher, Ruth Ellen – When the Moon Knows You’re Wandering (New Issues Press)
- Daniels, Jim – Night with Drive-By Shooting Stars (New Issues Press)
- Platt, Donald – Dirt Angels (New Issues Press)
- Huey, Amorak – Ha Ha Ha Thump (Sundress Publications)
March (13)
- Senkus, Mark – Screaming Like War (Single-Minded Cocktail Press)
- Rahmani, Zahia – “Muslim”: A Novel (Deep Vellum Publishing)
- Two Lines Journal #30
- Rambo, Cat (ed.) – If This Goes On (Parvus Press)
- Frank, Meg (ed.) – Hope in This Timeline (Fireside Fiction)
- Saccomanno, Guillermo – 77 (Open Letter Books)
- Paris Review #228
- James, D.R. – Surreal Expulsion (The Poetry Box)
- Ridl, Jack – Saint Peter and the Goldfinch (Wayne State University Press)
- Malte, Marcus – The Boy (Restless Books)
- Poetry #214.1 (April 2019)
- New Ohio Review #25
- Wolff, Lina – The Polyglot Lovers (And Other Stories)
April (16)
- Reckoning #2
- Browne, Mahogany L, Simmonds, Idrissa, Woods, Jamila (eds.) – The Breakbeat Poets Vol. II: Black Girl Magic (Haymarket Books)
- DeMott, Robert (ed.) – Conversations with Jim Harrison (Revised and Updated) (University Press of Mississippi)
- Morey, Chris (ed.) – I Am the Abyss (Dark Regions Press, LLC)
- Oomen, Anne-Marie (ed.) – Elemental (Wayne State University Press)
- Davis, Jean – Trust (Caffeinated Press)
- Pimwana, Duanwad – Bright (Two Lines Press)
- Buckell, Tobias S. – It’s All Just a Draft (Xenowealth LLC, Kickstarter exclusive)
- Poetry #214.2 (May 2019)
- Wellman, Mac – Awe (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- Farrell, Nathaniel – Lost Horizon (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- Osman, Jena – Motion Studies (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- Rodríguez, Reina Maria – The Winter Garden Photograph (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- Steck, Ed – An Interface for a Fractal Landscape (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- Fitterman, Robert – Rob’s Word Shop (Ugly Duckling Presse)
- Peninsula Poets #76.1, Spring 2019
May (16)
- Levrero, Mario – Empty Words (And Other Stories)
- Scego, Igiaba – Beyond Babylon (Two Lines Press)
- Van Gelder, Gordon (ed.) – Welcome to the Greenhouse (OR Books)
- Duncombe, Stephen – Dream or Nightmare (OR Books)
- Boyd, Andrew – Beautiful Trouble (OR Books)
- Coleman, Elizabeth J. (ed.) – Here: Poems for the Planet (Copper Canyon Press)
- Pulphouse #5, Winter 2019
- Poetry #214.3, June 2019
- Rasmussen, Bjørn – The Skin Is the Elastic Covering That Encases the Entire Body (Two Lines Press)
- Rucker, Rudy – Million Mile Road Trip (Night Shade Books)
- Rucker, Rudy – The Big Aha (Night Shade Books)
- Scholes, Robert, Comley, Nancy R., Ulmer, Gregory L. – Text Book
- Kazin, Alfred – The Open Form
- Waugh, Patricia – Metafiction (Methuen & Co.)
- Fernández, Belén – Exile: Rejecting America and Finding the World (OR Books)
- Jacobin #33, Spring 2019
June (39)
- Talusan, Grace – The Body Papers (Restless Books)
- Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #39
- Dreamforge #2
- Ellison, Harlan – Dimensions of Harlan Ellison (Edgeworks Abbey)
- Ellison, Harlan – The Book Needs No Introduction (Edgeworks Abbey)
- Ellison, Harlan – The Ephemeral Ellison (Edgeworks Abbey)
- Ellison, Harlan – The Ellison Treatment (Edgeworks Abbey)
- The 3288 Review 5.1 (Caffeinated Press)
- Riekki, Ron and Scarpino, Andrea (eds.) – Undocumented: Great Lakes Poets Laureate on Social Justice (Michigan State University Press)
- Klatt, L.S. – The Wilderness After Which (Otis Books)
- Rain Taxi #24.2 (Summer 2019)
- Swanwick, Michael – Dragonskin (Dragon Stairs Press) (signed, #21/50)
- McGookey, Kathleen – Nineteen Letters (BatCat Press), (#11/100)
- Broaddus, Maurice – Pimp My Airship (Apex Book Company)
- Sizemore, Jason and Conner, Lesley (eds.) – Do Not Go Quietly (Apex Book Company)
- Townsend, Tracy – The Fall
- Roanhorse, Rebecca – Storm of Locusts
- Harrison, Jim – The Essential Poems (Copper Canyon Press)
- Asghar, Fatimah and Elhillo, Safia (eds.) – The Breakbeat Poets vol. 3: Halal If You Can Hear Me (Haymarket Books)
- Shiner, Lewis – Outside the Gates of Eden (Subterranean Press)
- The Paris Review #229
- Brace, Kristin – Each Darkness Inside (Finishing Line Press)
- Split Lip Magazine #2
- Burn Collector #14 (Microcosm Publishing)
- Gnade, Adam (ed.) – The CIA Makes Science Fiction Unexciting #6: The Life of Lee Harvey Oswald (Microcosm Publishing)
- Ensminger, David A. – Out of the Basement (Microcosm Publishing)
- Moore, Anne Elizabeth – Cambodian Grrrl: Self-Publishing in Phnom Penh (Microcosm Publishing)
- Suren, Bob – Crate Digger: An Obsession With Punk Records (Microcosm Publishing)
- Herbert, Alexander – What About Tomorrow? An Oral History of Russian Punk, From the Soviet Era to Pussy Riot (Microcosm Publishing)
- Campbell, John W., Jr. – Frozen Hell (Wildside Press)
- Doyle, Aidan – The Writer’s Book of Doubt (Ate Bit Bear)
- Poetry #214.4
- Reckoning #3
- Yong, Jin – A Hero Born (ARC)
- Silver, Steven H. and Palmatier, Joshua (eds.) – Alternate Peace (Zombies Need Brains LLC)
- Coe, David B. and Palmatier, Joshua (eds.) – Temporally Deactivated (Zombies Need Brains LLC)
- Bray, Patricia and Butler, S.C. (eds.) – Portals (Zombies Need Brains LLC)
- Yideum, Kim – Blood Sisters (Deep Vellum Publishing)
- von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang – The Golden Goblet (Deep Vellum Publishing)
July (12)
- Amazing Stories 76.4
- Brace, Kristin – Toward the Wild Abundance (Michigan State University Press)
- Jallal, Karim and Zbiciak, Teresa – Mustapha Panda
- Willow Springs #84
- Daáood, Kamau – The Language of Saxophones (City Lights Books)
- Long, Michael G. (ed.) – We the Resistance (City Lights Books)
- Breedlove, Lynn – Forty-Five Thought Crimes (Manic D Press)
- Ivánova, Adelaide – The Hammer (Commune Editions)
- Schatz, Kate and Stahl, Miriam Klein – Rad American Women A-Z (City Lights Books)
- Neidich, Warren (ed.) – The Psychopathologies of Cognitive Capitalism: Part Three (Archive Books)
- Zisson, Steve (ed.) – A Punk Rock Future (Zsenon Publishing)
- Torres, Fernanda – Glory and Its Litany of Horrors (Restless Books)
August (3)
- Serna, Rudolfo A. – Snow Over Utopia (Apex Publications)
- Poetry #214.5, September 2019
- Fellous, Colette – This Tilting World (Two Lines Press)
September (11)
- Two Lines #31
- Paris Review #230
- Yang, Neon – The Ascent to Godhood
- Chiang, Ted – Exhalation
- Hossain, Saad Z – The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday
- Luff, Cody T. – Ration (Apex Publications)
- Harjo, Joy – She Had Some Horses
- Kendi, Ibram X. – How to Be an Antiracist
- Rain Taxi 14.3, Fall 2019
- Dreamforge #3, September 2019
- Poetry #215.1 (October 2019)
October (20)
- Perlman, Jim, Cooper, Deborah, Hart, Mara and Mittelfehldt, Pamela (eds.) – Amethyst and Agate: Poems of Lake Superior (Holy Cow! Press)
- Lauchlan, Michael – Trumbull Ave. (Wayne State University Press)
- Lynch, Thomas – Still Life in Milford
- Gerber, Dan – A Last Bridge Home (Clark City Press)
- Liebler, M.L. (ed.) – Brooding the Heartlands: Poets of the Midwest (Bottom Dog Press)
- Hilberry, Conrad – After-Music (Wayne State University Press)
- Hinrichsen, Dennis – Kurosawa’s Dog (Oberlin College Press)
- Clark, Patricia and Jenkins, Jinny (eds.) – Great Lakes: Image & Word (Grand Valley State University)
- Mréjen, Valérie – Black Forest (Deep Vellum Publishing)
- Masłowska, Dorota – Honey, I Killed the Cats (Deep Vellum Publishing)
- Pulphouse Fiction Magazine #6, Spring 2019
- Straczynski, J. Michael – Becoming Superman
- Defoe, Daniel – Robinson Crusoe (300th Anniversary Edition) – Restless Books
- Etchells, Tim – Endland (And Other Stories)
- Zafón, Carlos Ruiz – The Labyrinth of the Spirits (Subterranean Press)
- Poetry #215.2 (November 2019)
- Erin, Alexandra – First Dates, Last Calls
- Ono, Masatsugu – Lion Cross Point (Two Lines Press)
- Anyuru, Johannes – They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears (Two Lines Press)
- Peninsula Poets, Fall 2019
November (13)
- Tidhar, Lavie – Hebrew Punk (Apex Publications)
- New Ohio Review #26
- Patel, Shenaz – Silence of the Chagos (Restless Books)
- Conner, Lesley – The Weight of Chains (Sinister Grin Press)
- Burmeister-Brown, Susan and Swanson-Davies, Linda B. (eds) The Glimmer Train Guide to Writing Fiction, Vol. I: Building Blocks
- Poetry #215.3 (December 2019)
- Pulphouse Fiction Magazine #7 (Summer 2019)
- Steffen, David (ed.) – The Long List Anthology, vol. 5 (Diabolical Plots LLC)
- Meadors, Melanie R. (ed.) – Scoundrels (Outland Entertainment)
- Meadors, Melanie and Abbott, Alana Joli (eds.) – Brigands (Outland Entertainment)
- Meadors, Melanie and Abbott, Alana Joli (eds.) – Knaves (Outland Entertainment)
- Wang, Jackie – Carceral Capitalism (Semiotext(e))
- Valencia, Sayak – Gore Capitalism (Semiotext(e))
December (12)
- The Paris Review #231, Winter 2019
- Fisher, Mark – Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? (Zero Books)
- Choi, Franny – Soft Science (Alice James Books)
- Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #40
- Rain Taxi #24.4 (Winter 2019)
- Dreamforge #4 (December 2019)
- A Creative Sojourn, vol. 2
- Burstein, Michael – I Remember the Future (Apex Book Company)
- Jung Young Moon – Seven Samurai Swept Away in a River (Deep Vellum Publishing)
- Sentsov, Oleg – Life Went On Anyway: Stories (Deep Vellum Publishing)
- Salvage #7 (Autumn/Winter 2019)
- Brown, Luke – Theft (And Other Stories)
Links and Notes for the Week of December 23, 2018
- An extensive collection of bredlik poetry.
- On Gritty.
- Tor.com is posting its lists of the new genre fiction coming out in January 2019
- 45 Things I Learned in the Gulag, by Varlam Shalamov.
Reading at the End of the Year
Here we are at the end of 2018, and here are the last additions to the library before we ring in the new year. On the left is the January 2019 issue of Poetry, and on the right is Decals by Oliverio Girondo, the latest from my subscription to the catalog of Open Letter Books.
The holidays have been hectic as always, but I have made good progress in Ada Palmer’s Too Like the Lightning. I hope to have it completed before ConFusion 2019, where Palmer will be the Guest of Honor.
And with that, Happy New Year!
Some Light Holiday Reading
This week brought a wide variety of new reading material in a small stack. The latest issue of Salvage just arrived, along with the latest Paris Review and the fourth volume of the Long List Anthology. I’m off of work until January 2, so I should be able to sneak in some reading time.
I finished reading Ferret Steinmetz’ excellent The Flux and am now dividing my time between Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer and Seth Dickinson’s The Monster Baru Cormorant.
Earlier today I opened the Fall 2018 edition of the Copper Canyon Reader, which contains some excellent poetry by several Copper Canyon poets. I would get a subscription to Copper Canyon, as I have to so many other wonderful publishers, but their subscriptions are $1,000, and that it a little steep for me at this point in my life.
And since this is likely the last post for 2018, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
Links and Notes for the Week of December 16, 2018
- A long write-up in Harper’s on Oulipo, centered around All That Is Evident Is Suspect: Readings from the Oulipo, published by McSweeney’s. Which I own. The book, not McSweeney’s.
- An amazing collection of photos of science fiction fandom, from cons and parties throughout the 60s and 70s.
- And yes, because it is the end of the year, a list of literary figures we lost in 2018. Damn, but I’m still broken up about Anthony Bourdain.
- Because it is the holiday season, here is a rather well-done biographical film of H.P. Lovecraft.
Merry Christmas, y’all!