Tag: Jordan Kurella

March 2023 Books and Reading Notes

John Winkelman

March was a quieter month than usual, as winter dragged on and on and on, sucking the energy out of the world and making it difficult to stay awake during my usual reading times.

Point of interest: This is the first month, since I started tracking things back in 2015, in which I have only acquired one book or book-like object. The previous record for smallest monthly haul was 3.

Acquisitions

The Boston Review #2023.1: Speculation

  1. Boston Review #2023.1: Speculation [2023.03.04]

Reading List

Books I read to completion in March 2023.

Books and Journals

  1. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Writing Across the Landscape [2023.03.13] – This was an interesting read. Ferlinghetti wrote beautifully about the many places he visited, and I enjoyed seeing how his artistic eye evolved over the five decades captured in this book. Highly recommended. May cause wanderlust.
  2. E. Catherine Tobler, The Kraken Sea [2023.03.15] –
  3. Jordan Kurella, I Never Liked You Anyway [2023.03.18] – A modern-day re-imagining of the story of Eurydice and Orpheus. I loved it!
  4. Shenaz Patel (Jeffrey Zuckerman, translator), Silence of the Chagos [2023.03.19]
  5. Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #38 [2023.03.21] – As always, this was an excellent issue. I think my favorite story was A.B. Young’s “Vain Beasts.”
  6. David Albahari (Ellen Elias-Bursać, translator), Checkpoint [2023.03.23] – This was a weird, brilliant, discomforting read. The cover blurbs are right: Definite hints of Catch 22, Waiting for Godot, and (in my opinion) a little bit of Blood Meridian. Checkpoint is absurd and weird and ultimately futile.
  7. Neon Yang, The Ascent to Godhood [2023.03.26] – This was pretty good. Not quite as good as the first two novellas in the series, but I have yet to be disappointed by any of Yang’s work.
  8. Xu Zechen (Eric Abrahamsen, translator), Running Through Beijing [2023.03.28]

Short Prose

  1. Ellen Rhudy, “The Remaining”, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #38 [2023.03.08]
  2. James L. Cambias, “René Descartes and the Cross of Blood”, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #38 [2023.03.19]
  3. Nicole Kimberling, “Comfort Food”, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #38 [2023.03.19]
  4. Emily B. Cataneo, “Bears at Parties”, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #38 [2023.03.20]
  5. A.B. Young, “Vain Beasts”, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #38 [2023.03.20]
  6. Sarah Monette, “The Oracle of Abbey Road (Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night), Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #38 [2023.03.20]
  7. Joanna Ruocco, “Stone, Paper, Stone”, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #38 [2023.03.20]
  8. S. Woodson, “Lime and the One Human”, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #38 [2023.03.21]

February 2023 Books and Reading Notes

John Winkelman

February was a good book month. Three of the five arrivals were from Kickstarters, and two of those were from Kickstarters over two years old. The rest were new purchases. Reading-wise, my reading list for the year caught up with my acquisition list, and I expect it to stay that way for the rest of the year, unless I either get sick of reading (not likely to happen) or I indulge in some serious emotional-support book buying.

Acquisitions

Book which arrived in the month of February 2023

  1. Jaymee Goh (editor), Don’t Touch That – A Sci-Fi & Fantasy Parenting Anthology [2023.02.04] – This one was a long time coming. I backed it back in July 2020, and of course COVID continued to happen, so the production of this anthology was, well, fraught. But it is finally here, and it is beautiful!
  2. Red Pine (translator), Dancing with the Dead – The Essential Red Pine Translations (Copper Canyon Press) [2023.02.09] – This is a reward from a recent Kickstarter run by Copper Canyon. I have been a fan of Bill Porter, and of Copper Canyon, for decades, and this is a beautiful volume.
  3. Julie Nováková, Lucas K. Law, Susan Forest (editors), Life Beyond Us (Laksa Media Groups) [2023.02.18] – Another long-delayed, eagerly-anticipated, and joyously received Kickstarter reward. I backed this book in April of 2021, and it arrived on a beautiful, unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon. I am very much looking forward to diving into this one.
  4. Jordan Kurella, When I Was Lost (Trepidation Publishing) [2023.02.22] – I met Jordan at ConFusion 2023, where he and I and my partner Zyra hung out at the bar, talking and enjoying being back at the convention. I thought his name looked familiar, and it turns out he has a story in an anthology (A Punk Rock Future) I picked up a couple of years ago because another friend had a story in it. Small world!
  5. Jordan Kurella, I Never Liked You Anyway (Lethe Press) [2023.02.27] – Another of Kurella’s works, this one a short novel, which is already near the top of my TBR pile.

Reading List

Books and Journals I Read In the Month of February 2023

Books and Journals

  1. Marlon James, Moon Witch, Spider King [2023.02.17]
  2. Catherine Stein, The Courtesan and Mr. Hyde [2023.02.20]
  3. Hieu Minh Nguyen, Not Here [2023.02.21]
  4. Jason Gillikin (editor), Surface Reflections [2023.02.22]
  5. The Lakeshore Review #1 [2023.02.24]
  6. The Lakeshore Review #2 [2023.02.26]
  7. Valérie Mréjen (Katie Shireen Assef, translator), Black Forest [2023.02.27]

Short Prose

  1. Colleen Alles, “Visitor’s Pass”, Surface Reflections [2023.02.22]
  2. Tiffany Amo, “Sea of Diamonds”, Surface Reflections [2023.02.22]
  3. Allison Hawkins, “Penelope Butterfield’s Comprehensive Guide to Self-Annihilation”, Surface Reflections [2023.02.22]
  4. Robert Charles Kubiak, “Christmas Play”, Surface Reflections [2023.02.22]
  5. Morris Lincoln, “Conversion Therapy”, Surface Reflections [2023.02.22]
  6. Melanie Meyer, “Half the Kingdom”, Surface Reflections [2023.02.22]
  7. Andrew Ronzino, “Acquired Taste”, Surface Reflections [2023.02.22]
  8. Andrew Ronzino, “The Last Day”, Surface Reflections [2023.02.22]
  9. D.L. Rosa, “Edward”, Surface Reflections [2023.02.22]
  10. Colleen Alles, “The Only Private Place”, The Lakeshore Review #1 [2023.02.23]
  11. Dominic Bryan, “The Lies You Tell Yourself”, The Lakeshore Review #1 [2023.02.23]
  12. Maggie Hill, “Only the Drunk Can Sleep”, The Lakeshore Review #1 [2023.02.23]
  13. Jonathan Lindberg, “Star Man”, The Lakeshore Review #1 [2023.02.24]
  14. Julia Poole, “Coming Clean”, The Lakeshore Review #1 [2023.02.24]
  15. Phillip Sterling, “Last Resort”, The Lakeshore Review #1 [2023.02.24]
  16. Laura Cody, “Either One Step Forward, or Two Steps Back”, The Lakeshore Review #2 [2023.03.24]
  17. Byron Spooner, “Elvis Walks the Earth”, The Lakeshore Review #2 [2023.02.26]
  18. Susan Weinstein, “Sweet Halloween”, The Lakeshore Review #2 [2023.02.26]
  19. Wally Wood, “Dropout”, The Lakeshore Review #2 [2023.02.26]

Thoughts on ConFusion 2023

John Winkelman

My badge and ribbons from ConFusion 2023

Last weekend I attended ConFusion 2023 with my partner Zyra, from Thursday morning through Sunday afternoon. This was my ninth ConFusion, and Zyra’s second. Her first experience was last year, still in the middle of the pandemic. 2022 was not, through no fault of their own, the best year in ConFusion’s history by a long shot. Fortunately 2023 was much improved, and though still small by the standards of many of the previous years, it was a lot of fun and felt like the ConFusions of old.

This year I volunteered as part of the Operations team and as a general dogsbody, taking care of those things which needed taking care of and lifting heavy things, as well as sitting at the Ops table in the early morning hours of Saturday and Sunday. I am used to waking up at 5:00 to feed the cats, work out, and write, so waking up at 5:00 to sit at a table in a mostly-empty hallway was not difficult, except when it came to staying awake.

I participated on two panels this year, “What do Trends in Artificial Intelligence Generated Art and Writing Mean for Artists and Authors?” on  Saturday with Jason Sanford, Rick Lieder, and Bill Higgins, and “Creativity in the Age of AI” on Sunday with Jason Sanford, Rick Lieder, and John Scalzi. I moderated the first, and Jason moderated the second. I had a great time on these panels, and will be posting about the content therein over the next couple of weeks.

The best part of conferences, of course, is the people. I spent most of my non-panel, non-Ops time hanging out in the bar area, talking to many wonderful people, and this experience filled my heart to near-bursting! Over the course of the long weekend, I spent time talking to, among others, Dave Palmer, Kathe Koja, Jason Sanford, Patrick Tomlinson, Maurice Broaddus, Rick Lieder, Jordan Kurella, ZigZag Claybourne, Saladin Ahmad, Catherine Stein, Rami Ungar, and Storm Michael Humbert. Many of these people I already knew, and the rest I met for the first time this past weekend. In both cases, my life was enriched by their presence.

I also spent a lot of time hanging out with the members of the ConFusion ConCom, talking about the history of ConFusion, the day-to-day tasks, the unexpected issues when working with hotels and bars, and the scores of other details which must be dealt with as they arise. These were fascinating discussions and only increased my respect for the volunteers who run fan conventions of all sorts.

So what’s next? At the moment I plan to be more involved with the next ConFusion in January 2024. That means that, after a few weeks off for rest and recovery, I will be sitting in on meetings with the ConCom and figuring out where I may be of the most assistance. And I am very much looking forward to this experience. ConFusion is one of my favorite events of the year, and I am happy – nay, eager – to contribute to its continued success in any way I can.

And before I forget, I treated myself to a new fountain pen, courtesy of Brad, the Pen Guy. It is beautiful to see, and a joy to write with.