New Books In, February 2016

Silent in the Grave (A Lady Julia Grey mystery) by Deanna Raybourn
The Perfect Match by Kristan Kiggins
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
The Violets of March by Sarah Jio
And One Last Thing by Molly Harper
Between the Tides by Patti Callahan Henry
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Unforgettable by Eric James Stone
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
The Last Librarian by Brandt Legg (ebook)
The Stranger by Albert Camus (ebook)
A Small Indiscretion by Jan Ellison (ebook)
Loosed Upon the World: the Saga Anthology of Climate Fiction edited by John Joseph Adams (ebook)
HebrewPunk by Lavie Tidhar (ebook)
Letter to Tiptree by Alexandra Pierce and Alisa Krasnostein (ebook)
Some of the Best of Tor.com, 2015 by Nino Cipri (ebook)
You by Caroline Kepnes (audiobook, read by Santino Fontana)

This month, being February I guess, I decided it was time to tackle my romance novel block. I asked for recommendations from friends, from Twitter, and from podcast listeners. I went armed with said list to several used book stores and the library. That explains the Raybourn (mystery-romance), Higgins (contemporary romance), Jio (historical romance), Harper (contemporary romance), Henry (southern romance), and a few more that I downloaded from the library.

My former podcast cohost snagged the Stone for me from LTUE, and it's signed by the author. I like spies, as everyone knows, and this one has... a quantum spy? Sign me up. Actually we discuss it on Episode 052 of the Reading Envy podcast, if you haven't listened to that one yet.

I purchased a few books full price, brand new for my own collection this month. I ordered the Chambers from Book Depository in the UK because it doesn't come out in print in the states until July, but that cover is ugly, and I just couldn't wait to read it. Buying it from a UK distributor was not expensive but took longer to get than my Amazon Prime deal. Totally worth it, loved the book, will discuss it more in the future. I pre-ordered the Anders, and although I haven't read it, it is the March selection for the Sword and Laser book club, so I'm ready to go! The Kabat-Zinn is required reading for the mindfulness class I start at the end of March. I read it last year but wanted my own copy, so I'm happy to have it.

Most of the eBooks listed (Legg, Ellison, Adams, Tidhar, Pierce/Krasnostein, and Cipri) were Kindle deals that I snapped up, usually $1.99, $.99, and free.  The Camus I downloaded because I wanted to re-read it quickly before starting The Meursault Investigation.  I needed a new audiobook that would grab my attention, remembered Misti saying You was her best read of 2015, and picked that. NO regrets, great listen.

Reading Envy 036: The Reader Sense of Ann VanderMeer

The Reading Envy pub moves around, and this time it was down in a hidden room accessible only by elevator. I met up with Ann VanderMeer, editor, anthologist, and reader extraordinaire. We talked about her work, what she reads for pleasure, and a little about the program for teens that brings her to South Carolina every year. Come discover her supreme reader sense!

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 036: The Reader Sense of Ann VanderMeer

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The Secret Elevator of the Reading Envy Pub

Books discussed (not edited by Ann VanderMeer):


Tattoo Machine: Tall Tales, True Stories, and My Life in Ink by Jeff Johnson
The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fictionby Jeff VanderMeer and Jeremy Zerfoss

Books discussed (edited by Ann VanderMeer):



The Bestiary edited by Ann VanderMeer
Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
The Time Traveler's Almanac edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer
Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution edited by Ann VanderMeer
The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities: Exhibits, Oddities, Images, and Stories from Top Authors and Artists edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer
Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
Steampunk edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
Best American Fantasy edited by Ann VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer, and Matthew Cheney
Fast Ships, Black Sails edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
The New Weird edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
(A bunch of issues of Weird Tales are available individually in Amazon, too numerous to mention so I will just link to them)

Other links/mentions:

Tor.com
Weird Tales
Jeff VanderMeer (referred to as "my husband" by Ann on this podcast)
The Shape of My Name by Nino Cipri
Chop Suey Books (Richmond, VA)
Laura Lippman
Meg Gardiner
Michael Connolly
Shared Worlds
Catherynne M. Valente
Caighlan Smith’s upcoming story - "The Weather" forthcoming Tor.com March 2016
Vintage Big Book of SF, forthcoming July 2016

Stalk us online:
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Ann on Twitter

Books Added July 2015

The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss
The Big Sea: An Autobiography by Langston Hughes
Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman
The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg

The Dornenburg and Ruhlman were birthday gifts. I have already made pancakes out of the Ruhlman!

I knew I would be seeing the VanderMeers when they were in South Carolina for Shared Worlds, and was very fortunate to interview Ann VanderMeer for the next episode of the podcast. I really enjoyed talking to her and hope you will enjoy that episode, posting next Tuesday.

Reiss is for my in-person book club, and the Hughes was near the Reiss on the shelf in the "African American" section of the used book store.  Mental note: check out all these divisional groupings of history and literature because they are taking books away from the "literature" and "history" sections where I might expect to find them.