RIASS stuff
The new RIASS theme is here! If youre reading this in your email or a reader, do swing by to check it out.
A review of Pandemonium'by Lauren Oliver, the sequel to the bestselling Delirium.'(Rating: 
)
A'review of Linda Lael Miller's'Big Sky Country'(cowboys, y'all!)'and a'giveaway.
A giveaway of Carole Wilkinson's'Blood Brothers
Calling all bookish Melburnians! RIASS and some bookish buddies are planning a night out at the Astor Theatre on the 9th of June. All welcome, so if you're a local (or wish to commute), feel free to drop by. Details'here.
Other bookish stuff:
A Q&A with author Mike Beil: I was, and still am, a bit obsessive-compulsive about reading ' which has more to do with'how'I read than simply how'much'I read.' As a kid, I went through a biography phase in which I read everything I could find at the public library: Lincoln, Washington, Franklin, John Paul Jones, Madison, Jefferson ' all the big names.' Then there were books about sailing.' Then mysteries.' I read'all'the Sherlock Holmes stories.' All the Hercule Poirot stories.' And so on.
Andrew Nette on the pooh-poohing of ebooks: It's official. The merits of digital versus print books now shares top billing with 'why don't mainstream Australian publishers do more genre fiction' (they just don't and probably won't in the near future, so just get over it and write), as literary conversations I now try to avoid.
Foyles interviews Richard Ford:'Art makes importance, James says; by which he means that experience tends to be raw and chaotic and an onslaught; whereas art is a matter of selection and subordination and emphasis, all of which is about focusing our view, imaging life as life, and doing it in a felicitous way so that we can like what we notice. Thats my story, in any case, and Im sticking to it.
Is Enid Blyton back in fashion?'JK Rowling'has created a generation of readers who, through their enthusiasm for Harry Potter, will spawn at least one and almost certainly two or three more generations as the books get handed down. Enid Blyton did the same for her readers ' those born in the 1940s and the following three or four decades.
How do you write science fiction on a post-colonial world?'It really depends what sort of narrative one plans on writing, but I would have to say that yes, if one comes from a dominant Western culture and plans on writing a narrative involving a non-Western/underrepresented culture from the INSIDER point of view, it is a problem. Mostly because the person in a position of privilege can easily slip into the position of expert or a spokesperson for a culture of which this person is not a member. Also, since such narratives are given a privileged position, they are also likely to displace narratives written by the members of the culture and make their translations less likely.
An interview with Genevieve Valentine: I think I wrote about'this'circus the way that I did because I wanted to write about both the performance aspect (where you do something over and over that literally breaks you, because you love it so much) and what goes on behind the scenes: the dynamics of power. Is Elena the head of the aerialists because she's the most ruthless, or because she's the most talented? In her case, it's both, but it's a question the book asks repeatedly of everyone.
Why *is* the world utterly obsessed with Sherlock? Is it that hat?'Holmes isnt simply didactic like other detectives, and thats the appeal, says author Michael Saler.
Beth Revis on negative reviews:'Statistically speaking, there has to be at least one person in the world who hates puppies, Harry Potter, chocolate, AND bacon. My point?'If there are people in the world who hate puppies, Harry Potter, chocolate, and/or bacon, then there are people in the world who hate your book. Put in that perspective, things arent so bad, huh?
Sue Bursztynski talks publishing and writing:'The truth is, I love whatever I'm writing. I once attended a talk by Bjo Trimble, who was Guest of Honour at a media convention. She said some things that made me think, about how many different markets there were out there if you were willing to give them a go, even if they weren't what you would normally write. At the time, my only interest was in writing spec fic. In the end, I decided that what I wanted more than anything was to'write, whatever it was.
Books a thing of the past? Not by a long shot
What happened to cyberpunk?'The answer is simple. It's under our noses.'Privacy and security online. Megacorporations with the same rights as human beings. Failures of the system to provide for the very poor. The struggle to establish identity that is not dependent on a technological framework: the common themes of the cyberpunk classics'are'the vital issues of 2012. Quite simply, we're already there, and so'of course'cyberpunk as a genre is unfashionable: current events always are.
British patronage of Indian writing: Good or bad?
'JK Rowling and Sony are magicking up a Harry Potter Book of Spells
Barnes & Noble apologises to Scottsdale man forced to leave childrens section
This makes my scissor skills feel very rudimentary
Five signs youre about to land an agent
What terrible things does your bookshelf say about you?'
Wear your love of romance books on your sleeve (and everywhere else)
The book trailer for Amped by Daniel H Wilson:
I might have to read What happened to cyberpunk? Its not really called cyberpunk now, I think its just a thriller or mystery now.
But with reflective sunglasses, right?
Haha, most of the time