Art: Surmounting the Classics

Painted by Ricky Colson

Infograhic: Harry Potter Experience

Via: Mad Potterhead

Quote

Source: Etsy.com

Art: Carved Book Landscapes

Carved Book Landscapes by Guy Laramee

"So I carve landscapes out of books and I paint Romantic landscapes. Mountains of disused knowledge return to what they really are: mountains. They erode a bit more and they become hills. Then they flatten and become fields where apparently nothing is happening. Piles of obsolete encyclopedias return to that which does not need to say anything, that which simply IS. Fogs and clouds erase everything we know, everything we think we are."

Interview: George R.R. Martin

A video of George R.R. Martin's visit to the offices of Audible where he was interviewed by Steve Feldberg.

"Recently we had the pleasure of welcoming to our office a great figure in the literary community (and one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2011!). George R.R. Martin, who recently completed the fifth book in his hugely popular series, A Song of Ice and Fire, shared stories about his life, his careers in both literature and television, and the power of fiction."

Quote

Reading a book should be a conversation between you and the author. Presumably he knows more about the subject than you do; if not, you probably should not be bothering with his book. But understanding is a two-way operation; the learner has to question himself and question the teacher, once he understands what the teacher is saying. Marking a book is literally an expression of your differences or your agreements with the author. It is the highest respect you can pay him.
- Mortimer Adler, 1940.

Bookshelves: Target Bookshelf

Target Bookshelf by Mebrure Oral

The 'target books' shelf by Turkish designer Mebrure Oral is designed to keep books organized
by separating them into sections of 'already read' and 'yet to read.' Each segment is demarcated
by its own bookend, a line of text that is built into the shelf that states either 'has been read' or 'will be read.' Each 'target books' shelf is produced in three pieces via injection molding of recyclable ABS plastic.

Art: Mini Christmas Tree

Via: Tumblr

Book Trailer: A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd-- whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself-- Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.

Art: Bookguns

Bookguns by Robert The

"Books (many culled from dumpsters and thrift store bins) are lovingly vandalized back to life so they can assert themselves against the culture which turned them into debris."

Link Round-Up: December 19, 2011

Condescending Literary Pun Dog

5 e-Book Collections with Over 100,000 Free e-Books

After 2 years of work, Jonathan Harris (of We Feel Fine fame) launches Cowbird, a “simple tool for telling stories and a public library of human experience,” beginning with a “saga” about the Occupy

Bookfessions: confessions and thoughts of a bibliophile. "797. When I finish a book, I close the back cover and just sit there."

George Whitman, founder of the Parisian landmark bookstore Shakespeare And Company, has died at the age of 98

Library Use Value Calculator: Library users might want to try out this little exercise to see what your public library means to you and your wallets - and to learn what services you may not have known your library offers. I ran the calculations, and my public library turns out to be worth about $5,000 a year to me.

How to Extend the Due Date of Your Library eBook on the Kindle

New York based artist Robert The carves guns out of old books found in dumpsters and thrift store bins.

Novel First Sentences, Novel Last Sentences

Book Trailer: Blue Remembered Earth

Blue Remembered Earth is the first volume in a monumental trilogy tracing the Akinya family across more than ten thousand years of future history...out beyond the solar system, into interstellar space and the dawn of galactic society.

Quote

There are books full of great writing that don’t have very good stories. Read sometimes for the story… don’t be like the book-snobs who won’t do that. Read sometimes for the words—the language. Don’t be like the play-it-safers who won’t do that. But when you find a book that has both a good story and good words, treasure that book.
- Stephen King

Lecture: Beautiful Books and the future of Storytelling

The always-excellent Craig Mod of Flipboard on “beautiful books” and the future of storytelling in age of digital books – a must-watch for any storyteller, designer, and media observer.

Interview: Art Spiegelman

At the 92Y, Art Spiegelman talks about the creation of Maus, one of the most influential comic books of all time, a chronicle of his parents’ experience during the Holocaust. His excellent recent book, MetaMaus, delves into the making of the iconic comic and the questions of “Why comics? Why mouse? Why the Holocaust?”

First published in 1986, Art Spiegelman's Maus, a comic-book chronicle of his parents' experience during the Holocaust, was hailed by Jules Feiffer as "a remarkable work, awesome in its conception and execution . . . at one and the same time a novel, a documentary, a memoir and a comic book. Brilliant. Just brilliant."

To mark the book's twenty-fifth anniversary, Spiegelman now publishes MetaMaus - "my notebooks, my sketches, rough drafts, interviews, transcripts, photos [and] historical references made into a work that can sit next to Maus." The book has been edited by Hillary Chute.

Humor: Works of Fiction

Source: Incidental Comics

Quote

Advice? I don’t have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. Write like you’re a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and there’s no chance for a pardon. Write like you’re clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and you’ve got just one last thing to say, like you’re a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for God’s sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves. Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secret, so we can wipe our brow and know that we’re not alone.
- Alan Watts

Cover Art: Swedish Harry Potter

The Swedish Covers of the Harry Potter Series

Panel: 2011 World Fantasy Convention

A conversation between Neil Gaiman and Connie Willis at the 2011 World Fantasy Convention in San Diego, CA.

Photo: Stuttgart Library

New library in Stuttgart by DieterJL

Book Trailer: Black Light

Black Light by Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Stephen Romano

If you have a supernatural problem that won't go away, you need Buck Carlsbad: private eye, exorcist, and last resort.

Buck's got a way with spirits that no one else can match. He was normal, once. Until Something Horrible killed his parents and left him for dead.

Buck has spent years using his gift to trace his family. It's his only hope of finding out what happened to them-and what made him the way he is.

Now the voices say that something big is coming. Buck already knows what it is-a super high-tech bullet train running express across a stretch of unforgiving desert known for the most deadly paranormal events in history. A place where Buck almost died a few years ago, and where he swore he would never return.

But as the train prepares to rumble down the tracks, Buck knows it can only be the inevitable hand of fate pulling him back to the most harrowing unfinished case of his career at four hundred miles per hour.

Link Round-Up: November 8, 2011

The Haunted Bookshop  in Cambridge, UK. Article about the bookshop and what inspired its name found here. Photo by Grooover

After visiting Nepal in 1998, John Wood left Microsoft to try something different. His organization Room to Read now has created 12,000+ libraries around the world, and given away 10 million books.

The Art of the Novel: an exhibition of paintings by Atkinson Grimshaw.

Design*Sponge Presents Great Ideas For Bookshelves

'He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die.' Artist Shawn Cheng and associates draw Cormac McCarthy's visceral masterpiece Blood Meridian page by brutal page.

How we “see” what we read in stories

Sci-fi/fantasy new frontier for publishers: Mainstream publishers can "no longer afford to ignore" science-fiction and fantasy projects.

Spice Up Your Home With Books As Pumpkin Decorations

UK publishers call for e-book chart after WSJ first

Interview: Christopher Paolini

Author Christopher Paolini visited the 2011 San Diego Comic Con and sat down with Suvudu interviewer Shawn Speakman to talk about his novels, what it's like to finish a series, and what fans will have in store in the future! Inheritance, the last book in Christopher’s Inheritance Cycle, hits shelves tomorrow.

Lecture: China Miéville on Scholarly SF/F

In 2009, noted author China Mieville came to the University of Kansas for the Richard W. Gunn Memorial Lecture series. He spoke for over an hour, covering topics as diverse as the effects of H.G. Wells' vision of the future on the genre and how science fiction sees itself today.

Via: AboutSF

Panel: Founders of Steampunk

The Founders of Steampunk - K.W. Jeter, Tim Powers, James Blaylock, John Berlyne - discuss the genre in a panel held at the 2011 World Fantasy Convention.

Proclamation!

A proclamation by children's book author Mac Barnett and signed by Brian Biggs, Sophie Blackall, Lisa Brown, Kevin Cornell, Carson Ellis, Isol, Laurie Keller, Jon Klassen, Matthew Myers, Tao Nyeu, Sean Qualls, Aaron Renier, Adam Rex, Christian Robinson, Jon Scieszka, Dan Santat, Lemony Snicket, Erin E. Stead, Philip C. Stead, Scott Teplin, and Maria van Lieshout.

How to Carve a Library Lion Pumpkin

To celebrate Halloween, the New York Public Library produced a short video (embedded above) showing you how to carve the library’s famous lion logo into your Halloween pumpkin.

Follow this link to download the stencil and carve the literary lion at your house.

Video: Utopia / Dystopia

This panel explored the horrific and idyllic worlds that science fiction writers create in their works. Writers Anna North, Charles Yu, and Kathleen Ann Goonan with moderator DongWon Song discussed the universes of science and slipstream fiction. If you didn't make it to The Center for Fiction's recent celebration of genre literature, check out these videos.

Video: Why Fantasy Matters

Acclaimed authors Kelly Link, Felix Gilman, Naomi Novik, and Lev Grossman took a look at why fantasy matters in our lives and imaginations. This panel, moderated by Laura Miller, dove into the genre beyond the subject of elves and wizards. If you didn't make it to The Center for Fiction's recent celebration of genre literature, check out these videos.

News: Google launches new book alerts

From the Inside Google Books:

Starting this week, you can set up a Google Alert for books and receive email notices when new books that match your interests become available.

To create an alert for books, go to Google Alerts, type in the keywords you are interested in about a book, (whether it’s title, author name, or topic) and choose “Books” from the Type drop-down button, and create. You can also preview the email you’ll be sent on the right side panel. Once you create the alert, you will automatically begin receiving notification emails about new, recently published books in Google Books.

Get started with Google Books Advanced Search Interface!

Video: Kids Read

Sarah Beth Durst talks to the students of Harlem Village Academies about writing YA fantasy fiction as part of the Center for Fiction's KidsRead program. If you didn't make it to The Center for Fiction's recent celebration of genre literature, check out these videos.

Video: Sci-Fi and the Human Imagination

At our keynote event for the Big Read at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, award-winning author Margaret Atwood discussed her new book, In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagaination, and the impact that science fiction has had on her life as a reader and a writer. If you didn't make it to The Center for Fiction's recent celebration of genre literature, check out these videos.

News: Amazing Stories

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Amazing Stories Project Announces Editorial Advisory Board; Commissions Cover Art

Hillsboro, NH 10/21/11 - Steve Davidson (Crotchety Old Fan) who recently acquired the Trademarks for Amazing Stories, has announced the creation of an Editorial Advisory Board to assist in the re-launch of the world's first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories.

Currently serving on the board in a voluntary capacity are four former editors of Amazing Stories - Barry Malzberg, Patrick L. Price, Ted White and Joseph Wrzos (who edited under the pen name Joseph Ross).  Their tenures as editors of Amazing Stories spans nearly three decades and includes some of the most volatile, challenging and innovative periods in the magazine's history.

Each of the board members has made important contributions to the genre, serving variously as authors, agents, editors, collectors and historians. Their combined experience with the genre provides the Amazing Stories project with access to an unparalleled wealth of information.

Steve has also commissioned Frank Wu, multiple Hugo Award winning artist, to create a re-imagining of  Frank R. Paul’s inaugural cover illustration for the magazine.  The cover art will be made available on a variety of different media and will be used as a fund raising and promotional vehicle.

Additional details about the Amazing Stories project can be found in Steve Davidson's monthly column on the review blog Grasping for the Wind (10/21/11)

Those interested in following the project can visit the magazine's website at Amazing Stories Mag (sign up for a newsletter is available there) and on its Facebook page.

Steve Davidson is a science fiction fan, blogger, curator of the Classic Science Fiction Channel website, author of several paintball books and currently edits the news and information website for paintball - 68Caliber.  He made application for the Amazing Stories trademarks in 2008 and was granted the marks in September 2011.

TV Trailer: Prophets Of Science Fiction

‘Prophets of Science Fiction’ is an 8 part series that Scott not only narrates but produced. It is a project close to his heart as it investigates the crossover where science fiction becomes science fact. In these episodes, he will introduce and profile great minds of the science fiction genre whose work would later inspire ideas or concepts that are now considered science fact. Some of these ‘Prophets of Science Fiction’ include Phillip K. Dick, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, George Lucas, H.G. Wells and Gene Roddenberry. The video shown at the NYCC also contained a rough cut of the first episode of the series which focuses on Mary Shelley and her idea of man creating life in a laboratory.

“I am thrilled to be partnering with Science Channel on this exciting new series. I hope that the audience will find the subjects as interesting and inspiring as I do,” says Scott. You can watch the video from the NYCC below as well as the commercial for the series that is currently airing on the Science channel. ‘Prophets of Science Fiction’ will debut on the Science channel on November 9 at 10PM ET/PT.

Interview: R. A. Salvatore

Book Event: R. A. Salvatore Visits Seattle, WA from Suvudu

Bestselling author R. A. Salvatore visited the University Bookstore in Seattle to plug his new book, NeverWnter. Bob spent time updating his fans on his future writing plans as well as answered questions from the audience! Shot October 7, 2011.

Video: All Hallow's Read

Neil Gaiman, author of things, explains All Hallow's Read, a tradition that was just waiting to happen.

Interview: Gail Carriger

The Science Fiction Book Club's senior editor Rome Quezada interviews the Gail Carriger, author of The Parasol Protectorate, at Renovation/WorldCon 2011 in Reno.

Interview: George R.R. Martin

George R.R. Martin talks to Peter Orullian about Dance with Dragons, his writing process, and more.

Posters: Banned Books Week

  
  

Participate in Banned Books Week!

Photo: Ode to a Bookstore Death

Things We Never Told You: Ode to a Bookstore Death

Event: Blake Charlton Reading

Author Event: Spellbound by Blake Charlton from Suvudu

Lecture: The Future as Mirror

"The Future as Mirror: How SF Uses the Tomorrow to Understand Today"

Science fiction is popularly understood to be about showing us the world of the future: space travel, robots, immortality, encounters with aliens, mechanized cities, human evolution. But in fact much science fiction, though it may be set a hundred or a thousand years from now, is more about the present than about times to come. Both consciously and unconsciously, the futures science fiction writers present arise from and comment on the way things are today, often with the goal of changing the present or even preventing the future.

This talk shows how this has been true from science fiction’s earliest days until now. It gives examples from books and films of ways in which sf had held up a fun-house mirror to the present, both serious and comic, restricting and liberating.

Interview: Joe R. Lansdale

“A detective writer’s mind, and a science fiction writer’s heart” — Joe R. Lansdale on crossing genres, comic books, martial arts, Hap and Leonard … and some ass-kicking!

Interview: George R.R. Martin at Google

George R. R. Martin, the acclaimed author of the Game of Thrones novels -- also a recent hit HBO series -- came to Google for a live-streamed interview where he answered your questions submitted online. The interview, part of the Authors@Google series as well as Martin's book tour promoting his latest novel A Dance with Dragons, took place on July 28th at 12pm PDT.

Martin is a bestselling author most famous for his A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series of novels that has been adapted to the popular HBO drama Game of Thrones. Time magazine has dubbed him an "American Tolkien". In his series, Martin creates a rich world populated by a large cast of intriguing characters and interwoven storylines.

Event: Brent Weeks Q&A

New York Times bestselling author Brent Weeks stopped by the University Bookstore in Seattle on August 29, 2011 in support of his paperback release for The Black Prism.

Quote

Books vs. TV by Sirfessor

Book Trailer: Mayan December

Mayan December by Brenda Cooper

Dr. Alice Cameron is a famous scientist - an archeoastronomer - devoted to studying ancient Mayan culture. The era driving her career has always been the end of the Mayan baktun, so she's on the Yucatan Peninsula in December 2012 with her daughter Nixie...and so are fellow serious scholars, plenty of end-of-the-world crazies, and - at an international summit - the President of the United States and other heads of state. When Nixie disappears into the past in the Mayan jungle, rationality and mysticism, the present and the past start merging. Meanwhile, Alice is drawn into the machinations of statecraft by an old friend. A savvy scientist, a handsome dreadlocked time-traveler, an ancient shaman, a noble Mayan couple, a computer nerd, and an 11-year old traverse the past and present in a search for the meaning of life and a way to save two worlds.

Interview: Vernor Vinge on Science Fiction

Vernor Vinge (author of A Fire Upon The Deep and (coming in October) The Children of the Sky) talks about his influences, his novels and the coming singularity...

Via: Reason.tv

Book Trailer: The Black Prism

Book Trailer for The Black Prism directed by Leo Kei Angelos

This looks more like a film trailer than a book trailer. It's an amazing video, and it's certainly done its job. Now, I'm itching to get my hands on a copy of The Black Prism.

How to Open a New Book

Of course, post-2010, this can all be reduced to "Turn on your reader, double click on the desired title." But hey, there was an old school way of doing things, too.

Infographic: Anatomy of a Librarian

Anatomy of a Librarian 

Surprisingly, they're not all old ladies...

No statistics available on how many slay Vampires on the side.

Music Video: I Wanna Be A Magician

You might know Parry Gripp (previously) as one of the nerf herders behind the Buffy theme song or the writer of dozens of obnoxiously catchy fake jingles. But did you know that he's also magic? Today, in honor of the release of Lev Grossman's The Magician King (review contains spoilers Grossman's The Magicians), Gripp has released "I Wanna Be a Magician," a Magicians fan song. If you like it, you should also check out the Nerf Herder song "Mr. Spock" and Galactic Perry's Learning Starship, a parody of children's educational television.

Interview: George Martin

An hour long interview with George Martin streamed from Google on July 28, 2011. He says the Three Stooges are in book one if you're sharp enough to spot them. And some of the religions briefly mentioned in the series are shout-outs to other writers.

Quote

"All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what's cool."

- Steven Brust, author of The Book of Jherege

Book Trailer: Low Town

The book trailer for Daniel Polansky’s debut novel Low Town: A novel will be released in the U.S. on August 16th by Doubleday and in the U.K. on August 18th by Hodder & Stoughton under the title The Straight Razor Cure. Read more about the book at the site of the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton.

Cover Art: Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon

Jon Sullivan's cover art for Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon by Mark Hodder

Product Description:

"Burton and Swinburne's third adventure is filled with eccentric steam-driven technology, grotesque characters, and bizarre events completing the trilogy begun in the Philip K. Dick award nominated novel, The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack."

Cover Art: New Spring

Cover Art for the eBook edition of New Spring by Robert Jordan created by Jason Chan

Interview: Brandon Sanderson

2011 Comic Con: Brandon Sanderson from Suvudu

Author Brandon Sanderson stopped by the Suvudu booth at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con to talk about his work on the Wheel of Time series, his forthcoming novel The Alloy of Law, and many other things.

Cover Art: Killing Rites

Killing Rite by M.L.N. Hanover will be published by Pocket Books on November 29th 2011.

Product Description:

Jayne Heller has discovered the source of her uncanny powers: something else is living inside her body. She's possessed. Of all her companions, she can only bring herself to confide in Ex, the former priest. They seek help from his old teacher and the circle of friends he left behind, hoping to cleanse Jayne before the parasite in her becomes too powerful.

Ex's history and a new enemy combine to leave Jayne alone and on the run. Her friends, thinking that the rider with her has taken the reins, try to hunt her down, unaware of the danger they're putting her in. Jayne must defeat the weight of the past and the murderous intent of another rider, and her only allies are a rogue vampire she once helped free and the nameless thing hiding inside her skin.

Progress Report: A Memory of Light

Brandon Sanderson has tweeted that the final Wheel of Time novel, A Memory of Light, is about one-third done. In a further Tweet, Sanderson confirms that he hopes to turn the book in to Tor in November this year. He's caught up with some material he worked on whilst working on the first leg of the final three books back in 2007-09, and the percentage completed bar on his website should move up significantly in the next week or so.

A Memory of Light is currently planned for release in November 2012.

This is one that I've been waiting to read for over a decade.  Let's pray it's as good as we all hope.

Cover Art: Under Heaven

Here is the cover art for the new trade edition of Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay.  Rather than the bright green cover of the original hardcover, this edition will sport a Tang Dynasty era painting.  It will also feature a Book Club readers guide.

Look for this edition to hit shelves in Canada in September 2011.

Panel: Game Of Thrones at Comic Con 2011

Book Trailer: Cinema of Shadows

Here is the book trailer for the novel Cinema of Shadows by Michael West. It plays out more like a film than a standard book trailer. There's even a 'twist' at the very end.

Awards: 2011 Rhysling Winners

This post has been revised from the original announcement. The Science Fiction Poetry Association has re-announced winners of the 2011 Rhysling Awards, originally presented on July 16, 2011, during Readercon 23 and corrected on July 23, 2011.

According to Mike Allen’s blog, “the original first and second place winners in the short category were both ineligible due to previous publication in 2009, facts that weren’t discovered until after the awards were first announced.” So, the final 2011 Rhysling Awards winners are as follows:

Short Poem

• First Place “Peach-Creamed Honey” by Amal El-Mohtar
• Second Place “Binary Creation Myth” by Karen A. Romanko
• Third Place “Dogstar Men” by C.S.E. Cooney

Long Poem Category

• First Place “The Sea King’s Second Bride” by C. S. E. Cooney
• Second Place “Dark Rains Here and There” by Bruce Boston
• Third Place “Wreck-Diving the Starship” by Robert Frazier

Merchandise: SimpleLight for the Kindle

Remember how cool Amazon’s Kindle 3 cover with the built-in reading light was when it first came out last summer? Rather than running on a battery, it draws power from the Kindle itself through the little prong that connects the cover to the device. Grantwood Technology has taken the idea a step further with the SimpleLight, a snap-on book light that does the same thing with significantly more flexibility.


It looks like a cool idea. Perfect for travel. I don’t like that it obstructs the buttons on the left edge, but I do love the idea that you never have to worry about loading it with batteries.

Price: US$22.99
Via: Grantwood store

Cover Art: Outcast Chronicles

Besieged by Rowena Cory Daniells

I just received an email from Solaris announcing new covers for Rowena Cory Daniells' new epic fantasy trilogy, The Outcast Chronicles, which are due out in 2012.

Awards: 2010 Shirley Jackson Winners

The 2010 Shirley Jackson Awards winners were announced on Sunday, July 17th 2011, at Readercon 22, Conference on Imaginative Literature, in Burlington, Massachusetts. The winners are as follows:

NOVEL

Mr. Shivers, Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit)

Finalists:

• Dark Matter, Michelle Paver (Orion)
• A Dark Matter, Peter Straub (Doubleday)
• Feed, Mira Grant (Orbit)
• The Reapers Are the Angels, Alden Bell (Holt)
• The Silent Land, Graham Joyce (Gollancz)

Awards: 2009 Shirley Jackson Winners

The 2010 Shirley Jackson Awards winners were announced on Sunday, July 17th 2011, at Readercon 22, Conference on Imaginative Literature, in Burlington, Massachusetts. The winners are as follows:

NOVEL

Big Machine, Victor LaValle (Speigel & Grau)

Finalists:

• Last Days, Brian Evenson (Underland Press)
• The Little Stranger, Sarah Waters (Riverhead)
• The Owl Killers, Karen Maitland (Delacorte Press)
• The Red Tree, Caitlin R. Kiernan (Roc)
• White is for Witching, Helen Oyeyemi (Nan A. Talese) 

Bookshelves: Bookcase Booth

An ingenious bookcase-booth for Glocal Design Magazine

Clearly inspired by the Swollen Wall.

Watch a Bookstore Fill with Books

The next time you feel depressed about the future of authors, bookstores or publishing, watch the video embedded above from Half Price Books, How To Build a (New) Bookstore. This time-lapse video shows a bookstore being furnished and stocked from an empty warehouse into a customer-ready store. It’s enough to inspire any book lover.

“We are opening our 113th store on Thursday, and may we just say how grateful we are to be opening stores and not closing them (a thousand thank yous to our customers). To celebrate, we put together this fun video demonstrating all that goes into building and opening a new bookstore– a rare sight these days.”

Table of Contents: House of Fear

Solaris has posted the table of contents of their upcoming horror anthology House of Fear, edited by Jonathan Oliver. The book hits shelves this September in the U.S. and in October in the U.K.

Product Description:
The tread on the landing outside the door, when you know you are the only one in the house. The wind whistling through the eves, carrying the voices of the dead. The figure glimpsed briefly through the cracked window of a derelict house. Editor Jonathan Oliver brings horror home with a collection of haunted house stories by some of the finest writers working in the horror genre...

Cover Art: Sisterhood of Dune

Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson will be released in January 2012. The novel is the story of the foundation of the Bene Gesserit order so prevalent in the Dune universe.

Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle Complete

Christopher Paolini has announced the completion and delivery of the manuscript for the final book in the Inheritance Cycle. The book, Inheritance, hits shelves November 8th.

Table of Contents: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Sean Wallace has posted the table of contents for his upcoming anthology The Mammoth Book of Steampunk:

• “Steampunk: Looking to the Future through the Lens of the Past” (introduction)
• “Fixing Hanover” by Jeff VanderMeer
• “The Steam Dancer (1896)” by  Caitlin R. Kiernan
• “Icebreaker” by  Elise Tobler (original)
• “Tom Edison and His Amazing Telegraphic Harpoon” by Jay Lake
• “The Zeppelin Conductors’ Society Annual Gentlemen’s Ball” by Genevieve Valentine
• “Clockwork Fairies” by Cat Rambo
• “The Mechanical Aviary of Emperor Jala-ud-din Muhammed Akbar” by Shweta Narayan
• “Prayers of Forges and Furnaces” by Aliette de Bodard (original)
• “The Effluent Engine” by N.K. Jemisin

Bookshelves: Branch Bookshelf

"Branch Bookshelf" by Olivier Dollé

Via: HomeDSGN

E-reader Ownership Doubled in Six Months

From a New Report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project:

“The percent of U.S. adults with an e-book reader doubled from 6% to 12% between November 2010 and May 2011. Hispanic adults, adults younger than age 65, college graduates and those living in households with incomes of at least $75,000 are most likely to own e-book readers. Parents are also more likely than non-parents to own these devices.

Tablet computers have not seen the same level of growth among U.S. adults in recent months. In May 2011, 8% of adults report owning a tablet computer such as an iPad, Samsung Galaxy or Motorola Xoom. This is roughly the same percentage of adults who reported owning this kind of device in January 2011 (7%), and represents just a 3 percentage-point increase in ownership since November 2010. Overall, the highest rates of tablet ownership are among Hispanic adults and those with household incomes of at least $75,000 annually.”

Table of Contents: The Urban Fantasy Anthology

The Urban Fantasy Anthology, edited by Peter S. Beagle and Joe R. Lansdale, hits bookstores on August 15, 2011.

Product Description: Star-studded and comprehensive, this imaginative anthology brings a myriad of modern fantasy voices under one roof. Previously difficult for readers to discover in its new modes, urban fantasy is represented here in all three of its distinct styles—playful new mythologies, sexy paranormal romances, and gritty urban noir. Whether they feature tattooed demon-hunters, angst-ridden vampires, supernatural gumshoes, or pixelated pixies, these authors—including Patricia Briggs, Neil Gaiman, and Charles de Lint—mash-up traditional fare with pop culture, creating iconic characters, conflicted moralities, and complex settings. The result is starkly original fiction that has broad-based appeal and is immensely entertaining.

Book Trailer: The Last Werewolf

Described as a "literary horror novel", here is the description for The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan hits shelves July 12, 2011.

Cover Art: The Dread

Orbit Books has unveiled the cover art for The Dread by Gail Z. Martin, available from February 2012. The cover was illustrated by fantasy artist Steve Stone.  Read more at Orbit Books.

Book Trailer: Nikolas and Company - A Creature Most Foul

Nikolas and Company: A Creature Most Foul by Kevin McGill hits shelves September 15, 2011.

Book Trailer: Feed and Deadline

Bookshelves: Liberia Shelving Cubes

The Libreria ABC modular bookcase system consists of shelving cubes that are cleverly shaped like letters and numbers. Libreria ABC is the work of Italian design firm Saporiti. It’s unclear if or when the bookcase will be on sale.

Book Trailer: The Final Evolution

The Final Evolution is the fifth book in the Avery Cates series of Noir Science Fiction novels, due out in June 2011.

Awards: 2011 Mythopoeic Awards Finalists

The Mythopoeic Society has announced the 2011 Mythopoeic Award Finalists. Winners will be announced at Mythcon 42, to be held July 15-18, 2011, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature:

• Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay (Roc)
• Redemption in Indigo, Karen Lord (Small Beer Press)
• The Bards of Bone Plain, Patricia A. McKillip (Ace)
• A Cup of Normal, Devon Monk (Fairwood Press)
• Troubled Waters, Sharon Shinn (Ace)

Video: Ira Glass on Storytelling

[ Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 ]

Even if you’re not happy with what you’re putting out, even if your ability to execute doesn’t quite match up to your vision yet, don’t quit. This is normal. Do a lot more work and you’ll find the gap close.

Cover Art: Timeless

Orbit Books has unveiled the cover art for the next book in the Parasol Protectorate series, Timeless.

Cover Art: American Gods Alternative

American Gods by Nicholas Delort

Video: Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories

Cover Art: Armored

Here's the cover of the upcoming anthology Armored by John Joseph Adams.  It will be released by Baen in 2012.  The cover art was created by Kurt Miller.  You can read more about it at io9.

From Starship Troopers and Iron Man to Halo and Mechwarrior, readers and gamers have long been fascinated by the idea of going to battle in suits of personal, powered combat armor or giant mechs. This anthology explores the range of what can be done with the trope, from the near-future powered exoskelton technologies we might be seeing just a few years from now, to the combat armors of Starship Troopers and Halo, to the giant bipedal mechs of Mechwarrior. Featuring original stories by: Alastair Reynolds, Dan Abnett, Jack Campbell, Jack McDevitt, Simon R Green, Sean Williams, Genevieve Valentine, and more!

Interview: George R. R. Martin on the TV series

Before the Game of Thrones premiered, author George R. R. Martin sat down with author Joe Abercrombie to discuss the HBO series and his books.

Table of Contents: Voices from the Past

H & H Books have released their first eBook anthology of original fiction, with all proceeds benefiting Great Ormond Street children's hospital. Voices from the Past, edited by Scott Harrison and Lee Harris, is available at Amazon for Kindle users, and at the publisher's website forother eReaders.

Cover Art: Uglies

Here are the new book covers for Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series.
Click here for the bigger and zoomable version.

Westerfeld writes: "Of course, whenever new covers appear online, they create dissent and controversy. Fans mostly don’t like new looks for books, because the old covers are the ones they’re used to. If you’re a fan, after all, that old look was probably the reason you picked up the books in the first place!

So really, the new covers aren’t for fans at all. You guys already HAVE my books, after all. These are for all the people who’ve never picked up Uglies because the old covers looked boring or stupid to them. Maybe they never even noticed the series on the shelves. It’s for non-fans (who probably don’t read this blog) that this new look exists.

So feel free to complain."

Excerpt: Embassytown

Del Rey Spectra has released the first fifty-eight pages of China Mieville’s first Space Opera, Embassytown. The book hits shelves May 17, 2011.

The children of the embassy all saw the boat land. Their teachers and shiftparents had had them painting it for days. One wall of the room had been given over to their ideas. It’s been centuries since any voidcraft vented fire, as they imagined this one doing, but it’s a tradition to represent them with such trails. When I was young, I painted ships the same way.

Excerpt: Vampire Warlords

Vampire Warlords by Andy Remic from Angry Robot hits shelves today.

Product Description: Legendary warrior Kell must choose to flee the conquered land of Falanor, or fight for its people in this triumphant conclusion to the epic Clockwork Vampire Chronicles!

Book Trailer: The Meowmorphosis

Quirk Books, publisher of such titles as Night of the Living Trekkies is releasing The Meowmorphosis by Franz Kafka and Cook Coleridge, a new take on Kafka's classic tale of horror on May 10, 2011.

Awards: 2011 Arthur C Clarke Ceremony

Lauren Beukes wins the 2011 award for her book Zoo City. Presented at the Sci-Fi-London film festival.

Book Xylophone

Book Reading: Spring Heeled Jack

Lou Anders reading from Philip K Dick Award winner, The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack at the PKD Award Ceremony at Norwescon 34.

Merchandise: Identity Pins

Ministry of Stories Badges by Alistair Hall

Sometimes my life gets confusing... these could be really useful.

Awards: 2011 Hugo Award Nominations

The Hugo Awards, presented annually since 1955, are science fiction’s most prestigious award. The Hugo Awards are voted on and administered by members of the World Science Fiction Convention. Past winners have included Dune by Frank Herbert, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, Neuromancer by William Gibson, and American Gods by Neil Gaiman.  Last year's winners were The City & the City by China Mieville and The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.

The winners will be announced Saturday, August 20, 2011, at Renovation in Reno, Nevada. Here are this year's nominees:

BEST NOVEL

• Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (Ballantine Spectra)
• Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)
• The Dervish House by Ian McDonald (Gollancz; Pyr)
• Feed by Mira Grant (Orbit)
• The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)

Book Tour: China Miéville

Bestselling author China Miéville of Perdido Street Station and The City & The City will be making a series of appearances across the U.S. and in Canada to promote his latest novel, Embassytown, which will be released by Del Rey on May 17th. Embassytown is the author’s first foray into science fiction and, by all accounts, looks to be novel worth lining up for.

Visit the China Miéville’s blog, the Rejectamentalist Manifesto, or friend him on Facebook.

Cover Art: Lawyers in Hell

Here's the cover art for the upcoming Lawyers in Hell anthology from Janet Morris. Art by Sebastiano Ricci. Design by Sonja Aghabekian. Look for the anthology to hit shelves in July 2011.  In the mean time, keep up to date with the Heroes in Hell blog.

How Books were made in 1947

Back before inkjets, printing was a time-comsuming laborious process, that took teams of people working together to produce just one book. Now days, any crabby person can sit at home and crank out stuff on a blog or even make internet video. This movie will make you happy as you watch others toil for 'The Man' under primitive conditions.

Book Trailer: Phoenix Rising

This is the official book trailer for Phoenix Rising, the first volume in The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series from Harper Voyager. It hits shelves April 26th.

News: Library Icons turn One Hundred

Patience and Fortitude, the pair of lions flanking the entrance to New York Public Library (which Ghostbusters first introduced me to), will be celebrating their one century anniversary, and the library will be celebrating the milestone with a gala. Patience is the one on the south side (the left facing the entrance) and Fortitude is the one on the north side. According to an article in The New York Times the statues, which are 99 years, 11 months, 2 days old today, were not at all well received when they were first arrived at the library's 5th Avenue location. According to the Times, New Yorkers originally hated the statues, calling them "squash-faced, mealy-mouthed, and complacent." One reader wrote in to the editor to flatly declare: "We do not want square-jawed lions."

In case you were wondering, new, the statues cost thirteen thousand dollars each, or about three hundred thousand dollars in today's money.

Source: Flickr

Photo: Books For Walls

The walls of David Bouley's new Japanese restaurant Brushstroke are very literally lined with books - over twelve thousand of them.  The interior was designed by Super Potato, using stone, reclaimed timber, salvaged steel, and, of course, books, as the primary design elements. God help them all if there's ever a fire!  Check out more photos at Gothamist.

Awards: 2010 Shirley Jackson Nominees

The nominees for the 2010 Shirley Jackson Awards have been announced. The Shirley Jackson Awards have been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic.  The Shirley Jackson Awards will be presented at Readercon 22, Conference on Imaginative Literature, in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Novel

• Dark Matter, Michelle Paver (Orion)
• A Dark Matter, Peter Straub (Doubleday)
• Feed, Mira Grant (Orbit)
• Mr. Shivers, Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit)
• The Reapers Are the Angels, Alden Bell (Holt)
• The Silent Land, Graham Joyce (Gollancz)