…an Science Fiction and Fantasy. Fascinating read. -Reposting a fascinating comment by Dylan Fox on ebook issues (which came either from John Scalzi or Paul Cornell, we’re not sure): publishers think that readers buy hardbacks for early availability, so they priced early release ebooks the same as hardbacks or higher. Whereas readers tend to buy hardbacks “because they look good and last longer, they’re more tactile and look better on our shelves,…

…or because they’re so stupidly expensive. I wanted to buy a Marc Lévy book online, but they sold it for the same price as the hardback–when the paperback was available for about a third of that price.” Yeah. You and me both. I continue to have hopes that the system is going to sort itself out, but the current trend is geared towards worse rather than better (georestrictions locking us French out of the English booksellers, high prices due to so-ca…

…e, in Shadow”, is up at the SRSFF website. Many thanks, as always, to Cristian Tamas and to Antuza Genescu for the translation. There is a French version forthcoming in Galaxies as well. -Both “The Jaguar House in Shadow” and “Age of Miracles, Age of Wonders” make the 2010 Tangent Online Recommended Reading list . Lots of familiar names on that list, and plenty good stories too. -And because it’s International Women’s Day, a video with Dame Judi D…

…week, with phở, green mango salad (gotta work on the salad dressing though), and xá xíu (what can I say, I had 1.1 kg of pork, a big oven dish, and rather too much time on my hands. Good thing the thing freezes easily. Also, the H likes xá xíu). I really need to get down with the caramel recipe and work out how not to fail dismally at it, but the week was rather too busy for that……

…99) 91 Ash: A Secret History, Mary Gentle (2000) All in all, not a shining example of completeness from me (though, to be fair, I don’t read that much SF, and I suspect my showing on a meme of SF Masterworks would also be dismal). It’s dismaying (and it’s part of the point) that even though I’m a woman and a feminist, I’ve read so little. I’m making notes to improve on that score, by adding a lot of those books to my to-read list. How many can you…

…ech after all 😉 (I remain intrigued by the sharp divide between people who complained the story was too slight, and people who said it was too complicated to follow. The breadth of reactions to the same text is always something I find very much fascinating). Currently finishing up my edits for Master of the House of Darts, writing up the historical notes and the acknowledgments. Next up: more novella work, in addition to preparing the California/N…

…absent-minded, so better safe than sorry. You can actually still register online, either as a full attending member, or as a supporting member if you’re not planning to attend the con. In both cases, you get the voters’ packet, which is chockfull of goodies, including awesome comics like Fables, and entire novels only available in hardcover. Well worth the (50$-) price of admission. Plus, of course, you get the right to vote for the Hugos–and, li…

…ting quite so many recipes, but I couldn’t resist this one when Anh put it online as part of the Delicious Vietnam blogging event (a collection of blog posts celebrating the food of Vietnam, which incidentally has my own bì cuốn–and which netted me Luke Nguyen’s Indochine cookbook when I won the prize draw!). Bánh chuối nướng literally means grilled banana cake (see how my vocabulary is improving? :D). Have I got your attention now? By and large,…

…t at the same time and all made of yummy! (most recipes for this I’ve seen online use nước màu, Vietnamese caramel sauce)   Ga xao sa ot: grilled chicken with chillies and lemongrass Recipe Type: Main Cuisine: Vietnamese Author: Aliette de Bodard Prep time: 40 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 1 hour Serves: 4 A fiery chicken dish Ingredients 500g chicken 2 stalks lemongrass, chopped finely 2 heaped teaspoons sugar Generous sprinkling of black p…

…omplicated, and that I should therefore abstain. But then I found a recipe online, and I saw that they’re not complicated to make. They’re just… an investment. Not in ingredients (it’s basically sugar and chestnuts) or in supplies (you need a metal colander, a large saucepan, and you’re set), but in time. See, this is a recipe that requires 7 days from start to finish. Before you run away screaming: on each of those seven days you’ll need only 15…