Hello everybody! Hope you are having an awesome weekend?
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Five short stories by five female authors
UK magazine Stylist has recently published five short stories, written exclusively for them and they are free online. Check them out:
Vermin by Lionel Shriver
Fall by Emma Donoghue
Everything Must Go by Belinda Bauer
The Meeting by Aimee Bender
Chemistry by Adele Parks
Things That Befuddle Us #1
We have just learned that The Monstrumologist series by Rick Yancey has been dropped by its publisher, Simon & Schuster. Thea, who is a MAJOR fan of the series (seriously: the second book, The Curse of the Wendigo has even made her top 10 of 2010) is heartbroken and has expressed her dismay (pardon the expletives):
SERIOUSLY? THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST IS A FUCKING PRINTZ HONOR BOOK, FOR FUCKS SAKE!!!
There are moments in the life of a reader that can only be expressed by the combination of caps lock and swearing.
If you want to support the author, there are a number of things you can do. Read and review the books (especially upcoming book 3 in the series, The Isle of Blood). Write the publisher. Go to Stephanie Reads and join her campaign to save The Monstrumologist Series. We’ll be campaigning for the series, so stay tuned.
Things That Befuddle Us #2
NPR (National Public Radio, in the US) recently opened up voting for readers’ favorite 100 Sci Fi and Fantasy books of ALL TIME and the results were announced this week! Here. More than 60000 people voted and the results are, well, how should we put it …kind of ridiculous? There is a predominance of male writers (which granted, is not exactly surprising) and also of books that are part of series that have yet to be concluded. Not to mention some really BIZARRE choices like The Time Traveler’s Wife? Really? One of the best Scifi/Fantasy? Ok then.
In their intro NPR also said that there are no Young Adult titles in the list because they are saving this “genre” for another summer. Allow me one last moment of befuddlement: YA is NOT a genre. It is a category. And there are some awesome Sci Fi/Fantasy YA that should have been on that list.
This Week on The Book Smugglers
On Monday, Ana finally reviews The Boyfriend List by one of the favourites Contemporary YA, E. Lockhart.
On Tuesday, it is Thea’s turn to read some of her own faves: Ilona Andrew’s Magic Slays and Moira J. Moore’s Heroes at Odds.
On Wednesday, Thea is back with a review of This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel.
Then, on Thursday, Ana reviews the heartbreakingly awesome Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt
And finally, on Friday we post our joint review of highly anticipated The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
And that’s it from us today! As usual, we remain:
~ Your Friendly Neighborhood Book Smugglers
14 Comments
Lauren
August 14, 2011 at 1:03 amWHAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?!?! THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST SERIES WAS EFFING DROPPED?????? WHAT KIND OF MADNESS IS THIS?????
Okay. Freak out over. I’m calm, but so unbelieveably pissed off and disappointed. I just don’t understand. It’s such an amazing series of books! Simon & Schuster need to get their shit together. Someone should start a twitter campaign if they haven’t already. #SaveTheMonsters or #BringBackMonstrumologist or #Simon&SchusterAreMorons or something.
I read the entire list that NPR put out and was really baffled by their choices. From my understanding it was the public who put the list together, but I kind of think that didn’t work out so well. Also, the combining of Sci-Fi and Fantasy was just as questionable. I think each deserves their own list. And the bit about YA being a “genre” is bullshit and rather ignorant. The whole thing is something people should just ignore.
On a brighter and less ranty note, I’m really looking forward to the “Night Circus” review. It’s been on my radar for months! As well as the other circus book “Circus Galacticus”.
Oh, were you guys ever going to review “The Goddess Test”? I only ask because I recall Thea mentioning she was going to after she read “Abandoned”.
Alright, you two have a wonderful week!
ZoeRainDasherBenji
August 14, 2011 at 2:38 amThe Night Circus looks pretty.
April (Good Books & Wine)
August 14, 2011 at 5:44 amI am really excited and nervous about what you two will think of The Night Circus.I totally loved it, but I tend to look at things through a less critical lens.
And okay, the whole Monstrumologist thing just has me shaking my head. This is the publishing company that will publish Snooki who I’m pretty sure barely earned back her advance and will publish Hilary Duff but drops a Printz Honor book/series. Smart choice there. I understand it’s a money game, but goodness sake, I doubt A Shore Thing or Elixr have staying power whereas when the celebrity fades, Monstrumologist will still be relevant.
Lindsay Elizabeth
August 14, 2011 at 8:11 amI’m actually not too surprised by NPR’s list. I think that most of the titles are go-to scifi/fantasy books. They might not always be the best, but I do understand that that’s what people, especially who aren’t fans, think of. Also, I can definitely see the influence of name recognition on these- a lot of repeats of authors.
I am, however, really glad that the Codex Alera is included. Those books are AWESOME. If you haven’t read the series, please do.
tess
August 14, 2011 at 10:23 amI’m so glad you’re reviewing Okay for Now! That book is AMAZING. I’ll probably save my whole “I-laughed-and-cried-and-raged” comment for the actual review though. 🙂
Michelle
August 14, 2011 at 10:30 amI haven’t read The Monstrumologist series, but I’ve been wanting to! Why the hell would a publishing company drop a Printz book!?! That baffles me.
And the list of Top 100 sci/fi and fantasy is all right (like another commenter mentioned, there are a ton of “go-to” titles on the list), but some of them kind of baffle me. Like ‘Watership Down’? I know it has talking bunnies, but I don’t think that makes it a fantasy. Also, the fact that they purposefully left out YA is kind of irksome… at least they’re giving it its own list? But still.
Ah well. Looking forward to the reviews this week! Especially of ‘The Boyfriend List’ and ‘The Night Circus’.
Jodie
August 14, 2011 at 1:26 pmLook I love Going Postal and I love Pratchett, but no WAY is that his best book ever (maybe one of his standouts in recent years though) and it has befuddled me why it was on the ‘choose from’ list from the start when clearly Small Gods, Good Omens, Witches Abroad, or Reaper Man are just some of his books that deserved to go ahead of it. Strange that women didn’t make a better showing, as there was quite a bit of campaigning to get people to remember the ladies when voting, but there’s a lot of culture + sci-fi norms stuff going on there that runs so deep as you’re both super aware.
danielle
August 14, 2011 at 5:43 pmWhat?
What?
WHAT?
The Monstrumentalists consists of two of the BEST books I have EVER read in my my (admittedly short) life and cancelling the whole thing is a disservice to modern literature.
Serenity
August 14, 2011 at 5:54 pmDo you know why the series has been dropped? Low sales? And what is happening with future books? Is the author going to self-publish?
Juan Pazos
August 15, 2011 at 3:38 amAs regards the NPR list, I see how having books from unfinished series is a little dubious, but the thing I object to the most is the inclusion of series as such, but then, not all of them. I have always had one-volume editions of Lord of the Rings and it was written as one book, so I can understand that, but why have The Dune Chronicles here instead of the classic first novel? Th quality in that series was far from consistent so I find it weird. And again, why include series like Hitchhiker’s Guide but individual titles from the Discworld or others?
And I can understand that you smugglers don’t share the voters’ opinions, I myself find some of the books in the list overrated, but it’s true most of them are classics one way or another and I’m curious to know what your list would look like, YA and all.
Laicee
October 19, 2011 at 5:09 pmWhoever edits and pubhlsies these articles really knows what they’re doing.
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October 20, 2011 at 6:22 amC2OjS2 sfdnvubhtzzl
Four Years of Book Smuggling… | The Book Smugglers
January 7, 2012 at 2:24 am[…] that one of Thea’s favorite book series’, the Monstrumologist books by Rick Yancey, is being dropped its publisher, Simon & Schuster. Thea (and many other pissed off fans) expresses her fury on Twitter […]
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