The Diversity Pledge: Crunching My Numbers for 2013

I think this is the first time I've seriously looked at my reading numbers.  And now I'm going to share them with the world.

The list only includes novels, collections, and narrative non-fiction.  I have not factored in multiple books by the same author.

Here's the author list:

Self-Published Books vs. Literary Awards: A Logistical Problem?

Back in August, The Guardian posted a column by Liz Bury entitled "Why is self-publishing still scorned by literary awards?"  The article doesn't exactly make an argument about the apparent snubbing of SPed books in the literary awards circuit, but Bury does essentially imply in the body of the article that the inability of these awards to address the widespread consumption of SPed books will not work on their favor.  I'm not sure that's true either, to be honest.  These same literary awards are just as relevant as they were before SPing became normal (lots of relevance or no relevance whatsoever -- depends on your view).

I, however, have a different perspective on this problem.  As a podcaster (The Skiffy and Fanty Show) and blogger, I get a lot of requests for reviews, interviews, guest posts, and so on.  On the

Speculation Station: Worlds Without Gunpowder

Liz Bourke foisted this question upon me on Twitter using her profound ability of psychic suggestion and the promise of free alcohol.[1]  The question is this:  what would the world look like if gunpowder had never been discovered?

First, a few caveats:

Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Anime Movies

I've been sitting on this list for months because I didn't think I'd seen enough anime movies to warrant the creation of a list.  Turns out I was wrong.  When I did a bit of searching, I discovered I'd seen quite a lot of anime films, many of them viewed at 1 AM on some random satellite station my grandma had a decade ago.  I still don't know which station played anime at 1 AM, nor do I remember all of the films I saw (Black Magic M-66, which does not appear on the list below because it's not that great, is one for which I am particularly nostalgic).

So here I am with a list of 10.  Don't hesitate to tell me what you think in the comments (or share your own lists).  Here goes (in no particular order):

Infographic: Space Travel, Then and Now

I haven't checked the validity of the claims in the image (which I got here), but it's interesting nonetheless.

Enjoy:

Video Found: Bohemian Rhapsody, Star Wars Style

The best part:  Emperor Palpatine busting out a guitar solo using force lightning.

My Hopes and Anticipations for Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2014

2014 is almost upon us, and I'm already thinking about what is to come.  What will 2014 be like?  Will it be awesome?  Will someone release a stunning science fiction novel or an exciting YA fantasy or an *epic* epic fantasy?  The only way to find out is to live long enough to see it, I suppose (that's my early New Year's resolution).  But I do have my hopes for next year.  Big, juicy hopes.  And they are as follows:

Top 10 Blog Posts for November 2013

November was obviously a fairly light week in terms of new posts, so this list is a reflection of all the stuff people were still reading from the months prior.  And if you missed any of this stuff, you'll have to catch up...

Here it is:

10.  Conventions:  the Simple, Step-by-Step Approach for Handling Disability at Cons
9.  Draft Post Bingo Winners:  What I'll Be Finishing Next (some of these have been finished!)
8.  Crowdfunding Links of the Week:  Kaleidoscope (a Diverse YA Antho) & War Stories (a MilSF Antho)
7.  The Rubric of Apologies:  Demanded Apologies
6.  Link of the Week:  "Conventions and Authors" by Tobias S. Buckell
5.  Draft Post Bingo:  What should I finish?  You Decide!
4.  Top 10 Blog Posts for August 2013 (this is a hilarious one...)
3.  Oh, John Ringo and Your Silly Fantasies About People (or, I Now Like Redshirts)
2.  Star Trek:  a Worf TV Show? (Some Thoughts)
1.  Movie Review:  Riddick (2013)(or, I'm Going to Mega Rant Now)