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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-30 12:22 pm
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September 2025 in Review



21 works reviewed. 11 by women (52%), 9 by men (43%), 1 by non-binary authors (5%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (0%), and 8 by POC (38%).

The chart is breaking formatting. Need to fix or remove it. I do like charts, though.

September 2025 in Review
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-29 02:01 pm
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Bundle of Holding: 5E Treasures



A magical hoard for Fifth Edition roleplaying

Bundle of Holding: 5E Treasures
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-29 12:15 pm
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Clarke Award Finalists 2016

2016: The Chilcot Inquiry illustrates the meticulous process by which the UK went to war in Iraq, Lord Lucan is declared dead, and the UK’s narrow vote to leave the EU is at worst the second stupidest collective decision made by a Western democracy in 2016.

Pretend I caught that the poll autofilled the wrong question and that it reads "which 2016 Clarke Award finalists did you read?"

Poll #33672 Clarke Award Finalists 2016
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 46


Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
20 (43.5%)

Arcadia by Iain Pears
2 (4.3%)

Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson
7 (15.2%)

The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
11 (23.9%)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
38 (82.6%)

Way Down Dark by James Smythe
0 (0.0%)



Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.

Which 2016 Clarke Award finalists did you read??
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Arcadia by Iain Pears
Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson
The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Way Down Dark by James Smythe
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-28 08:37 pm

I don't know what to make of this



The Cherryh titles I dropped into ngram fell into 3 patterns:

Ones whose titles don't play nicely with ngrams. I dropped those.
Ones where the mentions per year decline fairly steadily year to year.
Cyteen. What's up with Cyteen? Did Jo Walton mention it on tor dot com around 2009?
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andrewducker ([personal profile] andrewducker) wrote2025-09-28 08:49 pm
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It's very educational being me

Ways to tell you have a child #37: the contents of your tumble dryer's lint trap is 50% glitter.

(And your hands are now covered in glitter from emptying it)
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andrewducker ([personal profile] andrewducker) wrote2025-09-27 08:38 pm
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A thing I don't understand about people

Why do people go to the group "Fans of X" and ask "Is X any good?"

I mean, no, most members of the fan group loathe it with a fiery passion and are only in the group to warn passers-by how terrible it is.
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-27 09:10 am
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Books Received, September 20 — September 26



Six works new to me: four fantasy, one mystery, one non-fiction (from an unexpected source)... unless you count the fantasy-mystery as mystery, in which case it's three fantasy and two mysteries. At least two are series. I don't know why publishers are so averse to labelling series.

Books Received, September 20 — September 26

Poll #33662 Books Received, September 20 — September 26
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 43


Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong
12 (27.9%)

Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst (July 2026)
12 (27.9%)

Following My Nose by Alexei Panshin (December 2024)
11 (25.6%)

The Fake Divination Offense by Sara Raasch (May 2026)
7 (16.3%)

The Harvey Girl by Dana Stabenow (February 2026)
8 (18.6%)

Scarlet Morning by ND Stevenson (September 2025)
17 (39.5%)

Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.3%)

Cats!
32 (74.4%)

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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-26 09:17 am

Bound Feet by Kelsea Yu



A grieving mother and her best friend break into a ghost museum to conduct illicit but surely harmless Ghost Day celebrations. Revelations await.

Bound Feet by Kelsea Yu
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-25 10:07 am
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On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction



More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics of falling in love.

On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-25 08:53 am

Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack



Amid economic downturn and political strife, young American teen discovers her hidden potential.

Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-24 09:05 am

Kowloon Generic Romance, volume 2 by Jun Mayuzuki




Realtor Reiko Kujirai has many questions, about her apparent rival and about herself, but very few answers.

Kowloon Generic Romance, volume 2 by Jun Mayuzuki