Books are dangerous

August already, anyone reading anything interesting?

Cassandra Mortmain’s father is a famous writer; unfortunatley he has been suffering from writer’s block for years. Her mother is dead, but she has a lovely stepmother now in Topaz. She also has a younger brother Thomas, and and older sister, Rose. And then there is Stephen, who has grown up with them, not forgetting the dog Heloise and the cat Abelard. They live in a ruin of a castle in England, and have no income. Which means no money for clothes, repairs, rent, or food. They have sold everything worth selling. And then the two Cotton brothers arrive on the scene.

It is 2039 and Georgia & Shaun Mason are up and coming bloggers. Solid betas they are on the look out for the story that will enable them to break away and start their own site, their own identity. And they are about to get their big break, because presidential hopeful Senator Ryman is about to start campaigning for the Republican nomination. And the Masons are going to be part of his media circus.

Oh, and did I mention the zombies?

In a recent article in the Guardian VS Naipul tells us how he can always identify a female author, and they are unequal to men. Queue outrage.
The discussion over on Metafilter is also well worth reading.

Today, May 25th, is the anniversary of the Glorious Revolution. Which fans of Discworld, and Sam Vimes in particular will want to honour.

All the little angels rise up, rise up.
All the little angels rise up high!
How do they rise up, rise up, rise up?
How do they rise up, rise up high?
They rise heads up, heads up, heads up, they rise heads up, heads up high!

Flishlight worthy is a site that recommends books. Handpicked lists of hundreds of books, from books that don't get enough attention to Chick lit before there was chick lit and a whole lot more.
(via Metafilter)

The British Library is hosting a Science Fiction exhibition called Out of this World. And even if you don't get a chance to visit there is plenty of interest to browse on their website, start by checking out their blog.

Another list from Flavorwire, this time the ten most disturbing novels:

I went to my favorite bookstore the other afternoon, a visit that I make at least once a week, usually when I’m bored, perhaps when I’ve had a bad day, or, often, when I can invent some reason to go, usually under the delusion that I “need” another book. I made this particular trip to replace Harold Brodkey’s First Love and Other Sorrows, which I’d given to a friend who was visiting from out of town.