Thursday, October 10, 2019

Dispatches from the Border, October 2019

DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER
Events and News From Borderlands Books
OCTOBER, 2019

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Upcoming Events
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Writers With Drinks with authors Marta Acosta, Imani Gandy, Dr. Jen Gunter, Vivian Ho, Nazelah Jamison, and Michelle Ruiz Keil (at the Make Out Room, The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd St, San Francisco), Saturday, October 12th at 7:30 pm

Litquake Litcrawl Phase 2, SF in SF Presents: Women Imagine Different Worlds with authors Lisa Goldstein, M. Luke McDonell, Pat Murphy, Madeleine Robins, and Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Saturday, October 19th at 6:30 pm

Litquake Litcrawl Phase 3, Adventures in Crime and Time with authors Mark Coggins, Paul Drexler, Richard Kadrey, and Annalee Newitz Saturday, October 19th at 8:00 pm

Brent Weeks, THE BURNING WHITE (Orbit, Hardcover, $30.00) Thursday, October 24th at 6:00 pm

Rudy Rucker, THE MILLION MILE ROAD TRIP (Nightshade Books, Trade Paperback, $14.99) Saturday, October 26th at 3:00 pm

JUST ADDED!  An Afternoon with N.K. Jemisin, Sunday, November 3rd at 3:00 pm 

SF in SF (at the American Bookbinders Museum, 355 Clementina St. San Francisco) with authors Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, Sunday, November 10th at 6:30 pm

An Evening with Seanan McGuire, Saturday, November 16th at 6:00 pm

Tori Eldridge, NINJA DAUGHTER (Agora Books, Trade Paperback, $16.95) Sunday, November 24th at 3:00  pm

(for more information check the end of this newsletter)

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News
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* Overheard in the Store:

"At one point in history you could certainly read every science fiction & fantasy title that came out that year. Now you can't even read all the Seanan McGuire titles that come out in a year!"

"What house are you in?  Gryffindor?  Like everybody.  I'm in Slytherin, obviously."

"It's low-level and hilarious vegan propaganda, TBH."

"I just need to find an ancient Babylonian oatmeal recipe RIGHT NOW!"

"I think it's really creative what this guy did with dried noodles."

"Please don't kill people.  It would be rude."

"Tentacles are coming.  Paint is drying."

"As a friend of mine once sniffed, 'Suburban bondage'."

"That's the name of my new punk band --'Stalin's Unicorns'."

"This is the sort of book you put on your coffee table to find out who your real friends are."

* Huge congratulations to Alex and JoAnne!  Alex proposed to JoAnne at Borderlands on Tuesday, October 1st with a custom-made book that celebrates their story.  We wish them a lifetime of happiness!  You can see pictures of the happy couple (and that adorable book) on our Twitter feed, @borderlands_sf.

* Bay News Rising talked to Alan about Borderlands' new building and discussed the difficulties of small businesses purchasing them: https://baynewsrising.org/2019/08/19/small-business-survival-tactic-own-your-own-building/

* Author Tananarive Due discusses Octavia Butler: https://www.essence.com/entertainment/only-essence/octavia-butler-interview/ (And if you haven't read Due's story "Attachment Disorder" from A PEOPLE'S FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES, you should do so as soon as possible. It's wonderful.)

* Margaret Atwood reads: https://www.npr.org/2019/09/04/754859270/first-read-hear-margaret-atwood-tell-the-tale-of-the-testaments

* Protect your books as folks did in the past: with horrifying curses!  https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-to-protect-your-library-with-medieval-book-curses

* Daniel Henney will play al'Lan Mandragoran in the upcoming "Wheel of Time" tv show: https://www.tor.com/2019/09/04/the-wheel-of-time-tv-show-daniel-henney-will-play-allan-mandragoran/

* Cory Doctorow on "The Cold Equations" and Moral Hazard: https://locusmag.com/2014/03/cory-doctorow-cold-equations-and-moral-hazard/

* Shamelessly using the Loch Ness Monster to interest people in biodiversity research: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/09/06/loch-ness-monster-is-still-mystery-scientists-have-some-new-evidence-theory/

* How did we miss this?!  Jonesy, the cat from "Alien", has his own book!  Call or email if you'd like us to reserve or send you a copy. https://www.nme.com/news/cat-alien-getting-spin-off-jonesy-2392038

* Check out this trailer for the new dystopian drama "See", with Jason Momoa.  I'm not too sure about this one: https://www.tvguide.com/news/see-apple-tv-trailer-jason-momoa/

* Richard Dormer will play Sam Vimes in "The Watch", based on Terry Practhett's books! https://www.tor.com/2019/09/11/vimes-bbc-america-casts-richard-dormer-in-terry-pratchett-series-the-watch/

* A thoughtful & entertaining article from The Smithsonian about how how the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show taught kids sophisticated political satire: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-bullwinkle-taught-kids-sophisticated-political-satire-180964803/

* Employee Maddy told me about this amazing WPA program I'd never heard of; kick-ass female librarians on horseback! https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/horse-riding-librarians-were-great-depression-bookmobiles-180963786/

* Green Apple has bought Browser Books: https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3576#m45794

* A fascinating introduction to Elizabeth Friedman, cryptography pioneer: https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/09/06/the-woman-who-smashed-codes-elizebeth-friedman/

* Once we stopping gasping & choking over the fact that the "Scooby-Doo" cartoon is FIFTY YEARS OLD, this was a really interesting article: https://crimereads.com/50-years-ago-scooby-doo-was-the-perfect-weird-hopeful-mystery-series-1969-needed/

* Manuscript critique from Mary Robinette Kowal: https://www.patreon.com/posts/manuscript-arent-11552026

* Our friends Gavin Grant & Kelly Link, who also happen to be the publishers of Small Beer Press, are opening a bookstore! Huge congratulations to them! https://www.bookweb.org/news/author-kelly-link-gavin-j-grant-open-book-moon-easthampton-massachusetts-574432

* Check out the chapter icons from the new Robert Jordan book: https://www.tor.com/2019/09/25/get-a-detailed-look-at-the-chapter-icons-in-robert-jordans-new-book-warrior-of-the-altaii/

* A warm welcome to the Mission's newest comic shop, Hella Novella!  https://missionlocal.org/2019/09/comically-tiny-comic-book-shop-opening-up-in-the-mission/

* An old (2013) but still fascinating article written by undertaker, about changing trends in funeral customs  and how the actual dead bodies are disappearing from funerals: https://aeon.co/essays/a-funeral-without-a-body-is-no-way-to-mourn

* The BBC presents former cult books that have fallen out of favor: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20190920-the-cult-books-that-lost-their-cool

* Scientists are finally starting to understand "ballooning" -- the way in which spiders can kinda-sorta fly: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/07/the-electric-flight-of-spiders/564437/

* In this article from last year, Fast Company speculates on the future of food.  I don't know about you, but most of this sounds pretty dystopian to me: https://www.fastcompany.com/90222618/what-the-future-of-food-will-look-like-in-2038?cid=search

* Artist Banksy has "opened" a dystopian housewares store (actually a temporary installation) called "Gross Domestic Product": https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/10/gross-domestic-product/

* Leigh Bardugo shares the cast list and first cast photo from the upcoming "Shadow and Bone" adaptation: https://www.tor.com/2019/10/02/leigh-bardugo-shares-cast-list-and-first-cast-photo-of-netflixs-upcoming-shadow-and-bone-adaptation/

* Find your necromancy family among the houses of GIDEON THE NINTH!  https://www.tor.com/2019/09/20/find-your-necromancy-family-among-the-houses-of-gideon-the-ninth/

* The secret meanings behind the beasts in a medieval menagerie from Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/medieval-bestiary-allegories

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From The Office
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It's been a very busy month at the new building on Haight St.  I'll get to all the details in a second but I've got a bigger piece of news.  I finally decided when (roughly) we're going to move.

I'm aiming to have us up and running at the new building by Spring of next year.  Specifically, by May.  That is, granted, a long way off from now but at least there's a date.  Or, at least a month.

Why so long?  Well, here's the thing -- we need to get the two big jobs finished (the bathroom and the new front wall).  Both are pretty far along but, once that's done, there's still quite a lot to do.  I'd like to get the basement office in reasonable shape because trying to do that after we've moved would just be a whole lot of not-fun.  Also, there are some bits and pieces of work that will also need doing (reworking the stairway to the basement, getting the final electrical in place, and so on).  But the big one is building the shelves.  There are quite a lot of them to build and, speaking from experience, that's a time-consuming process.  Plus, there are bound to be delays as we go.  So yeah, I think that May is about right.  We'll see if that lasts, eh?

In terms of what's been done since you last heard from me:

The electrical overhaul is complete.  Last week the electricians replaced the two breaker panels for the upstairs apartments and so that job is complete, pending inspections.  That also means that the old, might-burn-the-building-down breakers are gone, gone, gone.  In addition to my feeling of relief about that, it should mean we can get an insurance policy for the building that will be a good deal cheaper than what we have now.

The rough plumbing is nearly complete.  This isn't just the new plumbing for the bathroom: since we had time and opportunity, we also replaced all the 100+ year-old drain pipes.  They were in surprisingly good shape, considering, but there were still a number of places where half the thickness of the pipe walls had rusted away.  So, probably good to have that done.  We also replaced and rerouted all the gas lines and the water lines.  In fact, since the sidewalk replacement schedule worked out (more about that in a moment), we were able to upgrade both services.  The original water supplies were 3/4" for the store and 1" for the apartments.  They're now 1" and 1 1/2" respectively.  The gas lines were similarly sized, but we stepped all three of them up to 1 1/4".  That means there is sufficient gas supply to run on-demand water heaters for both apartments and plenty of gas for out-door heaters for the garden.  Bottom line, all the important plumbing services for the whole building are brand new, stem to stern.  When you add in the electrical upgrades, new roof,  and the structural work that we've done, pretty much all the fundamental systems in the building are in top shape and should be trouble-free for decades to come.

Speaking of fundamental stuff.  The sidewalk replacement was completed last week as well.  It looks really great and, because we got the work on the front of the building completed (just in time, as it turns out), the sidewalk comes right up to the front framing and matches the level of the entry just about perfectly.  It was really hard to get all the scheduling to work out, but the product is excellent.

Finally, since the plumbers needed to do work in the lightwell area, those walls have been almost completely closed and should be finished this week.  I'll also be completing the roof over the bathroom extension so the whole place with be sealed up against weather and rain, just in time for winter.

After the lightwell walls are completed, the next steps will be to finish the final bits of framing on the front (it's only three pieces of wood, actually, but I just have not had time to put them in) and then get the framing inspection for that.  Also, once the rough plumbing is finished, there will be a little bit of electrical work to do in the bathroom and then it'll be time to close those walls, lay the tile, and then get the final plumbing and electrical work done.

It's going to be another busy month, but I think we'll be getting a lot done.

- Alan Beatts

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Best Sellers
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Borderlands Best-Selling Titles for September, 2019

Hardcovers

1. The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
2. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
3. The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire
4. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
5. A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
6. Jade War by Fonda Lee
7. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
8.  The Institute by Stephen King
9. The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
10. Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Trade Paperbacks

1. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
2. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
3. Time Shards: Shatter War by Dana Fredsti and David Fitzgerald
4. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu
5. Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O'Keefe
6. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
7. A People's Future of the United States edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams
8. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
9. How Long 'Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin
10. The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin, translated by Joel Martinsen

Mass Market Paperbacks

1. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
2. Dune by Frank Herbert
3. Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
4. Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
6. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
7. Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
8. Neuromancer by William Gibson
9. Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
10. Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

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Book Club Information
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The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, October 13th, at 5 pm to discuss THE COLLAPSING EMPIRE by John Scalzi.  Please contact the group leader, Christopher Rodriguez, at cobalt555@earthlink.net, for more information.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club will meet on Sunday, October 20th, at 6 pm to discuss HOMINIDS by Robert Sawyer.  Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.

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Upcoming Event Details
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Writers With Drinks with authors Marta Acosta, Imani Gandy, Dr. Jen Gunter, Vivian Ho, Nazelah Jamison, and Michelle Ruiz Keil (at the Make Out Room, The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd St, San Francisco), Saturday, October 12th at 7:30 pm - Writers With Drinks is the most awesome spoken-word variety show in the world, hosted by Charlie Jane Anders, and we're always happy to participate!  The amazing lineup this month includes Marta Acosta, Imani Gandy, Dr. Jen Gunter, Vivian Ho, Nazelah Jamison, and Michelle Ruiz Keil.  Cost: $5 to $20, no-one turned away for lack of funds.  All proceeds benefit local non-profits.  Doors open at 7:00 and Borderlands will be on hand to sell books.

Litquake LitCrawl Phase 2, SF in SF Presents: Women Imagine Different Worlds with authors Lisa Goldstein, M. Luke McDonell, Pat Murphy, Madeleine Robins, and Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Saturday, October 19th at 6:30 pm - We are delighted to once again take part in one of the most exciting literary events in San Francisco - the LitCrawl.  This is a three-hour pub-crawl-style literary event with dozens of venues and hundreds of authors, all taking place right here in the Mission District.  In the past we've had events in both the bookstore and the cafe, but this year (lacking the Cafe) we're doing back-to-back bookstore events! Phase 2: "For over a decade SF in SF has offered readings, films, and special events in the Bay Area for readers of science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction. Usually hosted by Terry Bisson, past guests have included Connie Willis, George R. R. Martin, Jeffrey Ford, Daryl Gregory, Cecil Castellucci, Ben Loory, Gene Wolfe, Laurie King, Nancy Kress, Lev Grossman, Samuel R. Delany, Carol Emshwiller, Charlie Jane Anders, Patrick Rothfuss, Gail Carriger, Cory Doctorow, Peter S. Beagle, and many others." This event will feature women authors from the event series.

Litquake LitCrawl Phase 3, Adventures in Crime and Time with authors Mark Coggins, Paul Drexler, Richard Kadrey, and Annalee Newitz Saturday, October 19th at 8:00 pm - We're happy to host four fantastic authors whose work will range from noir science fiction to true & fictional crime to time travel escapades!

Brent Weeks, THE BURNING WHITE (Orbit, Hardcover, $30.00) Thursday, October 24th at 6:00 pm - We're are always excited to welcome the delightful Brent Weeks back to Borderlands, and particularly this time -- for the long-awaited fifth and final volume of the Lightbringer sequence, THE BURNING WHITE! We hope you'll join us to meet Brent and celebrate the last installment of this epic series!

Rudy Rucker, THE SECRET OF LIFE (Nightshade Books, Trade Paperback, $14.99) Saturday, October 26th at 3:00 pm - It's always a treat to welcome the quirky and irrepressible genius Rudy Rucker to the store!  Rudy is an author, artist, mathematician and one of the godfathers of Cyberpunk.  Join us to check out the release of his new novel THE MILLION MILE ROAD TRIP, and celebrate the reprints of a few other titles!  Meantime, definitely read this fabulously fun NPR review for the new book: https://www.npr.org/2019/05/19/724130325/buckle-up-for-this-million-mile-road-trip

JUST ADDED!  An Afternoon with N.K. Jemisin, Sunday, November 3rd at 3:00 pm - Borderlands Books is absolutely thrilled to present "An Afternoon with N.K. Jemisin"!  Join us for the rare opportunity to hear this historic, multiple-Hugo-Award-winner as she shares her talent, wit and wisdom with fans old and new, and get your books signed.  As always, you may call ahead to reserve a copy of any of her in-print books including the recently-released trade paperback version of her short story collection HOW LONG ‘TIL BLACK FUTURE MONTH?  You don't want to miss this one! Because a lot of people may want to attend, we can't promise that we'll be able to accommodate everyone inside the store.  Entry and seating will be ticketed and on a first-come, first-served basis.  You'll be able to pick up a ticket (maximum of two per person) starting at noon on the day of the event. There is no charge and no purchase required for a ticket.  The store will be emptied one hour before the event to allow for us to set up.  Once we're set up, we'll let people back in based on their ticket number.  Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee seats.

In case you don't get here early enough to get into the event, we are hoping that Ms. Jemisin will be able to stay long enough to get everyone's books signed after she speaks.  We should be able to confirm this by Saturday.

If you won't be able to attend the event but would still like to get a signed or inscribed copy of one of Ms. Jemisin's books, just drop us an email or give a call and we'll take care of it for you.  You can pick up your book(s) at the store after the event or we can mail them to you.


 SF in SF (at the American Bookbinders Museum, 355 Clementina St. San Francisco) with authors Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, Sunday, November 10th at 6:30 pm - (Suggested donation $10.)  (Doors and bar at 6:00 pm, event begins at 6:30 pm.)  We're so happy to participate in the Science Fiction in San Francisco reading series!  This month we're joined by fabulous authors Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz!  The authors will read a selection from their work, followed by Q&A from the audience moderated by Terry Bisson.  Authors will schmooze & sign books after.  Books will be available for sale.  Seating is limited, so first come, first seated.  Bar proceeds benefit the American Bookbinders Museum. Questions? Email sfinsfevents@gmail.com.

An Evening with Seanan McGuire, Saturday, November 16th at 6:00 pm - We're always thrilled to welcome formerly-local author Seanan McGuire to Borderlands! The astonishingly prolific Seanan has FOUR recent books out -- IN THE SHADOW OF SPINDRIFT HOUSE (as Mira Grant); THE UNKINDEST TIDE (the newest October Daye book); the fancy tenth anniversary (!) hardcover edition of ROSEMARY AND RUE; and the incredible new short story collection LAUGHTER AT THE ACADEMY.  Join us to meet Seanan, have books signed, and be regaled with tales funny, strange, and distressing.  Feel free to bring baked goods to share if you like!

Tori Eldridge, NINJA DAUGHTER (Agora Books, Trade Paperback, $16.95) Sunday, November 24th at 3:00  pm - We're happy to welcome author Tori Eldridge to Borderlands for her debut novel!  "THE NINJA DAUGHTER is an action-packed thriller about a Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja with Joy Luck Club family issues who fights the Los Angeles Ukrainian mob, sex traffickers, and her own family to save two desperate women and an innocent child."  Tori's own history is fascinating. . . from her bio, she is "a Honolulu-born thriller writer who challenges perspective and empowers the spirit. She holds a fifth-degree black belt in To-Shin Do Ninjutsu and has traveled the USA teaching seminars on the ninja arts, weapons, and women's self-protection."  We hope you'll join us to meet Tori and check out this new thriller!

Borderlands event policy - all events are free of charge.  You are welcome to bring copies of an author's books purchased elsewhere to be autographed (but we do appreciate it if you purchase something while at the event).  For most events you are welcome to bring as many books as you wish for autographs.  If you are unable to attend the event we will be happy to have a copy of any of the author's available books signed or inscribed for you.  We can then either hold the book(s) until you can come in to pick them up or we can ship to you.  Just give us a call or drop us an email.  If you live out of town, you can also ship us books from your collection to be signed for a nominal fee.  Call or email for details.

This newsletter is distributed monthly free of charge and may be distributed without charge so long all the following information is included.

Dispatches from the Border
Editor - Jude Feldman
Assistant Editor - Alan Beatts

All contents unless otherwise noted are the property of Borderlands Books, 866 Valencia St.
San Francisco CA 94110
415 824-8203
http://www.borderlands-books.com
Comments and suggestions should be directed to editor@borderlands-books.com

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