----------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------
SF in SF (at the American Bookbinders Museum, 355 Clementina St. San Francisco) with authors Cecelia Holland and Kim Stanley Robinson, Sunday, January 12th at 6:30 pm
Juliet Wade, MAZES OF POWER (DAW, Hardcover, $26.00) Saturday, February 8th at 3:00 pm
Writers With Drinks (at The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco) with authors Tracy Clark Flory, Barbara Tomash, Juliette Wade, and Charles Yu, Saturday, February 8th at 7:30 pm
Sarah Gailey, UPRIGHT WOMEN WANTED (Tor.com, Hardcover, $20.99) Tuesday, February 11th at 6:00 pm
Katharine Kerr, SWORD OF FIRE (DAW, Hardcover, $27.00) Saturday, February 22nd at 5:00 pm
Seanan McGuire, COME TUMBLING DOWN (Tor, Hardcover, $19.99) and IMAGINARY NUMBERS (DAW, Mass Market, $7.99) Saturday, February 29th at 6:00 pm
(for more information check the end of this newsletter)
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News
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* Overheard in the Store:
"We washed the rest of The Watcher. . . witched the rest of The Washer . . . DAMMIT. We WATCHED the rest of 'The WITCHER' last night!"
"I've never seen a 'Damn You, AutoCorrect' in real life before."
"When I worked for the hospital, I wrote, and then unfortunately lost, 'The Cat in the Hat Gets a Colonoscopy'."
"Ooh! An asexual tentacle monster! That's the closest thing to describing my actual gender."
"You can always tell the clouds that are hiding alien spacecraft behind them."
"This year EVERYONE is getting books!"
"Have YOU ever tried to wrap Z-Fold Mil Spec Combat Gauze to put in a Christmas stocking? I don't recommend it."
"I'll just let it live its Majestic Chicken Life."
"Everywhere I look -- tentacles!
"All I remember are bed shelves, clabbered milk, and people wandering off to die in the cold."
"It's THE CALL OF CTHULHU, done Dr. Seuss-style. There's no denying the world was waiting for that."
"The place is really called 'Normal, Illinois'? The city doth protest too much, methinks."
"You're right -- it's like calling a town 'Definitely Not Gay, Kansas'."
"Around here, I will tell you when to panic. You don't get to panic without authorization."
* The Bold Italic talked to Alan Beatts, Rudy Rucker, M. Luke McDonnell and Rina Weisman for this optimistic piece about science fiction in San Francisco! https://thebolditalic.com/san-franciscos-sci-fi-renaissance-95713a91171c
* We're delighted to share the news that Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore has new owners and will have a new location shortly! https://www.mystgalaxy.com/new-owners-and-location-mysterious-galaxy-2020
* The New York Times on how Chinese science fiction conquered America (spoiler: it had a lot to do with Ken Liu): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/magazine/ken-liu-three-body-problem-chinese-science-fiction.html
* "Come and bake with us, Danny, forever and forever . . . . " It's a gingerbread Overlook Hotel!: https://nerdbot.com/2019/11/30/this-gingerbread-house-of-the-shining-is-amazing/
* The New Yorker talks with William Gibson (whose new novel AGENCY comes out January 21st): https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/16/how-william-gibson-keeps-his-science-fiction-real
* George R.R. Martin has opened Beastly Books next to his cinema in New Mexico: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/16/george-rr-martin-opens-bookshop-santa-fe-beastly-books-game-of-thrones
* The fabulous Michael Moorcock turned 80 December 18th, so we thought it was time to revisit this great article on him: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/anti-tolkien
* Borderlands Cafe made this list of San Francisco's Saddest Business Closures in 2019, along with Lucca Ravioli and Beach Blanket Babylon <sniffles>: https://brokeassstuart.com/2019/12/19/s-f-s-saddest-closures-of-2019/
* "I think that a lot of rejection of critical analysis of people like Tolkien and Lewis, and of children's fantasy more broadly, comes out of this kind of harsh binary around how people deal with realizing that their faves are problematic." Read the rest of this fascinating article from scholar Maria Sachiko Cecire: https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/12/childrens-fantasy-literature-oxford-school-tolkien-lewis.html
* We are saturated with information. What matters now is how credible the source is: https://aeon.co/ideas/say-goodbye-to-the-information-age-its-all-about-reputation-now
* "The 20 Best Books of a Decade That Unmade Genre Fiction" from Wired Magazine. (Spoiler, this article is almost entirely about how amazing Ursula K. Le Guin & N.K. Jemisin are, and that is FINE.) https://www.wired.com/story/best-books-2010s-science-fiction-fantasy/
* Two different sponsors passed on this fascinating article about "How [Johannes] Kepler Invented Science Fiction and Defended His Mother in a Witchcraft Trial While Revolutionizing Our Understanding of the Universe": https://www.brainpickings.org/2019/12/26/katharina-kepler-witchcraft-dream/
* Cory Doctorow on imagining a better world: "Science fiction needn't be monochromatic disaster porn. Many of our most cherished science-fictional visions... propose a better world -- not a perfect one, and never free from strife... -- but still hopeful and inspiring." The complete article is here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-science-fiction-and-the-unforeseeable-future-in-the-2020s-lets/
* We have copies of the (gorgeous!) 40th Anniversary Edition of BUNNICULA in stock. Why is this book so amazing? Dear ones, sit back while Sarah Gailey explains the love story behind the vampire bunny story: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/the-enduring-legacy-of-bunnicula-a-40-year-old-in-joke-thats-still-hilarious/
* A sweet article on the 14 best bookstores in San Francisco! https://wayfaringviews.com/best-bookstores-in-san-francisco/
* "You can't wear Stormtrooper armour to Ren Faire!" "Hold my mead." https://www.facebook.com/wolfsdenarmoury/photos/a.10150119255449819/10157774858714819/
* How might future paleontologists visualize OUR era's animals? https://www.sunnyskyz.com/blog/2932/If-We-Drew-Modern-Animals-The-Way-We-Draw-Dinosaurs-Based-On-Bones-Alone
* Speaking of paleontology, here are some of the strangest dinosaur names: https://www.neatorama.com/2007/02/19/the-worlds-strangest-dinosaur-names/
* A Smithsonian exhibit on the real vampires among us: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-world-needs-bloodsucking-creatures-180973670/
* We really do live on the coolest planet. Here's proof: https://www.boredpanda.com/interesting-rarely-seen-things/
* Ye dinnae need the Keekin Gless o Erised tae ken woo awesome thees is! https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2018/01/19/harry-potter-scots-language-edition-might-best-book-time/
* "The Mushroom Hunters" by Neil Gaiman becomes a gorgeous animated short film: https://www.brainpickings.org/2019/11/25/the-mushroom-hunters-animation-neil-gaiman/
* "Star Wars" filming locations you can visit in real life: https://www.afar.com/magazine/star-wars-filming-locations-you-can-visit-in-real-life
* Welcome to Mystery Flesh Pit National Park: https://www.tor.com/2020/01/03/welcome-to-mystery-flesh-pit-national-park-one-redditors-colossal-feat-of-worldbuilding/
* Indie booksellers creating community (what else is new?!): https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/12/27/indie-booksellers-create-community-to-survive-the-age-of-amazon
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From The Office
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by Alan Beatts
Happy New Year All!
I hope that 2020 is treating you well. As far as years go, 2019 was an often challenging one and, to be honest, I'm happy to see the back of it. I think that 2020 is going to be . . . interesting . . . as well; but I hope in a much more positive way. Something that is going to make this year especially interesting is that we're going to be moving our store.
"There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowing"
- R. Dahl
If you've been following these newsletter for a while, you can probably skip down to the part that starts with "A scheme is not a vision" but, for folks who haven't been around for the past two years, here is the short version of what's going on. In 2015, we planned to close the store because the increasing minimum wage in San Francisco was going make Borderlands unsustainably unprofitable (i.e. losing more than $30,000 a year by the time we were done). Rather than do that, we planned to close. But, once we announced that, our customers inspired us to try to find a solution. We started a sponsorship program that worked better than we could have imagined (more about that next month - but, if you want an outline read here - http://borderlands-sponsors.blogspot.com/p/why-sponsorships.html ). Six years later, it's still working and going strong.
With that problem solved (and with a new sense of obligation to our customers), we started looking to the future for what the next problem would be. The conclusion we came to was that the end of our current lease in 2021 would be a disaster. Rents in San Francisco have climbed a lot since 2011, when we signed our current lease, and they've gone up even more than average on Valencia St. There was no chance that we would be able to pay the new rent when the lease was up.
So, around 2016, we started looking for a building that we could buy and have as our permanent home. It was a long shot, both because our down-payment would be low (though not tiny since we had been able to save much of the extra money that our sponsors had given us) and because it was going to be hard to find a building that would work. Despite all that, in late 2017 we found a place and we managed to raise the money to purchase it. In fact, we raised the entire purchase price by borrowing from fifty of our customers and sponsors.
The building is a lovely 1902 three-story Victorian at 1377 Haight St. that used to be the home of a used record shop. There are two (rented) apartments upstairs, which give us enough income to cover the expenses for the building (at least they will once we add in the rent that the bookstore will pay). The actual store location is a little bit smaller than our current space but, because of it's shape, it will actually work (and, I think, feel) like a bigger store.
Since the purchase we've been remodeling the store so that it will work for us for years and years to come. It's been a long, slow process, in part because almost all of the work has been done by me and a group of volunteers. But, the time it's taken us to get the job done is far outweighed by the money we've saved by doing it ourselves.
We're still a far way from being finished but we've set a date to be open and operating at the new building -- May 25th of this year. Between now and then there will be a lot going on and I thought you might like to hear about the plan.
"A scheme is not a vision"
- L. Cohen
Thankfully, I've had the experience of moving a (granted, much smaller) store in the past. And, I've helped out with a couple other store moves. By now, I think that my schemes on the subject are pretty good. However, as Jude is fond of saying, "The Universe abhors a plan" and so we're going to keep the following a "scheme", not in any way, shape, or form a "plan". It will certainly change in the specific details as we move along and it may change in a more general sense. But, for now, this is how we think our relocation to Haight St. is going to play.
Despite my deadline of May 25th, I don't expect that we'll be completely moved by then. In fact, I don't want to be moved by then. The last time we moved the shop, way back in 2001, we shut down for a week to do it. Packing all the books took almost two days, then moving them, then getting them back on the shelves (which weren't all built by that time) . . . it was horrible and exhausting. Plus it actually took closer to two weeks to get open again. And the whole time I was hearing the "tick, tick, tick" of the clock since we were, probably, losing a full day of sales every day we were closed.
Not. Fun. At. All.
So, this time, we'll be doing it in stages. On May 25th . . . yeah, we'll be open at the new shop. But the inventory will probably consist of new releases and staff reccs but not much else. And, we'll probably be open limited hours and days. At the same time, we'll be open normal hours and days at the old store. If nothing else, having little stock at the new shop means we'll have plenty of room for the opening party -- which will be epic.
Over the following weeks we'll move the inventory over to Haight St. one section (or one part of a section) at a time. So, on the 1st of June you might come into the store on Valencia to discover that the Mystery section is empty 'cause it's been moved. Then a couple days later the used Horror section might be moved. And so on.
Doing it that way has a bunch of advantages. It'll allow me time to get things finished off at the new shop if I'm not completely done by May (for example, the office is going to be just about the last thing that I build out at Haight St.) It'll mean that we won't have any days when we're closed for moving. We'll also have a lot of time at Valencia St. to let customers know that we're moving and where we're moving to. But probably most importantly it will give us time to sort out problems, in a well-considered and final way, as they come up at the new space rather than rushing to get things fixed "Right Now!"
My best guess is that we'll be completely moved by the middle to end of June. We'll mark that with a "wake" for the old shop, and then lock the doors an' walk away.
As you're probably imagining, there'll be a ton of work to do through June and so, if you've ever thought it would be fun to move a bookstore (pro tip: it's not but it certainly is an "experience"), we'll be letting people know via this newsletter when we're having a book packing party.
Getting to this point has been the result of a huge effort from more people than I can count. The First 300 Sponsors who convinced us that we could stay open. All the sponsors through all the years after that kept supporting us and having faith in us. The professionals who helped make the building purchase work out (first and foremost among them, Dan Marshall and Lance Fulford of Compass Realty, who were willing to play along with my crazy scheme). The 50 people who had the belief and trust in us to make the loans on the building. The trades workers who have been so reasonable and easy to deal with. Even the city inspectors who have put up with my constant, dumb "I'm not a contractor; in fact I don't even play one on TV" antics. They all have played a vital part in getting us here.
But, moreso than anyone else, my thanks for two sets of absolutely extraordinary people. First, the small crew of people who have volunteered their time, weekend after weekend, to getting the job done at Haight St. All together they have put literally thousands of hours into building our dream. The remarkable quality of the final product will be, in a large part, due to their efforts.
And second, the outstanding staff of Borderlands Books and Cafe. In the first place, they made a business that people cared about enough to save. And, in the second place, they are so damn good at their jobs that I could (and can) take the time to get all this together.
And this is the year that it happens.
"For the rowers keep on rowing
And they're certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing."
- R. Dahl
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Best Sellers
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Borderlands Best-Selling Titles for December, 2019
Hardcovers
1. Strange Planet by Nathan Pyle
2. Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer
3. The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
4. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
5. The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman
6. Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
7. Dune: Deluxe Edition by Frank Herbert
8. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
9. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson
10. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Trade Paperbacks
1. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
2. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu
3. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
4. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
5. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
6. How Long 'Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin
7. A People's Future of the United States edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams
8. Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
9. The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
10. The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Dune by Frank Herbert
2. Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
3. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
4. Neuromancer by William Gibson
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
6. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
7. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
8. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
9. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
10. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
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Book Club Information
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The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, January 12th, at 5 pm to discuss PERSEPOLIS RISING by James S.A. Corey. 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, January 19th, at 6 pm to discuss LA BELLE SAUVAGE (BOOK OF DUST VOLUME 1) by Philip Pullman. The book for February 16th is SENLIN ASCENDS by Josiah Bancroft. Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.
------------------------------
Upcoming Event Details
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SF in SF (at the American Bookbinders Museum, 355 Clementina St. San Francisco) with authors Cecelia Holland and Kim Stanley Robinson, Sunday, January 12th at 6:30 pm - (Suggested donation $10, no one turned away for lack of funds.) Doors 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! The authors will read a selection from their work, followed by Q&A from the audience moderated by author Terry Bisson. The authors will schmooze & sign books after. Books available for sale courtesy of Borderlands Books. Seating is limited, so first come, first seated. Bar proceeds benefit the American Bookbinders Museum. Questions? Email sfinsfevents@gmail.com.
Juliet Wade, MAZES OF POWER (DAW, Hardcover, $26.00) Saturday, February 8th at 3:00 pm - We're delighted to welcome local author Juliette Wade, showing off her debut novel MAZES OF POWER! From the book description: "The cavern city of Pelismara has stood for a thousand years. The Great Families of the nobility cling to the myths of their golden age while the city's technology wanes. When a fever strikes, and the Eminence dies, seventeen-year-old Tagaret is pushed to represent his Family in the competition for Heir to the Throne. To win would give him the power to rescue his mother from his abusive father, and marry the girl he loves. But the struggle for power distorts everything in this highly stratified society, and the fever is still loose among the inbred, susceptible nobles. Tagaret's sociopathic younger brother, Nekantor, is obsessed with their family's success. Nekantor is willing to exploit Tagaret, his mother, and her new servant Aloran to defeat their opponents. Can he be stopped? Should he be stopped? And will they recognize themselves after the struggle has changed them?" Join us to meet this up-and-coming author who is soon to be a superstar! Juliette will be in conversation with author Deborah J. Ross.
Writers With Drinks (at The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco) with authors Tracy Clark Flory, Barbara Tomash, Juliette Wade, and Charles Yu, Saturday, February 8th at 7:30 pm - Writers With Drinks is the most awesome spoken-word variety show in the world, hosted by the incredible Charlie Jane Anders, and we're always happy to participate! The amazing lineup this month includes Tracy Clark Flory, Barbara Tomash, Juliette Wade, and Charles Yu! 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. http://www.writerswithdrinks.com/
Sarah Gailey, UPRIGHT WOMEN WANTED (Tor.com, Hardcover, $20.99) Tuesday, February 11th at 6:00 pm - We couldn't be more excited to welcome Sarah Gailey, who will be showing off their brand-new novella UPRIGHT WOMEN WANTED! Jude can't stop raving about this book and we're convinced you'll love it, too. Here's the description from the publisher: "Esther is a stowaway. She's hidden herself away in the Librarian's book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her -- a marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda. The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing." Join us to meet Sarah and hear all about your next favorite book!
Katharine Kerr, SWORD OF FIRE (DAW, Hardcover, $27.00) Saturday, February 22nd at 5:00 pm - We're always happy to welcome the beloved Katharine Kerr to Borderlands! She's back with the first a new trilogy that will re-introduce readers to Deverry! From the book description: "The bards are the people’s voice -- and their sword. All over the kingdom of Deverry, the common people are demanding reform of the corrupt law courts. In Aberwyn, the situation catches fire when Gwerbret Ladoic, second in authority only to the High King, allows a bard to starve to death rather than hear their grievances. Guildwoman Alyssa, a student at the local scholars' collegium, and Lady Dovina, the gwerbret's own daughter, know that evidence exists to overthrow the so-called traditional legal system, if they can only get it into the right hands. The powerful lords will kill anyone who threatens their privileges. To retrieve the proof, Alyssa must make a dangerous journey that will either change her life forever -- or end it." Don't miss this near-legendary author at the height of her creative powers!
Seanan McGuire, COME TUMBLING DOWN (Tor, Hardcover, $19.99) and IMAGINARY NUMBERS (DAW, Mass Market, $7.99) Saturday, February 29th at 6:00 pm - Details to come!
Borderlands event policy - all events are free of charge unless otherwise stated. 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
Big thanks to David Fitzgerald for contributing news pieces this month!
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
Monday, January 27, 2020
Monday, December 9, 2019
Dispatches from the Border, December 2019
DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER
Events and News From Borderlands Books
DECEMBER, 2019
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Upcoming Events
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Sisters in Crime / Mystery Writers' of America Annual Holiday Party, Saturday December 7th from 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Writers With Drinks (at The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco) with authors Meg Elison, Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, Amanda Rosenberg, Zoe Young, Olga Zilberbourg and fabulous guest host Maggie Tokuda-Hall! Saturday December 14th at 7:30 pm
(for more information check the end of this newsletter)
We're about to take our customary event hiatus until the New Year, but we'll be back in 2020 with dozens and dozens of fabulous authors, including Seanan McGuire, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, exciting debut author Juliette Wade in conversation with Deborah Ross, and many, many more!
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News
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* We're very sad to report the death of the incredible artist Gahan Wilson, who passed away at age 89. Read Neil Gaiman's loving tribute here: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2019/11/gahan-wilson-born-dead-now-dead-again.html
* We're also sad to note that Dorothy "D.C." Fontana, author of several of the most beloved original "Star Trek episodes", passed away last month: http://www.treknews.net/2019/12/03/star-trek-writer-dorothy-dc-fontana-dead/
* Borderlands' owner Alan Beatts, along with The Booksmith's Christin Evans and Dog Eared & Alley Cat Books' owner Kate Rosenberger, will be participating in a panel on the state of bookshops and bookselling, including how the industry works, what issues are facing it, and the place and importance of bookshops in city life. The panel will take place Tuesday, January 28th from 6:00 - 7:30 pm at Manny's, 3092 16th Street, San Francisco. https://www.welcometomannys.com/
* The best science fiction and fantasy books of 2019, according to Silivia Moreno-Garcia and Lavie Tidhar: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/the-best-science-fiction-and-fantasy-books-of-2019/2019/11/21/96604448-ef65-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html
* The original movie "Bladerunner" was set in November, 2019. Since it's no longer set in the future, here are a couple of interesting discussions about that: https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/movies/as-of-wednesday-blade-runner-is-no-longer-set-in-the-future ; https://laist.com/2019/11/18/blade_runners_2019_los_angeles_then_now_future_past.php
* And, relatedly, dystopia meets Autopia with a museum exhibition of vehicles from dystopian movies including "Blade Runner" and "Mad Max: Fury Road": https://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/l-a-museum-opens-new-exhibit-of-dystopian-vehicles-fro-1834478920
* And lastly, speaking of dystopian vehicles, Tesla's recently-announced "Cyber Truck" has been receiving a lot of derision. Here's a satirical video about Tesla's new Triangulator, which turns anything in a boxy, pointy copy of itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StlhIiAgZIM
* Author Claire Legrand is drawn to books containing characters described by that horrible, overused phrase "unlikeable female protagonists" - a.k.a., complex, flawed, human characters. This is why she loves these fantasy novels featuring girls and young women who don't much care if they're "likeable" or not: https://www.tor.com/2019/11/15/5-books-about-girls-who-dont-care-what-you-think-of-them/
* Seasonally important news, just in case you need to know how to kill Krampus: https://nowthisnews.com/videos/nerd/how-to-kill-krampus
* Love Baby Yoda, you must! https://www.wired.com/story/baby-yoda-internet/
* Our RNA may have come from space! https://www.livescience.com/space-sugar-rode-rna-metoers.html
* Neil Gaiman shares some early details on the upcoming "Sandman" TV series. Jude has been waiting for this to be turned into television since she was 15! https://io9.gizmodo.com/neil-gaiman-shares-some-early-details-on-the-upcoming-s-1840022235
* The Flat Earth Society may have members all around the globe, but what is the Earth WAS flat? We'd all be very dead; here's why: https://www.livescience.com/what-if-flat-earth.html
* A timely topic: immigration, migration, and the associated questions of belonging are rife in science fiction and fantasy, author Malka Older notes. Here are some of her favorites: https://www.tor.com/2019/11/20/6-speculative-fiction-books-about-migration/
* The current king of weird eco-fiction, Jeff Vandermeer talks DEAD ASTRONAUTS, cool animals and more: https://www.bookbub.com/blog/jeff-vandermeer-interview-dead-astronauts
* An amazing and heartwarming new documentary from Screen Junkies (the mad geniuses behind Honest Trailers) about the greatest I-can't-believe-it's-not-Star Trek movie, "Galaxy Quest". No geek should miss it: https://www.cnet.com/news/galaxy-quest-cast-warmly-recalls-1999-sci-fi-classic-in-new-documentary-never-surrender/
* Because you know you want it, here is "Let it Go" sung in Klingon: https://www.handitv.com/stories/let-it-go-sung-entirely-in-klingon
* Relatedly, "Frozen 2" now has the biggest global debut of any animated film, ever: https://io9.gizmodo.com/frozen-2-now-has-the-biggest-global-debut-of-any-animat-1840021985
* I think at one point or another, we've all asked ourselves: what if our planet suddenly turned into an Earth-size pile of blueberries? This is science. https://www.livescience.com/63224-blueberry-earth.html
* Leonardo Da Vinci's best ideas: https://www.livescience.com/11329-leonardo-da-vinci-10-ideas.html
* As if a single black hole the size of ninety millions suns wasn't mind-blowing enough, here's one colliding with two other black holes. . . . (!): https://news.yahoo.com/hidden-black-hole-the-size-of-90-million-suns-spotted-colliding-with-two-others-184611811.html
* File this under "We can't do this here, and that's okay" - hair freezing contests: https://www.buzznick.com/hair-freezing-contest/
* Richard Silver's panoramic photos turn cathedrals into beautiful, science-fictional, fractal works of art: https://themindcircle.com/vertical-panoramic-churches/
* The Saturday Evening Post lists their picks for the 7 Greatest American Horror Novels: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2019/10/7-greatest-modern-american-horror-novels/
* H.R. Giger + Martha Stewart = Giant Gingerbread Xenomorph: https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2019/11/29/this-gigantic-gingerbread-alien-xenomorph-is-glorious-beyond-measure/
* Holy Cthulhu! This new Lovecraft movie will be the first in a trilogy! https://www.horrornews.com/horror-news/holy-cthulu-new-lovecraft-movie-will-be-first-in-trilogy/
----------------------------------------------------
Borderlands' Opinionated Holiday Gift Guide
----------------------------------------------------
Welcome to December! We've finally gotten our winter weather -- as a life-long, drought-hardened Californian, I have a superstitious aversion to _ever_ complaining about the rain -- and this is the perfect time to curl up with a good book yourself, or gift one to someone dear to you. Personally this year has been a very difficult one, and I will be glad to see the back of it -- but that means it's even more important to celebrate the good things we have and the friends and family we love; hatch, and feather, as Becky Chambers would say.
Those of you who have been around a while know that I always do an opinionated and rambling gift guide for December, and this year is no exception. I am excited to call your attention to just a few of the myriad cool and unexpected things we have in the store. However, if you don't see something appropriate here, we're always happy to make custom suggestions for you or anyone in your life. We'll even wrap 'em for you! (A special note to those of you purchasing presents: we're glad to gift wrap upon request, although our typical caveats apply: first, if we're busy, you may have to wait a bit to have things wrapped, and, second, some staff members are MUCH better than others at it. It is vaguely possible that your package may resemble a brightly wrapped Lovecraft-ian, batrachian, rugose, Thing of No Human Shape. For some customers, this is not a problem . . ."better than I can do!," they say. However, if you are concerned about our, ahem, abilities, we're also happy to just hand you the gift wrap, scissors and tape.) Now, onward!
First, so many marvelous signed books! Charlie Jane Anders, Gail Carriger, Becky Chambers, Richard Kadrey, Seanan McGuire, Christopher Moore, Annalee Newitz, Rudy Rucker, and Brent Weeks were all here recently, and we have lots of their signed stock for your gifting pleasure. Additionally, we have signed copies of the exceptional short-story collection FULL THROTTLE by Joe Hill and A LITTLE HATRED by Joe Abercrombie (one of my favorite grim-dark fantasies of the last year, although truthfully not as dark as most of his earlier work). Lastly, we should shortly have copies of the absolutely stunning special signed leatherbound edition of Brandon Sanderson's WARBREAKER with tons of never-before-seen artwork.
You'd like a classic, you say? No problem there -- there's a gorgeous new deluxe version of DUNE by Frank Herbert with the edges of the text block dyed a vivid blue, illustrated end papers and maps; two different lovely versions of THE PRINCESS BRIDE; an illustrated GOOD OMENS, and various hardcover classics like THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS by Ursula K. Le Guin, NEUROMANCER by William Gibson, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Robert Heinlein, a new-to-us UK tenth anniversary (!) hardcover edition of THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss, and many other fancy selections. Speaking of tenth anniversary editions (!), we also have the new hardcover ROSEMARY AND RUE anniversary edition by Seanan McGuire, and the illustrated anniversary edition of SOULLESS by Gail Carriger.
Some of the staff's recent favorites are THE WANDERERS by Chuck Wendig, (an unusual and amazing story about an apocalyptic, mysterious phenomenon); THE SOL MAJESTIC by Ferrett Steinmetz, (a touching and tremendously sweet novel for the science-fiction-loving foodie in your life); THE IMAGINARY CORPSE by Tyler Hayes, (the very best book about a cuddly triceratops detective who solves crimes in a land of sort-of imaginary friends I've ever read, which is NOT damning with faint praise!), Sarah Kuhn's absolutely adorable Heroine Trilogy (starring some marvelous Asian-American superheroines in San Francisco) and REJOICE, A KNIFE TO THE HEART by Steven Erikson, (sort of like the most extraordinary, most intelligent take on "The Day the Earth Stood Still" you can possibly imagine).
Some unexpected treasures for those folks who have read everything: IRONTOWN BLUES by John Varley; IN OTHER LANDS by Sarah Rees Brennan; HANNAH GREEN AND HER UNFEASIBLY MUNDANE EXISTENCE by Michael Marshall Smith, WINTER TIDE by Ruthann Emrys (this, along with Matt Ruff's LOVECRAFT COUNTRY, THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM by Victor La Valle, and CARTER AND LOVECRAFT are my favorite recent extremely-unconventional takes on Lovecraft), and the Axiom Trilogy (THE WRONG STARS; THE DREAMING STARS; and THE FORBIDDEN STARS) by Tim Pratt, (my pick for fans of Becky Chambers).
Creepy choices to keep you up at night: THE TWISTED ONES by T. Kingfisher, BEDFELLOW by Jeremy C. Shipp, THE FIFTH HOUSE OF THE HEART by Ben Tripp, SOMEONE LIKE ME by M.R. Carey, and PEACEABLE KINGDOM by Jack Ketchum.
Absolutely kick-ass anthologies: A PEOPLE'S FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES edited by John Joseph Adams and Victor La Valle; Hugo-award-winning WORLDS SEEN IN PASSING edited by Irene Gallo; THE MYTHIC DREAM edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe; REDISCOVERY: SCIENCE FICTION BY WOMEN (1958 TO 1963) edited by Gideon Marcus; and LOST TRANSMISSIONS: THE SECRET HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY edited by Desirina Boskovich.
For the mystery lover in your life: THE CORONER'S LUNCH by Colin Cotterill (Alan and I both LOVE this series!); the Charles Lenox mysteries by Charles Finch that begin with A BEAUTIFUL BLUE DEATH; SECONDHAND SPIRITS, which begins Juliet Blackwell's sweetly cozy just-a-bit-paranormal series; classic DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS by Walter Mosley; Barbara Hambly's excellent Benjamin January mysteries, which begin with A FREE MAN OF COLOR (you will fall in love with her characters); the suffocatingly dark LAST GOOD KISS by James Crumley; and Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes mysteries, a series of funny, wonderful impossible-crime books starring two elderly detectives in London.
Not brand-new but great and absolutely worth another look: PASSING STRANGE by Ellen Klages; SWORDSPOINT by Ellen Kushner; PANDEMONIUM by Daryl Gregory; WOMEN UP TO NO GOOD by Pat Murphy; ZOO CITY by Lauren Beukes; THE STEEL REMAINS by Richard Morgan.
Not genre at all but we love 'em anyway: DIARY OF A BOOKSELLER by Shaun Bythell (side-splittingly hilarious; Alan and I both heartily recommend this one), THE YELLOW-LIGHTED BOOKSHOP by Lewis Buzbee (absolutely charming & perfect for any Bay Area book lover), THE SECRET HISTORIAN by Justin Spring (you will be stunned when you learn about the life of Samuel Steward, the most famous professor, Oakland tattoo artist, Kinsey test-subject, and sexual renegade you've never heard of), and CAPTIVE OF THE LABYRINTH by Mary Jo Ignoffo, (the captivating true story of Sarah Winchester, heiress to the rifle fortune who was falsely accused of madness, and architect of the famous Winchester House in San Jose).
Other fun stuff: we just got in Nathan Pyle's adorable book of cartoons STRANGE PLANET (our bestselling hardcover last month!). We have creepy key tags for places like The Bates Motel, The Hotel California, The Overlook Hotel from THE SHINING, The Hotel Cortez from "American Horror Story", Cyberdyne Systems, and many others. New to us and oh-so-cool are little enamel pins for book lovers from Rather Keen <https://ratherkeen.com/collections/bookish-pins>: they say things like "The Book Was Better", "Sorry, I'm Booked", "I Like Big Books". . . and some that are "Star Wars"-inspired -- "One With the Force", "Fly Casual", and "I Have a Bad Feeling About This". We've recently gotten a new selection of fantastic blank journals, too -- everything from Cthuluhu to antique map images to beautiful Tiffany glass to The Unicorn Tapestry to pulp movie covers like "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" <https://monkeyupatree.com/> to clever ones that say things on the covers like "Strange Ideas and Impure Thoughts", "I Regret Nothing", "Creative Ramblings of a Restless Mind", and many more.
As always, we're happy to make personalized recommendations and practice our Psychic Bookseller Skills when you're stumped. If you just can't decide, we also offer gift certificates in any amount.
Here's wishing you a happy, hopeful, and peaceful holiday season, and all the best for next year.
- Jude Feldman
--------------------
From The Office
--------------------
After a monograph like Jude's Gift Guide, there doesn't seem to be much need for me to add a lot of extra verbiage here. Just two things to pass along.
First, work continues at the new building. It's been slow going, mostly because some personal stuff had me in LA for about half of the last month. But . . . it is moving along. Rough electrical for the bathroom is done and will be inspected (and passed, I'm sure) on the 10th. Rough framing for the front passed inspection week before last and now we're working to get the surface finish done outside and the electrical done inside. Rough electrical for the main floor will probably happen this month and, because our electrician is great, should pass inspection this month as well. Once that's done there'll be a few other things to take care of in the ceiling (Cat 6 network cabling, audio cabling, and the lifting point of the trap door for the basement shop) and then I can get the sheetrock crew in to close it up. So, we're plugging right along.
Second, this has been a rough year personally and, I think, a rough year for most Americans. For me, December is when it's easiest to get stressed out, feel rushed, and generally lose my sense of calm. Further, for many people, it's a month when it's easy to feel worried and, perhaps worst of all, isolated.
This month, despite everything that is going on, I try to slow down, breathe and keep clear in my mind what is actually important. Most of all, I try to remember that the things that are getting my attention -- nasty weather, flashing lights, bad drivers, and the constant refrain of "Buy, buy, buy!" -- really aren't that significant at all.
At the risk of sounding like a Hallmark card, what matters this month is exactly the same as every other month -- our friends, our family (whether by blood or by choice), our principals, and our dreams & goals. So, as we head into the end of 2019 and the end of the second decade of the 21st century; take care of yourselves, take care of your people, find calm within the noise and haste, and have a peaceful and happy holiday followed by a joyous New Year.
Warmest Regards,
Alan
----------------
Best Sellers
----------------
Borderlands Best-Selling Titles for November, 2019
Hardcovers
1. Strange Planet by Nathan Pyle
2. Rosemary and Rue 10th Anniversary Edition by Seanan McGuire
3. The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
4. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
5. Burning White by Brent Weeks
6. A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
7. The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman
8. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
9. Dune: Deluxe Edition by Frank Herbert
10. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Trade Paperbacks
1. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
2. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
3. The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
4. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
5. How Long 'Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin
6. The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
7. Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
8. The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge
9. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu
10. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Dune by Frank Herbert
2. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
3. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
4. Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
5. The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi
6. Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch
7. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
8. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
9. The Forbidden Stars by Tim Pratt
10. Neuromancer by William Gibson
------------------------------
Book Club Information
------------------------------
The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, November 8th, at 5 pm to discuss BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard. 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, December 15th, at 6 pm to discuss SHARDS OF HONOR by Lois McMaster Bujold. The book for January 19th is LA BELLE SAUVAGE -THE BOOK OF DUST VOL. 1 by Philip Pullman. Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.
------------------------------
Upcoming Event Details
------------------------------
Sisters in Crime / Mystery Writers' of America Annual Holiday Party, Saturday December 7th from 2:00 - 4:00 pm - Join us and more than two dozen fabulous local mystery writers for a fun holiday party! There will be light refreshments and the chance to mingle with, and get books signed by, fantastic authors, including Susan Bickford, Cara Black, Dana Fredsti, Heather Haven, Gigi Pandian, Susan Shea, Kelli Stanley, Nancy Tingley, CJ Verburg & many others! Don't miss this opportunity to meet so many authors all at the same time in an informal setting, and enjoy a rousing kick-off to the party season!
Writers With Drinks (at The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco) with authors Meg Elison, Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, Amanda Rosenberg, Zoe Young, Olga Zilberbourg and fabulous guest host Maggie Tokuda-Hall! Saturday December 14th at 7:30 pm - Writers With Drinks is the most awesome spoken-word variety show in the world, hosted this month by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, and we're always happy to participate! The amazing lineup this time includes Meg Elison, Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, Amanda Rosenberg, Zoe Young, and Olga Zilberbourg! 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.
Borderlands event policy - all events are free of charge unless otherwise noted. 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
Special thanks to contributors David Fitzgerald and Madeleine Hubbert, who tracked down lots of December news!
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
*******
Events and News From Borderlands Books
DECEMBER, 2019
----------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------
Sisters in Crime / Mystery Writers' of America Annual Holiday Party, Saturday December 7th from 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Writers With Drinks (at The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco) with authors Meg Elison, Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, Amanda Rosenberg, Zoe Young, Olga Zilberbourg and fabulous guest host Maggie Tokuda-Hall! Saturday December 14th at 7:30 pm
(for more information check the end of this newsletter)
We're about to take our customary event hiatus until the New Year, but we'll be back in 2020 with dozens and dozens of fabulous authors, including Seanan McGuire, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, exciting debut author Juliette Wade in conversation with Deborah Ross, and many, many more!
-------
News
-------
* We're very sad to report the death of the incredible artist Gahan Wilson, who passed away at age 89. Read Neil Gaiman's loving tribute here: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2019/11/gahan-wilson-born-dead-now-dead-again.html
* We're also sad to note that Dorothy "D.C." Fontana, author of several of the most beloved original "Star Trek episodes", passed away last month: http://www.treknews.net/2019/12/03/star-trek-writer-dorothy-dc-fontana-dead/
* Borderlands' owner Alan Beatts, along with The Booksmith's Christin Evans and Dog Eared & Alley Cat Books' owner Kate Rosenberger, will be participating in a panel on the state of bookshops and bookselling, including how the industry works, what issues are facing it, and the place and importance of bookshops in city life. The panel will take place Tuesday, January 28th from 6:00 - 7:30 pm at Manny's, 3092 16th Street, San Francisco. https://www.welcometomannys.com/
* The best science fiction and fantasy books of 2019, according to Silivia Moreno-Garcia and Lavie Tidhar: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/the-best-science-fiction-and-fantasy-books-of-2019/2019/11/21/96604448-ef65-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html
* The original movie "Bladerunner" was set in November, 2019. Since it's no longer set in the future, here are a couple of interesting discussions about that: https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/movies/as-of-wednesday-blade-runner-is-no-longer-set-in-the-future ; https://laist.com/2019/11/18/blade_runners_2019_los_angeles_then_now_future_past.php
* And, relatedly, dystopia meets Autopia with a museum exhibition of vehicles from dystopian movies including "Blade Runner" and "Mad Max: Fury Road": https://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/l-a-museum-opens-new-exhibit-of-dystopian-vehicles-fro-1834478920
* And lastly, speaking of dystopian vehicles, Tesla's recently-announced "Cyber Truck" has been receiving a lot of derision. Here's a satirical video about Tesla's new Triangulator, which turns anything in a boxy, pointy copy of itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StlhIiAgZIM
* Author Claire Legrand is drawn to books containing characters described by that horrible, overused phrase "unlikeable female protagonists" - a.k.a., complex, flawed, human characters. This is why she loves these fantasy novels featuring girls and young women who don't much care if they're "likeable" or not: https://www.tor.com/2019/11/15/5-books-about-girls-who-dont-care-what-you-think-of-them/
* Seasonally important news, just in case you need to know how to kill Krampus: https://nowthisnews.com/videos/nerd/how-to-kill-krampus
* Love Baby Yoda, you must! https://www.wired.com/story/baby-yoda-internet/
* Our RNA may have come from space! https://www.livescience.com/space-sugar-rode-rna-metoers.html
* Neil Gaiman shares some early details on the upcoming "Sandman" TV series. Jude has been waiting for this to be turned into television since she was 15! https://io9.gizmodo.com/neil-gaiman-shares-some-early-details-on-the-upcoming-s-1840022235
* The Flat Earth Society may have members all around the globe, but what is the Earth WAS flat? We'd all be very dead; here's why: https://www.livescience.com/what-if-flat-earth.html
* A timely topic: immigration, migration, and the associated questions of belonging are rife in science fiction and fantasy, author Malka Older notes. Here are some of her favorites: https://www.tor.com/2019/11/20/6-speculative-fiction-books-about-migration/
* The current king of weird eco-fiction, Jeff Vandermeer talks DEAD ASTRONAUTS, cool animals and more: https://www.bookbub.com/blog/jeff-vandermeer-interview-dead-astronauts
* An amazing and heartwarming new documentary from Screen Junkies (the mad geniuses behind Honest Trailers) about the greatest I-can't-believe-it's-not-Star Trek movie, "Galaxy Quest". No geek should miss it: https://www.cnet.com/news/galaxy-quest-cast-warmly-recalls-1999-sci-fi-classic-in-new-documentary-never-surrender/
* Because you know you want it, here is "Let it Go" sung in Klingon: https://www.handitv.com/stories/let-it-go-sung-entirely-in-klingon
* Relatedly, "Frozen 2" now has the biggest global debut of any animated film, ever: https://io9.gizmodo.com/frozen-2-now-has-the-biggest-global-debut-of-any-animat-1840021985
* I think at one point or another, we've all asked ourselves: what if our planet suddenly turned into an Earth-size pile of blueberries? This is science. https://www.livescience.com/63224-blueberry-earth.html
* Leonardo Da Vinci's best ideas: https://www.livescience.com/11329-leonardo-da-vinci-10-ideas.html
* As if a single black hole the size of ninety millions suns wasn't mind-blowing enough, here's one colliding with two other black holes. . . . (!): https://news.yahoo.com/hidden-black-hole-the-size-of-90-million-suns-spotted-colliding-with-two-others-184611811.html
* File this under "We can't do this here, and that's okay" - hair freezing contests: https://www.buzznick.com/hair-freezing-contest/
* Richard Silver's panoramic photos turn cathedrals into beautiful, science-fictional, fractal works of art: https://themindcircle.com/vertical-panoramic-churches/
* The Saturday Evening Post lists their picks for the 7 Greatest American Horror Novels: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2019/10/7-greatest-modern-american-horror-novels/
* H.R. Giger + Martha Stewart = Giant Gingerbread Xenomorph: https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2019/11/29/this-gigantic-gingerbread-alien-xenomorph-is-glorious-beyond-measure/
* Holy Cthulhu! This new Lovecraft movie will be the first in a trilogy! https://www.horrornews.com/horror-news/holy-cthulu-new-lovecraft-movie-will-be-first-in-trilogy/
----------------------------------------------------
Borderlands' Opinionated Holiday Gift Guide
----------------------------------------------------
Welcome to December! We've finally gotten our winter weather -- as a life-long, drought-hardened Californian, I have a superstitious aversion to _ever_ complaining about the rain -- and this is the perfect time to curl up with a good book yourself, or gift one to someone dear to you. Personally this year has been a very difficult one, and I will be glad to see the back of it -- but that means it's even more important to celebrate the good things we have and the friends and family we love; hatch, and feather, as Becky Chambers would say.
Those of you who have been around a while know that I always do an opinionated and rambling gift guide for December, and this year is no exception. I am excited to call your attention to just a few of the myriad cool and unexpected things we have in the store. However, if you don't see something appropriate here, we're always happy to make custom suggestions for you or anyone in your life. We'll even wrap 'em for you! (A special note to those of you purchasing presents: we're glad to gift wrap upon request, although our typical caveats apply: first, if we're busy, you may have to wait a bit to have things wrapped, and, second, some staff members are MUCH better than others at it. It is vaguely possible that your package may resemble a brightly wrapped Lovecraft-ian, batrachian, rugose, Thing of No Human Shape. For some customers, this is not a problem . . ."better than I can do!," they say. However, if you are concerned about our, ahem, abilities, we're also happy to just hand you the gift wrap, scissors and tape.) Now, onward!
First, so many marvelous signed books! Charlie Jane Anders, Gail Carriger, Becky Chambers, Richard Kadrey, Seanan McGuire, Christopher Moore, Annalee Newitz, Rudy Rucker, and Brent Weeks were all here recently, and we have lots of their signed stock for your gifting pleasure. Additionally, we have signed copies of the exceptional short-story collection FULL THROTTLE by Joe Hill and A LITTLE HATRED by Joe Abercrombie (one of my favorite grim-dark fantasies of the last year, although truthfully not as dark as most of his earlier work). Lastly, we should shortly have copies of the absolutely stunning special signed leatherbound edition of Brandon Sanderson's WARBREAKER with tons of never-before-seen artwork.
You'd like a classic, you say? No problem there -- there's a gorgeous new deluxe version of DUNE by Frank Herbert with the edges of the text block dyed a vivid blue, illustrated end papers and maps; two different lovely versions of THE PRINCESS BRIDE; an illustrated GOOD OMENS, and various hardcover classics like THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS by Ursula K. Le Guin, NEUROMANCER by William Gibson, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Robert Heinlein, a new-to-us UK tenth anniversary (!) hardcover edition of THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss, and many other fancy selections. Speaking of tenth anniversary editions (!), we also have the new hardcover ROSEMARY AND RUE anniversary edition by Seanan McGuire, and the illustrated anniversary edition of SOULLESS by Gail Carriger.
Some of the staff's recent favorites are THE WANDERERS by Chuck Wendig, (an unusual and amazing story about an apocalyptic, mysterious phenomenon); THE SOL MAJESTIC by Ferrett Steinmetz, (a touching and tremendously sweet novel for the science-fiction-loving foodie in your life); THE IMAGINARY CORPSE by Tyler Hayes, (the very best book about a cuddly triceratops detective who solves crimes in a land of sort-of imaginary friends I've ever read, which is NOT damning with faint praise!), Sarah Kuhn's absolutely adorable Heroine Trilogy (starring some marvelous Asian-American superheroines in San Francisco) and REJOICE, A KNIFE TO THE HEART by Steven Erikson, (sort of like the most extraordinary, most intelligent take on "The Day the Earth Stood Still" you can possibly imagine).
Some unexpected treasures for those folks who have read everything: IRONTOWN BLUES by John Varley; IN OTHER LANDS by Sarah Rees Brennan; HANNAH GREEN AND HER UNFEASIBLY MUNDANE EXISTENCE by Michael Marshall Smith, WINTER TIDE by Ruthann Emrys (this, along with Matt Ruff's LOVECRAFT COUNTRY, THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM by Victor La Valle, and CARTER AND LOVECRAFT are my favorite recent extremely-unconventional takes on Lovecraft), and the Axiom Trilogy (THE WRONG STARS; THE DREAMING STARS; and THE FORBIDDEN STARS) by Tim Pratt, (my pick for fans of Becky Chambers).
Creepy choices to keep you up at night: THE TWISTED ONES by T. Kingfisher, BEDFELLOW by Jeremy C. Shipp, THE FIFTH HOUSE OF THE HEART by Ben Tripp, SOMEONE LIKE ME by M.R. Carey, and PEACEABLE KINGDOM by Jack Ketchum.
Absolutely kick-ass anthologies: A PEOPLE'S FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES edited by John Joseph Adams and Victor La Valle; Hugo-award-winning WORLDS SEEN IN PASSING edited by Irene Gallo; THE MYTHIC DREAM edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe; REDISCOVERY: SCIENCE FICTION BY WOMEN (1958 TO 1963) edited by Gideon Marcus; and LOST TRANSMISSIONS: THE SECRET HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY edited by Desirina Boskovich.
For the mystery lover in your life: THE CORONER'S LUNCH by Colin Cotterill (Alan and I both LOVE this series!); the Charles Lenox mysteries by Charles Finch that begin with A BEAUTIFUL BLUE DEATH; SECONDHAND SPIRITS, which begins Juliet Blackwell's sweetly cozy just-a-bit-paranormal series; classic DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS by Walter Mosley; Barbara Hambly's excellent Benjamin January mysteries, which begin with A FREE MAN OF COLOR (you will fall in love with her characters); the suffocatingly dark LAST GOOD KISS by James Crumley; and Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes mysteries, a series of funny, wonderful impossible-crime books starring two elderly detectives in London.
Not brand-new but great and absolutely worth another look: PASSING STRANGE by Ellen Klages; SWORDSPOINT by Ellen Kushner; PANDEMONIUM by Daryl Gregory; WOMEN UP TO NO GOOD by Pat Murphy; ZOO CITY by Lauren Beukes; THE STEEL REMAINS by Richard Morgan.
Not genre at all but we love 'em anyway: DIARY OF A BOOKSELLER by Shaun Bythell (side-splittingly hilarious; Alan and I both heartily recommend this one), THE YELLOW-LIGHTED BOOKSHOP by Lewis Buzbee (absolutely charming & perfect for any Bay Area book lover), THE SECRET HISTORIAN by Justin Spring (you will be stunned when you learn about the life of Samuel Steward, the most famous professor, Oakland tattoo artist, Kinsey test-subject, and sexual renegade you've never heard of), and CAPTIVE OF THE LABYRINTH by Mary Jo Ignoffo, (the captivating true story of Sarah Winchester, heiress to the rifle fortune who was falsely accused of madness, and architect of the famous Winchester House in San Jose).
Other fun stuff: we just got in Nathan Pyle's adorable book of cartoons STRANGE PLANET (our bestselling hardcover last month!). We have creepy key tags for places like The Bates Motel, The Hotel California, The Overlook Hotel from THE SHINING, The Hotel Cortez from "American Horror Story", Cyberdyne Systems, and many others. New to us and oh-so-cool are little enamel pins for book lovers from Rather Keen <https://ratherkeen.com/collections/bookish-pins>: they say things like "The Book Was Better", "Sorry, I'm Booked", "I Like Big Books". . . and some that are "Star Wars"-inspired -- "One With the Force", "Fly Casual", and "I Have a Bad Feeling About This". We've recently gotten a new selection of fantastic blank journals, too -- everything from Cthuluhu to antique map images to beautiful Tiffany glass to The Unicorn Tapestry to pulp movie covers like "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" <https://monkeyupatree.com/> to clever ones that say things on the covers like "Strange Ideas and Impure Thoughts", "I Regret Nothing", "Creative Ramblings of a Restless Mind", and many more.
As always, we're happy to make personalized recommendations and practice our Psychic Bookseller Skills when you're stumped. If you just can't decide, we also offer gift certificates in any amount.
Here's wishing you a happy, hopeful, and peaceful holiday season, and all the best for next year.
- Jude Feldman
--------------------
From The Office
--------------------
After a monograph like Jude's Gift Guide, there doesn't seem to be much need for me to add a lot of extra verbiage here. Just two things to pass along.
First, work continues at the new building. It's been slow going, mostly because some personal stuff had me in LA for about half of the last month. But . . . it is moving along. Rough electrical for the bathroom is done and will be inspected (and passed, I'm sure) on the 10th. Rough framing for the front passed inspection week before last and now we're working to get the surface finish done outside and the electrical done inside. Rough electrical for the main floor will probably happen this month and, because our electrician is great, should pass inspection this month as well. Once that's done there'll be a few other things to take care of in the ceiling (Cat 6 network cabling, audio cabling, and the lifting point of the trap door for the basement shop) and then I can get the sheetrock crew in to close it up. So, we're plugging right along.
Second, this has been a rough year personally and, I think, a rough year for most Americans. For me, December is when it's easiest to get stressed out, feel rushed, and generally lose my sense of calm. Further, for many people, it's a month when it's easy to feel worried and, perhaps worst of all, isolated.
This month, despite everything that is going on, I try to slow down, breathe and keep clear in my mind what is actually important. Most of all, I try to remember that the things that are getting my attention -- nasty weather, flashing lights, bad drivers, and the constant refrain of "Buy, buy, buy!" -- really aren't that significant at all.
At the risk of sounding like a Hallmark card, what matters this month is exactly the same as every other month -- our friends, our family (whether by blood or by choice), our principals, and our dreams & goals. So, as we head into the end of 2019 and the end of the second decade of the 21st century; take care of yourselves, take care of your people, find calm within the noise and haste, and have a peaceful and happy holiday followed by a joyous New Year.
Warmest Regards,
Alan
----------------
Best Sellers
----------------
Borderlands Best-Selling Titles for November, 2019
Hardcovers
1. Strange Planet by Nathan Pyle
2. Rosemary and Rue 10th Anniversary Edition by Seanan McGuire
3. The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
4. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
5. Burning White by Brent Weeks
6. A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
7. The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman
8. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
9. Dune: Deluxe Edition by Frank Herbert
10. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Trade Paperbacks
1. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
2. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
3. The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
4. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
5. How Long 'Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin
6. The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
7. Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
8. The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge
9. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu
10. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Dune by Frank Herbert
2. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
3. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
4. Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
5. The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi
6. Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch
7. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
8. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
9. The Forbidden Stars by Tim Pratt
10. Neuromancer by William Gibson
------------------------------
Book Club Information
------------------------------
The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, November 8th, at 5 pm to discuss BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard. 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, December 15th, at 6 pm to discuss SHARDS OF HONOR by Lois McMaster Bujold. The book for January 19th is LA BELLE SAUVAGE -THE BOOK OF DUST VOL. 1 by Philip Pullman. Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.
------------------------------
Upcoming Event Details
------------------------------
Sisters in Crime / Mystery Writers' of America Annual Holiday Party, Saturday December 7th from 2:00 - 4:00 pm - Join us and more than two dozen fabulous local mystery writers for a fun holiday party! There will be light refreshments and the chance to mingle with, and get books signed by, fantastic authors, including Susan Bickford, Cara Black, Dana Fredsti, Heather Haven, Gigi Pandian, Susan Shea, Kelli Stanley, Nancy Tingley, CJ Verburg & many others! Don't miss this opportunity to meet so many authors all at the same time in an informal setting, and enjoy a rousing kick-off to the party season!
Writers With Drinks (at The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco) with authors Meg Elison, Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, Amanda Rosenberg, Zoe Young, Olga Zilberbourg and fabulous guest host Maggie Tokuda-Hall! Saturday December 14th at 7:30 pm - Writers With Drinks is the most awesome spoken-word variety show in the world, hosted this month by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, and we're always happy to participate! The amazing lineup this time includes Meg Elison, Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, Amanda Rosenberg, Zoe Young, and Olga Zilberbourg! 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.
Borderlands event policy - all events are free of charge unless otherwise noted. 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
Special thanks to contributors David Fitzgerald and Madeleine Hubbert, who tracked down lots of December news!
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
*******
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Dispatches from the Border, November 2019
DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER
Events and News From Borderlands Books
NOVEMBER, 2019
----------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------
Tori Eldridge, NINJA DAUGHTER (Agora Books, Trade Paperback, $16.95) Sunday, November 24th at 3:00 pm
Sisters in Crime / Mystery Writers' of America Holiday Party, Saturday, December 7th from 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Writers With Drinks with authors Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, and Olga Zilberbourg, and fabulous guest host Maggie Tokuda-Hall! (At the Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco) Saturday, December 14th at 7:30 pm
(for more information check the end of this newsletter)
-------
News
-------
* Overheard in the Store:
"Pokemon should not make you feel funny in your pants-parts."
"Finally, a bookstore with the _correct_ smell!"
"Some fungi are only edible once."
"If all else fails, use the parallel world."
"The highest villain in the book is a giant bagpipe. Nothing could be more evil than a bagpipe."
"I was ambushed, and she forcibly read her poetry at me."
"If you're not pissing someone off, you're probably in PR."
"Joel Selvin has covered pop music for the San Francisco Chronicle since shortly after the Civil War."
"It's a book title - 'Consensual Cannibalism: An Atheist's Primer for Surviving the Apocalypse'."
"Apparently it's the day of Hyper Aggressive Authors."
* Big congratulations to all the nominees and winners of this year's World Fantasy Awards! https://locusmag.com/2019/11/2019-world-fantasy-awards-winners/
* We are very sad to share news of the death of the incomparable Michael Blumlein. Michael was a Borderlands sponsor, a retired doctor, and an extremely talented genre author, but more importantly he was a brilliant, humorous, generous, and tremendously good human being with an enduring sense of wonder. He will be fiercely missed. https://www.tor.com/2019/10/28/michael-blumlein-1948-2019/
* You can hear a podcast of Rudy Rucker's October 26th, 2019 event at Borderlands (including his touching tribute to Michael Blumlein) here: http://www.rudyrucker.com/blog/2019/10/28/podcast-110-million-mile-road-trip-memories-of-michael-blumein/
* A lengthy article on how the amazing author John M. Ford fell into obscurity after his death. And guess what? His books are going to be reprinted!: https://slate.com/culture/2019/11/john-ford-science-fiction-fantasy-books.html
* John Varley's alien sex chart in WIZARD changed Annalee Newitz's life: https://www.tor.com/2019/11/20/the-sex-chart-that-changed-my-life-spectrums-of-sexuality-in-john-varleys-wizard/
* Say, how big ARE Supermassive Black Holes? Big enough to crush our puny human brains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgNDao7m41M
* Golden Gate Bridge vs. asteroid? Florida vs. the Death Star? See who wins: https://mymodernmet.com/kevin-wisbith-a-quick-perspective
* A real-life Iron Man breaks a powered suit aerial speed record: https://nerdist.com/article/irl-iron-man-sets-jet-engine-powered-suit-speed-record/
* Listen to a new, free China Mieville horror story on audiobook, "The Design": https://www.tor.com/2019/10/29/listen-to-china-mievilles-the-design-a-free-audiobook-horror-story/
* Creepy tunnels under San Francisco: https://www.kqed.org/news/11782405/tunnels-under-san-francisco-inside-the-dark-dangerous-world-of-the-sewers
* Your moment of quasicrystalline mind-wreckery for the day: https://laughingsquid.com/quasicrystal-hypnotic-animation/
* Wisdom for aspiring artists from Moebius: http://www.openculture.com/2015/03/moebius-gives-18-wisdom-filled-tips-to-aspiring-artists-1996.html
* An interesting article on "last words" -- what people actually say before they die: https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/01/how-do-people-communicate-before-death/580303/
* They look like scenes from an ancient tomb, but they aren't. . . . they're macro shots taken inside instruments: https://arthusiast.art/amazing-macro-shots-taken-inside-instruments-by-adrian-borda/
* An entertaining article on Charles Adams from The Long Island Press: https://www.longislandpress.com/2018/10/29/charles-addams-the-long-island-macabre-master-who-created-the-addams-family/
* A haunting Ted-Ed lesson written by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and animated by Jorge Jaramillo, explains how H.P. Lovecraft turned scientific discoveries of his time into the creepy fear of the unknown: https://laughingsquid.com/hp-lovecraft-fictional-terror/
* A new study shows what people from one of the earliest civilizations on Earth may have looked like: https://weather.com/en-IN/india/science/news/2019-10-10-study-people-indus-valley-civilisation-faces-looked-like
* We're sorry to report the death of Alexei Leonov, the first person to walk in space. Read a bit about that terrifying & history-making first spacewalk here: https://gizmodo.com/how-alexei-leonov-survived-the-harrowing-first-spacewal-1838980458
--------------------
From The Office
--------------------
November Building Update
The last month has been a good one for the construction but not particularly exciting, so this update is going to be kind of short. The rough plumbing is completed and passed inspection. Other than some less-than-esthetically-pleasing work in the lightwell, it's a really nice, clean job. And, it'll be easy enough for me to re-route the stuff in the lightwell so that it's not quite so . . . industrial . . . looking. Granted, I can understand why a plumber would want to run all the piping between waist and shoulder height -- it's easy to work at that level. But it doesn't really make for the best look, if you know what I mean.
Antonius and Juan, our electricians, were in last week and the rough electrical for the bathroom is finished. We just need to get that inspected and then we can get to closing up the walls. With a little luck, I hope to have the bathroom completed by the end of next month.
The framing for the front wall is also finished (big thanks to Zach for getting the last bits completed) and it passed inspection yesterday. We need to put a little bit of electrical in that wall and then we can start closing it as well. That job is going to be a bit long because of the complexity. Instead of just simple sheetrock like the bathroom, there's tile on the outside to do, plus an awful lot of windows to build. On the other hand, because that wall is mostly windows, once they are built and installed, most of the wall will be completed, both outside and in.
Regarding that wall, I did some research about what sort of wood to use for the trim, casing, and other parts of the window frames and trim-work outside. I was looking for something that was hard (because of the wear and tear that a storefront gets on a busy street) and also rot resistant (because of the outside exposure). I was surprised to find that white oak is very resistant to rot and insects. It's right up there with redwood and is much, much harder. I was astonished to find the results of a test conducted by the USDA Forest Service in which they left completely untreated (i.e. no paint or sealer) wood samples outside in Wisconsin for 22 years. Over that time not one sample of white oak showed decay or fungal infection (https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/bridges/documents/tdbp/decayres.pdf). Of course, white oak is expensive and hard to work but, if we can afford it, I hope to use that for the exterior woodwork for the front of the shop. It's sort of a shame to hide such a nice looking wood but, with a proper coat of primer and paint, I'm confident it'll last for at least 100 years.
Finally, I met with Kevin Short, our architect, yesterday as well and we came up with the lighting plan for the main section of the store. After having guessed at that for both the current store and the cafe, it was really nice to work with someone who actually knew what they were doing. I think it's going to look great and give us plenty of light. The added plus is that, with that plan in hand, I can turn the electricians loose on that job. Once it's completed, we can get the ceiling closed, which is going to make the place look completely different.
Bottom line, we're still plugging along and getting there, it's just been a little s-l-o-w this month.
All Best,
Alan
----------------
Best Sellers
----------------
Borderlands Best-Selling Titles for October, 2019
Hardcovers
1. Burning White by Brent Weeks
2. Angel Mage by Garth Nix
3. The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman
4. The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
5. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
6. Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan
7. A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
8. The Institute by Stephen King
9. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
10. The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey
Trade Paperbacks
1. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
2. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
3. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu
4. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
5. Perfect Specimen by M. Luke McDonell
6. Million Mile Road Trip by Rudy Rucker
7. Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
8. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
9. A People's Future of the United States edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams
10. In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi
2. Dune by Frank Herbert
3. Fallen by Benedict Jacka
4. The Forbidden Stars by Tim Pratt
5. The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
6. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
7. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
8. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
9. Neuromancer by William Gibson
10. Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
------------------------------
Book Club Information
------------------------------
The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, December 8th, at 5 pm to discuss BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard. 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, Decmeber, at 6 pm to discuss SHARDS OF HONOR by Lois McMaster Bujold. Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.
------------------------------
Upcoming Event Details
------------------------------
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!
Sisters in Crime / Mystery Writers' of America Holiday Party, Saturday, December 7th from 2:00 - 4:00 pm - Join us and more than two dozen fabulous local mystery writers for a fun holiday party! There will be light refreshments and the chance to mingle with, and get books signed by, fantastic authors! Don't miss this opportunity to meet so many authors all at the same time in an informal setting, and enjoy a rousing kick-off to the party season.
Writers With Drinks with authors Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, and Olga Zilberbourg, and fabulous guest host Maggie Tokuda-Hall! (At the Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco) Saturday, December 14th at 7:30 pm - Writers With Drinks is the most awesome spoken-word variety show in the world, hosted this month by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, and we're always happy to participate! The amazing lineup this month incldes Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, and Olga Zilberbourg! 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. http://www.writerswithdrinks.com/
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
(And big thanks to guest contributors David Fitzgerald and Madeleine Hubbard, who tracked down a bunch of news this month!)
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
*******
Events and News From Borderlands Books
NOVEMBER, 2019
----------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------
Tori Eldridge, NINJA DAUGHTER (Agora Books, Trade Paperback, $16.95) Sunday, November 24th at 3:00 pm
Sisters in Crime / Mystery Writers' of America Holiday Party, Saturday, December 7th from 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Writers With Drinks with authors Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, and Olga Zilberbourg, and fabulous guest host Maggie Tokuda-Hall! (At the Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco) Saturday, December 14th at 7:30 pm
(for more information check the end of this newsletter)
-------
News
-------
* Overheard in the Store:
"Pokemon should not make you feel funny in your pants-parts."
"Finally, a bookstore with the _correct_ smell!"
"Some fungi are only edible once."
"If all else fails, use the parallel world."
"The highest villain in the book is a giant bagpipe. Nothing could be more evil than a bagpipe."
"I was ambushed, and she forcibly read her poetry at me."
"If you're not pissing someone off, you're probably in PR."
"Joel Selvin has covered pop music for the San Francisco Chronicle since shortly after the Civil War."
"It's a book title - 'Consensual Cannibalism: An Atheist's Primer for Surviving the Apocalypse'."
"Apparently it's the day of Hyper Aggressive Authors."
* Big congratulations to all the nominees and winners of this year's World Fantasy Awards! https://locusmag.com/2019/11/2019-world-fantasy-awards-winners/
* We are very sad to share news of the death of the incomparable Michael Blumlein. Michael was a Borderlands sponsor, a retired doctor, and an extremely talented genre author, but more importantly he was a brilliant, humorous, generous, and tremendously good human being with an enduring sense of wonder. He will be fiercely missed. https://www.tor.com/2019/10/28/michael-blumlein-1948-2019/
* You can hear a podcast of Rudy Rucker's October 26th, 2019 event at Borderlands (including his touching tribute to Michael Blumlein) here: http://www.rudyrucker.com/blog/2019/10/28/podcast-110-million-mile-road-trip-memories-of-michael-blumein/
* A lengthy article on how the amazing author John M. Ford fell into obscurity after his death. And guess what? His books are going to be reprinted!: https://slate.com/culture/2019/11/john-ford-science-fiction-fantasy-books.html
* John Varley's alien sex chart in WIZARD changed Annalee Newitz's life: https://www.tor.com/2019/11/20/the-sex-chart-that-changed-my-life-spectrums-of-sexuality-in-john-varleys-wizard/
* Say, how big ARE Supermassive Black Holes? Big enough to crush our puny human brains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgNDao7m41M
* Golden Gate Bridge vs. asteroid? Florida vs. the Death Star? See who wins: https://mymodernmet.com/kevin-wisbith-a-quick-perspective
* A real-life Iron Man breaks a powered suit aerial speed record: https://nerdist.com/article/irl-iron-man-sets-jet-engine-powered-suit-speed-record/
* Listen to a new, free China Mieville horror story on audiobook, "The Design": https://www.tor.com/2019/10/29/listen-to-china-mievilles-the-design-a-free-audiobook-horror-story/
* Creepy tunnels under San Francisco: https://www.kqed.org/news/11782405/tunnels-under-san-francisco-inside-the-dark-dangerous-world-of-the-sewers
* Your moment of quasicrystalline mind-wreckery for the day: https://laughingsquid.com/quasicrystal-hypnotic-animation/
* Wisdom for aspiring artists from Moebius: http://www.openculture.com/2015/03/moebius-gives-18-wisdom-filled-tips-to-aspiring-artists-1996.html
* An interesting article on "last words" -- what people actually say before they die: https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/01/how-do-people-communicate-before-death/580303/
* They look like scenes from an ancient tomb, but they aren't. . . . they're macro shots taken inside instruments: https://arthusiast.art/amazing-macro-shots-taken-inside-instruments-by-adrian-borda/
* An entertaining article on Charles Adams from The Long Island Press: https://www.longislandpress.com/2018/10/29/charles-addams-the-long-island-macabre-master-who-created-the-addams-family/
* A haunting Ted-Ed lesson written by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and animated by Jorge Jaramillo, explains how H.P. Lovecraft turned scientific discoveries of his time into the creepy fear of the unknown: https://laughingsquid.com/hp-lovecraft-fictional-terror/
* A new study shows what people from one of the earliest civilizations on Earth may have looked like: https://weather.com/en-IN/india/science/news/2019-10-10-study-people-indus-valley-civilisation-faces-looked-like
* We're sorry to report the death of Alexei Leonov, the first person to walk in space. Read a bit about that terrifying & history-making first spacewalk here: https://gizmodo.com/how-alexei-leonov-survived-the-harrowing-first-spacewal-1838980458
--------------------
From The Office
--------------------
November Building Update
The last month has been a good one for the construction but not particularly exciting, so this update is going to be kind of short. The rough plumbing is completed and passed inspection. Other than some less-than-esthetically-pleasing work in the lightwell, it's a really nice, clean job. And, it'll be easy enough for me to re-route the stuff in the lightwell so that it's not quite so . . . industrial . . . looking. Granted, I can understand why a plumber would want to run all the piping between waist and shoulder height -- it's easy to work at that level. But it doesn't really make for the best look, if you know what I mean.
Antonius and Juan, our electricians, were in last week and the rough electrical for the bathroom is finished. We just need to get that inspected and then we can get to closing up the walls. With a little luck, I hope to have the bathroom completed by the end of next month.
The framing for the front wall is also finished (big thanks to Zach for getting the last bits completed) and it passed inspection yesterday. We need to put a little bit of electrical in that wall and then we can start closing it as well. That job is going to be a bit long because of the complexity. Instead of just simple sheetrock like the bathroom, there's tile on the outside to do, plus an awful lot of windows to build. On the other hand, because that wall is mostly windows, once they are built and installed, most of the wall will be completed, both outside and in.
Regarding that wall, I did some research about what sort of wood to use for the trim, casing, and other parts of the window frames and trim-work outside. I was looking for something that was hard (because of the wear and tear that a storefront gets on a busy street) and also rot resistant (because of the outside exposure). I was surprised to find that white oak is very resistant to rot and insects. It's right up there with redwood and is much, much harder. I was astonished to find the results of a test conducted by the USDA Forest Service in which they left completely untreated (i.e. no paint or sealer) wood samples outside in Wisconsin for 22 years. Over that time not one sample of white oak showed decay or fungal infection (https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/bridges/documents/tdbp/decayres.pdf). Of course, white oak is expensive and hard to work but, if we can afford it, I hope to use that for the exterior woodwork for the front of the shop. It's sort of a shame to hide such a nice looking wood but, with a proper coat of primer and paint, I'm confident it'll last for at least 100 years.
Finally, I met with Kevin Short, our architect, yesterday as well and we came up with the lighting plan for the main section of the store. After having guessed at that for both the current store and the cafe, it was really nice to work with someone who actually knew what they were doing. I think it's going to look great and give us plenty of light. The added plus is that, with that plan in hand, I can turn the electricians loose on that job. Once it's completed, we can get the ceiling closed, which is going to make the place look completely different.
Bottom line, we're still plugging along and getting there, it's just been a little s-l-o-w this month.
All Best,
Alan
----------------
Best Sellers
----------------
Borderlands Best-Selling Titles for October, 2019
Hardcovers
1. Burning White by Brent Weeks
2. Angel Mage by Garth Nix
3. The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman
4. The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
5. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
6. Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan
7. A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
8. The Institute by Stephen King
9. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
10. The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey
Trade Paperbacks
1. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
2. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
3. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu
4. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
5. Perfect Specimen by M. Luke McDonell
6. Million Mile Road Trip by Rudy Rucker
7. Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
8. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
9. A People's Future of the United States edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams
10. In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi
2. Dune by Frank Herbert
3. Fallen by Benedict Jacka
4. The Forbidden Stars by Tim Pratt
5. The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
6. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
7. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
8. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
9. Neuromancer by William Gibson
10. Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
------------------------------
Book Club Information
------------------------------
The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, December 8th, at 5 pm to discuss BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard. 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, Decmeber, at 6 pm to discuss SHARDS OF HONOR by Lois McMaster Bujold. Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.
------------------------------
Upcoming Event Details
------------------------------
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!
Sisters in Crime / Mystery Writers' of America Holiday Party, Saturday, December 7th from 2:00 - 4:00 pm - Join us and more than two dozen fabulous local mystery writers for a fun holiday party! There will be light refreshments and the chance to mingle with, and get books signed by, fantastic authors! Don't miss this opportunity to meet so many authors all at the same time in an informal setting, and enjoy a rousing kick-off to the party season.
Writers With Drinks with authors Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, and Olga Zilberbourg, and fabulous guest host Maggie Tokuda-Hall! (At the Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco) Saturday, December 14th at 7:30 pm - Writers With Drinks is the most awesome spoken-word variety show in the world, hosted this month by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, and we're always happy to participate! The amazing lineup this month incldes Megan E. O'Keefe, Alvin Orloff, and Olga Zilberbourg! 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. http://www.writerswithdrinks.com/
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
(And big thanks to guest contributors David Fitzgerald and Madeleine Hubbard, who tracked down a bunch of news this month!)
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
*******
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Dispatches from the Border, October 2019
DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER
Events and News From Borderlands Books
OCTOBER, 2019
----------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------
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)
-------
News
-------
* 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
--------------------
From The Office
--------------------
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
----------------
Best Sellers
----------------
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
------------------------------
Book Club Information
------------------------------
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.
------------------------------
Upcoming Event Details
------------------------------
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
*******
Events and News From Borderlands Books
OCTOBER, 2019
----------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------
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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