Helen Lowe's Blog, page 162
January 22, 2015
An Interesting Observation Re James Tiptree, Jr From Jo Walton’s “Among Others”
Over this past week I’ve been reading Jo Walton’s Among Others andone of the interesting aspects of the story is that it’s centered around a protagonist (our heroine, Mori) who is an avid SFF reader. This aspect of the book, and the fact that Mori is lame and walks with a cane, like the author, Jo Walton, may be why it was described to me as “self-referential.”
Be that as it may, I enjoy some of the literary reflections in the story, such as Mori’s response to the discovery that James Tiptree,...
January 21, 2015
My TBR Stack Today
One of the great things about being on holiday is having the time to catch up on your reading so lately I’ve been visiting all my favourite bricks’n’mortar bookstores, for the sheer delight of browsing amongst shelves of books that I can purchase and take home with me forever when I finally make a selection—which can be difficult. I’ve also been rediscovering the joy of second hand bookshops, where you can often pick up out of print titles.
So I thought I’d give you a sample of what’s made it...
January 20, 2015
A Brief Reflection On SFF Awards & The Oscars
Tis the season for awards & nominations in the SFFH ‘verse and also in the wider world as the The Oscars (until 2013 the Academy Awards) and Golden Globes etc stand testament.
The award-related reflection prompted by the juxtaposition of the two was this:
From time to time, I’ve heard the merit of SFFH awards such as the Sir Julius Vogels, Hugos and Nebulas questioned because effectively they’re community/reader and/or peer voted rather than being “curated.” Curated in this context means being...
January 19, 2015
The Tuesday Poem: Heat
Birds wheel, raucous
on the cool air
that will shortly burn away
as sun muscles
through the tracery of leaves
outside my window,
heat hurled like arrows
shot by some elder god,
harsher than the cacophony
of birds darting
through the green,
limned against a blue
that is already transmuting
from crystal to crucible
as dawn evaporates
into the vanishing point
of summer…
.
© Helen Lowe, 2015
—
The original of this poem is an old work, but in the context of recent “blazing” days in our southern summer, I have giv...
January 18, 2015
Awards & My Philosophy Re Making Nominations & Voting
Sir Julius Vogel Award
Last week I reminded y’all that it was Sir Julius Vogel nomination time—among many other awards, I believe—and encouraged those who’d enjoyed a work of New Zealand SFFH this year to get nominating.
On Thursday, I was also upfront about the fact that I have nominated Rebecca Fisher for her fan writing, not least the Big Worlds On Small Screens column for this blog.
In passing, another SFFH afficionado mentioned that: “I suppose you make lots of nominations.”
In some years, I...
January 17, 2015
Transitioning Into 2015—& Anticipating The New
Living heroically… ;-)
Well, I got through Week 1 of Living Heroically without too many incidents and accidents (nods to Paul Simon)—and last week also saw the return of Rebecca Fisher and Big Worlds On Small Screens on Wednesday, resuming the “Films You’ve Probably Never Heard Of” subseries that commenced at the end of last year.
This week sees a further resumption of ‘normal service’ (to use broadcasting parlance) with the Tuesday Poem swinging into the new year on—yup, you’ve guessed it!—Tue...
January 16, 2015
I’m Already Liking Jo Walton’s “Among Others” A Lot, Because…
Yesterday I shared that the next book off the To Be Read ranks would be Jo Walton’s Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Among Others.
In order to take full advantage of my reading holiday—which, dear readers, means a holiday with lots of reading goodness added, as opposed to a holiday from reading*—I began reading at once and am already pretty sure Among Others will prove to be my kind of book. Here’s why:
On page 59, the main character, Mori, states that, “Interlibrary loans are a wonder of the worl...
January 15, 2015
Next On The TBR Pile: “Among Others” by Jo Walton
I’ve been meaning to read a Jo Walton novel for ages, pretty much ever since she caught my attention by winning the Mythopoeic Award (Adult) for her novel Lifelode in 2010.
“But that’s almost five years ago now,” you may be thinking, in which case you are quite right. It has been a while—but a while filled up by writing books, and blogging, and earthquakes et al, which means that getting around to all the books I’ve wanted to read hasn’t quite happened.
But with the edit of Daughter of Blood co...
January 14, 2015
The Sir Julius Vogel Awards & Time To Get Nominating, Starting With…
Rebecca Fisher
…Rebecca Fisher for Best Fan Writing, don’t ya reckon?
On Sunday, I remembered to post a reminder that it’s Sir Julius Vogel Award nomination time—the Sir Julius Vogel Awards being given annually by SFFANZ for achievement in New Zealand Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.
I listed the categories on Sunday as well and one of them is for Best Fan Writing—and this year I’ve nominated Rebecca.
June Young (left) with Simon Litton & Trudi Canavan, Natcon’12
I would like to thank June You...
January 13, 2015
Big Worlds On Small Screens & Fantasy/Sci-Fi Films You’ve Probably Never Heard Of: Rebecca Fisher Discusses “Attack The Block”
~ by Rebecca Fisher
In its purest form, Attack the Block is an alien B-movie, but instead of the action taking place on a global scale, it concentrates on a run-down council block in south London. Its protagonists are a bunch of teenagers who are refreshingly played by (gasp!) actual teenage actors. The aliens aren’t super-soldiers intent on mass destruction or in taking over the world, but instead act upon far more primal, biological urges. Writer/director Joe Cornish uses a shoestring budget...
