The Sword and Laser discussion
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What would you like from the podcast in 2013?
I subscribe through my blackberry podcasts, but I went to itunes and subscribed too. I'd like the xth the request for more book discussion. The format goes youtube kickoff, podcast 1, youtube wrap-up, podcast 2, right? I propose the podcast 1 be full of book discussion, and the podcast 2 be "other" like author interviews, etc. That flows nicely - kickoff, discuss, wrap up, other.
People who care about spoilers can just wait a bit to listen to it after all (or read faster). Maybe just have a reminder at the beginning there will be spoilers.
Mod
Seems some of you might want more book discussion in the audio podcast. Actually ALL of you. Message received.
Those who say you stream it from the Sword and Laser page, you count as a download. Hurrah! So you can keep doing that. I guess I should have said I wish more people listened.
Those saying you can't subscribe unless you use iTunes have a happy piece of news too. You can. And you don't need to use iTunes.
The link is in our 'about' page - http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheSwordA...
But I'm going to suggest that we include it with a big "subscribe to the podcast" message on every post from now on. Sorry for the confusion.
Also maybe we should have a direct link to the MP3 for that episode? We'll talk.
And finally, we will change the name of Quick Burns to "Extraordinarily Serious News About People Who Make Up Stories About Spacemen and Aliens"
I kid.... or do I?
Tom wrote: "And finally, we will change the name of Quick Burns to "Extraordinarily Serious News About People Who Make Up Stories About Spacemen and Aliens""I wholeheartedly endorse this move. :D
Tamahome wrote: "'ESNAPWMUSASA', for short."I would love to hear Veronica trying to pronounce this one! :D
Rasnac wrote: "Tamahome wrote: "'ESNAPWMUSASA', for short."I would love to hear Veronica trying to pronounce this one! :D"
I imagine it rhymes with MUFASA!
Tom and Veronica,Do either of you read graphic novels or web comics? I love the whiteboards so much, I'm curious to see what type of visual fiction you would be interested in?
Love the videos, and I'll start listening to the audios as well, I promise!
Mod
BUT that's off topic.
Thanks for subscribing to the audio!!
Laurel wrote: "Tom and Veronica,
Do either of you read graphic novels or web comics? I love the whiteboards so much, I'm curious to see what type of visual fiction you would be interested in?
Love the videos, ..."
You might add the occasional short story.
How about the work of Stephan King ,especially the 1974 novel - Carrie. I was wondering if Mr. s King have been influence by the author, Philip K Dick and Lovecraft.
I'd second Warren's idea. It seems like there are always a number of people in the monthly book pick threads who request short story anthologies. Why not just pick one short story a month and read it for the podcast? I imagine graphic novels could also be mixed in.
I would like to see more auhtor's guide to author's that the group has actually read as a club pick, but having other authors on may make others wanting to read the author's work.
For what it's worth though I might be a day late and a dollar short.The podcast length is fine but I wouldn't mind hearing longer shows.
More book discussion would be nice.
I'd like more book recommendations in your show.
I also wouldn't mind seeing/hearing a "Then & Now" segment in the podcast where you talk briefly about a classic work and either compare or contrast it to something new? I say this because it's fun to dive into the "classic" stuff but having a point to dive from can be tricksy.
I've been falling behind on the video show just due to time constraints. But one of the things that made the podcast so much fun was the organic feel it possesses. I love this casual nature. And because of this, I would like to request more singing and swearing please.
I came across S&L via Geek&Sundry on YouTube, and only recently started listening to the podcasts.Rather than retreading the same comments above, I'll offer an unique suggestion for a new content segment. What about delving more into the various aspects that make sci fi and fantasy distinct genres. Structured magic system, help or hinderance? Science that doesn't work, distraction or necessary plot devise? And so on. It would give a good basis to bring up a variety of books and discuss their relative merits.
Sam wrote: "I'd second Warren's idea. It seems like there are always a number of people in the monthly book pick threads who request short story anthologies. Why not just pick one short story a month and read ..."They don't even have to read the short story aloud.
Just select one for the group to read.
That was just a suggestion.
I have no real complaints about the temperature of the porridge.
Warren wrote: "Sam wrote: "I'd second Warren's idea. It seems like there are always a number of people in the monthly book pick threads who request short story anthologies. Why not just pick one short story a mon..."Yeah, I didn't mean to read out loud. I meant to read during the month and discuss on the podcast...
Definitely agree with more book discussion on the podcast. That's why I listen! I like the discussion on the wrap up, but there's not enough time to delve into everything I'd like. Give a spoiler alert, and those who don't want to listen won't have to.
Tamahome wrote: "The porridge is too hot."My spoon is too big.
Is it allowed to link to the podcast & "advertise" it's presence at the end of each YouTube show? That might drive more people to the audio show.Out of curiosity... has the podcast traffic gone up since the YouTube show?
Tom wrote: "And finally, we will change the name of Quick Burns to "Extraordinarily Serious News About People Who Make Up Stories About Spacemen and Aliens"I kid.... or do I?"
LOL! You and Veronica really are salty about me not liking the name Quick Burns. You did ask for feedback. You both skipped over the effusive praise and complimentary sentiment I expressed about the show and podcast and seem almost offended that someone could find the name "Quick Burns" to be a bit weak.
Tell ya what, get R. Scott Bakker on the youtubez or podcast and we can all be friends again.
:p
Can we get a yodeling segment added sometime soon?And maybe we could have an Ode to Video as in the spirit of Felicia's gamer poetry?
And...
But seriously, the podcast is awesome, that's why I listen!
How about a "tribute to the fallen" section? Do an author profile each podcast of a scifi/fantasy author that is no longer with us that people may or may not have heard of. I know when reading Among Others I realized I hadn't read a lot of the scifi/fantasy out there and was also surprised by how many of those authors mentioned in that book had already passed away.
Ty wrote: "Veronica wrote: "We're just not all that serious. You've noticed that we have a drinking segment too, right? The name isn't going to change, sorry. "I, for one, am happy about that. I get enough ..."
couldnt agree more! screw serious! ...oops pardon my language I mean erm ...seriousness be gone :P
I want to start by saying that I love the show just the way it is.Book discussions don't require much visual feedback, they could go for longer on the podcast, though that may not be fair for people who just watch the video show.
BTW, We can't listen the older podcasts right now because Archive.org is down... http://www.isitdownrightnow.com/archi...
Nick wrote: "How about a "tribute to the fallen" section? Do an author profile each podcast of a scifi/fantasy author that is no longer with us that people may or may not have heard of. I know when reading Am..."I really like this suggestion, especially with the YouTube episodes having a focus on authors that can be interviewed.
Nick wrote: "How about a "tribute to the fallen" section? Do an author profile each podcast of a scifi/fantasy author that is no longer with us that people may or may not have heard of. I know when reading Am..."I really like this suggestion too. I hated Among Others but I added dozens of books to my to-read pile thanks to that book!
As for short stories, it might be cool to do an anthology or collection once a year or so as a pick.
Maybe you could bring on friends of yours that are creative types (bloggers, actors, script writers, etc.) but not necessarily authors and have them talk about their favorite books, authors, and genres. I loved the David Peterson interview! I'll continue to download the show no matter what.
Devon wrote: "Maybe you could bring on friends of yours that are creative types (bloggers, actors, script writers, etc.) but not necessarily authors and have them talk about their favorite books, authors, and ge..."That's not a bad idea.
Devon wrote: "Maybe you could bring on friends of yours that are creative types (bloggers, actors, script writers, etc.) but not necessarily authors and have them talk about their favorite books, authors, and ge..."This is a very good idea.
Mod
Mod
After some additional thought I think I would add that when you do the audio podcast if you guys would spend more time talking about stuff off the narrative/plot/ character trail...so when kicking off a book maybe start with what you have heard about the book, what you think it might be about, what people who have reviewed have said, and use that to compare and contrast your views after you read it....also when doing wrap up you could read through more of the good reads discussion posts and voice comments about the topic or comments....you could also post a questions from the audience thread before wrap up like you do with the author shows just for discussion topics...hope that all makes sense...LTS
Ive been listening to the podcast for a couple years now. I watched the first couple video shows but my schedule doesn't really allow for a lot of Youtube watching. Travel time is my podcast time, and its too dangerous to watch YouTube while driving. I have found myself skipping audio versions as well lately because I think the quality of the audio show has gone down (sorry, just trying to give honest feedback). I am here to learn about new books and authors. I really don't care what you are drinking, that's such a cliched podcast element that I usually just fast forward through it. your source of news seems completely tied to IO9.I could read their web site for that.
Is it my imagination or is the audio getting shorter? Seems like the last couple I listed to happened quickly.
Things I love: learning about new books coming out although I feel like its repetitive at times. I miss the audio author interviews and yes I would like it to be part of the entire show. Separate episodes are a waste of time. Keep the quick burns.
Looking back, my feedback seems horrible. I dont dislike the show as much as I seem to in my comments, but the fact is I am listening to the show less.
Tom wrote: "But in all seriousness that is a good idea. I'll add him to the list."It should be good. Steve Gibson has read Peter F. Hamilton, David Weber, this guy from Arizona that self publishes: http://www.scifi-az.com/ (Michael McCollum), Jack Campbell, Larry Niven. Why isn't he on Goodreads? :)
Mod
Brad, I appreciate you being honest but I am a little confused by a couple comments.
I want to make sure we're balanced on news so the idea that it's all iO9 concerns me. But here's the spread of the last few episodes:
120
SFSignal: 4
Boing Boing: 1
Locus Magazine: 1
iO9: 0
119
SFSignal: 4
Wertzone: 1
iO9: 0
118:
SFsignal: 3
Engadget: 1
Worldcrunch: 1
Wertzone: 1
Guardian: 1
Whatever (Scalzi): 1
iO9: 1
If anything, that looks like we may overrepresent SFSignal.
Drinking segment: Yeah not to everybody's taste. I get that. Some love it. Some skip it.
As for length we always have aimed for 20-30 Minutes. Within the last year they've gotten more towards 40 minutes. During the holidays we had some shorter episodes but it looks like we're back to 40 minutes.
120: 41:23
119: 31:30
118: 30:32
117: 24:20
116: 37:17
And as for author interviews we still do lots. We have Adam Christopher coming up and we've done G Willow Wilson just a few months ago. However we probably are doing fewer audio interview right now because we do so many interviews for the video show.
Anyway, some of your issues seem to have been temporary or even just a weird trick of perception. But hopefully this will give you enough to keep faith with us. Thanks for the feedback! It's good for me to look at this tuff too.
great response to my post. Looking back at the episodes that I last listened to, that would have been around the holidays so the perception thing is correct. I havent listened to the last three episodes yet so the io9 thing might have just been a couple episodes in a row.I havent lost faith with you regardless. I do love the show.
Tom wrote: "Brad T. wrote: "Ive been listening to the podcast for ..."See, this is yet another reason to love the show. Such thoughtful feedback. Thanks so much for being awesome you guys. And I don't care what anyone else says. I think the "What are you drinking?" bit is always great. Let 'em skip. It's so great that you guys ask for and listen to feedback, but do the show you want to do and you'll never be short of listeners, I'm sure.
One idea I had was maybe the (very occasional) interview with a listener. Like when you bring up a comment thread of interest, perhaps you could get that person on the phone to discuss it for a short bit? Might be fun.
I've got no complaints about the show as it is. I love it. It's a staple of my week.But it would be great to expand the vision a bit. The "sword" content is great. The "laser" content is great. But I'd like to see horror added to the list. Some of Stephen King's books definitely qualify as science fiction (Carrie, Firestarter, The Dead Zone, 11/22/63), but there are lots that don't -- and many other horror authors who are just straight up horror.
Veronica's other show definitely reads a lot of horror, but I have a hard time listening to it at work. When my supervisor comes over and asks, "Hey, what are you listening to today?" and I say, "The Vaginal Fantasty podcast," he's going to say, "Come with me to HR." ;-)
Mod
I also would not like horror fiction added to the podcast; I would find it distasteful. Stick to the wonderful world of speculative fiction!
The Horror genre tends to bleed into sci-fi and fantasy (see what i did there? :P ). After all, American Gods is kind of horror-ish (as was Sandman). Zombies are specific trope of the horror genre that we see in sword and laser picks. Ditto were-wolves, ghosts, Cthulhu, demons, devils (and angels), actually scary vampires... I can point out examples of these science-fiction/horror and fantasy/horror blends all the time.So unless you skipped Bridge of Birds, Leviathan Wakes, Dirty Streets of Heaven, Hyperion (if the Shrike isn't horror, I don't know what is), or any significant part of the S&L bookshelf over the last however long you've been following it, you've been reading sword horror and laser horror.
I wouldn't want to go with something "straight" horror (with no sword-ish or laser-y elements). That only really leaves out serial killer novels and the like, since monsters make their way into both genres covered by S&L.
Mod
I like the idea of bringing in people who are not quite sf/f authors. John Hodgman, for example, would be a great interview. He is always funny, incorporates sf/f elements into his humor books, and is a former literary agent. Plus, I've always wanted to know what books, other than dune, that he is a fan of.
Horror *is* Speculative Fiction, but much as I like horror, I don't think it needs to be part of Sword & Laser. It IS Sword & Laser, after all, not Sword & Laser & Claw, or Sword & Laser & Fang, or Sword & Laser & Bloody Knife.
I have subscribed to the podcast through iTunes for a couple of years now. I save it for my long runs on the weekend. Since the video show started, the podcast content has dropped off, especially with the book club. I hear "We kicked off the new book on the video show.... We already discussed that on the video show.... We wrapped that up last week on the video show..."
Well, guys, I love you both, but I don't watch the video show. I work full time, have kids, and train for marathons. I love the podcast because I can listen while I run, or do laundry, etc. Please don't assume that all listeners also watch YouTube.
Wow, this sounds way more bitter and angry than I mean to sound. I love the podcast, love the Quick Burns and the Calendar, love the What Are We Drinking, but I guess I am upset that the podcast seems to be neglected because of the YouTube show. I am upset because I care.
Did you notice an improvement on the recent podcasts, Melissa? I thought there was more book discussion, and it seemed a lot more complete than previous ones since the video show, but then, I'm a fan of the video show, and started listening to the podcasts because of it, so I'm seeing things from a different perspective. But I do think they are making a noticeable effort to eliminate what many have viewed as an imbalance. I hope last weeks episode was better for you.
The Sword and Laser
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On Basilisk Station (other topics)Among Others (other topics)
For the record I really appreciate all Tom and V do because this is obviously a labor of love and not profit. So thank you both and I enjoy all of it immensely, especially the chemistry and bantor between two old friends.