I did not even know that such a book existed. Now, thanks to Maggie Mason, I do. And I am delighted by it.

N. K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms rather knocked my socks off. The world she created was rich and interesting, and the style of storytelling had a unique flow.

Check out the sample chapters.

I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the Inheritance Trilogy, The Broken Kingdoms, which comes out in November. (Oh look, a sample chapter!)

I just finished reading Mart Robinette Kowal's Shades of Milk and Honey, and I must say, I enjoyed it greatly. The plot was engaging, the writing flowed well, and nothing jarred me out of the world of the book (as opposed to the clever-idea-but-poorly-executed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies).

It reminded me Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer's magical regency books, though with a very different flavor. Kowal is very careful to make sure that this magic is used for decoration and entertainment, and does not have any military applications, which makes it a suitable "feminine accomplishment" rather than a dangerous weapon.

I recommend the book, and after reading it, I also recommend going to the website and reading the Easter eggs. (They are password protected: just remember the name of the horse Jane rides in Chapter 10.)

In the meantime, here is the delightful book trailer, featuring some of Kowal's shadow puppetry.

And as a bonus...Jane Austen's Fight Club, for some non-period authentic fun:

(Coming soon...my belated thoughts on N. K. Jeminsin's amazing The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms)

Nominations for the 2010 Hugo Awards close next Sunday. As I am still eligible to nominate (having been to WorldCon last year), I have been giving it some thought. I can nominate up to five in each catagory.

Best Novel, current thoughts are:
The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
The City & The City by China Miéville
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Best Novella, Best Novelette...dunno. I don't think I read any new ones from 2009.

Best Short Story is also a dunno, as I can't quite remember which that I read where new in 2009. I'll have to look it up.
ETA:
I'm liking K. Tempest Bradford's "Élan Vital"

Best Related Work is a category that I know very little about.

Best Graphic Story is going to require more thought, and I'd be happy to take recommendations. (Any science fiction or fantasy story told in graphic form appearing for the first time in 2009.)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form:
Coraline
Star Trek
Moon

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
"Epitaph One," Dollhouse

Best Editor, Short Form; Best Editor, Long Form; Best Professional Artist...dunno. I'll have to think on it.

Best Semiprozine
I believe Shadow Unit qualifies.

Best Fanzine, Best Fan Writer, Best Fan Artist, John W. Campbell Award...dunno.

I'd welcome any thoughts and input on categories that are blank or incomplete.

I just read Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld's newest book, and it is definitely going to be one that I nominate for a Hugo this year. It was a great read and the illustrations were gorgeous. I was both disappointed and excited when I realized that it was just the first part of a larger story. On the one hand, I have to wait to find out what happens next. On the other hand, more story!

Also on my list for novels are Lev Grossman's The Magicians and China Miéville's The City & the City

Can be found from Heather Tomlinson over on Tor.com.

Sometimes cover art can cause controversy,as was the case with Bloomsbury's Australian release of Justine Larbalestier's Liar. Often, the authors have no say in the matter, though in this case Bloomsbury was smart enough to change the art to something more suitable.

I have to say, sometimes it is really fascinating to see the behind-the-scenes angle on this stuff.

So it should come as no surprise that I love Picture Book Report. Illustrators getting together (on the internet) and making pictures for the stories they love. I'm charmed.

Excellent news! Holly Black and Bordertown anthology.

The Bordertown setting is, along with Newford and London Below, one of the major influences on my work. So this is very, very squeeful for me.

Can you judge a book by its cover? Maybe, maybe not. Seeing the same image used for so many book covers really makes me appreciate how art and imagery can be interpreted.

It would be kind of nice if there were little blurbs for each book. Sometimes the titles can give a good indication of what the book is about and if it is similar or different from its covermates, but not always. The way the cover designers use different crops, color balance, contrast, etc to change the feel is also intriguing.

Study of Emma Hart as Circe seems to be particularly popular.

While I didn't end up going into illustration myself, a good many of the people who inspired me to do art were illustrators: Maurice Sendak, Trina Schart Hyman, and of course, Normal Rockwell.

My dad had a great big book of Normal Rockwell covers. It was huge, and I loved looking at it. I would sit in my favorite chair and the book would cover my entire lap. I could spend hours looking at it. I'd imagine the stories that went with each, try to spot the jokes in the April Fool's covers, look for repeating themes and ideas, and pretend that I was one of the characters in some pictures.

Of course, he is "America's most beloved illustrator". So it I know my love of Mr. Rockwell isn't some crazy rarity. At the same time, it can be fashionable to sneer at the sentimental Americana of Rockwell's work. I'll have none of that, thankyouverymuch,

I recently had the urge to look at those illustrations again. My dad's book is up in northern Wisconsin, so I picked up the three-volume Norman Rockwell and the Saturday Evening Post: The Early Years, the Middle Years, the Later Years from the library, and have been reading through it. And yes, reading. I intended to just look at the illustrations that I remembered from my girlhood, but I find myself reading the paragraphs that accompany each page, and learning quite a bit that I'd never know about the artist and his work.

Even his "less successful" covers are a pleasure to look at, and I strongly recommend the collection. What I really find neat are the oldest covers, before he was able to work in full color. They are only red and black duotones, but somehow I'd never really noticed the limited palette until it was pointed out to me. I thought that was pretty neat.

I just finished reading Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. It was my first Gibson, but I daresay it won't be my last. I enjoyed it very much, tearing through most of it in one sitting.

The writing style was not the type to which I am normally attacted, but the story of Cayce Pollard, "coolhunter" was so compelling that it just pulled me along. Not only did the twists and turns of the narrative keep me turning page after page, but the close looks at today's cultures of internet and branding, of fetish and obsession, and the echoes of September 11, 2001 provided me with a way to step back and look that each aspect with a longer view: otaku, Pilates, Starbucks, airport security, and the Michelin Man, together at last.

One thing that made my reading particularly interesting is that I also have Meet Mr. Product: The Art of the Advertising Character by Warren Dotz and Masud Husain, which documents advertising characters from the last century, including Bibendum, a.k.a. The Michelin Man.