AbducticonWith my first time travel novel, AbductiCon, now out, the following story quite naturally caught my eye. And maybe someday, someone will want to make a movie out of it. Personally, I think it would be a great one, what with time-traveling androids, a hotel filled with science fiction fans taken for a jaunt around the moon, and all that. It is, as the description on Amazon says, “a hilarious and metaphysical novel of SF fandom, the convention culture, and the treasured tropes of science fiction.”
But, alas, that’s for another time. Right now, let’s take a look at this:
10 Time Travel Books That Need To Be Movies
At io9, Charlie Jane Anders muses that as Predestination recently proved, the smartest movies about time warps are often based on literary sources. So here are 10 time-travel books that would make bloody amazing movies.
Her third choice is Kindred by Octavia Butler.
Kindred by Octavia ButlerWe’ve had 12 Years a Slave, so maybe we’re finally ready for a movie of Kindred, in which a present-day woman keeps traveling back in time to visit her ancestors — who include both slaves and slave owners. Dana has to learn to survive the institution of slavery and become part of the plantation’s community. But she also has to ensure her own existence, which involves her cruel, callous slave-owner ancestor Rufus.
See her other choices HERE
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When women rule
The Indian village of Mawlynnong has been called the “cleanest village in Asia” and boasts a 100% literacy rate. Perhaps that is because it is one of the only matrilineal societies on earth. But some men aren’t happy.
mawlynnongMawlynnong uses bamboo trash cans and has strict rules on cleanliness
The village is home to the Khasi tribe, Allisha Azlan and Audrey Cheng write at Business Insider. a matrilineal society in which lineages and property are passed from mother to daughter, and women own most of the land.
Read the whole article HERE
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In a recent blog entry, author Shannon Hale discusses a disturbing problem with school visits by women writers — sometimes boys are banned.
Fortunately that hasn’t happened to me. In fact, one of the 13-year-old boys whom I met on one of my very first school visits in Pasco has now turned into an almost-20-year-old friend with whom I still catch up, with great delight, at every Radcon since that first meeting. I can safely say that my own life has been the better for the connection, and I believe that I’ve imparted a few nuggets of writerly wisdom in the other direction. None of which would have been possible if he had been excluded from my original presentation, because my books had a GIRL on the cover…
No Boys Allowed: School visits as a woman writer
I’ve been doing school visits as part of my tour for PRINCESS ACADEMY: The Forgotten Sisters,” Shannon Hale writes. “All have been terrific—great kids, great librarians. But something happened at one I want to talk about...”
…and she talks about the banned boys.
“Let’s be clear: I do not talk about “girl” stuff. I do not talk about body parts. I do not do a “Your Menstrual Cycle and You!” presentation. I talk about books and writing, reading, rejections and moving through them, how to come up with story ideas. But because I’m a woman, because some of my books have pictures of girls on the cover, because some of my books have “princess” in the title, I’m stamped as ‘for girls only.’ However, the male writers who have boys on their covers speak to the entire school.”
Read the whole blog piece HERE
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5 Medieval-style ‘Game of Thrones’ Restaurants in Europe
Game of Thrones fever is pretty high right now on the internet. “Fan of the show or not, I thought you might enjoy some of my picks for a medieval style feast in Europe,” MessyNessy writes.Tavern Brabant,Prague is pretty much your go-to European city for medieval-style taverns. There is the Tavern Brabant, complete with skulls hanging from the ceiling and hay on the floor to take you back to the Middle Ages. The food is just as authentic at both venues, with medieval and traditional Czech dishes on offer from pork roasted in bock beer to beef goulash– don’t expect to eat light, this is banquet-style eating.
See all the restaurants HERE
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The 20 coolest towns in the US
What makes a town “the coolest”? Matador Network asks. In the end, it’s the same as what makes travel the coolest: the people.
The kinds of towns we like:
1) Are not just bedroom communities or suburbs, but have their own economic / local “heart.” (We like to walk around downtowns, not just drive everywhere.)
2) Have strong DIY or local movements around agriculture / food / drink / farm to table. (We like to eat and drink well.)
3) Have cool natural features close by, and ideally a significant part of their local economy is outdoor recreation. (We like to surf / paddle / hike / chill in the woods.)
4) Have cultural diversity to the point where even if the town is small it still has a “global citizenry” feel. (We like it when we can speak more than one language; we like it when the place is LGBT friendly.)
For example:
Mercer, WisconsinPhoto via Cody Doucette
Mercer, Wisconsin
Why it’s so cool
Mercer is the kind of place where an old-school live bait shop shares space, and ownership, with a coffee shop turning out homemade pastries, scones, and perfectly prepared espressos.
See the other 19 towns HERE
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THIS ‘n THAT
12 Essential Reads for Black History Month
A fascinating list from Off the Shelf HERE
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Quotes of the Day
Life is short, so live extra lives. Read books.” ~ Shannon Hale
You cannot invent an algorithm that is as good at recommending books as a good bookseller.” ~ John Green
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Alma Alexander     My books     Email me
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