For the past three months, I've been listening to a relatively new artist named Conan Gray. And when I say listening, I mean playing over and over and over again. So if you're wondering what the cool kids are listening to nowadays, here's some of my favorite songs of his. https:/ … | Continue reading
Betrayal is never a simple thing. In this Big Idea for The Shadow Commission, New York Times bestseller David Mack pulls back the curtain on the complexity of this concept, and gives us a closer look at the process of turning coats. DAVID MACK: The Shadow Commission is about betr … | Continue reading
If you use TikTok, have children who have cell phones, or follow basically any youngin' on social media, you probably know exactly what I'm talking about when I say: my generation does not use periods. Unless, of course, we say, "Period!" But usually we punctuate that with an exc … | Continue reading
In the category of Science Fiction novel. And as you can see from the picture above, it has some very fine company, in terms of the other finalists. If you can't see it, here they are again: 1. Best Science Fiction Novel The Testaments by Margaret Atwood The Ten Thousand Doors of … | Continue reading
A library of information right at your fingertips? Or rather, the very flesh of your fingertips containing a library of information? Read all about Julie Czerneda's mystical Web-beings and their ability to keep archives of knowledge within their bodies, as she presents the Big Id … | Continue reading
Some of you may recall, back in June 2019, when I surveyed the landscape of potential Democratic presidential candidates, Kamala Harris was my first choice. This is what I said at the time about why that was: Because she’s hella smart, pretty savvy and because I think her backgro … | Continue reading
They're small updates, but important updates. If you're a publicist, editor, publisher, or otherwise wish to send me (or Athena!) something to promote here or on social media, please review them. Here are the publicity guidelines. Here are the Big Idea guidelines. They are both a … | Continue reading
Hindu mythology, women in power, and spicy food are all just a few of the things featured in today's Big Idea for Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar -- also featured is a examination of the question: where does one belong, when one is of two worlds? SHVETA THAKRAR: Sometimes it’s ha … | Continue reading
One thing you probably see on here a lot is book recommendations. I mean, makes sense, sure, but wouldn't it be nice to explore another medium of stories? Well, have I got just the thing for you! For the past two years, I have been reading an amazing webtoon called Let's Play; a … | Continue reading
https://twitter.com/scalzi/status/1292858309570187265 At least in the Big Ten and probably in the Pac-12, definitely in some of the midlist conferences. I imagine the reality of it won't really hit some people until the SEC gives up the ghost, although, who knows, maybe they won' … | Continue reading
https://youtu.be/98W9QuMq-2k I was thinking about the concept of "Dad Rock" and what it means, and when it is that a previously popular and/or relevant band goes full Dad Rock, and I realized that there was a particular song from a particular band that crystallized the Dad Rock M … | Continue reading
Hello, everyone! I hope you are all having a great Saturday. One thing that Saturdays are good for is shopping small! Which is why I've decided to start a new thing on here where, occasionally on Saturdays, I feature a small business that I think is awesome and highly recommend! … | Continue reading
Ugh, we're talking about the "canon" of science fiction literature, again, for reasons (most imminently the recent Hugo award ceremony and its fallout), and whether, basically, newer writers and readers should and must slog through a bunch of books in the genre that are now half … | Continue reading
One thing to know about me is that I love shopping. Like, so much so that it's an issue. Much like Ariana Grande said in 7 Rings, "think retail therapy my new addiction." However, there are so many reoccurring issues I run into when shopping, that you'd think they'd be enough to … | Continue reading
The mask in question purchasable here, from John Picacio, who did the artwork printed onto it. Very nicely done, and clearly looks great as well. (And for those about to ask, the picture was taken with my Pixel 4 and then edited in Photoshop. The original, less treated photo is h … | Continue reading
Living as we do in the country, we have a long driveway, which is made of dirt, on top of which is a layer of gravel. The gravel has to be relaid every couple of years, and today was that day: A nice man came by in a really huge dump truck, and laid several… | Continue reading
Today on the Big Idea we have The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis -- a novel about a hero with no name and no voice, and the power of three words that, in this world at least, were (and are) not said enough. (Content Warning: discussion of sexual assault) LINDEN A. LEWIS: I read … | Continue reading
As some of you wondered whether Athena would have use of the Mallet (as we call the ability to moderate the comments here), and whether she would get her own mallet or have to borrow mine, the picture above should answer your question: She does, and she has her own. The mallet in … | Continue reading
After bouncing the release date from March to July and then August -- all of which were scuppered by the COVID-19 virus -- Disney has finally announced that it's going to make its live action version of Mulan available on Disney+ on September 4. The caveat: It'll cost an addition … | Continue reading
Athena has officially announced her return here so I don't need to do that; nevertheless a couple of quick notes: 1. The current theme doesn't have a byline noting which of us is posting, so for the foreseeable future we'll be putting our initials at the end of our posts to disti … | Continue reading
Hello, everyone! Today is my first day back on the blog and I'm so stoked to be here again! Some of you may remember my time on here from the summer of '18, and even more recently, my one and only post since then. I'm not sure how long I'll be around this time, but… | Continue reading
With its Galilean moons, even! I took it last night in a break between rain clouds (seen below), with my Nikon and its telephoto lens fully extended. All four Galilean moons are in the picture, although one of them is smooshed in between the planet and one of the other moons. You … | Continue reading
Been a bit since I posted one of these, and this is a good one. Enjoy. | Continue reading
I wrote last week about my need to purchase a new office chair, and lo and behold, as if by magic (and by "magic" I mean "by means of ordering it online and paying for it to be delivered by the retailer"), it has arrived at the house and is ensconced at my desk. It… | Continue reading
As we turn the corner into August, here's a final stack of new books and ARCs for July. What here appeals to your inner reader? Share in the comments! | Continue reading
In fact, the picture above typifies many of the reasons why I enjoy taking pictures, getting them ready for presentation, and then showing them off to the world. Let me enumerate them for you now. 1. I have a lot of photogenic subjects around me: Krissy, obviously, and the cats, … | Continue reading
Oh, hello! How are you? I have a few things I'm thinking about today: Hey, did you know? Our economy is shit! Specifically, the last economic quarter is absolutely the worst on record, either on its own (in which the GDP shrank more than nine percent) or on the especially dramati … | Continue reading
Music can be life changing, but as Lif Strand found out in writing Evolution Device, turning that life-changing feeling into a novel can be a challenge worthy of the gnarliest of musical performances. LIF STRAND: Music is powerful stuff. It enters the ears and takes over the brai … | Continue reading
Well, well, well. Let's see what we have here: Ask your doctor if sex with demons is right for you: By now we've all heard that those "American Frontline Doctors" and their video touting hydroxychloroquine and no masks were such a level of bullshit that even Facebook felt compell … | Continue reading
Good things come to those who wait... and learn. That might be the theme of this Big Idea by Richard Cox, for his novel House of the Rising Sun, which experienced a pause in its writing and in doing so just may have arrived at precisely the right time. RICHARD COX: Before I start … | Continue reading
This morning I went and opened up a SubStack account, for a couple of reasons. The first was to take "Scalzi" off the market on SubStack; I do this pretty much which every social media site, for branding consistency across the Internet. Second, at some point or another I might de … | Continue reading
What does your cell phone or XBox have to do with AI-laden weapon systems? Ferrett Steinmetz has an inkling, and in this Big Idea for his new novel Automatic Reload, he lays it out for you. FERRETT STEINMETZ: You’re already too slow for technology. You knew that the first time yo … | Continue reading
The Short Version: Athena Scalzi is coming on board Scalzi.com/Whatever as a writer and editor starting August 4. She'll be taking over some administrative tasks, posting her own entries and helping me update and possibly expand the site. The Less Short Version: Athena is taking … | Continue reading
So, what is The Key to All Things? Aside from the title of the new novel by Cindy Lynn Speer? The good news is, we have Speer here to tell you what it might be, and how it relates to her tale. CINDY LYNN SPEER: I came through the central driving idea for The Key… | Continue reading
From our tomato plants, one of which you can see fuzzily in the background of the photo. And how were they? Pretty good! One's own tomatoes have a tendency to be juicier and more flavorful than store-bought, because they are allowed to ripen on the vine, and these were no excepti … | Continue reading
Krissy's extended family congregates every year in early August for a reunion, an event that a few years back had its 100th anniversary -- but because of the virus, there will be no reunion this year. The family skipping the reunion has only happened once before, in concert with … | Continue reading
https://youtu.be/r23UjcdkdwM I woke up this morning with a song from the 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats in my head, and because of that felt mildly wistful for the era in which it came out, the sort of Millennial Moment just before 9/11, with its boy bands and first Internet B … | Continue reading
Oh, don't look so shocked. You know what you did. (Yes, that's right, you didn't recycle. And, you forgot to cut up the plastic rings on that six-pack! You're doomed. Doomed, I tell you!) Enjoy the rest of your Friday. And may God have mercy on your soul. | Continue reading
I don't actually expect sense from David Brooks, but this particular tweet, to entice people into a column whining about the current state of discourse, was especially eye rolling to me: https://twitter.com/nytdavidbrooks/status/1286619122835619845 So, let me break this down a bi … | Continue reading
Well, this is sad news for me and about 2,000 other nerds: https://twitter.com/JoCoCruise/status/1286394041156767744 Sad, but of course necessary. While I would like to think by next March we'll be seeing the light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel, given how well this country ha … | Continue reading
My office chair, which was your basic Staples Special, blew its pneumatic cylinder a couple of weeks ago, and in the interim I've been using Athena's desk chair, which I don't like much because it's not terribly comfortable and it doesn't have arms, which it turns out are things … | Continue reading
Turns out I couldn't CSS my way out of some particular problems with that previous theme; let's see how this one does. | Continue reading
Having spent my morning plugging away on the web site, I now turn my attention to what's going on (waves abstractly) out there: Ohio's Speaker of the House is in some deep shit: Turns out you're not supposed to (allegedly) take bribes! Which I suspect Larry Householder probably k … | Continue reading
So, for the moment I'm going with the Aperitive theme, because I like it aesthetically and because it also does a pretty good job of working with different types of displays. For example, if you have a wide/large monitor or browser window, you see the side-by-side display here, b … | Continue reading
For Ryan Van Loan, unexpected voices led him to take an equally unexpected journey -- one that would result in his new novel, Sin in the Steel. RYAN VAN LOAN: My Big Idea started with a literal whisper in the dark. “Let a man think you weak, let him think you vulnerable, and he’l … | Continue reading
Folks, it's been literally years since I've updated the look and navigation of Whatever, and as a result the site is looking a little... dated, and also the functionality of the site is not current either for how people currently come to the site, or all the places they read the … | Continue reading
It's over at Tor.com. There's an hour-long video and also a transcript, which is probably quicker to get through and has fewer ums and aaahs in it. Because we talked for an hour, we cover lots of ground, relating to our respective new books and the current state of the genre. Go … | Continue reading
For his Big Idea for Annihilation Aria, author Michael R. Underwood is examining the part of the story that usually gets skipped over -- unfairly so, in Underwood's opinion. MICHAEL R. UNDERWOOD: “Happily Ever After.” A famous phrase that signals the end of many stories, from fae … | Continue reading