Club Jade

No, the year isn’t over yet, but for the purposes of books, everything has been out for a while. More or less.

So what was the best Star Wars thing you read this year? Book, comic, or other, it doesn’t matter, as long as you read it.

If you need a refresher, Wookieepedia has a massive list of everything released this year, but your answer doesn’t have to go by that, just something you read this year… No matter when it was originally released.

Hell, if the best thing you read was a fanfic, go for it… Just be sure to include a link, and any warnings if they apply.

What’s the last book you read? What’s the last book you read that you’d recommend, and why?

Also, what upcoming books are you looking forward to? What are the latest editions to your to-read pile

(No, none of these have to be Star Wars – in fact, please don’t, particularly those of you with advance copies of certain gigantic reference tomes – since we know all about those.)

It’s been a while since we had an (intentional) discussion post, and this went over gangbusters when I asked it offhand on Twitter the other day, so: What was your entry point into fandom? Not the Star Wars movies or books themselves, but the/an actual community? When did you become social with your fandom, and begin to interact with other fans, beyond just your immediate pals?

Answers on Twitter ranged from various message boards, to cons, costuming, games, fanfic and even Twitter itself. So where did you come in?

Yes, SDCC is literally right around the corner and we have more than a month to go before Orlando, but it’s Friday, nothing is happening, and we haven’t had one of these in a while.

What are your plans for CVI? Are there any last minute announcements you’re still hoping for? Rumors that have yet to pan out? What do you really want to do at the con?

We’re at Origins, or otherwise busy. The Tumblr is locked and loaded. Talk amongst yourselves.

It’s looking like another slow news day around these parts, so let’s chat. Ask me anything. (Even if it’s not Star Wars! Why the hell not!) Share something cool. Discuss. Whatever! Let’s chill.

What started out as a lovely tribute to the awesomeness of A Wrinkle in Time has ignited a hashtag frenzy on Twitter.

In the article, Pamela Paul, a children’s book editor at The Book Review, cites some sad surveys that indicate the number of women who identify as reading sci-fi is depressingly low.

So rather than talking about the book, the statistics got Twitter going.  The hashtag #womenreadSF has gotten the geek women on Twitter recommending all sorts of awesome titles and authors.

In the face of these depressing statistics, what would you recommend? Do you try to engage the girls in your life with some good sci-fi?

Well, I’m pretty pleased with it so far. Did you watch it? What did you think?

For those who’ve read the books: Please don’t spoil anything past the first episode!

It’s looking pretty likely that a nice chunk of the Star Wars backlist will be coming to eBook format this summer. Given the popularity of that post – if not for April Fools, it would probably have been last week’s most-read – it seems there’s quite a bit of interest.

While I know a lot of folks who are all about their Kindles, I can’t say the format has ever held much interest for me. (And I already own most of the Star Wars backlist anyway.) I like physical books, and moreover, I like shopping for actual books in actual bookstores. Ironically, my reason for that – basically, instant gratification, because even two-day shipping takes two days – is the one reason why I can understand the lure of eBooks.

But what are your thoughts? Have you jumped on the eBook train? (Star Wars or otherwise!) (more…)

Adorable craft and photo by Jenn and Tony Bot.

And so we come to the time of the week when we discuss things. And I’m a bit tapped out this week, so we’ll keep it to something simple: What are you reading?

What novel(s) did you just finish and are okay with admitting? What would you recommend? What authors are you mainlining right now? Hell, go ahead and ask for recommendations. As long as it has to do with science fiction and fantasy books, have at it. And by that I mean feel free to go above and beyond Star Wars.

I have some semi-embarrassing YA fantasy (not Twilight) that I’ll bring up in the comments later. Promise. If you’re good. There might even be a touch of rant.