We’re at Origins, or otherwise busy. The Tumblr is locked and loaded. Talk amongst yourselves.
Open thread: Ask Dunc anything
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.
‘Women don’t read sci-fi’ incites chaos on Twitter
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?
Discussion/Reaction: Game of Thrones premiere
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!
Poll/Discussion: Your thoughts on eBooks
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!) Continue reading “Poll/Discussion: Your thoughts on eBooks”
Discussion: What are you reading?
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.
Discussion: What’s your favorite Star Wars craft?
So, as you may have heard, we’re holding a craft contest. You don’t have to be an expert crafter or even to have experienced the joy of finding glitter in places where glitter should never be to participate. Really!
We’ve featured a whole lot of crafts over the years; Star Wars fandom is rife with the things. So what’s your personal favorite Star Wars craft?
And no, it DOESN’T have to be something you’ve made yourself! Or even something Bonnie made. (Don’t hurt us, Bonnie.)
There’s only one rule: Your choice must be analog. No design, no photo-manips, no computers. It must have been made by human hands at some point! Metal, food and costumes do count, yarn and glitter are optional. Include a link if you can. (Basic HTML works just fine in our comments.)
Discussion: If you could pick one character…
With all the discussion going on recently about the decline of the Expanded Universe (like that’s news,) we’ve all been thinking about what we’d like to see. And I know that for me, it’s always been about the characters. Of all the beefs I have with the New Jedi Order and (increasingly) Fate of the Jedi, the biggest one has to be the ‘everyone and the kitchen sink’ approach to the cast. And while I’m not reading Star Wars novels for ‘new’ characters, there’s clearly plenty of interest.
So here’s what I’m wondering: What Star Wars character would you most like to see headline a Star Wars novel or comic? For the sake of argument (and last week’s most popular post) we’re using an image of a few Jader favorites, but feel free to pick whoever you like.
Are they a movie characters undeserved by the Expanded Universe? An EU character you’d like to see more of? And please keep your answers vague – you never know who might be watching.
Discussion: What would you like to see on ClubJade.net?
Forgive me for using this week’s discussion for selfish purposes, but spring is in the air (at least, it is here) and I’m finally getting down to business with a cosmetic refresh for the blog. I’m so sick of looking like 2007!
A few things that will almost certainly make the cut: Gravatars, threaded comments, some subtle social media sharing aids, an about page refresh with blogger bios (finally!) and a new look for the book release schedule. What will remain the same? Well, we’re sticking with WordPress, a white background and fairly minimalist design.
But what kind of things would you like to see? Any (technical, not content!) features you’ve seen on other blogs that you think would serve us well? Or are there any types of posts you’d like to see more (or less) of? Now’s your chance to weigh in.
Discussion: What was your first Star Wars novel?
What was the first Star Wars novel you read? What made you pick it out of the crowd (if there even was a crowd of them at the time?) And would you recommend it to someone else new to the EU?