The Better Part of a Partial Necromancer Breakdown

What the staff is reading this week:

Cary: "PARTIAL ECLIPSE by Graham Joyce and JOHANNES CABAL THE NECROMANCER by Jonathan L. Howard."

Claud: "GREEN MARS, Kim Stanley Robinson; BREAKDOWN, Sara Paretsky; CAPRICE AND RONDO, Dorothy Dunnett; and DRIFT: THE UNMOORING OF AMERICAN MILITARY POWER, Rachel Maddow."

Heather: "Still reading THE MISTS OF AVALON by Marion Zimmer Bradley."

Jude: "Last week I read Ron Jeremy's autobiography THE HARDEST (WORKING) MAN IN SHOWBIZ by Ron Jeremy with Eric Spitznagel.  I'm currently reading A FANTASY MEDLEY 2 edited by Yanni Kuznia, THE RESCUE ARTIST by Edward Dolnick, and still slogging through THE ANNALS OF SAN FRANCISCO by John H. Gihon, M.D., Frank Soule and James Nisbet."

Naamen: "THE BETTER PART OF VALOR by Tanya Huff - Second in the Valor series. Wasn't sure how I felt about the main character, Staff Sergeant Kerr, until the end of the first book but now I'm really liking her. Still reading all the MilSF I can find with women marines and this is a really good series so far. THREE PARTS DEAD by Max Gladstone, only a few pages in but this books seems like a real genre busting interesting read so far, which involves an exiled, newly-employed necromancer named Tara Abernathy, a chain-smoking priest enduring a crisis of faith, and a potential case of deicide."

Silent Red Hydrogen Shadows: A Confederation of Fairies and Lions

What the staff is reading this week:

Alan: "I'm continuing my semi-abusive relationship with David Weber by reading STORM FROM THE SHADOWS.  His stuff really is sort of addictive for me -- which is what allows the relationship to be abusive, after all."

Cary: "THE SILENT LAND by Graham Joyce and THE GOOD FAIRIES OF NEW YORK by Martin Millar."

Claud: "TO LIE WITH LIONS, Dorothy Dunnett; and RED MARS, Kim Stanley Robinson."

Heather: "THE MISTS OF AVALON by Marion Zimmer Bradley."

Jude: "I just finished a re-read of NIGHTSHIFTED by Cassie Alexander (one of my favorite new paranormal series. . .syphilitic were-dragon FTW!) and now I'm reading THE ANNALS OF SAN FRANCISCO by Frank Soulé, John H. Gihon, M.D., and James Nisbet and very slowly starting an advance copy of THE HYDROGEN SONATA by Iain M. Banks, because I don't want it to be over too soon."

Naamen: "I just finished Jean Johnson's AN OFFICER'S DUTY (which I enjoyed very much) and now I'm reading A CONFEDERATION OF VALOR by Tanya Huff.  I'm just in the mood for female Marines.  Wow, that sounded terrible."

Overheard in the Store

This is a feature that appears periodically, usually as we attend conventions and overhear things.  However, sometimes we overhear amusing tidbits even when we're not attending a convention:

"Sometimes I think I _might_ miss other people, if they'd only stay away longer."

"When you date artists, it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between 'crazy-crazy' and 'artist-crazy'."

"It's okay, run-on sentences are kind of my thing.  I write that way, too."

 "I'm quite choosey -- I just like everything!"

July Bestsellers

Hardcovers
1) The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross
2) Redshirts by John Scalzi
3) The Long Earth by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett
4) Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
5) The Hollow City by Dan Wells
6) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
7) Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin
8) Existence by David Brin
9) Prepare to Die by Paul Tobin
10) Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness tie with Railsea by China Mieville

Paperbacks
1) A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
2) A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
3) A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
4) Rule 34 by Charles Stross
5) A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
6) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
7) Blackout by Mira Grant
8) The Ministry of Peculiar Occurances: The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
9) The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
10) Feed by Mira Grant

Trade Paperbacks
1) Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois
2) Makers by Cory Doctorow
3) Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
4) Report From Planet Midnight Plus. . . by Nalo Hopkinson
5) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

July News Roundup

* The SF Bay Guardian's readers voted that Borderlands had the Best Staff in the entire retail category in their Best of the Bay 2012 poll!  We're extremely flattered and proud -- thanks to all of you who voted!  http://www.sfbg.com/specials/best-bay-2012-readers-poll-shopping

* The She-Wolf Reads Blog posted an interview with Alan Beatts, Borderlands' owner: http://shewolfreads.com/2012/07/24/interview-with-alan-beatts-owner-of-borderlands-bookstore-in-sf/

* Congrats to our friends at Other Change of Hobbit, who were part of this list of "10 Truly Unique Bookstores in America": http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=1791#m16922

* You'll have to see this Goyte video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY to understand and appreciate this "Star Wars That I Used to Know" parody: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJlbPXZEpRE

* The delightful Charles Yu was kind enough to drop by and sign copies of his new collection SORRY PLEASE THANK YOU for us.  If you'd like a signed copy, contact us quickly because they're going fast! Here's an interview with Charles to get you started: http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/24/living/charles-yu-qa/index.html

* NPR talks to John Scalzi about REDSHIRTS: http://www.npr.org/2012/07/12/156669439/writer-puts-expendable-redshirts-in-the-spotlight

* We're sorry to report the passing of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, at age 61. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8746225

August Upcoming Events

Walkers, Watchers, Witches, Immortals and More: Four Authors in Conversation” with Stacey Jay, Carolyn Jewel, Kat Richardson, &Veronica Wolff - Sunday, August 19th at 3:00 pm

Daniel Suarez, KILL DECISION (Dutton, Hardcover, $26.95) - Saturday, August 25th at 3:00 pm

Shaenon K. Garrity, SKIN HORSE, VOL. 3 Release Party - Saturday, August 25th at 5:00 pm

Richard Kadrey, DEVIL SAID BANG (HarperVoyager, Hardcover, $24.99) - Saturday, September 8th at 3:00 pm

Seanan McGuire, ASHES OF HONOR (DAW, Mass Market, $7.99) - Saturday, September 8th at 5:00 pm

Brent Weeks, THE BLINDING KNIFE (Orbit, Hardcover, $25.99) - Thursday, September 13th at 7:00 pm

SF in SF at the Variety Preview Room (582 Market St.) with authors Malinda Lo, Roz Kaveney, and Cindy Pons - Saturday, September 15th at 7:00 pm

Steven Erikson, FORGE OF DARKNESS (Tor, Hardcover, $27.99) - Saturday, September 22nd at 3:00 pm

Full event details after the break

Zazen Saloon Slaves of the Notorious Mists and Ashes Circus

What the staff is reading this week, a bit belated:

Alan: "Reading CROWN OF SLAVES by David Weber and Eric Flint.  Nothing like a bit of light space-opera to clear the palette before diving into Steven Erikson's new Malazan novel."

Cary: "Reading THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern."

Claud: "VENETIA, by Georgette Heyer -- a reread; ZAZEN, by Vanessa Veselka; THE UNKNOWN AJAX, by Georgette Heyer -- another reread; and ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMEN: THE JOURNALS OF MAY DODD, by Jim Fergus."

Heather: "THE MISTS OF AVALON by Marion Zimmer Bradley."

Jude: "Just finished ASHES OF HONOR by Seanan McGuire (the best Toby Daye book yet, I think), TALES FROM MARGARITAVILLE by Jimmy Buffet, and a totally charming volume from 1982 called SALOONS OF SAN FRANCISCO: THE GREAT AND NOTORIOUS by Jane Chamberlin and Hank Armstrong."

Naamen: "Just finished THE IRON WYRM AFFAIR by Lilith Saintcrow and now I'm reading AN OFFICER'S DUTY by Jean Johnson."