Duplicate Elusive Spellcast Farm Cat Comedy

What the staff is reading this week:

Alan: "About to start NOS4A2 by Joe Hill.  Very much looking forward to it."

Cary:"SPELLCAST by Barbara Ashford."

Claud: "TOWARD AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY OF VALUE: THE FALSE COIN OF OUR OWN DREAMS, by David Graeber; DUPLICATE DEATH, by Georgette Heyer (reread); THE UNEXPECTED MRS. POLLIFAX, THE AMAZING MRS. POLLIFAX, and THE ELUSIVE MRS. POLLIFAX, by Dorothy Gilman (rereads); and DARK CONTINENT: EUROPE'S TWENTIETH CENTURY, by Mark Mazower."

Heather: "I bought HOW TO TELL IF YOUR CAT IS PLOTTING TO KILL YOU by The Oatmeal which I read today. Took about 15 minutes. :) "

Jude: "I just finished COMEDY AT THE EDGE: HOW STAND-UP IN THE 1970's CHANGED AMERICA by Richard Zoglin and last night started CAPOTE: A BIOGRAPHY by Gerald Clarke.  I've also got THE FARM by Emily McKay staring at me balefully from my desk, waiting to be read."

September Bestsellers

Hardcovers
1. The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks
2. Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson
3. Devil Said Bang by Richard Kadrey
4. The Rapture of the Nerds by Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross
5. Slow Apocalypse by John Varley
6. Adaptation by Malinda Lo
7. Midst Toil and Tribulation by David Weber
8. Zero Point by Neal Asher
9. Dragon Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
10. Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams

Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Ashes of Honor by Seanan McGuire
2. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
3. Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
4. Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
5. Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
6. Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
7. Feed by Mira Grant
8. Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge
9. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
10. Tears of the Sun by S.M. Stirling

Trade Paperbacks
1. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
2. Aloha From Hell by Richard Kadrey
3. For the Win by Cory Doctorow
4. The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks
5. Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson

September News Roundup

* Borderlands Cafe (the Cafe, NOT the bookstore) is hiring, and we'd love to hire a customer.  Please email office@borderlands-books.com for details if you're interested before sending a resume.

*The Rebound Bookstore sent us the following, which may be of interest to budding writers: "North Bay Workshop for serious Sci-fi and fantasy writers (short story, novel or film treatment,) with an interest in publication.  Small group will meet once a month on a weekday evening, read about 5-8 minutes of a piece.  Group will fill out professional editors’ style crit. sheet and then discuss the piece. Writer will then revise piece based on critiques that she/he accepts and read it for the group again.  General discussion will follow including talking about getting an agent, getting publication, self publishing, etc.  7:00 -9:30 one week night a month.  Contact Rebound Bookstore at reboundbookstore@aol.com or call 415-482-0550 for questions or sign ups. As soon as we have 5-6 committed members we will begin."

* Michael Swanwick is serializing a story, one sentence at a time, until Halloween at his blog: http://www.floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2012/09/from-ghoulies-and-ghosties-long.html

* Author Junot Diaz talks about why genre fiction gets so little respect: http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/culture/2012/09/6537008/junot-diaz-imperfect-perfection-novel-and-why-genre-fiction-gets-so-

* We're very sorry to report the death of author Adam Niswander on August 12th.  Gary A. Braunbeck wrote this moving tribute for Locus Magazine: http://www.locusmag.com/Roundtable/2012/09/appreciation-for-adam-niswander-1946-2012/

October Upcoming Events

SF in SF LitQuake event at The Variety Preview Room in the Hobart Building (582 Market St.): Epic! Legends of Fantasy with Ken Scholes, Andrew Mayer and Tad Williams, Friday, October 12th at 7:00 pm

LitQuake Litcrawl at Borderlands Books and Borderlands Cafe, Saturday, October 13th at 7:15 pm, with authors Cassie Alexander, S.G. Browne, Seth Harwood, and Seanan McGuire in the bookstore, and Saturday, October 13th at 8:30 pm authors Terry Bisson, Claire Light, Madeleine Robins, and Naamen Tilahun in the Cafe

Gregory Benford and Larry Niven, BOWL OF HEAVEN (Tor, Hardcover, $25.99) Monday, October 22nd at 7:00 pm

Borderlands' Fifteenth Anniversary Party and Sale, Saturday, November 3rd from noon to 7:00 pm.

S.G. Browne, I SAW ZOMBIES EATING SANTA CLAUS: A BREATHERS CHRISTMAS CAROL (Gallery Books, Hardcover, $14.99) Saturday, November 10th at 3:00 pm

SF in SF at the Variety Preview Room in the Hobart Building (582 Market Street) with authors Cecelia Holland and Kim Stanley Robinson, Saturday, November 10th at 7:00 pm

Max Gladstone, THREE PARTS DEAD (Tor, Hardcover, $24.99) and Ben Macallan, PANDAEMONIUM (Solaris, Mass Market, $8.99), Saturday, November 17th at 3:00 pm

An Evening with Patrick Rothfuss: A Reading, Q&A and Signing, Monday, November 19th at 7:00 pm

Details after the break

Thousands of Golden Kingdoms, Zero Homelands for Infidels

What the staff is reading this week:

Alan: "Deeply engrossed in ZERO POINT, Neal Asher's sequel to THE DEPARTURE.  I'm liking it, especially the characterization of the villain.  She's a very nasty piece of work but there are real, believable motivations and reasons for her actions."

Cary: "An advance copy of HOMELAND by Cory Doctorow."

Claud: "THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS, THE BROKEN KINGDOMS, and THE KINGDOM OF GODS, by N.K. Jemisin, and THEY FOUND HIM DEAD, by Georgette Heyer (reread)."

Jude: "I just blew through an uncorrected manuscript copy of Joe Hill's next book NOS4A2.  This is a brilliant book about a very bad man and his very bad car, and one very unconventional & persistent heroine."

Naamen: "Just finished a reread of THE GOLDEN COMPASS by Phillip Pullman. I really love the world he builds in this book and Lyra is probably one of my favorite YA heroines. Currently almost finished with MIDNIGHT RIOT by Ben Aaronovitch: a really interesting and fun Urban Fantasy. I love it even though I get the feeling that at least half of the hilarity of the book is going over my head because of a lack of familiarity with British culture. Can't wait to read the sequels. About to start a reread of the first two books in Kameron Hurley's the Bel Dame Apocrypha series - GOD'S WAR & INFIDEL- since the third one, RAPTURE, is about to come out."

Drowning Fuzzy Sonatas in Mists and Blood

What the staff is reading this week:

Alan: "About half-way through THE HYDROGEN SONATA, Iain M. Banks' new Culture novel.  And LOVING it!  I think he's really stepped up his game in the last three books."

Cary: "MR. PENUMBRA'S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE by Robin Sloan."

Claud: "ANNO DRACULA and THE BLOODY RED BARON, by Kim Newman (new editions); CATWINGS, by Ursula K. Le Guin; DEATH IN THE STOCKS, by Georgette Heyer (reread); and BY BLOOD, by Ellen Ullman."

Heather: "Finished MISTS OF AVALON Monday, finished FUZZY NATION by John Scalzi Thursday. Waiting patiently until Monday when I get get a new book."

Jude: "I am racing through LEE MILLER'S WAR by Anthony Penrose following a visit to San Francisco's Legion of Honor to see the Man Ray & Lee Miller exhibition.  Absolutely fascinating."

Naamen: "Just plowed through the entirety of the Prospero's Daughter trilogy by L. Jagi Lamplighter and absolutely loved it. A perfect blend of Shakespeare and Urban Fantasy. Still trying to figure out why none of my friends recommended these to me and getting ready to re-read the whole thing.

Also just started THE DROWNING CITY by Amanda Downum. Spies, magic and fomenting revolution. Who could ask for anything more?"

Leftover Whispered Melodies

What the staff is reading this week:

Alan: "Just finished WHISPERS UNDERGROUND by Ben Aaronovitch, which was just as good as the other two books in the series (MIDNIGHT RIOT and MOON OVER SOHO).  I'm just about to dive into Iain M. Banks' new Culture novel, THE HYDROGEN SONATA (which isn't out quite yet - I got an advance copy but it'll be on sale next month)."

Cary: "SPIRITS THAT WALK IN SHADOW by Nina Kiriki Hoffman."

Claud: "THE LEFTOVERS, by Tom Perrotta; KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST: A STORY OF GREED, TERROR AND HEROISM IN COLONIAL AFRICA, by Adam Hochschild; GOD'S WAR, by Kameron Hurley; MYRA BRECKINRIDGE, by Gore Vidal -- a reread; INFIDEL, by Kameron Hurley; and THE SEVEN WONDERS, by Steven Saylor."

Jude: "Just finished I STILL DREAM ABOUT YOU by Fannie Flagg, and now reading A SIMPLE HABANA MELODY by Oscar Hijuelos."

We're Hiring

We're looking for someone to work at Borderlands Cafe.  Please note - this job is at the Cafe, not the bookstore (however, there is a possibility of cross-training in the future).  We'd really prefer to hire one of our customers, hence this post.  If you're interested, please drop Jude Feldman a line at jfeldman@borderlands-books.com and she'll give you more information.

Dark Blue Martian Girls with Fairyland Swords

What the staff is reading this week:

Alan: "Just about finish FORGE OF DARKNESS by Steven Erikson.  It's a dense book (no surprise there) and I've not had enough reading time in the past week to make me happy.  Next up is going to be Neal Asher's second Owner novel, ZERO POINT."

Cary: "DREAMS AND SHADOWS by C. Robert Cargill."

Claud:"BLUE MARS and THE MARTINS, by Kim Stanley Robinson -- *amazing* series; and IN THE SHADOW OF THE SWORD, by Tom Holland -- a fascinating look at the birth of Islam in the context of late antiquity."

Jude: "I just finished WHERE IS JOE MERCHANT?, a Carl Hiassen-esque novel by Jimmy Buffet, and now I'm reading THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH FAIRYLAND AND LED THE REVELS THERE by Cat Valente."

August Bestsellers

Hardcovers
1. Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson
2. Zero Point by Neal Asher
3. Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez
4. Sorry Please Thank You by Charles Yu
5. Eternal Flame by Greg Egan
6. Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
7. Seawitch by Kat Richardson
8. Osiris by E.J. Swift
9. Redshirts by John Scalzi
10. Long Earth by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett

Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
2. Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
3. Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
4. Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
5. Greywalker by Kat Richardson
6. Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
7. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
8. Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
9. Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander
10.  Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge

Trade Paperbacks
1. Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
2. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
3. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
4. Makers by Cory Doctorow
5. Empty Space by M. John Harrison