S&L Podcast - #99 - The Game of Sword Picks

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It's an epic struggle... With The Magicians finally given our last words, and Hyperion by Dan Simmons kicked off, attention turns to the June "sword" pick. But while Veronica struggles with her penchant for democracy and her desire for supreme power, she comes up against one sobering fact: In the game of sword picks, you win or you read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: 2009 Château Haut-Sorillon

Veronica: St. george Absinthe Verte

QUICK BURNS

Neal Stephenson on Science Fiction, Building Towers 20 Kilometers High ... and Insurance

Sci-fi author sues Ubisoft over Assassin's Creed copyright infringement

Macmillan’s Tor/Forge goes DRM-free

IO9 listing the top 100 albums sff fans should listen to 

10 Untranslatable Words (And When You’ll Want to Use Them) 

CALENDAR 

BARE YOUR SWORD

Other Polarizing Books 

Author Promo (Share Your Stuff!) > Help, please, oh gods of science

What Else Are You Reading? > Any fans of tie-in fiction? 

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

Warner Bros. releases 'Casablanca,' 'Ben-Hur,' and other scripts as enhanced ebooks

BOOK WRAP-UP 

The Magicians by Lev Grossman 

Last thoughts! We will have Mr. Grossman on the next video episode of Sword and Laser so submit your questions on GoodReads.

Next book will be Hyperion by Dan Simmons 

Won the Hugo in 1989 - First book of the Hyperion Cantos (which some people may get bugged by because it definitely leads into a series)

From Wikipedia:

It's what is called a Frame Story - A frame story (also frame tale, frame narrative, etc.) is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories. The frame story leads readers from a first story into another, smaller one (or several ones) within it. Mimics the canterbury Tales in many ways.  Stories are told on a pilgrimage.

Hyperion is in development for a 2013 release (definitely subject to change since it hasn't started production yet). According to a 2008 io9 report the writer Trevor Sands will simplify Hyperion and mash it up with the sequel Fall of Hyperion http://io9.com/375998/dan-simmons-hyperion-books-will-be-smooshed-together-into-one-movie

And we're working on the June Pick.

EMAIL / VOICEMAILS

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First, I love the show. I'm a fellow podcaster over at Guys Can Read. We do book reviews and interviews with authors like R. A. Salvatore and Daniel H. Wilson. 

Also, I thought your listeners would be interested in my book launch into space! Here is the video. If you need any other media information just let me know. 

Hope you guys enjoy!

Kevin

---

ADDENDUMS

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers.For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.


S&L Podcast - #99 - The Game of Sword Picks

S&L Video - #02 - The Magicians Wrap-Up and Interview with Saladin Ahmed!

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This week, we're wrapping up "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman (but don't despair if you haven't finished yet!) and we also speak with author Saladin Ahmed, finalist for the Nebula and Campbell awards and author of "Throne fo the Crescent Moon."

Learn more about our guest and book pick!
Saladin Ahmed: http://www.saladinahmed.com
Saladin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/saladinahmed
The Magicians: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6101718-the-magicians

Show Notes:
Neal Stephenson has a hard time talking about swordplay, in the Mongoliad trailer
What is "used book smell?"
Aurora Nominations
Novellas, Unbound!

 

 

 

Solve this puzzle for a secret look at Mira Grant’s BLACKOUT

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Yesterday, io9 published an excerpt of Mira Grant's Blackout, the final book in her Newsflesh trilogy. Today, an intrepid Newsie hacked into the CDC computer system and liberated another file. For this one, though, you'll have to do a little digging...

Below is a puzzle whose answer reveals one of the five codes you'll need to access the second, top-secret document.

Rumor has it that you should be hanging around these other blogs to gather the other four:

Rose-Owls and Pumpkin Girls (The Journal of Seanan McGuire)

The Mary Sue

SF Signal

Fantasy Café

Once you've gathered all five codes, you can access the encrypted document at the Orbit Books site. WARNING: Massive spoilers for Feed and Deadline ahead!

Blackout will be available May 22nd.

Let us know where you would hole up during a zombie apocalypse in the comments below, and you will be entered to win the Newsflesh triology (Feed, Deadline, Blackout)! Open to participants in the US, Canada, and the UK. Winner will be randomly selected on May 2nd!

 

S&L Podcast - #98 - Stop Saying Lady Cave!

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If you thought the audio podcast would get shorter because of our video show, you were not right. We have almost a full hour of discussion about why we like dark fantasy, what makes C.S. Lewis so cool, and the ups, downs, ins, and outs of Quentin Coldwater and The Magicians. Also Veronica keeps saying "lady cave" because she thinks it's funny.  It's funny.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

What We're Drinking" segment needs an S&L name 

Tom: Racer 5 IPA 

Veronica: 2009 Mandolin Cabernet Sauvignon 

QUICK BURNS

New cover art: Abercrombie, Sanderson, Banks, Sapkowski 

Publisher hails CS Lewis 'space trilogy' e-book debut

Writing advice from C.S. Lewis was both adorable and concise 

The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for Libertarians 

Over 2/3 of U.S. libraries offer e-books; 28% lend e-readers 

Cover art and blurb for Peter F. Hamilton's GREAT NORTH ROAD

CALENDAR

BARE YOUR SWORD

FAQ - A Sword and Laser Primer for New Members 

Lev Grossman says what fantasy is about 

Send us videos! 

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

Full episode list for Season 2 of GAME OF THRONES 

GAME OF THRONES renewed for a third season 

BOOK CHECK-IN

The Magicians by Lev Grossman 

Meta-mockery of the fantasy genre? 

Courage of your convictions when referencing other books? 

A Case of Loose Ends? 

EMAIL

Hello Tom & Veronica,

i've just watched the first video version of Sword & Laser on Youtube, and i totally loved it!

I have a small question you guys can hopefully help me out with.

I've recently sold my tablet (the poor thing was collection dust on the shelf), but now i'm finding myself getting back into e-books.

I could read them on my smartphone, but the small screen makes me want to turn it off after a few minutes.

Reading them on the computer works sometimes, but my concentration levels aren't as high as i hoped, i usually find myself surfing the web withint 10-15 minutes.

Audiobooks may be a solution, and i am currently listening to one, narrated by your first guest Scott Sigler. However, i was hoping to somehow combine this with reading e-books.

Any tips on how to make it easier to read e)books for an hour at a time without reinvesting in a tablet or any other devices would be appreciated!

Love the show, your dragon definitely needs some patting :)

Sincerely,

JP

ADDENDUMS

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers.

For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service.

For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.  

S&L Podcast - #98 - Stop Saying Lady Cave!

S&L Video - #01 - We Kick-off The Magicians!

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It's here, it's really here! After months of hard work (and dealing with dragon negotiations) we've finally launched the video show! Check it out below:

Huge thanks to Scott Sigler for being on the first episode, and hopefully many of you have already started reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman. 

Show Notes:
Game of Thrones companion book - The Wertzone
The Hugo Award Nominees
Harry Potter e-books! - CNET
Pheonix Pick giving away 10 free e-books - SFSignal
The Kindle is opening up the world to new SFF authors - io9.com

 

 

S&L Podcast - #97 - Oh Man, We're Near 100!

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S&L Podcast - #96 - Interview with Scott Lynch

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We're psyched to interview Scott Lynch, who, spoiler alert, is the Scott who gets welcomed in the new member hellos too! Plus we delve into the Ender's Game controversy and pick good audio books for road trips.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Water 
Veronica: 2006 Bruno Rocca Barbaresco 

QUICK BURNS
Teacher Suspended For Reading Ender's Game To Students
How does 1Q84 stack up to Haruki Murakami’s classic novels? 
Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Series That Started Out as Trilogies 
EXPANSE Book III given a title 

CALENDAR

BARE YOUR SWORD

The Lies of Locke Lamora > Boing Boing's List of Vagabonds 
Time for a road trip! (No, we don't mean we're going on tour) 

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES
Twilight slashfic takes Hollywood 

INTERVIEW
Scott Lynch
The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1) by Scott Lynch

BOOK PICK
Help pick our May book (It's a laser)

EMAIL
Hey there! I am an assistant librarian at Parman Library here in San Antonio, TX. I was wondering, since you guys have quite the following, if you could have an option on your site or goodreads site where people can submit their book groups/social clubs for others to search for.  For instance, I have a science fiction book group at our library called Escape the Earth! and if it were listed on your site, which gets a lot of traffic from SF fans, it would bring my community closer together in our nerdom. Just a thought… Been enjoying the podcast!
 
Tyler D. Lutz
---

Hey Tom and Veronica.
Congrats on the video show, I'd actually always hoped we'd see a video show (though I always imagined it would have been a TWiT.TV show).
Anyway I have a couple of thoughts.
1. You mentioned the video show needing to be pretty strictly PG. Do you feel this is going to have a real impact on the book choices?
2. What's going to happen with Game of Thrones TV discussion? I'd really like you to think about doing a separate small 10-15 minute audioshow after each episode and drop them in the podcast feed. 
Anyway really looking forward to the video show.
Jason (Australia).
--- 

I know you cant talk about it on sword and laser because of your sponsor but I think people should know about
http://librivox.org/
It is a website that is trying to record all public domain books into audio books and then publish them on the web under creative commons.  People can volunteer to read books or chapters and upload them back to the site.  They are all surprising well done and although not on the same level as paid versions.  They are very easy to listen to, unlike computer synthesized voices.
I first heard about from the roku channel on the nowhere man's privet channel page
http://thenowhereman.com/roku/
I would love to know what you think about it
Thanks
-Andrew 

NEW MEMBER HELLOS
Jonathan, Paul, Courtney, Mike, Josh, Scott, Micha, Tyler, Brooke, Yento, G Willow Wilson, Brandon, Carleen, Leslie, Amber, Travis, Kelly, Hagar, Vicki,Terry, Quinton, Dan, Josh, Gally, Mike, Rachel, Phil, Cameron, Ryan, Chase, JC, Frank, Mike, Louie, Cy, Nick, Jon, Trevor, Sean, Damian, Hunter, Gary, Sam, Jacob, Hai, Tony, Phillip, Eric, TK, Will, CF, Jason, ob1spyker, Semora (see-more-ah), Luis, Tracey, Mimsey, Sara, Paul, John

S&L Podcast - #96 - Interview with Scott Lynch

S&L Podcast - #95 - Have You Seen This Direwolf?

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We're all giddy about our new video show at Geek and Sundry, but we promise there's more to the episode than just that.  Though if you have questions about what the video show means, hopefully loads of them are answered right off the top of the show. We also dig into Lies of Locke Lamora (though we don't wrap it up quite yet) and help save SciFi. Literally.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: 2008 Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon Vintners Blend 

Veronica: 2005 Phenom Merlot 

QUICK BURNS

That online book club you like is adding a YouTube show to it's lineup

Sword & Laser coming to video! 

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi has a free Kindle preview up 

Have you seen this Direwolf? Arya Stark’s Lost Dog Poster 

Singularity & Co. - Save the SciFI! 

CALENDAR

BARE YOUR SWORD

"The Magicians" discussion leader? 

Yes we know what the next book will be - and yes we know it's not a laser, but the book after that will be and we need your help picking it! 

If made into a movie, who would you cast? 

Who Scott Lynch would cast 

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

Finally a real Prometheus trailer and not just a teaser!

John Carter 

BOOK CHECK-IN

The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1) by Scott Lynch  

SF Signal is doing Lies of Locke Lamora too! 

The Lies of Locke Lamora > A Protagonist in Need of a Want? 

The Lies of Locke Lamora > Why isn't there a map? 

EMAIL

I had the honor of getting to see Tom and Veronica at the WonderCon signing this Saturday. Tom gave me a shirt and I thought it was just an XL when he gave it to me, but was elated to see it was an XXXL when I checked it later. I'm so used to free giveaways being so small on me and most people overlook us big boys. I'm a big fan of all that you and I can't thank you enough. 

Literally a Big Fan,

Mike P.

---

Tom and Veronica, 

I'm very excited about your video podcast, and all teh geek and sundry goodness coming. But I have one concern: Is there a 'what we're drinking' section? If there is no drinking to begin the show, it can't really be an S&L podcast, can it? 

Keep up the good work.

JOE

NEW MEMBER HELLOS

Aroha, Dana, Mitchbert, Christopher, Aaron, Troadon, Louann, Megan, Count, Zach, Jason, Leesa, Ivy, Tyson, John, Brandi, Caroline, Steven, Lily, Adam, John, Craig, Chris, Jamie, Mae, Alan, Robby, Casey, Brendan

ADDENDUMS

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers.

For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service.
For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword. 

 

S&L Podcast - #95 - Have You Seen This Direwolf?

S&L Podcast - #94 - Can't Keep A Good Map Down

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We talk about some cool SciFi maps from the US to Westeros tonight.  Plus, the Syrah may get to our hosts, but they think they know both why we like heroes, and when it's OK to hate an author's politics but like his story. we also are continually impressed with Terry Pratchett.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: 2010 La Granja Syrah 

Veronica: Pasa Robles Syrah from a Zeppelin!

QUICK BURNS

The most complete ASoIaF World Map yet 

A map of the United States, drawn in the style of Lord of the Rings 

Info on Guy Gavriel Kay's new novel 

The Worst Science Fiction Novel of the 19th Century 

Legendary French artist Moebius, the man who made The Abyss, Alien, and Tron even weirder, is dead at 73

CALENDAR

BARE YOUR SWORD

Are Generation X scifi/fantasy fans fixated on the Chosen One?

Political Views of Authors 

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

GAME OF THRONES Season 2 episode title update 

Yet another GAME OF THRONES trailer 

Pottermore departing beta from platform nine (and three quarters) in April

Mass Effect as good science fiction 

BOOK CHECK-IN

"The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1) by Scott Lynch"

EMAIL

Hey guys,

I'm very pleased you're currently reading The Lies of Locke Lamora.  I read it about a year ago and immediately followed up with the awesome sequel ""Red Seas Under Red Skies"".  It was that book that got me more into the Fantasy genre and as I explored online I found your podcast.  I saw this recent post on Scott Lynch's blog regarding some of his early development of the Gentlemen Bastard series and thought it would be interesting to mention on the show:

http://scott-lynch.livejournal.com/271036.html

I found this post particularly interesting as I will be taking part in this years NaNoWriMo, inspired by your attempts last year, and I plan on making extensive notes beforehand.

Keep up the good work.

Matt

---

Hi, this is Chris from Poland again. I wanted to mention that the Discworld Reading Order Guide that I maintain and which you mentioned once on the podcast has been updated to version 2.1 and is available on the Discworld Fanatics website. Since you sometimes mention Pratchett, your listeners might want to take a look at the new Guide.

Cheers,

Chris.

---

NEW MEMBER HELLOS

Amy, David, Clarissa, Jesse, Todd, Rob, Chris, Ewan, Jenni, Don, Andrew, Jake, Bradford, Jerry, Binarybookworm, Luke, Billy, Steven, Diego, Jedidiah, Martin, Andrew, Stuart, Christos

ADDENDUMS

We'll be at WonderCon next weekend, panel at 2pm with Felicia Day, Wil Wheaton and more! Room 204

S&L Podcast - #94 - Can't Keep A Good Map Down

S&L Podcast - #93 - Interview with Andrew Mayne

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We chat with author and magician Andrew Mayne.  And we mean he's actually amagician, not just magical with stories, although also that. Plus we talk about the best ways to sign Kindle books.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: 2008 Red Diamond Winery Shiraz 

Veronica: 2012 Agua

QUICK BURNS

New Terry Pratchett novel given a title 

Brandon Sanderson plans 36-volume fantasy series 

Michael Whelan to paint the final WHEEL OF TIME cover 

Rudy Rucker's new imprint launches with his complete short stories 

2 Science Publishers Delve Into Science Fiction 

Science fiction writers irked with Amazon.com, redirect links to other booksellers

CALENDAR  

INTERVIEW

Books by Andrew Mayne

BARE YOUR SWORD

How do I get my kindle signed?

Female SciFi Leads 

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

Latest GAME OF THRONES S2 trailer 

GAME OF THRONES S2 trailer: Seven Devils 

New LEGEND OF KORRA trailer 

New BATTLESTAR GALACTICA pilot completed 

BOOK CHECK-IN

The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)by Scott Lynch

Purchase The Lies of Locke Lamora  

EMAIL

Hi, this is Chris from Poland again from the ""No, I fixed it!"" debacle :-P. I'm now all caught up with the podcast. I just graduated from English Studies at the University of Warsaw. I thought I'd send you guys my MA Theis, as it deals with the cyberpunk fiction of William Gibson and Neal Stephenson (the novels "Neuromancer", "Snow Crash" and "The Diamond Age").

The Thesis explores the themes of innocence and individualism in American fiction and cyberpunk in particular. Check it out if you're ever bored enough to start reading an academic paper ;-).

Cheers, Chris.

NEW MEMBER HELLOS

Irene, Paul, Princess Nenji, Jessica-star, David, Tasha, Jani, Ray, Jukka, Penny, Nick, Jill, Joey, Rob, Justin, Jonny, Laura, Vicky, Joel, Kyle, Steve, Dan, Benjamin, Chad, Stuart, Paige, Jordy, Michael, Christine, RK, Adam, Sergio, Jim, Tim, Virgil, Timi, Sil-in-thar, Richard, Steve, Theresa, Gloria, Caribeth, Jamie, Maike, Paul, Jim, Josh, Joe, John, Joey, Zev871, Silvan, Jason, She'Nundi, Skaw, Steve, Brent, Theodore, Matt, Adrian, Christopher, Charlotte, Jared, Jon, Kam, Penny, Cian (key-in), Dexter, Aarón, Julia, Adam

ADDENDUMS 

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers. For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword. 

S&L Podcast - #93 - Interview with Andrew Mayne

We need help!!!

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Hey folks! 

So Tom and I are looking for someone in the community to lend a helping hand around the farm. We'd like to hire (YES, HIRE) a production assistant to help us with guest booking, asset gathering, event coordination, and other tasks. 

We need someone who is extremely detail oriented, available around eight hours a week, and obviously has a love of science fiction and fantasy! 

You don't need to be local to SF, though it would be easier if you were in a timezone that lent itself well to collaboration. 

Please email us at feedback@swordandlaser.com with the subject line "Production assistant." This will be a paying gig, though we cannot shower you in gold (sorry). 

Serious inquiries only, and don't fret if we don't get back to you immediately! 

THANKS!!! 

S&L Podcast - #92 - The Lies of Locke Lamora Kick-off

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Well it's an amazing kick-off to a great fantasy novel, but Tom can't stop himself from embarassing admissions, and Veronica is shocked into speechlessness. So it's that kind of episode.
 

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Veronica: 2010 Hogue Cellars Pinot Grigio 

Tom: 2009 Les Portes de Bordeaux 

QUICK BURNS

Aspiring sf writers: Clarion workshop closes to applications in two weeks

2011 Nebula Awards Nominees Announced Thanks David!

Developing World: Beyond the Frontiers of Science Fiction 

CALENDAR

BARE YOUR SWORD

Alternate Pick? 

Books You Have Lemmed 

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

Joseph Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS going scifi

Classic S&L Video Games 

TRAILER: ‘Doomsday Book’ – SciFi Anthology Film with Sentient Robots, Meteor Collision and Zombies

BOOK KICK-OFF

The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)by Scott Lynch

Wikipedia Entry 

Purchase The Lies of Locke Lamora  

Tom finished MORAV by Fon Davis

Updates on Blue Remembered Earth and The Coldest War.

EMAIL

Dear V & T,

I've been catching up on a few weeks of podcasts, so feel free to ignore this if you've moved on from the ""is listening to an audiobook really reading?"" issue.  
My relevant background is that I am a cognitive neuroscientist and an avid audiobook listener (I joined audible.com in 2001...)

Anyway, from a scientific perspective, all the claims that brain handles audio differenetly from the written word are true but entirely meaningless to this debate.
The problem is that unless you have some well-formed argument about what a difference in neural patterns signfiies, its meaningless to base any claim by stating simply that the ""brain handles x differnetly from y"".   The reason for this is that, at some level,  the brain handles nearly everything differently from everything else.

For example, reading aloud and reading silently activate the brain in different ways.  As does reading reading in your native tounge vs. a newly learned langauge.  Same with braille vs printed words.  Or with reading off paper vs. off a computer monitor (neural activity can actually get entrained to the refresh rate).  Brain activity in ""fast readers"" can differ from that of ""slow readers.""  Kids' brains handle reading differently from adult brains.  Brain activity during reading can change following a stroke... And so on.   If there is one ""right"" kind of brain activity for reading, there is probably only one person who has ever really read (my money is with Jonathan Franzen….)
Point being:  saying that brain activity is different when listening vs. ""reading"" tells us nothing particularly useful.

On the other hand, much more meaningful questions could be asked, like:
Do people remember the text better when it is read to them vs. when they read it themselves?Are details remembered better?Does the author intent come through better in one medium vs. another?  Are people more likely to ""skim"" in one medium vs. another?After some time do people forget how they ""read"" the book?  (that is, years afterwards, is the content stored seperately from the delivery method).

These are actually answerable questions and it would be interesting if someone did this research.  But I can say from my own experience that there are times when audio is clearly the ""better"" method.   One obvious example, is that I know how to pronounce character names and places.  
Anyway, love the show,

Jordy

---

Hi Tom and Veronica,

Love the S&L podcast, keep up to good work.Brandon Sanderson posted a blog entry about the release date of A MEMORY OF LIGHT 

As a Wheel of Time fan, I can't wait, hope it doesn't get delayed but i respect the need to finish this off right.

BTW: are my recommendations for an S&L book pick

Sword: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

Laser The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi

Veronica, thanks for introducing me the Alex Craft series in your new book club, looking forward for more good stuff.

Lastly here is book rec I think you will both enjoy immensely but probably doesn't fit the book club profile, it takes place in a post Zombie outbreak world in which civilization didn't collapse largely thanks to bloggers and the lessons learned from George Romero! the book is called Feed by Mira Grant (Newsflesh Trilogy #1) it's a clever, intelligent book, just look at the cover.

Arroyo Kay

NEW MEMBER HELLOS

Tim, Drew, Lou, Hisham, Shaun, Steven, Anthony, Lisa, J.L., Gene, Doryen, Stu, Ben, Karen, Jared, Terry, Atle (AT-luh), Dan aka Skipper, Adam, Andre, Peta, Michael, Luke, Gord, Chris, Andy, Emil

ADDENDUMS 

 

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers. For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword. 

 

S&L Podcast - #92 - The Lies of Locke Lamora Kick-off

S&L Podcast - #91 - Rule 34 Wrap-up

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We talk about the importance of scientists and writers partnering up as well as debate the distinction between science fiction and science fantasy.  And we wrap up Rule 34 by Charles Stross.  Did our opinons turn?  Listen and find out.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Veronica: 2007 d'Arenberg d'Arrys Original Shiraz Grenache 

Tom: 2005 Cosentino Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 

QUICK BURNS

The science fiction effect 

SF flash fiction from Gaiman, Moorcock, Westerfeld, Ann Vandermeer, Gene Wolfe and others

WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE news plus some new GoT pics 

What Frank Herbert’s Dune Can Teach Us About the Power of Positive Thinking 

CALENDAR 

BARE YOUR SWORD

Your One and Only

Science Fantasy vs Science Fiction 

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

It’s Honest Abe versus bloodsuckers in the first Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter trailer

HBO on the Battle of the Blackwater (and Dunk 'n' Egg) 

George R.R. Martin reads nursery rhymes. 

BOOK WRAP-UP

Rule 34 by Charles Stross

Charles Stross' about page -- Thanks to Nick on Goodreads for pointing it out

EMAIL

"Love the podcasts,

So the idea started with one of the guys calling the other ""girly-man"". So to keep a fight from starting I gave a quick class on how all males are 50% female do to the X chromosome. I have seen shows where a person goes through hormone replacement therapy as part of their gender change and are shocked by the changes in their personalty. Has there ever been a book where someone ""grew"" a man with two ""Y"" chromosomes? A ""fe"" free male so to say. If not, I am sure it would be a great idea for some book. Part of it sounds like something China or North Korea would to make a super soldier.  

If nothing else maybe they could just be put in charge of the House of Representative. (inside joke for Tom and another show)


Signing off from Afgahnistan,
SSG Michael Mugler"

---

"Hi Tom & Veronica,     I heard you talking about the Baen free library on the last episode and wanted to mention that for years Baen included CD's with some of their hardback books that included ebooks versions not only of that book but other Baen books.

I always thought it was a great way to encourage fans to try other authors as well as additional books in the series and Baen encouraged people to share the CD's with friends.
A fan has put together an archive of all the CD's online at http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com for those of us who own the Baen hardbacks its an easy way to get all of the CD's content in one place. Since the CD's were distributed freely it appears to be a completely legal way to get a number of free books from Bean that are not available for free in their store. 


Not sure if this is show worthy material since I have not heard if Baen has commented on the website either way though it has been mentioned on Penny-Arcade before.  Regardless I highly recommend Baen as they are a company who seems to understand the benefits of digital distribution and go treat their customers much better than most publishers with reasonably priced ebooks combo packs and free books.
Brandon


P.S. Keep up the great work on the show!!" NEW MEMBER HELLOS Scott, Manuel, Brad, Aubrey, Erik, Jeane (pronounced Genie), Ryan, Chris, Bob, Shane, Nick, Stan, Susan, Barry, Jess, Paul, Thomas, Ted, Robbin, Terje (pronounced TARE-yuh), Mira, Mason, Stuart 

ADDENDUMS 

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers. For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.

S&L Podcast - #91 - Rule 34 Wrap-up

S&L Podcast - #90 - Fake Being an Expert

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Do you want to know how to fake being an expert on something geeky? We examine some tips from io9 on folling the geeks, plus Tom explains how he's legally reading a book that won't be sold in the US until the summer. And Veronica has some kind words for John Scalzi.  One of those words is boobies.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Veronica: 2007 Alois Lageder Pinot Noir Alto Adige

Tom: Courvoisier VSOP Cognac

QUICK BURNS

Another Chain Says It Won’t Carry Amazon Books, But Does It Matter? 

“Provacative” Publisher Creates Book That Lets You Talk Back To The Characters

How to Fake Being An Expert in Any Major Media Character, In 7 Easy Steps  

CALENDAR

BARE YOUR SWORD

Buy some John Scalzi books, support breast cancer screenings!

The strangest thing found left in a book? 

Eastercon 2012  

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

New GAME OF THRONES trailer 

Hunger Games Trailer 2 is out - Super Bowl Trailer 

Sugar Inc. Launches DistrictSugar, their portal for all things Hunger Games

BOOK CHECK-IN

Tom finished Rule 34 - liked it much better the last 2/3 Veronica is about 65% of the way through, is enjoying it much more now as well. Officially wrap-up coming next week.

Tom obtained UK version of Blue Remembered Earth by Alistair Reynolds through Amazon.

Veronica is also reading Silent in the Grave, by Deanna Raybourn, for Vaginal Fantasy

EMAIL

I have always loved to read, but ten years ago I lost my sight andhave since become a voracious audiobook listener. I use the term“read” when discussing books all the time which has on occasion causedsome to try to correct me by telling me that I did not read the book Ilistened to it. For which I always reply… The eyes are a medium inwhich the brain reads they’re merely a way to input externalinformation not the body part that reads it and yes I understand thatdifferent parts of the brain are used to identify such externalinformation, but in the end it is the brain that reads no matter theway in which one obtains the information. So when a blind person oraudiobook listener says that they’ve read a book it doesn’t matterwhether they used their eyes, ears or fingers because no matter theway they did it it is still their brain that read it.

Love the podcast and keep up the good work!

-Aaron

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Dear Veronica and Tom,

I was catching up on my Sword and Laser listening last night and two of the conversations in the last podcast inspired me to write in with a book suggestion. Another Email mentioned On Basilisk Station, first book in the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. We're big Weber fans in my household, and most recently my husband and I have been working through Weber's Safehold Series, which begins with Off Armageddon Reef. In this series Weber has combined his typical Military Sci-fi setting with a Historical setting. There are swords, and yes, there are lasers, though there is no magic (but there are dragons, kinda) so your mileage may vary.

Unfortunately Off Armageddon Reef is not available as part of the Baen Free Library, but it is available on Audible. I've read it and listened to it, and enjoyed it greatly both ways. I know it's not the only book out there to tackle a fantasy styled setting from a sci-fi point of view, but I think it'd be a great way to introduce some David Weber to Sword and Laser.

Thanks as always for the great podcast, I'm excited to see what book you all pick next!

Cheers, Jenn

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ADDENDUMS

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers. For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword. 

 

S&L Podcast - #90 - Fake Being an Expert

S&L Podcast - #89 - What Kind of Fantasy Again?

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We do it all in this episode, from congratulating grand masters, to debating the powers of the mind, to talking about sexy fantasy.  Hopefully that last is not too shocking.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

QUICK BURNS
BARE YOUR SWORD
TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES
Game of Thrones will return for its second season in the USA on 1 April 2012. This has now been backed up by Sky Atlantic saying the season will start airing in the UK on Monday, 2 April 2012, less than 24 hours after US transmission. "Blackwater" episode May 27th, written by GRRM
BOOK CHECK-IN
EMAIL
Hi Tom & Veronica,
I've enjoyed listening since I picked up on it last fall. Keep up the good work.
On your last podcast, an email mentioned On Basilisk Station, the first book of the Honor Harrington series. You may be interested that infomyth.com has the first ten books of the Honor Harrington series in ebook form available for free download. They are presented in only lit and rtf formats, but since there is no DRM, I converted them to epub using calibre.
Naoki
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Not really feedback, but I love both authors and found the interview really interesting.
Linda
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ADDENDUMS

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers. For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword. 

 

S&L Podcast - #89 - What Kind of Fantasy Again?

S&L Podcast - #88 - Titillate the Audience

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The wine sort of gets to Veronica and she says some outrageous things, but not nearly as outrageous as what's going on in Rule 34.  What up with that? Ah well. If it's not Scottish it's crap.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

V: 2005 Toasted Head Cabernet Sauvignon 

T: 2009 Les Portes de Bordeaux

QUICK BURNS

Distrust That Particular Flavor: William Gibson's long-overdue essay collection

Photos from the first science fiction convention, 1937 

Science Fiction’s predictions for the year 2012 

Beyond the Wall exploring George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire

CALENDAR 

BARE YOUR SWORD

Sexist Fantasy Book Covers 

Who would you pick to make first contact? 

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

WB Sets Up ‘Ready Player One’ Rewrite From Eric Eason - Thanks Kev!

Masterpiece Mystery! - new Sherlock Holmes 

BOOK CHECK-IN

First Impressions of Rule 34

Scottish accent 

EMAIL

I may be old fashioned, but I have a pretty hard distinction between reading and listening.  I have listened to quite a few books but I always stumble over saying that I ""read"" the book.  I always say I ""listened to"".  
Yet, when I listen to S&L, it seems like you interchange these terms.  Tom has mentioned that he is ""x"" hours in to a book, does that mean that he is not reading it but listening to it?  Is there / should there be a distinction between these two mediums?  If I listen to a podcast, can I say I read it?  What if it had a transcript but I listened to the podcast?  Would it count then?

I recently finished reading The Hunger Games, which I did on the Kindle Fire.  I don't have an issue with digital books; actually I found out that I prefer it.  I recently heard 2 Jim Butcher books, which I also enjoyed.  However I would not say that I read the Butcher books or state that I listened to The Hunger Games.  
Am I goofy on this or do others have the same reaction?

Thank you,
Steven K

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Hey guys, 
Just started listening to you guys recently and I like what I hear. I am impressed by how many books you guys can read so quickly. 

I do have a question for you. Most of my ""reading"" is done through audible.com and just made a startling discovery!!! My audible library is made up of ALL male authors. Each one is great and I am not lacking in Genre diversity, only in gender diversity. Being Female myself, it would be nice if my library would reflect that. So, with the exception of Anne McCaffrey ( i have plenty of her paperbacks), what female authors would you recommend? Spy thrillers is my favorite genre, but, I will take anything in the science fiction or fantasy novels. Classics are welcome too!! Please help before someone accuses me of being a sexist!! 

MR

Veronica's Answer: Laurie R. King, Gail Carriger, Robin Hobb, Jacqueline Carey, Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin

Tom Adds: Andre Norton, Ursula K. LeGuin

---

Hey Tomronica and Veronitom! Just thought I'd ramble at you for a bit. Where to start? I've been listening to your podcast for a couple of weeks now and I love it! I remember someone making the comment about the magic systems of Brandon Sanderson being similar in his books. There's a good reason for it. All his books are in the same universe and each is a ""shard"" as he puts it.

I have a couple of book suggestions. On Basilisk Station by David Weber. It's the first book in the Honor Harrington series. Also Live Free or Die by John Ringo. It's the first book in the Troy Rising trilogy and they are all hilarious! You can get this book and all the others from the publisher Baen for free. I have no idea how that is pronounced.

I have a leftover gift membership to Audible and I have no one to give it to. I thought you guys could use it for a contest. The offer expires February 28th. All I need is the email address of the winner. Have doing everything you are doing!

Michael

 

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ADDENDUMS 

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers.

For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service.
For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.  

 

S&L Podcast - #88 - Titillate the Audience

S&L Podcast - #87 - Kick-off Rule 34 by Charles Stross

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It's a quick episode to kick off our new book selection, Rule 34 by Charlie Stross.  We find we have a lot in common with Mr. Stross. And yes Rule 34 is the meme you're thinking it might be.

 

QUICK BURNS

2012 Hugo Award and John W. Campbell Award Nominating Ballot

CALENDAR

BOOK KICK-OFF

Rule 34 by Charles Stross

Charles Stross

We'll wrap it up on Feb. 13th.

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New email address! feedback@swordandlaser.com

 

S&L Podcast - #87 - Kick-off Rule 34 by Charles Stross