Do Want! – Upcoming Books on my Radar

The Booksmugglers strike again. I don’t know what it is about Ana and Thea, but whenever they get really enthusiastic about a book, I find it enormously contagious. Even when they squee about books that normally wouldn’t catch my eye. It is largely due to these two and their consistent love for certain books on Twitter that I needed to create another wishlist.

Ann Leckie – Ancillary Justice

This is the culprit. If you follow The Booksmugglers on Twitter, tumblr, or their blog, you can’t have missed their excitement about this novel. And the rest of the interwebs pretty much agrees. Justin Landon wrote a glowing review about it. So yes… I need this. Because REASONS!

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.
Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren–a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.
An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. And only one purpose–to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch.

Bill Campbell (ed.) – Mothership: Tales of Afrofuturism and Beyond

I already have an ebook copy of this because I supported the IndieGoGo campaign, but what with my busy schedule, I haven’t even read the first story yet. From the moment I saw the cover I knew I wanted this book. And the line-up is pretty impressive as well. Lauren Beukes, Tobias Buckell, Junot Diaz, and N.K. Jemisin are just a few of them.

Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond sets a bold new course for anthologies by showcasing the work from some of the most talented writers inside and outside speculative fiction. The authors in this anthology have earned such literary honors as the Pulitzer Prize, the American Book Award, the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Bram Stoker, among others. They have garnered numerous accolades and have sold millions of books around the world. Many of their names are likely to be new to you; Mothership is your invitation to get acquainted with them and their writing.

Ytasha L. Womack (ed.) – Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture

Talking about Afrofuturism (and gorgeous covers!), I also discovered this book here (while googling Mothership) and had to put it on my wishlist.

In this hip, accessible primer to the music, literature, and art of Afrofuturism, author Ytasha Womack introduces readers to the burgeoning community of artists creating Afrofuturist works, the innovators from the past, and the wide range of subjects they explore. From the sci-fi literature of Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, and N. K. Jemisin to the musical cosmos of Sun Ra, George Clinton, and the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am, to the visual and multimedia artists inspired by African Dogon myths and Egyptian deities, the book’s topics range from the “alien” experience of blacks in America to the “wake up” cry that peppers sci-fi literature, sermons, and activism. With a twofold aim to entertain and enlighten, Afrofuturists strive to break down racial, ethnic, and social limitations to empower and free individuals to be themselves.

Jeff Vandermeer – Wonderbook

Another one I pre-ordered (and it arrived early, it should only be published today) but haven’t had time to read yet. Flipping through the pages, it looks absolutely stunning. Almost every pages is full of illustrations (full color) and things that make it hard to take your eyes off it. I admit I bought this mostly because it has pieces by Cat Valente and Lauren Beukes in it, but I’ll probably end up reading it front to back.

This all-new definitive guide to writing imaginative fiction takes a completely novel approach and fully exploits the visual nature of fantasy through original drawings, maps, renderings, and exercises to create a spectacularly beautiful and inspiring object. Employing an accessible, example-rich approach, Wonderbook energizes and motivates while also providing practical, nuts-and-bolts information needed to improve as a writer. Aimed at aspiring and intermediate-level writers, Wonderbook includes helpful sidebars and essays from some of the biggest names in fantasy today, such as George R. R. Martin, Lev Grossman, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, Catherynne M. Valente, and Karen Joy Fowler, to name a few.

Catherynne M. Valente – The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two

I am crazy and pre-ordered this in June. It all depends on quick delivery from the book seller and the people at my post office how fast I can hold it in my greedy, little hands. It has been way too long since my last excursion to Fairyland, I miss Ell and Saturday, and I want to know what September is up to.
(Dear gods of bookish things! Please make this one arrive just before the weekend so I can curl up in bed with it and won’t have to speak to or interact with anyone until I’m finished. Thank you!)

September misses Fairyland and her friends Ell, the Wyverary, and the boy Saturday. She longs to leave the routines of home and embark on a new adventure. Little does she know that this time, she will be spirited away to the moon, reunited with her friends, and find herself faced with saving Fairyland from a moon-Yeti with great and mysterious powers.

Gail Carriger – Curtsies & Conspiracies (Finishing School #2)

After the gradually more repetitive and boring Parasol Protectorate, I felt that Gail Carriger’s new YA series was exactly the kind of fresh breath I needed. The first book wasn’t perfect and it riffed off the first series in a lot of ways. But overall, it was enjoyable and fun and made me want more.

Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?
Sophronia’s first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy (won’t Mumsy be surprised?). Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.
Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers’ quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship’s boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a school trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot–one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.
In this sequel to bestselling author Gail Carriger’s YA debut Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail’s distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.