#Paula Guran

[bookclub4m]

Episode 200 - Library Fiction

It’s episode 200, which means it’s (finally) time for us to discuss Library Fiction! We talk about the stereotypes and tropes of library fiction, unacknowledged work of library workers,and more. Plus: we talk way more about our actual jobs than we usually do.

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges 

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

Ex Libris: Stories of Librarians, Libraries, and Lore by Paula Guran (below are direct links to many of the stories from this collection)

In the House of the Seven Librarians by Ellen Klages

In Libres by Elizabeth Bear

Those Who Watch by Ruthanna Emrys

Paper Cuts Scissors by Holly Black

Summer Reading by Ken Liu

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

With Tales in Their Teeth, From the Mountain They Came by A.C. Wise

The Librarian’s Dilemma by E. Saxey

The Green Book by Amal El-Mohtar

A Woman's Best Friend by Robert Reed

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Xia Jia, translated by Ken Liu

The Sigma Structure Symphony by Gregory Benford

The Fort Moxie Branch by Jack McDevitt

The Last Librarian: Or a Short Account of the End of the World by Edoardo Albert

How Can I Help You by Laura Sims

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor 

Souls in the Great Machine by Sean McMullen

Other Media We Mentioned

The Library of Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

The Empty Crown by Rosemary Edghill 

Meghan meant The Abortion by Richard Brautigan (not Trout Fishing in America)

The Midnight Library by Kazuno Kohara

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Bookhunter by Jason Shiga

Unshelved by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes

Library Comic by Gene Ambaum and Willow Payne

Welcome to Night Vale

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Episode 134 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Abbott Elementary

Pounded In The Butt By My Handsome Sentient Library Card Who Seems Otherworldly But In Reality Is Just A Natural Part Of The Priceless Resources Our Library System Provides by Chuck Tingle

My Librarian Is A Beautiful Lesbian Ice Cream Cone And She Tastes Amazing by Chuck Tingle

Party Girl

Public Enemy - Fight the Power

Fictional Librarians

50 Fictional Librarians, Ranked

Rupert Giles (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Barbara Gordon (DC Comics)

The Librarian (Discworld)

Lucien (The Sandman)

Evelyn Carnahan (The Mummy)

Marian Paroo (The Music Man)

Librarians (Welcome to Night Vale)

“While their description is never fully given, minor details of their physical characteristics have been described:”

yellow, gnarled teeth

sharp claws and pincers

Wings

Tentacles

thousands of spiny legs

rattles (that make noise when they move)

thoraxes

Links, Articles, and Things

Two-Fisted Library Stories zines

North Boulder Library is ready to open (there’s a slide in image 6!)

15 Librarian & Library Fiction by POC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama, translated by Alison Watts

Cora's Kitchen by Kimberly Garrett Brown

The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez 

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu

The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana

The Plotters by Kim Un-Su

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

The Library Thief by Kuchenga Shenjé

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Bookhunter by Jason Shiga

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Join us again on Tuesday, October 1st we’ll be getting ready for spooky season with the Weird West! (That’s Supernatural Horror Westerns)

Then on Tuesday, October 15th it’s time for our “We All Read the Same Book” episode as we discuss A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher.

[justsomerandomfanfic]

🥧- do you have any book recommendations? What’s one or a few personal favorites you have read? 💚✨

Ooooh! Excited about this!!

My favorite books;

Beauty by McKinley (fantasy/romance)

A Deal With The Elf King by Kova (fantasy, romance, drama, adventure)

The Mammoth Book Of Cthulhu edited by Paula Guran (fantasy, horror, drama)

If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't) by Betty White (fun autobiography)

The Phantom Of The Opera by Gaston Leroux (romance/mystery)

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood by Oliver Bowden (romance, adventure, action)

My favorite songs (atm);

Derrière Danse by Indila

Born Without A Heart by Faouzia

No More Drama by Charlie Puth

Imagine by Ben Platt

Creep by Radiohead

The Entire FurnGully (1992) Soundtrack (featuring the amazing Robin Williams, Tim Curry, and more!)

[lexreadsdiversely]

Forgot to post my tiny thrift store book finds. I used to go to Savers and walk out with like 10 books, now I'm lucky if I find 3 I'm interested in, but these seem really promising.

Pictured:

Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiences by Saidiya Hartman

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Mermaids and Other Mysteries of the Deep edited by Paula Guran

[alorabyoung]

Paula Guran Reviews The Deadlands, The Sunday Morning Transport, and Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet

Imaginative and poignant.

a review of ‘Terracotta Urn’ in Locus

[profmorbius]

Posted a review of Warrior Women edited by Paula Guran on my blog. Read it here.

tl;dr – Overall a very strong collection

[persephones-stenographer]

I have to work really hard not to freak out about The Locked Tomb at my friends, and thoroughly enjoyed Princess Floralinda... Deepwater Bride is my favorite thing that Tamsyn has written. And it's not even close. If you like her stuff, go find it: It's in a Sci-fi short story magazine, or a queer short story anthology edited by Paula Guran.

[bewitchedbaddie]

"The farther we’ve gotten from the magic and mystery of our past, the more we’ve come to need Halloween."

-Paula Guran

[aurorawest]

Reading update:

What can I say that I haven’t already said about this trilogy? I loved the conclusion. I loved the casual queerness, I loved the politics of the world, I loved El and Liesel and Aad. I don’t want to spoil anything because there was a pretty excellent OH SHIT moment.

This was a weird read because I loved the characters and the premise. The beginning was great. But the middle just dragged a bit. I think I still rated it like 4.75 stars because I was able to forgive the draggy middle. Unfortunately I spoiled myself about the big twist, but tbh I had kind of wondered if that’s where it was going. Good read, excited for the second one. I actually almost moved it up in my TBR pile but decided I should probably read the literature that was next in the pile...

And okay you know what, this book was incredible. Gorgeous, aching, gutting. The intersection of immigration, the opioid crisis, and queerness was beautifully portrayed. Should be required reading.

This is one of those romances that was just...fine. I do like the small town romance trope, and I enjoyed the second book in this series well enough (The Beautiful Things Shoppe). In some ways I probably preferred this one. My main complaints are, 1. Stover’s prose, and particularly his dialogue, feels stilted most of the time, and 2. this book contained the worst description of an orgasm I have ever read in my entire life.

Currently reading:

SFF short story collection with queer characters. Pretty much every story has been very good. I just read Tamsyn Muir’s contribution.

ADJF;AKJFK;AJDF;AKDFKDAJ;F can I marry a book? Is that possible? Can I marry this book? Look, I loved Winter’s Orbit—I’ve recommended it to pretty much everyone I know who I think might even vaguely be interested in it—but I think I might love Ocean’s Echo even more. I LOVE Tennal. I LOVE Surit. I love their just barely budding relationship (I just finished part 1). This book is SO FUNNY too. How is it fair that it has great world building, wonderful characters, emotional depth, and it’s funny? Everina Maxwell is my hero.

I’m actually trying to savor this one instead of racing through it. We’ll see how well I do with that.

[sharry-arry-odd]

Where the dark, unreflective waters had not risen, you could see movement in the streets, but it was not human movement. And there roared a great revel near the Walmart.

Far Out: Recent Queer Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Paula Guran “The Deepwater Bride”, by Tamsyn Muir

[wanderrealms]

That's good to hear. I haven't read much and I expected more high fantasy settings, back when I started reading dark fantasy short stories.

I think high fantasy could give the wrong idea as well, since the setting is a nightmare world with possessed factories that create monsters. I need to tell the readers what's up in the blurb and collection introduction.

The Years Best Dark Fantasy and Horror 2019 anthology by Paula Guran (read for a writing workshop) did have otherworldy settings, I think the majority were here and now. I need read more in the genre.

I listened to dark fantasy lectures, which were useful. The teacher mentioned that the majority of dark fantasy is set here and now.

Unfortunately, the stories with Glassface hunting people up and down the riverine, so he can drain their lifeforce, are set in another world. Calling them dark fantasy could misslead readers who are expecting here and now fantasy with horror or gothic elements.

[weirdletter]

The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: Volume One, edited by Paula Guran, Pyr, 2020. Cover image by Shutterstock, info: simonandschuster.com.

Join twenty-five masterful authors and talented newcomers with more than 400 pages of the disturbing, unnerving, haunting, and strange. This outstanding annual exploration of the year’s best dark fiction delivers tales of deathly possession, the weirdly surreal, mysterious melancholy, and frighteningly plausible futures. Confront your own humanity and the fears that stir you—from the darkly supernatural and painfully familiar to the disquieting terror of the unknown.

Contents: Introduction: Strange Days – Paula Guran The Fourth Trimester Is the Strangest – Rebecca Campbell Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart – Sam J. Miller The Surviving Child – Joyce Carol Oates The Promise of Saints – Angela Slatter Burrowing Machines – Sara Saab About the O’Dells – Pat Cadigan A Catalog of Storms – Fran Wilde Thoughts and Prayers – Ken Liu Logic Puzzles – Vaishnavi Patel A Strange, Uncertain Light – G.V. Anderson Conversations With the Sea Witch – Theodora Goss Haunt – Carmen Maria Machado Nice Things – Ellen Klages Glass Eyes in Porcelain Faces – Jack Westlake Phantoms of the Midway – Seanan McGuire Hunting by the River – Daniel Carpenter Boiled Bones and Black Eggs – Nghi Vo His Heart is the Haunted House – Aimee Ogden In That Place She Grows a Garden – Del Sandeen The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye – Sarah Pinkser The Coven of Dead Girls – L’Erin Ogle Blood Is Another Word for Hunger – Rivers Solomon The Thing, With Feathers – Marissa Lingen Some Kind of Blood-Soaked Future – Carlie St. George Read After Burning – Maria Dahvana Headley Other Recommendations from 2019 Acknowledgments About the Editor

[justsomerandomfanfic]

Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉

🥧 please can I get some recommendations for music and books please ❤️

Yayy! Thank you!!! <333 Here are a few of my favorite things!

My favorite books;

Beauty by McKinley (fantasy/romance)

A Deal With The Elf King by Kova (fantasy, romance, drama, adventure)

The Mammoth Book Of Cthulhu edited by Paula Guran (fantasy, horror, drama)

If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't) by Betty White (fun autobiography)

The Phantom Of The Opera by Gaston Leroux (romance/mystery)

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood by Oliver Bowden (romance, adventure, action)

My favorite songs (atm);

Derrière Danse by Indila

Born Without A Heart by Faouzia

No More Drama by Charlie Puth

Imagine by Ben Platt

Creep by Radiohead

The Entire FurnGully (1992) Soundtrack (featuring the amazing Robin Williams, Tim Curry, and more!)

[lizabethstucker]

Ex Libris: Stories of Librarians, Libraries & Lore

Edited by Paula Guran

Twenty-three tales of fantasy and science fiction that contain libraries and librarians as well as the magic of books.  An absolutely wonderful collection, only one disappointment.  And that was more about style of writing than the premise of the story itself.  4 out of 5.

 “In the House of the Seven Librarians” by Ellen Klages  

When the old Carnegie library was closed and much of its newer content moved to a brand-new library across town, seven librarians remained behind, moving into the library to stay.  Their lives are changed when a baby is left as payment for an overdue book. A suspension of disbelief leads to a strange yet satisfying read.  4.5 out of 5.

 “The Books” by Kage Baker

The Show traveled around the badly decimated U.S., providing entertainment and trade.  In one larger city, three kids explore, stumbling on a library.  All of them are determined to take books back with them, but it might not be that easy.  This was almost like a section of a longer story, one that I'd love to read. Very intense.  Baker does a marvelous job with atmosphere.  3.5 out of 5.

 “Death and the Librarian” by Esther M. Friesner

Death has come at last for Miss Louisa Foster.  Yet even Death can be surprised.  This one came close to tearing my heart out, slamming it on the floor, and stomping on it repeatedly.  5 out of 5.

 “In Libres” by Elizabeth Bear

Despite her thesis being complete, Euclavia is directed to the Library Special Collections to read another source.  Accompanied reluctantly by her centaur friend Bucephalus, they dare to visit the dangerous place.  Definitely dangerous!  There’s a chill tap-dancing along your spine, especially for those readers who have been deep in the bowels of huge, older libraries.  4 out of 5.

 “The King of the Big Night Hours” by Richard Bowes

Memories and suicides in the library.  I’m not certain how I feel about this one.  The writing is exquisite, the plot is intriguing, but the emotions invoked are not comfortable.  If that was the author’s intent, mission accomplished.  3.5 out of 5.

 “Those Who Watch” by Ruthanna Emrys

The library marks Elaine on her third day of work. Already dealing with various health and emotional issues, she must find a way to adapt or leave.  Unusual and intriguing.  Definitely deserves further exploration.  3.5 out of 5.

 “Special Collections” by Norman Partridge

He went to work at the library as suggested by his court-appointed therapist.  He started taking Library Science classes as suggested by the college archivist where he met Daphne.  But there are secrets, deadly secrets swirling around the library and the narrator. More horror than fantasy, not one of my favorites.  Despite ticking off some loved trope boxes, I struggled to finish.  3 out of 5.

 “Exchange” by Ray Bradbury

Working in the library for forty some years is getting to Miss Adams.  Too many children, too many books, too much noise.  Then a former patron arrives after hours looking for a final goodbye before shipping out.  There is no finer writer of fantasy on this planet.  Or maybe it is more accurate to call him a weaver of magic.  5 out of 5.

 “Paper Cuts Scissors” by Holly Black

Justin struggles to find a way to rescue his girlfriend Linda from the book she put herself into after they had a fight.  His best hope is Mr. Sandlin, a man who can bring characters out of books.  Thanks to another, as well as Sandlin, Justin finds answers and a possible solution.  An intriguing premise handled with a delicate touch.  Lovely.  4 out of 5.

 “Summer Reading” by Ken Liu

When mankind left Earth for the stars, the planet was turned into a museum overseen by robots.  CN-344315 was the robot docent of the library.  It had been five thousand years since he last had human visitors.  The servers are gone, but CN-344315 had a tiny room filled with his favorite treasures: a selection of books protected behind an airtight glass.  A visitor reminds CN-344315 of why books are important.  Wow!  I’ve come across Liu’s work in my SF magazines over the years and have always enjoyed his stories.  I do believe this might be one of my favorites.  Short, sweet, and wonderful.  5 out of 5.

 “Magic for Beginners” by Kelly Link

I’m not certain how to explain what this story is about.  There’s a TV series and the characters in this story watch the series yet are also an episode of the same series.  Gave me a bloody headache.  There was so much potential, but it twists around itself until I finally gave up trying to understand it as a bad deal and just slogged through.  Weird beginning, no real ending.  Just a mess.  2.8 out of 5.

 “The Inheritance of Barnabas Wilcox” by Sarah Monette

Booth is surprised to hear from Barnabas Wilcox, a former classmate and bully.  Wilcox needs someone to catalog his late uncle’s library.  Booth senses something twisted at Hollyhill, the uncle’s estate. Creepy, horror of the emotions rather than blood and guts.  In other words, my kind of horror tale.  4 out of 5.

 “The Midbury Lake Incident” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

When the Midbury Lake Public Library burned to the ground, librarian Mary Beth Wilkins was upset, not only because of the fire, but that she wasn’t notified.  Grief would come later, once Mary Beth has left for a new life.  Very nice, just enough backstory to intrigue the reader. I do wish there had been more. 3.5 out of 5.

 “With Tales in Their Teeth, from the Mountain They Came” by A. C. Wise

After she loses her lover in the War, she goes to the Library on the Mountain, becoming an acolyte now named Alba.  She stries to find solace in the quiet, but mostly struggles. Then she meets a novice named Eleuthere who hides secrets beneath his robes.  Very magical, almost dreamlike.  4 out of 5.

 “What Books Survive” by Tansy Rayner Roberts

When the Invaders came, every electronic device died immediately, even battery-run ones.  Katie Scarlett Marsden was almost halfway through Wuthering Heights when her Kindle died.  Once the town built a barricade, she was separated from the school library.  Wanting more to read, Katie slips past the barricade one night, finding more than she expected.  A very weird dystopian story, enthralling and filled with twists.  4.5 out of 5.

 “The Librarian’s Dilemma” by E. Saxey

Jas was hired to bring libraries into the 21st Century.  Saint Simon’s librarian Moira doesn’t mind the security measures he can provide, but she isn’t interested in sharing the contents of their Special Collection outside the library’s walls.  I understand the dilemma in this story and, frankly, I’m not certain which side I would support in regards to the sharing of dangerous material.  4 out of 5.

 “The Green Book” by Amal El-Mohtar

There is little that I can tell you about the story without spoiling it, so I’ll live it with that it is a story about a mysterious green book and its contents.  I mostly liked it.  I think. Yet it felt like it was more a rough sketch than a complete story.  3 out of 5.

 “In the Stacks” by Scott Lynch

Magical student Laszlo Jazera discovers the dangers of the final assignment for Fifth Year, one he must pass to make it to Sixth Year.  It seemed simple enough, return a book to the Living Library.  The task will be more frightening and intense than he could ever have expected.  There is a tragic sadness throughout this story, but the universe created is horrifyingly compelling.  4.5 out of 5.

 “A Woman’s Best Friend” by Robert Reed

On Christmas Eve, Mary sees a stranger stumbling through the snowy streets of her town. George is confused and frightened, soaked from head to toe. Mary impulsively takes him back to her home in the library. A strange retelling of a classic Christmas film, a mixture of fantasy and science fiction. Interesting, a bit strange at the end. 3.5 out of 5.

 “If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler” by Xia Jia

A lonely librarian discovers a book of poetry that might expand his world.  There is magic about this tale that touches the reader’s soul.  I loved how the people who wanted the poetry read and appreciated on its own merits, not for the possible backstory of the author.  4 out of 5.

 “The Sigma Structure Symphony” by Gregory Benford

Ruth is one of many librarians mining for useful information in recordings from the SETI project.  After the death of a fellow librarian, Ruth is asked to take over his task, mining the Sigma Structures.  Math and music, language and love.  Are they simply human-based?  Weird. Confusing.  Engrossing at the time yet left a sour aftertaste.  3 out of 5.

 “The Fort Moxie Branch” by Jack McDevitt

Mr. Wickham, in the process of disposing of his privately published novel, is caught in a blackout. During that darkness, he sees a strange glow in a long empty house.  I love the idea of this story.  A fascinating premise from start to finish.  4 out of 5.

 “The Last Librarian” by Edoardo Albert

Books, actual physical books, have been ignored in favor of uploaded versions or neural inputs.  The librarian at the British Library finagles a way to direct traffic physically into the building.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t go well.  In today’s world, I fear this could happen.  Maybe not now, but very soon.  I was surprised that the narrator remained at the end.  4 out of 5.

[thenerdcantina]

The Year's Best Fantasy Vol. 1 by Paula Guran: Book Review

The Year’s Best Fantasy Vol. 1 by Paula Guran: Book Review

Summer is coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean that your mind has to stop having fun. Step into not just one world of fantasy, but dozens. The Year’s Best Fantasy, Vol. 1 by Paula Guran is the curator’s latest collection of short stories specific to the fantasy genre. While we know her for her collections of dark fantasy and horror, Paula felt compelled to rise to a new challenge and offer…

[mimzilla]

Hey, does anybody know anything about the stories in the 2017 edition of The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror? I love a bunch of the ones in the 2015 and 2016 ones, so I’m contemplating pre-ordering it.