S&L Podcast - #400 - Boxing Day Experts
/Lots of great books are turning into TV shows and movies and lots of great book recommendation lists are coming out! We also become experts on Boxing Day and are BLOWN AWAY by Trike's Sword and laser word search. And Brea and Tom make recommendations of when NOT to read Parable of the Sower.
WHAT ARE WE SNACKING?
Tom: Nature's Bakery Fig Newton-like Cookies
Brea: Dark Chocolate Morsels by Enjoy Life
QUICK BURNS
Jan: We have the winners of this year's Goodreads Choice Awards
Rob noted an article on Polygon saying The Expanse will only go on pause after it's concluding season on Prime Video next year
Mark: 25 Winter Reads Based On Your Favorite Star Trek Character
You can also revisit her two previous lists about SciFi Books and SciFi and Fantasy
Trike: pointed out the Best Reviewed Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror of 2020
And Beth sent us a link to "A gift guide for the fans of science fiction, fantasy and horror books in your life" at the Washington Post.
BARE YOUR SWORD
"Tassie Dave: Boxing Day isn't just a British holiday, it is also a holiday in many countries of the British Commonwealth (existing and former) i.e Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa etc
It is arguably bigger than Xmas in Australia. Xmas Day is traditionally just for immediate family, but Boxing Day is our equivalent of Thanksgiving. It's when you get friends and extended family over for a family feast (which is usually a barbecue outside. Being Summer here after all)
It is also the biggest shopping day in Oz as well (our equivalent of the US' Black Friday. Which we also have) All major shops have their biggest sales to get rid of excess Xmas leftover merchandise.
It is also the start of 2 of Australia biggest sporting events. The Boxing Day Test (Cricket) and The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. "
AND from Phil: Boxing Day is a holiday in Canada as well. As Dave says, when I was growing up it was the day we traveled around town seeing the extended family we didn't see on Christmas and it's also a day of huge sales similar to Black Friday.
Finally from Ruth: Also, boxing day isn’t much of a holiday in the UK. Maybe it was different once, but now its really just the day after Christmas, and and an excuse for a sale, meaning anyone in any retail related role will likely be working.
When I was little, I used to think boxing matches took place on boxing day, and that was where the name came from.
TRIKE made us a 2020 Sword and Laser word search!!!
Tassie Dave: I don't think we got a definitive Yay or Nay. But are we doing Finding Baba Yaga: A Short Novel in Verse by Jane Yolen as an official alt pick?
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Parable of the Sower (Parable 1) by Octavia E. Butler
Leesa: I thought it was an excellent choice. Very prescient. Full disclosure: I had started reading this book by chance before it was the December pick since I was done with Howl's very early on (which I also enjoyed). I consider Butler, and--in particular--this book as capital-I Important.
I finished this one super early, and am filling a few days full of quick reads, but starting this weekend I intend to start Talents. I wish I had started reading Butler much, much sooner. She's an exceptional writer.
John (Taloni) I really enjoyed the discussion of PotS. I just finished the book and found it a downer. Hearing Brea's enthusiasm made me reevaluate that. I always like it when people talk about why they love something. Was really interesting to hear why it was such an important book for her.
Paul: I was interested in Brea's take in the podcast, about the saving grace of PotS (although she didn't put it like that) being that is is about rebuilding - or, rather, building something better than what has been destroyed.
That got me thinking about other post-apocalyptic scifi that has the same kind of approach - The wonderful Station Eleven, Meg Elison's Road to Nowhere trilogy.
Seth: The LA Times let me in once, so hopefully you haven't clicked on any of their other articles this month and can scroll through this. It's a really neat slide show about Octavia Butler and her relationship with the LA area libraries. There are images of some pages of her notebooks and other items from her papers that are now in the library's collection.
ADDENDUMS
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