S&L Podcast - #492 - Smokey and the Narrator

We debate whether we want dead celebrities to read our audiobooks. How long is too long for a series? And our non-spoilery takes on Cursed Bunny.

WHAT ARE WE NOMMING?
Tom: Chicken Tacos
Veronica: Sad Thai food

Download directly here!


QUICK BURNS

Elizabeth: Another Penric and Desdemona novella from Lois McMaster Bujold, this one called Penric and the Bandit. This is the 13th installment in this series of novellas (and one full-length novel). Goodreads

Calvey: Hollywood stars’ estates agree to the use of their voices with AI. CNN

Jan: The TikTok Book Awards Shortlist has been announced:

Nominees for Book of the Year (International) are:

  • Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

  • Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

  • Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

  • Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

TikTok

Mer: US Library of Congress's National Book Festival seems to be getting better each year at inviting SciFi and Fantasy authors to speak. This year:

  • Ernest Cline

  • James S. A. Corey

  • Rebecca Yarros

  • Tomi Adeyemi

  • Lincoln Child

  • and a lot of others

Held in the nation’s capital at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday, August 24, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Library of Congress

Mark and Trike: Frakes will direct Venus Prime adaptation. I read the Venus Prime series by Paul Preuss when they were published in the late 1980s. They are based on stories by Arthur C. Clarke and as I recall, I found them entertaining science fictional mysteries, but I can't recall any details. Variety

Travis: Hey everyone! A couple of my favorite people are putting a new fantasy book out! Achewillow is a wonderful story podcast written by JF Dubeau and produced by Amy Frost. Well, they are putting Season 1 out in print form. Check out the launch trailer here. YouTube

Mark: Romance Bookstores Are Booming, Dishing ‘All the Hot Stuff You Can Imagine’. Bookstores once shunted romance novels to a shelf in the back. But with romance writers dominating the best-seller lists, a network of dedicated bookstores has sprung up around the country. NY Times

Jasonb: Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville website and book info. The Book of Elsewhere


BARE YOUR SWORD

Stephen: I too was a bit worried about Cursed Bunny but I read Bora Chung's bio and became interested again. Ms. Chung has a degree in Russian and Eastern European Studies and translates Russian literature into Korean. The first story in the collection is, I think, a homage to Nikolai Gogol's The Nose, a short story about a nose leaving a man's face and having a better career than the man whose face it left.

crochetchrisie📚: I suggested a book for the June pick and it was pointed out that it is book 1 in an ongoing 18-book series. So that got me wondering what people think about starting a series with so many books? (And I don't think you can pick and choose in this one; like many urban fantasy series, they build on the previous.) I love this author and am caught up on her other longer series (InCryptid and Wayward Children), but I was saving this one because I knew I'd love it. Sorry if this sounds like a campaign for them to choose my book (I will read it someday regardless) but I was curious how people felt about it. So two questions:

  • Long series - good or bad?

  • What's the longest series you've read all of the books in?
    Goodreads

Buzz: The Cursed Bunny audiobook is also included on Spotify Premium for those who may have it :-) I just recently discovered that audiobooks were available on Spotify Premium. I had no idea until three days ago. Spotify


BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung:
Biroso
Bookshop
Amazon

CB: What are we nomming while reading about poop creatures? Goodreads


ADDENDUMS

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way, head to Patreon.

You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at Sword and Laser Picks.

feedback@swordandlaser.com
swordandlaser.com
We are on Instagram, X, and Mastodon @swordandlaser
goodreads.com