April & May's Reads

April and May's reads have been selected, since there was a tie up on our last poll.

Next up: Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Martinez. This should be a load of weird fun-- from what I've read of the author's other titles.
The meetup on this book will be April 24th, 1:30 at The Shop-- in front of Model Citizen Tattoo.

Because of a new run of mass market paperbacks at the end of March, Heart of Stone by C. E. Murphy will be May's Read, allowing us all time to pick up a copy. I'm looking forward to a title about a more serious protagonist and a different sort of Urban Fantasy denizen, a gargoyle.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Quentin Coldwater, a Brooklyn high school student devoted to a children's series set in the Narnia-like world of Fillory, is leading an aimless existence until he's tapped to enter a mysterious portal that leads to Brakebills College, an exclusive academy where he's taught magic. Coldwater, whose special gifts enable him to skip grades, finds his family's world mundane and domestic when he returns home for vacation. He loses his innocence after a prank unintentionally allows a powerful evil force known only as the Beast to enter the college and wreak havoc. Eventually, Coldwater's powers are put to the test when he learns that Fillory is a real place and how he can journey there. Genre fans will easily pick up the many nods to J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis, not to mention J.R.R. Tolkien in the climactic battle between the bad guy and a magician.

Butcher Bird

Spyder Lee is a happy man who lives in San Francisco and owns a tattoo shop. One night an angry demon tries to bite his head off before he's saved by a stranger. The demon infected Spyder with something awful - the truth. He can suddenly see the world as it really is: full of angels and demons and monsters and monster-hunters. A world full of black magic and mysteries. These are the Dominions, parallel worlds full of wonder, beauty and horror. The Black Clerks, infinitely old and infinitely powerful beings whose job it is to keep the Dominions in balance, seem to have new interests and a whole new agenda. Dropped into the middle of a conflict between the Black Clerks and other forces he doesn't fully understand, Spyder finds himself looking for a magic book with the blind swordswoman who saved him. Their journey will take them from deserts to lush palaces, to underground caverns, to the heart of Hell itself.

Decay Inevitable

Sean Redman is a failed policeman who cannot escape the job. Will Lacey is a husband who witnesses the birth of a monster. Cheke is a killing machine programmed to erase every trace of an experiment gone horribly wrong. These strands all come together in this dark and visceral fantasy. Decay Inevitable charts the badlands of horrifying dreams and demons. Where a black market in unspeakable goods is discovered. A race is on to unearth the secrets of the soul ... secrets woven into the fabric of death itself.

Gil's All Fright Diner

Adult/High School–Two friends–Earl (as in the Earl of Vampires) and Duke (as in the Duke of Werewolves)–are driving along one evening when their truck runs out of gas. They wind up at an all-night diner in Rockwood, a small desert town that has a bit of a zombie problem. They help Loretta, the diner's owner/cook, fend off the zombies that are drawn to her eatery. Impressed, she asks the two to stay on and help her take care of some other supernatural problems in the town and to learn who is raising the ghouls. Duke and Earl discover that Tammy (also known as Mistress Lilith, Queen of the Night) and her loyal but dumb boyfriend are plotting to end the world in order to resurrect the old gods. Similar in style and humor to the work of Douglas Adams and Joe R. Lansdale, and Shaun of the Dead, this comic horror-fantasy is packed with warped humor and action.

Heart of Stone

Okay, so jogging through Central Park after midnight wasn't a bright idea. But Margrit Knight never thought she'd encounter a dark new world filled with magical beings -- not to mention a dying woman and a mysterious stranger with blood on his hands. Her logical, lawyer instincts told her it couldn't all be real -- but she could hardly deny what she'd seen . . . and touched.

The mystery man, Alban, was a gargoyle. One of the fabled Old Races who had hidden their existence for centuries. Now he was a murder suspect, and he needed Margrit's help to take the heat off him and find the real killer.

As they worked together to figure out who was framing Alban, Margrit discovered that this man with a heart -- and body -- of stone made her feel more alive than ever, And as the dead pile up, it's a race against the sunrise to clear Alban's name and keep them both alive . . .

March's Read: The Poster

Hey, look. This time I spelled Ithaca right. :)

March's Read

After our first official 'survey,' Soulless by Gail Carringer was voted in. Our next meeting will be held Saturday March 13th at The Shop @ Model Citizen, 1:30 PM.

See you there!

Deadtown and February Meeting Recap

While it was a bit delayed and shuffled around, today's meeting was overall a successful first out-of-the-house effort. The Shop turned out to be a good location, away from the Chili Cook-Off and the resultant throngs of people.

Now, on to business!

We discussed Deadtown by Nancy Holzner, who was kind enough to grace our November meeting. We agreed that the book was action-packed, fast-paced, and a fairly light read, but beyond that, everyone had different reactions. Some liked it as an easy, entertaining book, while others wished for more depth and realism.

We talked in depth about real-life segregation vs. the quarantine of zombies and paranormals, about how long authors can expect their readers to suspend their disbelief, and about badass heroines.

Soulless, by Gail Carriger, is our March read.

Cool Audio Fiction Podcasts

A few meeting ago I said that I’d send out an email highlighting a couple of short story podcasts. Instead of filling your inboxes, here are a couple of great podcasts and recommended episodes.

The Drabble Cast

The DrabbleCast is a self titled, "weekly flash fiction audio-magazine that brings strange stories by strange authors to strange listeners, like yourself." While I find many of the stories hit or miss, I've gotten more hits than misses. Here's a few episodes I liked:

Ep 135 "Hello," said the stick - This was the first Drabble Cast I listened to. On top of being a good story, I found the subject matter interesting.

Ep 141 On the Destruction of Copenhagen by the Warmachines of the Merfolk - Come on, Merfolk Warmachines. What more do you want?

Ep 146 Teddy Bears and Tea Parties - A really good horror story. Don't let the title fool you, you wouldn't want a little kid listening to this one.

EscapePod

Another weekly SciFi podcast. I don't think that they have as many hits as the DrabbleCast, but still they are pretty good. If you're interested, they have sister podcasts PseudoPod (horror) and PodCastle (Fantasy).

Ep 235 On the Human Plan - A fantasy world that is past it's peak of wonders. The story asks you, "If we end death, do we end life?"

Ep 226 Pirate Solutions - Rated ARRRR

Covers of Suggested Books

Adding Your Books to the Survey

Under the cover of the current read, there is a survey. If one of those books really grabs you, vote for it. Please limit your votes to your top 2 choices.

If none of the group-member-suggested-books look delectable, feel free to suggest another title, and I will add it to the list. Thanks.

Reaching Out is VERY Good.

Subject: RBC is feeling oh-so flattered

Thank you so much for letting us know that #1 you are a fan of Raven's Brew, and #2 telling us that you were inspired by our raven to then incorporate a raven into your book group logo! It's a great logo by the way.

Thanks again for letting us know about your group and happy sipping!

Ashley of Raven's Brew Coffee

No, REALLY.

Apparently, I can't spell.
Oh, and a date-time-place is a good include, too.

Final Book Club Poster

3rd Pass-- time for deciding on final colors.

I spread out the bottom to make the books less crowded in with the logo.
The colors got 'tweaked' automatically by preview, so it's a bit weird.

2nd Pass at the Flier

With luck, this will be done by tonight. There's still something wrong with the book illustration.

Flyer Critique?

Here's a start-- the colors need some work, and of course, the center picture, but there's only so much steam in me and it's 2 30 AM.

Suggesting Books for Next Month

It is time to poll for the next book. Please leave comments with Title & Author of a book on your 'to-read pile,' and we'll put together an informal poll.

First Post: Our New Home

Hi-- New email address for everyone, makes sense to streamline everything, hoping to simplify life.

We have a location for the next meeting, the owner of Buffalo books is more than willing to let us come one Saturday a month,
and we can eat/bring drinks in with us, (a HUGE selling point for me, for I love the snacks.)

The new meeting time is 1:30 PM, Sat. Feb. 20th-- if anyone had a problem with this because of work or other obligations, let me know.