Views from Medina Road

I have just 2 more stories to read this week to have read all the short fiction on this year's Hugo ballot; then I will submit my electronic votes. I've read 2 of the novels, and parts of 2 others; 1 I don't care to read. Can't say I've read through any of the Related Book nominees, though I own 5 of them (out of 6) and have certainly read portions, or browsed significantly, in 4 of them.

I've seen 3 of the films, none of the dramatic short forms.

In case either of you noticed, I didn't post a 'New Books' page this past weekend (though I've been doing quite well for three months now posting a page each week), simply because there was nothing to list. Nothing came in the mail; I did a Barnes & Noble visit, and saw nothing new. This week a bunch of stuff has appeared: Robert Borski's Gene Wolfe book came in the mail, as did Datlow, Link & Grant's Year's Best F&H (thank you publishers); my orders for new books by Jack Dann, Kage Baker, and China M came from Amazon; and today at Borders I saw the new Haldeman, Irvine, Stewart (which I've now ordered), and Theodore Judson. So there'll be lots to list this weekend.

I am going to Worldcon (I've gone every year since 1988), arriving Wednesday evening, leaving Monday afternoon. I'm on no panels (I didn't volunteer and they didn't ask) and have no specific appointments aside from a Locus business meeting Friday morning followed by the official presentation of the Locus Awards Friday at 11 a.m., itself followed by a champagne reception. If not wandering around the con, I can probably be found hanging out at the Locus table in the dealers' room.

I still plan to derive some interesting statistics about Locus Poll voting patterns, and will endeavour to do so in the next week or so...

Here're new thumbnails of what I've been reading lately (if it works).