More ducks than usual
More ducks than usual
They'll save the world. Ducks. And K-pop stans.
Had an amazing surprise a couple of days ago: Woke up to find Calcutta and speculative fiction’s finest Indrapramit Das on super-editor-publisher Jonathan Strahan’s Coode Street podcast, being very kind about Chosen Spirits and several other books. Speaking of Indra, many congratulations for his nomination for the Shirley Jackson awards, one of SFF’s top prizes. And if you haven’t read his wonderful debut novel The Devourers, it’s back on the Indian Kindle store. No idea why the print version isn’t available - I still see people in faraway countries rave about this novel online.
And speaking of people in faraway countries, apologies to everyone who’s been looking to buy Chosen Spirits outside India: the Kindle error continues to be unresolved - another week, they said today.
[UPDATE: IT’S BACK ON KINDLE (US) (UK) or do search in your local store.]
But fortunately
The ebook is now available on various other ebook stores (B+N, Apple, Kobo, Scribd, others) via this handy link as well.
For those of you not in faraway countries, there are these handsomes:
"Chosen Spirits, set not far into the future is utterly persuasive in its construction, scathing in its cynicism and is laced with social commentary." -Open Magazine
"...look into the near future, with plenty of humour, aided by unflinchingly honest mirrors held up to India’s upper middle class." - Interview in The Hindu Metro Plus
Loved reading this issue of Anjali Menon's newsletter, Six Impossible Things, which is an essay about resistance, Delhi, and many other things. Chosen Spirits is one of them.
Finally, I’ve been wanting to be on Books on Toast forever, so it was an absolute pleasure to zoom-chat with the mighty Anuya Jakatdar, video below.
Yes, I am aware other books exist
One of my favourites, This is How You Lose The Time War, won a Nebula, which is another reason to encourage you to buy it. Another book recommendation: Just started Tochi Onyebuchi’s immediately excellent Riot Girls after reading his Tor.com essay, which is essential reading for all writers, and essential essential reading for POC writers. It will also make you love these protest images from around the world even more.
I loved this: The Osbick Bird by Edward Gorey, an illustrated allegory about the meaning of true love.
New Murakami fiction - when did he suddenly become unfashionable by the way? It’s hard to keep track. Is it only in India because Bollywood people pretend to have read him?
In adventure/nonfiction/why-to-read inspiration, a millionaire art dealer hid treasure and left clues in the form of a poem and a map, and that treasure’s now been found.
Also here is some reading advice from some of the world’s greatest minds
The PublishingPaidMe hashtag happened, and revealed a lot of wholly eye-opening yet unsurprising facts about publishing in the US.
In America, authors are stepping forward to address diversity issues beyond talking about them. We need this in India, across all arts fields.
More moments of hope from American protests
Speaking of protests, the makeup vs face recognition battle continues to evolve at dizzying speeds.
And that’s on the streets: there’s resistance in boardrooms as well, as IBM is getting out of facial recognition. As opposed to Amazon not giving their facerecogtech to police for a year, which is… you don’t need a high-power camera to see what that is. And the best thing about resistance, wherever and however it occurs, is that it still has the capacity to surprise us.
If you are planning to go to more protests anywhere in the world, however, I hope you read or make threads like these before you go.
Bonus protest duck
Here is the story of how Black psychiatrists designed Sesame Street. Also, cosplayer photos from 1966. Also - okay, this looks bleak, but it’s happy news that Jordan Peele’s Lovecraft County trailer is here.
Speaking of cool things that are here, today this amazing online books festival begins
Science has discovered what makes Germans organised.
What else are you watching? Do any of you have the Ertugrul fever?
Kenneth Branagh is doing Ali Fazal shoutouts which is delightful.
I had a global publishing rant planned but I think I have rambled on quite enough.
Here are some (more) ducks I enjoyed
Back in a bit
To support this newsletter, do buy a book! My new novel, Chosen Spirits, is now out in hardback and internationally in several ebook stores.
If you haven’t yet, do sign up to this newsletter to receive new instalments in your inbox, along with occasional only exclusives.
Meanwhile, do join me on Twitter, FB or Instagram, or drop in at my website.
Also I am posting this from around a year ago for absolutely no reason, and I’m off.