Press Release: Village Book Store Invites Sci Fi Fans to its Sunday Author Series

LITTLETON – Space aliens. Deep-sea phenomena. Wormhole creatures.  Visitors to 81 Main Street on Sunday, January 12, will have the chance to meet an outpouring of imagination when the Village Book Store and Corner Café host writers of Live Free or Sci Fi. The program starts at 3 pm.

This latest anthology from Plaidswede Publishing, Concord, is a witty spoof of the science fiction genre and is thoroughly grounded in the lore and locations of the Granite State. It is the brainchild of Rick Broussard, editor of New Hampshire Magazine.  Broussard is also behind other genre-busting titles set in New Hampshire that re-appropriate the state’s famous motto: Live Free or Die, Die, Die and Life Free or Undead.

Joining Broussard will be several contributors whose short stories were chosen from hundreds of submissions. Expected to read excerpts from their wry writings are:  Gregory Norris, of Berlin, who wrote “The Moth”; Clay Wirestone, Concord, “First in the Galaxy”; Alex Caldwell, Tilton, “The Wormhole of Wilson, NH”; Jeff DeRego, Derry, “Mighty”; Elaine Isaak, Bedford, “Merge”, and S.J. Cahill, of East Burke VT, who wrote “Touchdown”.

Getting into the sci-fi spirit, the Village Book Store is running a contest the day of the event. A free, and signed, copy of , Live Free or Sci Fi will be given  to the most original, sci-fi-inspired head gear or face mask worn by a bookstore patron during this Sunday afternoon reading and book signing.  Who’s ready to raid the kitchen cabinets for inspiration?

“We’re thrilled Rick and his sci-fi writers are coming to the Village Book Store to heat things up in January,” said Helen Pike, event organizer. Pike launched the Sunday afternoon series in October with a public reading by memoir writers she had coached at the Corner Café. The Sunday series follows the popular flash-fiction contest Pike designed for the bookstore’s participation in the Second Friday Art Night series held this past summer.

On February 9, the bookstore hosts artist, sculptor, and inventor Mary Boone Wellington, of Whitefield, who will share her passion and perspective on coffee, chocolate, and wine that she explores in her new book, Radical Indulgence.  Just in time for Valentine’s Day. Check out Mary’s other title available here at the Village Bookstore, Hope I Don’t Die Before I Get Old.

On March 16, sugar sovereign Doreen Lyon comes to dish about cooking with everyone’s favorite amber elixir. Recipes From a Maple Queen features 81 pages of mouthwatering instructions for such delights as Maple Divinity, Bourbon Maple Flank Steak, Anadama Bread Rolls, and even covers how to use syrup as a substitute for granulated sugar. She promises to bring a taster’s plate of yummy goodness. 

All programs start at 3 pm. To reserve a signed copy of any title, please call the bookstore: 603-444-5263. 

In the event of snow, please call to find out if a winter event has been rescheduled for the following Sunday. http://www.nhbooksellers.com/#!product/prd1/1124057651/live-free-or-sci-fi

News in the world of Science Fiction

Kickstarted last year, Singularity & Co., 18 Bridge [John] in DUMBO, sells science fiction books, some new, mostly old, and is rescuing select titles, getting them into ebook form.The Torch and Doomsday Morning are the first two. Vintage books under consideration are here. For more sci-fi books, Forbidden Planet, 832 Bway [12th/13th] 212.473.1576

The New York Review of Science Fiction holds their reading series at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art, 138 Sullivan [Houston/Prince] generally on a Tuesday of every month—June 11th, the authors are Sabrina Vourvoulias and Barbara Krasnoff. On July 2, Kate Elliot. 

Eviction Notice by Robyn Wyrick

 

When a group of teenage kids make a crop-circle out in a corn field as their senior high school prank it doesn't quite go as planned. They accidentally create a landing beacon for an alien spaceship and a premise for a first novel. So begins Eviction Notice, a fun and lighthearted adventure story about hope, adventure, and amazing second chances.
In enters our savior. "In a few moments she would reach over to the end table and pick up a handful of pills and her glass of wine. And soon this nice man and his magical beast would lead her off into oblivion, all her cares forgotten."

Review:
After her marriage goes south and she sees no reason to continue on,.Alice Abel attempts to commit suicide, but a knock at the door by Inspector Clayton changes her life forever. He tells her that Humans have to vacate the planet or face a forced eviction into deep space where they will all die. She is not at all convinced by him and thinks that she must be losing her mind. She next meets Inspector Tyler, an eight-foot tall Wolzon Strangle Beast with four arms, a huge fang-filled mouth, and a well tailored tweed suit and starts to believe that these two are going to take her to heaven. It is ironic that a woman who was about to end her own life is now asked to save the world. Alice is a strong heroine and the trip she takes you on is a humorous adventure with tons of twists and turns. You will find yourself rooting for her throughout the entire story. She is honest and charming and these two qualities help her evolve from down on her luck to the luckiest character in the book.

Although, I am not a real fan of science fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed the format of this book. The book follows several subplots, where some chapters are Alice’s story with the investigators, some chapters are the high school kids with the Glen Fairy and some are the aliens trying to find the Glen Fairy. Eviction Notice is packed with alien abductions, space battles, and lost alien cargo. The characters are clever and the dialogue is witty. I recommend this to older teens and adults. This is the type of book you could lay on the beach and read or plow through on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It was not too heady and had just the right balance of action and humor.

The Angel Experiment

The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1)

by James Patterson

Review:

"The funny thing about facing imminent death is that it really snaps everything else into perspective..." This YA thriller, the author's first in the genre, is a great read for girls who love science fiction/fantasy and long for a female lead character. The story revolves around Maximum Ride, 14-year-old leader of a band of kids who have escaped the lab where they were bred as 98% human and 2% bird. While devouring this book, I couldn't help but think of the comic book series X-Men. The characters are all young students with super hero abilities and on a mission. The Erasers have orders to kill them so the world will never find out they exist. This is book one in a series of four , The Final Warning (Maximum Ride, Book 4) just came out Mar 17, 2008 in hardcover. Even though I am not a fan of science fiction/fantasy, I would still recommend this to anyone ages 12 and up. This is a winner with reluctant readers and girls who love boy themed books.

websites:
www.maximumride.com/
http://maximumride.blogspot.com/

Week Forty Eight, Book Sixty Four

Girl in Landscape

Jonathan Lethem

Review:
Pella Marsh is 13 when her mother dies and her family; father, Clement, and her two younger brothers leave Brooklyn and strive for a better life on the planet of the Archbuilders. The Archbuilders are double-jointed creatures with bodies of fur, shell and leathery skin, who had once built a great civilization but have since fallen into a kind of lethargy. Their planet is a parched wonderland of crumbled towers and archways, a place where tiny giraffelike creatures called household deer skitter and scamper across the plains and in the corners of people's houses, like mice. I am not at all a science fiction fan or have ever read any of Lethem's books before, but after hearing him speak this Fall at the Brooklyn Book Festival, I knew I had to check out some of his work. This story reminded me of a lot of Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut pieces, which I loved, because they are two of my favorites. Although, Lethem writes in many different genres, I am aware that this is just a taste of his science fiction side. I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to anyone.


Read the Powells.com Interview with Jonathan Lethem
Read the INK Q&A with Jonathan Lethem
More Books by Jonathan Lethem

Week Thirty Seven, Book Forty Nine

The House Of The Scorpion

by Nancy Farmer

Review:

I could not put this 380 page book down or even shut the CD off in the car all week long. All and all, I probably read more than I listened, due to the rich storyline and pace of this young adult science fiction tome. This is a thought-provoking novel, presenting issues like human cloning, the value of human life, the importance of responsibility and friendship. You will fall in love with the main character and hope for a sequel. If you love adventure, today's sociopolitical, and ethical issues, then look no further.

Spook Country

Spook Country

by William Gibson

Who is William Gibson?
Gibson is an American-born science fiction author who has been called the father of the cyberpunk sub genre of science fiction, partly due to coining the term cyberspace in 1982, and partly because of the success of his first novel, Neuromancer, which has sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide since its publication in 1984.

William Gibson discusses Spook Country:http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/8127

official website: http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/

Philip K. Dick

The most outre science fiction writer of the 20th century= Philip K. Dick

click here and visit the official site: http://www.philipkdick.com/