SFF Yeah!

Latest Episodes:

The Best Books Of The Last Quarter Jul 12, 2023

Show notes

Sharifah and Jenn discuss their favorite books from the last few months, award season winners and nominees for Locus and the Hugos, a new AI shenanigan, and more.

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What do S.A. Cosby, Khaled Hosseini, Sarah Bakewell, and Yahdon Israel have in common? They've been guests on Book Riot's newest podcast, First Edition where BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O'Neal explores the wide bookish world. Subscribe to hear them and stay to hear Book Riot's editors pick the "it" book of the month.

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News

Locus 2023 Award Winners [Locus]

Hugo 2023 Finalists [Book Riot]

Alix Harrow on the Hugos [Instagram]

Error-Ridden AI-Generated Star Wars Article on io9 [Variety]

Sign a poem going to Europa! [Book Riot]

Books Discussed

The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon (cw: intimate partner violence, suicidal thoughts, gore, body horror)

Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway (cw: discussion of intimate partner violence)

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee (cw: child death, graphic violence, animal abuse, animal death)

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill (they/them) (cw: violence against women, animal experimentation, violence against animals)

H is For Hawk by Helen MacDonald

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro (cw: infant death, maternal mortality, attempted suicide, child endangerment, rape, spousal abuse)

Flux by Jinwoo Chong (cw: death of a parent)

Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

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Backlist To The Future, From 10 Years Ago Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

This week, Sharifah looks at some favorite books from 2013 by BIPOC authors!

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Books Discussed

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo (warnings: drug addiction, attempted suicide, overdose, death of a parent)

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson (warnings: racism, mention of suicide)

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Guest Episode: 15 Years of the Audiobook Boom & SFF “Insta-Buys” Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Jenn and Sharifah are off this week, so please enjoy this First Edition episode about sci-fi and fantasy "insta-buys" and more with Jeff O'Neal, Sharifah, and Kendra Winchester.

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First Edition

Kendra Winchester comes on to commemorate the 15th anniversary of two events that heralded the modern audiobook boom: Amazon buying Audible and Apple allowing third-party apps on the iPhone. Then, Sharifah Williams, Book Riot's Director of Content and co-host of our SFF Yeah! podcast, joins me to debut a new segment: The Insta-Buys.

Check out First Edition on Twitter, on Substack, and on Instagram.

And if you have a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, please and thank you!

Discussed in this episode:

Better Than Nothing? Exploring the Limitations of AI-Narrated Audiobooks from a Disabled Person’s Perspective

10 Audiobook Narrators You Need to Follow on TikTok

The Untold History of the Talking Book by Matthew Rubery

Check out Kendra's podcast, Read Appalachia. You can also follow her on Substack, Winchester Ave, and posting photos of her Corgis on Instagram and Twitter @kdwinchester.

Sharifah Williams co-hosts our SFF Yeah! podcast

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Backlist To The Future, With More Coziness Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

Jenn brings you a couple more cozy SF/F options for your summer reading.

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Looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals? Subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter featuring stories to inform and inspire readers, to get exclusive content delivered to your inbox!

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Books Discussed

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon (cw: discussion of suicide, use of ableist slurs)

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Most Popular SFF of 2013 Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

Sharifah and guest Jeff O'Neal talk about the SFF book that topped B&N's bestseller list, yet another Game of Thrones spinoff, D&D's new streaming venture, travel a decade back in time to look at the most popular SFF of 2013, and more.

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To get even more SF/F news and recs, sign up for our Swords and Spaceships newsletter!

News

Barnes & Noble Top 100 Bestselling Books [Barnes & Noble]

GOT Universe Expands [Tor.com]

D&D launching a TV channel [Gizmodo]

Taika Waititi in Talks to Direct Klara and the Sun [Deadline]

Books Discussed

Goodreads's Most Popular Books of 2013

Note to listeners: Goodreads's list does not meet our standards for diversity. In 2013, there was less awareness about the importance of representation and BIPOC-authored books, and less marketing dollars went toward those books. Unfortunately, we continue to see a dearth of representation in many "most popular" lists. Look out for Sharifah's next backlist episode where she'll discuss some great 2013 BIPOC SFF books.

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Backlist To The Future, The Beach Read Edition Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

Sharifah dives into two great SF/F books for beach reading, for your summer needs.

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Books Discussed

Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes

The Passage by Justin Cronin

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Books For Our Younger Selves May 31, 2023

Show notes

Sharifah and Jenn talk about awards finalists and winners, more good news for Amal El-Mohtar, books they wish they could send back in time to their younger selves, and more.

Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher.

To get even more SF/F news and recs, sign up for our Swords and Spaceships newsletter!

BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O'Neal explores the wide bookish world. Interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. Subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

News

Ignyte Awards Finalists [FIYAH]

Future Worlds Prize Announced [File 770]

British Book Award Winners [Locus]

Nebula Award Winners [SFWA]

Nimona Movie Coming (June 30) [The Mary Sue]

Amal El-Mohtar's Four Book Deal [Tor.com]

Books Discussed

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

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Backlist To The Future, With More Anticipated Summer Reads May 24, 2023

Show notes

Jenn discusses two of her upcoming SF/F summer reads, both of which happen to be YA!

Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher.

To get even more SF/F news and recs, sign up for our Swords and Spaceships newsletter!

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Books Discussed

The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp and Manuel Preitano

Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier

In Reading Color newsletter

Hey YA Podcast

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Wading Into Webtoons May 17, 2023

Show notes

Sharifah and Jenn take a listener’s suggestion to read some Webtoons, and talk about some delightful news including that viral tweet from Bigolas, fandom efforts to support Shadow & Bone, a prize shortlist, and more.

Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher.

To get even more SF/F news and recs, sign up for our Swords and Spaceships newsletter!

BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal explores the wide bookish world. Interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. Subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.