Morning Fellow Frivolous!
One thing to note before the topics of the day. I had a wonderful conversation with the rather prolific P.A. Cornell who’s debut novella, Lost Cargo is coming out *next week (*on the 12th to be exact). It’s a quick read with a straightforward plot, but, as I’ve come to find through her other work, with rich and intentional character building. I mention a couple of her stories on the podcast which stuck with me and I think you all will enjoy them as well! We talk about her sources of inspiration, having a writing community, and more. Take a listen!
Without further ado!
Award Winners!
This past week saw the announcement of two awards, one by African Speculative Fiction Society via their Nommo Awards, while the Hugo’s were announced just a couple of days ago. Take a look at both lists, as I’m sure there are books that will need to instantly be smashed on top of your TBR pile. (As an aside, do we say TBH for audiobooks? To Be Heard? TBLT - To be listened to?)
From the Nommo Awards list, while this didn’t win, I’m very interested in IYANU by Roye Okupe, which was a runner up. I’m excited for his whole YouNeek Studios endeavor.
From the Hugo Awards, I’ve started reading A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, which won the Hugo in 2020, so I’m very happy to see her sequel take the cake for best novel two years later! And I should mention the work is instantly captivating.
Bleeding Horseshoe Crabs
This is a fascinating and disturbing article on why we bleed horseshoe crabs. That we even did this was surprising, as is the reason why. In my other life, I’ve had amazing experiences where I learned surprising minutiae of how our world works, and how things are made.
We depend on our environment to live and thrive; but this was jarring and I’m not sure why. Maybe its because it does remind me of the rather dark Torchwood: Children of Earth season; something along the lines of “what if aliens did that to us” logic.
Space-faring has a long way to go
The past weekend would have seen NASA’s Artemis project get off the ground were it not for a hydrogen leak. The entire project is pretty ambitious with several stages and it’s very interesting to watch all the details that need to be overcome. Take for, example the latest on spaceflight and the effects on bloodcells.
If anyone actually knows, I’m looking for a comprehensive resource that curates all the aspects and challenges surrounding spaceflight and space-dwelling - both short and long-term. There was the 100yss.org and their call for papers for an annual symposium, but I haven’t seen anything updated for a long time. I wonder if the project is defunct?