If your sequestered cat is in need of some video, let me recommend the Bird Library livestream.

Books and Writing:

The Hugo finalist list is out.

James Davis Nicholl laments books that are not easily acquired in the USA.

Bertelsmann completed its purchase of Penguin Random House and now owns the whole thing.

I looked in on this controversy via Twitter while it was happening. The Internet Archive announced they’d created a free “online library” to give homebound folks access to books. They implied that they were presenting many old books that were out of copyright and hard to find, but publishers and writers both noted that many of the book were recent and still in copyright, which made appropriating them piracy.

N.K. Jemisin was interviewed by the PBS Newshour a few years ago, when The Fifth Season was chosen for the show’s bookclub.

Publishers Weekly has some best-seller lists.

This app lets you find independent bookstores that you can support while you are sheltering in place.

Myke Cole reads an excerpt from Sixteenth Watch on Worldbuilders.

Games:

Here are the British Academy Games award winners.

TV and Movies:

For those of you who are having big-screen movie withdrawal, Entertainment Weekly provides this horror short feature by Mike Mendez. It’s got foul language and every possible in-joke. It’s fun.

The Mary Sue discusses why Wonder Woman, though admirable, ultimately didn’t satisfy.

The Magicians series ended last week with “Fillory and Further.” Den of Geek gave the show a very positive review. WARNING: Spoilers. Here, EW interviewed the showrunners about the final episode, and the series itself.

Cult horror movies: Amazon’s got them. Here are ten.

Internet:

The Washington Post gave Bill Gates space on its op-ed page. Through his foundation, Gates has become familiar with infectious diseases and how they spread, and has thought on how the USA could move forward. There isn’t anything new here but it’s all in one place, laid out in a logical manner.

Tech:

TracFone defrauded USA taxpayers by creating fictitious clients who qualified for a tax-subsidized low-income phone program. They’ve been fined by the FCC.

Some Videos:

For tots: Betty White reads Harry the Dirty Dog.

Kid-Friendly: In Scotland, an inquisitive seal horns on in a couple’s kayak date. I vote for “kelpie.”

 

Family-friendly. Kids! Build your own trebuchet (with the help of adults).  This is not the best trebuchet video (Mythbusters has a nice one) but it explains the structure simply.

Just really pretty. The Choral Scholars of Dublin University College Perform “Black is the Color of my True Love’s Hair.”

Honest Trailers does Witcher. Probably for grownups.

Author

  • Marion Deeds

    Marion Deeds, with us since March, 2011, is the author of the fantasy novella ALUMINUM LEAVES. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthologies BEYOND THE STARS, THE WAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, STRANGE CALIFORNIA, and in Podcastle, The Noyo River Review, Daily Science Fiction and Flash Fiction Online. She’s retired from 35 years in county government, and spends some of her free time volunteering at a second-hand bookstore in her home town.