Sidetracks - August 17, 2015

[helloladies]

Sidetracks is a collaborative project featuring various essays, videos, reviews, or other Internet content that we want to share with each other. All past and current links for the Sidetracks project can be found in our Sidetracks tag.

Renay

➝ Via horbinski, How Portability Ruined the Telephone was a look at how our phones have become less and less useful as phones due to the experience of using them to speak being so terrible. I know this problem well, because any time I speak on the phone it becomes a game as to how many times I'm going to have to repeat myself.

➝ I recently moved into a new office and created a TBR shelf. Then, via umadoshi, I discovered To Be Read Calculator. It's more optimistic about my reading future than I am, but it's only just met me.

➝ I read the 100 “best” fantasy and sci-fi novels - and they were shockingly offensive had me fist pumping through the whole thing. It's excellent.

➝ The Expanse will premiere on December 14 and 15!!!!

Book Acquisitions

Purchased: The End of All Things, Lock In, & Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi
Gifts: Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, & Deborah Biancotti

Jodie

➝ Need a reminder that the world is amazing? Oh look, it's Serena Williams doing the splits on parallel bars while looking flawless.

➝ Aarti opened #Diversiverse sign ups for this year. All you have to do is sign up and commit to reading and reviewing one book by a chromatic author in the first two weeks of October. It's a really good event and also provides a useful resource for readers trying to read more chromatic authors throughout the year. Come make it the biggest it's ever been!

➝ If you live in London, Books on the Underground is offering to pay your tube fare for a month in return for a little volunteer work.

➝ Lil bit of self promo — Amy & I talked about The Emmys over at Irregularly Scheduled Viewing.

➝ Tom Hardy is doing a film called Legend about the Kray brothers and no one told me so you are all fired. I had to find out via a book jacket bearing movie images, people.

➝ Marvel's upcoming release, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur looks amazing. Pretty late to this party too but oh well.

➝ Simon from Stuck in a Book is recapping the new series of The Great British Bake Off. It's a sign of how drastically different my life became last year that I am into this ;P

➝ Signing off this week with an SFF related animal pun.