I've been AFK, doing awesome college things with Ryan and Anne. More on that after the three of us have had a long talk, and we decide where the privacy line is with him. As the proudest parent in the history of life, I want to tell the world about every single thing he does, but as someone who has dealt with his share of Internet Weirdos, I'm also pretty psycho about protecting his privacy to the very best of my ability.
But now I'm home, and summer is officially in full swing, so it's time to start the Summer Reading Spectacular Extravaganza.
Past SRSEs have focused on noir (the Summer of James Cain and Raymond Chandler) and Classics-I-wish-I'd-been-mature-enough-to-appreciate-in-high-school (the Summer of 1984, All Quiet on the Western Front, A Separate Peace, etc.) This year's Summer Reading Spectacular Extravaganza will focus on classic science fiction and some of the really great current SF that I may have missed in the last year. I have plenty of classics on the list, and I thought that an anthology would be the best place to start for recent stuff. To that end, I am looking to put the power of this mighty battlestation into action to track down the very best of the Best Science Fiction of $YEAR books.
I'm currently leaning toward The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, or The Year's Best Science Fiction. The former is a bit more portable than the latter, which weighs in at 700 pages, but I'm not so sure I'm into the fantasy. Yes, I'm incredibly difficult and picky - I want awesome, portable, and filled with exactly the right balance of stories that I'm going to like.
So the question is: do you have a favorite Best of Science Fiction anthology to recommend? Is there one that's consistently kickass? Is there one that I should avoid like it's a shitty book that's going to make me mad and make me wish I'd spent my money on cheap booze instead? And is Don on the phone? Where are those pictures I ordered?
