Keeping on top of Genre, the Yearlies

Yearly Genre updates are actually pretty simple, mostly it's just keeping up with the genre awards and checking in on certain sequels I've been patiently waiting on.

The Awards

One of my favourite things about the Internet is how easy it is to keep on top of award winners.

From Science Fiction (Hugo, Nebula, and Locus), to Fantasy (World Fantasy and Mythopoeic), to Horror (Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild), and even the few award shows that specialize in horror (Scream Awards, MTV Movie awards), I can keep track of what the newest critically acclaimed titles are (or in the case of the MTV movie awards - what my kids friends most acclaimed movies are) by doing a simple Google search.

I actually keep a spreadsheet listing the winners of each of the book awards and am slowly, but surely moving my way though the winners list - when I'm done it's on to the nominations list.

Sequels

For the simple reason that I don't want to feel bad on a monthly basis, I only follow up on sequels I've been waiting for once a year. Currently Clive Barker's third Abarat novel tops the list (I've been waiting since 2004) followed by my hopes for a new Miles Vorkosigan novel from Lois McMaster Bujold.

What the heck I'll check right now - for fun.

(frenzied sound of typing)

NOPE - no third Abarat book any time soon - that's fine, I've been waiting for half a decade, I can keep waiting for now.

But wait - Lois McMaster Bujold is releasing a new Miles Vorkosigian book in September! It's called Cryoburn! SQUEEE!

(Sound of Bookmonkey doing a quiet victory dance - everyone else in the house is asleep)

Keeping on top of Genre, The Monthlies

Keeping on top of genre news once a month comes down to reading some magazines and visiting some web sites. Basically I like to think of it as genre maintenance.

First off the magazines - I collect Realms of Fantasy and Cemetery Dance - this keeps me up-to-date with most Fantasy and Horror news out there, but for SF I haven't actually found a magazine that works for me yet (any suggestions would be welcome). Both of these magazines have sections that update new movies, books, games, and even comics that relate to their fields, so by taking a quick look once a month, I can see some of the newer stuff out there that I might otherwise miss.

The first website I check out on a monthly basis is Previews, which is basically a catalogue of upcoming comic book releases. You can search for monthly releases via publisher (for comics), sections (like toys, calendars, or RPGs), or even a helpful Staff Picks section. My local comic book store takes orders from Previews by the 23rd of each month, so I have a good excuse to check out what's new - This month I ordered the newest Walking Dead trade paperback and a comic called Mouse Guard: Fall 1152.

The other website I check out each month is TV Shows on DVD which is basically exactly as advertised; they have a release schedule for soon to be released shows (it tends to run about 5 months ahead) which allows me to plan out which series I plan on getting for the next couple months - as I don't have cash for everything I have to keep it down to one every other month - the next one I'm looking forward to is True Blood, season 2 which gets released in late May.

So there you have it, my monthly schedule for keeping on track.