Optimism should be defined as buying books that you want to read while knowing your TBR pile is so big that it shows up on satellite images from space. Not having enough time to read all the books I want never stops my enthusiasm for buying more books. Writing conventions are the MOST dangerous places in the world when it comes to fueling my book buying habits. I listen to authors talk about cool books they have read, or that they just released, or go to book launches at the Con, and then when I hit the vendors room, I just can’t help but support all these poor authors! Did I mention that they also giveaway books in the swag bags at the convention? So many books.
“So many books”
One of my reasons for doing a book haul post like this is to REMIND myself – Hey you bought those books at the convention because you wanted to read them – DON’T FORGET TO READ THEM. And in case I forget this post can serve to shame me – REMEMBER way back in 2023 when you bought all these cool books you couldn’t wait to read? How many have you actually read?! Hmm….
The other reason I enjoy doing a post like this is to share all these great finds with people that may not have heard of these authors or these titles. So many books are published every year that not all of them get in front of the people that would appreciate knowing about them. You’re welcome, but don’t blame me for being an enabler.
For those of you have never been to a convention like this – a vendors or dealers room is where people/businesses rent tables to sell their stuff, whether it be shiny trinkets, cool clothes, artwork, or BOOKS. Usually on the first day of the convention I will make the circuit of the vendors room and talk to various authors/publishers/booksellers and talk about books I am interested in or look at what they have for sale and let them talk up various books. I always tell them I am just browsing that day and getting a lay of the land before I buy and that I will be back again the next day. This way I am forced to think about the books I REALLY want and not just buy everything that looked interesting. Doesn’t always work, but it does help to cut down on those impulse buys.
So onto the books haul!
- Never Whistle At Night – An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C Van Alst Jr. was mentioned by a couple of panelists on Friday so when I saw it on the Bakka-Phoenix table in the vendors room I knew it was coming home with me.
- The Deadlands – Year One is an anthology put out by The Deadlands online magazine run by Sean Markey and his wonderful staff. I got to meet Sean at the convention as he was running the booth and in addition to the Year One anthology, he was selling some sweet merch including Psychopomp hats, some deadlands enamel pins, and stickers. All very cool. I’m very much looking forward to reading this collection of short stories.
- I saw a some press for The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey on BlueSky site recently and was intrigued not only by the lurid cover, but also by the premise of a magical underbelly of New York City filled with dark eldritch beings. The book cover I saw didn’t have “New York Is One Helluva Town” as its tagline but rather “Choo, Choo, MF-ERs” and I almost cackled when I read the line. I saw this book on a couple vendor tables but I think I picked it up from Little Ghost Books from Toronto. Check out their website and wonder ghost/book related merch. I really need the toque/beanie with the ghost reading a book on it.
- Side note – I don’t normally read a lot of horror or dark stuff, but it seems to be really drawing my attention this year. As you can tell by the first three selections here. I don’t know if its the horrific timeline we exist in or not, but its seems to be calling to me more and more.
- Again don’t let anyone tell you social media doesn’t sell books. I have been following Premee Mohamed online for a number of years and two summers ago picked up her The Annual Migration of Clouds at Toronto’s Word on the Street (Still on my TBR Pile. **Hangs head in shame**), but after hearing her talk on the Climate, Infrastructure and Gentrification panel at CanCon, I am definitely moving it up on my list of to-be-read books. Anyhow back to No One Will Come Back for Us and Other Stories that just came out from Undertow Publications and when I saw the cover reveal on social media I was sold. Who doesn’t love a good mix of cosmic horror and speculative fiction? I think I picked this up directly from Undertow who had a table in the vendor’s room.
- Annalee Newtiz was one of the Guests of Honour at the convention and as such Bakka-Phoenix Books had a variety of their fiction and non-fiction books available for purchase. It was hard to limit myself to just one book, but in the end I chose The Future of Another Timeline that came out in 2019. I listened to it on audiobook when it first came out and immediately loved it. Its an angry Gen-X punk rock sort of book that has time travel twists, 90s riot grrrl music, and competing timelines with one set on wiping out feminism in the cradle. I mentioned to Annalee when I was getting them to sign it that it was darker than I realized when I started reading it and they said yeah – it was “dark times” in the world when they were writing it and it came through in the book. You can’t go wrong with any of Annalee’s fiction or non-fiction. Check out their website – https://www.techsploitation.com/
- The Quantum War is the third book in Derek Kunksen‘s series The Quantum Evolution that started in 2018 with the The Quantum Magician – a space opera/heist story that was serialized first in Analog before being released as a book. The Quantum War was released in 2021 and I am still waiting to binge read the series and report back. Derek is a smart and entertaining writer and I am sure it will be a fun ride.
- Lost Cargo is P.A. Cornell‘s first novella and since she was at the convention on a couple panels I wanted to check it out. I’ve read some of her short stories online over the years and thought this looked interesting.
Whew – I am wiped just typing that up. Imagine lugging that haul around the con for a few hours and getting some signed. (FWIW Premee has the best glitter pens!) So that was Saturday’s haul. On Sunday I went back to the vendor’s room more than once to track down a few more books.
- First up two of the six books pictured above were from the swag bags all attendees got. Not all the books were the same in each of the bags, so it was a pretty random selection. The first free book was Commander Zero by David Neil Lee. Don’t know much about the book, but based on the blurb it sounds like guy with amnesia has dark secret and it involves vampires.
- Second freebie was the short story collection The Girl Who Cried Diamonds and other Stories by Rebecca Hirsh Garcia. I actually grabbed a swag bag containing Rebecca’s book on purpose since I had seen her at the reg desk excitedly squee-ing about her book being included in some of the swag bags at this years con. I never did get a chance to have her sign it, maybe next year.
- Author John W. Partington was a pleasure to speak with and one of those indie authors I mentioned spending some time talking to before deciding which of his many books to buy. John had a number of fantasy related and more contemporary spec fic books at his table. I almost bought on of his short story collections, but in the end settled on Jake and Chearice: Cell Phone Conspiracy which contains sentient cell phones (!?) and multi-verse shenanigans.
- Life Beyond Us is an original anthology of science essays paired with science fiction tales inspired by the science. Published by the European Astrobiology Institute I had heard about this collection at the 2022 Can Con but it wasn’t out in print at the time. Its a hefty tome and one I look forward to having crack my skull open in good ways. If you click the link above it will take you to the page for the book where it also lists all the fantastic authors and scientists involved in the project. Smart people and great storytellers – can’t wait.
- Town & Train was a bit of an impulse buy on the last day. I had seen James K. Moran around the con and recognized his name. Scanning the details on this book in the vendor’s room I decided it intrigued me enough to bring it home with me. A horror novel set in a small Ontario town involving trains. What more do you need to know? Okay its set during the heatwave of 1990 so its got a nostalgia factor going for it too.
- Finally we have Christian Bains‘ My Cat’s Guide to Online Dating, which sounds like a cutsey title at first glance but is far from it. Christian was on the Friday night panel about violence in writing and mentioned his book and the murderous cat in it, it sounded hilarious, horrifying, and all around intriguing. The fact that the cat’s name is Grace Jones was the chef’s kiss. Here’s a brief description of the plot from his website : “With the dead man’s phone and a knack for texting, she promises Zach help, for a price that will satisfy both their appetites. Does it matter if Grace Jones’ powers draw on something far more ancient and sinister than a cell phone?”
So that’s my 2023 book haul from CanCon in Ottawa. Anything look intriguing to you? Something I should start with first?