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Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Apr 30 2025

Poll:\ \ Vote for May’s Book!\ \ Hi all! The time has come to vote for the Elsewhen Book Club pick for May. \ \ (I am once again traveling at the end of the month, visiting family, so I’ll do my best with the formatting but can make no promises.)\ \ Vote in the poll attached to this post to make your preference known!\ \ Option 1: Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio\ \ Blurb: Hadrian Marlowe, a man revered as a hero and despised as a murderer, chronicles his tale in the galaxy-spanning debut of the Sun Eater series, merging the best of space opera and epic fantasy.\ \ Option 2: Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-Il Kim\ \ Blurb: From award-winning Korean author Sung-il Kim & translated by the world-renowned Anton Hur, Blood of the Old Kings begins an epic journey unlike any other.\ \ In an Empire run on necromancy, dead sorcerers are the lifeblood. Their corpses are wrapped in chains and drained of magic to feed the unquenchable hunger for imperial conquest.\ \ Option 3: Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier\ \ Blurb: From acclaimed author Makiia Lucier, a dazzling, romantic fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology.

Vote for May’s Book Club Book


3 books

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Mar 28 2025

Poll:\ \ Choose our book for April!\ \ Hi all! This post will not be formatted as prettily as usual because I’m currently in LA for a Harper Collins event (videos to come!); but regardless, the time has come to pick the Elsewhen Book Club book for April. Here are the nominations:\ \ A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers\ \ Blurb: ASIN B08H831J18 moved to the more recent edition Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend. Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in.\ \ The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?\ \ Famous Men Who Never Lived by K. Chess\ \ Blurb: Wherever Hel looks, New York City is both reassuringly familiar and terribly wrong. As one of the thousands who fled the outbreak of nuclear war in an alternate United States—an alternate timeline, somewhere across the multiverse—she finds herself living as a refugee in our own not-so-parallel New York. The slang and technology are foreign to her, the politics and art unrecognizable. While others, like her partner, Vikram, attempt to assimilate, Hel refuses to reclaim her former career or create a new life. Instead, she obsessively rereads Vikram’s copy of The Pyronauts—a science fiction masterwork in her world that now only exists as a single flimsy paperback—and becomes determined to create a museum dedicated to preserving the remaining artifacts and memories of her vanished culture.\ \ But the refugees are unwelcome and Hel’s efforts are met with either indifference or hostility. And when the only copy of The Pyronauts goes missing, Hel must decide how far she is willing to go to recover it and finally face her own anger, guilt, and grief over what she has truly lost. With Famous Men Who Never Lived, K Chess has created a compelling and inventive speculative work on what home means to those who have lost it forever.

Vote for April’s Book Club Pick


2 books

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Feb 26 2025

Vote for March's Book Club Pick

Click this post to vote for March's book club read!


4 books

2

2

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Jan 27 2025

Vote for February's Book Club Pick

Click this post to vote for February's book!


5 books

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Dec 28 2024

Vote for January's Book Club Book

Click this post to vote for January's book


3 books

1

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Oct 30 2024

Vote for November's Book Club Pick

Click this post to vote for November's book!


3 books

5

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Sep 30 2024

[Poll:\ \ Choose October's Book Here!\ \ Fall is in the air (in my area of the world, at least)! The following books have been nominated for the Elsewhen book club for October. Cast your vote in the poll at the bottom of this post!\ \ The choices for October are:\ \

  1. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison\ \ \ \ ​\ \
  2. Qoheleth by Madison Scott-Clary\ \ \ \ ​\ \
  3. City of Lost Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky\ \ \ \ ​\ \
  4. The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams\ \ \ \ ​](https://elsewhen.binderybooks.com/item/e4tAC8NRRYlCDNHQBsth/)

Vote for October's Book Club Pick

Click this post to vote for October's book!


4 books

4

7

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Sep 3 2024

\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://elsewhen.binderybooks.com/item/6YhyUx1db5Qntqx2eDa8/)

When YA Authors Write Adult Fiction | An Autopsy of Silver Under Nightfall

Why I didn't like Silver Under Nightfall, and why YA authors like Rin Chupeco struggle to make the leap to adult fiction


1 book

2

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Aug 29 2024

Poll:\ \ Help choose September's book!\ \ September is fast approaching! The following books have been nominated for the Elsewhen book club. Cast your vote in the poll at the bottom of this post!\ \ The choices for September are:\ \ 1. _Babel_** by RF Kuang **\ \ ​\ \ \ \ ​\ \ 2. _Silver Under Nightfall_** by Rin Chupeco**\ \ \ \ ​\ \ 3. _Qoheleth_** by Madison Scott-Clary**\ \ \ \ ​\ \ 4. \\ Wake Up, Sir! ** by Jonathan Ames\ \ \ \ ​\ \ ​

Vote for September's Book Club Pick

Click this post to vote for September's book!


4 books

4

4

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Aug 20 2024

Why I haven't posted a TikTok in a Month | Reading Update 8/20

Why I took an unplanned hiatus. Also, you should read The Doctrine of Labyrinths.


1 book

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Aug 13 2024

\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://elsewhen.binderybooks.com/item/lM6KFkXlZYjKCFlxg9dx/)

Fifteen Solid Minutes of Classical and Biblical Allusions in the Locked Tomb

There are so many. So, so many.


2 books

5

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Jul 31 2024

Messy, Complicated Thoughts on She Who Became the Sun | Reading Update 7/31

Bad news: The only novel I've read since the last update is She Who Became the Sun. Good news: I have many things to discuss.


1 book

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Jul 29 2024

Poll:\ \ Which book would you like to read in August?\ \ August is fast approaching! The following books have been nominated for the Elsewhen book club ... and Bindery has polls now! Cast your vote in the poll at the bottom of this post!\ \ The choices for August are:\ \ 1. Perdido Street Station by China Miéville\ \ ​\ \ \ \ ​\ \ 2. Babel by R. F. Kuang\ \ ​\ \ \ \ ​\ \ Most of the monthly discussion happens on the Discord, the link to which you can find here on the Elsewhen Bindery page. :) Join us in August for discussions, weekly reading updates, and more.

Vote for August's Book Club Pick

Click this post to vote for August's book!


2 books

6

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Jul 23 2024

\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://elsewhen.binderybooks.com/item/JXHShYfUr8CwBhun5U1Y/)

On Teaching Licenses, Moving with Autism, and Classics Grad School | A Chatty Update

A wild glasses-less Emma has appeared!


2

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Jul 9 2024

Nowhere to Go But Down | Reading Update 7/9

I read my first Star Wars novel. Unfortunately, I didn't like it very much.


5 books

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Jul 4 2024

\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://elsewhen.binderybooks.com/item/ezrthVSMSgt8kuZSN1WZ/)

In Defense of Second Person

Let's talk about The Fifth Season, Harrow the Ninth, and my favorite point of view.

Also, check out this article about the second person and writers of color, which I cite in the latter half of the video: https://www.sfwa.org/2021/11/29/second-person-pov-marginalized-writers/


2 books

2

1

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Jun 27 2024

Update: The votes are in, and July's book will be _She Who Became the Sun_ . Thank you all for voting!\ \\\*\ \ July is coming soon! The following books have been nominated for the Elsewhen book club. Cast your vote for July's pick by leaving a comment with your choice.\ \ Most of the monthly discussion happens on the Discord, the link to which you can find here on the Elsewhen Bindery page. :) Join us in July for (optional) weekly discussion questions, (hopefully) a live voice chat, and (defintitely) lots of memes.\ \ 1. _Gideon the Ninth_** by Tamsyn Muir**\ \ \ \ ​\ \ 2. _Babel_** by RF Kuang**\ \ \ \ ​\ \ 3. _She Who Became the Sun_** by Shelley Parker-Chan**\ \ \ \ ​

Vote for July's Book Club Pick

Click this post to help choose the July pick for the Elsewhen Book Club!


2 books

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Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Jun 25 2024

"An Unintentional Serial Killer" | Reading Update 6/25

Wrapping up June with The Fifth Season, A House with Good Bones, and more—including serial killer grannies.


5 books

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Jun 18 2024

\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://elsewhen.binderybooks.com/item/VAwILN3bDaXbJ1eZ5RwN/)

The Unhinged Books I Read as a Child | Powerpoint Night

Welcome to Powerpoint night—featuring fish hell, dream eaters, and weird books that probably explain my taste as an adult.


6 books

2

Elsewhen\ \ Emma Gardner\ \ • Jun 11 2024

A Case of Mismatched Expectations | Reading Update 6/11

This week we run the gamut from heists to historical fiction. Also, a few State of the Bindery updates: Reading updates and long-form deep dives will now alternate on Tuesdays. Watch the video to find out why!

⋆·˚ ༘ * Song: Dosi & Aisake - Cruising [NCS Release] Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds Free Download/Stream: http://ncs.io/Cruising Watch: http://ncs.lnk.to/CruisingAT/youtube


3 books