Saturday, February 4, 2012

Jo Anderton

By day Jo Anderton is a mild-mannered marketing coordinator for an Australian book distributor. By night, weekends and lunchtimes she writes science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Her debut novel, Debris (Book One the Veiled Worlds Series) was published by Angry Robot Books in 2011, and will be followed by Suited in 2012.

Recently I asked Anderton what she was reading. Her reply:
I'm just about to finish When We Have Wings by Claire Corbett. I met Claire at a science fiction convention last year. After listening to her speak on a panel I just knew I had to read her book, and I was so right, I'm loving it. Set in a future divided between people rich enough to afford wings and everyone else, it's both a mystery and a thought provoking look at class structures in society. It's beautifully written, and the world is disturbingly believable. Also, coming from a family full of flyboys, the loving way Claire writes about flight and flying itself rings so true for me!

Before that I read Future Babble by Dan Gardner. It's all about so-called 'expert predictions', why they get it wrong all the time but we believe them anyway. Fascinating stuff that has really changed the way I look at news and opinions in the media. It's got me thinking in foxes and hedgehogs. This book is part of my husband's drive to get me reading "something without dragons in it for once" (don't fret, he also loves science fiction, fantasy and horror and is the only person who will ever get away with saying that to me!). I believe next on my list is Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, but let's see if I can get away with squeezing another novel in first!

But it's a tough choice. Roil, by Trent Jamieson is on my 'OMG I seriously need to read this next!' list, as is Angel Arias by Marianne de Pierres. I'm half way through Justina Robson's Quantum Gravity series and really want to know what happens next. I also need to get Goliath by Scott Westerfeld. So, some difficult decisions ahead. Don't you just love that?
Visit Jo Anderton's website and Facebook page.

--Marshal Zeringue