I can’t believe I didn’t know about this until now, but Rick Kleffel has the scoop. Ted Chiang, author of the excellent short story collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, has a new book called The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate. Kleffel reports, “So when I heard that Subterranean Press was going to publish a new anything by Ted Chiang, I made sure to get my hands on a copy as soon as possible.” Rest assured, my own efforts will be equally perfervid.

If you haven’t checked out Ted Chiang’s previous collection, you owe it to yourself to do so. And if you don’t believe Kleffel or me, why not pay heed to China Miéville?

Scientific American: “Clues to the underlying causes of boredom have come from patients who suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBI). According to James Danckert, a neuroscientist at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, people with TBI often begin to indulge in riskier activities after their accidents. These activities might include taking drugs or jumping out of planes&mash;pursuits they pick up in an attempt to deal with their new and chronic boredom.”

Galway First: “A man who was found dressed in latex and handcuffs brought a donkey to his room in a Galway city centre hotel, because he was advised ‘to get out and meet people,’ the local court heard last week.” (via MeFi)

Hartford Courant: “Members of the informed group also perceived themselves as getting significantly more exercise than they had before, even though their workload and recreational exercise levels, as well as diet, remained constant.”

Wet Asphalt: “It’s not just that someone who’s really into José Saramago might love Ursula K. LeGuin, but never be exposed to her, and vice versa with LeGuin’s fans, though that’s the most obvious complaint. It’s that it’s clear that the number of people who are reading fiction are dwindling. Fans of Literary Fiction and Speculative Fiction are small, almost religiously fanatical groups with a deep love of the their favorite authors and books, and if the content of those books is so similar so much of the time—and it is—then why is there a division at all? Why can’t they all be fans together? But it’s almost like the fans are too fanatical, creating arbitrary loyalties and irrational prejudices. It’s as if in certain quarters, the words ‘Literary Fiction’ and ‘Speculative Fiction’ have the same weight as ‘nigger,’ ‘spic,’ or ‘kike.’ Listen to the way they say, ‘I don’t read that Science Fiction crap.’ ‘I don’t read that boring, pompous Literary stuff.’ It makes me want to get all the Literary Fiction readers and all the Speculative Fiction readers in one room and throw Kelly Link books at them until they kiss and make up.”