The mighty engine that powers Unshelved is being fueled this week, in part, by Bookreporter. For over a decade Bookreporter has been fulfilling an avid reader's every desire. Well, maybe not every desire, but each week there are a dozen new reviews (they now have over 6000), excerpts and author interviews, polls, contests to win advance reading copies, and features like Coming Soon, Books Into Movies, New and Notable in Paperback, and Word of Mouth. I get their weekly newsletter, with all the week's update in one place. But my favorite part is co-founder Carol Fitzgerald's look on life and books. I think you will find it - and her - an invaluable and enjoyable resource.

Unshelved/Bookreporter trivia: Carol is the only person I know who talks faster than me.

I used to be a big nut for those cute little sci-fi magazines - Asimov’s, Analog, and especially Fantasy and Science Fiction. But increasingly I found I was only enjoying one or two of the stories in each issue, and so I eventually stopped getting them. Either my standards had gone up, or theirs had gone down. So when I got a copy of Electric Velocipede #13 I was skeptical. After all, it’s just a ‘zine, with a silly name and a black and white cover. Surely it would be even more eclectic and less to my taste.

So it's to my great surprise that I tell you that I enjoyed every single story, of which there were many, and even one or two of the poems. This is high quality writing indeed. I know my standards haven't gone down, just the opposite, so editor John Klima must just be that good. In any case, if you like sci-fi, or "speculative fiction" in their parlance, it's well worth your time and money.

Thanks again to this week's sponsor, Random House Library. Visit their website to sign up for their newsletter, read staff picks, get reading group guides, download library publications, and preview upcoming RH author appearances at PLA, TLA, and ALA.