But as a book account and a reviewer (in a fairly loose sense of the word), I think I'm well within my rights if I want to share my reactions, especially to the fiction categories. Even on the day of the announcement! Even if I haven't read all the books! Reviewer opinions are still not for authors!
It's important not to punch down, and to do that you need to take stock of where you yourself stand. Speaking personally, I think of my role in the community as a video creator who talks about the Hugos a little differently now that Stitch & Bitch has gained some visibility.
I think the main reason the Hugos ARE different and online etiquette IS important is the inclusion of fan awards in the Hugos alongside the professional categories. That the line between "people who comment on the award" and "people who get nominated" is really thin-to-nonexistent.
I think if the Hugos are to be taken seriously as a real award, we need to be able to react to the nominees day-of. Discourse on snubs, disappointment in the list overall, and other assorted complaints are part of the lifecycle of any serious award. Otherwise, it's just an in-group celebration.
I want to add that I've seen some discourse this morning about the ways it is/isn't appropriate to react to the Hugo finalists, particularly if you are displeased with them. I would like to weigh in on this a bit (speaking for myself, not necessarily my co-hosts). Thread below may take a while...
Hey friends, the Stitch & Bitch crew are planning a special livestream this afternoon to react to the Hugo shortlist! It'll be me, @breereadsbooks.bsky.social, @bookishdi.bsky.social, and @bookfinch.bsky.social (sadly no Rachel 😢) at 12 pm PT/2 pm CT/3 pm ET/10 pm EET
youtube.com/live/5pJJJYW...
oh nooooo!
youtube.com/shorts/Tif4y...
I got some quick Hugo Awards predictions posted as a short-form video before the nominees are announced tomorrow! It's on both TikTok and YouTube Shorts!
#booksky #booktok #booktube #HugoAwards #sff 🪐📚
www.tiktok.com/@thefancyhat...
If you find a great alternative for mobile, let me know! Honestly, I mostly want to be making YouTube shorts at this point!
So I was editing a Hugo predictions video in TikTok and the whole thing somehow completely deleted itself when I tried to add a forbidden number of image overlays. 😭
I have now made a single-image collage, but am pissed about having to re-film the video.
We’ll be live in one hour!
Tomorrow, join @kalanadi.bsky.social, @thefancyhatlady.bsky.social, @breereadsbooks.bsky.social, @bookfinch.bsky.social and I for April's Stitch & Bitch! We'll be going live at 11 am PT/1 pm CT/2 pm ET/8 pm EET youtube.com/live/JXEhoX0...
Weekend morning boost for the new video!
New #booktube video, and it's an unhaul for the new(ish) year!
#booksky #sff 🪐📚
youtu.be/oWbmfwzunF4
A very chaotic bookshelf with some hats and things stacked atop the books.
I am reading too many books right now, none of which have my full attention, including Saint Death's Herald by C.S.E. Cooney, The Element of Fire by Martha Wells, and The Wolf and His King by Finn Longman. I may start something else entirely today in the interest of getting to some library books.
Friends, I have just picked up a library hold on a new title (I'm the first person to read this copy) and got it home to find the dust jacket is taped on upside down. This is extremely funny to me, but now I cannot read the book in public, can I? 🤣
And me, in case you missed my earlier post!
bsky.app/profile/thef...
This is a completely enormous sculptural Easter Bunny balloon animal ordeal. It towers above the crowds in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue. There is a person under it somewhere.
This person's giant sculptural balloon creation is clearly part of the same group project as the giant Easter bunny in the prior photo. The color scheme and art style are the same. This one is actually a hat though, in the shape of a giant slice of cake with seafoam green frosting and carrot decor. The dress is enormous and made in the same balloon art style, but unfortunately I have only captured the top half of it in this photo.
A hat in the shape of a very faithfully rendered Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty is surrounded by orange butterflies, including one gloriously perched atop her torch.
An incredible New York diarama is arranged atop this platter-shaped hat. A "Welcome to Central Park" sign is affixed to a lightpost beside a bench. The cherry blossoms are in bloom. A family of happy pigeons are all wearing bunny ears. One of them is carrying a cup of coffe, and another stands behind a large Easter basket overflowing with bagels. There are tiny newspapers strewn about. If you look closely, you can see that they are The Pigeon Post.
A few more of my favorite looks from today's Easter Bonnet Parade!
#EasterBonnet #EasterBonnetParade #NYC
A person in a long, red dress with a giant red hat in the shape of a building, perhaps a castle or cathedral, atop their head. The hat has red flowers and a long red drape of sheer fabric blending it in with the dress.
A person in a giant hat shaped like a New York City yellow taxi filled with flowers posing stylishly in a crosswalk. Their outfit also has a print of a taxi on it. Unfortunately, the only car in the photo is not a taxi, but an NYPD vehicle.
A grey-haired angel with feathery wings, a sparkly golden robe, sunglasses, a simple circlet crown, and a beard carries a large rainbow flag with the word "peace" and a peace symbol on it. I like the composition of this photo because the flag pole nicely frames the Rockefeller Center Atlas statue, but it unfortunately has a smudge at the bottom from my finger near the camera lens.
Two sharply turned-out individuals in nice suits with orange neckties and big, chunky glasses. They are both wearing orange hats with fishbowls on top, the fish within posed in whimsical ways and also wearing hats.
A few of my favorite looks from today's Easter Bonnet Parade!
#EasterBonnet #EasterBonnetParade #NYC
Four photos all showing different view of my Easter Bonnet and matching outfit. The first two are in the lobby of my building. You can see my outfit head-to-toe, which includes a green skirt and white jacket decorated with a green leafy garland. The hat has more green leafy foliage, a cream-colored foam rose the size of my head, and two tall peacock feathers dyed white and pink. The greenery on the hat is overflowing the brim, draping down in front of one side of my face.
See description on image number one.
This is a close-up selfie taken outdoors of me and my hat and bold lipstick, smiling out from behind the leaves.
This is a close-up of the back of my hat, not on my head, showing some of the detail not visible form the front. There are several wooden branches wrapped in shiny gold chain trim nestled amongst the foliage reaching upward.
My hat and outfit for today's Easter Bonnet Parade! I was there for a little over an hour before the rain started to be too much.
I believe it is good for the soul to be the weird thing someone saw on the subway every once in a while (Easter Bonnet Parade photos to come.)
Oh, I'm guessing you're looking at the entries alphabetized by country name!
I don't know where you're seeing this, but here's what I think the start order is:
www.isuresults.com/results/seas...
Stitch & Bitch is a group liveshow series on YouTube that is hosted in rotation by myself and my co-hosts @bookishdi.bsky.social, @kalanadi.bsky.social, @bookfinch.bsky.social, and sometimes @breereadsbooks.bsky.social. We chat about what we're reading, crafting, watching, and more!
Though extremely unlikely, I feel I should disclose that should both Stitch & Bitch and The Fancy Hat Lady Reads! ever be nominated for Best Fancast in the same year, I would decline nomination for my personal channel in favor of the group project. You may do whatever you like with this information.
My own channel is near and dear to my heart for many reasons, but it has never made the Hugo longlist, so I am realistic about its prospects of being nominated (next-to-zero).
My second eligible project is my own #BookTube channel, The Fancy Hat Lady Reads!
I have been making bookish videos on this channel with a focus on #SFF for 10 years now. It is a documentation of my personal reading journey for the past decade. I wear fancy hats.
www.youtube.com/@TheFancyHat...
