Here are 5 developments of interest to fans:

(1) When Aussiecon 4 GoH Shaun Tan was interviewed by Western Australia Today he spoke persuasively about the similarity of science and art:

“I think there is great similarity between science and art,” he said.

“The fact that they are fairly separate disciplines in our time says something about our culture.

“What they have in common is a curiosity about reality, and casting of the imagination over initial perception.

“Scientific ideas are profound acts of the imagination, prior to all testing and calculation, and similarly, all works of art are a series of hypotheses that have been put to experimental test on paper or canvas.”

(2) Megan Reid’s guest post about “Being a Bad Reader” is actually about reading quirks. It’s a fine post on its own terms, but after experiencing a sense of disappointment I realized that what I really hoped to find was someone at long last balancing fan criticism with examples of reviews by people who simply misread what was in front of them.    

(3) A library in South Yorkshire got a book back 45 years overdue. The paperback first edition copy of Quatermass and the Pit by Nigel Kneale was borrowed on September 24, 1965. The borrower’s name will remain forever unknown because library records don’t go back that far. And while a library can always use a windfall, the penalty for keeping the book so long wouldn’t have been very much: all fines are capped at 6 pounds ($9).

(4) From Letters of Note: Philip K. Dick sent the outline of A Scanner Darkly to his agent with  a cover letter full of excitement:

P.S. I swear, Scott, this is shaping up to be the greatest novel ever written. Or at least the greatest novel I’ve ever written, anyhow.

(5) From Scifiwire: “Guy spends 3 years building Minas Tirith out of 420,000 matches.” Awesome picture. But watch out for trolls — the very first comment is, “some lighter fluid, and one more match we can do what Sauron wasn’t able to.”

[Thanks to David Klaus and SF Signal for the links.]