I went and saw The Martian last Sunday. It was excellent. The important thing, though, is that I’m still giving away a paperback copy of the book to celebrate both the release of the film.

At The Guardian, George R.R. Martin talks about our collective literary obsession with Mars. It’s a great read, as Martin is incredibly well-read and has an amazing memory for sci-fi history.

Here’s an interesting discussion about some sexism you can find in The Martian. Personally, I think this is some pretty nitpicky stuff, but I don’t think it hurts to point it out in the hopes that future writers will do better.

It’s October, and in addition to being Pumpkin Spice Season it’s also Let’s Talk About Racist Halloween Costumes Season. I can’t wait until we don’t have to keep having this discussion, but hear it is in the meantime.

In the Halloween spirit, the Hairpin has a list of 32 Horror Movies That [Probably] Aren’t About Women Being Sex-Murdered.

At the London Film Festival, Geena Davis shined a spotlight on gender inequality in children’s and family entertainment. I’ve been thinking about this a lot this week, actually, with the release of a new trailer for Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, which doesn’t seem to have any female characters whatsoever.

That said, this piece at io9 about the making of The Good Dinosaur is pretty intriguing. I’m still thinking I might skip it in the theater, but it sounds like Pixar is doing some really innovative stuff with the animation. It certainly looks like a beautiful piece of work, though that’s never been part of my reservations about the film.

Mattel’s new super hero dolls kind of make me wish my daughter was young enough for me to buy them for her so I could play with them. I’m not sure I really understand why girls can’t just play with regular action figures instead of fashion dolls, though.

It looks like Minority Report is already headed towards cancellation, which sucks. I’ve actually been mostly enjoying the show, and I do plan to keep writing about it, but I really don’t know why I bother with any sci-fi shows on Fox anymore.

Twilight turned 10 years old this week, and Feminist Fiction has a great piece on why Stephenie Meyer’s cash-grabbing genderswap AU fanfic of her own work is a terrible idea.

Also at Feminist Fiction this week: an analysis of Not-So-Strong Female Characters.

The Mary Sue looks back at how Xena: Warrior Princess changed television.

Also at The Mary Sue: What We Can Actually Learn by Reimagining the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl Trope

At Tor.com, Where to Begin With Margaret Atwood. My personal suggestion? Start with The Edible Woman and read every word she’s ever written anywhere. Then, try to live a hundred more years so you can catch her Future Library novel, Scribbler Moon.

Bitch Media interviews Ann VanderMeer, editor of Sisters of the Revolution.

It’s been a pretty rad birthday week for me, with two long-awaited books being released this Tuesday: Kameron Hurley’s Empire Ascendant and Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Mercy. That means both authors have been making the rounds promoting their work.

Kameron Hurley was interviewed at Bull Spec and on Midnight in Karachi and wrote guest posts for My Bookish Ways and the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog.

Ann Leckie did a Reddit AMA (highlights at Tor.com), wrote an FAQ for her Big Idea post, and was interviewed at the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog.