Awards discussions
I usually don't pay any attention to awards, the exception being the Andre Norton, because I made a promise to Andre before she died. Like I said to jemck here, I don't choose my reading according to awards. Actually, I think my extreme skepticism about awards goes back to my childhood library visits, when I discovered that Newbery Award winner! didn't necessarily mean I would like it. Just meant that "they" liked it--you know, that amorphous "they" who constitute an authority that you don't necessarily grant them.
But I do find discussions about how the old guard's hard-sf sense of privilege is breaking down interesting, especially in alecaustin's post here. He includes among his criteria the cult of coolness that goes into award selection, which I think is a good part of why X's work will always show up there, but Y's is never noticed, even if you, and a significant portion of your friends, actually prefer Y. But you and your group can seldom make it to Worldcon, so never vote.
But I do find discussions about how the old guard's hard-sf sense of privilege is breaking down interesting, especially in alecaustin's post here. He includes among his criteria the cult of coolness that goes into award selection, which I think is a good part of why X's work will always show up there, but Y's is never noticed, even if you, and a significant portion of your friends, actually prefer Y. But you and your group can seldom make it to Worldcon, so never vote.