For the last day or so, one of the top “Trending” stories on Facebook has to do with George R. R. Martin, the headline reads: George R. R. Martin Teases Lots of Death in the next ‘Game of Thrones’ Books. Yeah? No kidding. Death, never would’ve suspected lots of that. Need to prepare for the next headline “George R. R. Martin Warns that Next ‘Game of Thrones’ Books Will Be Very Long.”

Anyway, here are the odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

  • The Princess Bride You Didn’t Meet In The Movie — I’m not sure I’d agree with everything Leslie Kendall Dye says about the book in her little essay, but — it’s thought-provoking, and anything that gets people to read this book works for me. Love the movie, love the book more.
  • 23 Contemporary Writers You Should Have Read by Now — Reader’s Digest lists 23 critically acclaimed writers that supposedly deserve more attention. Now, I admit I don’t read as much “serious” fiction as I ought, but I figured I’d have read a couple off this list. Nope. Had only even heard of one of these. Humbling.
  • Speaking of “serious” fiction: Jennifer Weiner: why I’m waging war on literary snobbery — Another piece about Weiner’s quest to get “chick lit” (and herself) taken more seriously
  • Adult Fiction? — huh, whaddyaknow? Adults reading books about teens — you know, what’s marketed as YA today, and which so many look down on adult’s reading — has quite the long and impressive pedigree. Teresa Michals’ essay is well worth the read, no matter what you think of YA books.
  • In what’s becoming a regular feature on this list, Patrick Rothfuss’ review of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making — This has been sitting on my TBR pile since 2011, and on my daughter’s bookshelf since then, too. I need to buckle down and just read the thing, don’t I?
  • The Wisdom of Hounds — Mark Mason’s musical tribute to Oberon, the true star of the Iron Druid Chronicles. Also worth checking out if you’ve never read IDC, but appreciate things from a dog’s point-of-view.
    This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • One Kick by Chelsea Cain — am hearing good things about this, assuming those are right, with this premise? Should be a good read.
  • Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan — it looks pretty funny and informative — what D’Aulaires’ was for me, but with Percy’s snark. And, apparently, huge. Huge as in abnormally tall, not thick.
  • What Might Have Been by Matt Dunn — whoops! — should’ve listed this one last week, this looks like a fun read.