Saturday Miscellany – 10/5

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:

• Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’ — Oh goody, another literary Netflix. Wonder if one of these will take off.
• British Students Ban “Blurred Lines” From Their Own Universities — I thought in the shadow of Banned Book Week this was a provocative — and disturbing — piece
• The Inevitability of Formulaic Writing in Literary Fiction: A Case Study — a fun read

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman — The more I learn about Offerman, the more I admire him — beyond his acting, he seems to be a heckuva guy.
• Entangled by Amy Rose Capetta — This YA SF book has a heckuva concept.
• Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie — Another book with a killer concept.
• The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente — My daughter loves these books, keeps telling me I need to read them. Sure looks like a good idea.
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion — I like the sound of this one