Saturday Miscellany – 8/1/15

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:

• I’ve posted a couple of times about the delays for the next Robert Crais. Doesn’t look like I have to do that again. He posted a picture of the reformatted bound manuscript to Facebook this week. Phew!
• How Changing Your Reading Habits Can Transform Your Health — The only thing more interesting than this piece (for me) is how many people I’ve seen linking it from all sorts of walks of life. In case you’re thinking it’s a bit too long to read, David Murray summarizes it.
• We’ve got a few lists this week:
  • BookBub runs down 14 Must-Read Novels About Books — I need to read more of these.
  • The Twenty Five Best Crime Novels of All Time — I’ve done better with this list (still could do better)
  • 12 Contemporary Novels Inspired by ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ — some of these seem like a stretch when it comes to “inspired by”, but…what do I know? I’ve read only one of them.
  • 19 famous writers who came alive on film — I’ve got a couple of others that I’d throw on this list, but…hey, it’s good.
  • Let’s Celebrate the Best Morons in Literature — short list, but some good morons. Can we still safely use that word?

• The Drake & Zeke Show from 07/20/15 — This interview with Ace Atkins is supposed to be really good. Hoping to get into it soon.
• Nabokov in America: On the Road to Lolita by Robert Roper – review — Not sure I’m up for an entire book along these lines, but this review is a good read
• 8 Reasons Ernest Cline’s Armada Is Nothing Like Ready Player One (and Why That’s Not a Bad Thing) –This is a good list-y review of Armada.
• A photo of Tolkien’s first page of The Lord of the Rings — not sure which is more impressive, Tolkien’s talent or his printing. I envy both.
• Memorable Animals from Literature — this infographic is a good start, but I’d like to see it expanded.

Just a couple of New Releases This Week that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Crooked by Austin Grossman — Lovecraftian Nixon? I’m not sure this is my thing, but I’ll probably give it a shot.
• Half a War by Joe Abercrombie — The Shattered Sea concludes. Still meaning to read the first volume of this series; and I guess volume two, too.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Themis-Athena’s Garden of Books, Grimlock ♥ Deadpool, Paul Read or Dead, Constantly Moving the Bookmark (which might be my favorite blog name in weeks), The Primroses Were Over, Book Cupidity, and Jessica’s Book Thoughts for following the booklikes version of blog this week – quite the bumper crop, actually.