Whoops, been silent here for a couple of days and then this thing goes up more than 12 hours late — no, I haven’t abandoned this blog. Just didn’t have a lot of time near my keyboard. 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:
- Anti-racist novel To Kill A Mockingbird and children’s classic Huckleberry Finn are withdrawn from Virginia schools after a parent complains that they contain racial slurs — that’s a really long headline that sums it up pretty well. David Simon’s comment is dead on: ” We are going backwards”
- Bad sex award goes to Italian novelist Erri De Luca — Read on at your own peril — not just for the sex-talk, but man…bad writing. I usually look at the short-list for this award anyway, but having the guys at Two Crime Writers and a Microphone read selections just underlined how bad these were. De Luca deserves this award.
- Speaking of TCWaaM, they talked about this on the most recent episode: A Jane Austen Row Erupts in Britain — good grief.
- Reading Blind is Best: One author on why you should avoid reading the flap copy. — there’s much to be said for this
- Another week, another list: The best crime books and thrillers of 2016 — from The Guardian. Looks like a good list.
- This Week’s New Release that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
- Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between) by Lauren Graham — I liked her semi-autobiographical novel a couple of years ago, I expect I’ll enjoy this volume, too.
Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to amecipraba, Larissa N. Takahassi, julianrichmonds, Manuel Antao, BrokenTune for following the blog this week.
Bookstooge
I make it a point to not read the back cover or inside flap anymore. There have just been way too many times that some big plot point has been spoiled and hence reduced my enjoyment of the story.