Saturday Miscellany – 6/17/17

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 Grimm Brothers’ Other Great Project Was Writing a Giant German Dictionary
• Cover Story: ‘How to Fall in Love with Anyone’ — not a book I’m really interested in, but I almost always find these process stories fascinating. How do you design a cover for this book?
• Men in Small Rooms: In Search of Dad Lit — really enjoyed this essay.
• C.S. Lewis’s Greatest Fiction Was Convincing American Kids That They Would Like Turkish Delight — nice Lewis-esque title to accompany this great piece. Some great lines in this: ” It was like looking into Harry Potter’s Mirror of Erised, but for desserts: When you think of a treat worth betraying your family for, what do you see? Turkish Delight is our collective candy id.”
• Two Decades of Reading Beside the Woman I Love: They Met at a Bookstore and Have Been Reading Together Ever Since — even before the blurb at the end said he got his MFA at my alma mater, I enjoyed this essay by Matthew Sullivan
• On Tibbehah — Ace Atkins describes how he created Tibbehah County for his Quinn Colson series
• Luke Daniels reads from Beseiged — probably my favorite Audiobook narrator, Luke Daniels, gives a taste of the upcoming Kevin Hearne book.
• 5 Lessons Picture Books Teach Us That are (Sadly) Inaccurate — (the first comment is good, too)

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen:
• A Stab In The Dark kicks off its second season with my chatting with Ian Rankin. I’m adding this one to the regular rotation (and listening to some back episodes)

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire — McGuire’s follow-up to the wonderful Every Heart a Doorway is almost as good — this one tells the story of Jack and Jill (the sisters, not the hill-climbers) before they found their door and of the adventures they found on the other side, all leading up to having to go toe Eleanor West’s Home. I tried to post about this yesterday, but sleep won out.
• The Data Disruption by Michael R. Underwood — Speaking of prequels, here’s the “lost pilot” to the Genrenauats series. The price is right — free. Check out the link for details.
• Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan — yes, the gentleman I referred to above. Glad I saw that essay, because it lead me to this: “When a bookshop patron commits suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind.” That’s got the makings of a good one.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to pandaduh for following the blog this week.