Slim pickings this week in the crop of 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:

  • A Love Letter to Mass Market Paperbacks — probably my first (and most enduring) love is celebrated in this piece from BookRiot
  • Why Bother Reading More? — I’m not sure why this older post from Confessions of a Readaholic showed up on my feed this week, but it’s worth a read/reread.
  • Jane’s Long-Running Series — Faith Hunter shares her secrets to writing a long-running series. This should be interesting for readers of Hunter; non-readers of Hunter who like to see how someone does it anyway; and aspiring authors wanting tips.
  • Fahrenheit author Ian Patrick’s debut novel Rubicon has been optioned by the BBC — Rubicon has been languishing on that corner of my Kindle where great looking Fahrenheit Press books go to languish and gather virtual dust since it came out — it looks great, I’ve heard great things about it — this probably couldn’t happen to a more-deserving book.
  • Edmund Wilson on Crime Fiction — Edmund Wilson was a notable literary critic in the mid-20th century or so. Here’s a couple of pieces he wrote decrying Detective Fiction. They’re so bad that they’re fun to read. “Why Do People Read Detective Stories?” and its sequel “Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?”
  • 20 Quirks & Strange Habits. The Weird Side of Famous Writers — a nifty infographic from Jack Milgram — thanks for this one, Jack!

    This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • The Plea by Steve Cavanagh — The second novel about Eddie Flynn, the con man turned actual lawyer, was published in hardcover in the US this week (it came out in the UK 2 or so years ago, but we’re catching up).
  • Where Night Stops by Douglas Light — A fast-paced and effective crime thriller. Here’s what I had to say about it.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Jakirra Ballard, Beardy Book Blogger (welcome to the book blogosphere, by the way — love the beard, too), A D Solomon, spacefaith1 (thanks for the follow, but not linking to that banner pic, sorry) and Alicia Reads for following the blog this week.