Saturday Miscellany – 5/12/18

So, as Bookstooge commented yesterday — I seem to be in a bit of a slump — “meh”ish books and “meh”ish posts. Even the book I liked this week didn’t get my real best writing. Not sure what’s up with that. Better books to write about next week (mostly) — that should help. I’ve read two things this week that knocked me for a loop, looking forward to writing about them. Anyway . . .

Whoops! Going into this post, I thought I had a pretty good selection — turns out that it was mostly variations on a few themes. Most of which I ended up bailing on, so I can present to you only the most interesting of odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye — even if it is a short list. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

• Social Media and whatnot has been abuzz lately about Faleena Hopkins and her new Trademark. Now, I’m not a Romance reader (clearly), but you can see how some might try to learn from her example in other genres — and, it’s just a fascinating story regardless. Typically, there’s a lot of dross in the coverage. Here’s a couple of more trustworthy sources talking about it:
  • This Romance Novelist Trademarked the Word ‘Cocky’: And now she’s threatening other writers with legal action if they don’t change their book titles — from Electric Lit
  • Romantic novelist’s trademarking of word ‘cocky’ sparks outcry — from The Guardian
• Otto Penzler, noted expert on Mystery/Crime Fiction, has started a series of posts on CrimeReads helping readers understand the sub-genres of Mystery. Informative, helpful and great TBR fodder to boot:
  • What Is a Traditional Mystery?
  • What Is a Hard-Boiled Novel?
  • What Is a Thriller?
  • What Is a Police Procedural?
  • What is a Crime Novel?
• Friday Forgotten (or Overlooked) Book: PLOT IT YOURSELF (1959) by Rex Stout — I don’t think I like this particular Wolfe/Archie novel as much as this blogger does, but it is a good one — and (more importantly), anyone drawing attention to this series should get some attention itself.
• Stupid reasons to read books even if you never did before — a good list from Cristian Mihai over on Irevuo.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• For Those Who Know the Ending by Malcolm Mackay — an awesome looking Tartan Noir crime novel.
• Uncharted by Kevin J. Anderson and Sarah A. Hoyt — Lewis and Clark in an alternate-history/fantasy novel. Looks pretty cool to me.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to jstlouise for following the blog this week.