Saturday Miscellany – 11/17/18

If there are problems with any of the links/etc in this post, I apologize. My 27 lb. Pug/Beagle mix decided to jump onto my lap while I was finishing this post — I saved the laptop by milliseconds — and I’m typing this with my laptop laying ridiculously high on my chest (my beard is covering the touchpad and space bar). Awkward to say the least.

What a week . . . Stan Lee’s death — while we’ve been aware it was coming some day — shook me as much as it did other fans who appreciated his work (if not always his personal ethics) and his legacy. But the news of William Goldman’s death yesterday? I was stunned — which is strange, it’s not like he’d produced anything lately that grabbed me, but between his movies (The Right Stuff in particular — a fantastic adaptation) and his novels, he really affected the way Middle/High School me thought about the written word. The fact that the same mind produced The Princess Bride and Marathon Man/Brothers??? I think I was a sophomore when I read the latter two — pretty much up to that point everyone I read wrote in the same genre, focusing on the same kind of stories. But Goldman permanently changed the way I thought about the range an author could have — as well as trips to the dentist. One other note — did you see this tweet from Jonny Geller about the opening to the Butch Cassidy screenplay? If not, give it a read — that’s writing. The idea that we don’t have the man who can do that kind of writing in this world any more is tragic.

Anyway, I’ve got a good 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:

• Pretentious, impenetrable, hard work … better? Why we need difficult books — I like a lot of what Sam Leith has to say here.
• Speaking of pretentious and impenetrable, Jonathan Franzen blew up the Internet this week (which I know he cares so much about) with his 10 Rules for Novelists. Reactions ranged from Jo Perry’s” I broke one rule, then I broke another.” to Matthew Hanover’s response to one particular rule to Chuck Wendig’s multi-tweet attack (which is actually much shorter than I expected) — as Brad Parks said, it’s “the best thing on the Internet right now.” (also, check out the range of authors I cited there — I could’ve gone on, too. I didn’t see anyone defending the list).
• ‘Book Series Recaps’ Helps Readers Catch Up on Their Faves — I love the idea of this
• A schoolgirl has written a book to explain autism — Great idea — and the fact that someone thought it was helpful enough to send to every primary school in the UK suggests that it’s a pretty good book (and that this girl shouldn’t have to worry about paying for higher education).
• The One Direction Fan-Fiction Novel That Became a Literary Sensation — Wow. I’m sorta surprised that I’d never heard of Anna Todd or her books before — if for no other reason than my daughter still thinks of herself as a One Direction fan — I can’t imagine these are books for me, but what a great story for her.
• Viewpoint: Overused Phrases in Book Blogging — I think I’m innocent of almost all of these — and my infractions are rare. Still, a fun little read.
• The Time Raymond Chandler and Ian Fleming Got Together To Talk About Thrillers — need I say more? There’s some good stuff here.
• George RR Martin: ‘When I began A Game of Thrones I thought it might be a short story’ — a good interview with Martin about the new book and his struggles with the book we all are waiting for.
• An Introduction to the Rivers of London Series — just in time for the release of Lies Sleeping
• 16 Books and Movies That Make You Want to Be an Engineer — 1. It’s a good list and 2. It gives you enough of a taste of Jenn Stroud Rossmann, author of The Place You’re Supposed to Laugh
• 70+ Hilarious Book Puns To Make You Laugh and Groan — I don’t know if these are bad or good, but you should read them.
• 11 Public Libraries Invaluable to World History — this is a fascinating (and attractive) infographic and I wish I had time to go read more about every one of these places right now. Thanks to Sarah Archer, one of the creators, for dropping by and giving me the link.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Harley Quinn: Mad Love by Paul Dini and Pat Cadigan — You had me at Paul Dini. Cadigan’s an added bonus. The two of them telling Harley’s origin? Gotta grab it.
• The Place You’re Supposed to Laugh by Jenn Stroud Rossmann — a nice novel about 2002 Silicon Valley that I talked about here.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to pinnaclemotivation, wittysarcasticbookclub, AlbertHolmes, and The Sunday Feeling for following the blog in some form this week.