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 Most Loved Bookstore in Every State — From Reader’s Digest and Nextdoor.com (apparently it’s good for more than complaining about the dogs and children of other people who live near you.)
- One of the dumbest rumors I’ve heard in years came out last weekend — Martin’s got the long-awaited two books in A Song of Ice and Fire finished, but for the sake of the HBO show, hasn’t released them. My eyes can’t roll enough for that. Clearly, Martin feels the same.George RR Martin scorns ‘absurd’ claims he’s finished writing Game of Thrones, see also this link-filled tweet.
- From Agatha Christie to Gillian Flynn: 50 great thrillers by women — Not only is this a good list, but I find it interesting to see what author picks what book.
- The Most Memorable Bad Dates In Literature: Thriller Authors Choose Their Favorite Stories of Love Gone Wrong
- Tyrion, Daenerys, and… Harry? 9 Weirdly Normal Character Names in Fantasy Novels — a fun post from B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy blog
- This is NOT a Review of Hell’s Shadows by Dean Klein – UPDATED — If you haven’t seen this, you’ve been trying not to. As bad as I’ve been treated by a small handful of writers, I’ve clearly gotten off easy. Want to see an author self-destruct? Read on . . .
- This Week’s New Releases feature a bunch of books that have a lot of potential, but I’m not sure I’ll work too hard to get to (but I might, because I’m pretty curious about them), and one that I’m really looking forward to:
- Bad Bastards by Paul Heatley — Guy falls in love with a Girl. Girl’s father is head of a motorcyle gang and doesn’t approve. Gang expresses this disapproval all over the guy. Guy decides to fight back. Problems surely ensue. Sounds like the closest thing Fahrenheit Press can get to a Love Story.
- If She Wakes by Michael Koryta — the plot doesn’t sound like something I’d enjoy (but wouldn’t judge those who do), but Koryta is constitutionally incapable of writing a non-gripping book….
- The Window and the Mirror Book One: Oesteria and the War of Goblinkind by Henry Thomas — sounds like a perfectly fine fantasy story, and he’s that Henry Thomas, so I’m curious about what he’s done.
- Dragons Suck by Benjamin Gamble — snarky, slacker in Fantasy World gets sent on a quest to save his village from a dragon. Looks like a bunch of fun, really.
- Last Tango in Cyberspace by Steven Kotler — A cyberpunk tale about drugs and other things.
- The Obsoletes by Simeon Mills — undercover teen robots in high school
- Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson — the sequel to The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.
Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to flowersinthebrain, tracyvende and Britt Skrabanek for following the blog this week.
Paul's Picks
I’ve read a couple of Koryta’s books and really liked them… while I’m with you on the plot, it will probably be done so well because of his writing.