Saturday Miscellany—8/10/19

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:

• Comeback story: A new chapter for indie bookstores—”While their numbers aren’t what they once were, independent bookstores are reclaiming their place in society. Behind their surprise resurgence is renewed emphasis on fostering community.” Yeah, I’ve posted a variation on this story before, and I’ll keep posting them as long as they are written.
• A #thread about #preorders.—A great thread about the business side of publishing.
• The Radical Transformation of the Textbook—Textbooks aren’t really the kind of thing I tend to talk about here (although, I can think of a few that I could have, if this existed in the 90’s), but this is pretty fascinating.
• Last Stand in Lychford—Paul Cornell announces (well, echoes Tor’s announcement) that next year’s Lychford novella will be the end. Which is a shame, but I never expected the series to, well, be a series. We got three or four more of what I expected, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he wraps things up (and what happens right before that, actually).
• Megan Abbott on the Difference Between Hardboiled and Noir: In Conversation with the Author of Give Me Your Hand—I haven’t read a lot of Abbott, but I liked what I have—but this discussion about the distinction between hardboiled and noir is fantastic. I’m going to refer to it a lot (I should probably track down her dissertation).
• Why Hacking is the Future of Crime Fiction—sure, it’s a bit self-serving, “hey, my novel is the future!”, but it’s a great point. And his book seems promising. But so often (on screen and in print) hacking in fiction is so . . . hacky?
• Cartoonist Randall Munroe Will Be Your Answer Man—Not sure this book is for me, but I’ll probably try it, Munroe rarely disappoints.
• Summer Flings – 5 Fantasy Standalones—cute idea for a list, at least two good books on the list (have heard good things about at least one other).
• Classically Cool- Let’s Talk Classics!—I dig this post from the Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub (incidentally, I don’t see that much sarcasm there — wazzup with that, pal?). I’ve been trying to find the time to write a similar post myself, but in the meantime go read hers.
• Are books still relevant today?—Obviously, the answer is a resounding, “YES!”, but you should still read the post.
• The Ultimate Summer Playlist to Inspire Your Summer Booklist—I’ve never heard (to my knowledge) any of the songs on this list, and probably wouldn’t like most of them. But, I thought this was a cool idea, so am passing it along. What songs/books would you add?

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen to:
• Author Stories Podcast Episode 692 | Robert Crais Talks A Dangerous Man—fun, quick moving, interview with Crais.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• A Dangerous Man by Robert Crais—possibly Crais’ best since Suspect, loved this novel about Joe Pike running errands and stumbling onto a kidnapping. I’ll talk more about this early next week.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Vee Aozoraa, happytonic, Elizabeth Ruggiero and adiswings for following the blog this week.