Saturday Miscellany—9/21/19

Been a busy, busy day, just now had time to sit down and list off the 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:

• Let’s start off with: ALA denounces new Macmillan library lending model, urges library customers to voice objections
• and then: ‘What Should I Read Next?’: How publishers’ increasingly restrictive e-book policies could undermine a key public library reference service
• before moving on to more upbeat things, like: Lad Lit: The Subgenre the Man in Your Life Needs—Nice to see Matthew Hanover and Ian Shane get some good press.
• Like many, CrimeReads was horrified by The Princess Bride reports this week, and it led them to thinking about the career of the writer, William Goldman
• Some Of The Best Scottish Crime Writers—The title says it all
• A Crime Author Grapples With the Old Question: Where Do You Get Your Ideas From?—Reed Farrel Coleman describes the inspiration for The Bitterest Pill and others.
• Authors Share The Worst Advice They’ve Ever Received..—There’s some bad advice here…and one very common thread
• How do you write negative reviews?—I’ve shared a handful of “should you write a negative review” posts over the years, I think this is the first to ask “How”. Important question.
• Catching Up On My Review Backlog [or, How I Write Reviews When I Barely Remember the Book]—Nice process piece, and I recognize a few of my own tricks here. Reassuring to see I’m not alone.
• My reading journey: Why audiobooks are lifesavers

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
• Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson—I’m looking forward to seeing how life is doing for Walt back in Wyoming. After the (IMHO) less-than-successful Depth of Winter, I think this could be a turning point for the series.
• System Failure by Joe Zieja—The Epic Failure trilogy concludes. I’m expecting to laugh a whole lot when I start this (hopefully Wednesday). Some of the best humorous SF, I’ve ever read.
• A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie—the generation after The First Law seems to be just as messed up as their forefathers. Gotta be a blast.
• Kopp Sisters on the March by Amy Stewart—Constance leaves the jail behind and trains for WWI service

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to agnieszkaweiner
(say that fives times fast) and Bill for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?