Saturday Miscellany—10/12/19

Yeah, I’ve been quiet this week, I’ve been running on fumes for most of it, I’m not sure why. Given the number of Book Tour Stops I’ve got scheduled for next week, I’ll be a little noisier (or, I’ll have a few tour organizers and authors not speaking to me).

But that’s for another day (at least Tuesday). For now, here are 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:

• Diary of a small town sensation: how the Wimpy Kid author built his dream bookshop—I’ve linked to stories about this before, but (no matter what you think of Kinney), this is a cool story to revisit.
• Books are good for your brain. These techniques will help you read more.: Turn yourself into a bookworm.—I”m sure none of you need this, but maybe you know someone who does
• Fascinated to Presume: In Defense of Fiction—a nice piece by Zadie Smith
• 10 of the Best-Selling Authors of All Time—from Mental Floss
• Philip Pullman on Children’s Literature and the Critics Who Disdain It: Don’t Let Anyone Tell You What You Should or Should Not Be Reading—am not a fan of Pullman, but there’s good stuff here
• Further Thoughts on Smell in Literature, or The Dog as Watson—focuses on one of our favorite Watsons: Chet.
• Celebrating Elmore Leonard’s “Rules for Writing”: The master craftsman gave us more than just the 10 rules—and they’re all good ones.—In honor of what would’ve been his 94th birthday, Crime Reads gives us this — the “official” list and some other good ones.
• 5 Authors Who Loved Their Screen Adaptations (And 5 Who Loathed Them)
• Extra special bumper cover reveal(!!) with Steph Broadribb & Orenda Books—the cover of the new Lori Anderson is revealed, plus new versions of the previous 3. Which are almost enough to convince me to buy new copies. Almost.
• Defining Terms: “At Times…”—a new entry in Paul’s Picks’ series, and something I employ, too.
• Books I Had To Read In Secondary School And College—I wonder if I could compile a similar list…
• Modern Fantasy Trending Away From Fictitious Races by Ross Hughes
• The Library Of Life and why I prefer physical books.
• Battle of the Book Covers…Who Wore It Best?—great idea for a post
• Bookworm Memes That Are Too Relatable—from the good people at Bookidote
• My Top 5: Bookish Pet Peeves—yup
• No book lover has all three—I don’t have any of them

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen to:
• Once & Future Podcast, Ep. 200: Felicia Day—Anton Strout celebrates his 200th episode with this great chat with Felicia Day (I’ve got to make time for this book)

This Week’s New Releases include one book I’ve already read and three that sound like they’d be up my alley, but I don’t know if I’ll manage to get to (make sure you click the links to get the full blurbs on these):
• The Princess Beard by Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson—high seas adventure, hijinks, many jokes, many elf butts and personal growth are featured in this concluding Tale of Pell. My original post is here.
• Look Both Ways:
  A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jayson Reynolds—a novel told in ten stories about what happens after the school bell rings and people walk home. There’s also a bus falling from the sky that no one notices.
• How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason—a mix of Fairy-Tale and Space Opera
• Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia—a dying billionaire sends one woman and a cast of dreamers and rivals on a treasure hunt.

Lastly, yesterday I posted a couple of things with a new bullet style (in case you’re one of the 2% that noticed), today, I’m back to ol’ reliable. What do you think—are those others too much for a post like this? Would it just make things too noisy?