Saturday Miscellany—10/26/19

So I saw a pretty decent bump in traffic this week thanks to The Write Reads featuring one of my posts as their Review of the Day, if you’re reading this because of them–hi! Thanks for stopping by. I’ve been meaning to say this for a few weeks now, but I keep forgetting—if you’re not following The Write Reads feeds on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram, you really should be. Their Post/Review of the Days are some of the best reading you’ll see from Book Bloggers out there. Sure, you’ll end up having too much to read (either posts or the books they talk about), but it’s worth it.

Anyway, 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 (especially if you follow The Write Reads), but just in case:

• Every Child Can Become a Lover of Books: Michelle Martin, a professor at the University of Washington, helps librarians create spaces that are welcoming to kids of all backgrounds
• 7 Author Pseudonyms That Were Cracked—and 6 That Haven’t Been (Yet)—Who doesn’t love a good pseudonym?
• Beowulf: Epic Adventure or Tale of Loss?—I just love the fact that there are people blogging about Beowulf.
• All the *WARNINGS*!!!—The Oranguatan Librarian sounds off on Trigger Warnings. As per the usual, it’s a good read.
• Fearless, free and feminist: the enduring appeal of Jack Reacher—Lest any reader be put off by the title (yeah, I’m talking about you), there’s very little feminism in this piece (I expected more, anyway). What there’s a lot of is good analysis of the series, the character and why so many like them.
• The Evolution of Dragons in Western Literature: A History—Hic sunt dracones, do you need me to say anything more to get you to click?
• We Need Noir—Because the Truth Is Dark, Messy, and Sometimes Ugly
• Fantasy: A Plethora of Choices—The Witty & Sarcastic Blog takes a look at types of Fantasy Novels (particularly handy for those not sure where to wade into the genre).
• 5 of the Most Useful Animal Sidekicks in Fiction—I’m only familiar with one of the 5, and there’s a part of me that wants to respond with a much longer list. But…how do you not recommend anything that talks about Falcor? Quick poll: how many of you have read the book The Neverending Story? Without getting into the merits of it, were you better off just watching the first movie?
• Judging a book by it’s cover…—I love stories about cover design (as long-time readers know and maybe regret), here’s some gorgeous examples of what a cover can be.
• How Do You Read Series?—I think I would go insane if I lived like this reader (that’s not a criticism, it’s a bit of “how do you manage that?” said with incredulity tinged with awe). What about you?
• Book Blogger Spreadsheet Template—my own spreadsheet is getting unwieldy and overly-complicated (it’s still a lot better than it was!), I think I might abandon mine next year for this one. It’s a work of art.

This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon — or, if I had more time, I’d get to (the last four of these fit into this category. I can’t see finding the time for them, but I bet it’d be worth it):
• Famous in Cedarville by Erica Wright—a small-town mystery that leads to Hollywood in all it’s glory and vice. My post about the book.
• The Night Fire by Michael Connelly—Bosch. Ballard. Haller. ‘Nuff said. I have 2.6 books to go before I get to this one. Yeah, I’m counting down already.
• The Girl with No Face by M. H. Boroson—an Urban Fantasy set in 19th Century San Francisco’s Chinatown? Fantastic idea.
• Ghoster by Jason Arnop—I’ve seen this title a lot this week, this social media satire/thriller looks like a good way to spend some time.
• From Hell to Breakfast by Meghan Tifft—I’m not even going to try to summarize this one—click the link read more and get as tempted as I am.
• Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters by Emily Roberson—Percy Jackson meets Reality TV?

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Anthony Day Grandin, Donald Wilson, lisasbooksgemsandtarot (say that five times fast), Adrianna and Scarlett Backus for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?