Saturday Miscellany—8/8/20

I got the most detailed and unexpected critique of my blog theme/graphics this week from someone–sandwiched in a very complimentary email. I think there’s a lot of merit to what this new reader had to say (although I didn’t understand most of what he said about the main site graphic). At the same time, it made me sort of defensive toward whoever designed the theme for WordPress and my friend who made the graphic (one comment he made has a lot of merit, and I’ll probably never be able to unsee, despite not catching it for years).

Beyond that, and only having limited time to read this week (am about 2.5 days behind my ideal schedule, 1.5 behind the realistic one), it’s been a good and largely productive week around here (self-discipline pays off). How’s August treating all of you?

Only one New Release for the first week of a month? Clearly, I missed a few–help me out, friends.

That’s a lot of blather, I’d better move on with things.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
16 Ways to Celebrate National Book Lovers Day—Tomorrow is National Book Lovers Day here in the U. S., and NetGalley’s Bookish blog has compiled a list of ways to note it. I’ll be taking a pass on it this year for religious reasons, but honestly, who needs a label on the calendar to do any of these, I tend to tick off a lot of this list on a day that ends in “y”.
Mental Illness Can Make It Hard to Read. Here’s Why — and What You Can Do
What I Learned From the Worst Novelist in the English Language
From Victorian demons to the Beijing night bus: why we tell each other urban legends
The Evolution of Dennis Lehane—I’m not as taken with Lehane’s later work as many/most, but that’s largely taste and temperament (mine). But he’s forever near the top of my list for the Kenzie and Gennaro books, and when I do get around to reading something he’s written, it never fails to impress.
The Last Lines From 19 of the Most Beautiful Books Ever Written—(Lashaan should probably avoid this piece, Gatsby and Old Man and the Sea warning)
A Guide to Stanning Book Blogs // What Are Book Blogs, How & Why You Should Support Book Bloggers, & More
You Are a Book Blogger and You Are a Reader.—the working title, “It Doesn’t Matter How Much You Blog, You Are a Blogger and It Doesn’t Matter How Much You Read, You Are a Reader” summarizes it best
Should You Read the [SF/F] Classics?
Wonderful and Whimsical Fantasy Worlds to Get Lost in This Summer—Yet another great list from The Orangutan Librarian.

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
The Worldshapers Episode 58: Faith Hunter—a great conversation Hunter shared on Facebook, after I listened to this, I’ve downloaded several other episodes (and listened to most of those), this is a pretty good podcast in a similar vein to The Once and Future Podcast and Author Stories, I also really appreciated Episode 47: Carrie Vaughn.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Heirs of Locksley by Carrie Vaughn—this novella checks in on Robin and Marian’s kids four years after the last one. Just fun books, as I wrote (especially compared to most modern Robin Hood stories).

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to ilaria.muzzi, bookshelflife, and angelicreader who followed the blog this week. Hope to see you around.