Saturday Miscellany—2/27/21

Been a good week here—read a lot, wrote almost enough to satisfy me, and got enough new books that I’ve ruined whatever TBR progress I’d made this month (1 ebook, 2 audiobooks, 2 hardcovers, and 2 paperbacks…I have a problem).

I’d intended on 2 more posts this week than I got—which is pretty good. I don’t know if it’s the weather, work, or just one of those things, but each night this week I felt like I was fighting sleep for the last couple of hours (and never had the good sense to do the responsible thing and go to bed). I fell asleep within minutes of posting my Fridays with the Foundling last night—so quickly that my first thought this morning was “were those last paragraphs even in English?” (thankfully, yes)

I think I had a point when I started that, but I don’t remember what it is. It’s one of those days, I guess. Let’s get on with things…

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Get a free audiobook!—When you spend at least $15 at your local bookstore on April 24th, you can get a free select audiobook from Libro.fm. Independent Bookstore Day is a couple of months off, but might as well start planning for it, right?
Is It Time to Kill the Book Blurb?—”The pre-publication endorsements—’dazzling!’ ‘a masterwork!’—that litter book covers have long been a staple of publishing. Are they of any value or mere relics that deserve to go?” I somehow didn’t even have to work around a paywall for this WSJ piece.
‘Books saved my mental health,’ says online reviewer—BBC.com profiles a book blogger
Announcing the Newest Release From Rick Riordan — Daughter of the Deep—After I tapped out during The Trials of Apollo I figured I was done with Riordan, unless he got back to his Texas noir stuff. But…this looks promising (and a good excuse to revisit Hugo)
Rooms of Their Own: Where Some of the Best Women Writers Created Art—worth the click if only to see the desk (a generous word) that Austen used.
Favorite Things About Book Formats
Friday at the Folly – Rivers of London—Fi’s Bibliofiles starts a re-read through the Rivers of London UF series. This is one of my favorite series and I’m looking forward to revisiting it through these blog posts.
And Men There Were None: Where Are The Male Readers?—On the one hand, I feel like I should drop some links in the comments to show him where we are. Snark aside—overall, he’s right.
What is a Good Ending?—a fitting way to wrap up this week’s list (actually, it was totally inadevertent…but I’m running with it).

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Cover Blown by Ian Robinson—The second book in this new procedural series is a heckuva read. This time, the homicide investigation overlaps with a small undercover job that DI Nash has on the side. I hope to get posts up about both books early next week—in the meantime, just go buy them!
Calculated Risks by Seanan McGuire—the latest InCryptid book kicks off shortly after that cliffhanger from last year. I started this yesterday, and it’s strange, even by InCryptid standards.
Smoke by Joe Ide—The new IQ novel is a good one—even if I think it could’ve used more IQ, as I said recently.
Junkyard Bargain by Faith Hunter, Khristine Hvam (Narrator)—the second novella-length SF from Faith Hunter. I’m excited to dip back into this strange world of aliens, cyborgs and psychic (?) cats.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to mybookishbliss and Masha who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?