Another short one, guess that’s where my attention span is lately. I didn’t get a lot posted this week, either—but I got some good sleep in (not always intentionally), and honestly, I didn’t like a single one of those posts. They felt lifeless to me, but that’s what I was capable of, and I didn’t think that a few more days of percolating was going to improve things, either. Hopefully next week will be better.

In the meantime—all of these below are worth your clicks.

Odds n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet I tried to write a Norton Juster tribute after I heard about his death on this week, but it just didn’t work out. But it’s one of those deaths that hit me. The Phantom Tollbooth was formative for me in many ways, and I could (and have) pick it up and be completely satisified at point in my life. It’s like one of those movies you see flipping through the channels and you have to stop and watch.
bullet Obituary: Norton Juster—from Publisher’s Weekly
bullet Berkeley Breathed’s Tribute—I should’ve realized the links between Tollbooth and Bloom County
bullet My favourite book as a kid: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster—was written last Spring, but it works really well this week.
bullet The Phantom Tollbooth: Beyond Expectations—a nice little documentary about the book, Juster and Jules Feiffer. (I contributed to the Kickstarter years back)
bullet What Are Cozy Mysteries?—Ramona Mead’s overview of the sub-genre
bullet Must be something in the water, because this popped up on a feed this week, too: Murder, but gentler: ‘Cozy’ mysteries a pandemic-era balm—worth it just for the first few paragraphs.
bullet 50 Very Bad Book Covers for Literary Classics—Wow. “Very bad” hardly begins to describe it. I was going to name a highlight (lowlight?) or two, but I wouldn’t have known where to stop. (thanks—kind of?—Themis Athena for drawing my attention to it)
bullet “We Didn’t Start the Thriller”—Robert Crais has posted a link to this silly and fun parody a couple of times this week, I can see why.
bullet Goodreads vs. The StoryGraph – The New Dilemma of Reading Trackers and the Book Community—I’m with Bec & Books on this. I’ve been dabbling with The Story Graph for a few months, but it feels like I’m shouting (mumbling?) into the wind. Is there anyone actually out there?

Lastly I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to josbees who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger!