Saturday Miscellany—10/16/21

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Obituary: Gary Paulsen—I didn’t read as much of Paulsen growing up as I could’ve (looking over his bibliography, even then it would’ve been a monumental task), and haven’t read him since. Still, sad to see a giant go.
The 20-page rule: how much time should you give a devastatingly boring book?—One notorious response to this got Twitter all excited this week. I wish I’d heard Billingham’s original remarks–I’ve heard him on several podcasts in the last couple of years and it’d have been really entertaining. I’m not in 100% agreement with him, but sure can’t say he’s wrong.
Advanced Book Search—a fun little poem paying tribute to local bookstores (Hat tip: Raven Crime Reads).
Filling Your Bookshelf With Joy—one reader’s tips on selecting the books to display
Embracing the DNF: 3 Reasons It’s Okay to Read Something Else—FanFiAddict’s David S. might have the most succinct post on this topic.
Is a Balanced Reading Life Important?—I’ve never considered this question

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Under the Radar SFF Podcast—Blaise Ancona launched this podcast this week, focusing on works that are ” lost, forgotten, or need a bigger audience.” I’ve listened to 2 of the episodes so far. I think this is one to keep an eye on.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon (apparently this is actors turned writers week):
Fan Fiction by Brent Spiner—”A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events”. It’s a fun, self-deprecating, comic crime novel. I talked more about it last week.
Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You by Misha Collins—Honestly, I probably wouldn’t bother with this given my general apathy toward poetry, but my daughter is his number 1 fan (well, she’s tied with roughly 1 million people for that title), so I kinda have to.

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