Saturday Miscellany—8/6/22

Programming Note: If I seemed quieter than usual this week, it’s because I’ve pretty much caught up on my backlog of posts and read a couple of things I need to delay writing about. Whoops. I’ve got some extra-curricular things going on next week that will interfere with both blogging and reading, too. I’ve prepped a couple of things so things won’t go silent here, but it still feels to me like I’m taking a break.

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:
How to fall back in love with reading. Even when your brain feels like mush.
Publishing is eating itself…(again)—this week’s newsletter from Fahrenheit Press (in addition to trying to sell some great books/merch) offers a great perspective/recap on the state of publishing/book buying.
Bookish Hunger Games!—is a great idea and post from The Orangutan Librarian. My inability to come up with something half as inventive as this haunts me.
Dragonlance Reading Order 2022—Witty & Sarcastic Book Blog gives us a recommended reading order for The Dragonlance books. The first six of these were so formative to me that it does my heart good to see all the interest in this series today.
More Author Influences: Founders of Urban Fantasy—Peat Long looks at the roots of Urban Fantasy
Critical Reading as a Book Blogger & How It’s Fun
On Writing Negative Book Reviews—the conclusion is the kicker here. I’ve found similar things.
Did you know you could get book blogger’s block?—I don’t know why I never put this label on the experience that I’m all-too-familiar with.
Why I Think Reading and Blogging Slumps Can Be Beneficial
Is Readerly a Good Alternative to Goodreads?—Word Wilderness follows up their Goodreads and StoryGraph comparison with a look at Readerly

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
The Thriller Zone Episode 81: Fabian Nicieza, author of The Self-Made Widow—this was a fun interview
WTF Episode 1353: Neil Gaiman—books, comics, TV, and more. Great convo.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Suitcase Clone by Robin Sloan—a Sourdough prequel novella that ties it into the Penumbra universe? Sure, why not?
The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias—Am seeing a lot of people talking about this one: “Buried in debt due to his young daughter’s illness, his marriage at the brink, Mario reluctantly takes a job as a hitman, surprising himself with his proclivity for violence. After tragedy destroys the life he knew, Mario agrees to one final job: hijack a cartel’s cash shipment before it reaches Mexico. Along with an old friend and a cartel-insider named Juanca, Mario sets off on the near-suicidal mission, which will leave him with either a cool $200,000 or a bullet in the skull. But the path to reward or ruin is never as straight as it seems. As the three complicated men travel through the endless landscape of Texas, across the border and back, their hidden motivations are laid bare alongside nightmarish encounters that defy explanation. One thing is certain: even if Mario makes it out alive, he won’t return the same.”
Shutter by Ramona Emerson—The premise for this–a forensic photographer gets helps from the ghosts at crime scenes to take photos that reveal clues could be the setup for a lighter UF series, but Emerson seems to have gone for a gritty suspense direction instead. Looks good.
The Prince of Infinite Space by Giano Cromley—an early 90s coming-of-age story. I had a little to say about it a couple of weeks ago.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to nokbew and Jen Porter, Author who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.