Saturday Miscellany—12/17/22

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:
Before we turn the page on 2022 Idaho, let’s talk about how books were in the ‘eye of the hurricane’—local public radio looked back at the book-related controversies in the state this year
The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest “Winners” for 2022—these winners and Dishonorable Mentions are all worth your time, but I’m going to have to insist that you all take a moment to read the Children’s Lit & YA entries.
The Ultimate Guide to 35 Popular Book Genres—I’m not certain that Reader’s Digest can speak that authoritatively on this, but this is pretty solid.
Legally bookish: Reese Witherspoon and the boom in celebrity book clubs
Here are a few more Best of ’22 lists to embiggen your TBR Stacks:
You can sod off, 2022, but leave the books please—from Criminal Minds (the blog, not the CBS show)
Top Five Powerful Books I Read in 2022—an interesting approach to the idea
The 13 Best Literary Adaptations of 2022—from LitHub
14 Authors Share the Best Books They Read in 2022—from NetGalley’s blog
Operation 2022: Success! (Or Favorite Books From this Year)—from Witty and Sarcastic Book Club (so much temptation!)
The 103 Best Book Covers of 2022—I love this post every year on LitHub, so many pretty pictures…
How to Plan for Your 2023 Reading Challenge—It is the time of year for this project…some good advice from NetGalley’s blog
Self-Education Project Part Two: The Extended Great Books Reading Plan—or you could take this approach…zowie
Speaking of advice here’s some more: Bookish Gift Ideas #1 and Bookish Holiday Gift Ideas—likely too late for Giftmas or whatever you celebrate. But good for the rest of the year, too
746 Books is 9 today!—746 Books turned 9 this week and Cathy reflects on her Quixotic project.
While I Was Reading announced an end to their well-deserved and understandable hiatus: Welcome Back
QOTD: Do you use bookmarks? I do, just not actual ones. Here are some weird/random things I (and my daughter) use!
5 reasons why we love morally gray characters and 5 books that feature them

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon (and, for the second week in a row, a couple that I missed recently):
Secrets Typed in Blood by Stephen Spotswood—Pentecost and Parker are hired by a mystery writer to find the killer who keeps lifting their method of killing from her short stories.
Posthumous Education by Drew Hayes—Fred the Vampire Accountant spends a semester as a college professor. Sure, why not? I can see him really enjoying that. I just doubt he’s going to get to spend too much time teaching.
Destructive Reasoning by Scott Meyer—a serial killer targeting actors playing Dr. John Watson. Sounds like a case for the Authorities! (because their funding source is about publicity first and crime-fighting second) I didn’t think we’d get a second novel featuring this team, so this is just gravy to me.