Saturday Miscellany—1/27/24

This week’s miscellany feels like it goes off in a billion directions, hopefully, there’s one or two you want to travel down.

(which isn’t bad for a week where I figured I had maybe 5 links to share)

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:
Bookstores of the Treasure Valley—A nice little “ode to our local bookstores” (although I wish Kuna’s Book Habit had garnered a mention)
Libro.fm vs. Audible—a quick slide presentation comparing the two (fair warning: it’s made by Libro.fm, so you know how the comparison goes. Says the guy who has given subscriptions to the former.). Something to consider, anyway.
Life inside the Fiction Factory: Dan Sinykin on Conglomerate Publishing—a chat about how changes to the publishing industry have also driven changes to the fiction we read…and what they mean for conglomerate publishers and for nonprofit independent publishers that are inventing new ways to publish in the shadows of the giants.”
Am I the (Literary) Assh*le—a fun little post from LitHub
Caps for Sale—B. J. Novak (of all people) has some interesting and good things to say about Children’s books in the midst of a review of a classic and a contemporary sequel.
Along those lines is: The toddler book tolerability index.—another fun LitHub post from this week
A New Direction For Ol’ KRR—K.R.R. Lockhaven talks about his WIP, which has a tone we haven’t seen from him before (at least not much of). Color me intrigued…and a little impatient. 2025?!?
By The Numbers: 1 Year In—James Lloyd Dulin looks at his first year as a self-published author. It’s an honest, frank, and grateful look.
Crime Novelist Michael Connelly on the Role of Jazz in Creating “Bosch”—Jazz played a role? No way…
Big news from little old us…—The latest newsletter from Fahrenheit Press features a series you should look into (and I should finish), some exciting news about that series, and a discussion of the book that they’re publishing next week that I cannot shut up about (ask my family). Read this and order the book now.
Author Chat: Mike Chen (A Quantum Love Story)—I haven’t had the time to dive into this yet, but how could it be anything other than interesting?
On Reviewing Books
How To Ask For A Book Review—this is a handy collection of advice.
My Favorite Fantasy Sequels—Cameron Scaggs has a nice list of temptations, including one book I’ve been meaning to read for ages and a few I should look into
The Most Disturbing Books Ever Written—for people who want the opposite of cozy
Why Do People Expect Libraries to Do It All?—good question
On My Radar: January 2024—Celeste’s monthly post/reminder that I have less than a week to finish the books I wanted to in January (I can squeeze 1500 pages in, along with a full-time job, blogging, spending time with family/dogs—right?). Also, she provided a post I linked to above.
Eco-Fantasy – Magic Can’t Solve Everything
Why I Keep Reading Series I Went Sour On—Peat Long is (again) singing the song of my people

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
The Love Song of Jonny Valentine by Teddy Wayne
Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig
Teens Don’t Read For Fun Anymore, New Data Says
Four Reasons Why You Should Be Reading Young Adult Fiction
25 YA Novels Everyone — Even Adults — Should Read
I talked about the releases of: Peacemaker by K. A. Stewart, Dirty Magic by Jaye Wells, and the paperback release of the first collection of Indexing by Seanan McGuire.

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