Saturday Miscellany—3/9/24

The last few weeks have been heavy on non-reading/blogging tasks/events/changes. And (to me anyway), that’s been clearest when it comes to these posts. But yesterday was (theoretically) the last tweak, so I should be able to start adjusting to things soon and things will return to some form of normal in the next couple of weeks.

Huge thanks to Peat Long for the return of Friday Five, so I could add a couple of items to beef this list up.

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:
Your new literary dream job: reader-in-residence.—I’ve spent the last couple of days fighting the urge to move to Fort Collins to chase my dream.
Counterfeit Books Are a Growing Problem, but a Solution May Be Near—the biggest question here is how long it’ll take pirates to work around it.
This Facebook post from the NYT about Worcester Public Library’s March Meowness will bring a smile to your face even without going beyond the paywall
Wander into This Miraculous Miniature Library with Thousands of Books Made Entirely by Hand—oooooohhhhhhh (said best in Toy Story’s LGM voice)
When Indie Publishing Meets Corporate Bookselling: Michele Herman on the Challenges of Getting—and Keeping—Her Book on the Shelves
IBPA Publishing MAP (Models and Author Pathways)—this looks handy for the writers who are looking at this post
Chinese Science Fiction Before The Three Body Problem
“Longmire” series author Craig Johnson talks about its development and its future—I’m always down to read/listen to/about Johnson
A Punk Noir Interview with M. W. Craven—there’s a lot to enjoy here, I loved the last answer from someone else I’m always down to read/listen to/about.
AC/DC’s Back in Black Inspires New Book of Murder Mysteries, Including New Jack Reacher Story—sure, the wrong Child is writing the Reacher story, but some of the rest sound promising (Coleman and Eldridge in particular)
Genres Are Historical and Cultural, Not Scientific: why rigid rules for genres never quite work—Lincoln Michel has many good things to chew on here (as per usual)
We got two new entries in Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub’s Tough Questions series this week, you should see how JamReads and Featuring Fantasy Book Nerd handled the pressure.
Weaving some Wyrd & Wonder—it’s almost time for the TBR expanding celebration of Fantasy. This year’s theme is really appealing.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week? (clearly a slow week)
Death Without Company by Craig Johnson—here’s where I decided to get serious about reading Walt Longmire books
and I noted the releases of: The Player by Brad Parks (I know he’s doing well with his stand-alone thrillers, but I miss Carter Ross), Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire (the third InCryptid novel and the first narrator switch), and Notes from the Internet Apocalypse by Wayne Gladstone (something I never got around to reading, but still looks amusing)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire—Aunt Mary, the baby-sitting ghost, takes center stage in this new InCryptids installment. I cannot wait to dive in (but must for a little bit)
Rift in the Soul by Faith Hunter—Soulwood #6 brings readers action, love, family, answers, and more questions. I yammered on about it some yesterday (and really wanted to keep going on)
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano—Finlay and Vero hit Atlantic City and (almost certainly) chaos ensues.

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