The worst day of the year to work in an Adolescent Drug Rehab facility is April 20. It’s been years since I left and I still tense up with I write the date.
I had so many plans this week for the blog, and I don’t think I accomplished any of them (but boy, oh, boy do I have several drafts in some stage of incompletion). I have a Tour Stop on Monday for a strong read. Let’s hope I can put something together for that at least. Stay tuned.
I can tell you that May is going to be a great month around here, thanks to some very generous authors, bloggers, etc. (see this post for details). Hopefully, I can keep things interesting enough until then.
In the meantime, here’s a quick Saturday Miscellany.
Oh, wait…one more thing: Jo Linsdell is trying to start up a new Weekend Link Up Party. Drop by, leave a link, and follow a few.
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:
Who doesn’t look to Forbes magazine for their literary news? They recently released their list of The 30 Greatest Book Series Of All Time—(it’s actually a pretty good list) “rankings are based on specific factors, including critical acclaim, commercial success, mass appeal, and cultural impact among readers of all ages over the years.” The box set they use for the Narnia image is the one I grew up with.
In honor of the 637th Anniversary of The Canterbury Tales on Wednesday (who knew?), Lit Hub asks: What if Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales came out today?
On Writing a Book When The World is On Fire: Sara Koffi on turning to thrillers when justice is missing.
“Bad” Books, and the Readers That Love Them
On Narrative Weight and Moral Arguments
A Guide to Blog Commenting —A good post on the subtle art of blog commenting from Jo Lindsdell (for people who aren’t trolls or spammers). I’m pretty sure I should’ve read until the end of this one before I left a comment on her latest post. Oops. Will try to do better!
Addictive tropes in books — Found Family—a good look at Found Families
Why is Sherlock Holmes so Popular? It’s Elementary (Updated)—from Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub
Love And The Male Redemption Arc: A Ramble Through Fantasy Literature—on a week where I struggle to finish anything, Peat Long puts up a post as good as this one and the one about Moral Arguments (above). Show off.
What to expect from Wyrd & Wonder
The Joy of Book Blogging from an Introvert’s Perspective—I can identify with a lot of this (shock!)
Yeah, it’s a little mean—and maybe even a little lazy—but you’re going to chuckle if you click this link for at least a moment
A cute little song with a message that needs to be heard
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman—I dunno what this is about, I stopped reading at “Abbi Waxman.” Seriously, it’s about an antisocial scientist dealing with the media spotlight, family drama, and possible romance. I’m certain Waxman can do a lot with those elements.
Bad Actors by Mark Pepper—the taxi driver you do not want to cross is back in action in L.A. of all places. Not surprisingly, it appears that he brought his personal brand of chaos with him. I cannot wait to get to this.
Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz—Horowitz and Hawthorne are back in action.
Bob Germaux
Hi H.C.,
You probably know this by now, but that link up above that is supposed to give info about the generous authors/bloggers who will be helping you out next month doesn’t link to anything (at least not for me). Also, when you asked if anyone was willing to submit a guest post/interview for that week, I offered to help out, and I gave you a list of about half-a-dozen essays from some of my Grammar Sex Collection of books. I didn’t hear back, which is okay. You’ve been more than generous carrying some of my work. I just wanted you to know that I did make the offer, in case somehow that offer got lost in the ether. As usual, thanks for giving so many of us something literary to look forward to each day.
Bob
HCNewton
I’m about 30 seconds ahead of you today….
I was about to fix that link when I saw your comment (no, really!). Also, I just emailed you about that offer.
Thanks for having my back on these things!
Jo Linsdell
Happy to have you be part of the first #BloggersWeekendLinkUp! 😊 Thank you for including a link to my post about blog commenting.
You’ve definitely given me plenty of reading material. I’m now curious to see how many of the “greatest books of all time” I’ve read. Will be checking out the other links too.
Have a great weekend!
Celeste | A Literary Escape
Ooo the Chaucer’s Tale article is a good one! I very much enjoyed reading that even though I still need to read the actual source material.
HCNewton
You haven’t yet? It’s absolutely worth the effort. There’s a reason it’s lasted when many other works published then are only known by scholars specializing in that era.
But man…there’s a lot of effort involved.
Celeste | A Literary Escape
Nope, never! I bet it’s a lot of work to read it. I’ve been hoping to stumble upon a used copy but I haven’t yet.
allysonyj
I have to disagree with the Forbes list of “30 Greatest Book series of All Time”. Disappointingly, 29 out of the thirty are Scifi/Fantasy – the only exception being amazingly “The Hardy Boys.” Good Grief.
What about Anthony Trollope’s Barsetshire and Palliser series? What about The Melendy Family? What about Noel Streatfield’s “Shoes” series? What about Nancy Drew? What about The Black Stallion? What about mystery series from P.D. James, Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie? What about Ivan Doig’s series about Montana? Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove” and its sequels? I could go on.
HCNewton
Yeah, Forbes’ list was better as fodder for conversation than anything else.
Gina
Visiting for the second time today thanks to Jo’s #BloggersWeekendLinkUp
HCNewton
Keep coming back as often as you’d like, Gina
wittysarcasticbookclub
Thank you for including my little rant on Holmes!
HCNewton
Anytime.