Saturday Miscellany—5/4/24

Not much to say today as an intro. (“Phew!” is the collective response, I’m sure).

The next couple of weeks are going to be very interesting, I think, here. I’ll talk about it Monday—but I’m telling you now, reader, you’re going to want to stop by a lot (or just a couple of times, I guess—but it should read it all).
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:
We’re All Reading Wrong: To access the full benefits of literature, you have to share it out loud.—hmmmmm….
But Why a Penguin?—Who among us hasn’t wondered?
I missed the provocative essay No One Buys Books last week, where Elle Griffin dove into the data from the recent Penguin vs. DOJ case to look at what it says about book sales.
This week, there were two (at least) responses to that: The Puzzle of Publishing and Yes, People Still Buy Books: How a viral post got some key statistics wrong.—between the three of these pieces, there’s a heckuva education into the business side of book publishing.
M.W Craven up for Theakston Old Peculier Crime award for 3rd year—a quick catch-up with Craven
The Edgar Awards were this week, which means it’s time for Crime Reads’ annual nominee roundtable on The State of the Crime Novel. Part 1: Writing Life and Part 2: The Future of Crime Writing
How Fiction Became Edible: A new genre of cookbooks is reverse engineering the foods of all your favorite pieces of pop culture. Now your stomach can travel to Westeros, Tatooine, the Shire, and more.
The Author as Protagonist: Why are so many fictional writers solving crimes in detective novels?
A few good books about too-good-to-be-true tech (to read after your Tesla explodes).—a fun listicle
Andrew Miller: Namaste Mart Confidential—A quick Q&A with Miller (and a website I need to spend more time with, you will likely enjoy it, too)
Historical Fiction Pros & Cons—Reading Ladies Book Club looks at the genre
Why I No Longer Request ARCs—I absolutely get this (and agree with almost every part of it). But my stack-o’-ARCS suggests I may need to consider Krysta’s words more closely soon.
Speaking of things I need to think more about: How Negative Am I? Posing the Question of Negativity on the Internet
7 Reasons Adults Should Read Children’s Books—#1 & #3 are the big ones for me. With #4 gaining steadily, as the Grandcritter ages, I expect it’ll take first place.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
<bOutlander by Diana Gabaldon—left me utterly unimpressed
In Defense of the Descent by Daniel R. Hyde—a short and compelling book about the controversial line in the Apostle’s Creed. I still refer to this book.
Dawn’s Early Light by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris—steampunky fun in the U.S. of A.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Namaste Mart Confidential by Andrew Miller—A pair of unlicensed PIs/Grocery Store Clerks search for a missing (possibly kidnapped) woman in the L.A. of 2013. I rambled about it a little earlier this week
Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green—a collection of short stories from (mostly) contemporary Japan. I posted about it recently and managed not to make a single joke about one of the world’s least appealing (to me) types of food. That’s personal growth right there.
Crimson Arches by Rebecca Carey Lyles—in this follow-up to Shadow Ranch, Kasenia somehow finds herself in a tense situation with another polygamous bunch.
What’s Eating Jackie Oh? by Patricia Park—a YA look at cooking competitions and dealing with parental expectations.
The Vanishing Station by Ana Ellickson —”a lyrical and bold YA debut about an underground magic system in San Francisco—and the lengths one girl is willing to go to protect the ones she loves.” Intriguing setup and world.