Happy Towel Day (in case you haven’t seen me talk about that yet somehow)! Also Happy Geek Pride Day and whatever the appropriate greeting is for The Glorious Twenty-Fifth of May (for those who celebrate that).
Think I covered everything there.
Today was also Read a Book Day at the local Farmer’s Market (which really wasn’t advertised too well, IMHO), based on the number of authors present and people who seemed to be paying attention to them. I did get to check in with someone I met at the Library Book Faire last month, Nathan Keys (who will be appearing here soon) and met another nice fantasy author, J. Brandon Lowry, who will hopefully be making an appearence here sometime.
My daughter and I did get to check out the Nampa Library’s Bookmobile there—which is pretty cool, and had a better selection than you’d expect from a van. It’s absolutely the kind of vehicle someone should use to kidnap me. It’d be incredibly easy to do.
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:
Donnelly Public Library transitions to ‘adults only’—as a result of a new law in Idaho, a small town public library has to resort to not allowing minors admittance. Brilliant job by the state legislators and governor.
Handheld Press founder Kate Macdonald reveals reasons behind indie’s closure
Hart Hanson On Screenwriting Vs. Novel Writing
Austin Grossman Talks Fight Me—it’s been too long since I read Grossman, it’s nice to have a reminder
Rob Parker tweeted about this great thing he and his wife are doing—running ‘Become An Author’ after school clubs. Love this.
Speaking of Tweets, Joe Abercrombie’s tweet from Monday seems impossible.
Five Reasons Why You Should Read
Five Nonfiction Books For Fantasy Lovers—Daniel Meyer dropped by JamReads to provide this list
Should We Judge Older Books By Modern Standards?—Cee Arr asks an important question
CrimeBookJunkie turned 9 yesterday—if you’re not reading that blog, you’re missing out
A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Fiction Fans Episode 139: Author Interview: The Grimoire, the Gods, and the Girl by K.R.R. Lockhaven—a good convo about the book/trilogy as a whole. And the way I found out the book had been published. Eeep. I really should’ve posted something about that sooner. (also, it probably means that my beta read comments are even more overdue than I knew.)
Tea Tonic & Toxin Nero Wolfe Mystery Series / The League of Frightened Men—Ira Brad Matetsky drops by to talk Nero Wolfe.
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Way of the Wizard by Michael Michel—”A fast-paced, epic fantasy with wizard gangs, bloodthirsty unicorns, and philosopher giants.”
The Mountain Mystic by Russell W. Johnson—Sheriff Mary Beth Cain tackles a cold case that gets a burst of heat. Oooooh, this looks good.
The Seminarian by Hart Hansen—’Xavier ”Priest’ Priestly is a snarky former seminarian turned private investigator. Dusty Queen is a hard-as-nails professional stuntwoman and freelance bodyguard. When Dusty’s girlfriend suddenly disappears, a woman in a strange blue wig tries to assassinate Priest, and a twelve-year-old boy shows up claiming to be his son, the two friends are thrown into a maelstrom of intrigue and high-stakes violence that’s as convoluted and dangerous as it is hilarious.” Hanson’s first novel, The Driver, impressed me. I expect this will, too.
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler—”Groundhog Day meets Deadpool in Django Wexler’s no-holds-barred, laugh-out-loud fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.”
Swiped by L.M. Chilton—”A clever and darkly hilarious thriller/romantic comedy about a young woman who must unmask a serial killer that everything thinks is her, all before her best friend’s wedding”
Read Irresponsibly, but please Comment Responsibly