Saturday Miscellany—11/9/24

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’s Really Writing Celebrity Novels? The writers and agents working behind the scenes tell us how it actually works.
Ranking 40 Popular Books That Are Actually Badly Written—this click-baity list is something largely to read to scoff at or argue with.
The Book News is Generally… Good?—after those two stories and all the ick of the last couple of weeks, who couldn’t use a little bit of good news (no matter what you may think of Tuesday’s results, it’s hard to deny that things have been rather nasty lately).
Dorothy Parker and the Art of the Literary Takedown: Her reviews are not contemptuous, a common pitfall for her imitators. They are simply unbridled in their dislike.—Okay, fine, if you’re going to be negative, do it like the Master. (I read so many people today that need to do this)
The Novel and the Dictator: On the Man Who Criticized Stalin Yet Lived—I’m really glad that I discovered Nadya Williams this year.
IYKYK: When Novels Speak a Language Only Part of the Internet Gets
Out of This World: Books to Read When You Need an Escape—Just in case anyone is interested in that sort of thing…
Comfort Reads: Feel-good Fiction for Rough Days—continuining the theme, Jodie has some great choices
Let’s Talk About Book Boyfriends—a.k.a. Fictophilia (my weakness is for Book Dogs/Pets, but I get it…)
September & October 2024 Community Posts!—Dini has collected some great posts can be found here.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution by Keith R.A. DeCandido
The Burning Room by Michael Connelly, So, Anyway… by John Cleese, Harry Harrison! Harry Harrison! by Harry Harrison, and Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg. (it’s been that long for the Ortberg?)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Teen Titans: Starfire by Kami Garcia, Gabriel Picolo (Illustrator)—My only real gripe with this series is the release timetable, so I’m really eager to dive in to see their take on Kory Anders.