This week’s offering seems a bit more hodge-podgey than the last few, which I appreciate. It also feels a little LitHub heavy, but, eh. I’m not sure I care.

Also, I’m not going to bother talking about the Goodreads Reader’s Choice results…I can’t bother finding the energy (if I stumble on something interesting by someone next week, I’ll post it, but I’m not going looking). If anyone has a hot (or room-temperature) take on them, sound off in the comments.

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:
bullet A Refuge for the Soul: How to Build a Library, According to Montaigne—maybe not achievable/practical, but some great ideas
bullet How Gen Z Came to See Books as a Waste of Time
bullet Does Teaching Literature and Writing Have a Future?—”The prospects are a little grim, but they aren’t nonexistent.”
bullet Olympus Agonistes: When, if ever, did people stop believing in the Greek gods?
bullet I Don’t Want to Read Anymore: Am I the Literary A**hole? —I rarely post links to these, but I enjoy every one of these columns I read. I thought the 2nd and 3rd letters were worth sharing.
bullet “The very worst of human nature is often hidden in plain sight”—Rob Parker talks about his upcoming release (that I’m hoping to find a US release date for)
bullet Speaking of upcoming releases…So I wrote another book… —Noelle Holten has some good news (even for us Yankees)
bullet Wayward Children Vol. 1 – Illustrated Deluxe Omnibus—Kickstarter launched this week. It’s too rich for my blood, but it looks gorgeous for those who have the means.
bullet Quiz: Can You Identify These Detectives’ Thoughts on Christmas?—I was 1 for 5 on this (and didn’t get the 1 I should’ve)
bullet W Series I – Jordan Loyal Short – Dragon Reich—1. This looks like a cool book. 2. I wished I’d come up with this series idea.
bullet Are You an Author Completionist?—I’m almost one. But I do get a little picky when it comes to some genres.
bullet Books Inspired by Narnia! Portal Fantasies, Allegories and Coming of Age Stories!—who doesn’t like a Narnia-ish read?

It’s the Time of Year for Gift Guides/Best of Lists like these:
bullet The Atlantic 10—The books that made us think the most this year
bullet AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of 2024
bullet Lit Hub’s 38 Favorite Books of 2024—I have one of these on my shelves waiting.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Dripping Bucket In The Business of Grimdark – with guest Beth Tabler—I haven’t watched this yet, but it looks like a good ‘un.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
bullet And I mentioned the release of Bryant and May and the Bleeding Heart by Christopher Fowler, a series I really intended on sticking with, but lost my way on.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Nobody’s Hero by M. W. Craven—Ben Koenig’s back and is dealing with a team of assassins, a worst-case scenario that might be playing out, and one of the cleverest schemes he’s come across. I tried to express my excitement about this recently.
bullet Little Love Songs by Sandra Boynton—sounds cute as all get out, I’m a little worried about the psycholoical torture that the “push button to hear music” feature can bring on adults living with a child (or older siblings). Still, probably worth the risk.

The text 'I ran out of books to read and I had to spend time with my family. They seem like nice people.' superimposed on a picture of packed bookshelves.