Yeah, this is on the late side. Sorry about that. It’s been one of those days full of fun busy-ness.
BTW, I don’t think I officially mentioned it (I did hint at it inGrandpappy’s Corner: I Am a Big Brother by Caroline Jayne Church: A Sweet Instructional/Motivational Guide ), but as of Tuesday, I have a new Grandcritter crittering around. It’s just as great the second time (for anyone who wondered).
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:
Read Ebooks. Support Local Bookstores.—Bookshop.org is selling ebooks! It’s not quite at the stage most of us want, but it’s a start!
Urgent Messages from Eternity—an exhibit of Kafka’s postcards, letters, and manuscript pages. I won’t be able to drop by myself (thanks, Geography). But I wish I could.
Why children’s books?—I’ve read many similar pieces over the years, this might be the best. Also, I love the Coleridge quotation it starts with.
Reading Writing About Reading and Writing—Molly Templeton’s latest
A Place for All My Books—”A cozy board game about collecting good books & the joy of organizing them.” A Kickstarter campaign you may be interested in
Setting Realistic Reading Goals for 2025—”Realistic Goals”??? I didn’t know that was an option.
Rediscovering the Joy of Reading
How to Cultivate a Reading Habit and Read More Books
Does anyone care about book blogging anymore?—Did many (outside of ourselves and a few friends) ever care?
Raven’s January- Read Like Nobody’s Watching… —Raven’s off to a good start
5 Tips for Writing a Book Review That Readers Will Enjoy—Now’s as good a time for me to start as any
Captivating Character of January—a new feature/link party from Carol at Reading Ladies.
Audiobooks and Reading Are/Not the Same—Dulin tries to work some nuance into this discussion. Silly man…nuance on the Internet in 2025?
Spotlighting Beatrix Potter! Why I LOVE Peter Rabbit and Co
Books I’ve Read With Protagonists Aged 50+
Book Shopping Alternatives to Amazon—a handy resource
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Agatha H. and the Voice of the Castle by Phil & Kaja Foglio
The Shoulders of Giants by Jim Cliff
Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh
Gemini Cell by Myke Cole; Fairest by Marissa Meyer; and Jacaranda by Cherie Priest
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Dead Money by Jakob Kerr—A lawyer/problem solver (not a fixer gets pulled into a murder investigation in Silicon Valley.
Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan—Everyone’s favorite cryptozoologist/bookstore owner is on the hunt for a hodag (a thing that I’ve absolutely heard of before)
We Are Watching by Alison Gaylin—So I know what Gaylin can do with Parker’s characters, am curious about what she does with her own.
Carol
Thanks a million for shouting out my new blog project! And congrats to everyone on your newest miracle! A precious gift.
HCNewton
Not sure that I’ll have the chance to contribute a post this month. But I’ll try for next
Carol
Much appreciated but no pressure!
HCNewton
Oh, and thanks!
Bob Germaux
Congrats on the new Grandcritter, HC! How many books have you read to the kid so far?
HCNewton
LOL. None so far. He doesn’t stay awake long enough for even a short board book! Some might say it’s a defense mechanism to keep him from hearing this voice. He does seem to enjoy the feeling of my beard on his fingers (or he lacks muscle control and can’t help but get them tangled in it).