Saturday Miscellany—12/6/25

I’ve once again been taught the lesson that I’m not in my early 20s anymore (you’d think the two grandchildren and that all of my children have reached 21 would teach men that…). I went to the theater last night for a 4 hour and 40 minute movie and thought I could accomplish things when I got home.

So anyway…this is running late 🙂

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:
South Korea’s Experiment in AI Textbooks Ends in Disaster—I’m shocked–shocked!–I tell you.
Autism is not a genre—this is good enough as it is–but you can fill many, many things in that title for “Autism,” and make it so much better.
What Keeps You Reading?—Molly Templeton talks about the difference becoming a reader and staying a reader.
3 things readers need to STOP doing—some good thoughts, fun video–but don’t expect me to follow in lockstep.
How to Get the Most out of Your Time on BookSky—I need to work on this if I’m ever going to break away from that one site like I want to.
The Indie Author Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror New Release List: December 2025—I keep intending on sharing AJ’s monthly posts, and think I succeed 1-2 times a year. Shame on me.
Another Batch of the Best of 2025
The 10 Best Books of 2025: According to Slate’s book critic.—I’ve heard of few of these. Slate and I do not share algorithms.
Crimereads: The Best Books of 2025: Crime Fiction, Mysteries, and Thrillers—on the other hand, I’ve heard about most of these, read a couple (and have got some new TBR entries)
Scientific American’s Best Nonfiction of 2025—their first such list, and it looks great!
AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of 2025
Find out the New York Time’s Best Books of 2025!—Books of Brilliance was nice enough to provide the list without having to get through a paywall.
Best of 2025 reads—from reader@work
It’s also the time of year for Gift Guides, like these:
The 2025 Whatever Holiday Gift Guide, Day Two: Non-Traditional Books—The rest of Scalzi’s Holiday Gift Guides are worth your time, but this is my favorite
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas: The 2025 Adult Books Edition—from our pal, Jodie at Witty & Sarcastic Book Club
Books as Gifts 2025—from another pal, Carol, at Reading Ladies Book Club
More Bookish Gift Ideas… What to Get Your Favourite Bookworm—The Organgutan Librarian has some good ideas, too.
Feeling less-than-good about how much you’ve read this year? This video should help

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
SFF Addicts Ep. 183: Our Favorite Reads of 2025 LIVE (with Talking Story & OWWR Pod)—I enjoyed this, but my TBR is upset with me

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
Dear Mr. You by Mary-Louise Parker
Indexing: Reflections, Episode Nine: Feline Cobbling by Seanan McGuire
Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke
Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart
Unseemly Science by Rod Duncan
I talked about the release of the updated version of The Revolution was Televised by Alan Sepinwall (one of the best books on TV you’ll ever read)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Ace Atkins—You’ve gotta read the whole blurb at the link there, but let this whet your appetite: “Elmore Leonard meets Robert Ludlum in a rollicking comedic thriller set in 1985 from acclaimed author Ace Atkins, in which a suburban teen suspects his mom’s new boyfriend is the ultimate bad guy—a KGB agent.”
Only Way Out by Tod Goldberg—”A luckless thief’s wrong turn becomes a crooked cop’s fortune in a wild ride of a thriller”