Saturday Miscellany—3/21/26

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:
Let’s start off with this feel-good story. Make-a-Wish Idaho helps a fifteen-year-old cancer survivor become a published author with an assist from Ridley Pearson. The book can be ordered here.
Do You Actually Have to Finish That Novel?—I’ve linked to several pieces about DNFing over the years, but this one is from The Yale Review, so it has to be smarter, right? (snark aside, it’s worth your time)
How To Read Sixteen Books at Once (At All Times)—this might make you tired just reading it. My hat’s off to Jo Walton for this, I just cannot imagine doing this.
Benjamin Stevenson on the “Gamification” of Crime Fiction: How fair play mysteries invited readers in even further.—a good piece on Gamification that’s at least as charming as his books.
Paperback vs. Hardcover: Which is Better For Readers (and For Writers)?
How to Find Your Book Twin—In which Carol introduces me to a new term.
Quirky Picturebooks to Read Aloud for Rhyme Times and School Classes!—making notes for Grandpappy’s Corner.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Belated Binge The Rise and Fall of Sonder in the Alex Verus series —I haven’t finished it yet, but Sonder’s arc in the Verus series is one of the most intriguing (and not one I would’ve guessed at). Glad to see it getting attention.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
Dead is Better by Jo Perry—one of the better books I read that year. Still an all-time fave.
Risen by M. T. Miller—I’ve been reading Miller that long, too? Impossible.
And I mentioned the releases of: The Watcher in the Wall by Owen Laukkanen; An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel; and Snakewood by Adrian Selby

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips—”Amateur private investigator and new dad Charlie Shaw gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to track down a young girl’s missing father.” I talked about it earlier this week. It’s just so much fun.
Black Bag by Luke Kennard—”An out-of-work actor accepts the role of a lifetime—sitting soundlessly in a lecture theater, zipped into a large leather bag—to aid a professor’s psychological experiment. What could possibly go wrong?” I wrote about this absurd and thoughtful book last week.
The Lost Daughter of Sparta by Felicia Day, illustrated by Rowan MacColl—”a feminist graphic novel about the lost mythical character of Philonoe—Helen of Troy’s sister.” I’ve started this, and am enjoying it.
Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson—”Ten heists. Ten suspects. A murder mystery only Ernest Cunningham can solve in this delightfully clever and twisty new novel.” I’m finding Ernest himself harder to put up with the more the series goes on, but these are too clever to stop with.
Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano—Finlay attempts to come to Vero’s rescue from the law and a stalker.