Saturday Miscellany—5/2/25

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:
Does reading do us any good?—”Stripped of easy moralising, literature makes us relish the search for truth in an age when many believe truth to be dead.” This is one to chew on.
MAGA Is Confused About Animal Farm—it makes for a good headline, but Wired suggests it’s not just MAGA that doesn’t.
2026 Edgar Allan Poe Awards—were announced this week. I really dig a lot of the choices here (especially Best Novel)
If it’s Edgar’s season, it’s also time for CrimeTime’s “State of Crime Novel” series, something I look forward to. Part 1: Routines, Problem-Solving, and Faithful Companions and Part 2: Issues and Recommendations
So you want to read digital comics—Fantasy Book Nerd has put together a nice round-up of some of the bigger apps for them.
Indie Blog Off Remnants (IBOR) released their Round 1 Champions—If they’re all in the same class as the two of these that I have read, I don’t envy the judges (well, it looks like they’re in a good time reading, but a hard time in judging)

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
Uncle Victor died the way he lived: running from the provincial highway patrol with a car full of weapons, because his car wasn’t made to be quite that airborne, and it definitely wasn’t made for the impact of hitting the ground. —“A Serious Track” by by Krystle Matar, from The Book of Spores

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
There Will Always Be a Max by Michael R. Underwood—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
The Absconded Ambassador (Audiobook) by Michael R. Underwood, Mary Robinette Kowal—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
Off to See the Wizard by Clay Johnson—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
And I mentioned the releases of Arf by Spencer Quinn and The Worst Night Ever by Dave Barry

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
A Violent Masterpiece by Jordan Harper—This is just fantastic. I’ve been trying to write something about this since Tuesday, and…words are failing me so far. Don’t wait for me to get my act together, just go get it.
Crownfall by Michael Vadney—”The gritty underworld and razor-edged found family of Six of Crows collide with the mysterious magic and sweeping intrigue of The City of Brass, all against the vivid industrial backdrop of Arcane in Michael Vadney’s nobledark fantasy debut.”” I’m eager to see what this is.
Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutanto—”A nearly divorced trophy wife enrolls in culinary school to win back her husband, only to find a fresh start in the unlikeliest of places.” Which really doesn’t sound like a book to necessary appeal to me. But when you say “Jesse Q. Sutanto”…
Jen & Gary’s Infinite (Quantum) Entanglements by Nick Gregorio—”Gary Leslie broke the universe… by confessing his love to his best friend, Jen Scott. Now he’s tumbling through the multiverse, waking up as everything from a tyrannosaurus to a murderbot, a sentient island with volcanic ex drama, a mooman (that’s moose-man, obviously), and even a coffee mug. In every reality, one thing stays the same: Jen…. Wildly funny, heartbreakingly human, and utterly bizarre, Jen & Gary’s Infinite (Quantum) Entanglements is a romantic comedy where love takes on infinite forms… and destroying reality might just be the easy part.”
A Murder Most Camp by Nicolas Didomizio—a “fun, twisty mystery following a spoiled nepo baby forced to work at a struggling summer camp who stumbles into a real-life murder mystery he has no choice but to solve”