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 Why the Canon Is Worth Conserving—R.V. Young makes a good case here. Maybe not convincing, but good to chew on.
bullet The Written Word Is Having A Rough Week—”Rough” is putting it mildly.
bullet Common Readers: BookTok’s critical values
bullet The most famous crime writer you’ve never heard of – prepare to be hooked—a heckuva piece on Peter Grainger. About time he got some attention.
bullet Waterstones livestreamed Brandon Sanderson in conversation with Joe Abercrombie—I haven’t watched yet, but I imagine it’s more than worth the time.
bullet Scalzi’s recent BlueSky post about AI sums up what a lot of us SF fans have been thinking. Just phrased better.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Authors on the Air Global Radio Network Jordan Harper discusses A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE—a great conversation about the book and more. Every exposure I have to this writer makes me like him more.

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
Having a teenage daughter is like Choose Your Own Adventure, a constant set of junctures in the road. She’s in a mood? How do you respond? Do you snap? Do you sympathize? I chose my go-to: ignore.—Go Gentle by Maria Semple

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
bullet Burned by Benedict Jacka
bullet Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
bullet And I mentioned the releases of: The Highwayman. by Craig Johnson; Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? by Paul Cornell; This Damned Band also by Paul Cornell and Tony Parker; Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me: What Pop Music Rivalries Reveal About the Meaning of Life by Steven Hyden; The Second Life of Nick Mason by Steve Hamilton; and My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Hawai’i Rage by Tori Eldridge—”A suspicious death on a Kohala Mountain ranch draws ranger Makalani Pahukula into a tangled family tree.” It’ll be a minute before I can dive into this, but I’m looking forward to seeing how this builds on Kaua’i Storm
bullet True Romance: A Noir Anthology editby by Troy Lambert & Vincent Zandri—the author list alone is enough to get me to shell out a couple of bucks. In this anthology, “passion isn’t red roses and candlelight. Instead, it’s obsession, betrayal, revenge, and the kind of desire that leaves bodies in its wake…From quiet suburban rot to organized crime empires, from calculated seduction to explosive violence, these stories explore the dangerous intersection where love and darkness meet. Because in noir, love isn’t salvation. It’s motiv”
bullet It’s Hard to Be an Animal by Robert Isaacs—”a funny, magical, and tender novel following a lonely, conflict-averse man whose sudden ability to understand animals sends him on a wild romp around NYC, and ultimately helps him discover his own voice. “
bullet Ironwood by Michael Connelly—the sequel to Nightshade (which I need to read soon) brings Detective Sergent Stilwell into contact with Renée Ballard and a violent drug deal.

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