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 The rise of the ‘hot literati’: how reading became sexy—believe it or not, The Guardian doesn’t have me in mind
bullet How owning books became everybody’s business: The number of books you have, and the way you shelve them, invites judgment
bullet The Other Asimov: Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics have influenced AI’s development, but to what end?
bullet Inside the Selection Process—how does the Folio Society decide which books to put out for us to drool over (and, I assume, possibly buy)
bullet A Brutally Honest Field Guide to Horror Author Headshots—from The Ginger Nuts of Horror
bullet Fantasy-Faction brings a fresh Scott Lynch Interview – The Thorn of Emberlain —take the Emberlain material with a grain of salt, if you insist. But the rest of this is more than worth your time.
bullet Making Things and Having Fun: The Mad Scientists’ Club by Bertrand R. Brinley—I had to have read this book at least 30 times in my (far) younger days. I’m so glad someone reminded me of its existence.
bullet Finding the Right Covers—Matthew Hanover describes the journey his covers have taken
bullet Which leads us nicely into this: As you’ve probably noticed here, it’s Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week here are some of my favorite posts:
bullet Awesome Author Alert: Jonathan Nevair at Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
bullet Awesome Author Alert: Rebecca Crunden at Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
bullet Awesome Author Alert: Tessa Hastjarjanto at Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
bullet Complex PTSD and the Creative Life by Sarah Chorn and Ken Scholes at Read Indie Fantasy
bullet Guest Post: We Live Here by Zig Zag Claybourne at Read Indie Fantasy
bullet Interview with Christiane Knight by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
bullet Interview with Richard Moon by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
bullet Interview with Scott A. Clark by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
bullet  Interview with Shelby Hailstone Law by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
bullet Interview with Simon Brading by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Guest Post: How Reading More Helped Cure My Indie-Author Burnout by Angela Boord at Read Indie Fantasy
bullet Tough Questions with Namita Kumari by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
bullet Some Favorite Indie Reads by Fantasy Book Nerd
bullet 2026’s Big, Long List of Super Self-Published Books a monumental list compiled by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
bullet 5 simple steps to reduce you TBR pile—there is something deeply wrong with this post

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet The Four Beardsmen of the BookpocalypseBeth Tabler and the beards! —I haven’t found time for this (been busy this week), but it’s sure to be a great episode

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it.”—from the Author’s Note in The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
bullet Second Son (Audiobook) by Lee Child, Dick Hill
bullet Small Wars (Audiobook) by Lee Child, Dick Hill
bullet The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel—one of the best books ever discussed on this here blog.
bullet Bravo and Elphie by Hagit R. Oron, Or Oron
bullet Trumped! by Peter Davidson—and to even things out, possibly the absolute worst books ever discussed on this here blog
bullet Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter
bulletAnd I mentioned the releases of: Nightshades by Melissa F. Olson; The Dragon Lords: Fool’s Gold by Jon Hollins; and Flying by Carrie Jones

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Deadly Does It by Abbi Waxman—”Mason, a Gen Z adrenaline junkie, and Mann, an ex-con, ex-actress, and lawyer turned sleuth, have already solved one murder together. United by their commitment to sarcasm and general disappointment with the human race, they now face a second crime that’s way too close to home.” This had me at “Waxman,” and sealed the deal by bringing back Mason and Mann.

an image of text: ME: when it comes to books, the value isn't on the price tag, it's in the words and the journey and the lessons we share with countless other readers BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE: right so that'll still be $153.47 today ME: fine whatever
image source: Jonathan Edward Durham on Facebook