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:
Rakuten Kobo Returns to U.S. Retail as Sales Double —worth the read even if you don’t care about Kobo just for the commentary on e-book sales.
Ebooks are coming to Libro—the audiobook store that supports local bookstores is adding eBooks to the app next year.
How Readers Find Books—a new project from Debbie Ridpath Ohi to help with new ways to discover books. Readers of this post may want to look into contributing
Interview With an Author: Lee Goldberg—from the LA Public Library
Perhaps We Could Find Some New Book Topics to Argue About—Molly Templeton calls for finding new evergreen topics to argue about. (while giving her $.02 about some of the current crop)
My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“If I am wrong about this, then there is no sense in listening to anything else I might say, because it would reflect a misunderstanding so profound as to necessitate my retirement from sharing my thoughts with other people.”—The Wizard Who Kept Himself Suspicious by Scott Lynch
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
The Purloined Poodle by Kevin Hearne
Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart
And I mentioned the releases of: How to Party With an Infant by Kaui Hart Hemmings; Nevernight by Jay Kristoff; and Killer Instincts by Linden Chase
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Killer’s Mark by M.W. Craven—not in the US, we have to wait for October (or cough be willing pay a lot for interational shipping cough), but I’m still counting it. “When a teenage girl walks into their office, looking for the mother she long believed to be dead, they agree to take the case. As Poe and Tilly investigate the girl’s claims, they find themselves drawn into a murky world of trafficking, pornography and prostitution.”
Killing A Perfect Beast by Thomas Trang—Trang wraps up this summer’s trilogy about crime and politics mixing on Mars.
The Tailor by Tim Sullivan—DC Cross’ 8th adventure puts him into “the world of spies and state secrets.” I have a few to go before I get to this, but I’m looking forward to it
Under the Falls by Richard Russo—”at once a propulsive thriller, a gut-wrenching portrait of a tight-knit rural community undone by the sins of its past, and an unflinchingly honest depiction of how porous the line between right and wrong, good versus evil, can become.” Honestly, of all the books that didn’t need a sequel, Empire Falls is near the top of my list. But I’m not sure I can resist the pull.
The Dungeon Book by Gareth Hanrahan—”A young girl is left to die in a wizard’s dungeon but finds a new home with the monsters around her in this humorous and heartfelt standalone epic fantasy.” Since I read Witty & Sarcastic Book Club’s review in June, I’ve been jonesing for this release.
Don’t Cross Mo Ellery by Birdie Horne—”A laugh-out-loud mystery following the indomitable hot mess Mo Ellery, whose job as a school crossing guard pulls her into an unhinged murder investigation.”
You’ll Love It Here by Natalie Sue—”One day is all it takes for Mona’s life to implode. After years of climbing at her marketing firm, she was supposed to be getting promoted and finally moving out of her crumbling apartment building. Instead, she’s jobless, aimless, and still stuck in a space barely big enough for a yoga mat. Then her eccentric landlady takes a tumble and asks Mona to step in as the building’s reluctant super. The deal is simple: help prep the place for sale, and she can secure the upgrade she’s been chasing. But that’s easier said than done when the neighbors treat ‘boundaries’ as optional.”
The Wandering Inn by pirateaba—The indie book makes it’s trad debut, it’s the first volume in a LitRPG “a dangerous world where magic is real and people can level up and gain classes, Erin Solstice must battle somewhat evil Goblins, deadly Rock Crabs, and hungry [Necromancers]. She is no warrior, no mage. Erin Solstice runs an inn. She’s an [Innkeeper].”
image source: The Goodwill Librarian
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