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:
Every Novel Is Boring—Until It Isn’t—Really liked this essay
Brandon Sanderson Defends George R.R. Martin, Wouldn’t Finish ASOIAF
Misunderstanding the Genius of Jules Verne — And Why It Matters to Science Fiction
AnnaBookBel comes of age!—Anabel hits a great milestone!
ScifiMonth 2026—is coming in November—check out the announcement posts from There’s Always Room for One More, Dear Geek Place, A Dance with Books, and Bookforager—and be sure to stop by for the fun in a month and a half
A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Fiction Fans Bonus Author Interview: Fool by K.R. Lockhaven—a nice chat with Lockhaven about his new book
My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“It doesn’t even matter what the General says in his speeches. Those who have abandoned their own truths just stop thinking altogether. They sink into a childlike delusion that some great general oozing with confidence will solve everything for them. There’s nothing more comfortable than dozing off without a care in the world in the back seat of a car being driven by your father. They don’t even consider that there will come a time when they’ll have to take the wheel themselves. Many adults, no matter how old they get, remain children at heart.”—The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Audiobook) by Alan Bradley, Jayne Entwistle
Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope by Berkeley Breathed
The Corruption of Chastity by Frank Westworth
Shadowed by Karen E. Olson
The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
And I mentioned the releases of: Robert B. Parker’s Debt to Pay by Reed Farrel Coleman; An Obvious Face by Craig Johnson; and The Littlest Bigfoot by Jennifer Weiner
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Fool by K. R. Lockhaven—A group of revolutionaries kidnapps the son of the King’s Fool to force him to uncover the King’s biggest secrets. You don’t want to miss this one–as I said here, and am pretty sure I expressed when I chatted with Lockhaven recently.
We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman—This promises to be fun. “At sunrise, high in the Italian hills, a body is found on the steps of a beautiful private villa. On the body is a threatening note, signed by a mystery man. Back at We Solve Murders HQ, Amy, Rosie, and Steve leap at the chance to take on their first proper case. So what if their new client seems to have his own reasons for avoiding the police? All they need to do is uncover who left the note, and then find them. Simple.”
War by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, Giovanni Rigano—”A powerfully moving graphic novel that explores the affects of war on children.”
Never Say Die by Ke Huy Quan—”In this stunning and compulsively readable memoir, the Oscar-winning star of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ke Huy Quan, tells the story of his journey from Vietnamese refugee to 80s child star to the most inspiring comeback in Hollywood history.”
Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel—”a breathtaking novel of doubles, shadow worlds, and fractured timelines as a man disappears from a glittering Los Angeles party, and a woman—a gunrunner, an art collector, an operative of the State—searches for answers.”
I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends by Jessica Tarlov—”The outspoken liberal voice on the Fox News show The Five shows us how to stay true to our values, find common ground, and communicate with confidence when engaging across political and social divides.”
source: Bookstr on Facebook
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