Category: Blog Series Page 88 of 229

No real time for an introduction today (“No blather,” you all cheer) for what feels like a very miscellany list. Hope you enjoy and have a good long* weekend!

* From what I can tell this applies to almost every reader that stops by location, if not by current vocation. If this doesn’t apply to you, I hope you have a good regular-sized weekend, or at least one day off.

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:
Independent bookselling expanded again in 2022, with new and diverse stores opening nationwide—groovy news.
I’ve read almost 50 books so far and the year is not halfway over. Here’s how.
The State Of Being A Published Writer In 2023 Is Really Weird, And A Little Worrisome—Chuck Wendig has a few things to say (and do keep reading through the end)
The big idea: why you should embrace your inner fan—Not about reading per se, but it applies
How do You Write Compelling Characters? Find the Source of Their Pain—I’ve read a few books by Copperman, and “pain” isn’t the first word I’d associate with his material. But reading this, it makes a lot of sense.
Do You Know Who Illustrated This Classic Wrinkle in Time Cover?—I don’t know how I’d managed to forget this cover (I likely spent as much time looking at this cover as I did reading the book the umpteen times I did read it as a kid).
Dos and Don’ts for Reading Outside—the last “Don’t” is where I always failed until I got a backyard, and, well…
Place and Tome: On Two Kinds of Unforgettable Reading Experiences
CrimeBookJunkie turned 8 this week!—Congrats to Noelle Holten for hitting this landmark! Hope it’s just the beginning.
I missed this last week, but Beth Tabler has assembled a great list of 100 Fantastic Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories Written by Women #100 – 70, #69 – 34, and #33 – 1
Hanna’s Holy Grail or White Whale—a bookseller’s hunt for a beloved childhood novel
Book Confessions: I’ll Never Outgrow YA Books
This worked out so well last week, I’ll just repeat it. Check out the Week 3 Wyrd and Wonder Quest Logs at Dear Geek Place and The Book Nook
The Fantasy Hero Blues—Peat Long’s latest contribution to Wyrd & Wonder

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon (I have the impression that I’m forgetting one or two…):
The Moonshine Messiah by William Johnson—this looks too good. A woman sheriff in WV has to tangle with an anti-government militia led by her brother.

So, I saw Craig Johnson at a local bookstore last night, I’ll probably say more about that soon–but I’ll just leave it with, if you have the opportunity–take it. Even if you’ve never read him (or watched the show based on his novels). The man is a natural-born storyteller.

Before the Miscellany, let me ask one more time for questions to answer as part of my upcoming 10th Blogiversary commemoration. I’ve got some great ones already, but why not add yours to the stack?

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:
Public Libraries Deserve Better Than Thistitle
Intellectual Freedom and Why We Must Fight For It
Patrick Rothfuss announced a new novella—this great bearded glacier has something coming out this year! Sure, it’s focused on a character I really don’t understand the fascination with…but so what? I’m beyond excited for this.
The Work of the Audiobook
All the Monsters in Jane Eyre—I don’t buy all of this piece…but I’m not sure how much I disagree with it, either. Regardless, a good read about a great book.
Samantha Irby Refuses to Organize Her Piles of Books—Irby remains on my “should get around to trying list” but for some reason I clicked on this brief Q&A and really enjoyed it
How To READ Audiobooks! (In 6 EASY Steps)—a handy video from Shelf Centered
How Junie B. Jones Saved Dinnertime—how one book series really connected with one young reader
James Cook Artwork—barely connected to the subject here…but this artwork created on typewriters is a must-see
Molly Templeton has put together a list of A Few Reading Suggestions for When You Really Ought To Stop Playing Tears of the Kingdom—I thought about passing this along to one of my sons, but I think it might make him stop talking to me if I suggested something as preposterous as stopping playing it.
Into Reading – The Hunger Games—1. Good post on The Hunger Games. 2. A fantastic idea for a series of posts over on Fi’s Bibliofiles…
SFF Book Recs for Autism Acceptance Month—Justin Gross knows his SFF and shows it in this post
5 Reasons To Read Middle Grade Books As An Adult—I wish I’d read this post earlier in the week than I did–I tried saying some of the same things in my first abandonded post for The Manifestor Prophecy, I could’ve just referenced this and maybe saved the post.
Arthurian Retellings Reading List—I’m tempted to turn this into my 2024 TBR
How to Read More
I feel like I should be linking to as many Wyrd and Wonder posts as I can…but why duplicate the efforts of Dear Geek Place and The Book Nook when I can just link to their Quest Logs instead?
Why do moms get sidelined in SFF?—A great question that more people need to answer

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Only Truly Dead by Rob Parker, Narrated by: Warren Brown—the Audible Original Thirty Miles trilogy wraps up. I had to stop about an hour from the ending yesterday–which drove me nuts, but I knew if I kept going I wouldn’t be able to stop until it was done and the friend I was meeting for dinner probably would’ve been annoyed by that. If you’ve been sleeping on this series, you have no reason to any more.
Harold by Steven Wright—a stream-of-consciousness novel from the POV of a 3rd grader in the 1960s over one day of school. Looks fantastic.
Killing Me by Michelle Gagnon—the tagline sells it, “She escaped a serial killer. Then things got weird.” A funny (?) novel about a woman who is rescued from a serial killer, ends up in legal trouble, and runs to Vegas while being pursued by a killer. Or something along those lines…
The Dog Sitter Detective by Antony Johnston—the first in a series of cozy mysteries about a retired actress turned dog-sitter/amateur detective (with a promise that nothing bad will happen to the dogs)