Category: Saturday Miscellany Page 19 of 25

If you’re reading this, I apparently stumbled through this week mostly intact. I have so much I wanted to write about this week and even in this post, but while the spirit is interested and willing, this flesh is bone tired. It’ll hold, I think.

While I try to wrap up this week with a bonus shift at work, why don’t you take a glance at some of these. Hope something tickles your fancy. See you soon.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
77 Strange, Funny, and Magnificent Book Titles You’ve Probably Never Heard Of—From Literary Hub—some of these titles really make you want to read the text.
How Much Money Do Authors Actually Earn?: It’s probably both less and more than you think
Should we separate the artist from the art?—a quick yet wise read. (Hat-Tip to: Jo Perry)
7 Great Occurrences in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy—Towel Day is right around the corner, might as well start thinking about The Hitchhiker’s Trilogy.
Confessions of a Book Addict!—I see myself in almost every bit of this post from The Orangutan Librarian
Is Summer Reading Season a Thing?—I never really thought so, but I know I’m the exception
And yet: 20 Books of Summer ’21 – Share your sign up posts!—I guess it is that time of year already. Time to start making plans, I guess.
Why I Love To Read… Fantasy—fun little post with some great recommendations

I’ve felt like I was half-awake from Tuesday afternoon through this morning. Anyone else have weeks like that? I seemed to function fine, accomplished almost everything I intended to, and so on–but it felt like it’d take me 0.3 seconds to go from active to unconscious. I had a point when I started this paragraph, but I seem to have misplaced it.

Hope you all had a good one and that there’s one or two things here that pique your interest as they did mine.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
The slow (imminent) death of books and bookstores—Let’s start off on a cheery note, shall we? I think he’s probably wrong, but…
My kids won’t even pick up a book – and it is definitely all my fault—I can relate to this
An Ear for Reading: Audiobooks Take Center Stage in the Classroom—this is pretty cool
Then again… Why we remember more by reading – especially print – than from audio or video
I Couldn’t Travel, so I Read 100 Books Instead—I wouldn’t normally think of Fodors as a good source for pieces about reading. Exceptions happen.
An Interview With Andy Weir—Elizabeth Tabler interviews the author of Project Hail Mary (and a few other things)
Q&A With Curtis Ippolito, Author of “Burying the Newspaper Man”—from MysteryTribune
Why Are Crime Writers So Darn Nice?—I’ve heard this a lot over the last few years…I do wonder why that is.
9 Sigils I Wish Existed in Kevin Hearne’s ‘Ink and Sigil’—This was just so odd (and good) I had to pass it along.
Books Of My Childhood—I reposted a list of some formative childhood books earlier this week, apparently, I’m not the only one thinking about that kind of thing lately.
Book Blogging rules/advices I Follow and Don’t Follow—food for thought
Ways To Write More Creative Book Reviews—some more to chew on (I think I might have linked to this a year or two ago, but I saw it this week and it got me thinking)

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
The Waterstones Podcast How We Made: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy—I’ve listened to several podcast episodes about this book, and generally roll my eyes at them. But this is just fantastic. Were it available, I’d listen to a Peter Jackson-length version.
Fiction Fans Episode 8: Written in Dead Wax—a fun interview with Andrew Cartmel about the first book in his Vinyl Detective series (the second book in that series has been staring intently at me from it’s perch on my To Be Read Shelf since I listened to this episode…)

It felt very strange last night not to write or think about Tom Jones…

I guess I don’t have much else to say. I hope you all had a good week and that the weather where you are (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) is becoming as nice as ours is.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
This survey shows that people prefer printed books – even in the digital age—I don’t think many would be surprised by this, but it’s interesting to see these international stats from the World Economic Forum, which I just casually read all the time… (how did I find this link??)
You Don’t Need To Feel Guilty About Books You Haven’t Read Yet—I’m not sure it helped me get over my guilt, but it helped. And it was fun to read. Steinmetz feels like someone I’d have a lot in common with.
Why do moms get sidelined in SFF?—from Before We Go Blog
My Go-to Authors!—a list that should prompt a lot thought, and compilation (not necessarily posting) of similar lists upon reading.
How to Run a Book Blog… Seriously (Not Serious)—some good advice here, folks. I think I could provide examples of each of these from the last few years.

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Fiction Fans: Which Discworld Book Should You Read First?—This is something I probably should’ve listened to a few years ago before I attempted to read the series (although the gentleman who gave the final push did suggest I start with #1). This could be valuable to others.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir—Weir’s latest looks more like The Martian than Artemis, which should help sales, even if it seems like a cheat for him to try (looking at you, Ernest Cline). I’ll get to it as soon as my wife is done.
Robert B. Parker’s Payback by Mike Lupica—Lupica’s got a firm hand on the Sunny Randall series now which results in a solid read, as I discussed recently.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Zeeshan Amin and Cole Rush who followed the blog this week. Thanks for the follow! Don’t be a stranger.

Wow, anyone else see the finale to Invincible? For something based on a comic I’ve read umpteen times, I didn’t expect it to pack that much of a wallop.

I threw my back out Thursday morning and I’m suprised at how it practically stopped my reading and writing–you’d think something that forces me to be as motionless as possible would allow me to do both (it’s been a while since I’ve done this as thoroughly as I did Thursday, and have forgotten how it impacts me). I’m almost back to normal, thankfully (pun unintended, but embraced).

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Writers Orgs Form #DisneyMustPay Joint Task Force—a few months back I linked to some posts about Disney stiffing Alan Dead Foster, and while I’m glad to see they reached some sort of agreement with him, more and more authors are coming out with similar stories. Authors and Writers’ Groups are applying pressure to put an end to this.
Why you shouldn’t feel guilty about your to-be-read pile—I’m not sure the piece matches the headline, but I’m feeling better about the size of mine now…
In-Person Author Tours Won’t Be Back Anytime Soon—As someone who lives in a place where it’s rare to get some authors, I’m okay with the virtual-ness of these (there’s no way I’m seeing Luca Veste in Boise, for example).
6 Benefits of Listening to Audiobooks
Novels and Novellas and Tomes, Oh My! The long and short of novel lengths
Driving in the Dark: Getaway Drivers in Fiction and the Dark Side of the American Dream
Why I Read the Last Page of a Book First—I’m not sure if this is an interesting perspective or a cautionary tale. I’m leaning toward the latter.
Zack Argyle on “The Rise of Self-Published Fantasy”
The One Where this is one of my favorite things about reading: Let’s Talk – Rereading and why I love it—Not only do I like and agree with just about everything in this post, I love the way Mehek wrote it.
Do I Like This Book or Not?—I can identify with this post in so many ways…

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Crime Time FM#9: Ace Atkins—A wide-ranging conversation about Spenser, Quinn Colson, classic PI novels, and more. Following the conversation, there is the best review of the Netflix movie Spenser Confidential that I’ve come across.
Like the Wolfe Lone Wolfe: Glenn Fleishman—just a couple of fans talking about Wolfe. Fleishman had a point about a line in Some Buried Caesar that made me reconsider the scene and how I’ve always reacted to it. A fun listen for Wolfe-types.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Eye of the Sh*t Storm by Jackson Ford—the third Teagan Frost adventure looks great (and reminds me to get my act together and read #2)
Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal—I’m not even going to try to summarize the description in a sentence or two. Click the link and you’ll probably be as intrigued as I am.
(I wish I knew the source of this!)

Not much to say, it’s been another one of those weeks (it’s that time of year)—long days and a bonus shift that started a couple of minutes before this posts. Hope you have a good weekend, and get out there and support your friendly-neighborhood-Independent Bookstore.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
It’s Independent Bookstore Day—There are a lot of Events at a Store Near You (and/or Virtual this year). Check them out. Support an Indie Store. Libro.fm has a great deal related to it going on too.
Outcry over book ‘censorship’ reveals how online retailers choose books — or don’t
Why Should You Read?: Will Self Wonders What the Hell We Think We’re Doing—this is worth cheweing on
Grammar-Nerd Heaven: A new exhibit showcases the surprisingly contentious history of English grammar books.title
In the Instagram age, you actually can judge a book by its cover: Social media is now a vital platform to promote new titles. And that means jacket designs that hit you ‘hard and quick’
Can This Two-Week Program Make You a Better Reader—And Do You Want It To?
Some of my favourite book cover designs!—746Books was inspired by that Guardian article.
Fictional Places I Would Like To Visit
In Defense of Retellings

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Dead Secret by Noelle Holten—The fourth Maggie Jamieson thriller came out yesterday and it’s another good one.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to unclearer who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

1. It’s weird to look off to the right there and not see History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding listed there.
2. My ISP went down for a day-and-a-half this week, making it a real challenge to get anything posted, but it did help me catch up on reading. But I’m super-behind on blog-hopping, commenting, and everything. I’m looking forward to catching up and seeing all the fun stuff I missed this week.
3. I’m apparently in a list-making mood today.
4. I came across a thing I did for a bit on an old blog and then Facebook years ago, and decided I’d try to resurrect it on these posts. If you still see it in a month, I guess we’ll call it a success.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
In honor of today being the 124th Anniversary of the play, LitHub posted Watch Spalding Gray perform Our Town’s legendary opening monologue.—First off, Our Town is my favorite play, full stop. I’ve read better, but none affect me the at it does. I cannot make it through the third act dry-eyed (I’ve seen high school drama departments stumble through it, ditto for college and amateur troupes, several filmed versions—and in print). I also loved the part of Gray’s monologue, Monster in a Box this post mentions about his role and the reaction to it. I’m rambling now—just read and watch.
Lauren Hough Vs The World—For the 4% of you that didn’t watch this trainwreck live, this is a good summary.
Turns Out It’s Pretty Good: Reading First Thing in the Morning
How Would the Publishing World Respond to Lolita Today?: Jenny Minton Quigley on the Novel Her Father Published
Rare book burial brings a little-known Jewish custom to Naples (Hat tip: Jo Perry)
10 of the worst sentences found in literature—Thoughts: I don’t know how they ever settled on one from The Da Vinci Code; the New Moon selection as great; and I don’t know how I managed to read the rest of The Killing Floor (much less the 25 following novels) after that sentence.
What makes you pick up a book?
Amanda’s Book Format Battle
My first reads!—this was a fun read and sent me down a fun trip down memory lane.
@HiuGregg gives some handy advice in this thread

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Okay, I’ve got nothing for this. Which is happening a lot lately—have I gotten that picky?

(that I can’t imagine finding a use for)
At least 80% of all cars in Afghanistan are various years of Toyota Corollas, mostly brought into the country used.
Daniel Boone didn’t like flat coonskin caps, but preferred high-crown felt hats so he’d look taller. (yeah, I know I mentioned this in my post about the book, but it was so ingrained my mind from childhood on that I have to mention it again). Also, I’m taller than Daniel Boone was, and I’m not tall, definitely not “tall as a mountain.”
The American custom of having race tracks constructed to run widdershins comes from a “rabid revolutionary,” William Whitleywho built one of the first horse tracks in Kentucky, who deliberately wanted to do so contrary to the British custom.
My new word for the week is, “Funt” which looks like a misprint when you come across it in a book. But after a quick internet search, you find out that it’s not and kind of wish that you didn’t know what you now do.
Sources: The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King (verified because it made me curious); Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America’s First Frontier by Bob Drury, Tom Clavin (for the next two items); Robert B. Parker’s Payback by Mike Lupica.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to bookish_renee who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?
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Spring is on the verge of springing here and the birds are chirping like crazy and one of the canines in residence really wants to go out and play with them (sadly, they have no desire to play with her). Hope the pollen isn’t getting to you all too much.

Short list this week—I’ve clearly been busy this week (not that you can prove it from my posting)—but there are some gems.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
The Joy and Privilege of Growing Up in an Indie Bookstore
I Work in a Bookstore. Why Am I Still Shelving “Mein Kampf”?—I don’t think Abdalla convinced me here, but I almost wish she did.
The Best Spy Novels Written by Spies, According to a Spy—I’m tempted to take the next two weeks off from everything and read this list.
Why Murder Mysteries Are a Lot Like Science, According to a Neuroscientist and Novelist—I didn’t set out to post two pieces by Erik Hoel (someone is clearly trying to promote his new book), but I liked them both—and this isn’t anything like his growing up in a bookstore, so it’s not redundant.
The Myth of Accurate Representation – Neurodivergence in Fiction—this is good.
Dragonlance Week: A Celebration—This week, Witty and Sarcastic Book Club took a break from working in Dragonlance references to 63.2% of their posts and devoted an entire week to focusing on the series. It kicked off with that piece, but you can find them all here. This series is second only to Lloyd Alexander in making me a fantasy reader, nice to read all these pieces and remember why.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Animal Instinct by David Rosenfelt—The second book in the Andy Carpenter spin-off series is another solid read. I talked about it a bit recently.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to deardailydiary81, Operation X, Siddharth menon, Hannah , and Ccoutreach who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Library E-Book Bill Advancing in Maryland—am not sure this is the best way to address the issue (not sure it isn’t, either)
Douglas Adams’ note to self reveals author found writing torture—Good piece about Adams, but an absolute garbage headline. Anyone who knows anything about Adams doesn’t need that revealed. Tantamount to headlines like, “George RR Martin Procrastinates,” “Don Winslow Has a Thing or Two to Say About the Drug Trade,” or “David Rosenfelt Features a Dog in his Next Book.”
How Hank the Cowdog Made John R. Erickson the King of the Canine Canon: He wanted to become a serious literary novelist, like Faulkner or Hemingway. Fortunately for millions of Hank the Cowdog fans, he failed.—I never understood the appeal, but I know many who got it. Interesting feature about Erickson (who I did not realize was still publishing).
Why are there so many book summary apps?—Something else I’ve never understood the appeal of (even if I drew the same conclusions as this post). Worth it for the last paragraph.
Why Do So Many Novels Feature Golden Retrievers?
To wait, or to buy. A look at the impact those who wait to buy and binge-read series can have on the book writing business.—Great post.
So, You Want to Start a Book Blog…—FanFiAddict’s David W. has some good thoughts for people thinking of diving in
The Expectations We Put On Ourselves as Book Bloggers—she wrote this so I didn’t have to. I’m not sure if it was just the encouragement I needed this week or if it served as the excuse I could use to produce so little 🙂

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to josbees andrtslaywood who followed the blog this week.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
March 25 was not a good day for the literary world, with the deaths of Beverly Cleary and Larry McMurtry. HarperCollins posted this about Cleary and the Washington Post had the first non-paywall McMurtry obituary that I found. I went through a McMurtry phase in college (while avoiding the much-hyped Lonesome Dove, which was probably stupid of me). And Cleary? Come on…who among us didn’t live vicariously through Ralph S. Mouse and his antics? She’s probably the author who taught me you could feel things other than thrills or laughs through books, actually.
12 Ways to Get Out of a Reading Slump: What to do when you just can’t seem to work up the motivation to read.
How to Know When it’s Time to Quit a Book
In Defense of Kvothe: A Candid Look at a Divisive Character—it’s odd that such a beloved character needs a defense, but, I think even the most ardent fans would admit that he’s a problematic character (like all of us). Here’s a good apologetic for the Kingkiller.
ruminations on my first year of blogging—pretty sure it took me several years to learn what this blogger picked up in one.
Making a Monster—Spells and Spaceships kicked off their Fantasy Monster Week with this post. This series of posts could do some real damage to your book buying budget, I should warn you.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Genrenauts: The Wasteland War by Michael R. Underwood—The Genrenauts are back and as grim as things looked at the end of the last novella, they’re worse now. I read this yesterday, it was so good to be back in this world. If you haven’t come across the Genrenauts yet, here’s my post about the Season One collection.
The Bounty by Janet Evanovich and Steve Hamilton—Fox and O’Hare “race against time to uncover a buried train filled with Nazi gold” with the help of Fox’s father. This is probably my make-it-or-break-it book with this series. The fact that Steve Hamilton is on board gives me some hope.

Last weekend, I considered putting up a post saying that I was going to take the week off—we worked long shifts all week and had some family stuff going on, and I just knew it was going to be hard getting anything done. But I decided I’d power through and get some stuff accomplished. And ended up basically taking the week off—although the only thing I made a conscious decision not to do was last the Fridays with the Foundling post. All I have to show for my efforts this week are several mostly completed and utterly lifeless posts that I’ll have to do a major re-write on next week.

I did get some reading in, though—including my favorite book of the year so far. So, there’s that. Hope you enjoy this week’s collection:

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Why You Should Support Your Local Bookstore—In case you need the reminder
A Kansas Bookshop’s Fight with Amazon Is About More Than the Price of Books—worth the minor hassle of dealing with The New Yorker’s not-a-paywall hoops
I didn’t set out to go on an anti-Amazon rant, but, here we are: Want to borrow that e-book from the library? Sorry, Amazon won’t let you.—this one troubles me greatly.
Pre-ordering: show authors some love!—Yeah, this is focused on this particular press, but it applies to all the others. And you don’t even have to shop at That River Website to do it! I’m frequently (still, somehow) surprised how much this helps an author when I see them talk about this.
5 Reasons to Listen to Classics on Audio—There are some really good points here…I should do this. The accompanying playlist Classic Books to Try on Audio looks like a decent place to start. I think the narrator is key, for example—Ian McKellen reading The Odyssey or George Guidall reading Les Misérables? Sign me up.
Why So Many Novelists Write About Writers—This isn’t a definitive answer to the question I’ve asked a million times (I’m sure most readers have), but it’s a good one.
Why Are We Obsessed With Psychopaths?—some good stuff here, too.
When Is A Book Blogger Not A Book Blogger?—I’m not sure this rant was necessary (I don’t think the blogger is, either), but…yeah, I tend to agree.
The Importance of Knowing Your Own Taste: Ways to Avoid the HYPE and HATE Train—you’d like to think this is unneccesarry and self-evident. However, we’ve all been victim to this folly and need good reminders like this from The Orangutan Librarian.
That post was followed a couple of days later by some great examples of taking her own advice: Books I Read Thanks to Negative Reviews and Ended Up Loving (as an aside, I love the cover for My Lady Jane used there—does a better job of capturing the book than the one I saw when I read it)
To What Extent Should We Compare Books?—good discussion from Stephen Writes
How I Have Maintained A 300+ Day Post Streak!—Nope. Not jealous at all. Especially this week. Going to take some of this advice.
Typically, I’m not a fan of “you’re not a real fan/geek/X, if you don’t…” things, but you’d have a hard time convincing me that @BooksNest is wrong here.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Drop the Mikes by Duncan MacMaster—The Kirby Baxter series is about the most reliably entertaining series I’ve read in the last few years, and I can’t imagine this is going to be the exception. Kirby ends up vacationing next to a Fyre Festival-type thing and stumbles on to a murder (of course).
Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs—Anna and Charles investigate the disappearnce of a small community. I’m around 60% through with this, it’s Briggs’s best in years (so far, anyway)
What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch—Peter’s cousin Abigail gets the spotlight in this fun novella. I talked about it a bit here recently.
Firefly: Life Signs by James Lovegrove—hey, look, another in this Firefly series for me to have on my TBR Shelf and not get around to reading for months (I did read the first one…). Thankfully, the hardcovers look nice sitting there.