Category: Saturday Miscellany Page 20 of 32

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:
The most beautiful bookshops in the world—I’m not the traveling type, but I like pretending I’m the kind of guy who’d travel around to browse at places like this
What Happened? Banned Books in Nampa—A few weeks ago, I talked about a local bookstore’s response to a school district’s book ban. They provide an update.
How Did Shakespeare Kill (And Heal) His Characters?—I meant to include this a couple of months ago, but after seeing it again this week, I got a second chance.
From Criminal Lawyer to Criminal Writer—Nadine Matheson describes her shift from the former to the latter
Why Does It Take So Long to Publish a Book?—Lincoln Michel responds to the recent Twitter conversation about how long publishing can take
Overheard At Bookstr: Confessions Of A Bookworm
Witty & Sarcastic Book Club continues their tour of Fantasy Sub-Genres with Fantasy Focus: Historical Fantasy with these interviews:
Historical Fantasy Featuring N.C. Koussis
Historical Fantasy Featuring Angela Boord
Historical Fantasy Featuring G.M. White
Historical Fantasy Featuring J.T.T Ryder
Historical Fantasy Featuring Marian L. Thorpe
YA Fiction Snobbery Needs to Stop. Right now.—I think I’d quibble a bit with a point or two, but yeah, it needs to stop.
Why I still like using ratings (even if they’re imperfect)—Spot on.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Short Tails by Spencer Quinn—a small collection of short stories featuring Chet and Bernie to tide readers over until the next novel. They look pretty fun to me.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to KarensWildWorld who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger!

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:
Whither Children’s Bookselling? asks Publishers Weekly
In Defense of Unsympathetic Protagonists
Copywriter Slash Novelist: How My Career in Advertising Helped Shape Me as a Novelist—Matthew Norman talks about some of the lessons he carries with him today
Summer Reading Assignments for Grown-Ups
“Dance” like no one’s watching, but for bookish types
Canva 101: How to Use Canva as a Book Influencer—I really need to play around with this post next time I try to display my lack of graphic design ability
The NeBUloUs Topic of ARCs—a dose of sagacity from The Orangutan Librarian
Novels with Terrific Opening Lines—Jami Fairleigh shares some of her favorites
Book Quotes to Love in 2022—Read Betwixt Worlds shares some favorites from this year

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Page Break with Brian McClellan Ep 44 – Scott Lynch—Good conversation about mental health, writing, Lynch’s plans, and more.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Self-Made Widow by Fabian Nicieza—Profiler-turned-suburban mom and recently-no-longer-disgraced journalist team up on a murder investigation again. I am very excited about this follow-up to one of last year’s best debuts.
Movieland by Lee Goldberg—the strongest outing yet for rookie detective Eve Ronin, as she and her partner investigate a killing in a State Park.
One Decisive Victory by Jeffrey H. Haskell—I won’t look at the description of this one until I read the second book in a couple of weeks here, but as much as I enjoyed Book 1, I’m happy to see that it’s out.

Weeks (like this one) where I don’t have a lot of fodder for this post always make me wonder: Did I have an off week? Was it just one of those weeks where everyone was thinking about other things? Does it matter—it takes three things to make a list, as long as I have that…
I tend to lean toward the last one, my streak of these is long enough that as long as I’ve got those three…

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:
29 Works of Nonfiction You Need to Read This Summer—I will not be reading any of these this summer (which goes for all of LitHub’s summer lists), but most of these look interesting a couple might find their way to the Fall list.
Constable signs three more titles from Craven in six-figure deal—The lines there about “global brand” and “North American rights” warm my heart. The idea of not having to put up with the cost/time (mostly time) involved in getting Craven from the UK makes me very happy.
When Will Novels Fix Society Already?—I dunno…tell me the U.S. hasn’t been “fixed” into a dystopian/cyberpunk prequel? We just need to pick better books (see also: less pretentious works than this piece talks about)
Peat Long posted a couple of good ones this week (well more than a couple, but I’m sharing two): Secondary Belief vs Suspension of Disbelief—Secondary Belief is a term I’ve been grasping after for months. Good stuff…
As much as I enjoyed that post, and will be reacting to it (not that anyone but me will likely be able to tell) for a while, On Objectivity as a Reviewer is better.
10 Quick Takes on Common Bookish Controversies—Sure, I’d co-sign 80% of this (likely 90%, if pushed, but my reflex is to shudder at the upscaling idea). If I disagreed, it’d still be a fun post to read.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Trouble with the Cursed by Kim Harrison—the latest Hollows novel dropped this week, it looks like Rachel has some cleaning up to do/keep doing after last year’s novel.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Shristy Singh, who followed the blog this week.

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:
‘People should be able to read the books that they want’: Nampa coffee shop holds Banned Books Giveaway—A couple of weeks back, I mentioned how a local School District “permanently banned” 20+ books while ignoring their own stated review policy (this week, they said their circumvention was because their policy was “too complicated”). Some local businesses and many local individuals responded thusly. NPR’s All Things Considered also covered it.
Harry Potter and the missing sketches: JK Rowling’s first drawings of boy wizard—The material about the initial cover design and what the designer has to say about his work now is great.
The Ever-Shifting Challenge of Promoting Literature in Translation
The Transformations of Pinocchio: How Carlo Collodi’s puppet took on a life of his own.
Crime Reads posted a couple good pieces on Crime Fiction and humor this week:
Murder Isn’t Funny. But Gallows Humor Is!—Karp’s The Rabbit Factory (not to be confused with any recent Finnish work) made me laugh harder than any police procedural that I can think of, he knows what he’s talking about.
Why Some of the Best Thrillers Are Also Hilarious—is also worth the read, but Byrne loses a few points for flubbing the citation of Fletch’s Fortune
How about some great news from Scott Lynch on Twitter a couple of days ago!
Joe Pike, Two Bullies, and a Stolen Car—Jeffrey B. Burton details many of the ways he isn’t Joe Pike. This is great (and a reminder that I have an ARC of his to get to soon)
Is Genre Defined by Content or Worldview?
Mood Reader!—Rabhya Maini discusses the whys and hows of mood reading
i read the 5 highest rated books on my physical tbr…in a reading slump—That’s a great way to get yourself out of a slump.
The Problem with Mood Reading—Kopratic details the many ways they’re not a mood reader.
Like This Game? Read This Book: 11 Book Recommendations for Gamers by M.J. Kuhn—given the utter lack of TriPeaks or Angry Birds on this list, I can’t say anything about how accurate the recommendations are, but it’s a fun idea.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Page Break with Brian McClellan Ep 41 – John Scalzi – Science Fiction Author—am a couple of weeks behind in getting to this episode, but I thought this chat with Scalzi was notably entertaining.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Geekomancy by Michael R. Underwood—not technically a new release, but a new edition. I loved this series, and am oddly excited to get it in paperback for the first time. This UF basically bases its magic system on the power of Fandom (horribly reductionistic, but I try to keep this bit brief). Hoping this reissue helps this series find its audience.
The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston—Fantasy, Card Sharps, and Con Artists—and a dash of magic. What else do you want? I posted about this last month, and am glad to see it in the wild.
Noodle and the No Bones Day by Jonathan Graziano, Dan Tavis (Illustrator)—the story behind the Internet craze in picture book form is as cute as you’d expect, as I said a couple of days ago.

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:
As libraries drop late fees, long-overdue books return — as do former patrons: Minnesota libraries went fine-free, then waited to see: Would patrons hoard all the books?—Most libraries around here went fine-free a couple of years ago. I wonder if their results were similar.
How Amazon surrendered in its war on bookshops
How the Publishing World Is Muscling In on Hollywood Deals: For Authors, “The Future Is Multihyphenate”
Why are crime writers so weird?: As well as entertaining, the best detective stories deal with life and death, good and evil and the quest for truth
What Makes a Great, or Terrible, Audiobook Performance? The case for doing less.
Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub gets to my favorite in their 2022 looks at Fantasy Sub-genres Fantasy Focus: Urban Fantasy with great interviews featuring:
Matthew Samuels
C. Thomas Lafollette
Peter Hartog
Satyros Phil Brucato
Jamie Jackson
Speaking of Interviews, Beth Tabler also had a great Interview with Author Rachel Aaron this week.
INDIE PUBLISHERS, INDIE AUTHORS, INDIE BOOKSHOP, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE?—Jackie’s Reading Corner talks about a couple of indie presses near and dear to her heart (I’ve spent a little money on both presses, I understand her devotion)
What I’ve learnt in over 10 years of book blogging—Jo Linsdell shares some wisom acuumlated over a decade. Much of which I should appropriate.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Botanist by M. W. Craven—I’m going to go into this one blind, the only reason I know the title is so that I could make sure I ordered the right book. So I can’t tell you anything beyond the fact that one of the best Crime Novels of 2022 came out this week.
The Balance Of Guilt by Simon Hall—Somehow Hall’s intrepid reporter exposes a scandal while being sedated in a hospital bed. Can’t wait to find out how that happened.

Tomorrow will be the ninth anniversary of starting this little project, as hard as that is to believe. I remain surprised and thankful that anyone but me pays any kind of attention to it. If you are reading these words, thank you.

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:
What do you do with books you don’t want any more?—this piece by James Colley is the perfect follow-up to last week’s stories about keeping/getting rid of books. Must be something in the air.
Why Do All Books Suddenly Look the Same?—worth it for the line/picture about Stryve jerky (which is a pretty nice jerky, incidentally)
What Really Distinguishes a Crime Novel? Megan Abbott, S.A. Cosby, Laura Lippman, and Ace Atkins share their thoughts with Polly Stewart.
Travel and Reading: A Vacation in Pages
5 Authors And Their Inspiring Rags To Riches Journey—I’m not sure about “inspiring,” interesting maybe…
How Do You Track Your Reading? Or Do You Track Your Reading?—Reading Ladies Book Club tackles the Goodreads vs. Story Graph discussion
The Bookaholic Bex Guide to Book Blogging
The importance of book reviews
I’ve Accepted That Publishers Aren’t That Interested in Book Bloggers

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Blood Brothers Episode 93 with Adrian McKinty—McKinty takes over the podcast this week, and graciously allows the hosts to make a comment or two. Like anytime McKinty gets on a microphone, it’s a blast.
Under a Pile of Books Episode 92 – May 20 Weekly Pod—It’s good to see Calvin Park back in action.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Dance Among the Flames by Tori Eldridge—a “dark journey into Brazilian mysticism about a desperate mother who rises from the slums to embrace Quimbanda magic amid her quest for the ultimate revenge.”

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Suzanna and Becky’s Book Blog who followed the blog this week.

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:
Where to dispose of unwanted books? Try a library bookstore—worth a shot, right
What Do We Lose—and Gain—As Book Tours Move Online?
A Quick Note on Dear Fahrenheit 451—Yes, this book looks like a great read, but I’m linking it because of this review. Wish I could write something as good as this.
A Deep Dive Into The Book Community’s Toxic Cancel Culture—I have a degree of trepidation in using the phrase “Cancel Culture” because of the way it’s being used by a lot of people from all over the spectrum, but…there’s a lot of good things to chew on in this post.
Why I Keep My Books
Borrowing Books and Stuff – A How To—There’s a mental list of people that I want to send this to. I won’t, because I prefer that they still talk to me and not about me, but they could sure use it.
A Guide: How I Read More Than Most Probably Do
Let’s Talk: Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week—SPAAW is coming back this July.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman—”When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire — right?) She also doesn’t expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy… but that’s what happens.”
Dead Against Her by Melinda Leigh—the new Bree Taaggert looks like it’s going to take care of most of my ongoing complaints about the series in one fell swoop. Can’t wait.

Without really intending to, my wife and I have apparently started a collection of dragon figures on books (I know I should more properly call them bookwyrms). One day I’ll take and post some good pictures of them, but today is not that day. I need a name for one of them–we’re a little tired of saying, “that red one we got in Lincoln City.” So, hive mind: suggestions? I tend to prefer something faux-Latin.

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:
A school district in my town this week ignored their book review procedures and voted to ban “forever” over twenty books–go ahead and do that if you must, but do it right (and “forever”, really?). Raise a hullabaloo about Banned Books, the expected groups in the area are responding.
Upset by book bans, teen starts forbidden book club in small Pa. town
Leah Jeffries is Annabeth Chase—Rick Riordan is not pleased with some online reaction to the cast announcement for the Percy Jackson show and takes a firm stand.
Q&A with Jackson Ford, author of The Frost Files—to commemorate the publication of the 4th Frost Files novel this week.
Does genre matter?: When rules help and when they hinder, and how the editing process shapes genre.—One writer’s take on genre, I’d be curious to see how others approach this.
All Possible Plots by Major Authors—you’ll get at least two grins from this list (probably more)
How to have a comfortable read in bed—this piece from the Guaridan in 1978 holds up pretty well
What a Hobby Feels Like—this isn’t about reading/books/etc. per se, but it’s a good piece and I think some of it applies.
Thoughts on returning to book blogging.—were I to step away from this, I’d imagine I’d feel many of the same things
Do I stand by my old reviews? Looking back on SEVEN YEARS of book blogging!—This is a brave idea.
Other Bloggers Talk About 458% Traffic Increase… I’ve Yet To Get That—Pass Me That Book talks about traffic
Lie About Your Age, Not About Reading Books

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Crazy in Poughkeepsie by Daniel Pinkwater—I haven’t bought/read a Pinkwater book since the 80s, but I’ve been seeing advertisements for this everywhere, I’m going to have to give it a shot.
A Sh*tload of Crazy Powers by Jackson Ford—Teagan Frost is back, what more needs to be said?

Today’s one of those days where I open MyPocket and look at what I have for this Miscellany and wondered if I actually went online at all this week. I don’t think that’s because I’m making healthy choices or anything, just a sign that I was as busy this week as it felt like I was. Two small miscellanies in a row.

Also, happy Free Comic Book Day to those who observe.

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:
Announcing 20 Books of Summer ’22—phew…I already have 2 draft-lists for this. Glad Cathy’s doing this again, I’ve enjoyed it.
What Goes Into a Book’s Appearance?—it’s been too long since I’ve had something along these lines to share
Interview With Author Ben Aaronovich
Opinions: Plagiarising Book Reviews is Weird—This is a thing? I mean, of course this is a thing, our world is a dumpster fire and everything stupid and wrong is a thing…but really? This?
In Praise of Mythopoeic Fantasy—A good post, but worth the click anyway for the excuse to say “mythopoeic” a few times.
Where to buy books other than Amazon (and for cheaper)—I meant to share this a month ago, better late than never…
Getting Started in Superhero Fiction—seems appropriate for today…I’ve dipped my toe in at least a few of these. Good place to start, if you’re someone who digs the genre.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Of Claws and Fangs by Faith Hunter—Vignettes, short stories, and a novella from the Jane Yellowrock/Soulwood universe. I said some complimentary things about it on Monday.
Robert B. Parker’s Revenge Tour by Mike Lupica—Lupica and Sunny are back for another adventure. I’ve like Lupica’s Sunny novels more than most of Parker’s, it’s bugging me that I haven’t been able to open this yet.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to A.B. Finlayson, Gottfried, and blackwings666 who followed the blog this week.

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:
Today is Independent Bookstore Day—be sure to go spend some time at a store near you, they probably have something fun going on
Why We are An Indie Bookstore—a short little post from the people who will be getting some of my money today
Book Sales in the U.S. Are Stronger Than Ever
Why Reading is Good for You: Neuroscientist and author Ali Hazelwood on the benefits of curling up with a book
Why the Mystery Novel Is a Perfect Literary Form: David Gordon on the long, rich history of private eyes – and why contemporary novelists keep on turning to them.—Yup.
“It’s The Most Stressful Book I’ve Ever Read, And I Couldn’t Put It Down”: People Are Sharing The Book They Wish They Could Read Again For The First Time—been there…
Thank you and Goodnight!—one of my favorite book bloggers (despite how little our tastes overlap) calls it a night.
Witty and Sarcastic Book Club is back with another Fantasy Focus, this month, tackling High and Epic Fantasy—there are some great reads and authors featured here.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Author Stories Podcast Episode 1224: Don Winslow interview—obviously they talk about City on Fire but listening to talk about writing and writers is a treat.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon (starting with one that I forgot last week):
Against All Odds by Jeffery H. Haskell—Haskell steps away from super-heroes to launch a Military SF trilogy.
City on Fire by Don Winslow—Winslow’s trilogy about the mafia in New England draws upon Homer and other classic epics. This looks fantastic.
Rosebud by Paul Cornell—”When five sentient digital beings—condemned for over three hundred years to crew the small survey ship by the all-powerful Company—encounter a mysterious black sphere, their course of action is clear: obtain the object, inform the Company, earn lots of praise. But the ship malfunctions, and the crew has no choice but to approach the sphere and survey it themselves.”

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Raylene Second who followed the blog this week.