Category: Saturday Miscellany Page 21 of 35

It’s a quick list today. Should leave you plenty of time to get other things on your Weekend To-Do Lists tackled (sorry about that).

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:
Publishing Glossary: 15 Terms Book Advocates Should Know—this is a handy guide, and a sign I should update my working vocabulary.
3Q’s Special – Tiffany McDaniel shows her Savage Side!—a quick Q&A with the wonderful Tiffany McDaniel
Witty & Sarcastic Book Club’s An Author’s Monster Manual series wrapped up with:
…Featuring Dorian Hart
…Table of Contents of all the nifty posts in this series
Should Book Bloggers Be Paid?—Jo Lindsdell asks another good question this week.
5 Podcasts Bookworms Need to Listen To—I haven’t listened to any of these, but will be checking them out
Guide To Book Photography!—It’s going to take more than this to turn my book photos into something good, but these helps might make them better
How not to get your book read—It’s astounding that this needs to be said, but I know too well that it doesn’t

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin—John Rebus is on trial. This should be great.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Jasleen Manifests, who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.

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:
Banning Books Is a Threat to Public Education: To say nothing of the fact that we don’t value reading enough in the first place!
You Wouldn’t Pirate a Book?—for a pleasant (?) change, this piece about book piracy has nothing to with eBooks.
8 Mental and Physical Benefits of Audiobooks
An Author’s Monster Manual series continued over at Witty & Sarcastic Book Club:
…Featuring Rob Edwards
…Featuring Ryan Howse
…Featuring Sean Gibson
…Featuring Ricardo Victoria
…Featuring Jeffrey Speight
…Featuring Joshua Gillingham
…Featuring Luke Winch
…Featuring Virginia McClain
Pet Peeves About Book Series—there’s a distinct theme here
On the Why of Genre—sometimes on a Monday, I’ll read something that was so good that I don’t have to read anything else for the week. This did it for me. As a bonus there was the clip from Spaced (which almost succeeded in getting me to rewatch the entire series)
How I learned to love the digital book—a song many of us have sung

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Blood Brothers Episode 106 with Ian Rankin—I’m beyond excited for the new Rebus now (and there was plenty of other good material).

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Dead Man’s Hand by James J. Butcher—A jaded monster hunter and a minor magician team up to hunt a killer in this promising series debut. I had a few things to say about it here.
Santa’s Little Yelpers by David Rosenfelt—There’s only a dash of holiday cheer in the middle of this better-than-I-expected legal thriller (and I expected to enjoy it) I talked about it a couple of weeks ago.
Death at Paradise Palms by Steph Broadribb—The second Retired Detectives Club has these retirees juggling personal issues and a search for a missing/kidnapped movie producer.
Cash Rules Everything Around Me by Rob Gittins—an fresh out of prison, a thief tries to plan one final score in a hometown he barely recognizes.
Random by Penn Jillette—this Vegas-set thriller has a philosophical bent.
Nerd: Adventures in Fandom from This Universe to the Multiverse by Maya Phillips—”In the vein of You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) and Black Nerd Problems, this witty, incisive essay collection from New York Times critic at large Maya Phillips explores race, religion, sexuality, and more through the lens of her favorite pop culture fandoms.”
The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series by Jessica Radloff—I don’t know that the world needed an oral history of this show, but now that we have it, I’m pretty curious.

I’m off doing non-book things today*, so assembled this early. And I know I left a few things off that I’d usually include–hopefully I catch up next week. Still, there are some good things to be read. I think.

* It happens occasionally. Maybe 3 times a year? (still bet I wander into a bookstore at some point this weekend)

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:
Noted audiobook narrator, Dick Hill, died this week. I can’t imagine anyone reading both Lee Child and Dave Barry books and pulling it off, but somehow he did. He will be missed.
A group of angry library patrons in Texas has gone to court over book removals
Audiobooks: Every Minute Counts—A look at audiobook usage, how it’s affecting the book market, and too much for me to sum up.
How to Break Out of a Reading Slump—am not sure they have new advice to offer, but this is a handy collection of tips from Netgalley’s blog.
How Not To Do It: Why I’m Not Much of a Publisher—Harry Connolly talks about the woes of getting his new book, The Iron Gate, published last week. In case you thought writing a book was the tough part.
“Too Many Clients” Reviewed by Anthony Boucher, November 20, 1960—I love this idea: this blogger is posting each mention of Nero Wolfe he can find in the archives of The New York Times, after a lengthy break, he’s back with this post.
10 literary classics that didn’t sell.
I mentioned the An Author’s Monster Manual series last week, and the results have lived up to the promise:
…Featuring Andi Ewington
…Featuring J.E. Hannaford
…Featuring Geoff Habiger
…Featuring Rowena at Beneath a Thousand Skies
..Featuring Jonathan Nevair
…Featuring Dan Fitzgerald
Reading and Its Effects on Your Emotions
A quick summary of the arc of American fantasy—a compressed history of the genre in the US.
How to Make Book Blog Friends and Grow Your Audience—a handy-dandy guide that I’ll be returning to.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon (and one from last week that I can’t believe I neglected!):
Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty—A Great SF/Mystery Mash Up about an investigation on a sentient space station full of aliens and a handful of humans. I talked about it some this week
6 Ripley Avenue by Noelle Holten—”One House. Eight Killers. No Witnesses.” Holten’s standalone about a murder in a halfway home for ex-cons looks thrilling.

So, this is pretty late, but…at 11:45pm yesterday, my daughter called asking me to take her to the ER. So I put this aside. Almost 20 hours later, I got home—and she has one less inflamed appendix. But it’s still Saturday (for at least some of the world), so this counts.

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 Book Bans Take From Kids
Books won’t save you: You can’t use literature as a shortcut to self-improvement—hear, hear
Meet the Author: Neil Lancaster
Tom Hanks is publishing a novel, and it sounds exactly like a Tom Hanks movie.—huh.
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of Friendships with Entirely Fictional Characters—this post is more directed at TV, but it easily applies to novels
The Book Character Awards! (a bookalicious initiative)—this is a neat idea
My Experience with Not Using Goodreads for a Month
Hugboxing and Scabpicking—Peat Long gives a vocabulary lesson…
An Author’s Monster Manual—Witty and Sarcastic Book Club launched another series this week—I love the premise for this—what if the D&D Monster Manual was compiled from creatures in Fantasy novels?

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Eating the Fantastic Episode 181 Chow down with Wesley Chu—this is the first I’ve heard of this podcast, but I’ll likely come back for more, if the interviews tend to be as good as this one with Chu was.
Blood Brothers Episode 105 with Anthony Horowitz—a fun chat with Horowitz that has convinced me to give the Hawthorne and Horowitz books a couple of more installments, at least.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Iron Gate by Harry Connolly—the new installment in The Twenty Palaces series. The best Urban Fantasy series you aren’t reading. Circumstances allowed me to read this today (two weeks or so ahead of schedule), and it was great. I’ll be posting about this as soon as I can.
The Last King of California by Jordan Harper—He made a new life for himself, but it didn’t work out, and now Luke has to return to the gang he escaped from. Sure, you have to import this from the UK to read it, but I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be worth it, since its from Harper.
Treasure State by C.J. Box—a new Cassie Dewell novel has the PI on the hunt for a con man.
The Big Bang Theory Book of Lists: The Official Guide to Characters, Quotes, Timelines, and Memorable Moments by Bryan Young—this looks like it could be a lot of fun

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:
EveryLibrary Poll Finds Book Bans Are Broadly Unpopular With Voters
The Enduring Allure of Choose Your Own Adventure Books—a tribute to and look at the origin of the series
S. A. Cosby: Interview and Cover Reveal—a nice (but quick) interview with Cosby and a look at the fantastic cover of his upcoming book.
How to Get Books For Free – Legally—a quick, but potentially valuable, list
Misconceptions People May Have About Book Blogging
CANON: It’s Not What You Think It Is—quibbles with some of the details in the first paragraph of “Definitions” aside, I appreciated these thoughts on Canon in SF. (Hat Tip to Peat Long for this one)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman—It’s the third Thursday Murder Club book, I really don’t think more needs to be said.
Wealth Management by Edward Zuckerman—Financial shenanigans, international crime, and terrorism mix in this thriller. I talked a bit about it.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to ominousthespirit, who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.

How does being a parent of adult children take so much time? I’m not complaining about (actually enjoyed and would welcome more of) the interruptions they brought this week, but I had pages to read and posts to write, fer cryin’ out loud! It was far easier to claim my own time and send them to bed when bed wasn’t in a differnt building 7 miles away.

Still, I did manage to get a bit done, and even find a few things for this collection. Hope you enjoy.

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:
Was It Ever Possible For One Person To Read Every Book Ever Written (in English)?—Randal Munroe tackles this ever-so pressing (or not) question
You Can Procrastinate Anything If You Have Enough Books—Well, yeah…
The Books That Made Me – The First Law by John Palladino—another fun installment of this series from Before We Go Blog (although it could use a quick fact check in the first paragraph).
An Ode to Reading—a nice (and fairly relatable) memoir of a reader/introduction to a blog
Have You Ever Suffered from Book Blogger Imposter Syndrome?
The Best Way to Track Your Reading: 18 Bullet Journal Spread Ideas for Readers—I’ve tried Bullet Journaling a couple of times over the last few years, and it really seems like a good idea and I wish I could stick to it. Although I seem to enjoy reading about it more than actually doing it.
Some Research to Ponder about Book Piracy—some good stuff on this regrettably evergreen topic

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon (after last weeks handful, only finding one this week makes me think I missed several—fill me in!):
A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan—a bookstore owner/cryptozoologist looks into a series of deaths that might indicate there’s an actual lake monster living nearby.

This is the 4,010th post to this blog—the ol’ odometer rolled over on 4,000 on Monday. I wasn’t prepared for that, and probably should’ve done something to commemorate it. I’ll have to try to remember to do something big for number 5,000 in 2025(??).

This was a rough week on the reading front—3 books I’d planned on reading on Release Day* came out (ignoring that 2 of them came out the same day), but I’m so behind on Review Copies that I’d also planned on prioritizing them. And then I literally grabbed the wrong book off the pile Thursday and didn’t realize it until I was 100 pages in. I’m glad I’m not getting paid for this stuff, because I’m such a disorganized mess right now.

Super-short list this week, but there’s hopefully something you’ll enjoy reading.

* Nothing against the fourth, I just needed a little break from that series after reading the initial trilogy this summer.

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:
In 2022, a New Urgency for Banned Books Week
Library 101: Everything You Need to Know to Utilize Your Library—not sure any of this is news to anyone, but…who knows, you might pick up something new here
Classic literature, rewritten for kids.
Subtlety, Ideological Novels, and Me
If you didn’t like this, try that…—This is a fun take on the tried-and-true method of recommendation (their more traditional list wasn’t bad either)
How Do You Choose Your Next Read? (& 100 Reading Prompts!)—this post feels like it should forever eliminate take care of the “what do I read next question” (maybe I spent too much time going through the 100 prompts)

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Final Heir by Faith Hunter—The final book in the Jane Yellowrock hit the stands this week (although, how much actually stays dead in Jane’s world?). I went on and on about it a couple of weeks ago.
Robert B. Parker’s Fallout by Mike Lupica—Lupica’s third Jesse Stone novel shakes Paradise from a couple of directions. I had a good time with this and should have a few things to say about it next week.
Hell and Back by Craig Johnson—This looks like it picks up a dangling string from the last book and gives it a good yank. Looking forward to diving in ASAP.
The Night Watch by Neil Lancaster—a vigilante killer on the team investigating murders. DS Max Craigie has his work cut out for him.
A Grimm Sacrifice by Jeffrey H. Haskell—Grimm has to contend with training new officers while helping an unlikely ally against a common foe in a Cold War that isn’t that chilly anymore.

It was 20 years ago today that I started blogging—not this one, I’ve been involved in five blogs before I gave up trying to do other things before just embracing my particular brand of nerd and did this. It’s a little odd thinking that I’ve been practicing this particular hobby that long.

This is the second week in a row where I’ve felt like I was running on fumes, and barely got anything posts together (and I didn’t find a lot for this post, either—but that’s likely a function of this being the end of the month). I’m very glad this is a 3-Day Weekend, I need some time to regenerate.

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:
Forgotten treasures: the stranger things people leave in library books—Over the years, I’ve linked to a handful of pieces about odd things found in library books, but a library making an exhibit out of them? It’s almost enough to make me want to travel…
Who is the real “Queen of Crime”? Agatha Christie’s estate sends a stern letter to Val McDermid.—This is stupid. I’m willing to bet McDermid didn’t tag her self with this title, in the first place. In the second place…never mind—it’s not worth me duplicating what LitHub said.
The Psychology of Fandom—Jennifer Lynn Barnes talks about writing a series while thinking about what will inspire fandom.
5 Ways To Drop Book Recommendations Into A Conversation—there are strategies for this? Huh. I just open my mouth and it happens.
The thing about ‘must read’ lists
10 (Not So) Easy Steps to Cure A Book Hangover—I think this is my favorite of the Book Hangover posts I’ve linked to over the years.
5 Tried and Tested Ways to Get Yourself Out of A Reading Slump!
5 Fantasy or Science Fiction Books With a Character Named Bob—I’m sure there’s a reason for this post and probably a good story to go with it. But I (almost) don’t want to know it, I really like the apparent randomness of the topic.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Be the Serpent by Seanan McGuire—The last book in the series was all about joy. Now it’s time for the reader to pay for that. Personal/work life has prevented me from finishing it this week—and I both resent it and am a little glad, I think it’s going to rip my heart out (okay…it broke my heart before page 60, I think it’s going to get worse).
Amari and the Great Game by B.B. Alston—The sequel to Amari and the Night Brothers. No need to know more than that, is there?
The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes—The third book in the Inheritance Games trilogy promises several reveals, a conclusion or two, and an interesting puzzle or two along the way.
The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith—this sixth installment in the series is longer than complete trilogies I’ve read. Cormoran and Robin are on the hunt for the killer of someone whose life parallels a certain children’s author. I honestly don’t know when I’ll muster the endurance to get through this thing. But I am curious.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Ann, who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.

I’ve got a hort list this week—it must be near the end of the month.

I’ve had three nights this week where I’ve shrugged off my plans (including writing) and just read—it hurt the blogging, but it was good for the reader. Hopefully, I get back on track next 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:
Game of Thrones effect fires up reissues of ‘lost’ fantasy fiction classics: With big-budget TV series about to hit streaming services, publishers hope a string of cult novels will find a new audience
The Organization of Your Bookshelves Tells Its Own Story
How to read the longest classic books—Strategies/tips for tackling those big, intimidating classics
Almost Two Centuries of Impossible Crimes: Locked Rooms in Detective Fiction—Another good piece from CrimeReads on Locked-Room Mysteries
Finally, we have a Confess, Fletch Trailer—I’m mildly apprehensive, but I’m in.
The 50 Best Fictional Dragons, Ranked: Thousands of Years of Dragon Lore, from the Rig Veda to Beowulf to the Hobbit—As with every list like this, there are omissions, odd inclusions, and dubious ranking. Still a good list.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Hell of a Mess by Nick Kolakowski—The fourth Love & Bullets installment—and this time, it’s full novel. This heist-in-a-hurricane is a wild ride, and nothing but fun. As I said (less succinctly) recently.
Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs—Wulfe is missing, and for some reason, Mercy has to find him rather than celebrate his disappearance.
The Marauders, the Daughter, and the Dragon by K.R.R. Lockhaven—A sweet and humorous Fantasy about Pirates (who aren’t really Pirates), a Father and Daughter relationship on the rocks, a dragon, and what happens when you throw all of them in the way of a power-hungry politician. (I should have a link to a full post from me on it, but I haven’t finished it yet)

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Zsolt Zsemba, who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.

There are a lot of good book recommendations in the posts/articles/essays below, but none are hot off the presses this week. This likely means I missed a few things, feel free to enlighten me.

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:
‘Books bring us into being’: how writing about reading became an inspiring literary genre of its own—A nice little piece on bibliomemoirs
Interview with Author Wesley Chu—Beth Tabler talks to Wesley Chu about his new book and a few other things. Not that anyone asked, but I’m 150 pages or so into the new one and it’s likely ending up in my top 5 for the year…
What’s Your Process?—I was pointed to this chat with various authors about their process because of the Reed Farrel Coleman segment (which was great), but the whole thing is fascinating. I love reading these kind of things.
What’s In a Name? For crime fiction writers, few questions are more important.—a piece on naming characters two weeks in a row? Apparently.
Five Essential Lad Lit Novels—If I’d compiled a list with that title, it’d look eerily similar to this one (I’d probably have used a different Tropper novel). Been too long since I’ve re-read these…
The 50 Greatest Fictional Deaths of All Time—This list from Slate does involve several non-bookish deaths, but there’s enough literary content here that I don’t feel like it’s cheating to include it.
Sometimes, Only the Most Heart-Crushing Book Will Do
Why I Love To Read… Middle Grade
Do you really have to pay for books?—It’s beyond tragic that this is a question that has to be answered (and that so many disagree)
Why Men Avoid Fantasy Books By Women: Personal Thoughts and Theories—this is a thing I’ve never understood, but maybe I’m closer to it now Peat’s got some good things to say about it.
Alternatives to Goodreads: BookSloth—another good look at a Goodreads alternative
Where do you review?—wowzers…this is an impressive list. I feel tired just thinking of the labor involved.