Category: Saturday Miscellany Page 3 of 25

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:
Kinky Friedman, Alt-Country Musician and Celebrated Humorist, Dies at 79—from his mysteries to his music and beyond, Friedman was a unique voice (that should’ve been heard by more)
How the ‘Owner’s Guide’ Became a Rare Book
How to Tell a Great Campfire Story
The Literary Power of Hobbits: How JRR Tolkien Shaped Modern Fantasy
Rob Hart on ‘Assassins Anonymous’ and the Dark Appeal of the Assassin Genre—Nick Kolakowski chats with Hart about his latest book, the genre, and the sequel (squee!!!!)
The Joy of Reading Books You Don’t Entirely Understand: It really should be acceptable and normal to say “I don’t entirely understand what I just read, but I loved it.”—There’s a few books I’ve read in the last few years that fall under this category. Glad to see I’m not alone (and I know that I really should read more things like this, but do enjoy the comfort of understanding things)
Traditional publishing vs. Self-publishing: Should There Be A Conflict?—I haven’t finished this yet, but there’s some good stuff to chew on in this conversation
2000th Post and 6 Years Blogiversary Q&A—Sifa Elizabeth Reads celebrates two landmarks with a Q&A (and some decent advice)
Bookmark Chat: Organization
Idle Thoughts on Fantasy Stereotypes: The Big Man—a good follow up to the Idle Thoughts on The Mentor

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Little Tiny Teeth by Aaron Elkins—Gideon Oliver and John Lau enjoy an Amazon River cruise (until the obligatory dead body shows up)
The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle by Christopher Healy—the second in this very fun MG Fantasy series
Dead Connection by Alafair Burke—I remember really liking this first Ellie Hatcher book (and, sadly, almost nothing else about it).
I also noted the release of The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Don’t Let the Devil Ride by Ace Atkins—”A Memphis woman hires a PI to find her missing husband, only to discover that he is involved in a dangerous web of international intrigue–and she and her children are now at risk.” I think the promo line, “S.A. Cosby meets Don Winslow,” is a bit odd (kinda seems like using too many words to say “Ace Atkins”), but eh…it is catchy.
The Daughters’ War by Christopher Buehlman—Galva’s backstory in “set during the war-torn, goblin-infested years just before The Blacktongue Thief.” The prequel nature of this really doesn’t intereste me. But I do like the concept, I really enjoyed my first exposure to Buehlman early this year, and that podcast I featured last week did pique my curiouslty. Which is me using too many words to explain why I’ll be listening to this soon (probably explaining to myself more than anyone…)
Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell—”An aimless young woman starts writing to an accused serial killer while he awaits trial and then, once he’s acquitted, decides to move in with him and take the investigation into her own hands.” If this wasn’t described as a black comedy, I’d stay far away from it (while understanding why others race to it). But I gotta admit, I’m intrigued…

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:
Tom Gauld on the human-AI collaborative novel Robot Apocalypse 2030—let’s start off this week with a quick Gauld cartoon, shall we?
94-Year-Old Grandmother Kept Meticulous Book Log for 80 Years—I’m both impressed and jealous
An Update About Disappointing Things, and Things That Did Not Disappoint—Harry Connolly’s latest update
Do You Love YA Paranormal Books, too?
Four Books That Are Gateways to Science Fiction Sub-Genres—Beth Tabler surveys the sub-genres: Cyberpunk, Science Fiction Humor, Hard Science Fiction, and Space Opera; and gives some great recommendations
When Is An Author “Milking” Their World?
Idle Thoughts on Fantasy Archetypes: The Mentor

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
SFF Addicts Ep. 109: Christopher Buehlman talks The Daughter’s War, Atmosphere, Voice & More—a great convo

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
The Severed Streets by Paul Cornell—the 2nd of the Shadow Police Novels (if only there were several more)
I talked about the release of Shattered by Kevin Hearne, All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner, Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich, and Heirs of Grace by Tim Pratt.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs—Mercy, Adam, and Mercy’s brother are in Montana hopefully not destroying the world.
The Last Decade of Cinema 25 Films from the Nineties by Scott Ryan—Ryan writes about 25 of the most iconic films of the 90s.

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:
Book Banners Ban a Book About Book Banning: Would you believe a school library system would go so far as to ban a book about book banning just because it mentions banned books?—I listened to this audiobook a couple of years back, it boggles my mind that this is controversial.
Thoughts on the 25th Anniversary of ‘Hannibal’—Nick Kolakowski looks back on the book that broke my burgeoning Thomas Harris addiction
Apostrophe’s Dream—Just what do those special characters get up to in a Moveable type drawer?
The Worst Dads in All of Literature: An Incomplete List —skip the Abraham entry, the rest of the post is pretty fun.
Ink & Imagination: Celebrating Ballpoint Pens With Words and Wonder—fountain pens get all the attention, but give me a good ballpoint any day.
These gifts are the way to a book-lovers heart
The Chocolate Lady asks: Do you ever want to go back and review books you read before you started blogging?
Fiction & Mythology—How Many Types of Vampires are There?—Over on Summon Fantasy, Anca Antoci surveys vampires
It’s okay to like grimdark or “I am a Nineties Edgelord”
Lev Parikian has the kind of book buying discipline that I can only aspire to.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Tea, Tonic, and Toxin Episode 58: Archie Goodwin is Awesome—(a great episode title), Part 2 of the conversation with Ira Matestky, focused on The League of Frightened Men.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Hot Lead, Cold Iron by Ari Marmell—I’m still annoyed with myself that I didn’t stick with this series
Marked Man by William Lashner—a pretty good legal thriller, IIRC
The Intern’s Handbook by Shane Kuhn—I enjoyed this book so much, I really wish Kuhn had found his audience.
I mentioned the publication of two books I rather enjoyed and one I completely forgot about (probably because I didn’t get around to reading it): Shield and Crocus by Michael R. Underwood, California Bones by Greg Van Eekhout, and The Rise & Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart—an assassin who got out is being pulled back in. I had a blast with it, as I tried to convey
Moonbound by Robin Sloan—Sloan gets strange in this Fantasy novel pretending to be Sci Fi (or is it the other way around)? I liked it, but didn’t totally get it
Dad Camp by Evan S. Porter—”A heartwarming novel about a loving dad who drags his eleven-year-old daughter to ‘father-daughter week’ at a remote summer camp—their last chance to bond before he loses her to teenage girlhood entirely.”

I’m still trying to figure out my energy levels and how to manage them during my recovery, so I slept through most of my typical social media hours this week (and more of my reading/blogging hours than I’m comfortable with). This resulted in a skimpy list this week. But the show must go on, I hear. (and what I do list is worth your time, I think)

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:
It’s Time We Added Full Credit Pages to Books: Maris Kreizman on the Importance of Acknowledging the Labor That Goes in a Single Title—I’d be down for that.
Five Years On: Reflecting on Dead Inside—Noelle Holten looks back on her debut’s anniversary. (it was such a good read, if you haven’t tried it yet, you really should)
Disabled and Neurodivergent Books out in 2024—a handy list for those who’d be interested
My Problem With Audiobooks—I absolutely get this.
On Mimesis and Stories—another batch of good thoughts from Peat Long
On My Radar: May 2024—Literary Escape’s Monthly Wrap-up of posts and reviews we all should’ve read last month.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week? (and a fun week it was)
No Colder Place by S.J. Rozan—the fourth Lydia Chin/Bill Smith
The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu—it was that long ago I read this?
Kill Fee by Owen Laukkanen—I miss this series…
Robert B. Parker’s Cheap Shot by Ace Atkins—Parker. Atkins. ’nuff said.
Night Broken by Patricia Briggs—Mercy Thompson’s 8th adventure
I also spent some time talking about some Puritan works Heaven on Earth by Thomas Brooks—an all-time fave—and The Christian’s Great Enemy: A Practical Exposition of 1 Peter 5:8-11 by John Brown
I mentioned the release of strong>Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta and the fun compilation, strong>FaceOff edited by David Baldacci

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Mercy Chair by M.W. Craven—the 6th Poe and Tilly novel, reportedly the darkest. No small feat there. Life is preventing me from getting to it at the moment, so I’m bit cross with life. (apparently available in the U.S. in September for those who aren’t addicted enough to order from overseas.)
Traditions of Courage by Jeffrey H. Haskell—the 7th in the Grimm’s War series, and I’m not going to read anything about it, because I’m now 3 behind. Ugh.

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:
Why Are Debut Novels Failing to Launch?
Banned Book of the Week—Digital Public library of America announced a new campaign this week
Fletch Inhaled Twice: Reflecting on the influence of I.M. Fletcher and his creator, Gregory Mcdonald—I might quibble a bit here and there, but the only real problem with this piece is how short it is
Five for Them, One for Me, with Rob Hart—a fun Q&A with Hart about Assassins Anonymous
When Romance Is a Mystery: Books Where Finding Love Is Like Solving a Whoduni
Adam Holcombe looks back at a year of A Necromancer Called Gam Gam
Should I Feel Guilty For Checking Out A Book Instead Of Buying It?—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
20 Brilliant Anglo-Saxon Words We Should Bring Back—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
Conquer Your TBR Pile — Practical Tips to Read More Books This Year
Master Your Reading List: 10 Practical Tips for Avid Readers—2 of these this week? What is it, January?
Authors: How NOT to Ask a Book Blogger for a Review
Ashley Ottesen explains why her (and my, incidentally) TBR stack will always be full

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
John Knox by Simonetta Carr, Matt Abraxas (Illustrator)—probably the best looking biography I’ve ever read (sure, it’s for kids, but…Abraxas nailed it).
The Warrior by Ty Patterson
The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Wake of the Bloody Angel by Alex Bledsoe—man, I loved this book (still do).

This Week’s New Release that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
First Frost by Craig Johnson—It’s the 20th Walt Longmire book and we get a look at Walt and Henry before they head off to the armed forces and Vietnam (and Walt dealing with the fallout from TheLongmire Defense).

Happy Towel Day (in case you haven’t seen me talk about that yet somehow)! Also Happy Geek Pride Day and whatever the appropriate greeting is for The Glorious Twenty-Fifth of May (for those who celebrate that).

Think I covered everything there.

Today was also Read a Book Day at the local Farmer’s Market (which really wasn’t advertised too well, IMHO), based on the number of authors present and people who seemed to be paying attention to them. I did get to check in with someone I met at the Library Book Faire last month, Nathan Keys (who will be appearing here soon) and met another nice fantasy author, J. Brandon Lowry, who will hopefully be making an appearence here sometime.

My daughter and I did get to check out the Nampa Library’s Bookmobile there—which is pretty cool, and had a better selection than you’d expect from a van. It’s absolutely the kind of vehicle someone should use to kidnap me. It’d be incredibly easy to do.

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:
Donnelly Public Library transitions to ‘adults only’—as a result of a new law in Idaho, a small town public library has to resort to not allowing minors admittance. Brilliant job by the state legislators and governor.
Handheld Press founder Kate Macdonald reveals reasons behind indie’s closure
Hart Hanson On Screenwriting Vs. Novel Writing
Austin Grossman Talks Fight Me—it’s been too long since I read Grossman, it’s nice to have a reminder
Rob Parker tweeted about this great thing he and his wife are doing—running ‘Become An Author’ after school clubs. Love this.
Speaking of Tweets, Joe Abercrombie’s tweet from Monday seems impossible.
Five Reasons Why You Should Read
Five Nonfiction Books For Fantasy Lovers—Daniel Meyer dropped by JamReads to provide this list
Should We Judge Older Books By Modern Standards?—Cee Arr asks an important question
CrimeBookJunkie turned 9 yesterday—if you’re not reading that blog, you’re missing out

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Fiction Fans Episode 139: Author Interview: The Grimoire, the Gods, and the Girl by K.R.R. Lockhaven—a good convo about the book/trilogy as a whole. And the way I found out the book had been published. Eeep. I really should’ve posted something about that sooner. (also, it probably means that my beta read comments are even more overdue than I knew.)
Tea Tonic & Toxin Nero Wolfe Mystery Series / The League of Frightened Men—Ira Brad Matetsky drops by to talk Nero Wolfe.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Way of the Wizard by Michael Michel—”A fast-paced, epic fantasy with wizard gangs, bloodthirsty unicorns, and philosopher giants.”
The Mountain Mystic by Russell W. Johnson—Sheriff Mary Beth Cain tackles a cold case that gets a burst of heat. Oooooh, this looks good.
The Seminarian by Hart Hansen—’Xavier ”Priest’ Priestly is a snarky former seminarian turned private investigator. Dusty Queen is a hard-as-nails professional stuntwoman and freelance bodyguard. When Dusty’s girlfriend suddenly disappears, a woman in a strange blue wig tries to assassinate Priest, and a twelve-year-old boy shows up claiming to be his son, the two friends are thrown into a maelstrom of intrigue and high-stakes violence that’s as convoluted and dangerous as it is hilarious.” Hanson’s first novel, The Driver, impressed me. I expect this will, too.
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler—”Groundhog Day meets Deadpool in Django Wexler’s no-holds-barred, laugh-out-loud fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.”
Swiped by L.M. Chilton—”A clever and darkly hilarious thriller/romantic comedy about a young woman who must unmask a serial killer that everything thinks is her, all before her best friend’s wedding”

Some housekeeping: Yesterday, I put my toe back in the blogging water (solely because I didn’t know I was going to be recovering from surgery when I signed up for that blog tour). I’m hoping to be fully back in action on Monday. We’ll see how that goes…I am surprisingly easy to tire out. Well, that part’s not so surprising. It’s probably surprising how easily I can delude myself into thinking I’m three decades younger than I am and can bounce back from stuff (like the removal of an organ).

Yes , it’s probably too soon to return to this, but it’s worth a try, I’m doing another round of Ask Me (just about) Anything for My Upcoming Blogiversary
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I didn’t read as much during my first post-surgery week as I expected to, messing around online was much better for my attention span. This week, I did read a good deal and spent far less time online. So this list is on the shorter side, but…eh. Might as well get on with things.

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:
These books offer breezy escapism. That doesn’t mean they’re silly —A look at the past and present of Beach Reads.
Ranking Science Fiction’s Most Dangerous Awards: A scientific survey of the relative heft, pointiness, and durability of SFF’s most sought-after trophies.—Reader, I snickered.
13 Weird, Fascinating Things I’ve Learned Researching Crime Novels—I’d love for more authors to do things like this. This is just great.
Humor in Mysteries and Thrillers Is No Joke
Books Are Dead! Long Live Books!
The Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Fiction: 80+ Fantasy Subgenres Explained
I Can No Longer Read More than 1 Book at a Time and Other Bookish Habits that Changed for Me in the Last 13 Years
BBNYA 2024—Marie Sinadjan is putting together a Pinterest board for the BBNYA entries…wow, that’s an impressive-looking batch.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Ready Player One (Audiobook) by Ernest Cline, Wil Wheaton
And I mentioned the release of Hot Lead, Cold Iron by Ari Marmell
Also, I glimpsed at what’s coming up in the next week or two, and I’m really excited to revisit the posts for the end of May 2014. I remember really enjoying the books, and can’t wait to see what I said.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Blood Red Summer by Eryk Pruitt —This is the second book featuring the True Crime podcaster, Jess Keeler. The first book in this series is collecting e-dust on my e-Reader, and now I feel even more pressure to read it. They both look compelling as all get-out.
The Accidental Joe: The Top-Secret Life of a Celebrity Chef by Tom Straw—A chance to see him put that piece (above) about Humor in Thrillers in action: “A maverick celebrity chef reluctantly agrees to let the CIA use his hugely popular international food, culture, and travel TV series as cover for a dangerous espionage mission.”

I’m alive and recovering (and not reading as much as I’d expected). I’ll have more to say about that soon-ish. I’ve got some fantastic guest posts lined up for next week–be sure to come back for them. Thanks for all the well-wishes over the last week. I’ll try to personally reply soon.

There seems to be a mood, or a tone, to a lot of these links this week–I want to stress that I wasn’t trying to doomscroll. I mean, we’ve all been in a place where that is what we’ve been looking for. But that’s not where I was this week–but you can’t tell that from what I marked for this post.

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:
Inside libraries’ battle for better e-book access
Speaking of libraries, this is worth watching (if only for the running joke about a certain series of picture books) Libraries: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Against the objectification of books (or, some thoughts on The Discourse).—worth chewing on
Not Lost in a Book: Why the “decline by 9” in kids pleasure reading is getting more pronounced, year after year.—chilling
Bad Nostalgia: The book publishing industry is in crisis, so why is it so hard to talk about the labour that goes into making books?
Thriftbooks has some interesting lists of Books by State® 2023: Non-Fiction/Fiction and corresponding lists from 2013. The only one for Idaho that didn’t put a puzzled look on my face was the 2013 Non-Fiction pick. Do you have any thoughts on your state’s representatives?
Are You A Good Enough Friend To Hide a Dead Body?—Forget Enneagram types, political stances, Birth Signs, Hogwarts’ House, and so on–this is the ultimate personality test, right? (actually, not really the point of the piece, just my reaction to the title)
What Are the Rules for Lending Your Books to Friends?—Electric Literature talked to librarians for this piece. Who better?
10 Words Every Book Lover Should Know—I actually shared this back on 5/10/14, but still need to work these words into my everyday vocabulary. (and am a little shocked that the link from back then is still live)
To Write or Not to Write (In Your Books)
When Books Were Illustrious: Once upon a time, illustrations in books—all books—was standard practice.
Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons You DNF’d a Book—I don’t know how many posts about DNFing I’ve linked to over the years, but I’m pretty sure this format is a first.
Flowers or Books? Is the Special Woman in Your Life a Reader? 10 Book Recs for #MothersDay—This is a good list. And one I can actually see me using for next Mother’s Day (had already picked this year’s books when Carol posted this.) If any of my kids are looking for an idea, there’s a couple of things I can see working for their mom, incidentally.
20 Books of Summer is back—it can’t already be time to start compiling a list for this, is it??
Being a reader is so hard!—Luke Harkness speaks for many of us here.

A Book-ish Related Podcast-type thing episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Cocktails with Cav Show Ep. 32 Hollywood Grocery Clerks & a Hot Case! Great interview with Crime Fiction Author Andrew Miller!—I haven’t finished it yet, but what I have is pretty good.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh—there’s no way that I’d write about this book in 5 paragraphs today (or if I did, I’d feel guilty about it). I also think that giving this 3.5 stars says something about how my ratings have become more inflated in the last few years. Still, it was fun to look back on this one.
I also mentioned the publication of Robert B. Parker’s Cheap Shot by Ace Atkins —Atkins’ third Spenser novel.

Not much to say today as an intro. (“Phew!” is the collective response, I’m sure).

The next couple of weeks are going to be very interesting, I think, here. I’ll talk about it Monday—but I’m telling you now, reader, you’re going to want to stop by a lot (or just a couple of times, I guess—but it should read it all).
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:
We’re All Reading Wrong: To access the full benefits of literature, you have to share it out loud.—hmmmmm….
But Why a Penguin?—Who among us hasn’t wondered?
I missed the provocative essay No One Buys Books last week, where Elle Griffin dove into the data from the recent Penguin vs. DOJ case to look at what it says about book sales.
This week, there were two (at least) responses to that: The Puzzle of Publishing and Yes, People Still Buy Books: How a viral post got some key statistics wrong.—between the three of these pieces, there’s a heckuva education into the business side of book publishing.
M.W Craven up for Theakston Old Peculier Crime award for 3rd year—a quick catch-up with Craven
The Edgar Awards were this week, which means it’s time for Crime Reads’ annual nominee roundtable on The State of the Crime Novel. Part 1: Writing Life and Part 2: The Future of Crime Writing
How Fiction Became Edible: A new genre of cookbooks is reverse engineering the foods of all your favorite pieces of pop culture. Now your stomach can travel to Westeros, Tatooine, the Shire, and more.
The Author as Protagonist: Why are so many fictional writers solving crimes in detective novels?
A few good books about too-good-to-be-true tech (to read after your Tesla explodes).—a fun listicle
Andrew Miller: Namaste Mart Confidential—A quick Q&A with Miller (and a website I need to spend more time with, you will likely enjoy it, too)
Historical Fiction Pros & Cons—Reading Ladies Book Club looks at the genre
Why I No Longer Request ARCs—I absolutely get this (and agree with almost every part of it). But my stack-o’-ARCS suggests I may need to consider Krysta’s words more closely soon.
Speaking of things I need to think more about: How Negative Am I? Posing the Question of Negativity on the Internet
7 Reasons Adults Should Read Children’s Books—#1 & #3 are the big ones for me. With #4 gaining steadily, as the Grandcritter ages, I expect it’ll take first place.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
<bOutlander by Diana Gabaldon—left me utterly unimpressed
In Defense of the Descent by Daniel R. Hyde—a short and compelling book about the controversial line in the Apostle’s Creed. I still refer to this book.
Dawn’s Early Light by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris—steampunky fun in the U.S. of A.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Namaste Mart Confidential by Andrew Miller—A pair of unlicensed PIs/Grocery Store Clerks search for a missing (possibly kidnapped) woman in the L.A. of 2013. I rambled about it a little earlier this week
Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green—a collection of short stories from (mostly) contemporary Japan. I posted about it recently and managed not to make a single joke about one of the world’s least appealing (to me) types of food. That’s personal growth right there.
Crimson Arches by Rebecca Carey Lyles—in this follow-up to Shadow Ranch, Kasenia somehow finds herself in a tense situation with another polygamous bunch.
What’s Eating Jackie Oh? by Patricia Park—a YA look at cooking competitions and dealing with parental expectations.
The Vanishing Station by Ana Ellickson —”a lyrical and bold YA debut about an underground magic system in San Francisco—and the lengths one girl is willing to go to protect the ones she loves.” Intriguing setup and world.

For U.S.-types, Happy Independent Bookstore Day!! Be sure to venture forth and take advantage of the fun in your area. I actually have 3 choices to go to today (and, yes, I’m tempted to hit all three, but time and money prevent that). This month has not been good for my To Be Read mountain, and I don’t think today will help a lot.

(non-U.S.-types should go and visit your local indie shop, too.)

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 novel experience: Why small bookstores are thriving in Canada—this seems to be a good day to celebrate those stores north of the border, too.
There’s a revolution happening in children’s publishing—you can thank the book bans—the Law of Unintended Consequences has teeth
Yes, It’s Okay to Throw Away a Book: We love acquiring, hoarding, and displaying books even more than we love reading them—That subtitle is a bit much, but the rest of the piece is worth a read. Unconvincing, I think.
The literary romantic holiday that should replace Valentine’s Day.—this one also seems like a bit of a stretch, but I’m inclined to be swayed.
Shakespeare and Fanfiction: Despite an enduring slice of audience that treats his work as precious and mythic, most Shakespeare fans have rarely met an adaptive concept they didn’t like.
The Unexpected Resurrection of Harlan Ellison
The Heyday of Pulp Fiction: Keith Roysdon on the heroes and villains of American pop culture, introduced to millions of readers in cheap magazines.
Encyclopedia Brown: A Story for My Brother, Philip Seymour Hoffman
How to Read More—Armed With a Book brings a fresh idea or two to this perennial topic.
Brian Bilston is “fed up with people pointing out all the mistakes in my poetry” and responds with Pedants—absolutely worth the read.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
It looks like whatever was distracting me from blogging in April 2014 started to wane, and I managed to note the publication of a few books that looked promising (I read at least 3 of them—all 3 winners)
The Dragon Business by Kevin J. Anderson
Attack The Geek: A Ree Reyes Side-Quest by Michael R. Underwood
The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
Heaven’s Queen by Rachel Bach
Dawn’s Early Light by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

This Week’s New Release that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Next of Kin by Samantha Jayne Allen—Annie McIntyre’s third adventure finds her looking into a client’s family history and stirring up dust that causes problems for her and the client in the present. Looking forward to diving into this one.