Category: Saturday Miscellany Page 30 of 35

Productivity came in fits and starts for me this week–and a couple of ambitious posts didn’t make their way out of the beginnings of a draft. I’m thinking of locking myself in my office for a few hours today to finish them. Some good reading this week, though, which makes up for it (and is partially to blame for unfinished posts). As is typical for the last week of the month, I didn’t find a lot of fodder for this list. But hopefully, you find something worth your while.

Thanks for dropping by!

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Why is California such a great place to write murder mysteries?: Five writers confess why the state’s an ideal backdrop for making a killing
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a link to a news story about a potential new Dragonlance book. Margaret Weis make it official—I’ve got to work in a re-read. Sure, I think I remember enough to dip back in, but I have children older than I was the last time I read the series. (H/T: W&SBOOKCLUB, my source for all things Dragonlance)
Alex Verus – The Future (After Book 12)—Benedict Jacka gives a peek at some of what’s next after the Verus series ends.
Unlucky Breaks: Famous Writers Who Suffered Slings, Arrows, And Misfortune
Why You Should Read The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss—This is a well-done video. And he’s right about the series, too.
How Do You Track Your Reading?—BookerTalk breaks down her methods and the comments are full of alternatives
Why I re-read books
Which Type of Reviewer Are You?—Apparently, I contain multitudes. In one week, I can be (and have been) all of these.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen—Chen’s take on Super-Heroes deals with memory, identity and friendship. Also, super-powered people do super-powered things. I had a few things to say about it recently.
Latent Damage by Ian Robinson—A pair of London detectives are on the hunt for a vigilante (which I just noticed is a paraphrase of the tag line on the cover, oops). Ian Robinson will be familiar to readers of this blog as Ian Patrick. Under that pen name, Robinson has a tendency to blow me away with his prose and his take on policing. I’ll probably have many good things to say about this soon.

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

Not that you can tell from my output here, but I have spent far more time reading and writing this week than I usually get to lately—which translates into a lot less of social media/blog-hopping (and even when I did, most people weren’t talking about books this week, apparently something major happened in the national news). So I don’t have a lot to share today.

And yeah, the post I intended to go up on Tuesday is only 40% finished (which isn’t to say it’s going to be long, if anything it’ll be on the shorter side). But it’s a good 40%, I’ve rewritten it about 6 times. (…and I thought it’d be a quick one to write—ha!). I’m putting it aside for a few days just so I don’t drive myself crazy, and so I can actually produce something this week.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
This new indie bookstore categorizes books by emotion.—ohhh, this just sounds exhausting, both for the staff having to organize and a shopper. (sure, I’d like to browse it once or twice, just to see…)
The Mystery Is Holmes: Why We Return to Conan Doyle’s Stories Over and Over Again—I think he’s on to something here, I’m not the biggest fan in the world, but I have a hard time not dipping my toe into Holmes every now and then. A bit of this can be applied to other things we re-read, not just Holmes (or mysteries in general), too, if Holmes isn’t your thing.
‘Funny, How?’ Why Comedy is Crucial in Crime Writing
What Are Your Reading Modi Operandi?—a fun post from Bookidote’s Lashaan, and some great comments. I haven’t chimed in because my M.O. seems to change by the month/week lately.
All the Positives with Negative Reviews—yup. The Orangutan Librarian’s latest take on the perennial post hits several nails on the head.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston—I’ve enthused over this (suitable for adults) MG Fantasy about a girl from Atlanta entering a Hogwarts-ish institution for a secret magical organization a couple of times already (my original post and in one of my Best-Of 2020s), and now it’s available for everyone to fall under its spell.
The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick—I’ve devoted hours to this book this week (with about one to go, before I have to spend a couple writing about it tonight) and I don’t know how to sum this up. It’s a fantasy about a con artist, and many, many, many other things. And unless the authors stumble in the last 11 percent, it’s a great read. Check out the authors talking about it on The Big Idea.

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

Huh. I thought I had stuff to talk about today, but now that I’ve got to this part of the post, I’m coming up empty. So, I’ll simply say thank you for stopping by, hope you’re doing well and are reading a good book or five. Enjoy these links!

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Lapsed bookworm? How you can get back into the habit of reading
The Perils of Downsizing: Be careful you don’t discard something you can’t live without — like books—I really liked this.
Please Stop Comparing Things to “1984”—Yes, please. Although the “Left” needs to stop just as much as the “Right.”
The ‘Great Gatsby’ Glut—NYTimes, so you may have to get creative to work around the registration. Now that Gatsby is in the public domain, we’re going to see a lot of writers and publishers taking advantage of it. Seeing it already, but after reading this, I know it’s going to get worse.
Every Mystery Writer Knows, You Can Kill Anyone
But The Dog: Sulari Gentill on crime fiction’s most unbreakable rule—I’ve heard writer after writer talk about this–from all parts of the world, from all types of Crime Fiction. They all recoil from the idea (not necessarily because they think it’d be out of place, but because the way readers react). Gentill gives a pretty good explanation for the roots of the “rule.”
And as soon as that started making the rounds on social media this week, Jo Perry reminded readers of her post from last year: Kill the Dog—her series would be nothing without having killed the dog.
The Thrill of Researching Your Crime Novel
D&D: New Dragonlance Novel Coming In July!—I haven’t read/reread a Dragonlance novel this century, but the first two trilogies (and a handful of the early standalones) were so monumental for Middle School/High School me that this news excites me.
Not Famous… Two Years Later—Two years ago yesterday, Matthew Hanover’s first novel was released. He reflects on those years a little here.
The End—Benedict Jacka has turned in the final revisions to his last Alex Verus book. That’s got to be a strange feeling for an author.
Speaking of endings, Michael Connelly says goodbye to Amazon’s ‘Bosch,’ hello to Netflix’s ‘Lincoln Lawyer’”—Netflix is a better fit than CBS, the original destination for The Lincoln Lawyer. HitFix’s Brian Grubb points out a fascinating possibility because of this. (you’ll have to scroll a bit to get to it).
What is Magical Realism?—a quick primer from Ramona Mead.
Desert Island Children’s Books—a great idea for a personal challenge–and how have I not thought about The Borrowers in decades? Why didn’t I introduce my kids to them?
Why exactly do we read book reviews?—pretty much sums it up
Want a Review? Here’s Five Things to Avoid—I should probably put this link on the top of my request page.
5 Tips On How To Write A Good Book Blogger Review Request For Your Book—I also saw this one this week. There’s a lot of wisdom here. I know that I’ve read books that I might not have primarily because of the way the author wrote the request.
On the theme of reviews, the Tweet of the Week goes to: Well Read Beard—I’d buy the single now.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Robert B. Parker’s Someone to Watch Over Me by Ace Atkins—I have less than 100 pages to go in this one and am loving it! Mattie Sullivan returns to the series, bringing a deadly case of child exploitation with her.
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire—The next Wayward Children novella has to do with a world filled of centaurs and unicorns, and who really cares what else is involved in the premise. It’s going to be good. Poor time management is going to keep me from this for at least a week, and I’m pretty annoyed with myself over it.
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas—I didn’t walk away from The Hate U Give saying, “I have a burning desire to learn more about Maverick Carter’s backstory.” But now that it’s here…I have to admit, my curiosity is piqued.

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

I started the week pretty strong on the reading and production front…and then Wednesday happened. I was glued to the news–I tried (inspired by a fellow book blogger) to pull myself away for a bit, and only managed for about 25 minutes. And even when I tried to force myself to write something, I kept asking “who’s going to want to read something as inconsequential as my stuff this week?” I tried to get something posted by Friday, but I was so physically (and mentally) exhausted after all the news-binging that I couldn’t finish a thought, much less read for more than a page or two at a time. I expect I’m not alone. This probably explains the scanty nature of this week’s post.

Let’s see if I do better next week, eh?

Meanwhile, I hope you and yours are safe and well.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Want to read more books in 2021? Here’s how to stick to your goal—I think I’ve only seen one piece like this in 2021, which is a little odd. I like the advice in this one.
Comics are a ‘gateway drug to novels and storytelling’—Rankin on early reading and writing.
Perry Mason and the Case of the Wildly Successful, Perpetually Restless Author—When I was in High School (and before, I think), I was a Perry Mason junkie. Haven’t really read him since then, for some reason. I’ve seen a couple of bloggers talk about him lately, and when you add this in, I’m jonesing for some more.
Literature-Map: The Tourist Map of Literature—a neat idea. I’m not sure how best to describe it. Just click on it and try.
Picking the 2021 Goodreads Challenge Colour—A fun little video
New year, new review system.—Very impressive, just makes me feel like I should rebrand as the Indolent Reader.
This quip from Nicholas Kaufmann—the best (non-political) tweet I’ve read all year.

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Speaking of Mysteries Episode 208: Lee Goldberg—While any interview with Goldberg is worth a listen, I thought his discussion of writing about COVID (or not writing about it) was particularly interesting.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg—Eve Ronin’s second adventure is as good as the first—the recent wildfire leads to the discovery of some human remains, which leads Eve to open a cold case and get her in all sorts of career trouble. I had some nice things to say about it recently.

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

It’s January 2nd, which means I’m inducing anxiety with my 2020 Best-Ofs list (too many good things…). Hope you’re all enjoying the last little drips of this holiday season as we all gear up for a return to Regular Life (COVID Edition) on Monday.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Thursday came with grim news about the death of Anton Strout, author and podcaster. He was on my short-list of authors I really wanted to meet in RL. I’ve read almost everything he wrote (everything I could get my hands on, for sure), and interacted a little with him online. I’m pretty sure his podcast was the first one I listened to, too, now that I think of it. Anyway, he seemed like a great guy—supportive of other authors (both in his day job and personal life) and was always super-friendly to this fan (and all others I saw him interact with). More importantly, he was a devoted family man and leaves a wife and seven-year-old twins, a GoFundMe has been set up to help them out, if you’re in the position to chip in.
On a similar note, Literary Hub has compiled Notable Literary Deaths in 2020: An Incomplete List of the Writers, Editors, and Great Literary Minds We Lost This Year
Book sales are up, but is that helping independent sellers?
2021 Ultimate Book Blogger / Reader Spreadsheet Template—Last year, I abandoned the home-brewed Spreadsheet I’ve been honing since 2010 or so in favor of Kal’s far superior one. This one looks a smidgen better. I highly recommend it.
Favorite Things About Book Formats—Cozy with Books breaks down the best of each format.
2021 Reading Challenge for backlogged books—If I hadn’t forced myself into abstaining from almost every challenge this year, I’d be diving into this Challenge from Entertainingly Nerdy. Looks like a great way to force yourself out of a rut or three.
What Makes a Good Coming-of-Age Story—for some reason, it’d been a while since I dropped by The Bookwyrm’s Den, missing out on posts like this one. Who doesn’t love a coming-of-age story?
#R3COMM3ND3D2020—For weeks, I have left reminders for myself to link to this series from the great Emma at damppebbles, and ignored them all. It’s a place for “authors, book bloggers and bookstagrammers to shout about three (yes, only three) books they love” published in 2020. There are some great reads here—and the books they link to aren’t shabby, either.
Favorite The Write Reads Tour Books of 2020—I’ve done a few tours with The Write Reads last year (and have one scheduled for this new one), and while I didn’t participate in this poll, I’d have been pulling for 3 out of the 4 listed here. Also want to echo the compliments about The Write Reads in the post.
2020 Recap – A Year in Blogging—I really liked Way Too Fantasy’s approach to the Year-End Wrap-Up post.
Ditto for Bookstooge Reviews 2020
This post would be freakishly long if I didn’t exercise some restraint here, but how’s about some Best-Of 2020 Posts?
My Favorite Reads of 2020—we’ll kick things off with this one from Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub
The damppebbles Top Ten (sort of!) of 2020—(also a nice Wrap Up, but not even Emma gets listed twice for the same post)
My Top Ten Novels of 2020—Char’s too horror-centric for me to really get into their recs, but when our reads overlap, we’re usually on the same page. So if you’re looking for a horror read, here’s some doozies.
Raven’s Yearly Round Up 2020 and Top 10 Books—anyone else worried about their bank balance after these lists? I think Raven could push me over the limit.
Top 20 for 2020!—The Orangutan Librarian won’t be limited by an arbitrary 10!
Top Twelve Books of 2020—neither will A Little Book Problem
My 2020 Notable Book List—from the Fantasy Book Nerd
Favorite Reads of 2020 by Month (Ft. More Than 12 Books Because Choosing is Hard)—Bookwyrm’s Den tries an approach that would drive me to all sorts of anxiety in a particularly good month.
Best Books of 2020—Books, Bones & Buffy does in one post what it’ll take me four or so to accomplish

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Black Canary: Breaking Silence by Alexandra Monir—the latest in the DC Icons finally moves away from the Big 3 (Catwoman’s still Batman-adjacent, so she doesn’t count), and I’m eager to see how they deal with Dinah Lance.

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

Hope you all are doing okay as we approach the last few days of this unusual year, and that your planning for 2021 and look-backs at 2020 are going well.

So little to say this week, and not much to link to. But I enjoyed these, and hope you do, too.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
This Christmas, read a story aloud – you’ll be surprised by the joy it brings—Thinking back on when I used to do this regularly with my kids, this is a decent idea for other times of the year, too.
I appreciated this thread from Ethan M. Aldridge on how libraries benefit authors
Who wore it better? US book covers vs. their UK counterparts.—a fun look at the differences in covers from Lit Hub
The Worst Literary Adaptations of the Century (So Far)—I’ve only seen half of this list, can’t argue with them.
<a href=”https://www.tor.com/2020/12/17/the-only-right-and-proper-way-to-read-the-chronicles-of-narnia/ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>The Only Right and Proper Way To Read The Chronicles of Narnia—Am pretty sure I’ve posted this before, but it bears repeating.
I’ve seen some really good creative approaches to the Year’s Best theme this year, like:
Top Five Backlist Reads of 2020—from Realms of My Mind
Steven Writes posted both Top Five Memorable Endings I Read In 2020 and Top Five Most Dramatic Twists I Read In 2020—excellent ideas, both
TBR Tackle Challenge Announcement—yeah, I know last week I said something about cutting back on challenges. This one could be helpful, though. I’m considering it, you might benefit from it, too.

The unboxening has wrapped up, now I just have to organize all the books. This is going to be rough. I picked up a nice little corner shelf to help alleviate some of the overcrowding I know is impending. Well, it has enough room for the As (I alphabetize by author), with a little left over. Although, if Ace Atkins and Ben Aaronovitch keep up their pace, that won’t be true by Spring 2022* at the latest. I think I’m in trouble.

* It just feels wrong to be thinking about Spring 2022 as just around the corner.

But anyway, on with the miscellany:
that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Publishing saw upheaval in 2020, but ‘books are resilient’—AP’s summary of the year in publishing. Best line: “‘A lot of what has happened this year — if it were a novel, I would say that it had a little too much plot,’ said Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp.”
How to Plan for Your 2021 Reading Challenge—whatever that challenge may be.
Walter Mosley on Devil in a Blue Dress, Thirty Years Later—I didn’t like this as much as I expected to years ago, I think I need to give it another shot.
Roddy Doyle on writing The Commitments: ‘Whenever I needed a name, I used the phonebook’—A little look back at the creation of one of my all-time favorit desert island novels.
Reacher, Prospero, and Child: The links connecting two writers—William Shakespeare and Lee Child—run deeper than you might think.—Child biographer, Heather Martin, dives deep with this one.
Audible Alternative Libro.fm: Audiobooks from Indie Bookstores—A great post about Libro.fm and why you should give it a shot.
Why I’m (mostly) Giving Up Reading Challenges For 2021—Yeah, me, too.
That said, I think this is going to be one of the exceptions: The 2021 SFF Badge Collection—How do you not want to collect those badges?
Books I want to read but don’t want to read—a great tag post from The Orangutan Librarian
The LibraryThing Tag—as is this one from the Bookstooge

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Vigilante Game by Meghan Scott Molin—really curious to see how Molin wraps up the Golden Arrow Mystery trilogy.
The Fey and the Furious by Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch, Lee Sullivan, Mariano Laclaustra—the eighth collection of the Rivers of London comics delivers a lot of fun.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome toAnjana, Dr. Ndubuisi E. Ojo, and Miss Katherine White who followed the blog this week (a formal sounding group this week, eh?). Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

I’m still not quite at the production level I want to be at around here, but I’m getting there (especially on those nights when I sit in an uncomfortable chair…there’s a lesson or two for me to take away from that). As we stumble through the last month of 2020, that’s good enough for me. Hope you all are having a decent month and are reading plenty of good things.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Saving Bookstores: How Independent Shops Cope Against COVID And E-Commerce Giants—Yeah, I’ve been posting a lot about this in 2020, why? See below.
Powell’s permanently closes its Home & Garden store on Hawthorne
Little Free Libraries Are A Good Idea That’s Taken On New Meaning Now
The Bigger the Publishers, the Blander the Books—”The Penguin Random House–Simon & Schuster deal threatens the values that the book business champion”
Bad sex award cancelled as public exposed to ‘too many bad things in 2020’—Oh, come on now. Haven’t we suffered enough in 2020? Reading the candidates is one of the most painful/hilarious things I do each year.
How to Read More Books in 2021 [and other topics], With The Root’s Danielle Belton and Maiysha Kai
It Isn’t Genre That Matters—It’s Story.: Characters, writing, and tension make or break a book. You can step over the genre fence and still appeal to your readers.—Yes, yes, and yes.
Quotes About Books That Truly Speak to Bibliophiles
As I delay thinking about my Top Lists for the year, it’s time for me to share other people’s lists, like My top 10 reads of the year—from M. W. Craven (who will almost certainly end up on mine), there are some great looking ones here.
The Reasons One Should Still Review Backlist Books—I didn’t realize this was a question, but yeah, these are (at least some) of the reasons why people should

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Crime Fiction Friday with Emily Webb’s From probation officer to crime author: Noelle Holten

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

Yeah, it’s a slim week, but December’s just getting started.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Tustin bookstore might be the gutsiest new business of 2020—This Orange County Couple Seems to have more courage than brains, but more power to ’em!! Love the idea.
Campaign to buy JRR Tolkien’s house backed by Lord of the Rings actors—Another great idea
It’s time for Best-Of awards and lists, and what better way to start off than with this one: A Dog Pissing at the Edge of a Path wins oddest book title of the year—If I’ve been previously aware of The Diagram Prize, it’s completely slipped my mind. But I’m making notes to find out who wins in 2021.
The 89 Best Book Covers of 2020—I don’t understand how some of these made the list, and others I’m tempted to buy without knowing anything about the contents. Either way, a fun way to scroll for a few minutes.
A Response to Claims of Racism in Naomi Novik’s A DEADLY EDUCATION—I had a hard time swallowing all the claims I saw about Novik’s book a couple of months ago, but haven’t had the time to read it myself. I appreciate this response (while not agreeing jot-and-tittle with all it says)
What even is a relatable book?—I’ve found myself using this word more often than I’d expect I would. The Orangutan Librarian offers some good cautions about the use/overuse of it.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Art of Violence by S. J. Rozan—I really could’ve stopped reading once I realized it was a new Bill Smith/Lydia Chin novel, but the premise is brilliant: an artist comes to Bill, worried that he may have killed to women, but has no memory of it. He wants Bill to prove him innocent or guilty—he just needs to know if he’s a serial killer.
The Transit of Lola Jones by Jackie Swift—”As the book opens we find Lola recovering from the breast cancer that threatened to prematurely end her life and languishing in a police cell, the main suspect in the murder of businessman Daniel Blain…But is she guilty, and even if she is guilty, is she to blame? This is a funny, smart, sexy, modern romp of a book and Lola Jones is a character that you’ll instantly want to be your best friend.”
Deer Shoots Man (then steals his cigarettes) by Tyler Knight—your typical cage-fighter “in a high-octane chase to track down the genetic code that could cure a disease that threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, including himself and his son” in a near-future LA.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome toP.L. Stuart, Masha, and Shoppen met Marceline who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

Okay, I didn’t produce as much this week as I’d intended—I’m trying to get back into the swing of things, but re-establishing patterns is difficult. I did write every night this week, just didn’t finish a whole lot. More importantly, I read a decent amount (700+ pages), which makes me feel better about life.

Not a lot to post here this week (holidays tend to do that), but I hope you’ll find something worth your while:
that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Obviously, the big thing this week is: Bertelsmann to Buy S&S for $2.2 Billion—The parent company of Penguin Random House said it had reached an agreement to buy Simon & Schuster from ViacomCBS, yay, capitalism and all that, but…how often to monopolies work out for the best? I’m so glad for Indie Presses right now and hope that they can survive this increasingly bad year for them.
Book Business Reacts to Simon & Schuster Sale
The Monster Publishing Merger Is About Amazon—Penguin Random House purchasing Simon & Schuster is not the gravest danger to the publishing business. The deal is transpiring in a larger context—and that context is Amazon.
What the Penguin-Random House Merger Means to You, Average Reader—The Atlantic piece above linked to this one from back when Penguin and Random House Merged.
Cozy Mysteries and Legal Thrillers: The Intersection of Two Crime Genres: Disparate as they may seem, the cozy and the legal thriller derive from the same mysteries and influences.—One of those things that I can’t help but think I should have noticed before
Book I read thanks to blogging (that I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise)
The Tropening: Book Tropes that I love (or hate)—the most important line in this fun post is this: “That being said, there are exceptions to all of these for me. As long as the trope is well written, I’m flexible.” It’s precisely why I’ve abandoned efforts to do posts like this one myself…I can always think of well-written exceptions to my objects of derision. Still, I like reading other bloggers’ approaches to the topic.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
A Very Fahrenheity Christmas—Fahrenheit Press did exactly what you expect from a publisher of gritty, twisted, noir. They put out a feel-good Christmas collection. 2020 demanded it.
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline—I know nothing about this other than it’s sitting on my shelf, waiting for me to start (maybe by Tuesday).
Forged by Benedict Jacka—the penultimate Alex Verus book hit the streets this week. I expect many, many things to go wrong for ol’ Verus.
Last Stand in Lychford by Paul Cornell—this series comes to a satisfying close. There’s also an edition out now with all 5 novellas in one. Either is recommended by me (longer post to come)