Category: Saturday Miscellany Page 31 of 35

I actually sat down 4 nights this week to post about something, and only ended up with one thing usable. That’s bugging me, but I do sort of feel like a blogger again—I just can’t prove it to anyone yet. Let’s see what next week brings, shall we?

In the meantime:
that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Your Favorite Bookstores Are Dying. They Told Us How We Can Help.
#DisneyMustPay Alan Dean Foster—This is just wrong on so many levels.
How Steve Martin and illustrator Harry Bliss ended up working on the ‘upbeat book’ we all need right now—this sounds like a great idea
Recipes Inspired by Books/Book Series—I saw this linked in a Jim Butcher Newsletter, but there are plenty of great looking recipies on The Gluttonous Geek for other fandoms as well. Someone could have a lot of fun here.
John Wisniewski interviews Nick Kolakowski
The Most Unusual Murder Weapons in Crime Fiction: A leg of lamb, an exploding cow, and an enormous bottle of champagne…—I’ve read the exploding cow, the rest of these seem equally inventive.
5 Ways to Find Magic in Reading

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
Author Stories Podcast Episode 1000(!!!): Craig Johnson Helps Us Celebrate 1000 With Next to Last Stand—Always enjoy listening to Johnson on this podcast and hearing a bit more about his year’s Longmire novel was a treat.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection by Harry Bliss & Steve Martin—I like the idea (see above), I like the samples I’ve seen online. I need to get this—I used to be better about reading cartoon collections and miss it.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
6 Reasons to Shop Your Local, Independent Bookstore—some of these stats are chilling
How Books Designed for Soldiers’ Pockets Changed Publishing Forever
Bookshops are a precious shelter from the storms of life
The Mermaid’s Pool – A Q&A with author David Nolan—Nolan discusses his latest novel, the role of the North West of England. Great stuff.
The Evolution of Jack Reacher: Lee Child’s biographer on the creation of an iconic figure, from the first draft to the published novel.
His Dark Materials gave Lin-Manuel Miranda ‘new perspective’ on adapting Kingkiller Chronicle—huh. Hard to adapt, hard to finish the trilogy.
Why the funniest books are also the most serious—from BBC
The 100 Must-Read Books of 2020—Time Magazine sounds off. Haven’t heard of almost all of these. Guess I have some catching up to do.
What the size of your book collection says about you—I frankly object to the 500+ description…
Books Are Awesome—Ryan Howse talks about judging books for what they are, not for what they are not.
Reviewing and self-doubt—The Tattooed Book Geek has some nice, encouraging words.
The 7 Deadly Reading Sins…—Guilty of a few of these

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly—Mickey Haller defends himself against murder charges. You’ve gotta read this one, as I said recently
The Mermaid’s Pool by David Nolan—Nolan’s Black Moss still haunts me, I cannot wait to read this sequel.
Answers in the Form of Questions by Claire McNear—McNear probably would’ve preferred the news not providing so much attention to the book’s topic, but, what are you going to do? I’ve heard nothing but good about this book and have to get it right away.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
A long story: why record numbers of readers turned to doorstopper classics in lockdown—I let this trend slip by, I wonder if that was a mistake…
8 Types of Audiobook Listeners—I’m 3 of these, actually. Does that suggest a mental health problem?
A Guide to Deciding Whether Your Fictional Character Is a Vigilante or a Straight-Up Killer: Sometimes the line between serial killer and avenging crusader is perilously thin.—I’m not sure I ever pondered this before.
The First Two Pages: Rattlesnake Rodeo by Nick Kolakowski—This is a cool idea for a blog series, and I’m going to have to read some of the earlier installments. Basically, this is an essay by an author (in this case, Kolakowski) talking about the first two pages of their book. I could read stuff like this all day, especially about a book as good as Rattlesnake Rodeo was.
Why Are We Obsessed With The Underdog?—this needs a little more meat on these bones, but I like this take.
Looking to Norsevember: Everything you need to know.—Spells and Spaceships gives an introduction to Norsevember, a Norse inspired reading challenge.

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
The NPL Book Nerd Podcast—My library launched a podcast this week, which is pretty cool. I think Episode 1 is a little too brief, a little to light on information. But once this thing finds its sea legs, I’m gonna dig it.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Criminal Collective by Russell Day—As this is from Day, it will most likely be my favorite short story collection of the year, these 19 stories look at the human condition: “From tea in a country vicarage to high stakes poker games in the inner city, Criminal Collective brings you stories about people just doing what people do, lying, cheating, back-stabbing, double-dealing and committing murder.”

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

It’s late, I’ve been super busy, but the semi-hiatus is almost over. I think. Some tasty links below.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Reading literary versus popular fiction promotes different socio-cognitive processes, study suggests—Wow there’s a lot of elitism and misguided thinking behind this article.
Lost letters reveal JM Barrie and Robert Louis Stevenson’s mutual affection
Does Book Twitter Actually Reflect the Reading Community?

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
No Stupid Questions Ep. 24: Why Do We Forget So Much of What We’ve Read?—a great conversation about why we tend to forget a lot of what we read (or do we?) and why doesn’t matter? Stick around for the fact check at the end of the episode that includes a fun thumbnail history of dustjackets. (possibly one of the nerdiest sentences I’ve used on this blog)

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child—A New era for Jack Reacher kicks off with the first novel co-written by Lee Child’s brother.

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

I somehow managed to get three posts up this week—don’t think this means that there’s a return to normal on the horizon, there was another post I wanted to get up this week and now I’m hoping it arrives by Friday. Stress and the time pressure have let off a little, but not that much. I did manage to finish 2 of the 3 books I started at the end of September, though, and may finish the third today. So that’s something…

Thanks for sticking around during my semi-hiatus, see ya soon.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Cheap Writing Surfaces and Medieval Bureaucracy Helped Popularize the Alphabet: Judith Flanders Explains Why the Alphabet Was Used on a Whim—probably stretching things a bit to include this one, but, hey, they’re my rules, I can stretch them for something as interesting as this.
Dungeons & Dragons Publisher Sued by Dragonlance Co-Writers Over Scrapped Book Trilogy—Dragonlance was a formative influence on me, and the idea of new works in that world interests me. This, on the other hand… (Hat Tip to Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub for this one)
Suspect by Robert Crais named Best Novel of the Decade—couldn’t happen to a nicer book.
A Playlist for ‘Not Famous’—A reader made a playlist for Matthew Hanover’s book about an indie musician and the guy who fell for her. This is just cool. (it’s also a nice way for me to remind you all that this is a book you should read, or at least buy).
The Westing Game may be a murder mystery—but it’s also a ghost story.: On remembrance, inheritance, and legacy in one of the most beloved children’s novels of all time.—I’m not sure I agree with all of this, but I’ll take any excuse to post something about The Westing Game
Graphic artist Art Spiegelman on Maus, politics and ‘drawing badly’—Good piece on Spiegelman…
The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time—Time Magazine and a panel of writers who know a thing or five about Fantasy compiled a really good list.
NIGHT OF A THOUSAND AUTHORS Live Event to be Hosted by K.J. Howe and The Real Book Spy’s Ryan Steck—This looks like a great event.
Blogger Statistics: a quick look.—The Tattooed Book Geek shares a few demographic results from Twitter Surveys. As a male in an older segment than he is, I feel even more like an outlier than he does…

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Say Goodbye When I’m Gone by Stephen J. Golds—a noir thriller set in 1960’s Honolulu

Back for my almost-the-end of the week check-in. Man, I can’t wait until I can spend time on this blog without feeling guilty for not working on the move. There’ve been some very positive things happening on that front this week. It’s still going to be a few weeks before I can get back to normal, but I see light at the end of the tunnel.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
How the Debut Authors of 2020 Are Coping
10 of the best… last lines in fiction—great first lines get all the attention, but last lines stick with you a bit longer. Here are some of the best.
25 Writers On The Books That Inspired Them To Write
Neil Gaiman: ‘Narnia made me want to write, to do that magic trick’—hard to go wrong with a Gaiman Q&A
Top 10 Apps for Writers and Bloggers
7 Audiobooks for People Who Struggle with Audiobooks…—some good ideas here.
Why I Rarely DNF Books—#3 & #4 are big ones to me
Do you reread?
Should Novels Carry Trigger Warnings?—Good question, good discussion, too.
I Failed My Blogging Goals—yup.

Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
David Tennant Does A Podcast With…Neil Gaiman

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Fools Gold by Ian Patrick—I am so excited to start this one, Sam Batford #3 brings everyone’s favorite shady Undercover detective infiltrates armed robbers and continues to dodge a superior out to get him.
Dead Perfect by Noelle Holton—another book 3 I can’t wait to dive into.
Kitty’s Mix-Tape by Carrie Vaughn—a great collection of short stories in the Kitty Norville-verse. I had a little to say about it back when I did that regularly.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome toThe Spellbound Librarian, Mina @Stacked, and ravensprouts who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

Not much time for surfing/blog hopping/reading/writing again this week. I’m still reading the same books as I was on the last day of September! I have managed to finish three audiobooks—can do those while packing and working, but still, three is a small number for myself in that time frame. And, only a couple of posts this week. I’m hoping for one or two more next week, but I’m not making any promises. Stay tuned…

In the meanwhile, I have a little bit for you this week…
that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Fighting for Life – Indie Publishing in Unprecedented Times—As (beyond) tired as I am of the overused phrase, “unprecedented times,” you can’t deny that these times are unprecedented. It’s an Indie Book Blog talks about the challenges facing (and, sadly, defeating some) indie presses.
For Local Bookstores, The Next Chapter In The Pandemic Is Survival—indie stores, too.
From cut-out confessions to cheese pages: browse the world’s strangest books—huh. Books I don’t want. Good to know such a thing are possible.
Blogging: How Do You Blog Hop?—well, how do you?
The Art of Writing Book Reviews
Negative Book Reviews — Why I Write Them—one of the best approaches to this evergreen topic that I can remember
My Perfect Library—a fun post

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

So…things are going to be quiet around here for the next 4 weeks (at least). But we learned this week that we have to move. So, when I’m not at work, I’ve been looking for a new place and starting to pack. I’m trying to look at this as a chance to do a thorough reorganization of my bookshelves (and everything else in the house).

So not only have I not written a whole lot this week–most of what was posted was prepared weeks ago (the post Friday was the result of 4 nights of plugging away a bit at a time), I didn’t even have the time and energy to get the September report out, short version: 26 books, I think I liked all of them). I’ve read even less. This week I’ve read 3 essays, 3 short stories, and the same page of an ARC for 4 straight nights as I fell asleep. That’s a bad day’s worth of reading. For a week, that’s unthinkable. I got my copy of Battle Ground on Tuesday and haven’t read the first line. I may not stay sane for long at this rate (not just over Dresden, all of it).

I have 1 book tour this month (and one at the beginning of November), 3 books an author has asked me to talk about (1 read, 2 unread)—and I’m going to try my best to get those posted, and anything else I can manage to squeeze in. We’ll see.

I did manage to steal a couple of minutes here and there this week to look at my feeds to find a thing or two for this. So, 25 hours after I started this, I can now post it. Yeah, gonna be one of those months.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
American classics among most ‘challenged’ books of the decade in US: Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird among works protesters have tried to get removed from schools and libraries—yeah, this is the end of Banned Book Week, and the article was written for the beginning of it. Still…
How to Determine the Personal Value of a Book in a Few Simple Steps: What to Do When You Have Too Many Books—too many books? I guess it could happen. No one let Mrs. Irresponsible Reader see this for the next couple of months, okay?
Author Interview: Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager on The Writer’s Library—from LibraryThing
INTERVIEW: Ian Rankin on turning 60, not being able to hug his son in lockdown and why Rebus is finally venturing out of Edinburgh
12 Book Bloggers Share How They Find Time to Read—some good ideas here
Goodbye 5 Star Rating System. Hello Book Vagabond Badges.—here’s an interesting alternative.
RATING SYSTEM—Book in Hand has a new rating system, too
Being Objective About Some of My Favourite Books—The Orangutan Librarian talks about some problems with some of her favorite reads
What am I even doing?—The Fantasy Inn’s Kopratic talks about book reviewing
Comfort in books

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Battle Ground by Jim Butcher—Peace Talks set the stage for something huge. It’s now here.
Just Like You by Nick Hornby—Hornby tackles the tale of a 42-year-old mother falling for a 22-year-old.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik—the beginning of a series about a sentient school for young magic users, featuring a dark magic practiitionner who has enough power to kill every other student. Or Something. I think I’m going to have to read it to come up with a better summary.

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome toChar, I.F, and BookerTalk who followed the blog this week. Keep coming back, there’ll be new stuff, eventually!

No introduction this morning, I’m watching a bookstore event with Luca Veste (from Bethany Beach Books) and am too distracted to say anything.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Johnstown-based literacy bank nourishing minds worldwide through magazines—adding a literature bank to a food bank? Brilliant idea.
Would you find this bookstore beautiful or terrifying? Or both.—LitHub asks this provacative question about a new Chinese bookstore design (“bookstore” seems inadequate to describe this structure). Personally, I think both, but lean to the latter.
A Brief History of the Juvenile Mysteries You Checked Out of the Library Eight at a Time: How young sleuths like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys became literary icons for generations.—Keith Roysdon takes readers on path down memory lane with the Hardys, Drew, and more.
Why I’m addicted to self-help books—I don’t share this addiction, but I get it. And had fun reading this piece.
Things I Learned About Blog Tours in 6 Months—a look back at 6 months of organizing blog tours. I’ve linked to things from the blogger’s POV recently, this look from the other side is interesting.
Critical Art of Reviews—thoughts about over-used words and phrases when talking about books.
Unlikeable Characters: Why is likability Even a Question?
Let’s Talk About Spoilers—Wish I’d written about 90% of this first.
Hiu, possibly sentient cabbage over at The Fantasy Inn, recently posted a thread about “the Feels behind book reviewing and blogging”, which is a good reminder that all of us go through the same thing (to varying degrees, anyway).

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Next to Last Stand by Craig Johnson—I had a great time with the latest Walt Longmire book, I’ll probably be talking about it early next week. In the meantime, you should just go read it.
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots—Here’s what sold me: “Anna does boring things for terrible people because even criminals need office help and she needs a job. Working for a monster lurking beneath the surface of the world isn’t glamorous. But is it really worse than working for an oil conglomerate or an insurance company? In this economy? As a temp, she’s just a cog in the machine.”
Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold—seemingly the whole blogiverse is buzzing about the sequel to The Last Smile in Sunder City (probably for a good reason)

I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Books Are 42 (possibly the greatest blog name ever) and The Godly Chic Diaries who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

Yesterday, I did something I almost never do–I looked at one of my posts on my phone. I didn’t really see paragraph breaks—for those who read this on their mobile devices, is that common now? Do I need to tweak things a bit to restore paragraphs?

Anyway, this is a short list this week—as I mentioned last week here, my ISP went down when I was supposed to be posting the Saturday post. It didn’t come up until mid-day on Wednesday. And then I spent the rest of the week trying to catch up on things. So, I really didn’t do a lot of surfing, bloghopping, Social Media, yada yada yada. But I did stumble on a couple of good things to read.

that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Words we think we know, but can’t pronounce: the curse of the avid reader—We’ve all been there, or at least we’ve all seen that “Oh really?” look a Jeopardy! contestant gives when Trebek gently corrects them.
The Dispatcher (Theme Song for “Murder By Other Means” by John Scalzi)—I think I both forgot to mention last week that the Audible Original sequel novella to Scalzi’s odd and dark Urban Fantasy, The Dispatcher, came out. Turns out there’s a theme song for it. We need more books with theme songs..
Nick Hornby: ‘I can quote more Molesworth than I can Shakespeare’—a fun interview with Hornby on the verge of his new book’s release at the end of the month. Surprising amount of McMurty love here.
Lee Child on Why He Edited a Book Dedicated to Nicotine: A Faulty Delivery System—I remember quirking an eyebrow at the title when I saw it a couple of weeks ago, but didn’t follow up on it. Glad I read this post–I bet his penultimate sentence is on the money.
Why this author is taking a stand against Amazon’s audiobook dominance—This is a good piece about Cory Doctorow’s audiobook strategy–would be cool if more people did things like this. Here’s a Twitter thread where he covers it in a bit more depth.
How On Trend Am I? Looking at Whether My Taste Follows the Crowd When it Comes to YA—An interesting bit of data-driven self-reflection by The Orangutan Librarian.

That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith—the latest, and fairly controversial, Cormoran Strike novel. This thing is a beast, 900+ pages for a mystery novel? Everyone worried about their house being swept up by a Tornado should keep a copy of the hardcover in their house.
The Nicotine Chronicles edited by Lee Child—16 essays about various aspects of America’s second-favorite stimulant.

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